Chapter 11 : Humans

A few months later. [Year 53 months 6]

Christine got up at dawn, and began to take out the food. She took out rabbit, pork, and veal meats, then threw them inside a few bowls, before simmering them with spices, and herbs and placing them inside a container.

'Carrots, veal, pork, rabbit, mushrooms, bread...'

After placing them inside the stone oven, Christine launched a fire magic, and ignited the logs inside, before returning to the kitchen, and preparing the vegetables to cook. At the same time, she began to scream. "Mary, wake up!"

With the long ears, and superhuman hearing of the elves, Mary could hear her grandmother's words. "Wait a little longer!" Christine shouted again. "Come and help me!" Mary persisted several times, before giving up.

She walked down the stairs, then met her grandmother in the kitchen, preparing the morning meal. She was able to watch the oven turned on, and the carrots cut. "What are you up to, Grandma?" Christine replied. "Ragout." His eyes shone with joy.

She had been eating such delicacies for a few months, if not years, but she couldn't help but drool at the pronunciation of her favorite meal. The stew was a mixture of various foods, and required various meats, vegetables, and herbs.

Obviously, it was possible to make a stew with other elements, and meat was not necessarily mandatory, but if it was possible, then it was always better than nothing.

In other words, it was difficult to eat, and buying various subsistences was very expensive. Especially in the cities, and villages that were positioned apart from the kingdom, and was prone to decline under poverty. A kind of income inequality.

After waiting, the stew was cooked, then the two women gathered around a table, made of materials from Noah's trees. Christine clasped her hands, and said. "First, let's start praying for our lord," followed by Mary who raised their hands, forming a rustic prayer.

Prayers of thanks were not habits ingrained in elven culture. They were only recently added by Noah, and were made crudely by elves who were not used to it.

Their movements were clumsy, and unrefined, but carried a meaning of thanks to their lords. Noah was not very difficult, and to accept. He knew he couldn't force it, and waited for the elves to get used to it as they went along, for their actions to become more refined over time.

The elven populations did not worship any god, but possessed the origins, descendants of the gods, which gave them a certain pride, and distinguished them from other races, but was also accompanied by a lack of recognition.

You are descendants of god, but you don't pray to any god? Everyone laughed at the race of elves, but they couldn't contradict. No matter how proud they were, if they prayed to no god, then it was useless.

In other words, elves did not have a god, and could pray to any god, but in general, they were atheisms. They had the blood of the gods, but did not particularly believe in a god. In a way, it was also a reason why Noah was able to integrate easily into their cultures.

To retain his subjects, he had thought of many options, and had begun to use a strategy, dealing with pseudo-religion. At least, the habits they had remembered for Christians, or Muslims. 

So, for the elves who had become Noah's courtiers, they fully embraced these reflexes, and greeted her as a new god, a god for their local people, and the food that came from the sacred forest, nourishing them.

At the same time, Noah was able to retain his people, and thus obtain a fixed loyalty. He had a monopoly on food, and was the sole ruler.

After finishing her meal, Mary left the house, and joined her friends who were waiting for her outside the door. Christine finished her meal a few minutes later, then went out to join her usual snack outside.

At the same time, she met various inhabitants, and shopkeepers in the street. "Elder, here is an apple! Take bites to fill your stomach! " said an old elf kindly at a booth.

She smiled, then continued on her way, taking pieces of apples in her mouth.

On the other hand, a velvety young woman in a huge garment, was holding out a fabric. "Elder, you need to dress better. How would we do if our representative got sick? She laughed, before holding out a scarf.

She gladly accepted, and continued on her way, before meeting one of these friends.

An old elf, not as old as she approached. She wore a ponytail, and clothes for the winter. "Ha, Christine! We were waiting for you to chat. Behind her were other women, and joined a table in the street.

Christine nodded, and joined the discussion. Nenya, who was the most talkative, began. "Do you know? The girl of the Aerow, will marry soon, with the child of the Everglen? She laughed. Another lady said. "Really?" The other women were surprised, and continued to talk.

Christine had retreated to the back, and was listening silently.

At the same time, she was looking at the cloudy sky. The days had returned to the beginning. The days were repetitive, and monotonous, when the lord had no orders assigned to him. These days consisted of getting up, eating, going out, listening to gossip, and checking the facilities, before falling asleep.

It wasn't a very fun life, but she was having fun, and settling for a situation like this. After reaching old age as an elf, a peace was a very attractive situation for her, and others.

By dint of thoughts, she lost herself in her memories. She remembered the hard days, wandering the corrupt interior looking for food. She had lost many friends, and it was only a very short time that they were able to settle in comfortably.

Seeing the happy expressions of the inhabitants, and looking at the infrastructure present for their daily lives, she was happy. She knew well that the situation outside the lands purified by Noah was dangerous, and hostile.

But there wasn't much she could do. She sighed. She had always believed she was returning to a normal life. It had lived for centuries, and has stood firm ever since countless Catastrophes. She now had a little girl, friends, and traveling companions, with the same goal.

Still, the death toll increased, and she always managed to survive. She has survived disasters, in which all her former companions have died. She looked at the sky, and smiled with irony. "Perhaps the Spirit Tree had blessed him... »

She prayed a short blessing to her lord, then stood up.

Before she could leave the set, an earthquake appeared. An elf in the walls shouting. "Humans... Human...!! A deep voice echoed throughout the village.

The inhabitants who lived, and had quiet fun, were quickly horrified, and began to retreat to the rear, especially for the battles to come. Humans were species that loved fighting, and their last experiences were very vivid.

The women who regained consciousness, took their children and retired to the houses, while some gathered in the village square, frightened, and nervous about the situation.

Christine who came to her senses, left her chat friends, and joined Mary who was waiting nervously. "Grandma... " she said. Christine approached, and gave him an order. "Mary, contact the Spirit Tree, and inform them of the current situation." Mary nodded, then ran as she entered the forest at a brisk pace.

As Mary's figure walked away, Christine stayed, then climbed onto the wooden ramparts. She nervously watched the approaching humans as they ran, and could see dust trails chasing the humans.

The elf guarding the door, approached, and greeted her worthily, before giving an account of the current situation. "Elder, humans are getting dangerously close, despite warnings. Regardless, they don't want to walk away. " he said, shaking his head.

Christine, who continued to look at the trail of dust, was able to find silhouettes. « ... Magical beasts! The elves on the walls looked in the same direction, and were able to affirm.

Christine reacted immediately, and asked to sound the alarm. The elf followed his orders, and began to alert the village by ringing the bell, and called the men to the call, to prepare for battle.

At the same time, Christine prayed hoping that the Spirit Tree would be conscious, and that they could help them. "Spiritual tree... »

Meanwhile, Noah was planning the forests in his territory, and testing the new skills they had learned, his final months. Essentially, the purifying bombs he was able to unlock.

Seconds later, bombs exploded inside the forest, ripping trees from the ground, and lifting the earth. Several birds flew away with thuds, and high-pitched. "Do purifying bombs have offensive capabilities, or is it just a support skill?"

"Hm... Noah thought deeply, and couldn't understand the concept of competence. He couldn't know how the skills of the system were organized, so he studied the composition, and the inside of the purifying bombs. Yet he was able to glean little information.

First of all, the purifying bombs were a carbon copy of his totem bombs, and could not acquire unique characteristics. Their materials were similar, and even the raw expertise that required, was permeated.

The mechanism was simple to understand. The purifying bomb was launched at the front, then performed a parable until it fell to the ground, and exploded on impact. Then, a blinding light appears, before disappearing to leave a trace of light.

He had concocted a totem bomb that he had made, and a bomb purifying the system. By comparing, he was able to know that his bomb was devastating to the environment, and that the purifying bomb only tackled corruption.

So he concluded that the system only categorized his skills by categories. In other words, he wondered how to create new skills? Noah was invested in his work, and couldn't afford to relax.

How could purifying bombs not kill living species? Why do they have distinct characteristics? Noah sighed. At the same time, he watched the rabbit hang from a tree by vines.

No matter how many cleansing bombs he could throw, the rabbit would not die. He concluded that it was useless to continue, and to release the rabbit who had run away. Maybe he had to try with a magical beast...

In any case, his new skill still had a lot of untapped potential. He was motivated to continue his experiments.

On the other side, Noah suddenly feels a person enter the lower circle of the forest. Normally, hunters are allowed to trample the outer circle of the forest, in order to hunt prey for their meals. Only, the inner circle was protected, and could not be crossed without important reason.

But the person who went inside, moved very quickly. So he thought it was urgent, and started to be curious about the person who was approaching quickly.

He shifted his vision, and could see Mary jumping between the trees, and advancing towards her main body. Stampling on the branches, he could hear a few murmurs. « ... Spiritual tree! »

Noah was curious about the call of his name, and began to approach, before offering a surprise to Mary. "What's going on? Has there been a problem in the village? »

Mary, who continued to jump between the trees, was taken aback, and stopped in her tracks, before falling to the ground. "Ha!" Before she could complain of the pain, she was delighted at Noah's arrival. "Enemy attack! The humans approached the village!! »

Noah was confused by the situation. She had just said that the humans tried to attack the village? Why would they do such a stupid thing... He looked through the trees, and was able to confirm the presence of strangers at the gates.

He was stunned by the dust trails that rose into the air, and began to move to know the current situation. Noah abandoned Mary, and walked inside the village, looking at the village gates.

He could see the elves blocking the flaming projectiles of the magical beasts, and see wounded in the elves. Fortunately, these were only minor injuries. Noah could recognize certain species at the front, fights, between magical beasts, and elves fighting each other from a distance, and... Human.

Strangely, the village gates were closed, and isolated the humans outside between two opposing parties, while the elves were nervous about the current, unprecedented situation. Some voices could be heard. "Let us go back, I beg you... My son! »

A mother who carried her baby in her arms, held out her son to the elves standing on the fortifications. "My son... Protect it! Please, pity...! »

"Ah..., help me, I'm hurt!" A man who was hit by a fireball was ejected a few meters from his original position. His hand was burning.

...

The elves who were protected at the back of the fortifications were torn apart by the words of humans. After some hesitation, they held a speech internally, out of sight of others. An Elf Archer who was shooting at magical beasts, spoke. "Should we open the door, and let the humans in?"

An elf with a petty face, and wounded by a ball of fire from magical beasts, stepped forward. "No! We cannot risk the lives of our people, for the lives of another! How can we know if humans won't try to knock us over backwards?! »

At the same time, the magical beasts approached, and soon reached the village. The humans had begun to cry out in despair, and to insult them. They could see beasts rushing, and start throwing fireballs on the ramparts.

A mother placed her child in the back, stuck to the barricade, and stepped forward, protecting her son. She held her son in the back, and whispered. "Cedric, stay behind your mother!" The men advanced with agricultural tools, and stood at the front.

They were all desperate, but could not die in silence. Their faces turned pale due to the appearance of fireballs, but exploded in the sky before reaching them. Fortunately, the elves prevented fireballs from falling on humans, and slightly protected vulnerable places.

The elves prevented the damage from piling up, but had no way to accommodate the humans. Some elves wanted to open the doors, in order to help the humans, but they kept quiet. The words of their colleagues, were impregnated in their heads, and made them reluctant. They were still traumatized, and had bad memories about humans.

Prejudices were still too ingrained in their memories to forget it. A few minutes passed, and no one could make a final choice and conciliate. Finally, everyone turned to Christine who was hesitant. "I... »

However, Noah arrived at the right time, and to talk. "How is the current situation?"