"Grand Elder…" Taligen's quiet voice from below the platform was heard. "They have arrived."
The Grand Elder, Isaac, and Laila all turned their heads to see a throng of Apithiens coming from the east. A vast expanse of white and gray slowly glided toward the siblings, like watching the clear and stormy clouds drift through the sky, bringing a flurry of snowflakes with it. Every face among the droves of Apithiens had a resolute expression, as if this wasn't a memorial service at all. In a memorial service, there would be a slew of sad and solemn faces in a somewhat sad event, but it was entirely different for the Apithiens. You could even say this was a culture shock to Laila and Isaac.
Like soldiers lining up for roll call, the Elders who were leading the pack divided the Apithiens into different sections, like a three-by-two square grid, with each square having an Elder as the head honcho. Matarath, Astren, and Yala occupied the first row while Natom, Quilon, and Gozan occupied the last. For a group nearing the thousands, the Elders handled them with such aplomb; they reminded Laila of cattle herders. It took them only ten minutes for the Elders to move the masses in separate sections with their loud commands, waving arms, and expert communication skills. The crowd stood silent as they patiently waited for the Grand Elder to begin the proceedings. Laila and Isaac stood on opposite ends of the shrine, staring at the massive number of eyeballs zeroed in on them. They dared not move or speak as they glanced at the Grand Elder.
The woman walked forward and cleared her throat. "Greeting! I would liek to thank you for attending the memorial service of Sir Solgen and Sir Volken!"
The attendees clapped, and their hands created a gentle reverberation that filled the empty clearing. The trees on the outskirts of the Forest of Snow shivered from the sound.
"For many, this will be the first time you have stepped foot in this sacred site, and for some, you've been here once or twice…" The Grand Elder glanced at Quilon and Matarath, who had grim expressions.
"As a race with long life-spans like the Elves, we Apithiens aren't known for premature deaths unless we were to fall ill, die of old age, or have our life snuffed at the hands of others..."
The Grand Elder's voice softened, and a look of sorrow clouded her face, but she still carried on. "Just like Sir Solgen and Sir Volken. Our leaders were taken away from us by an individual so vile and cruel that not even the first Apithien Charitan, a friend to all races, could befriend, much less understand!"
Hushed whispers rang out through the crowd, all mumbling to their closest peers. Since Laila was a little further away, she couldn't really understand fully what they were talking about, even with her superhuman senses. She picked out a few words from the crowd which there 'who', 'vile', and 'worrisome'.
"The two children standing right beside me were the ones who witnessed the death of your leaders with their very eyes!"
At her sentence, all eyes that shone like amethysts were now gazing at the pair. Laila's body grew rigid from the piercing stares. A bead of sweat formed on her brow as she tried to swallow the lump that formed in just seconds.
"Laila, would you please come up and describe to the crowd how Solgen and Volken lost their lives?" The Grand Elder gestured for Laila to come forward, backing away.
Alright, you can do this, Laila thought. Though you have never done public speaking of this magnitude, it can't be worse than reading your essays to a class of judgmental college students.
She reluctantly stepped up to the plate and shuffled toward the spot the Grand Elder was just speaking from. In the corner of her eye, she saw Isaac giving her the thumbs up, mouthing the words 'good luck'. While Laila showed no signs of acknowledging Isaac's gesture, in her mind she was smiling. Laila took a deep breath and addressed the Apithiens.
"…Hello everyone. Since you do not know who I am, I will introduce myself. I'm Laila Hall and I…" Laila caught herself for a moment. "...was the disciple of Sir Solgen. As the Grand Elder mentioned earlier, I and my brother were there when Sir Solgen and Sir Volken unfortunately lost their lives protecting us."
Laila let those last words hang in the air as she watched the faces of the Apithiens- a mix of shock and scowls. Since Laila wanted to keep the momentum going, she continued further. She first started with the fight against Zolvo.
Laila described the fight against one of Cardinal Nicholas' archbishops, how she and Isaac, along with a few others, fought against a powerful foe that gave them much trouble just for a stalemate. She then told them how Solgen and Volken came to their rescue with Solgen's portals, which landed them inside the throne room in Port Silis, the place where everything went downhill. After discussing the death of Claude de Vusech and who'll take the throne to rule over Silis, Luna, a self-proclaimed god, and member of the Pillars intruded on their peaceful talk and massacred everyone in the room. Through the help of Volken, Airon and Morgac, they were able to bide enough time for Solgen to whisk them away to South Osmen.
"…And the last thing we saw before the portal closed was Sir Solgens back turned to us…" Laila's voice cracked as she remembered what Solgen had told them. She cast her gaze downwards, leaving her arms hand by her side as she relayed the words replaying in her mind.
"The words Sir Solgen gave us were to live on and fight for what we believe in. To not be discouraged from the events that had transpired, and that the time she spent with us was the best moments she ever experienced…"
The Apithien crowd, including the Grand Elder and Isaac, was still and somber, the only sound coming from the children, quietly sniffling. Laila still had her head down so she couldn't read the expressions of the masses before her. In the corner of her mind, a small part of her was still afraid that many of them wouldn't believe her as she thought back to the harsh reaction they displayed before. What she doesn't know is whether the Apithiens have even accepted her inside the village. The Apithiens are isolationists, so they don't meet with the other races, especially their neighbors, the Elven Forest and the Dwarven Kingdom.
Do they have a look of disgust, or are they angry that their leaders would even think of sacrificing their lives for a bunch of children who don't amount to anything? Laila wouldn't blame them if they thought this way. Solgen and Volken were treasured by the Apithiens, and for their lives to be thrown away for 'children'… Laila could only think that the Apithiens are seething in the inside, not wanting to express their disdain outright because of the Grand Elder.
After a grueling silence that went on for half a minute, Laila slowly rose her head just to peek at their expressions. Contrary to what she believed, the Apithiens faced showed no such emotions. How does Laila know of this? It's because more than half of the Apithiens' faces were smeared with tears silently strolling down their pale faces. Children and adults alike had eyes glistening from the tear ducts working overtime on this momentous occasion. What stunned Laila the most was that despite their sadness overflowing, their posture was straight and rigid, and showed no signs of disagreement with Laila's statement. In fact, with just a single glance, Laila knew they wholeheartedly believed her. Laila had read the Apithiens wrong, thus solidifying the fact she knows nothing of Solgens' people. She couldn't help but laugh inside her mind.
"…You know." Laila addressed the crowd, this time making eye contact. "When Solgen began her training with Isaac and I, we thought she would go easy on us since we're humans and all that. But, once she told us the grueling schedule- where we had to train our bodies for eight hours straight with little to no breaks in between each session, EVERY DAY, might I add, we knew we were in for a rude awakening."
A few members of the crowd snickered. Laila hadn't meant for it to be a joke, but if they found it funny anyway, she wasn't complaining. If she could lift their spirits with just a few words, Laila would gladly describe her experience with Solgen's teachings, and that she did, going into concrete detail about her harsh regiment. Muscles burned and ached from all the running and hard impacts from sparring, leaving them so exhausted that breathing seemed difficult. Solgen had also cruelly diminished the food reserves. Even Isaac walked up to the front and added in his experiences, babbling on about how Solgen was harsher on him than Laila.
After that, the siblings said some good things about Volken too, not wanting the townsfolk to question why they were speaking about Solgen so much and not Volken. Talking about how Volken was a hardened warrior who stuck to his ideals and would talk about how proud he was of being a leader to the Apithiens. As time went on, the sullen faces of the Apithiens were now replaced with joy, as a lot of them smiled faintly, reminiscing about their time when their leaders were still alive. This conversation would go on until the Grand Elder appeared right next to Laila and took over the stage. She even gave the siblings a quick wink, supposedly saying that she was proud of them.
"Laila and Isaac would love to continue speaking about Solgen and Volken, but we must conform to the customs. We will now begin the mana crystallization!"
The Grand Elder walked over to the shrine and said, "Like before, you will come up to the platform through the stairs on my right and leak some of your mana into this basin. Once finished, you'll exit by using the steps on the opposite end and return to your position. We'll go by sections. First off, we'll begin with the nearest group."
The nearest group had the Elder Matarath as the leader. One by one, he ordered the Apithiens to walk to the side of the platform and had them climb up the steps. The first to do so was an elderly man. He stood in front of the basin and stretched his arm out. In just a second, a flow of mana was emitted from his palm like a puff of wind. The mana settled silently inside the basin, not even disturbed by the gentle breeze. Apparently, the basin is surrounded by a small bubble that can trap mana in a single place. When Laila asked how it was done, the Grand Elder said it was a secret.
"I'm sure you and your brother will figure it out on your own as you develop your skills," was what the Grand Elder had told them. With such a vague answer, Laila just shrugged her shoulders and didn't ask any further.
The pair would watch in awe as each Apithien did what was asked. After about a hundred people had gone, the mana that was like a puff of wind was now a gust, which only grew stronger as more mana was poured inside. It only took the Apithiens almost an hour for everyone to finish. The basin oozed the power of hundreds of Apithiens, plus the Elders. The mana within was a chaotic storm, roaring and wild, like a hurricane raging within the confines of its prison.
"All that's left is for us to join along," The Grand Elder whispered to us. Like a patient mother, she gently pushed Isaac and Laila closer to the basin. Sticking her arm out like the rest before her, a trail of mana leaked from her hand. While doing this action, she spoke to the siblings.
"It's quite simple. Just think of the mana you possess leaving your bodies. It's as easy as relieving yourself or even breathing. How you control your mana depends on your psyche."
Just as she finished her instructions, the basin trembled from the additional source of energy. The Grand Elder backed away slowly and motioned at them. The two stepped up to the basin and simultaneously released their mana.
"Too easy. We been knew how to do that, ya know?" Isaac grinned. Laila nodded at Isaac's words. They've been training their mana all day. How would they not know something as simple as releasing your mana? It's child's play. Alas, the Grand Elder was too busy to have heard Isaac comment as she was at the front of the platform.
"With that finished, the finale will begin! I will now collect water from the Sea of Ice using this pitcher here!" She boomed, holding a glass pitcher that was at least two feet tall. The Grand Elder had informed them it was a special glass pitcher that dates to Charitan's time of leadership. He himself had put an enchantment that whatever is filled into the pitcher will be replenished with just a single phrase. It's so that you don't have to go back and forth to retrieve the contents. It's a handy enchantment that has yet to be removed.
With swift movements, the Grand Elder momentarily disappeared, and then reappeared holding a filled pitcher. The sky-blue liquid swashed around as the Grand Elder placed the container in front of the basin. Suddenly, she thrust her arm into the basin and the mana inside crackled around her hand. A small grunt arose from the Grand Elder as she forcibly converted the mana to suit her tastes. It was a game of tug-of-war as the two forces struggled for control. The game ended only briefly as the Grand Elder posed to be too strong. Both signatures combined into one, forming a gas sphere. The woman clenched her hand, which caused the sphere to contort as the outer edges of mana flicked, like lava bursting out of a volcano. A few seconds later, the mana grew smaller until it was palm-sized.
"The mana crystallization is complete," The Grand Elder sighed heavily. Small droplets of sweat dripped from her cheek as her breathing had gone somewhat ragged. Forcing mana that wasn't your own must've taken a toll on the woman's body. When the Grand Elder opened her palm, a small jewel glittered in the sunlight. A crystal of mana had just formed. Without another word, the Grand Elder dropped the crystal in the basin and crushed the jewel into tiny pieces with her palm. For why she hadn't used an instrument for this, Laila hadn't asked. It was probably a custom to use your hands during this process.
Once finished, she lifted the basin and scrapped the pieces into the pitcher. The sky-blue liquid instantly turned into a darker shade that reminded Laila of the darkest depths of the ocean.
"Worked just like pouring drink mix into water," Isaac mumbled, stroking his chin.
"Taligen!" The Grand Elder called.
"As you wish." Taligen answered back. He snapped his fingers upon her orders. Isaac's body jumped, surprised at what he was holding. In his hands, or well, everyone's hand, was a small shot glass. When Laila looked up at the sky, a large pool of liquid stretched outward. Like the roots of a tree, each one snaked its way to the cups that are in the Apithiens hands. This continued until all the cups were filled. Taligen summoned the cups out of thin air and the Grand Elder controlled the dark substance. Laila had seen nothing like it…
"Before we drink, I would like to say one thing…" The Grand Elder cleared her throat and rose her arm to the crowd. "This is only the next chapter of our race! With the death of our leaders, so comes the birth of a new one! A new chapter awaits us. A chapter that Sir Solgen and Sir Volken had opened for us! Our stories are a book meant to never end as long as we Apithiens live! To Sir Solgen and Sir Volken!"
"To Sir Solgen and Sir Volken!" A volley of voices boomed at the top of their lungs. The Sea of Ice rumbled, and the trees swayed. Mountains in the distance shuddered and groaned as chunks of ice and snow were ripped off their peaks. The united Apithiens drank the contents of their glass and smashed it on the ground. Laila and Isaac followed along and threw theirs, licking their lips.
"And with that… the memorial service is done." The Grand Elder finished- the sound of breaking glass following soon after.