The Lunar Orichalcum shines a ray of light through the roof and into the night sky, emitting waves of divine energy throughout the realm. Everyone was silent and fixed upon the person who caused a phenomenon in the orichalcum.
Tanwen's demeanor was calm, yet she was shocked and curious on the ability she received that caused this whole sensation within the Moonlight Hall while her mother was excited about her daughter getting future attention from her distant father and couldn't wait to be favored once again.
The orichacum's divine light touches Tanwen's forehead, forming a golden cup with wings on each side. A radiant change begins as her white wings appear and stretch out as large as an adult phoenix's wings, adorned with the golden glow of holy power felt within.
Clan Head Fengyue widens his eyes in realization, knowing what the cup mark and the changes to the girl entails. After the divine energy had quieted down, he rose up from his seat smiling.
"Congratulations, Lord Aeronwen. Your daughter Tanwen has been granted the ability to become the Holy Grail Priestess, the one who will resonate with the Eclipsed Holy Grail."
Cue audible gasps and shock. The Eclipsed Holy Grail was the most divine treasure shared by both the Lunar and Solar Heavens, used to protect the balance of the realms and safely reincarnate the deceased souls into a new life in a new realm. The One who resonates with the grail is able to use one of its abilities to alter the course of the rebirth cycle.
There were many who coveted the ability due to their lingering attachments to their mortal lifetimes and prayed for the Lunar Orichalcum to give them the authority to return their mortal beloveds to life, yet they were denied the opportunity. The souls who have already passed through the Holy Grail can never be reclaimed its former life.
"Clan head. . .What's the Holy Grail Priestess?"
Tanwen asked him, obviously too big of a word for a young six-year-old to know.
"Little Tanwen, being a Holy Grail Priestess means you get to learn divine magic from the Lunar Temple. Your mother's sister, Priestess Agnesia, will get to teach you."
"Oh, auntie! Yay!~"
Tanwen was happy to see her aunt often now, and everyone else looked at the young kid in high regard.
'Why are they looking at her like that?'
Haifeng didn't like that the people were seeing the white phoenix like she was some sort of goddess, she's just a kid after all!
"Chimalus, isn't it stressful for someone to look to them with high expectations? Especially when they're young?"
Her guardian Chimalus was silent as he stares at the young white phoenix happily going back to her mother and getting acknowledgement from her father. He too, noticed that the stares of the ambitious were eyeing the young girl with pressured scrutiny.
"This is expected. After all, children of your age are set to reach even higher than the generation before them. If they don't meet those expectations, then they're considered failures."
The gray phoenix listened and pouted because she didn't like this sort of normal thinking at all. How can a child even know how to improve around these groups of ambitious families who would just flatter her at every angle?
"Living as a child is easy, but being a child is hard."
"You're not a normal child anyway. No normal child would discuss difficult matters like these with an adult."
Chimalus and Haifeng have had many discussions like this since he found out her mental age was a lot older than what she looks physically. He came to theorize that she may have returned as an egg and lost her memories but still retained a sense of her persona, which he won't ask since it may have been a risky choice for her previous life.
"Since you're interested in her, why don't you curry favor from the kid?"
"I am NOT interested in being friends with her."
"Oh so you wanted to befriend her? Good luck with that."
"Hey! Don't jinx me!"
While they were quietly bickering, Clan Head Fengyue deeply sighed from hearing them with great clarity.
'Is there ever a day they never argue?'
"Haah. . .Haifeng, are you done? Get up here."
And Haifeng froze in her seat upon being called by the clan head.