When I neared the elder’s home, something mysterious yet miraculous had been occurring nearby. A melodious sound could be heard all over the settlement. The sound was soothing, ancient, and full of vigor. What surprised me though wasn’t the enchanting music playing throughout the entire settlement, but how familiar it sounded. If I'm correct, it sounds like folk music Bartok, Dvorak, Lysenko, and Stravinsky used to create their compositions despite being composers from four different countries. Mesmerized by the music, I began walking closer to the place of origin, the hollowed giant tree.
With each step, the music got louder and louder, faster, and faster like a dance was about to reach the best part. This roundabout merriment continued until I stood within the tree. Inside, there were five altars, one for each elemental Elder Spirits and a fifth for the Creator. The four elemental altars encircled the larger altar in a similar fashion as the houses in the settlement encircle this tree. The elemental altars were not all made of stone, but of their corresponding elements.
The Earth altar had a marble base with metallic wood naturally jetting from the stone and the top was full of flowers, leaves, and fruit. The wind altar was like a tornado or twister but much smaller and its winds did not affect anything else in the room. The water altar appeared to be as solid as a glacier, but fluid and calm as a gentle brook. Lastly, the fire altar was similar to the wind altar but a pillar of fire.
As I beheld the sight, these altars seemed to dance to the music in the air while light illuminated the large altar in the middle. This altar despite being visible to me, was shrouded in mist with only vague shadows appearing. As the music continued, so did the dancing altars, until a loud sound as if horns were playing causing the four altars to stop. The altar in the middle appeared to have risen into the air. Light and darkness in the purest of quality danced around the altar. The mist never dissipated but thickened and the shadow never changed as light shined downwards. While in a trance and confused by what I saw, I began to question,
“What is this? How can something not alive dance and another which can’t fly soar into the air? What does all of this mean?” So engrossed in my thoughts as I spoke out loud, I didn’t even notice the Elder approaching me saying,
“Ah, young Yuriy. I have been expecting your visit. It seems the sound of our prayers have guided you here. Is it not a truly blessed thing for one to see such a sight? The elements coming to life as though they were people. What do you think of all you’ve heard and seen so far?” Elder Alamdarra asked. Slowly breaking out of my trance, I first glanced at him then answered,
“To be honest, I am unsure how to put into words everything I witnessed. But let me try to make sense of it all. The melody which guided me sounded very familiar yet unknown to me. Once I got here, the altars seemed to move in response to the melody by dancing. When the music sped up the altars danced faster, and when the music slowed down, so did their dancing.”
“Interesting outlook, indeed! Our elven clan sings in the celestial language, causing us to resonates with the elements. Unlike other elven clans who dance, fight, or simply meditate, we sing in the celestial language, with the music taught by the dragons.
“In this way we commune with the Elder Spirits who relay our plight to the Creator. But what of the altar in the center? What did you see?” Elder Alamdarra inquired, hands gently clasped together, and eyes which were seemingly as deep as the void.
“That’s the thing, the center altar although visible to me seemed to be an intangible thing, shrouded in mist and shadow. Downward shining light illuminated the almost ghostly object. When the music reached a loud point all the other altars stopped. But this central alter rose up into the air allowing light and darkness to dance around it.” as I replied, I didn’t notice a swift change in the elder’s posture, but I did see a bright light shine in his eyes.
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“Praise the Creator! Little Yuriy, everything you have seen tells us a lot about you and your connection to the world. The ancestors described many different traits and features powerful warriors and mages all had. However, only one defining trait stands out the most, an endowment. In the case of our clan’s elemental resonance, only those with an endowment have visions similar to yours went resonating with magoi around them.”
Elder Alamdarra said, explaining something I never knew regarding elven magic ability. To think, when an elf resonates with high quality magoi, the cause visual phenomena to appear. What about those who are higher stages? The thought of such things peaked my interest. The elder continued saying,
“Do not confuse an endowment with what the humans call a void constitution or elemental affinity. Divine endowments are the embodiment of the higher beings’ blessings given form within a living person. During our time of resonance, outsiders who are blessed with the chance to witness the event typically see only the four elemental pillars of light, mist, and shadows. Only those touched by the Elder Spirits, the Creator, or some other higher being are able to catch a glimpse of the fifth altar.”
“Additionally, the ancestors, your ancestor in particular, had left a few more remarks regarding endowments. Any mage or warrior seeking to reach the pinnacle of existence will need to have some kind of endowment. Endowments vary, but are categorized as divine, nether, natural and artificial. Grand Enchanter Yuriy too was no exception to the rule, and needed this type of power.”
“Although we knew he had an endowment, we know not whether it was divine, nether, natural, or artificial. What we do know is his endowment was directly related to a school of lost and sadly forbidden magic, the school of Primal Mandate. This archaic school of magic focuses on using all natural occurring elements to cast spells, forge weapons, and even summon or create elemental servants. What makes the school a forbidden one however, is every arcane art required the use of blood as a catalyst. To be exact, the blood of beings with high affinities to the elements.”
Taking into account everything the Elder said, I found it very interesting to hear such a requirement was needed to make any true headway towards godhood. To become a “god,” you need to be touch or blessed by either a divine being, nefarious fiend, and/or broke through the limits of your mortal existence with either your own effort or some outside help. This is not to say there are those who are not simply born with it. While considering what I had just learned the Elder continued,
“In your case little Yuriy, it would appear that you have been born with a natural endowment due to you being only 6 Altars without issue. Additionally, you have yet to officially begin your training. So the logical answer is either you were born with this endowment, or some being has taken notice of you. To be honest, if you received your endowment from some higher being, this could either be a blessing or a curse depending on the being’s nature. You must be careful when using your abilities.”
The Elder paused, gazing into my eyes to see what hid behind them. I was left confused and downtrodden. At first, I thought I was the chosen one or something like all the main characters of novels and games I played and read on Earth. L mean… who doesn’t have a messiah complex after living an earlier life and remembering everything that happened? But when he said curse, I quickly realized this might be related to my previous 49 deaths or Uriel and his bullshit. During my ruminations, the elder continued speaking,
“Little Yuriy, what lies before you, is a decision only you can make. I know, you are the one tasked with carrying the Markov lineage. Yet, you have extremely little to no elven blood despite your appearance. I also know you were given a choice to not bear that burden and pursue a different life. With all that in mind, I have a place I want to show you before you decide.”
Elder Alamdarra said, while slowly proceeding to leave the hollow tree. Unsure of our destination, I followed him. Although I had questions as to where we were going, I decided to wait until we arrived. It’s not like he would tell me right away anyways.
-End of Chapter