Alaia Skyhawk: Hehehe, I loved the end of that last chapter. Can you imagine Tenebrae 'baby sitting' a pining ten-year-old Ratatosk?
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I don't own Tales of Symphonia so please don't sue me. I do however own Krishka, Dallinius (Dalli), Aluran, the Alurannai and any OCs, except Sanaro and Annule, who belong to Mr Who 2123, Mika and Fiuras, who belong to WingedWithFireyMana, and Gaea Silverleaf, who belongs to Sparkling Moon Phoenix, so please don't steal them...
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Chapter 9: Inevitable Meeting
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Winds stirring his hair as he flew, Yasin sighed with contentment at the warm sun on his back as he listened to the chirring of the insects among the grasses below. Having not long gotten back from another short visit to see Ratatosk, he marvelled at how time had gone by. Two years, had it really been two years now since that partnership had begun? Well outside the meadow winter had showered the young Forest of Aluran twice, so from that he knew it had been two years.
A lot had changed in that short time, his people having been living in the old elven town for most of that period. The old town was no longer devoid of residents, but it was still covered in every inch by plant life, and the Alurannai wouldn't have it any other way. The old town's fields were the only part that had been cleared, and then only because his people had begun taking up their own version and method of farming when the knowledge of such and of medicine had awoken within them. His people no longer subsisted purely on mana as they had in the beginning, with most now eating a meal or two per day made from the handful of crops they'd succeeded so far in growing.
Yasin chuckled to himself as he recalled his own first attempt at cooking... which had resulted in him reducing to ash the vegetable he'd attempted to roast using magic. He wasn't the only one who had done such though, with even the Narim scorching a few until everyone learned to judge just how much heat they were using.
That was another thing that had changed, the Narim. He was no longer as naive as he'd been, although he still possessed the ignorant innocence of the others. Brethil now actively stood as leader of the Alurannai, organising what things needed to be done from their current short list of activities and gathering those needed to do it. As such the fields were being tended by those alurannai who had been found with an innate talent for coaxing the plants to grow swiftly but strongly, while others more inclined to building and carpentry turned the ring of trees they'd been born from what little furniture his people had and needed. Some had even begun to experiment with metalworking, though most of the tools made so far were crude in appearance. Like with his first illusion at the Ginnungagap, Yasin knew knowing how something was made did not make you a master. It took a lot of practice before you could get it completely right.
Still basking in the sunlight as he glided on the breeze, Yasin once again sighed with contentment. Everything was settling down just nicely, so he had nothing he needed to worry about for n...
His eyes snapped open, amber gaze fixing on a point to the south as several presences impinged on his awareness. There, almost as if to taunt him for his thoughts, several figures were visible walking northwards... Elves...
Yasin cursed himself for forgetting about them. Of course the Elves would send someone to check on the Tree after a while, especially since as far as they knew there was nothing protecting Ratarani from winter storms now that they had left the meadow. Seeing that group approaching now, he would have to act fast if he were to control the situation and ensure this first meeting between Elves and Alurannai went as smoothly as possible.
Folding his wings with a snap, he plummeted out of the sky far enough away from the elves that they wouldn't spot his descent. Then, after folding his wings behind him to avoid startling them too much, he set off to intercept them on foot... He didn't want to risk having a bow fired at him as would likely have happened if he'd literally dropped out of the sky in front of them. Once he was close he pasted an expression of puzzlement and curiosity on his face, ready to play the part of an alurannai who unlike him didn't have a clue who or what these people were.
He stopped when they saw him, that group also ceasing their steps before he cautiously advanced towards them much like a child inching towards an unknown thing that had caught their attention. Once he was sure he was in hearing range of them, he then asked in perfect elvish as if confused.
"Who are you?"
The elves stared at him, unsure what to make of this man who resembled one of the humans whom their exploration scouts had seen on a continent to the south. It was clear this man wasn't a human though, since for all that on the surface his mana signature was like one, a second signature beneath definitely was not human. The green tendrils on face, shoulders, and elbows was also a good indication, as was the folded glittered segments hanging from the man's back.
One of them came forward and approached him, the elven man frowning beneath the strands of short blue hair framing his eyes.
"I am Kirian, of the Elves, and we've come to check on Ratarani's safety." His frown deepened with puzzlement. "May I ask who you are... What you are?"
Yasin blinked as though also puzzled, before replying blandly with childlike bluntness.
"I am Yasin Perelir, of the Alurannai. The Alurannai are protectors of Kharlan Tree Ratarani, created by it to help it look after the mana." Kirian took a step back, but before he or the other four elves could respond Yasin grabbed him by the wrist and proceeded to tow him in the direction of the Tree. "You came to check Ratarani was safe, I will take you to it."
Kirian's started gasp was the only sound he uttered before he allowed himself to be dragged along, the rest of his party following behind. It was still a fair distance to the Tree, but luckily for these elves it was only a couple of hours walk before he let go of the man's wrist upon reaching the base of Ratarani's hill.
One of the other elves started towards the tree, the elven woman clasping hands before rushing to the summit. When the rest of those present caught up with her she was stood at the Tree's base, gently touching the trunk with her hand before looking up at the crown of branches above.
"I don't understand, how has the Tree grown so much so fast? It shouldn't have visibly changed in size in just two and a half years, but it's more than a hand span taller and is thicker in the trunk."
All elven eyes turned to Yasin, who just tilted his head and answered once again in bland and innocent bluntness.
"Our strength makes it stronger, so it can grow faster. Our Bonds to it also keep the Giant Tree's Meadow warm and shield it from storms. I told you... we were created by Kharlan Tree Ratarani to help and protect it."
There was a shiver in the air, a whispering voice reaching all their ears.
Now now, dear Yasin, you are confusing them...
The elves jolted at the Tree's 'voice', Kirian turning to it.
"Ratarani, so is what he say's true? You created him and those Alurannai to look after you?" He now sounded hurt. "But what about us? Weren't the Elves good enough to look after you?"
Ratarani's sigh reached them, the Tree explaining.
While your efforts were effective and kept me safe, there is also another reason for which I created the Alurannai, one which the elves did not possess the ability to fulfil. The world's mana was becoming unstable, and I could not control it on my own, so I created the Alurannai to help me do that. Yasin and his people are now stewards of the world's mana, ensuring it remains stable so that life may continue to flourish here. Without them, the mana would have gone awry, and all life, including the Elves, would have perished.
The elves remained silent, stunned, Yasin allowing himself one speculative glance at them before bland innocence returned.
"Ratarani? Should I take them to speak to Narim Brethil?"
Yes, introduce them to your fellow alurannai... Also, Kirian, you and your companions are not to use magic until you leave the lands of Aluran again. There is a reason for this, but it would take too much to explain so I ask that you abide by my instruction and refrain from using it.
As Yasin paused before setting off down the hill, Kirian nodded once before following.
"It will be as you ask, Ratarani."
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The feeling of eyes on his back made Yasin want to cringe beneath his facade of cheerfulness, as he led the five elves towards the town that had once been their home. Never in all his short life had he endured the sinking dread that came with praying you wouldn't give yourself away. Right now he had to pretend to be like the rest of his kind, while deep down part of him just screamed to deal with these elves on a more mature and level footing.
Biting back a sigh of resignation, as he rolled his eyes unseen by the quintet behind him, he led them into the town ignoring their gasps when they realised their abandoned homes were now being used by the Alurannai. He didn't stop as others of his kind came out to watch the elves pass, their eyes wide with curiosity, keeping moving until he reached a house close to the town's centre.
Narim Brethil was there, sat on a crude stool in the home's overgrown front garden, whittling away at the spoon he was attempting to carve using the short knife he'd recently been given by one of the new metal workers. Seeing Yasin and the strangers behind him, the alurannai ruler rose to his feet and set spoon and knife on the stool.
"Burre de utuvani jiisu, Yasin?"
The elven visitors looked baffled, Yasin suddenly fighting the urge to wince at what he only realised now was a total lack of foresight on his part. He knew elvish because his knowledge was awakened, but the rest of the alurannai hadn't 'remembered' it yet. Thinking quickly he answered his king, before equally quickly coming up with what would hopefully draw from his king a plausible excuse for his flawless use of elvish.
"Vanu de elves, Narim Brethil. Vanu elai ya murato Ratarani." He looked back and forth between Brethil and the elven visitors, pasting a baffled expression on his face as he posed a question to himself and the elves, and hoped. "Why do I understand you? You do not speak Sumaityr, and yet I spoke to you in your own language without thinking to."
Amber eyes blinking in feigned confusion, he remained silent until after a few moments Brethil began to utter in stuttering and accented elvish which improved over a few seconds as the knowledge began to awake in him.
"I-It seems Ratarani... must have... seen them coming. Because you... w-were closest, it made you remember quickly."
Bless the Narim for the innocence that let the hoped for reaction be drawn from him so easily. Inwardly relieved, Yasin went along with it.
"It must have..."
Kirian frowned, not certain he understood.
"What are you talking about?"
Yasin turned to look at him.
"We were only created just over two years ago, and we needed knowledge in order to look after ourselves. The Tree gave us that knowledge, but it only awakens in us as it is needed. We need to understand you now, so the knowledge of your language is awakening in us. In me it seems the Tree had me remember all of it right away so that I could greet you and be interpreter. The rest of the Alurannai will begin to 'remember' now, but conversations will be slow because of that takes time. Having me to ask your questions to would speed things up, which must have been Ratarani's intention."
He looked back and forth between the visitor and the Narim, neither side aware that he was reading the situation with utmost care. What would the Narim do next?
Brethil turned to him, and spoke once again in broken elvish so that the visitors would understand what was being said.
"Show them t-to one of the houses which isn't... being used and see to it food is brought to them. We can talk... more tomorrow once I have... r-remembered more of their language. They are free to move about the town and speak to whoever they wish."
Yasin bowed to the Narim.
"I will do as you instruct, Narim Brethil."
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Entering his house and closing the door, Yasin sighed in relief at finally getting a reprieve. After showing Kirian and his companions to an empty house he'd ended up being their guide as they went about meeting the rest of the Alurannai. It had put a lot of strain on his already frayed nerves, and so he was more than glad to finally seclude himself in his home for the night.
Pausing at the windows to hang the woven grass panels he'd made over them, he conjured a few balls of light and set them to light his work area at the back of the room. He was at an important part of designing his idea for a backup for the Sentinels, and wanted to complete the initial calculations as soon as possible so he could begin designing the specifics of the structures. Those calculations had already taken him weeks of work, and hopefully a few more days would see them finished.
He sat down at his table and pulled his wing pack from inside his robe, taking out of it the small stack of paper sheets which had his technical drawings on them along with writing tools and an abacus he'd made. Pouring over his notes, he used the abacus with almost blurring speed, flicking beads back and forth while his mind bustled through the equations he used it to work out. He was so focused on his work that he didn't hear the light knock on his door, nor did he notice the door opening until a voice jolted him to alertness.
Yasin jerked to face the doorway, amber eyes meeting the started green gaze of Kirian. The elven man stared at him from his position half inside and half out of the doorway, eyes flicking between Yasin's startled expression and the writing paraphernalia spread on the table.
Realising no amount of fast-talking was going to come up with an excuse for this, Yasin sighed and waved the man to come in; dropping his cheerful, innocent facade completely.
"I suppose I should have said something earlier, but I'm a bit... different... from the rest of my people. In them the knowledge the Tree gifted us with is still mostly dormant, but in me it is all awake."
The elven man regarded him solemnly, before nodding.
"I wondered a little when we first met Narim Brethil, but I will admit your excuse had me fooled. You have a sharp mind."
Yasin chuckled once before frowning.
"I think the Tree needed us to begin preparing things, but didn't want to rob us all of innocent youth... I am the one who lost their innocence just days after my creation, and began to work on that preparation."
"Preparation?"
Glad he'd pulled all of his drawing out of his wing pack, Yasin absently pulled his single completed one over the incomplete one he'd been working on, hiding the latter drawing. Kirian had called him sharp, but honestly had no clue just how sharp a mind this alurannai man had. Yasin could calculate responses quicker than the blink of an eye, and knew he could divert this elven visitor with the most innocent of his designs.
Gesturing for Kirian to come closer and take a look at the drawing, Yasin began pointing to the tall curved structure depicted upon it.
"This is a design for a powerful shield to surround this vast meadow. These spires will be built around the meadow's perimeter and keyed to the Narim Brethil and his descendants, with all alurannai putting a small amount of mana into a spire whenever the pass by one. The spires will store the mana, ready to fuel the shield to protect the Tree if it ever becomes necessary. It will take a long time for enough mana to be built up in the spires, but then hopefully we'll never have to use it."
Kirian gaped as he examined the sheet, and while he could not read Sumaityr it didn't take a genius to figure out that the structured lines of text covering the paper around the detailed schematic were line after line of calculations.
"When did you come up with this? I've never seen anything like it before. How does it work?"
Yasin smiled wryly, pulling his battered looking wing pack from inside his clothing once more.
"Perhaps this will help, since you cannot read Sumaityr." Drawing it from the wing pack, he set a miniature replica of the shield on the table, simple ring of six tiny crystal spires held in formation by being inserted into a flat disk of wood. Touching one of them, Yasin murmured something causing the spires to glow and a golden barrier to form between them into a small dome. "I used this to check my calculations were correct. The barrier is sound, and reflects all that is directed at it as long as there is mana in the spires for it to draw on."
If Kirian had been stunned before, he was now shocked beyond comprehension. This was magitechnology of a type no elf had ever seen before, and one which could only have originated from the man sat at the table.
"H-how did you come up with this? You yourself said you were only created two years ago. How is it possible for someone so young to invent something this complex?"
Yasin deactivated the shield, returning the model to his wing pack before regarding this elf who was likely a few centuries older than him the way a teacher regards an inexperienced student.
"As I told you before, my people were gifted with all their knowledge by Ratarani. While the rest only have in them what knowledge is needed for them to build their culture and grow into a stable people, I was tasked with guiding them in that. I possess all of Ratarani's knowledge, which encompassed all of your technology and magic in addition to many other things. Add to that my innate understanding of the core physics of mana, and you get this." He tapped the drawing, smiling slightly. "I played the innocent childlike individual with you earlier, but now, since it is pointless for me to do otherwise, I will be frank. Do not judge me by that first impression, and do not underestimate me. I was created as I was for the sake of this world and all the life on it, and I'm good at it."
Once again Kirian stared, before shaking his head and beginning to chuckle.
"Oh you can be sure I won't underestimate you again, Yasin. The question is, what do we do now that I know about you and you know I know?"
Yasin tapped his fingers on the table mulling it over before glancing at the elf with a single raised eyebrow.
"Well if the Elves and the Alurannai are going to be friends, some kind of liaison is going to have to be set up... Perhaps I could serve as ambassador between my people and yours. I'm certain of the fact I can get Narim Brethil to agree to and give his blessings to the establishment of such a friendship." He held up his wing pack. "Besides, I will need to trade for wing pack components. Your people left this one behind because it was damaged, and my repairs are rather makeshift. I keep all of my drawings in here to keep from spoiling the 'childhood' of my fellows should they find them, so if it fails I will lose all my work."
With the smile of a fellow conspirator, Kirian nodded.
"Of course, and you can ask me for whatever materials you think you'll need since I'm sure you can't have much paper."
Yasin's smile widened, glad he was finally getting to treat with this elf on a level footing.
"I would appreciate that, and I will speak to Narim Brethil in the morning. If things work as I expect, I will be coming back with you to your settlement with the Alurannai's offered 'hand of friendship'."
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Alaia Skyhawk: Hehehe, plot point number two filled to match with the Restoration Series. The elves have sent someone to check on the Tree, and in doing so discovered the Alurannai :D
Translation note: Brethil asked Yasin who the elves were, Yasin told him they were elves and that they came to see the Giant Tree. I expect it was pretty obvious what was said but figured would tell you guys anyway.