The King's Oak stood next to Stone Lake. Many festivals had taken place under its ancient branches. When a king was crowned, it was tradition that he would use a hot iron to make his mark on the tree. This tree had lasted through many droughts, fires, and wars. My father had played under the King's Oak when he was a child… so had my mother. They were wed under the tree as well, as had many couples. It was said that any marriage would last forever if it began under the giant oak. It was under this very tree that Sosoto and I now sat.
"Traditionally, we would wait to educate you until you became of age, but King Oenthe requested that you learned this a bit early." Sosoto began. "I'm sure you know the elfin race is… special. If we weren't, we would just be humans with pointy ears," he chuckled.
I nodded. I was surprised and nervous. I knew I was ready, but I was frightened of the unknown.
"Let's start with something you have most likely already experienced. Have you ever been doing something that was scary, and everything seemed to slow down?" I immediately thought of that very morning when I was sparring with my father.
"Yeah, I have. I thought it was just adrenaline."
"That's a common misconception. Elves don't have adrenaline. What we have is much, much better. It's called blood shock. It occurs whenever you feel a lot of fear or anger. Those feelings will sort of shock your blood, sending your body into overdrive. Like adrenaline, you are stronger, faster, and your senses are heightened. But unlike adrenaline, time literally slows down for whoever experiences blood shock. To anyone else, one appears to be moving very fast. It's quite the phenomenon."
"No kidding," I muttered.
"But that's not all," he stopped suddenly. "Ah, lunch."
Three servants were approaching us. One was carrying a tray of fruit, meat, cheese, and bread. Another carried a pitcher of wine. The third carried a small table for us to eat on. After he set the table down between Sosoto and me, he politely asked if we needed anything else.
"Could you check on my father?" I asked, "He had another attack today."
"Of course," said the servant. The three of them bowed, and walked away.
"So, as I was saying, blood shock is not the only thing that sets us apart from the humans." He paused to take a bite of some bread and cheese. "We also have the ability of shape shifting. There is, however, one limitation: we can only take the form of one animal. The animal you can change into, or your alternate, varies from other elves. Some think it's random, others think it's the animal you most resemble." He paused again to drink some wine. I took the opportunity to ask him a question.
"How do we shape shift?"
He swallowed his wine and spoke, "The initial shape shifting is triggered by an overwhelming sense of fear, anger or frustration. It's kind of like blood shock, but after the first transformation, you can shift to your alternate whenever you please. It comes naturally after the first time. That's why I can't just explain how. It would be like teaching someone how to swallow; you can't because it just comes naturally."
Just then, the servant returned. He made a slight bow and said, "King Oenthe is well. He is sleeping now." I felt relieved. I dismissed the servant, who bowed again and left to see to his duties.
I was curious what Sosoto's alternate was, so I asked him.
"A snake. It comes in handy when spying on the enemy, because I can hide in small spaces easily."
We ate in silence for a while. Eventually, Sosoto went on with his lecture.
"One last thing. Each and every elf can control one element. Once again, that element varies from elf to elf. But, unlike shape shifting, this can be taught, but only by another elf who can control the same element. I'm sure you know the four earthly elements: fire, earth, wind and water. On very rare occasions, some elves have been known to control light. There's only one elf alive today who can control light; your father, King Oenthe."
