Kumra was a garden planet full of magnificent groves, ripe orchards and lush woodland. John gazed out the automated air speeder as he took in the sights and sounds of the city. This planet had but one city. He had been told that towns and plantations made up the majority of the planet’s surface. The city of Kumra, from which the planet got its name, was not how John imagined a city to be. For one, there were hardly any people on the roads. He saw many robots though, moving mechanically as they carried out their daily tasks. Each house was like a marble palace. John could see the decorated courtyards and interiors, full of all manner of ornaments. The world of Kumra was a utopia. With robots to do all the labor the people could relax. It was a true paradise world.

“It is not as peaceful as it appears on the surface,” Sor Al said, looking at John’s shining eyes. “Prosperity has dulled our senses. Many elves lose their spirits and grow old. Some even die out of sheer boredom.”

“You can die of boredom?” John’s mouth hung open. It sounded ludicrous.

“Boredom begets a certain weariness of spirit. It is the most common cause of our deaths. That and war. When elves lose their spirit and no longer care about life, their vital energies slowly dissipate into the void. Most commit suicide before that happens. They can regain these energies if they find purpose again, but that rarely occurs.” Sor Al sighed as she gazed at the vast city under her, “We need something big to jolt us out of this sad state.” With so few elves in the galaxy why did they wage war? Did boredom drive them to battle?

The air speeder circled around one of the palaces close to the middle of the city and slowly landed in the central courtyard. Two people stood there to greet them. They looked curiously at John while he was getting out of the speeder.

“Teacher we have missed you,” said the man, grinning widely while bowing towards Sor Al. “We’re glad to have you back. Your adventures have been all the rage on the root way today.”

“It has been hard without you, teacher,” said the woman, sniffing a little as she tried to draw back tears. “We weren’t sure if you were alive or dead. If the worst had happened...I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“You know me well enough not to worry,” Sor Al smiled at the two as they embraced. “I have missed you both. My adventures were not as interesting as the root way would make you think, but they were filled with many dangers. The root way does not exaggerate that.” Sor Al pulled John to the front, “Jehun, greet your senior apprentice brother and sister.”

“Greetings,” John bowed to each in turn.

“Hello,” said the elven man, “My name is Relar.” He was tall, even for an elf. His light brown hair was combed back, and his green eyes sparkled with hidden laughter.

“And I’m Sariel,” said the woman. “I look forward to studying with you.” Sariel looked more ordinary compared to Relar. She was of average height, blond hair flowing down in tresses. She wore no ornaments save for a simple one on her hair shaped like a butterfly.

“Are you really the Wild Child?” asked Relar enthusiastically.

“Some people call me that,” John responded.

“We’ve heard so much about you from the root way. You killed a god king and a high demon. You have already accomplished far more than us, and at such a young age.”

“It was luck,” said John. “Sor Al had almost finished them off when I acted. In fact, she left the final blow for me to experience when we were dealing with the high demon.” He did not like taking undue credit.

“Teacher has always been like that,” grinned Relar.

“Enough with the chit chat,” scolded Sor Al. “His head is probably pounding from the journey. Relar, take him to his room. Let him rest. Tomorrow you shall take him around the city.” His head was indeed pounding, but from a hangover.

“Yes teacher,” Relar bowed and gestured for John to follow him.

John’s room was so large that he doubted whether it was all for one person. It was at least six times the size of his room on the Swift Retribution. The holographic console was attached to the ceiling, so small that it was barely noticeable. John had no doubt that the range of the holograms could encompass the entire room. The bed was huge, easily fitting four Relars, with a bed sheet embroidered with a pastoral scene of grassland and hills. Soft lights on the ceiling illuminated the room nicely, and Relar opened the curtains of the windows letting in even more light. His old room had been nice and cozy. This new room was too grand for John to be comfortable in.

“We can change the room if you don’t like it,” said Relar.

“No, this is much better than anything I imagined.” He didn’t want to make any more trouble for them.

“That’s good. Rest now. We’ll go see the city tomorrow.”

John soon fell asleep on his big, soft, comfortable bed, too hung over to bother fiddling around with the holographic console.

Morning came and Relar took John to tour the city as promised. They took off in a red speeder, Relar turning the controls back on to manual.

“That,” said Relar, pointing to a big building that looked like the Colosseum, “is the breeding grounds. They mostly breed drakons and gryphons.”

“Dragons,” John said with awe, looking at the breeding grounds. In the field at the center he could see purple scaled creatures being walked around the field.

“Drakons are not real dragons,” said Relar. “You will be able to see a true dragon soon. Droth, an old dragon friend of the teacher’s, has sent a message saying she will visit the teacher soon.” Relar circled around a long building where John could see many people moving to and fro. “That is the entertainment center, where they stage plays and concerts. Many people prefer to watch these shows live rather than as a hologram or on their chips. They say that the experience is different. I agree with them. It is much better experiencing things in person.”

“What’s that building?” John asked, pointing to one that towered to the sky. The whole structure was raised so that steps had to be placed outside.

“That is the temple of Inashta. It belongs to a pleasure cult called the Priestesses of Love. They believe that their ritualistic orgies can wake their sleeping goddess and bring back fertility to elven women. You’d be better off avoiding that place. They can be a little fanatical and they don’t have much sense.”

“Where is the temple of Rahl?” asked John.

“Rahl has no temple like the other gods and goddesses. We believe that every place light reaches is a temple to Rahl. Do you believe in Rahl, Jehun?”

“No, I don’t know much about him.”

“He rarely shows himself in this plane of existence. Some people have recently begun to doubt, and flocked to the other gods instead.” Rarely shows himself? Rahl was real? Was he truly as powerful as they made him out to be?

“Who are the other gods and goddesses?”

“There’s Asta the god of craftsmen, Inashta the sleeping goddess of love and pleasure, Ir the god of war, Tara the goddess of wisdom, Aral the god of navigators, Emera the goddess of nature, Sundy the god of the aether, Ada the god of death, Tiru the goddess of adventure, Aram the god of the arts, Es the god of healing and pestilence, and Xele the god of weather. There are many other minor gods and goddesses but they are hardly worshiped any more.”

“How often do they show themselves in reality?”

“Ir, the god of war, showed himself two decades ago. It resulted in the war of Panace. He was the most recent. Look,” Relar pointed, “there’s the Emerald Sea. You are seeing it at the perfect time. During midday the sea shines green. Look at how it glows.”

They finished their tour towards dusk and set back to Sor Al’s house. John watched from the sky as the city’s lights turned on one by one like a wave from the city center to the sea. It was a beautiful sight.