Lefiya Viridis was a kind, compassionate girl.
Never unbearable or prone to pride or lacking in concern for anything besides other elves, which could make her fellow elves seem stubborn and hardheaded.
She was pure and innocent in her dealings with every race, every person. It would probably be fair to say she was a bundle of curiosity. Put simply, she was the opposite of the common stereotype. She was an elf who was easy to get along with.
That was all due to the village where she was born and raised.
Lefiya’s home, Wishe Forest, was an unusual place.
Even among the many elven villages in the world, it was widely known to the outside world.
Located in the great river of trees that spread across the center of the continent, Wishe Forest was a transit hub for merchants and travelers crossing the continent. Many people of other races visited the village and passed through it on their travels.
That was an extraordinarily unusual situation compared to most elven forests.
The isolated and isolationist elf villages were in the process of adjusting to the changes that came with the dawn of the era of gods. But none were so open as that. Most of the elves living in the forests protected their sacred trees, followed the teachings of their people, and drew a distinct line between themselves and the outside world. It was common for elves who left their homes to be stunned to discover the diversity of the world.
There was none of that for the people of Wishe Forest.
They proactively interacted with people of other races, dreamed of the world outside their forest, and eventually left on journeys of their own. Sociable, compatible with other races, and possessing magic powers that stood out even among fellow elves.
That was the trademark of a Wishe Forest elf.
It all traced back to the inspiration for the village’s name.
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Ahh, ’tis so silly, so trite!
What meaningless fairy customs!
My fellow elves, leave the woods and gaze upon the world.
Build bonds and expand the circle of fairies.
Elves, know ye true pride!
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It was one of the works of Wishe, who was known as one of the three great bards whose names survived from the distant past.
And it was, to this day, one of the core teachings of the village.
By all accounts, Wishe had been an uninhibited, rootless traveler who would never stay still in any place long enough to build a village.
But elves who looked up to that bard recovered the forest where Wishe was born from the monsters that had taken it over and established a village there, taking the bard’s name for the village. That was the origin of the place that was called Wishe Forest to this day.
Following the teachings of an elf who was freer than any, they possessed a greater interest in the outside world than any other elves.
And the young Lefiya was no exception.
She often listened excitedly to travelers at the village tavern, begging them for stories, and became enchanted by the souvenirs that villagers brought back with them from the outside world.
“A grand waterfall hiding a sea…a sea of sand called the Kaios Desert…and the Dungeon…what sort of places are they?”
Sometimes she would crouch down low on the mossy ground and crawl through a tunnel of tilted trees to enter a secret garden.
This was a field of countless little white flowers that only Lefiya knew about. This was her special place.
“I…want to see the outside world.”
She would sink into imagination, sitting on a fallen log, a picture book of the outside world in her lap, while looking at the sacred tree of Wishe Forest, famed for its crown of light.
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Kind, a little bit cowardly, and a little bit indecisive, Lefiya found it difficult to set out alone with such vague feelings. She was scared, uneasy, and had nothing to rely on. But she intended to leave the village immediately if the opportunity ever arose.
Some guidance from a spirit would be more than enough. It was a bit embarrassing, but she would not have minded a prince on a white horse coming to take her away. Indulging in childish, fairy-tale-esque fits of imagination, Lefiya hoped for an opportunity to come knocking.
She was an elf who could race ahead if she had a reason. Something. Anything.
She spent every day hoping while staring up at the sacred tree. However, against all expectations, that opportunity came sooner than she had expected.
“Lefiya, did you hear?! The School District showed up in the port town to the south!”
“They did?!”
“Yeah! The school that travels all around the world!”
It was the day she turned eight.
According to an excited local merchant, the School District had stopped in a harbor that lay south of the river of trees. Any child ages six to ten, no matter who or their race, was allowed to enroll. There was no tuition required, either.
The only requirement was the determination to study.
Hearing that, Lefiya’s long, pointed ears pricked up.
“Mother, Father! I’m going to the School District!”
““A-all right.””
Taken aback by the look on the girl’s face when she came home and slammed her hands on the dinner table, her parents agreed without argument.
Lefiya was almost impossible to stop once she had made up her mind. More than anything, Lefiya wanted to learn about the outside world and discover what she wanted to be. She wanted to be more than just a Wishe Forest elf. She wanted to become Lefiya Viridis. She was sure that the School District, which could allow her to travel the world and experience all sorts of new things, was the perfect fit for her.
Determined not to miss her long-awaited opportunity, she diligently set about packing her bags.
No one stopped her. Per Wishe’s teachings, they encouraged their children setting out into the world.
Her parents were lonely, but they sent her off with smiles on their faces.
Her amber-haired mother and dark-blue-eyed father held a small party for her the night before she left. Lefiya’s eyes filled with tears while growing a little hesitant and worrying about how it would be pathetic if she failed the examination and came back right away.
“Come home whenever you need. Be it tomorrow or ten years from now.”
“Your mother’s right. It can be one day’s worth of stories or ten thousand days’ worth. We would love to hear about what you saw and learned traveling the world, just like Wishe did.”
Her parents noticed her worries and gently patted her head while telling her just what she needed to hear.
After Lefiya shed some tears, a smile came to her lips.
After burying her head in her parents’ sides, she loudly declared that she would come back.
On the day she set out, there was a crown of light atop the great tree.
It seemed like the sacred tree was sending her off like all the villagers who had come out to see her.
There were glimmering shards of light.
It was magical energy scattering like the petals of a Far Eastern sakura tree—fragments of a bond.
What a beautiful circle of light.
No matter what happened, no matter what she saw, she would never forget the sight of that fairy ring that had taken root in her heart.
Certain of that, Lefiya set out on her journey.