“Alright, that’s enough,” I said after half an hour of instruction. “Remember, until you’re properly trained, this is only meant to be a last resort. Stick with what you know for now, ok?”

Aurea nodded before asking, “Did you want to go see Mors and the elves now?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot! Lead the way.”

Aurea holstered the pistol in the holster I had gifted her, walking towards the log cabin on the other side of the summit. As we walked, she elaborated on the current condition of the elves. They had settled into their new home, but were still somewhat distrustful of Mors and herself. They especially seemed to fear the 2 instructor robots that Aurea trained with. Pulling open the door, Aurea poked her head in and said, “Hey Mors! How’s it going?”

I heard Mors answer from inside, “The children trust faster, but the parent’s aren’t as open minded.”

I walked into the cabin to see Mors holding out one of the wooden toys I had made for the elven children. Both of the children looked interested in it, but the parents were stopping them from grabbing it.

“And you are?” Mors asked in a curious tone once he saw me. I again explained that this was merely a new body. Once I confirmed my identity, I asked Mors if he had made any progress getting the elves used to their new home. He replied in the negative, saying that although they weren’t as apprehensive, it was evident that they still wouldn’t trust anyone here. They had barely left the cabin over the last few days, only going out to relieve themselves, and never going alone. I decided to try talking to them, hoping to get at least a bit of useful information.

“Let’s hope that book on the elvish language was accurate.”

“You and Aurea can go now. I’d like to talk to them privately.”

Mors got up and bowed before leaving with Aurea. As soon as they left, I turned to the elves, who were huddled together, saying, “Verathim horathis. Et garthen yagris?”

“Sactrid jiact ven racted?” the father asked, surprise evident in his eyes.

“Let’s see, that should translate to…uh…”

“[Translation: ‘You speak the tongue?’”

“I knew that!”

“[Yes, of course you did.]”

“Yes, I speak elvish.” I replied. Eve’s processing power made learning new languages incredibly easy, like when I first started learning the Pithan language of the empire.

“What do you want from us? If it is pleasure you seek, I beg of you, spare our children,” the mother pleaded.

I snorted, “What ever gave you that idea?”

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“It is always so with you humans,” the father grunted. “You kill, you steal, you violate. You’ve never changed, and you never will change.”

“Hah,” I barked out a short laugh, “On that, we agree. But you see,” I said, holding up my hand, “I am not human.” Responding to my mental command, the nanobots in my hand began to swirl and ripple, changing its color from brown to black, from black to green, and from green to blue. The elves watched in shock as silence filled the air.

“What…what are you?” said the father. The children were mesmerized by the display, completely forgetting the potential danger they were in.

“I’ll explain that part in a moment. But rest assured, I have no ill-intentions towards you or your family. Think about it, if I really wanted something from you, I would have taken it already.”

“Alright, I suppose that’s true,” the father relented.

“Then allow me to introduce myself. I am Evan, a disembodied consciousness in a robotic body.”

“I am Vulre, and this is my wife Aleathra,” Vulture said curtly.

Rubbing their heads, Aleathra introduced the two elven kids, “And these are our children, Myrill and Kynia,” introducing the boy first and the girl second. “Of course, we will let them choose their own names when they are ready,” she added.

I recalled that the book on the elvish language of Hvenst mentioned that elven children get to choose new names for themselves once they come of age at about 30 years old. An elven child was considered of age when their 8th finger and toe fully grew out.

“What’s your family idiom?” I asked out of curiosity. Unlike humans, who passed down last names through the family, elves passed down family idioms. These unique phrases could identify a family, with commoner families having 4 word family idioms. Elven aristocrats had a 10 word long family idiom, and the royal family had a 30 word long family idiom. Influential families that were not yet aristocrats, such as wealthy merchants or renowned generals, were allowed to have family idioms up to 9 words in length.

“Blood Upon The Snow,” Vulre recited.

“A fine idiom,” I said, nodding in satisfaction.

I chatted with the elves for a bit longer, inquiring as to their lives before being captured by humans. Vulre was a grasshand, the elven term for an apothecary or herbalist, while Aleathra was a gardener. Together, they ran a medicine shop near the border between Hvenesia and Thenia. He and his family were later captured during a lightning raid by the animal warriors. After that, they were moved around Thenia, serving 3 or 4 different families before being bought by a traveling human merchant. They were transported from Thenia and through Senland before finally ending up in Ocaephis, where I found them. Luckily for them, their children had been kept ‘pure’, seeing as they would fetch a higher price.

Vulre turned out to be 77 years old, while his wife was 75 years old. The children were twins, only being 13 years old, which would be equivalent to a human child of 6 or 7 years. Due to their young age, the children only had 6 toes. But if one looked closely, they would be able to make out a 7th toe beginning to grow at the edge of their foot.

I stood up once the sun began to set, thanking the elven family for their time.

“Is there anything I can do to get you more comfortable?” I asked before I left.

“I…we…would greatly appreciate it if we could get a few more blankets and such. And we would also appreciate it if you told your subordinate golems to be a bit more careful with us, especially with the children.” Aleathera said when Vulre didn’t say anything.

“Of course, you have my word. I can’t let you leave just yet, but I promise my subordinates will not bother you. And if you need anything, just ask Aurea and Mors to pass it on,” I answered kindly.

Leaving the cabin, I looked up at the brilliant night sky. Without the light pollution of modern cities, the stars were able to display their full brilliance.

“Time to plan my next move.”