I let out a breath of relief as I land on the top floor. I'm not afraid of heights, but it's still not exactly fun being several hundred metres in the air with no safety features. The elves have it good. The natural buoyancy of the mana will keep them from being seriously injured in a fall, but with my magic on lock, it won't even slow me down.
I walk down the passageway. The wood walls here are more detailed than those on the lower floors, with twists and furrows in the glossy surface. Looking closely, I see a looping, flowing script carved into the wood, following its twisted grain. I think this is one of those worlds where I understand spoken languages, but not written ones. I don't understand the Enrahg dialect, though. Maybe I just understand the elves? Or is there a common language?
I reach the end of the passageway and step into a room flooded with light.
"Wow." The room doesn't have a back wall. The gnarled wood floors, with various tables, instruments, and shelves scattered around it, stretches out for ten metres or so, and then it stops and the forest canopy begins, with a bright blue sky above. The wind sways the treetops silently, and doesn't reach the room that's apparently open to the elements. I look up at the sky and see a faint green sheen, like a thin glass dome covering the room.
"Magnificent view, isn't it?" Elder Kirvos weaves his way toward me between the tables.
"Yeah." This is my first time in his study. I've been in study rooms on the lower floors, taking "common sense classes", as Kirvos calls them. It's a little embarrassing sitting in a classroom with a bunch of kids, but the stuff I learn is pretty useful. Or will be useful when I leave the elf village.
"So, why'd you call me?"
His eyes flashed. "That's a very casual way to talk to the Elder of Wisdom."
"You called for me, Elder Kirvos, sir?" That darn old man. I can never tell when he's teasing.
He smiled. "That's better. Come over here." He leads the way towards a bench at the edge of the study, that's facing towards a large swath of sky between two giant trees. He sits down and gestures for me to join him. I sit and wait for him to talk.
And wait.
And wait.
Dang it, is he gonna do that cliche thing of being silent for an hour and then forgetting what he was gonna say?
"Um, Elder Kirvos—"
"I was wondering how long it would take for you to say something."
Oh, come on! "You—"
He chuckles to himself. "Teasing, teasing."
I have no idea why this guy gets to represent wisdom.
"So, how's our village been treating you?"
I sigh. There's no arguing with him. "Good, I guess."
"You guess?"
"Good. I'm good."
"Mm." He nods a few times and takes a sip from a drink I hadn't noticed he was holding. "You'll be wanting to leave here soon, yes?"
"I'll serve my sentence."
"Oh, I know you will. But this place is too quiet for you. You're a young man, and a human at that. You want adventure. Gathering pine needles and doing house chores won't do it for you."
Well… He's not wrong. But seriously, how closely has he been keeping an eye on me? I thought he spent most of his time in this room.
"What have you learned about the gods in your classes?"
I am positive he knows that curriculum inside and out. Oh well. "Gods and goddesses have domains that they don't leave but are powerful within. One must always show proper respect to the gods by acknowledging their domains. Gods are affected by the people in their domain—"
"Alright, alright. You don't have to recite the textbook. I wrote it, you know."
But you just asked me to. My eye is twitching because of you.
"Have they taught you about altars yet?" he asks.
"Yeah. They're the main place people go to show respect to the gods, right? Every temple has one."
He nods. "Yes, but the first year curriculum doesn't tell you about the First Altars."
"First altars?" What does this have to do with me? Did he just call me because he felt like giving me a history lesson?
"Yes, in the Godly Domain."
"Um, I know every god acts within their domain."
"No, the Godly Domain is a place. It's where the gods reside when they're not travelling the worlds."
This is the first I've heard of it. "So, there're altars there too?"
"Just one for every god. Their first altar. Gifts and accumulated power from their followers' belief congregate at each First Altar. When a god has a First Altar, they are acknowledged as part of the Pantheon."
Ooo-kay. "I think I get it."
"You're wondering what this has to do with you, aren't you."
"…yeah."
"Your goddess, Mariana, is relatively unknown. If you want to support her, you should pursue building her First Altar in the Godly Domain."
"Can I do that?"
"Oh, of course. Altars, including the First Altar, are always built by the god's followers."
"So, how do I do that?"
He shrugged. "Dunno."
Seriously, how did he get that "Elder of Wisdom" title??
"Also, have you been making use of your Goddess's token?"
The floss? Well, I've been flossing my teeth twice a day. Do they know what brushing and flossing is in this world?
"Not really."
He shakes his head. "That's not good."
"What?"
"You should find a use for it, fast. Gods don't like it when their gifts aren't appreciated."
But it's just floss! "What could I use it for, though?"
He strokes his chin thoughtfully, then takes another sip of his drink. "Well, Mariana is the Goddess of Fate, and seems to have influence over life and death… Perhaps you should find a way to weaponize it."
"Weaponize floss? I mean, thread?" I've done a few tests on it, and it really seems like plain old normal floss, besides the decompose function and the fact that it doesn't run out. It's not super sharp like razor wire in anime. Which is good news for my gums.
"Godly tokens are usually quite durable. It should be able to stand up to heavy usage. And there are countless types of weapons in this world. This village may be peaceful, but that's highly unusual."
"I really don't know…"
"The God of Warfare once bestowed an axe to a follower. Do you know what that follower used the axe for?"
"Um, warfare?"
"No, he used it to chop wood. Guess what happened to him."
"Um…"
"The God of Warfare got frustrated at him and commanded the axe to chop down the follower's house."
"Ah."
"With the follower inside it."
"Ah. Um… That's bad."
"Yes. I can't imagine what would happen to someone who didn't even use their god's token."
But I'm flossing my teeth! …That doesn't count, huh. Mariana did say I needed to live an interesting story. And for the past two months, I've been…
"Doing chores, being nice to people, and letting your token gather dust doesn't sound like a good way to please a Goddess of Fate, human boy."
…I'm screwed.