While reminiscing over the memories of his previous life, Aldon felt drowsy and fell asleep.
Aldon slept soundly till some noise woke him up. As he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was in a crib. When he looked up, he saw an unfamiliar face, that of a different lady than Luthien’s, hunched over him, looking at him adoringly. As he searched for the source of the noise which woke him up, he saw Elrohir arguing with another lady whose features resembled that of Elrohir. Noticing that Aldon had woken up due to their quarrel, both of them shut up promptly and came over to his side. The other lady who had been looking over him when he woke up rebuked both of them in a soft voice. Seeing the pair embarrassed by the other lady’s rebuke, Aldon felt a kind of warmth he had never felt before. He felt as if he had been a member of this family for his whole life. Unfortunately, that feeling of warmth was quickly replaced by that of cold realization as he realized that, since he was reincarnated with his memories intact, he would always be an outsider in this family if they ever got to know his secret.
But after observing the family’s interactions, he felt as though they would accept him for whoever he was. These contradicting thoughts filled Aldon’s mind as he looked on absentmindedly at the squirming pair, who were still being chastised by the other lady.
When Aldon came back to his senses, he found that all three people had ceased their actions and were bent over his crib, intently staring at him, admiring his face when he was absentminded. Embarrassed, Aldon’s eyes darted everywhere. Suddenly, that feeling of warmth enveloped him as his other contradicting thoughts melted in front of the gentle radiance of it. Aldon made up his mind to tell his new family the truth. He attempted to talk to them, “Hey guys? Have a minute? I’ve got something to say.”
Unfortunately for Aldon, the language he was speaking was the one he was familiar with, the Human Tongue and the Elves who were present in the room only knew the Elven Tongue. For them, it sounded like some unintelligible baby talk. Excited by it, Luthien, who was resting in a bed beside Aldon, jumped down from it and rushed near the crib. All four of them bent over the crib, encouraging Aldon to speak. Aldon once again tried communicating with them. But he quickly realized the prominent language barrier which was present. The family cheered at Aldon’s attempt to talk and encouraged him even more. The voices of the four of them altogether encouraging Aldon made quite a commotion.
Hearing the commotion, an elf with a head full of pure-white hair rushed into the room. He saw the four elves bent over the crib, encouraging Aldon. He sighed a breath of relief as he was worried ṭhat something bad had happened.
Seeing another person rushing into the already chaotic room, Aldon lashed out irritatedly, “Here comes a geezer to add more chaos to the already chaotic room! Man, I cannot get a moment of peace here!” Hearing Aldon, the elf who rushed in became speechless.
Noticing the elf who rushed in, Elrohir straightened up and spoke curiously, “Hello Father! What brings you here?” The elf, still stunned by Aldon, didn’t hear Elrohir speak. Elrohir awkwardly scratched his chin as he awaited the elf’s response. The lady who was earlier quarreling with Elrohir whispered to him, “Brother, it seems the old fart’s finally gone senile. I always wondered when he was going to lose it.” The elf’s ear twitched as he finally came back to his senses and heard the whisper. The elf smacked her head lightly as he chuckled and spoke, “Well, my dear Aerin, your old man still has some years left in him before you can call him senile.” Aerin smiled and, remembering something, spoke excitedly as she dragged the elf to the crib, “Come, Father! Aldon is attempting to speak! It is soo adorable!!”. The elf stared at Aldon, thinking that he had imagined Aldon speaking, and wondered whether he was actually going senile.
Seeing the elf staring at him, Aldon spoke annoyedly, knowing that no one could understand him, “What the fuck are you looking at? Eh? Are monkeys dancing on my face? Why are you staring? Eh?” The elf, stunned, raised a trembling finger as he asked Aldon in the Human Tongue, “Di...Did you just speak?” Aldon went silent. The other elves all looked on curiously at the interaction, not understanding it in the slightest. Aldon spoke slowly and testingly, “Hey geezer, can you understand me?” The elf instinctively retorted in Human Tongue, “Don’t call me geezer. I’m your grandfather! Show some respect!” His brain then processed what had happened.
After thinking for a while, the elf muttered lightly, “Impregnable Barrier.” The instant the words came out of his mouth, his clothes started fluttering wildly as a light green aura erupted from him and enclosed the room. The room was now covered in a light green dome.
Seeing the elf cast Impregnable Barrier, Elrohir and others realized something. They solemnly observed the interaction between the elf and Aldon. After casting the Impregnable Barrier, the elf spoke in Human Tongue, “How can you speak in Human Tongue just after your birth? Do you have memories from a previous life?” Aldon took a deep breath as he prepared himself to reveal the truth. Seeing the elf’s curious yet slightly concerned face, Aldon started speaking, “Yes. It seems that I have been reincarnated as your grandson.” Taking another deep breath, he began to talk about his previous life. He narrated how he was brought to this world, how he became the ‘Hero,’ the victories he fought hard for, the defeat and sacrifices he made heavy-heartedly, and all other events he experienced as the ‘Hero.’ He paused as he observed the elf’s reaction. The elf had a proud face as he heard his grandson’s exploits in his previous life. Though puzzled by the reaction, Aldon continued, “After the vanquishment of the Demon King, the King wanted to throw a celebration in our Party’s honor. The ‘Feast of Celebration,’ he called it. That was when everything began to go awry...”
He painfully narrated the betrayal of the King and his Party and the massacre of the city. While he was narrating the futile sacrifice of the Healer, he found, to his horror, that he couldn’t remember the face of the Healer. He couldn’t even recall his memories with her! Aghast, he stopped his narration, trying his hardest to remember her. Though Aldon tried his best, he couldn’t remember her. Though he knew in his heart that she was the closest person to him, he couldn’t remember a damn thing about her. Heartbroken, he continued his narration. He narrated the futile sacrifice of the Healer with tears in his eyes. He then continued, aiming to complete his story, “After that, white light filled the surroundings, and an obscure face materialized and spoke with me. Though I can’t seem to remember what we spoke about, I remember hearing ‘Come to me’ and ‘the Sanctuary,’ and a vision of a beautiful expanse of forest, which acted as a Sanctuary for the creatures within it. And that’s the last thing I remember of my previous life.”
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Nervous of the elf’s reaction towards the truth, Aldon kept his head down. The elf suddenly lifted Aldon from the crib and held him gently, and started caressing his head, trying to soothe him. The elf spoke gently to Aldon, “Oh, you poor child! It’s all right now!” Hearing the soft voice full of concern, something inside Aldon broke through, and tears started dripping down the corners of his eyes. All the frustration, anger, and grief he had kept bottled up inside him all burst through as he cried on the arms of the elf. The elf consoled him gently. After he had cried all the negative feelings out, Aldon, clearly embarrassed, asked the elf, “How are you accepting all this so easily? Don’t you feel awkward? Or even malice towards me?” The elf, placing Aldon back in the crib, laughed and replied, “Sure, the concept of Reincarnation may seem dubious, but there have been many verified records of Reincarnation in our Elves’ history. So, though it is a very rare phenomenon, it’s not unheard of. As for feeling awkward, why should I? For elves, the lifespan of a human is almost comparable to a young child. So, for me, you are still a child! I can clearly sense a familial bond between you and me! You are, without a doubt, my grandson! What reason do I have to feel any malice for my own flesh and blood?” Aldon felt warm and welcome hearing the elf’s words.
The elf, smacking his head, continued, “Ah! How silly of me. I haven’t introduced myself! My name is Haldir. You can call me Grandpa!” Lifting Aldon once again from the crib, Haldir showed him Elrohir and spoke, “That is your father, Elrohir. He can be a little hot-blooded but always means well.” Gesturing to Luthien, he continued, “This is your mother, Luthien. She’s a sweet and caring lady!” Moving onto Aerin, he spoke, “This is your aunt, Aerin. She is a fierce lady and always prepared for anything.” Gesturing to the other lady in the room, he spoke, “This is your grandmother, Neia. She’s a caring old lady. Though, if she got to know I called her an old lady, she’ll probably kill me. Hehe.” He then continued, “You’re currently named ‘Aldon.’ It means ‘like a Tree.’ Do you want to be called by your previous life’s name?” Aldon replied, “No, I like the name ‘Aldon,’ Grandpa! From today onwards, I’m Aldon, the son of Elrohir and Luthien.”
After putting Aldon back in the crib, Haldir asked carefully, “Do I have your permission, to tell the truth to the family? Because they deserve it.” Aldon replied wryly, “Absolutely. That was my intention from the start. But, I couldn’t communicate with them properly. I hope they take it as well as you did.” Haldir laughed as he spoke, “If this old bag of bones could accept it, they surely can.”
Haldir turned to the family, who was looking both serious and curious. He stated that Aldon was a reincarnated being and slowly began explaining the circumstances leading to his reincarnation. He explained all the events word to word. After he finished explaining the event of death, Luthien and Neia held Aldon and began weeping. Elrohir, on the other hand, clenched his fists as his fury raised to the peak. His eyes turned bloodshot as a red aura trickled out of him uncontrollably. Aerin, on the other hand, had no visible changes in her face. But her eyes became as cold as ice. Seeing these reactions, Aldon feared the worst had happened and tightly closed his eyes. Noticing Aldon’s actions, Haldir bellowed loudly, “Elrohir, Aerin. I understand your emotions. But, now’s not the time. Not in front of the child!” Looking at the tightly closed eyes of Aldon, both Elrohir and Aerin softened up slightly.
Haldir then spoke lightly to Aldon, “Hey, little guy! No need to be afraid. These reactions are not what you think it is.” Aldon slowly opened his eyes and spoke, “They are not furious at me?” Laughing, Haldir replied, “No, no, no. It’s contrary. Luthien and Neia here couldn’t bear the tragic events of your previous life’s death and are weeping. Elrohir and Aerin are just furious at the betrayal and the injustice you faced in your previous life. They’re not angry at you; they’re just angry about how you were treated.”
Understanding that they were sad and angry for him, Aldon felt like he was on cloud nine. He couldn’t have been reincarnated in a better family than this. He thanked his lucky stars and felt happy.
As Aldon still had the physique of a newborn baby and had just experienced a stressful event, he began to feel weary. As sleep beckoned him, he spoke wryly to Haldir, “I really need to learn the Elven language to prevent future misunderstandings. Thanks for everything, Grandpa! *Yawn*” He quickly fell into a deep sleep with a smile on his face. Smiling gently, Haldir cast a calming spell on Aldon, wishing him a good sleep. Aldon’s peaceful smile tugged at the heartstrings of all the elves present. Not able to control himself, Elrohir questioned his father, “Father! How can you be so calm? Are you not furious at that bastard of a King and those inhuman Party members? Do you not care about your grandson?”
Haldir’s face quickly darkened, and his voice dropped low as he replied grimly, “Don’t I care about my only grandson? Are you out of your fucking mind, Elrohir? I controlled my anger, and you dare question, my love, for my grandson? Of course, I’m furious at those scumbags! Calm? I’m not calm! I am thinking of ways to deal with them once I get my hands on them. I could tear apart every single one of their joints till they’re near death, heal them and start all over again. Or, I could just cut their belly and slowly and excruciatingly yank their intestines out while they’re still conscious and watch them writhe in agony. Oh, the things I will do to them for harming my dear grandson.” The green aura slowly spilled from him as he spoke, and finally, it went wild due to his fury and shattered the Impregnable Barrier effortlessly. Perceiving Haldir’s fury, Elrohir laughed in satisfaction as bloodlust filled the surroundings. Aerin, silent till now, placed a hand on both her brother and her father and spoke, “This is not the place to discuss this type of matter. Not in the open. Let’s move to Father’s study. Let my nephew rest peacefully, without any bloodlust affecting his sleep. It has been an exhausting day for him.”
Both Haldir and Elrohir agreed to it. The three of them looked gently at Aldon sleeping peacefully in the arms of Luthien. Both Luthien and Neia had stopped weeping and were now looking dotingly upon the sleeping Aldon. The three of them then exited the room and proceeded towards the study.
***
In the adjacent mansion, an elf around the same age as Haldir paced anxiously outside a room. Suddenly, an explosion of green aura came from Haldir’s mansion. The elf muttered under his breath, “Who got that old dog so riled up? I haven’t seen him that enraged since the day he lost his brother in the War. It’s been a while since we saw each other; I should go check up on him soon.” Suddenly, a maid rushed out of the room and declared excitedly, “It’s a girl!! It’s a girl!! Congratulations, Master! You’re now a grandfather!” Excited by the news, the elf jumped around in joy a few times and entered the room.