Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Old Maisha (III)

Goldmi had felt a bit nervous before talking to old Maisha, but that nervousness had completely disappeared. The bond that the tree had established made her feel close, familiar.

"What can I do for you?" the elf asked.

"Show me what happened, what the dryads told me," old Maisha requested.

For a moment, Goldmi felt confused, not knowing very well how to do it. However, she just needed to think about it and wish to transmit it to carry it out.

"That's not the agreement we reached the other day. Mmmm. True, you feel time differently... When? Barely two thousand years? It doesn't change that it's not the agreement. Everybody were all the same. They have betrayed my trust," the tree muttered, slowly as always.

After a moment, screams began to be heard. Soon, they discovered that the screams belonged to elves dressed in the ceremonial costumes of the tree priests. They screamed in terror, as they were grabbed by branches that coiled around their bodies.

Their function was to communicate with the tree, and manage the influx of visitors. The branches carried them to the gate that led there, where they were thrown. They appeared on the other side, and could no longer enter again.

Goldmi then felt that she was surrounded by a strong but warm power. Later, she would read on the interface that she had been granted Maisha's Blessing, although the elf wouldn't be quite sure if it was a curse or a blessing. However, over time, she would discover that it reinforced her power.

"I pass to you the power to decide how the elves can come," the old Maisha announced.

"Hey! Me? How!? Why!?" the elf panicked.

"You have affinity, and you're trustworthy. I can feel it, and you're a friend of the dryads. Call me if you need anything. I'll take care of the rest when they come in," the tree assured, and removed the connection.

Goldmi stood petrified, not knowing what to do. The responsibility that had suddenly fallen on her shoulders was overwhelming. Thousands of elves entered there every year.

"My turn!" Gjami demanded, while a certain dryad laughed.

Her sister had been hogging the phone, and she wanted to talk too. The girls had ignored the elves expelled from there, partly because Melia had isolated them. She didn't want to miss the opportunity to talk to them.

Hearing her brought Goldmi out of her stupor. She found that Elendnas was looking at her worriedly, and even shaking her.

"Goldmi? Are you okay? What happened to you?" he asked, relieved to see that she was finally reacting.

Her sisters, on the other hand, weren't at all worried, although they were curious. They could sense the elf's fluctuating feelings.

"Old Maisha was talking to me..." she said, still confused.

"Old Maisha?" he was confused.

"The sacred tree... She asked me to tell her what I saw..." she explained, not quite believing what had happened.

"So, what has happened with the priests...?" her husband was surprised.

"She threw them out for not keeping a deal. The worst thing is that she put me in charge. I don't know what to do. Help me," she asked. She felt lost.

Elendnas opened his eyes wide. That was something he hadn't expected, and it took him a few seconds to react.

"I'll call some friends. They'll help us. Actually, they'll be delighted. How do you want to do it?" he finally suggested.

"Thank you Elen, I don't know what I'd do without you," she smiled, relieved. "There can't be preferences, that's why she got angry. For the rest, it can continue the same."

"Good. Can you put a Gate to the command center for me? I'll let you know, so you can come get me."

"Of course," she assured.

Although, before letting him go, she kissed him sweetly and passionately.

Elendnas was first met with the disbelief of his friends, then with their enthusiasm, and finally they got to work. The truth was that there were elves who didn't like the current situation of the sacred tree, with too many privileges for those who could pay for them. Elendnas had many friends among those elves.

The final decision was to make a single ticket. Those who still had the red one would have to ask for one of the normal ones again. They would be given one if they met the conditions.

As for those conditions, they were basically the same as those already used for commoners, with only slight adjustments. Goldmi breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that she didn't have to do everything alone. There was plenty of help.

Even so, she was the only one who could talk to old Maisha for now, so she would have to go often. At least it wasn't a problem for the tree to reserve a space for her to put an Exit Gate, which would make it much more convenient. It wouldn't take long for the elven world to find out that there was a new high priestess of the tree.

As for the expelled, associates and some nobles, they wanted to put up resistance, to demand that the status quo be maintained. Those elves believed that, with their power and influence, they could bend the will of the new priestess.

Of course, she had much more support than they had expected, including the dryads. The most aggressive ones would soon regret their threats.

"Are you...?" Elendnas asked them when they left.

"Yes, we're pregnant!" Elenksia assured, smiled and hugged him.

"Will we have cousins?" Gjami asked, excited.

"That's right," Klimsal smiled at her.

"How're children made? Do they come from the tree?" Eldmi asked curiously. It wasn't the first time.

"The method is the normal one. The tree makes you grow a... MMmmmmm," Elenksia wanted to explain, but her brother put his hand on her mouth.

"A what?" Eldmi asked in interest.

"It's late. It's time to go home. I'll make you pizza," Goldmi intervened.

""Yes, pizza!"" the two exclaimed.

Elendnas, Goldmi and Klimsal reproached Elenksia with their gaze, while she tried to look innocent. At least, they had managed to divert the girls' attention.

Old Maisha's magic was ancient and unique. It reinforced and accelerated fertility and fertilization, and could temporarily change the sex of one member of the couple. The rest depended on them. In addition, the environment in which the tree isolated each couple was very stimulating, although it wasn't known why.

The scents and the mana were suspected, but no one was sure. It hadn't been replicated. It could only be found there, and in the sister trees of old Maisha. They were in other lands, serving other races. They were as magical as they were mysterious and ancient.