New Heights (2)
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“My, what a pretty color, I’ve never seen a shade of black this polished before, it almost looks like your hair is sparkling. Hold still Liam, I need to get this nice and straight before I tie it up.” Mavis exclaimed under a soft breath as she finished another stroke through my hair.
When we were in the Wraithwoods, I usually kept it together with whatever I could find, but now that it hung freely, I was a bit surprised to learn that it could actually reach my shoulders. Once Mavis was done, I shook my head a few times to adjust my vision to the two dark bangs swinging down to frame my face.
“Thanks again grandma Mavis, it was really starting to become a problem during our training. Now I can finally see clearly again.”
“You’re very welcome my child, that should hold tight no matter what sort of trouble you get yourself into.”
“Trouble?” I repeated, lightly scratching my cheek. “I’m not planning on getting into any trouble at all, I’m just going to stop by Irina’s house for a little while. She’ll get upset if I take too long.”
“Oh, that’s not what I meant Liam. Aren’t you going to participate in this year’s trident? A lot of the young folks in your age group have just awakened their mana cores, including those from the noble houses. You young ones are always at the center of the festivities so some of them can get a bit heated with their newfound power around this time.” Mavis explained with a knowing attitude, though her tone sounded quite chipper on the surface, it somehow felt like there was more to her assertion.
She pressed a hand to her cheek and pulled me a bit closer. “I already know exactly what kind of terrifying situations your grandfather put you through to toughen you up but...” she paused, searching for the fickle words. “....If you find yourself in a tough spot, go easy on them alright? I would hate for some poor child to end up beaten to a pulp should they get on your bad side.”
Ah, so that’s what she was worried about. Having attended a large number of the sparring sessions between me and Erwin, Mavis was one of the few people—aside from Erwin himself — who had a solid grasp of what I could do now. She could be a bit cunning at times, but at heart, she was quite compassionate.
“I’m not going to get into any fights grandma, I'm just going over there to visit. Besides, most of the kids here don’t even know me that well.” I said, clasping her hand earnestly.
She let out a soft chuckle as she ruffled my hair.
“You’re quite mature for your age, so I’m sure you won’t start anything, but if it comes down to it Liam...” her words trailed off on an oddly cheery intonation.
“Alright, I’ll go easy on them, I promise.”
I was in no way eager to fight children, of all things, with my newfound strength. Her concern did hold some amount of weight, however, so I couldn’t exactly dismiss her claim that easily. I would have liked it if my presence in this place remained inconspicuous for the next few months, but knowing Erwin, that wasn’t a possibility.
The Magia Trident was an event held across Sylvan every year to test the proficiency of the young elven and druid mages who were set to gather in the various cities all across the country. It was composed of two sections, one was a set of individual matches that allowed younger mages to hurl their techniques at each other, and the second stage was a team hunting competition.
At first, it sounded a bit harsh, but in reality, the competition was part of a festival designed to select the three most promising mages from across the cities of Sylvan while also celebrating the return of their local deity, Fiona, upon her emergence from stasis.
I’d already agreed to Erwin’s terms of taking part in this charade, so as long as our agreement was still standing, I couldn’t remain inconspicuous.
Folding to my youthful charm, Mavis gave a warm smile and relented.
“Good, since you’re going that far then I’ll believe you. We can go together, your grandfather left without eating his breakfast and I'm sure Irina and the others are waiting for you.”
“Okay, it's been a while since we walked around together grandma, I’ll let you take the lead.”
“Oh? How kind of you. I’m relieved to hear you’re not yet at the age where walking with your grandparents is embarrassing,” Mavis said with a gentle smile, clearly pleased by the suggestion. She reminded me of Julia in that regard—they both had a deep-seated passion for looking after me.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.” I said, taking a step towards the door.
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Sylvan was full of many strange things.
Not just because of the serene, lush environment, which was also fairly different from what I’d grown used to in Zale, but the culture here was completely different too. For starters, the day-to-day lives of the adults mainly consisted of things like foraging and hunting outside the city, whilst the children were occupied with refining their mana cores under the tutelage of an instructor once they became of age.
Apparently, education here was primarily a matter of homeschooling, or private tutelage for those who could afford it.
Lesser spirits played a big part in that, since they were practically culminations of different elemental attributes, it was fairly easy for young mages to get a knack for mana through meditating and absorbing the spirits they had a natural affinity for. That was why Sylvan had one of the highest mage populations on the continent, a stark contrast to humans, who were believed to have one of the lowest awakening rates.
With this much ambient mana at their disposal, it was practically a given for the mages here to awaken a full two years earlier than the norm. Awakening later than the age of eight was only for ‘late bloomers’.
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Aside from that, there were also ‘greater spirits’ or ‘guardians’ here. Unlike their counterparts, they were a step beyond the typical masses of light listlessly floating about the forest. As the years went by, spirits of a similar nature could culminate to form a sentient mass with its own will, one example was how the water spirits or the ‘blue lights’ could eventually clump together and evolve into the creatures known as ‘undines’.
Guardians possessed their own will, and often established their own smaller domains in regions they were adapted to. They weren’t especially hostile unless provoked, and tended to isolate themselves, but that was also per Fiona’s will and part of her strategy. Sylvan was completely under her control, and aside from having full dominion over the terrain, vegetation and even the weather, she went a step further and allowed the guardians to have free reign outside the established settlements.
That was why Sylvan had no guards or border marking its territory.
It didn’t need any—Sylvan had the potential to be both a haven and a deathtrap, depending on the individual.
Anyone foolish enough to wander into the deity’s domain was all but surrendering themselves to her whims. It was like stepping into the palm of her hand—her control was absolute. Beyond that, she commanded the guardians to attack anyone who wasn’t “of this land,” a fate that befell humans and outsiders alike. Even an army of thousands would lose all sense of direction within minutes and perish within days. Between starvation, disorientation, the unforgiving forests, natural defenses, and the ever-watchful guardians, it was no wonder no other nation had dared to invade in over a millennium.
It wasn’t worth it.
As a concept, the idea was both novel and foolproof, with only a single flaw.
It relied entirely on Fiona’s presence for its upkeep, and that opening could be exploited only once per year. Every year, Sylvan’s deity had to enter ‘Stasis’ for a full month, it was apparently a lasting side effect from her battle with that Sefirot named Gabriel. Even after all this time, she still hasn’t regained her full strength, her appearance—reminiscent of someone in their teens — was proof of that.
The abundant life force and mana flourishing across the country were actually a result of her condition—supposedly, they seeped from her into the surroundings after her defeat at Gabriel’s hands. The Rhizalyth stood as a symbol of strength in this nation, but in truth, it was her grave.
The massive tree marked the spot where she had supposedly fused with an elven mage to sustain herself. By isolating herself within it for a month, she could ‘recharge,’ gradually siphoning back the life force she had lost. Bit by bit, this process would restore her powers over time.
Framed as a competition, the Trident was, in reality, a means of preparing the people for potential outside threats. It strengthened the abilities of the young by giving them firsthand experience beyond the safety of their cities, while the adults supervised their progress, guiding and monitoring them through the different stages of the competition across the nation.
While on duty, Sylvan’s mages also took the opportunity to survey the surroundings themselves.
“Mhmm~ This is delicious! Here Liam, you have some too!” Mavis exclaimed, extending the still-living slimy meal to me.
On the topic of cultural differences, the food here was certainly the main one.
“Oh, it’s been a while since I ate this.” I replied, taking a bite and letting the familiar taste settle on my tongue. The creature squealed the moment my teeth sank into it, flicking about and oozing the strange pink liquid from its underbelly.
“Isn’t it delicious, Liam!?” Mavis leaned in gleefully, her expression brimming with delight. With that in mind, there was only one real answer to her question.
“Yeah.” I dipped my head playfully, grinning back at her. “It’s a little spicier than I remember, but this is nice too. I didn’t know they had different flavors.”
“Yours must be getting old. The flavor typically gets bitter as they age, so its best if you harvest them while they’re young.” she explained dutifully, then switched to the other skewer in her hand.
“Oh, really? I didn't know that. There's still so much left for me to learn even after spending so much time here.”
“Well, you’ll be going back to your parents in a few months but don’t worry, if you have any questions feel free to ask me, your grandma can tell you pretty much all there is to know about this place.” she said, pridefully puffing out her chest.
“Hehe, sure grandma, I’ll do that.”
The onlookers—mostly elves — peeped on with curious expressions of horror on their faces as we weaved through the crowds. It was easy to tell who was what here simply by the shape of their ears, whether they were sharp or round. The only time I’ve ever seen such fearful looks on the faces of elves was whenever I started eating.
Needless to say, elves and druids had a completely different perspective on cuisine. Elves typically preferred edible herbs, fishes and stews while druids on the other hand were a bit more eccentric with their flavors.
Case in point, the creature squirming on the skewer in my hand—a ‘fireworm’. It resembled a large caterpillar decked in shades of pink and green, oozing a liquid that made for excellent spices once impaled, and the druids made haste to take advantage of that.
Druid cuisine was built on the back of monster meat—literally.
Unlike the elves, druids considered the vast majority of the monsters here in Sylvan to be delicacies. It wasn’t until I settled here that I discovered the wyrm creature Julia often fed me as a child was actually Sylvan’s most notorious parasite. It had tough, scale-like skin and was native to Sylvan.
I didn’t particularly have a problem with druid food, it was good, but I’ve never met an elf who shared that opinion. Not even royalty could reciprocate the sentiment — especially Irina. According to her, it was ‘gross’.
While munching on the succulent insect and chatting with Mavis, I failed to notice as we arrived at the gates of a particularly large edifice. I wasn’t particularly an expert on royal establishments, but even I could tell that this one was a tad peculiar, bequeathed by Sylvan’s ingenuity. The towering fortress of living wood and stone rose from the heart of a deep gorge, its trunk-like walls veiled by cascading waterfalls. Leafy canopies filtered warm rays of sunlight that illuminate a grand walkway leading to its entrance. High above, a labyrinth of bridges and platforms merges with ancient branches, as though the entire stronghold grew from the land itself.
It wasn’t the first time I'd been here, but the site still left me feeling somewhat grounded, although the same couldn’t be said for my surprisingly spry grandmother. “Come on Liam, it wouldn’t do to keep them waiting any longer.” she said, pulling me along.
There were two elven guards standing at attention at the end of the walkway, their backs mere inches from the large wooden entrance. Sensing our approach, the men clanked their heels and slammed their weapons to the floor, a perfect salute meant not for me, but the one guiding me towards the pristine building as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“A pleasure to have you, Lady Mavis! Her Highness has informed us of your arrival—they await you in the courtyard." shouted one of the guards. The other one gave a deep bow and dutifully moved to open the large door by hand. As he infused a bit of mana into it, the large barrier emitted a faint glimmer and seamlessly slid open with a light shrug from the guard.
Chuckling, Mavis muttered the words, ‘thank you kindly’ to the two devoted men who wasted no time in moving back to their designated posts. Wordlessly, I followed behind the maleficent druid as she casually made her way into the royal abode. Before I even realized it, I was watching her in awe. I had rarely thought of Mavis as anything more than a doting guardian, but moments like these reminded me that she was far more important than she seemed.