When Eliron finished his speech, the crowd grew deathly quiet. They stared ahead of themselves, teeth gritted, blood boiling and faces dark.
It was working…
Or at least it was working at first, Eliron could see the anger blossoming in their midst like a little spore, seconds away from exploding.
But all it took was a single sentence to send everything crashing down.
—The young lord must have gone mad.
Murmurs began to spread among them, each one further destroying the effects of his speech.
— Losing his brother must have been too hard on him.
— He has even been acting out of character. When had the young lord been this bold?
— Poor Eliron, he's barely keeping his sanity intact.
— Can he even be our lord?
Yennefer glanced at Eliron, her shoulders slumping. As the Angel in charge of his reincarnation, she had gleamed into his past.
She knew what has motivated his brash words and how much he had struggled in his previous life.
To see his efforts crumble like this was painful. But strangely, as she watched him, Eliron's lips curled up in a smile.
As Eliron watched the chaos break out amongst the wood elves, he folded his arms across his chest and allowed it to simmer.
He had expected this sort of reaction, it would have been foolish to think that one little speech would change the way the elves had been living for so many years.
When you are thrown into an ocean, at first, you can still see the light clearly. It is visible, just barely out of reach.
At that point, escape is still possible with just the right push.
But the further you sink down, the less light you see, the more your body feels the burden of the ocean's depth.
And then at a point you no longer see the light, the water becomes oppressive like weights on your shoulder.
At that point, all you can ever hope to do is sink while you pray for a quick death.
The speech was just the first part… the appetizer just before the main course.
Eliron glanced at Yennefer and urged her forward with a discreet wave of his fingers.
When she came, he whispered some words in her ears and her eyes widened slightly just before she nodded.
He cleared his throat and then the sound of his voice cut through the murmuring like a knife.
"I have received a Divine Ascension."
Just that sentence alone was more than enough to sun the crowd to silence. Even his brother's right hand man's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"Impossible…" the words unconsciously slipped out of his lips as he stared at Eliron.
Eliron smirked.
A divine ascension…
In the novel two classes of individuals sat on the top of the food chain. They were the Mages and the Swordsmen, individuals capable of clashing with supernatural beasts and claiming the heads of dragons.
To become either of these, Mages began training from the day they could speak while Swordsmen started from the moment they could wield a sword.
Still, even then, not many managed to reach the level of elite warrior. Because at the end of the day, one determining factor was talent.
People who received a divine ascension were said to be prodigies even amongst prodigies, people loved by God!
With a Divine Ascension, within the space of a year, they could easily catch up and surpass people who had trained for two decades…
Throughout history, there had only been a single Wood Elf said to have received this gift, but he vanished without a trace years ago.
'It is not like I have a Divine Ascension though…' Eiron snickered in his mind.
The Primordial Collection was far greater.
"Don't lie to us!"
"Divine ascension?! We have lived many centuries, we cannot be so easily fooled!"
"How can you tell such an obvious lie the day after your brother died? Are you trying to lead us to ruin?"
The crowd grew unstable, some person shouting out words that should have never been uttered to a lord.
But Eliron could understand their frustrations, he was one of them afterall, and in their shoes he might have done worse.
He could spot a few of them crying in the crowd…
They were sorrowful because for a second, their hearts welled up with hope, but reality came crashing into them like a frenzied horse.
What their lord had said…
Was impossible.
Ash stood up and held Eliron's shoulder, his gaze downcast. "My lord, maybe it is time we retire for today. A lot has happened, I understand if you still need time to process—"
Before he could finish his words, in one swift motion, Eliron grabbed the sword hanging on his belt and pulled it out.
"My lord, what do you plan to—"
His mouth hung open in awe as he stared up above.
The world was brightened by a flash, bathing everything in a white light, lighting coursing through the sky like stings of white fire.
BOOOOM!
There was a sound of cracking thunder as the sound wave rolled over the crowd, shaking the village.
The clouds suddenly shifted, the beautiful morning sun giving way for a thick ashy veil that darkened the world.
SHRRRR!
And then the cloud opened, releasing a downpour like never before seen in the elven village.
The rain fell like daggers, scattering the soil and soaking everything in an instant.
'SSS Ranked skill, Storm manipulation.'
It was a skill invented by a man referred to as the great sage. He had mastered the skill after spending forty days living in isolation on the jagged western mountains.
Yet, Eliron had summoned it without so much as a strained thought.
As the rain continued to descend, Eliron kept his sword up in the sky, his gaze ahead as he stared at the clouds, and then at his people.
His actions needed no words.
"It's a miracle…" An elf whispered, falling to his knees.
"IT'S A MIRACLE!!!"
The elves began to cheer, their voices even resounding over the beating rain.
Mothers were crying while they held their children in their arms, fathers were on their knees saying up at him with reverence.
And then the elf next to him stepped up, a woman with an unearthly beauty, one they had never seen in the village prior.
She lifted her hands and golden particles began to emerge around them, darting around like fireflies.
Before their eyes, their wounds began to close, bruises began to heal and broken bones mended themselves.
Ash watched everything with wide eyes, his hands trembling by his sides.
He had heard that the entire company of mercenaries were wiped out, but he thought it was due to an internal dispute.
Now he knew how…
Ash he fell to his knees before Eliron.
"I, Ash Venicetuor, hereby swear to be your sword and right hand, like my forefathers before me!"