HOME | DD

Description
Chapter 4: Ceremony

        Back in the human world, Marie was on the phone with her mother.
        "Yes, mom. Everything is going well. I've unpacked and I'm ready for the start of school. My roommates are nice, but I can't have you meeting them right now. They left this morning to do some stuff and aren't back yet." They had been speaking for an hour now. "Yes, alright mom. Goodnight, I'll call you back soon." They hung up on each other as Marie looked outside the window. The sun was beginning to set.
        "Where are those two at so late in the day when they left so early?"

        As day shone through the wooden holes with netting that served as windows, a knock happened at the door. The three hadn't gotten sleep that night. They opened the door to see Tikorra and Verdan. While Tikorra wore the same clothes as yesterday, Verdan was wearing black feathers in his hair and a sleeveless cloth jacket.
        Verdan looked past the three and to the table they were reading the books at. Andrew and James were still there, but Andrew seemed to have stopped reading. "Were you reading all night?" He asked them.
        "Yes, actually." Tess said back. She had answered the door. Tess narrowed her eyes at him as she recognized the color in his eyes, there had been something she read about dark eye colors in elves.
        "Oh, I couldn't stand reading those books." Verdan looked away from the gaze of Tess and to her history books.
        "Well, that doesn't matter much now. I'm sorry we didn't have much else than books ready." Tikorra seemed to be interested in stopping the conversation. "Elder Ula assigned us as your guides for now, she will want to see you. I'm sure she's been doing research for you. Please follow us."
        The three humans followed the two elves back through the tree tops. As they looked in the sky, they saw no sun but also no clouds. They walked by elves who were starting their day. A few of them noticed the humans and whispered to the elves next to them or stared in disbelief.
        "Word travels fast here." Tikorra said to them. "Someone must have had overheard the conversation with Elder Ula. They are just curious."
        Eventually, they made it to the stone tree and saw Elder Ula sitting at the tree stump. Around her were young elves. In human terms, they would be seen as ten years old. She seemed to be telling a story to them. "Then," She had said as they walked towards her. "Vlenhire tore open a rift between worlds and caused chaos to the feral elves. They tore through the lands and forced the Elder Council to act. Together, the elders used powerful magic to stop the ferals in their path. They have been scattered for now, but they still are out there. That's why you should never go into the forest alone at night. They might just find you." She turned towards the humans. "Now, why don't you pesky children go play? That's all for today."
        As the children left, Andrew couldn't help but ask. "Did you find anything on us going home?"
        "Yes, I did. Luckily, the Red Witch left information before she passed in her sleep. All you have to do is go back to her hut and stand together. Say the words from the back page of the book and you will be transported back to where you came from."
        They sighed in relief. "Thank you." Tess and James said at the same time.
        "Oh, it was only my duty. Two things before you can go. Firstly, you can not tell any human about this place. That can cause too much trouble. The only humans you can tell about this place are those who use magic. And even there, you must make sure they are trust worthy." Once everyone agreed, she started again. "Next, we are having a ceremony today. It will start soon, and you will need a guide. Once we finish that, you can go. It will not take much time, do not worry."
        "I mean, I don't know what time it is where we from anymore." James said. "But...We don't have much of choice do we?" He looked at his companions and they nodded in agreement. "We'll wait, then. Can I watch the ceremony? I have to say, I am interested."
        "Well, of course you can. It is tradition that the ceremony is spoken in our language, not yours. So, we shall have to give you a translator. Our diplomat from last year will do. Please, the ceremony is starting soon, you can be on any of the platforms in view of this one. I will be speaking from here and the only ones allowed to be on the one behind this will be those who are getting a mark."
        Andrew, James, and Tess took their leave, making their way to a platform not too far away. Verdan and Tikorra stayed. As the humans got to the platform, they turned to see Verdan walking behind the stone tree while Tikorra went to a different platform from them.
        In the next hour, many elves arrived at the platforms. Other platforms seemed to be full, but not many stood next to the humans still. There were only a few wide eyed young elves and one very old looking elf who stood on the same platform as them. Eventually, an elf that looked almost the same age as Verdan walked up to them. He introduced himself as Jorry, the diplomat.
        The elves in the audience quieted as Elder Ula sat on the same wooden stump as before. She cleared her throat before speaking. Elder Ula spoke in the Elven language that the humans could not understand. Jorry spoke to them to where they could understand.
        "We gather tonight in order to mark the maturity of out next generation of our blood. The trial happened already and those who walk towards me and then to their future have passed the trial. I am pleased to say we even have three humans with us today." She paused, glancing towards the three humans. Then she went back to addressing everyone again. "I remember when these elves were young and listening to my stories. Their bright smiles were wonderful. There was only one orphan in this generation, but that did not matter much."
        "I will not say names, but I remember when a young elf attempted to climb a tree, seeing a wonderful Broiladder there. That elf plucked it from the tree and returned it to his parents. It was impressive agility and I think it has been obvious since then of what that young elf would become. Meanwhile, another young elf could not pronounce a single word in any human language." She laughed. "It wasn't until much later that we learned they didn't learn out of spite. After light punishment, they did better."
        Tess looked at Elder Ula questioningly, but continued to listen as the speech continued.
        "No matter what sort of adventure they had, they are here today. Now, let us begin the marking. Firstly, Aiviar." A female elf walked up, her hair was braided and she wore a long, cloth dress. Light glinted off of her eyes almost in a way a cat's eyes would shine. They were bright pink. "You work well with animals and showed so on the trial. You herded fauna from the deep forest and to the grazing lands, where they belong. For this, you will work with them in the future. You are now forever known as Aiviar the herder." Aiviar bowed greatly to Elder Ula, then walked to the other side of the platform and behind the Elder Tree once again.
        "Next, Verdan." The elf the humans had already met walked on stage. He wore the same clothes as earlier. "Verdan, you have dark eyes, but they work well in light hours. You are able to navigate quietly through creaky wooden platforms and you know how to forage as well. Due to this combination that you proved to have on the trial, you will now be known as Verdan the scout." Verdan bowed at her, not as enthusiastically as Aiviar. Then, he too went behind the tree.
        "Now, Flarora." Another female elf walked to Elder Ula from behind the tree. She wore the same outfit as the other female. "You have exceptional talent speaking both human languages and our own. Not only this, but you have shown to make excellent decisions during the trial. For this, you will forever be known as Flarora the diplomat." She bowed, enthusiastically in a way that almost made up for Verdan's bow.
        The rest of the ceremony was the same. Some elf got called onto stage then was talked about and given a mark. There was a ranger, stone carver, scavenger, and something called a seeker. It ended with Elder Ula speaking once again. "Today we bring a new generation to a new step into their lives. They are now old enough to make more decisions in their lives and they have proven that they can do this. So, for this year the ceremony comes to an end. I thank you all for listening."
        The elves clapped for a few seconds, then chatter began in the crowd as they got up and walked away to resume their work. Jorry looked at the three. "The Elder would likely like to see you. I am sorry, I have to return to work now." Then he too got up and left them.
        James, Tess, and Andrew stood up and went back to the Elder Tree. Luckily, they had remembered the way back. Andrew noted that each platform had anywhere up to four pathways on them that goes to another platform with even more pathways on it.
        "It's a good thing I'm not afraid of heights." James said while walking on one of the wooden bridge pathways. "I wouldn't be able to move an inch. I wonder if all the civilizations in this world are like this. That would be weird, wouldn't it?"
        "Well," Tess looked over the edge of the walkway, fascinated. "They would see our cities as weird too, wouldn't they? Besides, I read that they do this here because they respect trees in nature and that this keeps them away from forest floor monsters. Spooky, right?"
        "Spooky?" Andrew asked. "This whole place is spooky. I think I prefer being in our own world, away from this sunless, moonless place."
        "You know what? I don't trust this place, even if it weren't sunless and moonless." Tess got the attention of the two as she stopped in the middle of the path. There were no elves walking this path, it seemed that they had all gone to resume their daily lives and not many were walking around at this time of day. "I read something in the books. It said that elves with dark eyes are evil. That they descended from the first dark mage. That Verdan guy has dark eyes. I don't think he's good news."
        "Well," Andrew frowned at her. "Now you are just condemning him for something about their race's history that we don't know too much about. I'd say give him a chance. You never know, he might surprise you. I once new a girl..." He trailed off as he began walking past Tess.
        James looked confused at Andrew for a second as he walked further along, not looking back at them. "What does that mean?" When Tess shrugged, he continued. "Look, just give Verdan a chance. The other elves haven't said anything about it and we haven't seen him do anything bad."
        "Yeah, sure. But when you guys change your minds, don't say I didn't tell you." With that, they started quickly walking towards Andrew, who had already turned onto a different walkway.
        They had gotten back to the great stone tree and they heard voices coming from the platform on the side that elves walked to and from during the ceremony. The voices were in that Elven language they couldn't understand, but they recognized the voice of Verdan. His voice sounded irritated.
        The three quietly looked behind the tree to see Verdan with an angry expression on his face arguing with another elf who refused to look him in the eyes.

Description
Chapter 4: Ceremony

        Back in the human world, Marie was on the phone with her mother.
        "Yes, mom. Everything is going well. I've unpacked and I'm ready for the start of school. My roommates are nice, but I can't have you meeting them right now. They left this morning to do some stuff and aren't back yet." They had been speaking for an hour now. "Yes, alright mom. Goodnight, I'll call you back soon." They hung up on each other as Marie looked outside the window. The sun was beginning to set.
        "Where are those two at so late in the day when they left so early?"

        As day shone through the wooden holes with netting that served as windows, a knock happened at the door. The three hadn't gotten sleep that night. They opened the door to see Tikorra and Verdan. While Tikorra wore the same clothes as yesterday, Verdan was wearing black feathers in his hair and a sleeveless cloth jacket.
        Verdan looked past the three and to the table they were reading the books at. Andrew and James were still there, but Andrew seemed to have stopped reading. "Were you reading all night?" He asked them.
        "Yes, actually." Tess said back. She had answered the door. Tess narrowed her eyes at him as she recognized the color in his eyes, there had been something she read about dark eye colors in elves.
        "Oh, I couldn't stand reading those books." Verdan looked away from the gaze of Tess and to her history books.
        "Well, that doesn't matter much now. I'm sorry we didn't have much else than books ready." Tikorra seemed to be interested in stopping the conversation. "Elder Ula assigned us as your guides for now, she will want to see you. I'm sure she's been doing research for you. Please follow us."
        The three humans followed the two elves back through the tree tops. As they looked in the sky, they saw no sun but also no clouds. They walked by elves who were starting their day. A few of them noticed the humans and whispered to the elves next to them or stared in disbelief.
        "Word travels fast here." Tikorra said to them. "Someone must have had overheard the conversation with Elder Ula. They are just curious."
        Eventually, they made it to the stone tree and saw Elder Ula sitting at the tree stump. Around her were young elves. In human terms, they would be seen as ten years old. She seemed to be telling a story to them. "Then," She had said as they walked towards her. "Vlenhire tore open a rift between worlds and caused chaos to the feral elves. They tore through the lands and forced the Elder Council to act. Together, the elders used powerful magic to stop the ferals in their path. They have been scattered for now, but they still are out there. That's why you should never go into the forest alone at night. They might just find you." She turned towards the humans. "Now, why don't you pesky children go play? That's all for today."
        As the children left, Andrew couldn't help but ask. "Did you find anything on us going home?"
        "Yes, I did. Luckily, the Red Witch left information before she passed in her sleep. All you have to do is go back to her hut and stand together. Say the words from the back page of the book and you will be transported back to where you came from."
        They sighed in relief. "Thank you." Tess and James said at the same time.
        "Oh, it was only my duty. Two things before you can go. Firstly, you can not tell any human about this place. That can cause too much trouble. The only humans you can tell about this place are those who use magic. And even there, you must make sure they are trust worthy." Once everyone agreed, she started again. "Next, we are having a ceremony today. It will start soon, and you will need a guide. Once we finish that, you can go. It will not take much time, do not worry."
        "I mean, I don't know what time it is where we from anymore." James said. "But...We don't have much of choice do we?" He looked at his companions and they nodded in agreement. "We'll wait, then. Can I watch the ceremony? I have to say, I am interested."
        "Well, of course you can. It is tradition that the ceremony is spoken in our language, not yours. So, we shall have to give you a translator. Our diplomat from last year will do. Please, the ceremony is starting soon, you can be on any of the platforms in view of this one. I will be speaking from here and the only ones allowed to be on the one behind this will be those who are getting a mark."
        Andrew, James, and Tess took their leave, making their way to a platform not too far away. Verdan and Tikorra stayed. As the humans got to the platform, they turned to see Verdan walking behind the stone tree while Tikorra went to a different platform from them.
        In the next hour, many elves arrived at the platforms. Other platforms seemed to be full, but not many stood next to the humans still. There were only a few wide eyed young elves and one very old looking elf who stood on the same platform as them. Eventually, an elf that looked almost the same age as Verdan walked up to them. He introduced himself as Jorry, the diplomat.
        The elves in the audience quieted as Elder Ula sat on the same wooden stump as before. She cleared her throat before speaking. Elder Ula spoke in the Elven language that the humans could not understand. Jorry spoke to them to where they could understand.
        "We gather tonight in order to mark the maturity of out next generation of our blood. The trial happened already and those who walk towards me and then to their future have passed the trial. I am pleased to say we even have three humans with us today." She paused, glancing towards the three humans. Then she went back to addressing everyone again. "I remember when these elves were young and listening to my stories. Their bright smiles were wonderful. There was only one orphan in this generation, but that did not matter much."
        "I will not say names, but I remember when a young elf attempted to climb a tree, seeing a wonderful Broiladder there. That elf plucked it from the tree and returned it to his parents. It was impressive agility and I think it has been obvious since then of what that young elf would become. Meanwhile, another young elf could not pronounce a single word in any human language." She laughed. "It wasn't until much later that we learned they didn't learn out of spite. After light punishment, they did better."
        Tess looked at Elder Ula questioningly, but continued to listen as the speech continued.
        "No matter what sort of adventure they had, they are here today. Now, let us begin the marking. Firstly, Aiviar." A female elf walked up, her hair was braided and she wore a long, cloth dress. Light glinted off of her eyes almost in a way a cat's eyes would shine. They were bright pink. "You work well with animals and showed so on the trial. You herded fauna from the deep forest and to the grazing lands, where they belong. For this, you will work with them in the future. You are now forever known as Aiviar the herder." Aiviar bowed greatly to Elder Ula, then walked to the other side of the platform and behind the Elder Tree once again.
        "Next, Verdan." The elf the humans had already met walked on stage. He wore the same clothes as earlier. "Verdan, you have dark eyes, but they work well in light hours. You are able to navigate quietly through creaky wooden platforms and you know how to forage as well. Due to this combination that you proved to have on the trial, you will now be known as Verdan the scout." Verdan bowed at her, not as enthusiastically as Aiviar. Then, he too went behind the tree.
        "Now, Flarora." Another female elf walked to Elder Ula from behind the tree. She wore the same outfit as the other female. "You have exceptional talent speaking both human languages and our own. Not only this, but you have shown to make excellent decisions during the trial. For this, you will forever be known as Flarora the diplomat." She bowed, enthusiastically in a way that almost made up for Verdan's bow.
        The rest of the ceremony was the same. Some elf got called onto stage then was talked about and given a mark. There was a ranger, stone carver, scavenger, and something called a seeker. It ended with Elder Ula speaking once again. "Today we bring a new generation to a new step into their lives. They are now old enough to make more decisions in their lives and they have proven that they can do this. So, for this year the ceremony comes to an end. I thank you all for listening."
        The elves clapped for a few seconds, then chatter began in the crowd as they got up and walked away to resume their work. Jorry looked at the three. "The Elder would likely like to see you. I am sorry, I have to return to work now." Then he too got up and left them.
        James, Tess, and Andrew stood up and went back to the Elder Tree. Luckily, they had remembered the way back. Andrew noted that each platform had anywhere up to four pathways on them that goes to another platform with even more pathways on it.
        "It's a good thing I'm not afraid of heights." James said while walking on one of the wooden bridge pathways. "I wouldn't be able to move an inch. I wonder if all the civilizations in this world are like this. That would be weird, wouldn't it?"
        "Well," Tess looked over the edge of the walkway, fascinated. "They would see our cities as weird too, wouldn't they? Besides, I read that they do this here because they respect trees in nature and that this keeps them away from forest floor monsters. Spooky, right?"
        "Spooky?" Andrew asked. "This whole place is spooky. I think I prefer being in our own world, away from this sunless, moonless place."
        "You know what? I don't trust this place, even if it weren't sunless and moonless." Tess got the attention of the two as she stopped in the middle of the path. There were no elves walking this path, it seemed that they had all gone to resume their daily lives and not many were walking around at this time of day. "I read something in the books. It said that elves with dark eyes are evil. That they descended from the first dark mage. That Verdan guy has dark eyes. I don't think he's good news."
        "Well," Andrew frowned at her. "Now you are just condemning him for something about their race's history that we don't know too much about. I'd say give him a chance. You never know, he might surprise you. I once new a girl..." He trailed off as he began walking past Tess.
        James looked confused at Andrew for a second as he walked further along, not looking back at them. "What does that mean?" When Tess shrugged, he continued. "Look, just give Verdan a chance. The other elves haven't said anything about it and we haven't seen him do anything bad."
        "Yeah, sure. But when you guys change your minds, don't say I didn't tell you." With that, they started quickly walking towards Andrew, who had already turned onto a different walkway.
        They had gotten back to the great stone tree and they heard voices coming from the platform on the side that elves walked to and from during the ceremony. The voices were in that Elven language they couldn't understand, but they recognized the voice of Verdan. His voice sounded irritated.
        The three quietly looked behind the tree to see Verdan with an angry expression on his face arguing with another elf who refused to look him in the eyes.