A/N: Happy reading :D
Asher POV
After some journeying, I arrived at the capital's front gates and waltzed in.
Too lazy to bother washing up or even report my return, I just flashed my Asceticism Journey seal that had changed from its previous dark jade hue to a grey color, indicating my journey was over, to the guard.
They saluted me and sent someone to the palace.
Sighing at the useless gesture, I bowed and began to walk through the streets.
It was... a foreign sight.
Though I wasn't the smartest, I wasn't a fool either. I was fully aware that I was being used and nurtured into a weapon for the elves. I didn't mind, though; it gave me something to do with my life.
And if it meant that I didn't need to see a face like that again...
Anyways, it was because of that, I had spent almost all my years isolated from the rest of the world and in the palace, training, so this scene was pretty much new.
The elves around me were giving me looks. That was to be expected, however.
Unlike the capital residents who were dressed pristinely, I was pretty disgusting. Smelling like the grey man's cave and covered in dirt and fecal matter, I probably looked like a dumpster in this country that prioritized cleanliness and sanitation.
"..."
Embarrassed, I unconsciously blushed and quickened my pace.
*
"Halt!"
"?"
After making my way to the palace gate, a Royal Knight stopped me.
"Yes?"
Then, a plant grabbed me by the ankle, flipping me and holding upside down in the air.
"You're faced with a criminal charge."
"Huh?"
"For being too utterly disgusting..."
I was slowly lifted higher into the air, still unable to process what was happening.
"...You are sentenced to a moating!"
...A moating?
I stopped to think about it, and then I recalled an old tradition.
Oh, shi—
"Wai—!"
But before I could finish, I was chucked into the moat. I blinked a couple of times in the water, processing what had just happened.
"...!"
Swimming up to the surface, I burst out and yelled.
"Oi! What was that for...!"
The Royal Knight took off their helmet, revealing a familiar face that I had to admit I missed quite a lot.
"...Alea!?"
She chuckled as she extended a vine.
"Sorry, sorry."
Smiling and glaring, I took hold of the plant and clambered up. Making my way up to the top,
"But really, you smell seriously bad."
I sighed.
"I know, I know. Where's the shower."
"Same place as always."
Nodding, I walked past Alea towards our old room.
"..."
However, I paused.
My fist unconsciously clenched.
...I should say it.
We were both a bit awkward when it came to greetings and farewells. It was because we never used them between us, and I never used them much in either of my lives, so it was even harder for me.
Still, it was appropriate and... I knew that Alea wasn't just my friend. She was the one who had raised me since I was a newborn infant.
She was...
My mother.
Gathering my courage and fighting through my exhaustion, I opened my mouth.
"I'm home..."
With a flushed face, I scratched my cheek and continued.
"...Alea."
Satisfied, I began walking, no, briskly walking before something me stop in my tracks.
"Welcome home... Asher."
"!"
I froze.
Oh, come on...
My face began to distort.
How's that supposed to be fair?
With a trembling lower lip, I quickened my pace, unwilling to show anyone my face mid-meltdown.
**
3rd Person POV
"We now announce the arrival of Royal Guard, Asher Aureus!"
The massive double doors open, revealing an enormous space.
At the top of the tree that housed the royal palace, was a ceremonial area. The open-air location that spanned about 30-40 meters in diameter*was made for grand ceremonies such as royal marriages or knighting a new Royal Knight.
It was a spectacular display of nature's splendor mixed with elvish architecture.
Down the middle, there was a bridge or path that led forward from the dark wooden doors to a reasonably large island stationed in the center of the circular space. The island was shaped like a donut with a pool of water in the center hole.
Beyond the island, the bridge continued to an island on the far end of the space that housed an elaborate throne formed by interlocking branches and the occasional emerald vine. Upon the throne was Alduin, the elvish king, and on his right stood Merial, the queen, and Virion, and on the left stood the Tessia, the princess.
Other than the bridge and islands, the floor was entirely a shallow lake containing fish and other wildlife, flower, and plants blooming on the shorelines.
Standing in the lake was a pair of giant statues standing at least 20 meters. From the point of view of someone walking in from the doors, the right statue was of an elven (male) warrior, dressed in battle robes holding an ornate sword, holding it up with its right hand toward the other statue. The statue on the left was a similar elven (female) conjurer holding an elaborate staff in a similar pose. The staff crossed the blade to make an arch.
From the tips of the statues' weapons, water spewed out. It spread into waterfalls that cascaded into the lake on the opposite sides.
Within the lake were evidence of ancient elvish architecture, wooden carvings spread out across the lake floor. It looked like the tree housing the royal palace, its carved branches extending to the lake's borders, green growth revealing its age.
On the bordering rim to the left and the right beyond the shorelines, carved into the tree's sides, were seats filled with various noble families, their children, other Knights, officials, etc.
It was a massive audience that formed every time a knighting ceremony occurred. To coronate and officiate a new Royal Knight only happened once every decade at the most.
From behind the doors, a white-haired boy dressed in black robes with gold threading and elaborate hair ornaments began to walk down the green walkway.
With two wooden needles that looked like gold holding up a ponytail and a purple flower that tied around the base, a branch containing a string of daffodils adorned the side of his head.
Although the boy himself did not notice, he now carried a certain pressure about him. An aura befitting a Royal Knight, sword and shield of the royal family.
As he reached the mid-point of his walkway, the king rose from his seat.
Unaccompanied by guards or knights, Alduin led only the royal family. The queen, princess, and Virion in that order.
This was a sacred ceremony binding the soon-to-be knight to the royal family for a lifetime of servitude. No other persons were to be involved in this hallowed ritual.
Reaching the central island first, Asher kneeled on the rim, his loose black robes fluttering.
Soon, the royal family reached the island and stood on the opposite side of the ring.
The other royal family members stopped walking while Alduin stepped into the mini-lake. Walking through the shallow water that was clearer than a fresh sheet of glass, the king walked the length of the pond and stood before Asher.
"Here you stand at this place to offer your servitude to the sovereigns of this realm."
Though Alduin seemed like a typical dad a lot of the time, he was a king, and his voice contained an authority befitting his title.
Everything until this point had been entirely ceremonial, with cultural meaning behind each and every action.
Even what seemed to be a joke like moating had a deeper meaning. It symbolized the washing of the beastliness that had accumulated over the year of living in the forest to allow only the self to return to society.
And the statues that spewed water, walking through it represented gaining the blessing of the original king and queen of Elenoir, the ones who established the kingdom in the beginning.
"Now, do you offer what makes you yourself? Your virtues? Your power?"
Hair was where it is said that one's virtues and power** were laid. The ornaments served the purpose of offering it up to the royal family so that the Royal Knight's virtues and power would be released. This allowed the doctrine of the royal family to take its place.
"Yes."
Following Asher's answer, Alduin pulled a ceremonial knife. Made of entirely wood, it was said to have belonged to the first king of Elenoir as a gift from his wife, the first queen. It was used during marriage ceremonies between members of the royal family.
It was elaborate and fanciful, yet also simple. A beautiful display of the ultimate culmination of ancient elven architecture.
He lifted the hair that the ornaments lifted rather than tied.
Running the knife through the purple flower, the hair that all those who undertook the Asceticism Journey grew out was cut perfectly.
The needles that held my hair and my hair dropped to the ground leaving only the string of daffodils*** on the branch in Asher's hair, a symbol of letting go of one's past powers and creating room for future powers.
Shortened hair lightly waved as Asher kept his eyes closed.
"Do you offer your body? What gives you strength in the material realm?"
The next part was asking for my physical body. After giving my virtues and strength, I now gave my body.
"Yes."
The black robes weren't actually black. They were, in fact, white. They represented the impurities that existed within him.
Asher rose, stepped into the center pool, and sat on his knees, Alduin moving to the side.
The pool water began to work its magic. The black ink that was embedded into the fabric started to dissipate, motes of white beginning to appear before the entirety of the robe became a pure white, only golden threading remaining.
At this, Alduin, who had walked over to stand in front of Asher again, placed a hand on the boy's head.
"Do you hereby eternally swear to serve your nation?"
"Yes."
"Then..."
He roused some mana. Though he wasn't a high-ranking mage, he still had some mana in him.
The mana lightly touched the flower accessory and caused it and the golden threading to glow brightly.
"...I welcome you. Not as Royal Guard, but as Asher Aureus, Royal Knight of Elenoir!"
**
Asher POV
I lay down on my bed.
"..."
I stared at the ceiling, profound thoughts arising from reflecting upon today's earlier events—
"Wheee!!"
...Or not.
In all honesty, I couldn't care less about the whole knighting thing. I was just happy that I was in my old bed again.
The cave floor was rock solid, and my back did not appreciate sleeping on it, so being in the nice, fluffy sheets of home...
"!!!"
Feeling the fluff, I couldn't help but start squirming again, making sure the entirety of my body experienced the fluffiness of the bed.
A perverted smile spread across my face as I began to melt into the white clouds.
"Paradise~"
I sounded like an old, middle-aged man coming back from overtime whose sole solace was jumping into his bed after a tough day.
Still, who cared.
As far as I was concerned, this was heaven.
—Tk tk
"?"
After swishing around in my bed for a while, a knocking came from the door.
Regretfully taking a break from enjoying the bed, I turned over to the door and asked.
"Who is it?"
Responding to my question, the door opened, revealing a familiar woman.
"Alea!"
She smiled as she sauntered into the room, closing the door behind her. I smiled and spoke.
"I was wondering where you were."
"Keke, miss me?"
"Yes."
She seemed to flinch at my honest answer. She cleared her throat before continuing.
"Well, that should be obvious."
She sat down, her back facing me.
"...Since I missed you too."
I blinked blankly. Was it the candlelight? Her ears seemed to be red...
"Ahk!"
Taking the chance, I pounced on her back, draping my arms over her shoulders.
Although it was embarrassing that someone my age was doing something like this...
My smile deepened.
...I'm sure I could afford happiness like this, at least once. The childhood I never had, surely, I could experience it once every now and then.
"...Asher?"
Alea called out to me, but my face was boiling at this point. So, I did the only logical thing.
"...Snrrk."
I pretended to have fallen asleep.
"Asher?"
"..."
I broke out in cold sweat. What was that line again? Mothers know all? Know best?
"Asher?"
"..."
Her voice changed like she just got a confidence boost.
Please no.
"!"
Then, she took me by surprise and went straight for the ribs.
"AH!!"
"Hehe, you thought you could hide from me?"
"Wai— please! Mercy!!"
But my begging was for naught.
She already knew all my ticklish spots.
And so, my screeching echoed through the halls of the palace, a life that had been absent, filling it, after a year of absence.
Then, in the morning, we were discovered asleep together, reunited after a long, long year.
[Asceticism Journey — End]
*The elvish royal palace is massive.
The tree it's in is large enough that it would take 100 people holding hands to wrap around the whole thing according to Arthur in his prepubescent days. So, taking an average height of 170 cm and an average person's wingspan being around the same as their height (or more), we can do some quick math to find that the circumference of the whole thing is 17000 cm.
Going reverse using the circumference formula, the diameter is 5411.27 cm So in other words, the tree is 54.1127 meters wide (correct me if I did something wrong).
That's not all.
Going by the baobab tree's diameter to height ratio, which is about 1:3, we can do some proportions and find the height of the tree to be about 162 meters or taller since the elvish tree could be another species. That's almost as tall as three colossal titans stacked on top of each other.
**Based on the Biblical story of Samson.
***In floriography, Daffodils symbolize rebirth.
A/N: So this chapter took a long time.
Thinking of the ceremony, the design of the palace, etc. all took a sizeable amount of time to finish.
I'm honestly confused at where the story's heading right now myself, so the next few chapters might feel weird lmao.
Anyways, Asher's character is developing!
Thanks for reading!
Rua