"Agafya… Agafya… Agafya…"

In front of me, Mother Lelyah spoke with a smile on her face. Her white dress, perfect bright skin, golden hair and slender figure made it seem like an angel had descended upon Lake Eibsee.

At my side the old man was frozen in place, every bit of his body tensed up waiting for our next move. The other two elves left at Mother Lelyah’s command without uttering a word.

"It is truly interesting. You must have disposed of that filthy creature the moment you encountered it and yet, you spoke to and even protected it. I do not think I will ever understand you."

"Please Mother, he is not doing any harm."

"Is that so?"

Mother Lelyah starts walking towards me.

"Its sole existence is an insult to our land. Even so, it dirtied our sacred forest and took the life of two of Mother Jörð’s children. Do you think that is not doing us harm?"

I was hoping for her not to notice the eichhorns I gave to Cedric’s men. It seems she saw everything.

"I told him to take the eichhorns, he seemed really hungry so I gave them to him. You should punish me."

"Oh? Are you sure about that?"

Mother Lelyah stopped to finally look at me. Her expression is as calm and terrifying as I remember.

"Let us walk back together. It appears I must teach you a few things."

She continued walking. I move my feet to follow her, still wondering if I managed to save the old man with my lie. Then, I notice a heavy pressure in the air.

Shit…

"RUN… !"

Too late.

I see a flash of light passing right next to my ear and at the same instant the old man drops silently into the ground. Without much effort, Mother Lelyah used light magic to shoot a projectile right through the poor man’s eyes, killing him on the spot.

"Hurry, the boars will clean this up. The life of a beast does not even compare to a single eichhorn, but at least it will return a part of what it took from the forest."

A monster. That is the only way I can describe her. Ruthless and powerful in a way I cannot even dream of deifying, she took the life of another person without even looking at him. The terror compels me to obey her command and, without looking back, I follow her steps back to the village.

This was my first time meeting a human.

I have been walking silently behind Mother Lelyah for the past twenty minutes. I was afraid she was going to do something to me once we were surrounded by the large wall of trees, but she has been in a surprisingly good mood, stopping every few steps to look at the flowers decorating the ground.

"Mother Lelyah, do you want me pick some of them for you?"

I gathered all my courage and broke the silence.

"Back then, did you understand what it means to kill an eichhorn?"

She ignored me completely and slowed down to walk right by mi side.

"It is a taboo."

"That is right. It is a direct offense against our mother, an attack on life. Why do you think only men are allowed to hunt?"

"Because they are trained to follow the three sacred rules. To kill the animal respectfully with a single blow, to consume them entirely and to only hunt an animal that has fulfilled their purpose."

"That is wrong, any one of us could do that. I can kill an animal painlessly with a single spell, we always consume them entirely at the village and, feeling their mana, I can know when they have already mated. The only reason we have men do it, is because it is an immoral activity even if you follow all the rules."

Mother Lelyah’s tone was becoming serious to let me know that what she is saying is no to be taken lightly. Regardless of that, I was shocked to find out the severity of killing an animal. They always told us it was prohibited, but I thought it was the same as my mother telling me I should not smoke. I know is bad but it will not kill me instantly or get me in jail.

"Then, do you know what would happen to you if what you said were true?"

"I would become a fallen elf."

"But what is a fallen elf? I assume you do not know, otherwise you would not have said such a lie."

"I am sorry Mother Lelyah."

"I see. I overestimated you by letting you study by yourself."

She looked directly into my eyes.

"A fallen elf is one who have lost Mother Jörð’s blessing. In other words, you lose your divine mana. Without it, you are nothing more than a mere beast, you cannot use any magic and you cannot cross the village’s barrier."

"Is that even possible?"

"The greatest sin requires the greatest punishment. You can see it is true with every man at the village; they cannot use magic because, even if just a little, their mana is tainted."

It makes sense now. The way every male elf treats me here, why they never talk to us and why they stay at the outermost part of the village. They are considered lesser, tainted beings. And a fallen elf or a beast, as they call other races, is even lower.

"Also, the lack of divine mana in your body has a particular side effect. The light your body naturally produces because of it is lost and your skin and hair turn darker. That is why I did not believe you even for a second."

With a smug expression, she looked back into the forest. This was all a convoluted way of teaching me lesson.

"I will study more from now on."

Instinctively, I apologized once again.

"There is another thing I wanted to discuss with you. You are turning twenty next year."

"I know, I will have to leave the village."

"Precisely, your awaited coming of age ceremony. You will have to go out to the world for ten years and return here to prove you are worthy."

Like I am planning to return here. I have been preparing for this event since I knew what happens to us once we reach adulthood. We must live outside the village for ten years and then return to show how much we can achieve by ourselves.

"Not that the other Mothers are expecting you to ever return."

Mother Lelyah read my expression as always.

"In fact, seven years ago we arranged for another apprentice from the Elven Village in Tagetes to come and perform the ceremony here. We cannot allow our linage to end with you."

"What happens if I do not return?"

"You fall. If you do not return to the village, it means you do not deserve to be called an elf. Even if you return, you have to prove you can dominate primordial magic by performing one of the four basic spells. Otherwise, you lose Mother Jörð’s blessing."

I had no idea. Nowhere in the books I have read mentions this, nor in the few lessons I had with the Mothers. Even if I did not have the intention to return here, losing my whole identity is a bit too much. I will be ostracized forever in this world, hopefully humans do not care about me being a fallen elf, but what if they do. I would be forced to live a life worse than the one of an animal.

"We usually share this information the day of the ceremony, but I am telling you now for a reason. I believe in you."

She stopped and turned around to face me directly. Slowly holding my hands, she started to talk in a soft, charming voice and her eyes sparkled like never before.

"In five hundred years, I have never seen an elf like you. I have been observing your travels since you started. The effort you put every month, exploring the farthest regions of the forest just to collect some flowers. I saw you today talking and trying to protect a mere beast."

For the first time in my life, Lelyah seemed human. She was genuinely looking at me.

"There is something especial about you, something no one else in the village will ever have. I see ambition, hunger and passion when I look at you, things that should not be possible."

That is because I am human.

"When it comes to magic, anyone can learn spells just by studying. But you, you can achieve so much more if you set your mind into becoming a Mage. You have what is necessary to go beyond that, to make groundbreaking discoveries. To bring this village closer to Jörð."

Lelyah was now clutching my hands fiercely and her face was extremely close to me. It was eerie seeing her display such strong emotions, almost as if she did not know what to do with her feelings.

"I am giving you one year. Prepare yourself, train hard and learn as much as you can from the library."

She finally let go of me and put the usual distance between us.

"But… what if I am not good enough…"

I felt disgusted with myself as the words spilled out of my mouth.

"Call me whenever you want. I will teach you personally anything you do not understand. I am expecting great things from you."

Without saying a single word more she disappeared using teleportation magic.

As I looked again to the vast forest behind me and to the imposing tower from the village’s library poking at the end of my path, I could only murmur to myself.

"I reincarnated in a truly horrible place."