The origins of the elf race were disputed through centuries, with many scholars claiming that the elf was a child of a human and a demon. This theory was quickly disproven upon the discovery of the impossibility of demons bearing human children and vice versa, after all succubi and incubi, the type of demons most suited for such experiments, among other demon subspecies end up draining the life energy from their partners as their biological structure is vastly different from that of humans. Yet the belief in the demonic origin of the elves has taken root in the hearts of the world’s populace due to many shared facial features between the two races. The sharp triangle ears, the overall form of the face, the non-round and almost catlike pupils and unnatural hair colors, all traits of the demon race. In truth, the elves never had anything in common with the demonic realm.

It is said that about a millenia ago, visitors  on flying ships descended from the skies. Upon seeing our world, they decided to stay here for a while and taught the people of this world many things. Sciences like biology, chemistry and physics, among other sciences which were considered heretical at the time, saw an incredible advance and spawned many convenient products, like soap, suspension bridges and weapons that could fulfill their purpose of taking lives even more efficiently than ever before. 

In turn, we taught them about magic, alchemy and the powers of the divine. They were very surprised and told stories of their world, a world they called Earth. There was no magic in that world and the only thing the people there could rely upon was the knowledge that they could gather. Generations upon generations have fought countless wars and, from the visitor’s words, are still fighting an endless war for information. Such things were unknown in our world.

However, the blessing of the visitor’s presence wasn’t meant to be endless. The knowledge these people possessed and taught went directly against the main religion of that time, the Fellowship of the Crimson Cross. The sky visitors were branded heretics and the Fellowship sent people after their lives. Obviously, they couldn’t remain here. They left as swiftly as they came, silently overnight, while leaving us something truly wonderful. The core generator.

That generator was sealed off by the Fellowship at first, however their efforts were rendered useless when it arrived, the first elf. It stepped out of the generator and spoke. When the Fellowship guards attempted to harm it, it broke their weapons and bones. The elf then started working on the generator and after a week about a dozen of elves were manning the weird contraption.

After that, most people never saw the elves as they left for the deep forests where their generator kept working until a decade ago, now most likely lost to the Fungus infestation. Throughout the hundreds of years, the elves have been appearing very occasionally, guiding various races and their empires towards progress and prosperity. As one of the elves I personally knew once said, “Our existence is the servitude to the races of this world. Our creators made sure we can fulfill this task.”

So no matter how much the people hate the elves, it’s in their own interests that the elves remain. 

That being said, the most wondrous thing here is not a race of creatures so loyal and adept in most sciences, fighting styles, social questions and economics, but the thing that powers their continued lives, the bioengine.

The bioengine’s internal workings are unknown up to this very day, however, the way it works has been partially uncovered by the ancient studies of the cores of dead elves. This technological marvel has the length of an average person’s hand and is as wide as a half of said hand. It can be found where a person’s heart would usually be, however, it does not pump blood as that is being done by a different small machine implanted close to the bioengine. The engine itself acts as both a powercell and an engine. To explain it more easily, the bioengine has the same function as a person’s digestive system, except it manages to absorb the entirety of the food item without producing any waste and transmutate it into pure life energy. As a bonus, all excess energy is saved within the bioengine and can be used to manifest a great variety of special abilities ranging from basic muscle enhancement to optic camouflage and perfect impersonation. 

The elves are therefore not really human, but they are very sophisticated machines which wield one of the most powerful pieces of technology. Yet, someone was able to make a very basic version of that technology by trial and error, possibly repeating the steps the ancient visitors took to create the bioengine.

“As you can see, this is the reason why I cannot tell you how this creature was built, because even after a thousand years, we still never made any successful attempts to replicate the technology of the bioengine. If anything, I am very interested in the orchestrators of this incident, because their knowledge might prove to be invaluable.”

Ivran hasn’t written down anything for the entire length of the story, realizing the importance of the received information. Many possibilities circulated through his brain as he tried to calculate how to get most use out of the story the Prince had told him. If played right, this could cause an upheaval so serious it probably would drown the Islands in blood and violence of a civil war, or it might eliminate the hatred towards the elves almost completely.

“I… I think we should end this interview early”, said Ivran, already collecting the myriad of notes and papers from the table he sat at.

“I see, let us do that then.”, answered the Prince who was very clearly glad with what was happening, “Just in case you are planning to retell the story to the news agency you’re working for, please make sure to tell them the exact story I did, after all, it would be a pity if that information got warped and came off wrong, right? There could be so many unnecessary losses…”

“Yes, Your Majesty”, Ivran bowed as he grabbed the last remaining notes and darted off through the doors to exit the interview room, forgetting any and all rules of conduct, like to say goodbye to the sole ruler of the Islands.

“That went well enough”, thought the Prince, “Now there are but two possibilities, they’ll either silence him to keep their origins hidden like they did countless times before or they’ll finally think about themselves for once and allow the information to spread. I wonder what they’ll do.”

The Prince stood up from his chair and exited the room through the door opposite to the one Ivran went through. Shuffling sounds could be heard from the room as the door closed behind him and the servants of the Palace entered through yet another set of doors to prepare it for the next meeting.

“Now then”, thought the Prince, “It is time to partake in a duel. A duel with a Death. Heh, that’s bound to be quite an interesting experience indeed.”

The Prince proceeded to walk through the complex maze of corridors right towards the throne room. No one followed him, no guards were present and sounds of an intense battle could be heard from the throne room. The Prince chuckled, “They started without me, oh how rude of them. Now it’s only appropriate for me to appear just at the right moment.”, and drew his weapon out of thin air. The reflection of his sword’s blade colored the entrance light blue. It was time to start the performance that was orchestrated many years in advance.