Early Afternoon - Mid Summer : Valtivar | Siratha

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"In that case, I will leave for the Tree to make sure everything is in order before you arrive." Lief, rising gracefully from her kneel, bowed deeply, reflecting both respect and a slight tremor of anticipation. "Lady Krystallo, your acquaintance has been an honor. I hope you look forward to my guidance in the coming days. I don't plan on falling short of the Lord's expectations."

"Hehe," Krystallo immediately returned her gaze with a playful yet competitive smirk. "Just try and teach me something I can't master!"

A proud smile immediately crept onto Lief's face, clearly invigorated by the challenge I had set before her before finally straightening up. "As someone close to the Lord, I would hope so, but let's save such matters for another time." Finally looking up at me, her eyes glistened with determination. "Siratha shall kneel in your presence, My Lord!" Giving a shallow bow as a final curtsy, she hastily exited the room before leaving the estate and heading straight for the Tree.

-Her loyalty is truly something...- Quickly turning my attention toward Krystallo, I stood up and gently stretched. "So you're going to stay here with Ilios?"

"Mhm!" She nodded without hesitation. "It sounds like you will be busy while you're there, so I'll just stay here and hang out with Ilios since we haven't exactly bonded much since you returned." She immediately turned toward Ilios with a pout.

And as if knowing exactly what she meant, he sprang to his feet and trotted over to her with a wagging tail.

-How cute...- It was a scene that reminded me of the old days. -As long as he's with her, she'll be fine.- Watching them happily move back toward the towering bookshelves on the other side of the room, I moved over toward the wall-sized, one-way window overlooking the courtyard and took a moment to sort my thoughts while Lief worked on preparing things.

It had been quite a while since we initially sat down, and as one would expect, we had talked about a lot, essentially discussing everything from my family and reincarnation, of course leaving many details out, to the state of Siratha and my relations with Dagr. -But while it took a while for her to wrap her head around the fact I have family, she took everything surprisingly well...-

Before we spoke, I was honestly a bit nervous about how she would react to the whole situation regarding my reincarnation, especially when it came to my family and mortality, but she didn't seem to have even the slightest waver of faith the entire time. -It's honestly a little hard to believe, even now...-

But while I said that then, it wasn't exactly too shocking. During our discussion, I spoke about how my reincarnation as a dragon was necessary because of the shortcomings of a body that could essentially be boiled down to a hyper-evolved fenrir, and casually spoke about how Dagr had previously possessed Ilios but recently pulled his soul out of him.

To the ears of just about anyone besides me and maybe Krystallo, it was like I was speaking in some foreign language, and while I didn't realize it at the time, my casual tone made it seem as if I scoffed at death, numbing reincarnation down to a mere tool I used for my own growth. Even if I told Lief that I was truly a mortal being, she certainly would not have believed me.

But in the end, it worked to my benefit. After coming clean about my identity, I had no unease at all when it came to having Siratha beneath my paw, even if I had no plans to micromanage it, and with my fenririan form, I had no more worries about getting in trouble using Nott's name and reputation to my advantage. -Going by Nott feels unnaturally natural now too.. but I guess that's cause I am technically him...-

All in all, it was still taking some getting used to, but I was slowly getting there. -For now though, I just need to focus on making an impression on the citizens, pick a few new apostles, and give Lief a reward for her loyalty and faith to set an example for others.- Although I hadn't discussed it with her, I had set my mind on setting her as the example. -The question is what should I give her...-

A gift to the person who ruled one of the largest and strongest nations on the planet. I knew it couldn't be simple.

But it also didn't take long for me to settle on an idea. -Yeah... I actually wonder what would happen if I did that...- It was a bit experimental, but I saw no reason for it not to work. -We'll just have to wait and see...-

Slowly escaping my thoughts, I looked back out the window and killed some time for another moment before feeling Lief's frantically moving aura finally come to a stop about halfway up the trunk of the Tree of Prayer. -It must be time...- Then, after just a moment, I felt the air shake with the noise of countless voices speaking in unison.

"In the shadow of the past, we gather beneath the boughs of life to present our mind, body, and soul." The voices of hundreds of thousands praying in unison resonated through the forest like the voices of a chorus. "In the presence of our Lords above, we seek the guidance of the eternal path. We present our full being, and submit to our gods. Dagr, Nott, hear our plea." A blanket of silence was instantly draped over the forest as everyone fell into silent prayer.

It was my cue.

Quickly glancing back to make sure Krystallo and Ilios were still alright, I finally let out an anxious breath. "Hooh..." But it didn't help. To make an entrance befitting a god, I needed to use the void, but after hearing what I heard last time, I was nervous. -But.. there's no point in stalling the inevitable... I'll have to check it eventually...-

And finally, after steeling my will, I vanished. *Vwoop*

In an instant, my senses, heightened to the moon, flooded my mind with information, but there was simply nothing. -It's.. normal?-

It made sense for whatever it was to be gone, considering how much time passed in the void, but regardless, my nerves never relaxed. -Let's just.. get out of here...-

Quickly retargeting the focus in my mind, I let out another short breath to sharpen my act before finally stepping out of the void. *vwoop-VWOOOOM*

In an instant, I found the Tree of Prayer's foggy canopy looming over me, with the surrounding forest of treants set aglow by the buildings and streets lining their branches. -How beautiful...-

*Vwoom* Quickly clinging to the trunk of The Tree with my aura, I made it appear as if I was standing on air before looking down over hundreds of thousands of elves, demihumans, and dragons alike bowing their heads in reverence on the uneven grounds disturbed by the exposed roots of the Tree of Prayer. -Right... I forgot I accidentally exposed those while I was fighting Magni...-

It was like a scar that stood as a testament to history. -But it takes away from how beautiful this place should be... Once I can read my aura, Ill try to adjust it... For now though...- Overlooking the countless people pressured beneath my immense aura, I found a group of about ten people kneeling side by side on the largest root, kneeling exactly as Lief did, with only Alva and Liv Sigmond standing over them with their gazes lowered. -Those must be the potential apostles...-

Quickly throwing a glance at Lief, she darted to the ground before coming to a stop between Liv and Alva, proudly overlooking the apostle candidates before lowering themselves to a kneel. "Divine Lord above, we present you with the most faithful souls of the next generation!"

-Most faithful, huh...- *vwoop-vwoop* Teleporting to the ground using the void, I graced the root of the Tree with my paws before walking up to the apostles. -They're all quite young, but none of them are weak...-

Pushing some of my aura into their bodies to watch their minds and conditions as I walked around them, three immediately passed out, and even more began to shake.

But among everyone, there were two that stood out, a high elf boy with hair like spun gold and a fresh elder stage girl with scales reminiscent of the canopy of a forest, their minds and bodies remaining calm even if I moved my nose close enough to nearly touch them. -Impressive... But is it because of faith, obliviousness, or because they're looking down on me...-

Lowering my snout just in front of them, I brushed them with my aura before speaking to them through magic. "Open your eyes."

As I uttered the command, both of them slowly lifted their heads in unison, their eyes meeting mine with a mix of reverence and an unspoken understanding without the slightest trace of fear. -To have such clear eyes...- Looking through their eyes and into their head, I found a small, puffy, pure white cloud with an orderliness that none of the other candidates had.

It was their souls, their true selves, and while I wasn't sure how I felt like I could understand them without words. -To have their faith stem from their souls...-

Pulling my snout away, I overlooked the crowd of people, but among those I saw, none except Lief, whose soul was on the verge of forming a core, were so orderly. -How fascinating...- "You may stand."

Quickly standing up, the elf and dragon sneakily directed their gazes toward their fellow candidates without raising them before a hint of excitement and confusion found its way to their faces.

Using my aura to pull up the chin of the elf once again, I matched his gaze. "What is your name?"

He immediately started to clam up, but it seemed to be from excitement. "Erling Eysteinn, My Lord!" His voice echoed through the silence instantly, drawing up the gazes of countless people around.

"And you?" Pulling up the dragon's gaze, her forest green eyes met mine.

"Asa Gunvor, greets the almighty lord!" She seemed to want to throw herself into a bow almost instantly but held her gaze, refusing to fight the aura I used to hold her chin up.

-These two are pretty good...- "I hope you two serve Siratha well." Looking up towards Lief, I motioned her to stand up with my aura before continuing to speak through wind magic. "These two will be the new apostles."

"Understood, My Lord," Lief responded immediately, her voice laced with a mixture of reverence and pride before quickly moving to stand beside the newly chosen apostles.

But as she went to speak, I stopped her. "I have something for you as well."

"H-Huh?" At the unexpected notion that I was gifting her something, she became flustered, but after looking up at me and seeing me holding the broken-off tip of one of my horns with my aura, her face paled. "M-My Lord! I cannot take an item that leaves a mark on your-"

"Quiet down." -As if breaking the tip of my horn off would leave a scar...- "It's already grown back." Lowering my snout to show her my horn, she finally started to calm down, even if she still looked like a ghost. "Now take this and make an elixir for yourself with it. You have more than earned it with your faith and loyalty. Just make sure you are the only one to consume it."

As I lowered the few centimeters of my horn into her shaky hands, the gazes of onlookers widened, but after a moment, I disappeared before their eyes.

"Children of Siratha," my voice instantly drew everyone's attention toward the canopy. "Those who pray in pure faith will have their prayers heard, while those who don't will not. True faith is not measured merely in words but in actions and the intentions of one's soul, cultivated through many lifetimes and reincarnations. Serve Siratha well, and remain steadfast in your belief, and maybe eventually your prayer will be answered." Momentarily stiffening my aura, countless eyes in the crowd went wide. "If you lack faith in me, that is your decision; however, I hope you are willing to still have faith in your leaders, the apostles, as they can pray in your stead, for not just the good of you, but those around you, your children and your ancestors." I paused, overlooking the mixed gazes of the people below. "Remember, your actions, your thoughts, your very essence contribute to the fabric of Siratha. Each of you, in your own way, is a thread in the tapestry of our world. As such, I hope you all will uphold your values and bring honor to the legacy of those who came before you."

Finally finishing, I gave one last look at the crowd before lowering my gaze toward the apostles and disappearing into the void. *Vwoop*

For what felt like an eternity, silence had fallen over the crowd, so hushed even slight movements could be heard.

But before long, a few souls, sparked with newfound purpose, lowered themselves once again, falling into prayer as they pushed their mana up to the top of the Tree. Before anyone knew it, they all followed suit before each raising their gaze and yelling, "Blessed be our Lords!"

It was a phrase never used previously, something one person just happened to yell out at that moment, but ever since then, it became one of the most common phrases in Siratha.

And while I didn't realize it, after hearing it from Lief's estate, a smile found its way onto my face.

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