Chapter 2: Names and Salvation!
Shortly after waking up, Satoru watched as the elves began gathering. It was a rare occurrence but not one that was unusual. The children were sleeping, but all of the adult elves were gathering near the tree. Having a meeting.
"A letter arrived last night. From our siblings in the north."
The eldest spoke as the last elf took their seat. At the mention of "the north" all of the elves seemed to be shocked. Similarly, Satoru was surprised to hear about these "siblings", he had only just gotten used to the idea that he was the mother and father being that he was a monoecious tree. So he was quite surprised to hear that they had even more elf siblings.
" It seems that a plague has begun to spread in the nation of Eryndral, and it seems to be spreading most rapidly among the population in the city of Varethil. "
He spoke with a heavy sigh as he raked a hand through his hair while holding the letter in the other hand. His words caused many of the elves to murmur amongst themselves.
"E-elder brother, if it's that place…"
A timid elf woman spoke up, she had pastel coloured lilac hair and big pretty caramel coloured eyes.
"The elves in the North all follow the Demon Lord vaelzith, a-are you really considering helping them?"
Despite her timid appearance, it was hard to ignore how her eyes seemed to burn with a fiery passion as she spoke about the northern elves. Not just her but many of the other elves seemed to agree.
'It seems that not all of the elves get along with one another..'
[ Notice ]
[ Yes, many of the elven creatures are spread throughout the 8 nations, most of them seem to have a rather strenuous relationship, nearly all of them seem to have bad blood with the northern elves in specific. ]
' I see.. that's new news to me.. '
" Dear brothers and sisters.. I understand your concern and frustrations. "
The eldest elf spoke again. His words coming out in a calm and firm voice, but despite how he spoke, from the way he clenched his fist and sighed, it was obvious that he too shared similar thoughts as the rest.
" Our siblings in the north.. no, calling them that is an insult! Not only were they the first to turn away from the tribe and abandon our parents, but they also are the reason why our other siblings are being sold and used as a lesser race species. Or did you forget about all of that elder brother! You can't seriously be thinking about helping them? "
Interrupting the elder as he spoke, another elf spoke, this time it was an older elf with short green hair and golden eyes, he spoke with words that shot out like venom as he looked around at the faces of the other elves sitting around.
" I understand your pain and hesitation, however.. while they may have done something wrong.. no, completely unforgivable. It would make us no better than them if we turned a blind eye to their suffering and allowed them to die. At the very least.. I believe that they should be able to pass in their homeland as opposed to a foreign nation. "
Once he spoke the atmosphere, still tense and heavy, began to waver. Some of the elves hated the idea of the northern elves being anywhere near the land, they seemed to completely hate and distrust their northern siblings. However, some of the elves, while still distrustful, seemed to agree that leaving them to die in another nation seemed too cruel even for them.
" To be honest.. I have no intention of forcing any of you to accept the northern elves into our homeland. They abandoned us and that's a fact that will never change, but another unchanging truth is that they are still our siblings and that's why I am humbly requesting that all of you give your opinions on the matter. I didn't think it fair to make the decision on my own. That's why, if you're against them coming to this place then I will reject their request. "
' From the sounds of it, they're not wrong to feel disdain for their northern siblings.. however, if I could speak to them, I would tell them not to turn them away. '
Satoru watched as the elves all spoke. They ended up voting anonymously. 52% of the votes, not surprisingly, chose to not help and the other 48 chose to help. On that note the elves slowly made their way back into their homes with the last to leave being the eldest elf. He had a complex look on his face and before leaving he turned towards Satoru and got onto his knees and spoke.
" Father.. Please forgive us. Forgive me for being indecisive on such an important matter.. and please forgive my siblings. They have been hurt and more than their own pain, they are angered when thinking of how our siblings' betrayal must have hurt you as well. "
Looking at him now, he seemed deeply troubled and torn up about the entire situation. For about 30 minutes he prayed, apologizing and asking for forgiveness, forgiveness for his own mistakes and shortcomings as well as the mistakes of all of the elves. The way he took on the blame as if everything was his fault made Satoru feel angry.
' He's not even the one who abandoned or hurt his siblings and yet he's the one asking for forgiveness for everyone. Maybe I'm selfish but this is why kind people are taken advantage of! If I could I would scold him for being so soft towards people who don't deserve it. '
The situation angered Satoru. The thought of his children not getting along didn't originally bother him too much. Afterall, siblings of any race in every universe have their times when they don't get along. However, once he learned that not only did they decide to leave but caused more of their siblings to be taken away and sold like cattle, that angered Satoru.
' It's one thing for siblings to have disagreements and such.. but selling your siblings is another thing entirely. I'm not kind enough to forgive everyone indiscriminately simply because they are in a bad situation. I'm also not the type to care about things such as familial ties. They've committed a crime that is completely unacceptable regardless of who they are. With that being said.. Azeroth, is there no way for me to communicate with the elves? '
[ Notice ]
[ Communication is currently not possible. However, if you'd like, creating a skill for such a task wouldn't be difficult to do. Would you like for me to create a skill? ]
[ Yes, No ]
Without even a moment's hesitation, Satoru immediately agreed.
' Yes, I feel as though this skill would come in handy quite a bit. '
[ Notice: Creating New Skill… ]
[ Skill creation complete.]
[ New skill acquired: Telepathy ]
' Nice, thanks Azeroth now I can speak to the elves instead of just watching them. '
After gaining the new skill, Satoru decided to waste no time and immediately spoke. He wasn't sure if it would work right away because it was his first time using the skill. Furthermore, he had no idea if the eldest elf which had left would be able to hear him considering that he had already left and went home.
'I'm not exactly sure of the range for this skill but.. here goes. '
{ My child.. I've heard your prayers. Please, if you can hear me, come. Come to me. }
' I need to check if he could hear me, so I told him to come. However, on a different note. I think it's about time that I begin giving names to my children. It's been well over 300 years and yet I haven't named any of them. It's going to be hard to communicate with them if I referred to all of them as only "elves" and "my child". '
While Satoru thought of what to name his children, a figure hesitantly approached him. His long black hair swaying lightly in the cool breeze as he gently stood in front of the tree. Then, after a moment of silence he spoke in a quiet voice.
"Father.. I'm here. I'm sure you called for me.. I heard a voice in my head telling me to come to it.. the voice was yours wasn't it?"
For the first time, Satoru saw a new expression on the face of the eldest elf. One that looked both sad and hopeful. It occurred to Satoru that maybe the elves, especially the oldest one, must have wanted to hear his voice for many years. They always prayed to and spoke to him every day and yet never got a response.
' It must have been lonely. '
He thought to himself while he gazed at the boy with pity.
" You came. I was worried that you would not have heard me. I'm glad that it was not the case. "
***
After the meeting I watched as everyone left.
' You're not wrong to feel upset and resentful after such a disheartening betrayal. '
Sigh
"Father… did I make the right decision.."
Despite knowing that even bringing up a matter related to our northern siblings would cause distress and discomfort amongst our siblings I still did so because I believed that they should know.
' Father… what should I do.. '
A feeling of hopelessness and loneliness began to swell up inside of me.
' In times such as these, I should be the most sure. How can I be the leader for my siblings if I struggle to even make decisions? '
Despite knowing that, I felt at a loss. The results had come back as I had expected them to. However, in the end it simply wasn't in my nature to completely ignore the suffering of our dear family. That's why, I made my way towards the Tree of Life, and kneeled down, I prayed for forgiveness not only for my own sins and shortcomings but for those of our siblings.
"As the eldest sibling and leader, it should be my duty and responsibility to protect and teach my younger brothers and sister and yet in their time of need I was ultimately of no use. Father.. Please forgive me for this unsavoury situation."
After praying to father I left for my own home and began reading the rest of the documents and letters I had scattered about on my desk. About 30 minutes after I had returned home, I suddenly heard a voice.
{My child..}
The voice was soft, it was neither feminine or masculine, it was also pleasant to listen to even if it was only a brief moment. The voice requested faintly that if I could hear it, to come to it. Somehow, I instinctively knew that it belonged to my father, despite never hearing him before.
' Is it really his voice? But… he's never spoken before.. not even when our siblings left the forest. '
My thoughts were all over the place as I began tidying up my disheveled appearance and left.
"However.. who else would address me as ' my child. ' who else would have that kind of power to be able to casually speak to me via telepathy. There's very few with that kind of power.."
Despite that being the case, very few did not mean there were none. I couldn't help but hesitate even as my legs moved on their own towards the tree. Afterall, elves are highly sought after because of their natural affinity with mana and their long lives and beauty. That's the entire reason that half of our siblings are even being bought and sold as slaves to foreign nations. Nobles especially, tend to "collect" elves to use as playthings or magic slaves. I couldn't help but be on edge, and yet I wanted to trust and believe that maybe, just maybe. For the first time ever, perhaps father had finally found me worthy and decided to speak to me. Maybe he was unhappy with my decisions as the elder of the village. Regardless of the reasons, just being able to speak to father, the hope of a chance had sparked a flame inside of me and I couldn't help but to rush to him. After getting to the tree which still stood tall and beautifully in the middle of the forest, surrounded by gorgeous flowers, animals, and healthy grass. I couldn't help but admire the sight. No matter how many times one sees the beauty of the tree, one could never grow tired of the sight. It was a beauty that one could never grow used to or tired of.
"Father.. I'm here."
I called out to father. Still unsure of myself.
'Did I truly hear your voice speaking to me? Or did I merely imagine it due to the stress and guilt?'
That's when I finally heard it.
{ You've come. I was worried that you wouldn't have heard me. I'm glad. }
My heart began to race. For the first time since our creation.. Father was finally speaking.
"Father! I- I am unworthy of such an honour.. to be able to hear your voice like this.. thank you for allowing me such a privilege."
After confirming that the voice I had heard was indeed the voice of our parent.. my father. I couldn't help it, being able to finally speak to one's own parent after so long was bound to make me emotional. Tears streamed down my face against my will and I did my best to wipe them away but they continued to fall. So for 20 minutes at least, I wept like a small child and father silently waited until I was done crying to speak.
{ I'm so sorry.. It must have been very hard and lonely to live so long without so much as a word of guidance. }
His voice sounded just as light and sweet and yet it was warm, warm light, the soft touch of sunlight after a cold dark night. It felt as if his words were gently embracing me. Simply hearing his voice made it feel as though all of the troubles and worries and stress had melted away.
" Father.. You called for me. What is it that you want me to do? "
After calming down I felt even more determined and loyal to father. I knew that if he had gone through the trouble of speaking to and summoning me here that whatever it was must have been important.
' Afterall.. if he were only interested in having a chat he would have waited or simply spoken to me via telepathy another time. '
I knew that him summoning me here shortly after our meeting couldn't have been a coincidence.
{ You're smart, and catch on quickly.. I wonder who you could have gotten that from.. yes.. I called you here because I want you to do something for me. }
Mm-
Honoured and shocked by his compliment, I can't help the slight blush that makes its way onto my ears.
"Whatever it is, I will carry out any task given by you father."
***
Sigh
' Honestly, my children are all very cute but.. they're way too strict.. It's like I'm some kind of God or something and they're not my children but my devote worshippers. '
Ignoring his feelings for a moment, Satoru continued to speak to his son for over 30 minutes. He told the elf that he wanted him to not abandon the northern elves.
"While the adult elves may have chosen to leave and committed sins that are unforgivable towards their siblings, that's no reason to make the children who had nothing to do with anything and just happened to be born suffer for the selfish sins of their parents and grandparents."
Immediately after hearing Satoru's words, the eldest elf seemed to brighten up, he agreed fervently that at least the children should be saved and given a chance. That's why it didn't take nearly as much convincing as Satoru had originally thought it would for him to get his son to agree to help the northern elves. The children would be allowed to come to the forest to live with their family. However, the adult and elderly elves were all to stay in the north as punishment not for abandoning the forest and leaving(because that is not a crime.) but for the crime of causing divisions amongst the elves as well as the crime of tricking and selling their own kin to be used as slaves and playthings for humans and other races. It was a cruel but fitting punishment that the two agreed upon and once the "meeting" was over, the eldest elf decided to hurriedly prepare to take action.
' I feel like he's way more excited than he should be.. '
Satoru thought as he watched the young elf hurry home with a new air about him.
[ Notice ]
[ I think his excitement stems from the promised reward more than anything. Afterall, names are quite important to all creatures except humans. Only powerful creatures and creatures with powerful owners who cherish them even have names. ]
' I see.. that somewhat makes sense.. that's probably why in the game the characters always freaked out whenever they ran into a named devil or why monsters who could speak and had names were considered "Special Ranked" monsters. '
[ Exactly, that's why, your son must have been extra happy to hear that you'd give him a name if he did well. I'm sure all of your children would want one as well. ]
' Hrm… it feels like some kind of cheat though.. I was already planning to give them all names anyways '
The night seemed to go by slower than usual because Satoru had been trying desperately to come up with a good name.
At the very break of dawn, The black-Haired elf made his way out of his home and prepared to leave the forest. That was until he was stopped by a young horse.
{ Take it, it will be a lot faster than walking and if you have your own horse then you won't have to risk trying to buy one from humans. }
' The horses of this world aren't too different from horses of earth. If anything, they're more akin to unicorns, in fact, the only thing keeping these horses from being unicorns is the fact that they don't have wings. '
Satoru thought to himself as he watched his eldest son jump onto the horse's back and make his way out of the forest. With the horse it should not only help him to get to the destination way faster, but he should have an extra "layer of protection" since this species happens to be a type of monster which is both considered endangered therefore legally protected, but also are known to be extremely difficult to ride because of their wild and aggressive nature. However, one who is tamed tends to be quite easy to handle and they are also extremely intelligent, and loyal to their owners.
' I still wonder what they're called, in the game it was something…horse.. I think? I only saw one and never really tried taking it since I had my own familiar.. '
[ Notice ]
[ Hellspawn Horse: A type of demonic beast. Usually has at least one horn and a brutal temperament. These horses often only are tamed by individuals with a more fearsome temperament and/or aura than their own. Basically, Hellspawn Horses don't let those that they deem as weaker than they are tame them. ]
' That makes sense then, no wonder why no one even dared to approach the horse when it came into the forest. However.. it's been staying by my side since it came, is it because I'm the tree of life? '
[ Notice ]
[ While your presence may automatically attract creatures in the same way that pollen attracts bees, it's not always the reason why certain creatures may be drawn to you. In this case, it would seem that the horse simply chose you as its owner and came to you. It could be because of a variety of factors but as of now there is no way to know yet. I believe that it may have originally been drawn to you because of your aura. ]
' My aura? How would it have sensed my aura? It was nowhere near the forest but still came directly to me. '
[ Notice ]
[ It would seem that you aren't aware of it yourself… I would have thought that you'd have noticed by now considering how long it's been. ]
After saying those words, Satoru felt as if there was something that he had been severely unaware of and felt sheepish. However, before he even got to ask Azeroth about it, suddenly he Azeroth spoke again.
[ Notice ]
[ Mind's Eye: Allows the user to sense anything. Is not limited to just physical properties. ]
[ Why don't you try Sensing the magicules in the surrounding area? ]
Baffled and confused, Satoru wants to protest but instead decides to give it a try.
' How exactly…? '
After thinking about it to himself he decided that it would be best to just calm down and "breathe"
' I don't have eyes, or anything that a human has but well.. I'm sure I could do it if I just think of it in that way.. just "sense" it the same way a human would sense their surroundings if they can't see.. sounds.. feelings.. '
Huuaaaa
For a few seconds Satoru felt awkward about it but after a few seconds had passed he was able to clear his mind and relax. That's when he finally felt it. He began by sensing his very "core" in the middle of his trunk was a ball of energy.
' Woah.. it's.. kinda scary. '
The ball in the middle of his "body" was almost spherically shaped and despite feeling thick and concentrated had no form, almost like a dark mass of energy being sucked into a gaping hole with no sign of it being full.
After sensing the core, Satoru felt as if he could "see" things that he couldn't before. That's because he could. Around his body he could see the thick mass of very concentrated iridescent mana that came from him and spread not just throughout the entire forest but beyond the forest for as far as the eye could see.
' W-woah.. have I been just.. oozing mana like this the entire time?? Non-stop?? '
[ Notice ]
[ That is correct. For over 300 years since your birth, you have been leaking mana. That is why the forest has managed to retain its beauty as well as why so few outsiders are able to make it into the forest despite being drawn to it. That is also partially why creatures like the Hellspawn Horse was able to find you and came into the forest. It seems that the horse most likely either got lost or abandoned and sensed your mana and decided to follow the source. ]
' However, the reason why it listened to me when I told it to accompany the eldest.. '
[ Correct. It's because the horse seems to have decided that you will be its master and so it followed your orders despite you never officially taming it. ]
' I- I see… if that's the case.. When they come back.. I'll give both of them names. What I'm most surprised about however… is that the horse understood me.. honestly when I told it to go I was unsure of if it would work for various reasons. '
[ Notice ]
[ You told it to go via telepathy. It seems that you are unaware so I will inform you just this