“Of course! You don’t need to worry about me, though. I’m very strong!” Ariel said brightly, puffing out her chest.
Ariel
Princess of the Sun Elves
Health: 400/400
Mana: 2520/2520
Occupation: None
Skills:
Archery: (8/10)
Light Magic (7/10)
Fire Magic (7/10)
Holy Magic (7/10)
Disguise
Rewards and Crimes: None
Gifts: Blessing of the Goddess of Hunt
Titles: Daughter of the Exalted Sun
Well, okay, then. I guess I don’t need to worry. Maybe I’ll use my Conceal skill somehow to hide the fact that she’s an elf…
“See? I told you, I’m strong!” said Ariel. “I haven’t been an elven princess for fifty years for nothing!”
Wait, what? She’s the oldest of us by decades?!
“And look! I can do this, too! It’s a skill called Disguise!” She reached up and pinched the tips of her long pointy ears. With a little tug, they shifted and rounded out into perfectly human shaped ears.
✦ ✦ ✦
Meanwhile, far above the elven village was the celestial temple in which the gods dwelled, on an island suspended in the heavens supported by the three World Trees.
There, the gods had built their shrines from alabaster and lived alongside their attending apostles. At the center of the divine island rose a particularly grand structure, a towering temple belonging to the father of all the gods, the highest of all beings—the Creator.
He took the form of an elderly man and sat on a throne deep within the temple. It was there that the Nature Spirit King and the Earth Spirit King, having learned through Daisy that the illness of the World Tree was a malicious attack, now stood in an audience before him.
“Someone has been trying to destroy the World Trees?” the Creator murmured, stroking his white beard.
“Yes,” said the Nature Spirit King. “One of them has been saved thanks to my beloved child, but the other two are still on the edge of death.”
The Earth Spirit King stepped forward. “The decay is slow, but even one of the trees dying would cause the heavens themselves to fall. The land where mortals, elves, and demons dwell would be torn apart, opening chasms to the underworld. We gods are forbidden from meddling too openly in mortal affairs, but perhaps this time some divine intervention is necessary?”
The Creator’s hand continued to stroke his beard. He nodded slowly, his ancient eyes narrowing in thought. “Perhaps it is time to adjust some of the blessings granted to the children of men. Summon the god of Occupations.”
“Yes, at once.” One of the apostles who served the Creator turned and rushed away.
The god of Occupations, as the name suggested, was the one who presided over the Baptisms and assigned people their callings.
“I heard my Father has summoned me.” The arriving god was a tall figure with sleek silver hair and intelligent blue eyes. He placed a hand over his chest and bowed respectfully.
Once again, the gods began to deliberate over the matter of the World Trees.
“You wish to adjust the blessings?” said the god of Occupations. “Yes, I see. In truth, there were two children to whom I granted the callings of Sage and Saint at their Baptisms, but sadly both became arrogant, thinking themselves above others. They lost any will to use their gifts in aid of others. I was thinking of sending revelations of an Occupation change to revoke them.”
“I see. And?” The Creator gestured for him to continue.
The god of Occupations nodded slowly and went on. “However, there are two children, Mages with benevolent hearts who have worked tirelessly and grown powerful. They happen to be close to the Beloved Child in question. I propose to grant them revelations of an Occupation change as well, so they may take up the abandoned callings of Sage and Saint. Surely, they will strive together with the Beloved Child to aid the children of men.”
He smiled faintly as he spoke. He held a crystal ball about the size of an apple in his hand, and within the orb shimmered the faces of the children he spoke of—ones Daisy knew very well indeed…
✦ ✦ ✦
After the World Tree was saved, the village of the Sun Elves erupted with joy. People were celebrating everywhere I looked. On top of that, there was more exciting news: Princess Ariel would be setting out on a journey to save the other trees, traveling with the Beloved Children themselves!
“Tonight, we feast!” Elves ran through the village, calling out with excitement. Men hurried off to hunt, while women gathered baskets and slipped into the forest to pick fruit.
We weren’t allowed to join the preparations since we were guests of honor, and we would be staying at the elves’ castle tonight.
“The World Tree’s finally started to shed the dead leaves,” I said. “New buds are already starting to grow. But it still looks like it’s in pain.”
I stood near the massive tree trunk again, watching tender shoots uncurl from the bark. Still, the tree looked battered and raw, making my heart ache. Leaf stood close to me as if he understood.
“I wonder if potions work on plants?” I murmured as the idea popped into my head.
Leaf tipped his head to the side thoughtfully. “If you imbue one of your potions with your own mana, perhaps it will work, Lady Daisy. After all, the World Tree is kin of the Nature Spirit King.”
It certainly couldn’t hurt to try, even if it was a long shot.
Since the World Tree was so huge, I figured it would be better to cover as much of the surface as possible, so I opened three hi-potions. They were expensive, but I had brewed them from herbs grown in my own garden. If ever there was a time to be generous, this was it.
I gathered the liquid in the air and shaped them into floating spheres, then infused them with my mana until the glassy orbs shimmered brightly with power.
The potion spheres lifted from my hands and floated higher and higher. Once they rose far enough, they needed to disperse into as fine a mist as possible.
“Healing Mist!” I called out.
The droplets burst apart, becoming a gentle rain that fell over the branches and newborn leaves. As the sunlight filtered through the falling mist, it painted a perfect, glowing rainbow over the World Tree, like it was wearing a colorful, shimmering crown.
“Wow, it’s beautiful…” I said.
I wasn’t the only one whispering. All around us, elves had stopped to stare at the effect, their eyes wide with surprise. Some let out soft gasps while others cried in wonder.
But the miracle didn’t end there. Suddenly, the green buds unfurled all at once along the entire tree and spread wide like little hands to catch the rainbow light, growing bigger and bigger into full young leaves before our eyes.
“What a beautiful sight!” said one of the elves.
“The World Tree is coming back to life!”
“Look! There she is! Our Beloved Child! She did that!”
“All hail the Beloved Child!”
Everyone knew exactly who was responsible. They came running toward me in amazement, and then lifted me high into the air before I could protest.
This is so embarrassing!
They tossed me up into the air again and again, laughing and cheering until I felt something brush lightly against my stomach. A slender branch had drifted down out of the foliage, hovering close to me.
I’d like you to plant my child in your garden, said a gentle voice inside my mind.
“Sure. I’ll take it home with me,” I whispered.
The elves finally set me down, and I tucked the little branch into my satchel.
Afterward, I wandered the village in search of rare plants I could use in Alchemy.
Healing herbs, magical herbs… They were just like the ones growing in my own garden.
Wait a minute!
Elven Pearl Herb
Classification: Plant
Quality: High
Rarity: A
Status: Resembles lily of the valley, but nontoxic. Water infused with the essence of its flowers creates a luxurious lotion.
Feeling: I’ll make a fragrant lotion that will make your skin smooth and soft!
Oh, perfect! Mother, Dahlia, Miina, Katya… Everyone will love this!
Elven Healing Herb
Classification: Plant
Quality: High
Rarity: B
Status: Brewing this herb into a potion will recover a moderate amount of both health and mana.
Feeling: What goes perfectly with healing herbs?
Magical herbs! There it is.
Elven Magical Herb
Classification: Plant
Quality: High
Rarity: B
Status: Brewing this herb into a potion will recover a moderate amount of both health and mana.
Feeling: Correct!
I asked a nearby elf if they’d mind sharing cuttings of all three, which they were happy to do.
That night, there was a great bonfire in the village square. Elves everywhere played music: one perched on a carved stool playing a harp, another sat cross-legged on the ground strumming a lute, and a third swayed in place as they played the flute.
A crescent moon hung overhead. The stars glowed, as though blessing the rebirth of the World Tree. It stood tall and proud once more, crowned with tender new leaves that rustled in the breeze.
From their forays into the forest, elves had prepared a banquet of whole roast chickens stuffed with herbs, wild boar seared to perfection, and bowls of berries and nuts. The adults had mead while I was served fresh fruit juice instead.
As the musicians played, singers lifted their voices in songs of gratitude and joy to the healed World Tree.
It was one of the most beautiful nights I’d ever experienced.