Chapter Ten
Travel

Robert had to admit early on that leaving Acerbus was the easiest part of the journey.  After all, he had snuck out of the castle more times than he could count in the past, and it wasn’t like he didn’t know how to blend in.  In all actuality, he wasn’t all that remarkable compared to the next man.  He supposed he had a distinctive face, which was why people were still able to recognize him even though he was trying to blend in.  This time, he figured he wouldn’t try quite as hard, opting for his casual clothes rather than his peasant wear, because he had a feeling people were expecting that out of him.  He never showed his face in public wearing what he always wore, because his mother and father would have a fit if he ever did. 

Of course, the reason he was wearing his everyday clothes had more to do with the suddenness of his decision.  He hadn’t quite thought ahead enough to actually change clothes, and it wasn’t until he was climbing outside the castle that he realized his mistake.  But as he was traveling around the wall, he realized it was probably perfect – he pretty much looked like a courtier, which was probably the problem when he was trying to be a peasant.  He didn’t hold himself the same way a peasant would, slumping slightly because they didn’t have proper posture drilled into them from an early age, and like the world was steadily beating them down.  They didn’t have the luxuries the upper class did, and that showed in this mannerisms.  Robert was too spoiled and too privileged to have that world wary look to him.

But in his casual clothes, he looked important enough, but he didn’t quite look like their vision of the prince.  He did pull his hair back again, which was still a common fashion for the sons of the lords.  He looked more like a nobleman than a prince, and since there were so many noblemen in Lumentis, they would probably chalk him up as one they hadn’t seen before, and possibly one that happened to look a lot like the prince.  It could happen – Robert was actually related to a lot of the noblemen in Lumentis, usually because some female relative of his married a nobleman and decided to move to his province rather than force him to remain in the capital.  There were a lot of noblemen that looked like him, but, naturally, not exactly like him.  But he was sure it was bound to happen.

It also was the perfect cover for him having a bodyguard.  Some of the noblemen viewed themselves as important enough to be threatened, and thus hired people to protect them.  Usually these people have an entirely too high sense of themselves, but it worked to Robert’s advantage at the moment.  He wouldn’t have been able to explain Clover otherwise.

It also helped that it was very late at night, such that they pretty much blended into the shadows.  Robert had never been in the village at night, but it seemed like an entirely different world.  It was so dark, and everyone was tucked safely in their homes.  A few people were out and about for whatever reason, but they kept their heads ducked, and weren’t really paying attention to their surroundings.  This was the time thieves would sneak into the village and into abandoned houses, looking for valuables until the owners showed up.  But Acerbus didn’t really have that many thieves, not unless a band happened by.  But Robert had a feeling that wasn’t the case tonight.

Robert had been planning on heading straight out of town, no plan in mind, but Clover caught his arm at some point, and dragged him over to a building that apparently housed and sold horses.  Robert was forced to stay outside while she haggled with the man, probably telling him that they needed a horse for royal business.  Robert peered in to see her flash her royal seal as proof, and the man looked a little flustered.  He then saw her hand the man a few coins from their purse, which seemed to get the man’s attention.  Within a few minutes, Clover walked out with a meager looking horse, already saddled, and looking like the man had passed on his worst horse.

“She’s not specifically for riding,” Clover explained as Robert tried to figure out if he was supposed to ride the poor beast with Clover or not.  “But it is always good to have a horse on a journey like this, even its it’s to carry the burden of our packs.”

“Is this the best he has to offer?” Robert demanded, glad he wouldn’t have to actually ride the mare.  “I could have sworn I saw you tell him this was for a royal matter.”

She shrugged.  “I did, but he was still reluctant to lean me a horse.  I bribed him, of course, but all that meant was that he wasn’t actually going to give me the worst horse.  It just meant he had no intention of giving us his best horse.  I didn’t tell him it would be for the prince, however, because I wanted to cover our tracks.  This poor beast shall have to do.  I believe she may not be as bad as she looks, however.”

Robert poked at the horse, testing her muscle and a feel of her coat.  He frowned.  “She might.  I don’t think that man took very well care of her.  She looks healthy enough, but her coat feels not as smooth as it could be.”

“It’s possible.  Not all stablehands treat their animals right.  This is merely the first one I spotted, and I just happened to have luck that the man had a horse he was willing to depart with at such a cheap price.  You’re stalling, though.  Let’s just take this animal and leave before anyone figures out who you are.”

He nodded, and followed her through the rest of Acerbus.  He had only really seen the market, so the deeper he went, the more new this surroundings.  Shops gave way to homes, packed closely together, and bursting with activity.  No one paid any mind to the travelers, though, and Robert tried to ignore the scenes of merriment through the windows.  They looked so happy together, and Robert was glad.  His people deserved happiness.

Eventually they came to the village wall, and again Robert allowed Clover to deal with the gatekeepers.  She explained that they had just gotten word that her traveling companion’s aunt was sick, and they needed to leave right away so they could attend to her.  The gatekeeper just sort of shrugged, since they were trying to get out of Acerbus at night, not into it.  He couldn’t help if they were stupid enough to travel at night.  He gave something of a practice speech, basically telling them to be careful, because muggers were more likely to attack travelers at night then they were during the day.  Clover thanked the man, not bothering to point out she was an elf, and actually had better night vision than man.  And, on top of that, she was very skilled with a sword.  They didn’t need to worry about muggers.  Muggers needed to worry about them.

Once they were outside of Acerbus, Robert found himself relaxing as they traveled through the farm lands.  “Well, that wasn’t so terrible.  That went easier than expected.”

“Of course.  The first leg of any journey of this type is always the easiest.  No one expected you to be the type to sneak out, Robert.  Even I wasn’t sure you actually were until you showed up at the library.  You’re not really the adventuring sort of prince, you know.”

“I know, I know,” he laughed.  “This is so unlike me.  After all, I don’t even believe in the Angelus Dei.  Why would I go on an adventure to find out why she supposedly disappeared?  It’s crazy.”

“It is crazy, but it’s understandable.  You were shunned by your father’s priests, and you have a need to prove you were correct, not them.  On top of that, no one else was going to do anything about it.  You have the most to lose about this situation, exempting the fact that the world is close to coming to an end.  Once words gets out, you’re going to get blamed, and the short time you have left on this world is going to be absolutely miserable because of it.  If you prove yourself otherwise, and manage to save the world as well, then you’d have nothing to worry about.”

“You think we’ll find anything?  I don’t even know where to start.  How does a goddess disappear?  It seems so farfetched.  I almost wish this had happened in the past, just so we’d have an idea of how to handle this.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” Clover pointed out.  “If this had happened in the past, they’d be wishing the same thing.  For now, my suggestion is just to walk for a bit before we set up camp.  And maybe name this poor thing.  That man just called her Horse, I think, just like every other one in there.”

“I honestly can’t believe people like him are allowed to work with animals,” Robert said, stroking the mare.  “I think I’ll name her Tiana.”

“Tiana?” Clover asked, surprised.  “An odd name.”

He shrugged.  “She just strikes me as a Tiana,” he said, smiling a little.  “I think it fits.”

Tiana snorted slightly, as though excepting her name.  Clover grinned as well.  “Tiana it is, then.  It’s very nice to meet you, Tiana.”

She bowed her head, almost as though she understood the elf, and Robert just had to grin further.  It wouldn’t really be that farfetched if his elf companion could speak to animals.  Elves had powers that many humans didn’t understand, after all. 

They eventually came to a spot that Clover declared was a good spot to set up camp for the night.  She had brought a few things that Robert hadn’t thought to bring, and she surprised him by pointing out she brought them for him.  “I figured you wouldn’t think to bring something as simple as a pillow and a blanket,” she explained.  “You’d have other things on your mind.  You’re a privileged prince, so I doubt sleeping on the ground is going to be comfortable for you anyway, but this should help a little bit.”

“What about you?” he asked as he started to pull the bags off Tiana so she could rest as well.  He half expected her to take off running as soon as the saddle and bridle were off, but all she did was just…stand there, sort of staring at him.  She was probably trained not to run.  Clover was starting to collect items to start a small fire.

“What about me?” she asked, a little surprised.  “Do you know nothing of elves?  We do not need as much sleep as you humans do.  I shall keep watch over night.”

“You don’t need as much sleep?” he asked, impressed.  “How much sleep do you need, then?  Like, an hour or so?”

She shook her head, grinning very slightly.  He could barely see where she was since her skin and her hair blended into the darkness.  But he could see the whites of her eyes and her bright teeth just fine.  “I sleep only once a week,” she informed him.  “I won’t worry about sleeping until we’re at least in the next town.”

“Once a week?” he asked, a little impressed.  “I didn’t realize that elves had that capacity.”

“My brother described it as something to do with our longevity.  Because we live so long, our bodies move much slower than humans so, which means we actually fatigue a lot slower.  Or something to that effect.  I always just figured it was because the gods sought to create perfection out of us, and not needing to sleep was something that could be seen as perfect.”

He made a face.  “I always hated that comparison.  Elves were created to be the pefect being, whereas humans were created to mimic the Gods themselves in all their pettiness, and then given shorter lifespans out of all the races so we’d appreciate our lives more.”

“The mermaids and dwarves are practically immortal,” she pointed out.  “Matrem and Pater just forgot to protect against vulnerability, so they only way they die is through disease and unnatural means.  But elves are not as perfect as humans make them out to be, either.”

“It’s in our myth.  Are you saying that the Angelus Dei was lying when she said elves were perfection?”

She shook her head.  “She believed it to be the case, but she’s an imperfect being herself.  All the Dei technically are, hence why humans are so flawed.  She thought she was making us perfect, but she forgot to reign in our pride.  Most elves know that they are meant to be perfect, so they tend to look down on other races, and they are overly arrogant.  Our flaw is our pride.”

“You never struck me as being arrogant.  You seemed more proud of the fact that you were guarding the human prince than anything else.  All the others just sneered at the idea.”

She started working on the branches she collected, quickly making a fire that Robert wasn’t entirely sure how she made.  One thing was for sure – he wouldn’t have lasted a ­night out here if she hadn’t foreseen what he was going to do.  “I am unlike most of my kind.  I don’t view humans as inferior, but rather as unenlightened younger siblings.  Elves are really no better or no worse than humans – we were created by the same Gods, after all.  Besides, given my upbringing, I don’t really have room to talk.  I take pride in my position because it was given to be as something as a punishment, because I am weaker than my brethren.”

“You’re weaker?  I’ve seen you take on an elf twice your size and win within ten seconds.  That’s hardly weak, Clover.”

She shook her head.  “I feel compassion for my opponents.  I will kill if I have to, but I’d rather find a solution that doesn’t involve hurting anyone, and I’m a Warrior Elf.  My kind kills before finding out the truth, and they take pleasure in it, and yet, I feel sorry for anyone I scratch.  It’s not natural, and thus, I’m different and weak.  And only the weak should have the guard the future king of Lumentis.”

“I’m still a human.  Why do you take so much pride in guarding me?”

She outright laughed at that, making him feel even worse.  “Because, Robert, how many elves get to say that they are guarding a future king?  Not many, let me tell you.  You might be human, but you’ll have great influence someday, even on my own people, much like your father before you.  If it wasn’t for your father, we’d never have a permanent home.  We may like to raid and pillage, but we like having a place to return to.  Sato has shunned us, leaving us only Lumentis to roam.  And your father was gracious enough to give us some land to settle on.”

“With the price of never attacking Acerbus.”

“A small price to pay, sure.  There’re plenty of other human villages that’re unsuspecting.  It wouldn’t be any fun if we just attacked the same place over and over again.  Besides, you humans might get smart and try to wipe us out, or manage to dislocate us again.  We’re happy with the situation, actually.”

“Do you miss it?  Sato, I mean?  You were born there, right?  All elves are.”

She shook her head.  “Not all elves, no.  We’ve had several born in our community since relocated to Lumentis, after all.  But no; I don’t miss it.  I don’t remember it.  We were driven out when I was a little girl, and we’ve roamed for years afterwards until our leader pleaded with your father for a place to stay.”

“You’re fairly young now, aren’t you?  By elf standards?”

“Warrior elves have the shortest lifespan of all the elves, if you recall.  I am young, but not as young as, say, a young Nature Elf would be.  I’m twenty, which translates to roughly fifteen in your years.”

“Really?  You’re only about fifteen?  You’ve always seemed so much older to me.  I don’t know why.”

She shrugged.  “Elves do mature faster than humans,” she teased.  “Because we’re taught at an early age that we had to be superior to every race, and they try to cram as much information down our throats as we can handle.  I envy you humans, going at your own pace.  Many young elves have actually gone insane for a short period because of information overload.”

“I would have loved that.  I couldn’t learn fast enough.  And yet, my instructors insisted that we follow the set schedule, even though I clearly knew the subject already.”

“Not everyone can be a human sponge like you can be, Robert,” she said, shaking her head a little.  The shadows from the fire danced across her face, giving her a slightly more sinister look.  He shivered slightly, glad for the warmth before him. 

“I’ve been called a freak of nature before.  I seem to have amazing retention skill.  Once I learn something I typically don’t forget it, not unless it was something I deemed unnecessary information like court drama.  Most of my instructors didn’t believe I knew all the lessons already, at least until I proved my retention of the subject.  And yet, they still insisted on going at their own pace.”

“Poor spoiled prince,” she teased slightly.  “If that’s your worst problem, then you shouldn’t be complaining.”

He felt himself blush slightly.  She had a point.  “It was just annoying, you know, that no one really believed me.  They still don’t.  They insist that I’ll need lessons until my father dies or decides to give up the throne, and I feel like I knew more about ruling than a bunch of hired educators ever would.  But I’m not really allowed to do anything about it.”

“I suppose I see your point.  You have better use for your time then sitting in a classroom, learning and relearning information that you’ve already learned.  But still, that’s not much of a problem.”

“No, the problem I have is that everyone insists that I learn to fight when I clearly lack the capacity to do so.  I don’t understand it, Clover.  Why does the king need to learn to fight?  I just get other people to do it for me.  If a peasant didn’t know how to fight, no one would even care.  He was just destined for other things.  Why can’t I bedestined for other things?”

“You are.  Clearly, you’re destined to go on an unexpected journey to find out what happened to your major goddess.  You should rest, Robert.  You’ve got a long day of walking ahead of you.”

He took that as a dismissal, and crawled under the blanket she had provided.  He was freezing, but the blanket was surprisingly warm for being so small.  He thought he was going to have a harder time falling asleep, since he wasn’t accustomed to sleeping outside.  He felt so exposed, and the odd nightly sounds of the crickets and the odd hooting of an owl and the cry of a wolf made it difficult for a short while.  That didn’t even begin to compare to laying on the ground.  But he shifted into a surprisingly comfortable position, and the next thing he knew, the sun was starting to rise, and something seemed to be cooking over the fire.

“You surprise me, Robert,” Clover said when she noticed him struggling to sit up.  “I fully expected you to be the snoring type, but I barely heard a sound from you.  I had to check several times during the night just to make sure you were still alive.”

“Yes, well,” he said, fully aware of his lack of snoring.  Caroline commented about it to him when they were younger, when she’d sneak into his room during a thunderstorm or after a bad dream, and he’d let her stay there.  She was just as surprised as Clover was.  Caroline, by comparison, muttered in her sleep, but it was never anything he could make out.

“I’m also surprised as how well you slept.  A privileged boy like you should have been up for hours, if he fell asleep at all.  I’m impressed.”

“I am as well,” he admitted.  “But then again, I’m not that spoiled that I’d expect a comfortable bed when I’m traveling like this.  I thank you for packing these,” he added as he handed her back the blanket and pillow.  “They worked amazingly well.”

“Elf craft,” she told him.  “We strive to improve upon everything humans make.  Of course it’d be better than anything you’d experience.  At least expected, since I’m sure there’s a different standard in the castle.”

He shrugged.  “I’d say they were castle quality, at least.  What’re you cooking there?”

“Rabbit.  I caught it in one of my traps last night.  He was rather fat, so he’ll be delicious, I’m sure.”  Robert made a face.  “Don’t like the thought of eating a rabbit?”

“No, but I typically don’t have heavy meat this early in the morning,” he admitted.  “I’m sure it will be delicious, but the thought is rather…odd to me, is all.”

She waved him off.  “You’re going to learn very quickly that any food you can get is a good meal anytime.”

“I’m not complaining,” he said, “just wasn’t expecting it.  I’m sorry if I offended you.”

She laughed.  “You’re like the polar opposite of a spoiled little prince, Robert.  You know how these things are supposed to go, and don’t complain about things you’re not use to doing.  I like that.  I’m glad you’re going to be a king someday.  It’ll be refreshing.”

“You’re the only one who thinks that,” he muttered as Clover pulled the rabbit off her make-shift spit, and handed him a piece.  He was a little skeptical about eating it, but found she was right – it was delicious, especially since he had woken up starving.

The next few days played out fairly similar.  Robert hadn’t realized it was several days travel to the next town, thinking it usually took the courtiers a day or so to travel.  He began reevaluating the effect visiting courtiers took in order to just visit the capital, and why they stayed for such a long time.  And why it was such a great honor to be invited.  Clover explained that important messages moved from one end of the kingdom to the other through trained hawks, who could cover greater distances than man or elf could ever dream in a single day.

They spent their days walking and talking, each alternating why was leading Tiana.  At least, Robert just let Clover do it, since the horse seemed to trust her more, but she forced him to do so several times a day so they could get used to one another.  Otherwise, it was pretty much the same routine – they walked for several hours before stopping for a quick meal, usually just the bread and cheese Clover managed to steal from the kitchens before they left.  They didn’t eat much of it, since they needed it to last until they reached the next town, and they were able to buy more.  They then walked for several more hours, until Clover found a good spot to rest for the night.  She would then find some wild beast to hunt, killing it was ease and cooking it for dinner while Robert watched, feeling utterly helpless.

Clover was doing so much to help him, and all he really did was sit and watch her.  He felt bad, but she insisted that she was expecting this, and it was the main reason she opted to come.  She was supposed to protect him, and it wouldn’t do for him to turn up dead in the middle of nowhere because he couldn’t rough it.  It would reflect badly on her.

After the meal, they would talk for a bit while Robert digested before going to bed.  He was surprised to learn that it was getting easier and easier for him to fall asleep as each night passed.  He would wake to find Clover cooking the rest of the meat, usually in some sort of stew she wiped up using various plants she had found while he was sleeping.  “This is embarrassing,” he muttered.  “It’s delicious, but it’s embarrassing.  I feel like I can’t fend for myself.”

“Thank you,” she told him.  “And you can’t take care of yourself.  It’s a skill that’s learned from an early age, when you were learning about how to be a king and how much you fail at simple swordsplay.  I’m impressed that you know as much as you do, actually.  I honestly don’t mind doing all this.  This is where my skill shines.  Once we’re in town, you’ll take over.  It’ll be an even trade.”

“Yes, well…I do wonder if any of these towns would know anything.”

“I doubt it.  Lumentians are too caught up in their own lives to really notice anything out of the ordinary.  Besides, why would anyone bring her anywhere near Lumentis?  She’s most powerful here, and she’d be able to overcome her captures with ease.  It’d be best to hide her in one of the outside countries.”

“The outside countries?  The ones outside of the Five Kingdoms?  That’d be silly.  She wouldn’t exist outside the Five Kingdoms.  The outside countries have their own gods to deal with.”

“You’re thinking she’s somewhere within Lumentis?  Or at least taken through?  That’d be insanely stupid.”

“Maybe not in Lumentis.  There are four other kingdoms they could hide her in, after all.  Maybe Collis, for example.  No one’s up there except the dwarves and the Materm Dei priests.  There’d be plenty of places to hide her in there.”

“You think Collis might be our best bet?”

“Possibly.  I don’t know.  We need to learn more first, and I think the clues are hidden in a Lumentian town.  Someone has to know something, after all.”

“Like I said, I doubt anyone in the five Kingdoms would know anything.  But you could be right.  It would be insanity to hide her in Lumentis, but she has less power in the other kingdoms, even Tara Nora.”

“But not Silverstine,” he said.  “They might be focused more on the Pater Dei because they’re by the coast, but I think Selene would be more concerned if they knew anything.  I think her father would have sent her something.”

Clover nodded.  “Selene hardly hides her emotions.  If she were hiding something, like the fact that she knew something about the Angelus Dei, then it’d be easy to spot every time we brought it up.  Unless she got word after we left, that is.”

Robert considered that.  “I don’t think she’s in Silverstine,” he reiterated.  “I don’t know why, but its just a feeling.  Silverstine’s too much like Lumentis compared to the other kingdoms.  It would be just as foolish to hide her there.”

“So what do you want to do?”

He considered it.  “Well, I think the best course of action is to continue through Lumentis, and see if we can’t gleam some information.  We have to anyway to get to any of the Kingdoms.  Once we’ve had the center, we’ll make a decision then what direction we’ll want to look after we leave Lumentis.”

“Seems wise enough,” she agreed.  “Either way, it’ll take a very long time before we reach any of the borders.”

“Not if we keep walking like this,” he muttered, glancing at Tiana behind him.  She looked a lot better under Clover’s care, although she still looked a little scraggly because Clover didn’t really have the proper food to give her.  They had planned on getting that as the first town as well.  But she seemed…happier.  He didn’t want to kill that mood by insisting that he ride her.

It was about midday on the five day that they reached the first town.  It was so odd after so many days of traveling and only seeing the random passerby to suddenly see the first few farms, and then to be approaching the town gates.  They weren’t as impressive as the capital walls, but they made themselves very clear – they weren’t tolerating intruders.  The doors, at the moment, were wide open, inviting commence and travels into the fair village.  There were actually a good number of people heading into the village, some from the farmlands, but most coming from the opposite direction.  Robert and Clover joined the throng of people entering the town, and that’s when Robert realized how much Clover stood out.

It was fine in Acerbus, because most of the citizens were now used to seeing Warrior Elves in their armor walking down the street, looking for their next victim.  They couldn’t attack any of the humans, not unless they were foreigners and they weren’t obeying the laws, but they could attack their own kind, and they did so frequently.  But here, in whatever town this was, seeing an elf was probably an unusual occurrence, much less one in armor and so scantily clad.

“You might want to find something better suited to wear,” Robert muttered to her while he found people staring at her.  It was drawing unwanted attention towards them.

“Hmm?” she mused before glancing both at what she was wearing and the people staring at her.  “Aw, yes. That might be a good idea.  I hadn’t thought of that.  At least I did plan ahead.  Once we find accommodations, I shall implement that plan.”

“Might be a good idea,” he agreed.

He felt rather worn down at that point, and rather like he was in need of a bath.  Most citizens didn’t bath all that often, but he could afford to bath whenever he wanted, and being dirty just didn’t feel right to him.  All he wanted to do was find a place to stay for a few days, or even overnight, and to have a bath or something.  First, though, the placed Tiana in the local stable, where the stablehand promised to take good care of her, as well as look at her to figure out what she needed to become healthier.

It was when they were actually looking for a place to stay that Robert noticed the change.  In Acerbus, the people mostly ignored him when he was out and about, pretending he didn’t exist rather than that he was a peasant.  He hadn’t noticed they did that until that day in the market, but once Selene pointed it out, he could see it everywhere.  And it was a little annoying.

Here, people didn’t seem to recognize him at all.  Maybe it was because he looked a little worn from travel, his hair no longer holding in place very well, and the bare beginnings of a beard making it’s presence known on his face because he didn’t feel like shaving that morning.  But they treated him like a normal traveler, greeting him with kindness and trying to peddle their wares.

“Hmm.” Clover mused as she took this in as well.  “It seems they don’t recognize you.  I don’t think they’d be acting this way if they knew who you really were.”

“How could they not recognize me?  I’m the heir to the throne, after all.”

“Yes, but have you really ever stepped foot outside of Acerbus?  Do you even know what this village is called?  They’ve never seen you before, and thus, they don’t recognize you.  To them, you’re just another traveler in slightly fancier clothes, with an odd Warrior Elf following him.  You can be anyone now.”

Robert considered this.  He had never thought of what it’d be like to have no one recognize him, to have no one instantly dislike him merely because of who he was.  It was an odd feeling to have one of his people actually grin at him as they shoved a fish in his face, trying to make a good impression so he’d buy his merchandise.  Even though they were merely being kind because they viewed him as a customer, it was so odd to have someone he didn’t know actually be nice to him.

He grinned.  It was a wonderful feeling, actually, if not a little surreal.  It worried him a little that his people didn’t know what he looked like unless he actually visited them, but that was something he was going to have to deal with later.  For now, he just basked a little in the feeling of anonymity while they searched out a good inn, something that wasn’t over the top, but something that wasn’t falling apart, either.

One thing was for certain; he liked this feeling, and he couldn’t seem to get enough of it, grinning at his subjects as he passed, knowing they would never know the honor that was bestowed upon them.  And he wouldn’t have it any other way.   

Chapter Nine

Angelus Dei Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven