[center][hr][img]https://i.imgur.com/s9W0kti.png[/img][hr]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/TFLsVNK.jpg?1[/img][/center]
[right][hr][color=gray][b]Tir Cartref, The Kingdom of Môrogoed[/b]
Royal Courtyard[/color][hr][/right]
[indent][b]Cawsom wlad i'w chadw, darn o dir yn dyst ein bod wedi mynnu byw.[/b]

The tired Elven king pressed his hands to the old runes that had been engraved, a reminder of the old times. A weary smile rested on his lips as he took a long, deep breath before turning his back to face his daughter, a young woman that was ready to reach adulthood and find her place. It was the one hundredth and twentieth anniversary of her birth and as a prelude to the ceremony, he wanted to have a personal moment with her. She had not stepped outside of The Viridian Sea and he was worried that her own curiosities would doom her if he did not have this final reminder of what it meant to be a member of the Deggwerin race.

“We were given a country to keep, a piece of land as proof that we insisted on living.” He paused, his smile widening as he said the words in the oed tafod, the language of what the other races deemed ‘elvish’. “It’s poetic, isn’t it, Arianwen?”

The young elven woman, arms crossed responded with her own smile, but even he knew the smile she bore on her face was contrived of appeasement. After all, she was his very own treespawn. 

It took a lot for his little princess to speak on what troubles her, or at least to him. But he knew she wanted the day to be over and the new phase of her life to begin. He already knew she had the intention of ignoring the safety of the Viridian Sea, wishing to explore beyond the pines and oaks that dotted the western reaches. She wanted to visit what remained of their elven cousins, to see the cracked stone of the old cities that had fallen into decay or ruin, and to touch and speak to a human for the very first time in her life. She detested how he had forbid her to journey beyond the sea. He knew all of it. So his question was just another way he could tell her to be careful and to be mindful of the past when engaging with the future. It was his way.

The young woman nodded, “Very.”

It was a simple response. He had already predicted it. He pushed his hands behind his back, taking a formal and rigid posture. He intended on driving the point home. To make her feel wary of leaving or at least burn the concept that the decline of their civilization was on their heads and that frolicking with humankind was what led to their fall. Caution was the most important things an ‘elf’ could have.

“We were given a country to keep and we lost it. All that remains is Môrogoed. That is the greatest tragedy of the deggwerin people.”

“What about Gorstir? It still exists, does it not?” 

The retort was a sensible one, or at least it [i]would[/i] have been if it wasn’t founded on naïve insinuations. Gorstir was as dead as Maesdal and Rhewcartref; the only difference was that Gorstir was a living corpse. There was no great nation of Gorstir left, only a lesser version that held onto an old name that they had forgot the meaning of. They had lost their capital to monstrosities, their highland villages overrun by humans, and their great society muddled down as they created a pact with the Kings of ‘Petaxaleena’ because they convinced themselves there was no other choice. The humans had enslaved them. The ‘swamp elves’ of the southern reaches were nothing but thralls of humankind.

“In name only.” He uttered bluntly. “Gorstir is no more than an idea that the Kings of Petaxaleena allow the elves to cling onto. There is no nation of elves. They live in alienage and cravenness.”

“That’s rather harsh, father.”

“The world is harsh, my sacred lotus. You will need to accept that one day.” He sighed, breaking eye contact with his daughter. “I suppose we have dallied much too long, I’ll see you at the ceremony later in the afternoon. Enjoy your last day of your beloved childhood. You’ll wish you cherished it if you squander it, so go. Frolic with your friends. May Mana guide you.”

She went into a bow. “And to you, father. Thank you.”


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