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Early Evening - Late Fall : The Tree of Prayer

- Leif Vilulf ~

"Hmm-hm-hmm-hm-hmmm..." I happily hummed as I walked down the street and waved to the few people who still hadn't yet descended for the prayer. -Today is going to be a good day...-

My mind was still repeating the memory of the enchanting feeling of oppression I felt from our lord's presence a few days prior.

It was a feeling no one had felt for over ten thousand years. -The only other time anyone had felt either Dagr or Nott's presence was 15 years ago...- But at that time, Dagr's presence was so faint and disappeared so quickly that some of us questioned whether or not we had just imagined it.

-But now I know for certain!- My excitement looked quite childish, but I didn't bother hiding it. -To think I would be alive to witness their return!- I was so happy I wanted to cry.

But that was when I noticed a strong aura coming straight at me. -Hm? A priest?-

It was a middle-aged elven priest whom I only vaguely recognized. -What is he doing here?-

Finally making it up to me, he threw himself into a kneel. "Northern Priest Agnar greets the Apostle of the Night!" He was breathing fairly heavily and seemed to be in a bit of a panic.

-For a priest to come to me by themselves...- "Is there something wrong? What are you doing here?"

"I have been sent by High Priest Oda Ashild to retrieve you. An incident that she believes urgently needs your attention has occurred." His eyes showed a mix of anxiety and nervousness.

-Oda sent him? Why would she...- Stopping myself before I could jump to any conclusions, my expression visibly darkened. "Where is she?"

"Miss Ashild should be waiting below the southern branch of the central northern treant."

-The southern branch? Was there a problem with one of the lifts? But she wouldn't need me for that...- Before I could let my thoughts delay me anymore, I turned away from the priest. "Please return to your assigned position. I will handle it from here."

"As you order."

As soon as he lowered his head toward the ground to show he had nothing else to add, I disappeared from in front of him and dashed down the road.

-What could possibly be serious enough that even Oda couldn't handle it?

- I grimaced a bit as a certain possibility came to mind. -It's not a dragon, is it?-

Trying not to make any more assumptions, I quickly passed through several treants before finally wrapping around the center of the treant Oda was under.

-Hm?- Looking toward the ground beneath the branch, I saw an unusually dense crowd around one of the lift anchors (the stone base). -So it was an issue with a lift...-

But although I could clearly see the scene, I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking at. -The rope is in pieces, the lift is gone, and the anchor is destroyed... How does that even happen...-

Quickly making my way to the lift neighboring the destroyed one, I leapt off the branch and hastily slid down the rope. *Pffff*

"What happened?" I could immediately hear the chatter of the crowd. "What was that explosion and that flash of light earlier?"

"I'm not totally sure. Some people are saying it was our gods making an appearance to save the people from a falling lift."

"Haha, how wonderful would it have been to see it!"

"Haha, right? Honestly though, I think it was just one of the apostles."

"Right? That would definitely make the most sense..."

"Yeah, it wouldn't make sense for the gods to make an appearance just to save some regular people."

My minor irritation only worsened as I listened to them talk. -Outlandish rumors have already started...- Looking over toward Oda, I saw her just looking at a piece of rope like she didn't know what it was. -What the hell is she doing...-

Finally making it a bit over halfway down, I leapt off the rope and aimed to land on the pile of rubble that was the remains of the lift anchor. *Crunch*

The nearby chatter stopped the instant I landed. "Oda, what did you call me for?"

She twitched a bit from my voice but stayed abnormally calm. "Just.. look at this..." With an expression I had never seen her wear before, she turned and handed me the small, stiff piece of rope she was holding.

"What are you giving me this for-" My voice was cut off when I grabbed onto it. -What.. the...- It felt light like regular rope but had the rigidity of a metal rod.

Oda's expression remained unchanged even after seeing my reaction. "Have you ever seen that kind of strengthening? It looks like something from the Age of Gods..."

I was at a loss of words and could only mindlessly stare at the rope that had been strengthened more than my father's axe, which was considered nearly indestructible.

"What.. am I looking at?" Turning it over to look at its ends, I noticed one side looked crudely burned while the other was a nearly perfectly flat layer of char. -What the...-

"W..well, as of now, we think it is the only remaining piece of the rope that was above the lift."

-Above the lift?- Not understanding, I quickly turned to her. "Just explain what happened first." *vwoom* A wave of silence wrapped around us as I put up a silencing barrier.

"From what we have gathered so far, this was a lift that was lowering a group of four people and a Fenrir when the lift's dock gave out and collapsed."

-A dock actually broke?- It was something almost impossible under normal circumstances.

Oda continued before I could think much about it though.

"According to the select few people who actually saw anything, a demihuman boy, likely only 16 or 17, landed here on the anchor, which destroyed it, before using unknown magic to destroy the lift itself and the falling dock.

" Her face showed a tinge of worry as she spoke.

"According to Agnar, the only priest who saw the second spell, it looked like 'a pillar of light pierced the sky', and from what we can tell, it wasn't an exaggeration.

" She casually pointed straight up as she finished.

-Hm? What is she...- My thoughts were cut short when I saw clouds through a perfectly circular hole in the canopy.

As my eyes widened, a phrase was repeated in my mind. -A pillar.. of light...- My thoughts started to speed up exponentially as I repeated the phrase several more times to visualize the spell. -A pillar.. a ray.. a column.. a beam...- But that was when it finally clicked.

"Ah!" My previously suppressed excitement rushed forward like a tidal wave. "The Fenrir that got on the lift, what color was it?"

Oda's worry quickly worsened like she thought I finally lost it. "Uh, bright white... Why?"

-IT REALLY WAS WHITE!- My heart was racing as thoughts ripped through my mind. -A white Fenrir and what could possibly be Lord Dagr's magic! They must be...-

As she saw my ecstatic smile starting to grow wider, Oda grabbed onto me. "Look, I don't know what insane thing you're thinking about, but all the Fenrir did was catch someone who was falling."

-Huh?- My excitement came to a screeching halt. "So... Are you saying the demihuman boy actually used that spell? -There's no way...-

"Yes. Every single witness had the same story."

-But that's not possible...- My mind started to wander and come up with countless theories as I looked back up at the hole in the canopy, but I eventually stopped and looked toward the surrounding crowd.

"The boy, what did he look like, and where did they go?

" -I just need to find them, and confirm things for myself. ..-

"The boy looked like a wolf demihuman, but his body was extremely toned, his hair was dark black, and his tail was longer and fluffier than normal. As for where they went..." She gave me an awkward expression.

Even though she only paused for a second, I was too eager to wait. "Went where?! Just say it!" I grabbed onto her shoulders again, but she just averted her eyes.

"They, uh.. disappeared... We think it was with advanced light magic..."

-Light magic again...- Although I didn't want to assume anything too outlandish, I couldn't help but connect the scene to Dagr at every turn. "Hooh..." I had to take a deep breath to calm myself. -It could still be a coincidence... It could definitely just be a coincidence...- "Hooooh..."

"A..are you alright, Leif?" Oda gave me a worried look.

"Yes.. I'm okay." Finally getting a hold of my thoughts, I let go of Oda's shoulders and looked toward the Tree of Prayer behind her.

"Tell the local priests that I will reward them handsomely if they find any information on that boy or the Fenrir.

" -Even if they aren't related to Dagr or Nott, I need information on that magic. ..-

Oda was quick to give me a nod. "I will inform them immediately."

"Hooh.. good." *vwoom* With a wave of my hand, I lowered the silencing barrier around us, filling the air with loud chatter.

But my thoughts were elsewhere. -If they really are related.. I will find out soon enough...-

Looking up through the hole in the canopy again, I saw the sky finally start to dim. -Only an hour to go...-