As the guests mingled and snacked, they couldn't help but be amazed by the presence of the Dragon Queen. They all paid their admiration to her as the night went on and the main party was about to begin.
The youngsters were gathered on the glass terrace, chatting and enjoying the sight of the lake when a guard came to summon the royal family, including the newly adopted Damian, to the stage.
King Aerin and Queen Estel strolled onto the stage, He is holding an orb with runes on it, a voice amplifier. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you may be seated, we are about to commence the main event," the king announced.
As the crowd shuffled to their seats, the remainder of the royal household took their places on stage. Many in the room were curious about the young boy standing with the royal family, wondering who he was and why he was on stage with them.
The king then made an announcement, "I welcome all of you and thank you for being here today to see my son, Prince Logon Úplairis. But first, I have something important to share with all of you present and watching as well. My dearest friend rescued this young man from some disgusting ogres and brought him here to us, unable to find his home. After speaking with my beloved wife, we have decided to adopt him into the family as Prince Damian of the Forest Elf Clan. He is to be treated as a member of the royal family from now on," King Aerin said as Queen Estel placed a prince's crown on Damian's head and custom royal earrings over his ear helix.
The crowd erupted in applause, but some were astonished by the revelation. They couldn't understand why the royal family would adopt a human, possibly a wizard, instead of finding his family and home.
The elves in the city were torn between accepting the decision and being outraged that an outsider had been anointed into the royal family.
Queen Safira, Fenris, Drac and Kiron were overjoyed and clapped and cheered for little Damian as he stood there, glancing around not really understanding.
After a few minutes, the king signalled for everyone to be seated again. "Prince Damian is very excited to join our household, and we are ecstatic to have him. Now, let us turn our attention to Crowned Prince Logon Úplairis. It is soon midnight, and his powers will fully awaken as his soul begins its comprehension journey. May it be prosperous and bountiful, and may he reach new heights in this universe," King Aerin said as he waved for Prince Logon to join him up front.
As the moons cast their shining light upon the kingdom of Forest Elfs, King Aerin stood before his guests, a proud smile on his face. "Tonight is a momentous occasion," he declared, "for our beloved Crown Prince Logon, for tonight marks his Úplairis, the process of awakening his powers and the start of his journey of comprehension."
The crowd erupted in cheers as Prince Logon waved at them, the future king of the forest Elfs. "First, he will take a cleansing swim in the lake,"
King Aerin continued, "and then we will pierce his ears with thorns from the ancient Tree of Ald. He will then make his way up the peak of the mountain, bare-chested, where he will drop some of his blood upon the Tree of Ald and sit by it, allowing his soul to become one with it."
The King paused, his eyes misty with emotion. "A spirit animal will come to him, to guide him on the path through the Tree of Ald, where he will begin to awaken his powers as he listens to the voices of his ancestors trying to communicate with him. As he comprehends, his body will start to form runes to contain the power he will receive from the tree. This process can take minutes or days, as he sits in a heightened state of mind, depending on the powers he tries to comprehend."
The crowd looked on in awe as Prince Logon nodded, with a brave smile on his face. "Are you ready, Crown Prince Logon?" King Aerin asked.
AN" Tree of Ald is their ancestral tree it's at the peak of the mountain currently, and it can move, it's also the royal families symbol only the royal family gets to use it because it doesn't work on other forest elf's or races it rejects there blood that's why they have to put it there, it helps awaken deeper stronger powers with nature"
"YES!" Prince Logon exclaimed, and the crowd erupted in cheers once more.
King Aerin and Queen Estel take Prince Logon's hands and lead him to the lake, where a royal guard removed his robe, revealing his bare chest.
Prince Logon then submerged himself in the warm water, and as he did, a guard brought King Aerin and Queen Estel the thorns from the Tree of Ald. They were thick with three spikes and a blue rose on them. Two spikes were for the bottom of his ears and one for the top.
As Prince Logon emerged from the water, glowing with the spores of the lake, he kneeled before his parents.
King Aerin and Queen Estel nodded at each other and quickly pierced his ears, and though Prince Logon tightened his hands and jaw from the pain, he did not scream or cry.
The King and Queen then cleaned the blood and applied a paste to help with healing.
As Prince Logon rose to his feet, he hugged his father and mother tightly, then turned to his sister and brother. "I'm off," he said, "Brother, take care of our sister while I'm gone, I'll see you all in a few days."
He then bowed and waved to his aunt and uncle, before turning to Princess Esme and Evera, smiling and waving to them as well.
Finally, he looked towards the mountain, a steep climb of 30 meters, and began his journey, as all eyes watched him.
The audience watched Prince Logon as he climbed up the mountain, taking 35 minutes to reach the summit. Also watched as he cut his finger and dropped blood on the tree before sitting down and closing his eyes to begin meditating.
…all of a sudden something happens
A sparrow, in the form of blue and brown energy, emerged from the tree, its feathers a mix of brown and blue though. The King and Queen smile seeing this since they know that their son is about to embark on an amazing spiritual journey.
Everyone watched as the bird perched on Prince Logon's shoulder and chirped in his ear. His eyes did not open, indicating that he had entered an enlightened state.
The bird then flew straight into his chest and vanished, and Prince Logon's body began to glow with a melting mix of blue and brown.
King Aerin spoke up, "My son has now begun his journey. We will cut the cameras and enjoy ourselves for the rest of the night. You are more than welcome to stay or go home. Food, wine, and other goodies will be served. Please enjoy your evening and thank you all for coming. It's been an honour to have you all."
As some kings and queens said their goodbyes, needing to return to their kingdoms, most stayed and chatted.
Some even asked King Aerin and Queen Estel about Prince Damian, and they answered with the cover story they had created.
Everyone listened with sadness and some even decided to check their forests to ensure the same thing was not happening there. Some congratulated Prince Damian and he bowed and thanked them. Boys and girls came to greet him, trying to make friends with him.
Queen Safira and Fenris watched as the young prince, unaware of what was happening, received all the attention. But what they didn't notice was another young prince watching in anger and jealousy, thinking he should have been the one receiving all the attention. He made a silent vow to get his revenge, no matter what.
Queen Safira, Drac, and Fenris were chatting when they heard Prince Damian speak to them from behind them…
"Safira, will I have an awakening like Prince Logon?" Safira looked towards him and thought for a moment
...But Drac spoke first. "Most races go through awakenings, Damian. The problem is, they vary in when it will happen. Some kids awaken at birth, like Immortals and other same-ranked races. Some awaken from age 5 and up, like in the Emmortal Milky Lane. But in the mortal realm, some don't, or they become powered if they're lucky or forced. But this could take a lifetime in their time frame. You see, the forest Elfs' age of awakening is 12, but the royals are 10, as their power is purer. They do this ceremony to help increase their bloodline. You have seen King Aerin and Queen Estel's appearance, right?"
"Yes, the king has all those markings and runes on his body in the colour of light blue, but Estel only has green shapes like vines, like the other forest Elfs,"
"Correct, Damian. You see, the King has awakened the power of water from his ancestors, advanced-ranked laws, and then gave birth to ice, a great power law. His markings went from dark blue to light blue. But Queen Estel only has intermediate-ranked laws, much weaker. Do you follow, Damian?"
Prince Damian shook his head, "No, what's the difference between the laws? And those ranks you spoke about?"
"You will learn all this at school, but for now, the difference in laws, let's just say the King's power is stronger than the Queen's. Same rule for Queen Safira and me. Her powers are different and her understanding is much more than mine," Drac explained.
"Okay, I see. So will I awaken powers like the King and become powerful?"
Drac took a deep breath and didn't know what to say. Damian has a powered rank, the best he could learn is the weakest laws, also 2 at a maximum which he already has kind of. Strength doesn't count most can have the strength it's supreme strength like Demi-God Hercules has.
Queen Safira puts on a brave smile and then spoke, not wanting to break his heart. "My sweet Damian, you can become as powerful as you want so long as you don't give up fighting. You are only limited by your mindset. King Aerin only awoke water and air laws but later learned ice laws. It took him a long time, but he never gave up. There's only one thing, Damian, we don't know when you will awaken and unfortunately, there is a big possibility you might never. This happens to some, I'm sorry, Damian, we can't determine this factor. We can rank you and get all other information but we can't do anything else."
"I think I understand, Safira. So what rank am I? Isn't that the test you ran on me weeks ago?"
Now Queen Safira was sweating but still found the strength to answer, "Let's talk about this more tomorrow, my darling after you have your tutoring classes. He will explain some things to you. I'll be with you."
Drac and Fenris also chimed in, "We will all be with you, Damian."
Drac, trying to lighten the mood, added, "Now son, let's enjoy the night. You've become a prince, you know what that means, all the ladies are going to be eyeing you, as I've already seen. With that power, you can be irresponsible"
'Whack'
But Queen Safira was quick to put a stop to his inappropriate comments, slapping him on the head and giving him a fierce glare. "What do you think you're telling him? He's got great power now and needs to be responsible with it," she scolded.
"But he doesn't...
'Bang...thud'
Filled with anger, Queen Safira punched Drac to the floor. "Damian, absolutely do not listen to your uncle. You must respect women and treat them well, do you hear me?"
Drac, coughing and struggling to get back to his feet, tried to defend himself. "Cough...that's...cough...what I meant to say," he stammered.
Prince Damian nodded his head at Queen Safira, understanding her words. He decided to go socialize again, leaving the trio behind.
Queen Safira whispered to herself, "Please forgive me."