The Realm of Light

Chapter II: The Beauty of Spring

Elwin's Story

In The Realm of Light, the season of spring is revered for its beauty and warmth, commonly known as the fairest season of all. The first Guardian Vix created in the beginning, was none other than the Guardian of Spring, Elwin Vigor. More specifically, Elwin was the Guardian of Spring's Beauty and Nature.

Elwin possessed an elvish appearance, with long pointy ears and soft pink hair; however, unlike the elvenfolk, his eyes were the darkest shade of brown and his skin was an unnatural shade of green. Before he became a Guardian he was but a humble star that lay aimlessly in the night's sky. Vix chose Elwin's star, separating it from the others, and gave it a mortal-like body.

Elwin was raised amongst the mortals, living as if he were one of them. As he matured he developed a gentle personality, helping whoever he could and befriending everyone he met. His closest known friend was Emperor Maximillian Daxens, ruler of the Malean Empire. When Elwin first met Maximilian, the future monarch was but a young prince. The two quickly became inseparable and lived as though they were brothers. Maximilian loved Elwin so dearly that he took an interest in everything relating to spring. After Maximilian was crowned emperor, he held a festival during the first month spring in order to honor the beautiful season. The festival lasted for two whole weeks and this tradition was upheld for decades.

Every year Elwin would receive an invitation to Maximilian's spring festival, and every year he would decline the offer. Unfortunately, as Elwin grew older he spent less time with his friend, and became fully dedicated to his duty as a Guardian.

"I am much too busy to partake in such matters." Elwin would say every time he was invited. In spite of his words Maximilian would send one of his servants to invite Elwin to the festival every single year.

In the early days of the realm, Elwin could be found at the edge of the Western Empires, now commonly known as the Elven Empires, residing in the branches of a white willow tree located in the middle of a large mystic lake. The atmosphere brought him comfort, so he made the tree his home.

Two days before the coming of spring, one of Maximilian's servants would present himself to Elwin and invite him to the upcoming spring festival held in the Empire of Malea. During the seventy-eighth year of Elwin's reign, he finally accepted Maximilian's invitation and made plans to attend Malea's thirty-ninth annual spring festival.

When Maximilian was told that Elwin would be in attendance during Malea's thirty-ninth spring festival, he was greatly overjoyed, and sought to make sure that year's spring festival would be the greatest one yet. The evening before the first day of spring, a magnificent ball was held in the imperial palace. All of the guests were to bow deeply before the Emperor, thanking him for graciously inviting them to such a magnificent event. However, when Elwin made his way into the grand ballroom, the emperor arose from his throne and kneeled before him.

"I, Maximilian Aurthor Daxens, emperor of the Malean Empire, humbly present myself before you, The Guardian of Spring's Beauty and Nature, ruler of the fairest season of all."

Before this, the people of Malea had never seen their emperor bow down to a foreigner, as no foreigner visiting the empire had ever been of a higher station than their emperor. All of the guests in the ballroom followed suit and kneeled before Elwin, recognizing him as an honorable Guardian, the first one chosen by Vix.

"Be at ease, mortals." Elwin said with a smile. He was genuinely happy to see his oldest friend after years of dedication to his work.

"Maximilian, my good friend, it is a pleasure to see you again!" When the emperor stood up Elwin was quick to embrace him.

"It's been decades, yet you still look the same as you did when we first met all those years ago." The emperor said jokingly.

"Is that gray I see in your hair?" Elwin gasped. "Has it really been so long since we've last seen each other?"

"It has, however it is to be expected such a thing would go unnoticed by someone like you."

In the eyes of an immortal, a decade is but a moment. Over the years, the emperor grew older and wiser, but Elwin hadn't changed a bit.

"You remember Freya, don't you, Elwin?" Maximilian motioned towards his wife.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, your grace." The empress said while curtsying. Elwin reached out and gently kissed the back of her hand.

"I've just realized I haven't seen you since the wedding. Tell me, how are you and Maximilian getting along these days?" Elwin asked curiously.

"Why don't you see for yourself, your grace. Allow me to introduce you to our three children." Standing next to the empress was one man and two women dressed in the finest silk and gold.

"Your grace," said the empress, "I present to you Isca, my first born, Isla, my second born, and Fae, my youngest." All three bowed deeply before Elwin. The two eldest siblings looked exactly like their father, possessing bright green hair and pale blue eyes. The youngest child however, took after the empress with her pink hair and green eyes.

Fae immediately caught Elwin's attention. Besides Freya and himself, Fae was the only other being Elwin had seen with pink hair. Even among the elvenfolk this beautiful feature is highly uncommon.

Suddenly, beautiful Malean music began to fill the air of the ballroom and the guests walked towards the middle of the floor in pairs. Elwin approached the youngest princess.

"Would you care to dance with me, Princess?" He extended his hand and smiled. Fae did not answer, she only looked down at his hand in subtle surprise. Fae's older sister stepped forward and took hold of Elwin's hand.

"I would love to dance with you, your grace." Said Isla. She quickly led him to the dance floor as he looked back at Fae, who still hung her head low.

While dancing Isla moved her body elaborately across the floor. She vibrantly smiled as she looked up at Elwin and attempted to engage in small talk.

"You are an incredibly fine dancer, your grace." She said in a cheerful voice. Elwin nodded in response. It was Isla who was doing most of the dancing after all. She let loose and started making up her own non-traditional dance moves, spinning in circles around Elwin. He didn't appreciate the performance.

"I've never met a man who looks quite like you before. Your skin is such an exquisite shade of green and I've always had a thing for pink hair." Isla continued.

"Like your sister." Elwin remarked while looking at Fae from across the room. She was one of the few people that didn't participate in dancing.

"Yes I suppose so." Isla said while following his gaze. "For how long will you be staying in the palace?"

"I'll be staying for the rest of the festival." He said. Isla beamed and the music stopped. Slowly a different song began to play, to which Elwin responded by leaving the room. Isla enthusiastically started dancing with another partner and the rest of the ball went smoothly.

"Indeed." Elwin said to himself while walking down the hall. "I'll only be here for two weeks."