"Yes. Secret, my dear."
"Allow me to be the first to suggest we relocate before fanaticism leads to mass death, shall we?" The elders rose at once and left the ruined tent, assuming that the others would follow. Emir would continue to speak, adding, "This is obviously a matter between the elf and the angel and a question of faith. We shall remain apart provided you do."
"Do so. We have tomorrow to settle our affairs."
Presumably, they went outside.
***
Meanwhile, FIGHTING STABBY KILL TIME!
The sun elf would murmur/chant something sufficiently magical, and his glow would increase from "dim paper lamp" to "bright spotlight in your eyes when you were asleep a second ago." This, of course, would make it simultaneously easier and more difficult for Thales to spot the target. The chanting ended as gleams and flashes of metal shot through the sky as Thales came in ballistic, body poised to remove several irritating inches from the top of Mr. Sunshine's head.
The elf waited... waited... NOW!
A quick side-step and the elf raised his left hand towards Thales, who was heartbeats away and already swinging. As the hand lit up with a golden-platinum light, the angelborn's shimmering sword whistled through the air and neatly removed the offending limb very nearly at the elbow.
[Oh god he rolled a natural 1]
At this point, hilarity ensued. Because the spell had already been cast, removing the part of the body that was casting it served only to remove control of the spell, which promptly went right off with a sound like a cannon going off. If anyone was watching (presumably, with a slow-motion camera) they'd see a single spark-mote casually drift into the sky, immediately followed by dual lightning strikes aimed at two targets: Mr. Sunshine, and Mr. Wearing A Big Metal Suit.
ka-BOOOM!
***
"What the hell was that!?"
"Magic."
The new voice came from behind Red, who moved to reveal a small dark elf. As in, barely three feet with shoes and a fudge factor of two or three inches, dressed in vibrant blue, down to the faded blue wood and stone beads in his hair. From the way he moved, though, it was evident that his height was measured as "the distance from my head to the clouds" as opposed to "the distance from my feet to my head."
"Wild Magic. Or possibly Free Magic. We should go examine the aftermath."
Without waiting, the Blue Clan elder lead the way, staff making a strange noise as it drove into the sand.
***
Back at the site of the fight, it reeked of ozone and burned flesh. The remaining bits of cloth on the sun elf were cheerfully burning as he twitched slightly, bits of magic-enhanced lightning occasionally arcing and crackling. It was pure motor reflex - one doesn't get their arm cut off and then hit by lightning and survive.
As far as getting hit by a magical bolt of lightning? Survivable, if you're a tough son-of-a-bitch, and the angel known to all as "Oh gods it's HIM" and/or "Thales" was both tough and a stubborn son-of-a-bitch. Granted, he was enclosed in some fused and very hot armor, laying in a furrow in the ground, hairless, sand all up under his feathers, and slightly on fire, but he was alive. Barely conscious, not very capable of motion, rather uncomfortable from having been hit by lightning while ramming the ground at RAGEMURDER speeds, but, most of all: self-righteously smug and expecting that he'll get the healing and praise due to him for having DESTROYED THE HERETIC!
The Blue Elder would approach, tilt his head to the side, and listen.
"Visitors, I have good news for you. And us. One of those fucking sun elves is dead. Your..."
You could see him hesitating. Obviously Thales wasn't a "friend" so much as a "load", but given what had happened...
"...erm, travel companion is only mostly dead."
He went over to the sun elf remains, cheerfully kicked the head a few times, then pulled the crystal blade out from underneath the body (followed immediately by another kick) and offered it to Jewel, hilt-first.
"Elemental friend, I believe you were inquiring as to this weapon's origins? Very well, I shall tell you at once: hundreds of meters below the earth are vast and deep mines. Silver. Orichalcum. There is even a lake of oil. Before this... conflict, we lived in peace with the hyu-mans until the sun elves came, with their treachery. Among us. Among the hyu-mans. Spreading tales of atrocities and speaking of natural rights."
Gasps of disapproving shock.
"It is not your place to speak of such things."
"I am the Blue Clan and I am the Melech. It is not your place to tell me what the Melech can and cannot do, Amirpanj."
"What is your solution, father?"
"Hire the adventurers, naturally, to kill the sun elves. Kill them all. And when they are dead, the adventurers will find the hyu-man elders. Bring us under a peace tent."