Chapter 10: Farewell Celebration
Zeren hated today. For tomorrow, on his sixteenth birthday, he was going to be taken away by Golden Knights of Lux Aurea back to the Breach and returned to the human realm; to a life that he remembered very little of, knew no one there and would no doubt find extremely difficult being around humans again. Geencha and Otar had begged the leaders of the Moonshadow elves to intervene and allow Zeren to remain in Somerton, even some other elves in town spoke up in favour of him being allowed to stay.
However the elders decided that they couldn't go against the words of the Arch Dragon Sol Regem and the Dragon King Avizandum. Therefore, the night before he was due to be taken back to the Breach, Zeren was thrown a massive celebration by his family and the entire town. Tears and sadness were aplenty and displeasure towards the dragons decision was rife, yet despite his own growing despair, Zeren kept a smile on his face.
Juri even returned from the Storm Spire to see his adored brother again, and the older elf took great pride in declaring Zeren his 'true little brother'. A sentiment that well and truly ended Zeren's attempts to not show his sadness. Tears trickled down his face as he embraced both his brother and then sister, before being gathered up in the arms of his mother and father. Wiping away her sons tears, Geencha placed a kiss to his forehead before putting a leather cord necklace around him, from which hung three items; a shard of purple crystal, a small silver tag; which held the engraved sketches of their whole family, and lastly, a small golden sphere which opened up to reveal a small purple amethyst inside.
"Wherever you go, remember we will always be your family, and our love will travel with you". Geencha and Otar's words brought even more tears seeping from his eyes, just as some moon mages began to use their illusion magics to conjure up various wondrous exciting creatures, dancing and prancing around to the joy of many assembled young elflings.
"Come on!" Juri uttered, dragging Zeren towards an awaiting sky wing elf, "I know you have your primal magic to defend yourself, but I want Loron here to bestow a magic upon you that will be an extra shield". The sky wing mage didn't look like much; short bespectacled and with wild black hair, Loron didn't look like a mage but seeing as mages possessed different magical attributes and appeared so counter to what humans believed, Zeren mentally slapped himself for being involuntarily prejudiced. "What sort of magic? If it's that gas spell, I don't want anything to do with it", he replied scowling at the memory from early days in Xadia, when being teased by a horrid putrid smelling green gas that some local sky wing elf kids had conjured.
Perplexed, and slightly peeved, Loron pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose and raised an eyebrow. "If you are insinuating that I, a mage of the sky wing elves, would endow you with something so unbecoming as that, then you should hold your tongue in future". In response, Zeren looked abashed and apologetic as he bowed his head mumbled an embarrassed apology, before being playfully smacked by Eris, for 'inadvertently' shaming a mage. It was then that Loron re approached Zeren this time placing a ring of willow branches intertwined with flowers of acanthus, jasmine, foxgloves, aconites, mistletoe, melo-daisies, sun flowers, blue-moon roses and black burdock upon his head.
"You are a special child, Zeren Amari. To be accepted and raised amongst elves, even for six years, is unheard of but as of tomorrow you will be departing Xadia for the human realm", Loron spoke, loudly.
"As you have been blessed by the Arch Mage of Astoria and by the High Oracle, Mother Aughra, I bestow upon you the ability to transform into a bird of your choosing. Flight is my gift to you, young Zeren".
Eris immediately spun around to Juri and glowered at her sibling, "what the hell! This will only set him apart from the other humans, Zeren told us he just wants to fit in. This doesn't seem like fitting in to me!" Juri frowned looking sad and worried, "I just want our brother to have something that can get him out of danger quickly. We all know about the humans killing Zeren's human relatives". Both Juri and Eris didn't miss the flinch that Zeren exerted, at hearing the massacre of his human relatives and the division of their allies. And whilst he wasn't looking forward to leaving his new family, the ones he utterly and truly adored, he also understood that his presence in Xadia was begging to worry and concern the the other elven clans.
"I accept you gift, mage of the sky wing elves, Loron", Zeren announced allowing the aforementioned mage to paint markings on his face and arms. "Lunaris vacuo, aeros pleinus. Semper Fidelis". A shimmering silver and green hue surrounded him, as the magic enveloped Zeren and began the metamorphosis. 'A crow... I wish to be able to change into a crow', he mentally asked the spell. As the magic took shape, he found himself feeling lighter, moreover his vision and hearing became more pronounced. His arms changed into wings, his body shrunk down into the more aerodynamic body of a bird; covered in slick black feathers and his feet were now small talons.
Oohs and aww's began to sound off around him turning his head he saw the faces of Eris and Juri, both smiling. "Remember those words... Lunaris vacuo, aeros pleinus" Loron spoke, "they are the spell activate. To return to normal utter the phrase finalmente pleinus".
Taking a deep breath, Zeren internally spoke the return spell, and realised that he must have been flying as he hit the ground hard. "You'll get used to landing and de transforming", Loron chuckled. "As for now, you have party to rejoin". Immediately, and without letting him readjust to the ambience of celebration, several elves rushed forwards and lifted him into the air and paraded him through the streets of Somerton; cheering for their 'advocate human'. "Hey, you alright little brother?" Eris's voice reached his ears, "yeah! I'm great, this is great!" He replied as he was lifted into the air and carried past, a grin plastered on his face.
"He'll be fine", Juri spoke, putting a hand on his sisters shoulder. "Between his innate primal magic, his new crow form and the education we have given him, he will be prepared for life in the human realms", Juri responded, wiping away a tear. "Yeah..." Eris whispered, "but for how long".
Eris was about to respond again, tersely, when their father Otar approached them and gently pushed them apart, "stop arguing you two. We are all protecting Zeren in our own ways. Be it with a transformation spell, magic stones from me and Geencha or swordsmanship..." he stated looking towards his daughter. "Now come on, tonight's a party. Zeren is trying to not show his upset, so let's show him he will always have a family here in Xadia". As they rejoined the throngs of partying, the adoptive family watched their adopted son and brother, surrounded by cheering elves, a sad smile on his face and yet it was obvious to all that despite his reticence about going home his heart would always belong to his elven family and the elves of Somerton.