VIRION ERALITH

Had it not been for the jumble of memories that comprised the later years of my life, I would've scoffed at the idea of rebirth. Perhaps not in it's entirety, but expected something more complex, something that goes beyond closing your eyes in one place and opening them up in another. Did I expect some sort of grueling gauntlet of challenges to test my worth? Maybe I thought a being of near omniscient ability would pitch my soul to the field of the after life, only to throw a foul ball. 

Regardless of the fact I had never died, I still expected my journey to have more complications, yet here I was, inhabiting a flimsy and unresponsive body after being blinded by a white light. 

I could feel every fiber of cloth poking my skin, the towel wrapped around me serving as a spike ridden cage. My nose strongly picking up the familiar scent of blood, mix with other bodily fluids.

My enhanced elf ears working overtime, ensuring I couldn't decipher the words between the five or so voices. Some were sweet and calm while others were loud in volume but not annoying in tone. My eyes were strained shut, only opening them long enough for me to make out a few sources of light floating just under the ceiling of the large room. 

I tried to open my mouth to say something. Anything. But as my vocal cords stretched the only sound that came out was a whimpering cry. I was surprised, my mind turned and pulsed, only now remembering where exactly I was. Or better yet, when I was. 

Hearing my own infant wails flicked a switch in me. In that single instant, I threw every single title and position I had ever held out the window, making sure my pride went with it. 

I started sobbing, my tears drenching the towel around me and everything beneath. My cries serving as a conformation of my surrounding and to announce to the world I had been born anew. Amiss my cries, my eyes slowly readjusted themselves, only for my vision to lock on to a face I had always missed.

Mother

Her face beautiful, sharp with the stress induced wrinkles I remembered her by no where to be seen. Even with her striking emerald green eyes stained red from the pain her face was calm, her signature silvery white hair flowed down from the sides of her head, tickling my skin. Her hair formed a tunnel from my face to hers, but nonetheless the light shone through.

"My little baby boy, cease your cries." As she spoke in a motherly voice, my father walked to the bedside, wrapping his rigid arms around her shoulders as he looked at me with his amber colored eyes, a warm smile plastered on his face. He was gifted with a kind face, a slim but toned physique, a body that reminded me of my own during the prime years of my life. 

"From this day forward, for as long as I live, I won't let even a single scratch land on your soul." As my tears dried up, I was compelled to let out a stern laugh from my mother's words. I knew she had a good heart, but never once did I ever hear her speak so.... lovingly. 

No scratch on my soul she says. She sure made sure to not mention she had no qualms in letting me scratch my body.

I slowly closed my eyes, her soothing words doing wonders to calm my mind. After confirming the ring Arthur made had survived the trip along with me, I peacefully drifted to sleep.

There was so much to do, countless plans to make and things to build. But right now, I was having the most comfortable sleep in decades. 

◈◈◈◈◈◈◈ 

The months back were largely uneventful. Playing the role of an infant was excruciatingly boring and simple. I would lay in a cradle all day, with the occasional maid coming by to row me to sleep whenever they could hear me rustling in my sheets. The stupidly low amount of stamina of my body and mind hindered any extended trains of thought. 

Though there was one aspect of infancy that struck me as rather fascinating. Experiencing it for myself left me with a new found respect towards Arthur.

How in the hell did he stay sane for so long while trying to control these detestable organs?

Day after day, night after night, every minute of my time, something, be it thin or viscous, was trying to find it way out of my body, no matter which path it chose to take. I couldn't control the excretions, I could only swallow my pride and cry out in desperation for a change of diapers. 

I could only guess the saving grace of a tortured mind, was being breastfed. Ignoring the bizarre and unanswerable questions about such an act, the taste of the milk and more importantly the sense of warmth each session provided made me understand why children shut up after being fed. 

As I was crying in said desperation, showing the vigor of a wild ox, my mother storms into my room making quick work of my soiled underwear and carrying me in her arms around the palace. Looking at the high ceiling adorned with colored glass and chandeliers, complemented by the teal colored carpets filled me with a sense of nostalgia.

After the elven race had been nearly wiped out along with our home country of Elenoir, the brat had one day walked to the barren, scorched land where my kingdom once stood proud. Alone and without witnesses in his sight, he stood at the center of the empty lands, causing a quarter of the continent to shake. 

From outposts in the Beast Glades to the borders of Darv, a torrential rain of floating golden motes of energy rose and fell from the sky into the ground. First the ground regained its soft texture, followed by patches of moss and grass covering every inch of the ground. People spoke of trees forming themselves out of thin air, boulders falling from the sky and leaving there dent in the grounds below. Rivers flowed once more and clouds that seem plastered to the sky began to ride the wind. 

The entire forest had been put back together, but it could never be a home again. Asking for the lives of the elves to be returned was a fool's request. Along with being unable to bring back the vivid lifeforms that once ran free in the trees, Arthur had decided to leave the previous cities as nothing but ruins.

I understood why he deliberately left my kingdom as little more than scraps and rubble, but the bitterness at his decision only faded once I built my own cabin at the edges of the forest. It was only then that I felt a fraction of the security I felt now, hugged by my mother's arms as she confidently walked in her own home. 

She made her ways down the halls until she spotted my father. She picked up the pace, moving me from the cradle of her arms to the ends of her hands, holding me away from her chest as she pushes my frame into my father's face. 

"Isn't little Vivi just the cutest!" His nose was pressed against my abdomen, muffling out unintelligible and unheard complaints. "Come with me, we're going on a family outing."

I let out a groan of complaint that was swiftly ignored much like the ones from my father. He looked towards me with eyes filled with ever so slight pity.

Oh my. How encouraging. 

As my mother went around picking up blankets and baskets, I closed my eyes to focus on my core. Innumerable specks of whites drifted in a blank abyss, inching towards each other at a mind-numbingly slow pace. Even while being thrown around on her shoulders, I managed to focus enough to consciously bring the specks together in a spherical shape.

My experience as a veteran mage ensured such an exercise wasn't too taxing but consulting the knowledge stored in the ring couldn't hurt. 

Every time I used the ring, it left me in awe and admiration, the complexity of such a device only fueled my curiosity to what else was possible. The knowledge was clearly written down in books, yet every ounce of ink and lead could be searched through without flipping a single page. It functioned as a mental library, raw information that my mind could access without affecting my physique or memories. Even the pictures were vivid in my mind as long as I thought about them.

I skimmed through the notes Arthur made when he had first been reborn into this world. He wrote about the similarities and differences between the power of "ki" compared to mana. How he managed to construct his own mana core with only 3 years of life. It was noted the procedures he took to help awaken a young human girl even when his own control of mana was mediocre. Countless bouts of information on the concept of awakening alone, from his own research to the experiments conducted by Agrona and the other Vritras. 

It even had simple instruction on how to create other books to add to the library. The ring was packed with thousands of books from the technologies from his past life to tips on dating advice. The brat's grandparents hadn't even been born yet and already he was trying to mess with me.

My eyes were assaulted by the light of the sun as, as my, as my family made their way to the gardens, lit up with ambient floating lanterns. They quickly set down the blanket and basket to setup a picnic. I was laid down on the calming, soft ground letting the scent of fresh greens flow into me.

I soon regretted getting so comfortable though, my mother sitting on father's lap, both of them feeding each other and whispering sweet little nothings into each others ears. It was expected, but I didn't think someone as old as me would give any care for two people flirting even if they were my parents. But I still couldn't help the shivers of embarrassment and recoil that shot down my spine every time they pecked each other's lips.

"Honey slow down, the food won't go anywhere." He said it with slightly tensed lips.

"Maybe not, but my time sure isn't waiting around to be used." My mother had a scowl on her face as she spoke. "You're always so busy running the kingdom, so I decided we would spend today relaxing. Together." She picked me up before I could crawl away, presenting me like a precious gem. "Look, I even managed to convince little Vivi." 

As if in sync, we both sighed at her words. 

"You can't just remove me from the most important meeting of the month. There are many important decisions to be made for the future stability of Elenoir." He spoke without a drop of persuasiveness, his words coming out as a mere formality to anyone who may hear them.

"Well boo-hoo, if you don't have time for me I guess I'll just take Vivi to go out and hunt anything that moves. Which may or may not include tall, handsome sun-eyed kings." She replied in a playful tone, walking away as I rested in the crook of her elbow. 

At this point I decided to block them out, only to lament at my lack of the wind magic that I had trained over the years. Instead I went back to doing something I only recently started to enjoy again.

Thinking of the future.

Building up my kingdom but not too much. Spreading and teaching the various mana arts in the ring to as many people as possible, but not too many. Implementing the manaless technologies for the prosperity of the continent, but not in a way that could make any one feel threatened. 

So many things to plan for, ensuring nothing blows my cover to those overgrown lizards across the seas. 

Though as nervous as that made me, nothing could compare to the anxiety I would feel until the day I met her again. My wife.

Lania.