Chapter 119 – Full of Suspicion
“Next thing we knew, theDemon Race’s army was breathing down the necks ofElf Forest. We Elves have always been under the protection of theHoly Treeand the forest itself, and anyone who dared tread into the elders’ grove usually got themselves good and lost, if not completely driven bonkers.”
“TheElf Clanshould’ve, by all means, been able to ride out this Demon calamity just like we always had in the past, but… well…” At that point, Didelai tilted his head back, as though lost in reminiscence.
“Who knows how it happened back then, but the gates ofElf Forestsuddenly just opened wide for the invaders. Feeling secure behind the protection of our ancestral land, the elves put up zero defenses, only to be steamrolled all the way into the core of our territory.”
“The elves were all up in arms, their trust in our sacred ancestral forest shattered to bits. In their eyes, it seemed like this place that bore and nurtured them failed at every count — even before engaging the enemy, the fear in their hearts had already bested them.”
“Reflecting now, it’s strange how the gates of our ancestral forest could just open up for theDemon Race. Maybe that Demon Lord was a once-a-century genius, or maybe it was just the heavens turning against theElf Clan.”
“Anyhow, the Demon Race picked the best possible moment. At that time,Gold ElfandMoon Elf, the two highborn elves that governed ours kind, were at each other’s throats. Disagreements had always existed between them, but hey, what family doesn’t have squabbles? Living under the same roof, teeth and tongues are bound to clash occasionally.”
“But it was a big squabble back then, the kind that was starting to get ugly and public, with whispers rippling through the populace.”
“And with the Demon invasion thrown into the mix, these two had a bigger bone to pick than ever.”
“At the time, seeing the irresistible force of the demon army and the bleak outlook, theMoon Elfdecided to abandon theSacred Treealtogether and relocate theElffolk outsideElf Forestto find a new home.”
“Meanwhile,Gold Elfthought the complete opposite, insisting on holding our ground to d*ath, refusing to let the defilingDemon Raceget near the pureSacred Tree.”
“Both sides argued over this difference in opinion. TheMoon Elvesaccused theGold Elvesof caring more about maintaining their outdated rule than the survival of theElffolk.”
“But theGold Elveswere all calm about it, stating that allGold Elfkind would stand by the sacred tree, and the tree would never perish until the lastGold Elfhad died in battle.”
“One side was reluctantly bowing out for the survival of the race; the other was steadfastly defending their home until the bitter end. Even today, it’s hard to say which side was right.”
“Time, however, tells all,” Didelai shook his head. “In the end, our two highborn elves parted ways on bad terms. TheMoon Elfbrought those who chose life with them down to the southern continent to continue on, whileGold Elfled those who chose to stay and resist.”
“In that battle, the already sparse population ofGold Elfkind suffered grievously, with the majority of its numbers meeting their end… including the king’s own second daughter, theDivine Warriorof the elves.”
“Divine Warriorof the elves?”
“That’s right… and funny you ask, that Divine Warrior also went by the name of Tillysha — the same as yours!” Didelai suddenly piped up.
Of course, the elf race had a lot of common names. Aistridewas a name that existed plenty within theMoon Elfclan, so sharing a name with the legendary warrior wasn’t anything to lose sleep over. Didelai didn’t think much of it.
But hearing that,Tillyshasubtly fidgeted her fingers.
“Now, theMoon Elfled the survivingElvesaway from our ancestral home of thousands of years, heading towards theSages’ Forestin the southeastern part of the continent—what we now call theElf Forest.”
“At the time, theMoon Elfsand the rest of the survivingElveswere heavy-hearted about the fall of our ancestral home and the deaths of our comrades, but still somewhat thankful that the elves would not face extinction. We built a new home there.”
“Forgive the seeming stupidity of my words, but both me and the other high-rankingMoon Elfs, although grieving over the loss of theSacred Treeand theGold Elves, secretly congratulated ourselves for making the right decision and saving the whole clan.”
“The old era had ended, and the new was beginning. Even as everyone dwelled on their sorrows, life went on, day after passing day until theElf Mother Goddfinally descended punishment upon us elves who had abandoned our kin and homeland.”
“The longer we were away from theSacred Tree, the more we found our connection with nature and the forest waning, our powers slipping from our grasp.”
“Even worse, as time wore on, we could feel our strength, talents, vitality, and the powers we once wielded ebbing away.”
“While we high elves could bear this for a few hundred years with not much consequence, the effect on the rest of the elves was enough to disrupt their daily lives.”
“The elves called this phenomenon the ‘decline’, and we assumed back then that it was akin to a virus contracted from being on foreign soil.”
“To deal with the ‘epidemic’, theMoon Elf Kingsecretly initiated a thorough investigation. The investigation found that the elves who had forgotten the contours of theSacred Tree, or worse, saw theSacred Treeas a symbol fabricated by theGold Elfsto control elf ideology suffered the worst symptoms. Some even began showing signs of aging, something that shouldn’t happen to elves.” Didelai’s voice carried a thread of remorse as he continued.
Tillyshafocused silently on the tale, as Aurel sat frozen like a statue and Little covered her mouth, her wide eyes staring in alarm before quickly checking her reflection in the mirror set within the tower.
“Though only a few completely opposed or even grew antagonistic towards theSacred Tree, the results were clear. MostMoon Elvesstill refused to believe the evidence, wanting to investigate further. However, a harsh reality soon slapped them in the face.”
“Elves who still harbored respect for theSacred Tree, who remembered and yearned for our ancestral home, seemed completely unaffected by this ‘decline’. Nothing could taint their pure hearts — no sickness could touch them.”
“Immaculate, pure — yes, elves are supposed to be that way.”
“We, the rebellious ones who doubted theSacred Tree, who lost faith in our own kind, were the diseased part of the elf race.”
“The ‘Mother’Sacred Treehad not forgiven us. It showed each rebellious child with the stark reality that our long lives, theDivine Authoritychosen by the gods, our amazing talents, our beautiful appearances, and our ever-youthful faces — that none of this was ours by right, but a gracious gift from the generousSacred Tree.”
“Abandon theSacred Tree, sever all ties with it, and these blessings will be slowly taken back from the elves.”
“Such was the punishment…” Didelai closed his eyes. “This was the harshest judgment from our loving mother against her unruly children.”
“Afterward, I awakened to the reality of how incredibly wrong I had been. Trying to make amends at that point, however, was too late.” Didelai glanced towards Tillysha, his clouded eyes flickering with a glimmer of hope.
“I have conducted much research into theSacred TreeandGold Elves, arriving at the hypothesis that theGold Elfkind still persists, that theSacred Treehas not perished. Our punishment isn’t the outright deprivation of life, but only weakness, proving my theory.”
“That is why I always wait, waiting for the day theGold Elveswill return, the day theSacred Treewill return.”
“Having said all this, you surely understand now.”
“You asked me about my motives for helping you, but really, there was no need. Even the most selfish among elves, if they understand the gravity of the matter and the larger picture, would be compelled to protect you without hesitation.”
“The life of theGolden Elfis directly connected to the prosperity of theSacred Tree. Historically, theSacred Treehas blossomed and flourished during times when the numbers of theGold Elfkind were at their peak, when the Elf clan was at its mightiest.”
Tillysha contemplated this while watching the weird antics of Little, who remained absorbed in staring at her reflection.
So, the little legend she mentioned wasn’t fake after all.
“If that’s true, then I don’t understand why other moon elves would want to harm me.” Tillysha voiced her confusion, not thinking theMoon Elfwould all be clueless fools oblivious to the situation.
“It might be my poor choice of words, but they wouldn’t dare endanger your life. Quite the contrary, they would absolutely avoid letting you run any risk. The ‘harm’ I’m referring to is a matter of personal freedom.”
“They don’t want you interfering with their governance, yet they’re wary of letting you wander freely, fearing for your safety. The most probable scenario is that they would place you under house arrest. From that day forward, you’d lose all freedom. You’d always be followed, and you’d be no different from a prisoner, albeit with lavish material conditions.”
“Don’t we always laugh at humans who know better yet make the same mistakes repeatedly? Aren’t we the same? ” Didelai’s expression turned a bit chilly as he continued.
“Those stubborn old-timers have been too consumed by power. They care about maintaining their authority even at the cost of the lives and well-being of their fellow elves.”
“And the stand of theMoon Elf King?”
“The Moon Elf King?… I don’t know his stand, but ignorance might be bliss. If he truly wanted to resolve things, why would he keep his eyes closed and pretend to be blind? He understands these principles all too well.”
“Maybe a bit presumptuous of me to say, but I suggest not placing too much hope in the Moon Elf King anyway. It might well be that the examples I’ve cited involve him as well…”
While being quite open with Tillysha, the expressions of the present elves remained calm, as though these explicit accusations were of no significance to them.
“Well then, Aistride?”
“As for Princess Aistride, don’t worry about her. The princess, his daughter, is wiser than him, and besides, she’s already sworn to support you.” Didelai huffed. “Playing these human games of imprisoning relatives to maintain control— those old geezers have almost forgotten they’re elves, not humans who use such dirty tactics.”
“Maybe I have no right to speak about them, but they don’t even want to correct their mistakes, ready to drag elf-kind down the wrong path until the bitter end.”
“Regardless, where you go is your freedom, but under no circumstances allow yourself to get into danger, nor let it be known that you are aGold Elf.”
“If you encounter difficulties, just say the word. Within my capacity, I’ll do my best, and beyond it, I’ll still push myself to the limit.” With that, Didelai chuckled.
“Your arrival is indeed a test and an opportunity for redemption granted to me by theSacred Tree.”
“Alright, that’s all I have to say. If you recall something or are willing to talk, feel free to find me at any time. TheTower of Sagesis your personal back-garden to explore as you wish.”
“With us here, there are no outsiders. If anything unexpected happens and unwanted people come along, I will haveLittlenotify you.”
Tillysha remained silent, nodding absent-mindedly, seemingly lost in thought, without giving a response.
Didelai didn’t mind; the information shared today was indeed quite a lot. Combined with Tillysha’s amnesia, it would take some time for her to process all this.
The fragile trust betweenGold ElfandMoon Elfwould need sincerity and patience to mend. As long as Tillysha wasn’t overly hostile towards theMoon Elves, everything could be taken slowly. Didelai wasn’t in a rush.
What Didelai didn’t realize was that Tillysha’s thoughts weren’t solely about trusting or not trusting theMoon Elves. She had drawn quite a few conclusions from his words indirectly.
For instance, even aMoon Elfelite elder like Didelai didn’t know where theGold Elfwere, let alone the average elf.
“Didelai, aside from me, do you know of any otherGold Elfstill alive in the world today?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths.” Didelai gave a bitter smile. “Since Your Highness is, as of now, the onlyGold ElfI know of, that’s why I approached you with such urgency.”
“Well, what about the otherMoon Elves? Do they know?’
“I’m not sure about that. But I believe they should also be ignorant. Otherwise, I can’t imagine what they’d do.” To preserve their power, incarcerating surviving kin who had fought to protect their home wasn’t out of the question, though it was an uncomfortable possibility Didelai tried not to voice.
“Didelai, may I suggest some improvements for the academy?”
“Go ahead.” Though unsure why the conversation suddenly jumped directions, Didelai was still willing to listen.
“My Divine Son suggests that the entrance regulations ofColeman Academycontain a soul test which makes the process unnecessarily drawn-out, and it can be eliminated.” Doubting whether a Divine Daughter would also undergo a soul test, Tillysha let it slip as Dillin’s suggestion.
“Soul test?” Didelai’s brow furrowed slightly. “What soul test? Our academy only has a spiritual power test.”
Ah. Tillysha now had her answer.
There’s simply no way the otherMoon Elvesare completely disconnected from theGold Elves.
Impossible.
