Emerald rolling hills flowed ever so neatly into a mountain forest identical to the Zhang Jia Jie national park in Hunan, China. For me, I have always called the place "Cultivator's Mountain Range!" I even went to the national park after landing an extremely competitive security contract with a Chinese investment firm based in Beijing. The trip was amazing! Though, I was very much content with keeping my feet on the ground instead of defying heaven by climbing any of the mountains.
Looking past the mountain forest which acted as a gateway to the realm, you could see streams and rivers flowing from all directions and altitudes. They all eventually met at the center of this heavenly location. In the center of the realm, stood the magnificent world tree candidate.
This enormous tree had the appearance of a weeping willow. Yet it was way too big to be one. Even the drooping branches gentle floated in the air. Its appearance was like warm arms awaiting their prodigal children's return.
It completely dwarfs the abyssal treant in the same way Midgardsormr overshadowed me. The tree was so tall, it almost touched the clouds above. And yet, this tree could not be seen from the other side of this cave tunnel. Lastly, The mountain range encircled this paradise as mountain peaks similar to the Swiss Alps cut off all life from the other side.
Like I said, grotto is an understatement. This place is a nature lover's wet dream! It's the crown jewel of all arbor paradises. Douglas, noticing our amazement smiled and said,
"Welcome to Arboran, The realm of the elven elder tree!"
Such a fitting name for this place. We continued to "ooo" and "aaahh" as we walked further towards the settlement. One thing I noticed, there were no monsters. Only magic beasts and the occasional spirit roamed this paradise openly. Curious, I asked,
"What happened to all the monsters from the mountain range? I could have sworn this mountain range was home to many B+ monster cradles."
"You are indeed correct, Ancestor. The barrier mountains do indeed have some of the most vicious monster in Eliador, which is why they are culled very frequently. Do you recall the wyvern you fought in the guild hall? That wyvern was caught here by some of our seasoned hunters. Anyway, let us head towards the settlement. There are many people excitedly waiting for your arrival."
Douglas said while guiding us through the scenic medley of beautiful areas surrounding the settlement. After walking about 30 minutes, we reached the settlements which was practically a city built into an enormous tree. Light elves are known for having high affinity to light, lightning, and nature elements. There settlement reflected their alignment as one could see elves of all ages zipping by, from colossal branch to colossal branch.
Their homes were wooden and appeared to have blossomed from the tree branches like flowers dancing in a warm spring wind. Naturally, they did not make their abode or public facilities on the ground. But on and even inside the giant tree. (This is what an elven settlement should look like!!)
As we drew closer, many elves flew swiftly down to greet us. Some marveled at our visit, others were skeptical. Meanwhile, a few bore discontent and ill will towards someone who "reeks" of dark elven blood. Earth's representation of elves got everything else save this wrong. (The racial bigotry part that is.)
For some reason, after elven clans began exhibiting varied elemental affinities, a somewhat aggressive competition ensued. Every clan had been fighting for who should be the ruling clan of elves. What made things worse is while these ancient clans feuded, no one was prepared for the destruction of Elvalidora. Our ancestral home and many elven clans... gone at the hands (or flippers) of those overgrown snakes .
Those who remain have been pitted against each other by the demonic dragons who had enslaved them for sport. Things changed when Uncle Yuriy came and saved the dark elves. That's the thing, uncle ONLY saved the dark elves and no other elven clan. When I asked him why in the inheritance realm, he nearly wept as he replied,
"All other elven clans at the time were either too far from the dark elven slaves, practically extinct, brainwashed into being pit-dogs, or willing slaves moving at their master beckoning call. Some of which I had to personally exterminate for the betterment of all elves. As a result, the elven clans have never forgiven me or the dark elves for it."
What uncle said seems to still ring true as only Uncle at the time was the elven champion to face and defeat demonic dragons. All other elven clans were liberated by the humans, dwarves, beastmen and surprisingly demonkind. They would later view uncle's deeds as a betrayal of all elfdom.
Mind you, this is despite the fact he was only one person. Further, elven slave camps were hidden within extremely dangerous dungeons. The only exceptions were the slave camps filled with dark elves. These camps were used to raise livestock and harvest resources from the surrounding areas. In some cases, dark elves were food for the dragons, but never sex partner either willing or unwilling.
In uncle's words, dark elves were revolting to the demonic dragon's sexual pallet. It was as if the first demonic dragon wanted nothing to do with them sexually. But eating them was a whole other story.
I digress, dark elves were best used for labor and made to work night and day. Whereas the other elven clans were solely used for blood sport and sexual pleasure. In the rare case they got unruly, a demonic dragon would reluctantly eat them simply because they saw the value in making them birth their demonic ilk.
For me to notice 4 light elves who seamlessly blended into the crowd, yet released enough ill will with their bloodline radiation, is quite a feat. I will ignore the sorry bastards for now since I am a guest. That and it is very unbecoming for a guest to act like they are the master of someone else's home.
Shifting my attention elsewhere, I noticed the large crowd parted to either side of me and my group. This created a path allowing direct access towards the world tree candidate to be formed. Afterwards, 12 noticeably elderly elves slowly meandered towards us, but with grace and dignity. Leading the group of 12 was a woman who surprisingly looked as if time refused to flow forward after catching the smallest glimpse of her beauty.
Once the beauty and her entourage were within 2m of us, the woman placed the palms of both hands upon her chest as she slightly bowed to me and Ivy holding my hand while saying,
"May blessed life find you, Ancestor and Mother of Races. It is a blessing to know our ancestors still walk amongst us. The Children of light greet the successor of Primal Force."
"May blessed life find you, child of light, mother of elders. It is a blessing to find a sister clan still prospers in these uncertain times."
I replied, performing the same gesture I gave Douglas earlier. Naturally, I knew who the beautiful woman who stood before me was as if it was instinctual or second nature. She was none other than Douglas's grandmother and Ivy's friend, Eileana Palidor; a soon to be Ascendent Elder of the light elf clan.
-End of Chapter