"Come on, boy!", Ronn's voice woke Alonn out of his sleep.

After taking the book off his face, Alonn rubbed his hand over his eyes and yawned. Looking at his watch, he saw that he had slept more than twelve hours.

Ronn was at the bedroom door, wearing only long trousers, with tuned muscles on display. Thanks to the exercise routine, Ronn has a strong body compared to most elves.

"Go wash your face and drink just a glass of water! I'll be waiting for you there.", Ronn said and then left.

Honestly, Alonn was not feeling any desire to exercise. But he got up and did as his father ordered.

He then wore long pants like his father, wearing nothing on his upper body.

'I'm really skin and bones.', Alonn thought.

Being thin is not uncommon among elves, but Alonn appears to be at risk of breaking with just a breath of wind.

After climbing the ladder that leads to the hanging garden at the top of the tree, Alonn looked around.

The garden area is not very large, around a hundred square meters. There are exotic flowers and plants everywhere, and the sunshine made Alonn feel a little uncomfortable.

His father, Ronn, is exercising in the middle of the garden, in an area without many plants.

With his knees bent at a 90° angle and his palms together as if he were praying, Ronn was extremely focused. He then took a deep breath and started a succession of punches, jumps and kicks.

Each move carried all of Ronn's strength, and each move was linked to another like a dance.

After finishing the sequence of movements, Ronn returned to his original position, palms together and knees bent.

"I learned this technique when I served in the army of the Republic, before meeting your mother. At that time, I was at your age and dreamed of being a warrior instead of a smith.", Ronn spoke slowly.

"There is nothing magical or mysterious about this technique, it is all about exercising your full potential in every movement.", Ronn spoke and then started another round of movements.

Although he found the exercise technique interesting, Alonn was more lazy than enthusiastic.

Ronn noticed this, clicked his tongue, disappointed by the lazy son.

"Want to know something? I heard you almost passed out yesterday, Leaff told me.", Ronn spoke after finishing the sequence of movements and started walking towards Alonn.

"Now that you've finally got a job, I no longer have an obligation to let you live in this house.", Ronn spoke and put a hand on Alonn's shoulder.

Alonn unconsciously swallowed his own saliva, would this be the moment when he finally spreads his wings and flies away from the old nest?

With the salary he will receive, he certainly won't have to worry about finding a place to live, at least temporarily. But he will no longer have the convenience of living with his own parents. He doesn't have to worry about cooking, cleaning the house or clothes.

"Of course, since you are an honest and well-behaved man, as long as you meet certain conditions, your mother and I will allow you to continue living with us.", Ronn spoke in a serious tone.

"If it's about money, I don't mind sharing half of my wages for the family every month.", Alonn spoke without hesitation.

"Un, good boy. You sure are smart. But it's not enough.", Ronn narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

"You will also have to start following an exercise routine with me every morning when the sun rises. You will have to obey our orders inside the house. And also... you will have to start looking for a wife"

"W-What!?", Alonn remained calm in each condition, except the last.

"You don't plan on spending the rest of your life single, right!?", Ronn spoke as he tightened his grip on Alonn's shoulder.

"Cough. O-Of course not!", Alonn spoke a little nervously.

"That's good! Now, come on! I will teach you this exercise technique."

...

A year later

The sun is rising, illuminating the tops of the trees and specially a pair of elves so similar that anyone would consider them brothers.

In the hanging garden, Alonn and Ronn are meditating calmly, breathing in the fresh dawn air. Both spent the whole night in that position. This was only possible thanks to the heavy training of the last year. Both were without clothes on their upper bodies, showing their toned muscles.

At first, Alonn was not very enthusiastic about exercising. But over time, he unexpectedly started to get addicted to it.

Alonn's hair was tied behind his head, leaving only small loose bangs.

Suddenly, both elves opened their eyes and faced each other, facing each other.

"I heard you were promoted on the job, congratulations.", Ronn said.

"The mayor seems to have liked a sword that I forged for him."

The past year has been extremely productive for Alonn. Not only did he polish his own skills in the art of forging, he also achieved his dream of being able to buy any book he finds interesting.

He has basically visited all the bookstores in the capital. The only thing that weighs on his mind is that there are no more releases from the 'Chronicles of a forgotten world' series.

"Un, lets begin."

Suddenly, they both got up in an instant and started exchanging blows. Of course, this was not a real fight.

In the past year, Alonn gained a lot of muscle mass, and every stroke of him carried great power. Ronn's strokes couldn't be ignored either.

"You have improved a lot, you are almost at my level.", Ronn said and managed to knock Alonn down with a kick in his leg.

"You are too modest, old man.", Alonn he smiled bitterly and got up from the floor.

"Since you turned 21 years-old, do you plan to serve the army? You have a talent for combat."

"Nah, I'm not interested."

"What a pity."

"Hey, you two! Don't forget that both of you have to attend the Elders' meeting to represent our family!", suddenly, Meria's voice interrupted their conversation.

Meria had gone up the stairs to the garden, and when she saw them talking so lightly, she thought they had forgotten about this meeting.

"Cough Cough...", Ronn started coughing strangely.

"I won't buy it! Last time, you said you are sick as an excuse for not going there!", Meria pointed a finger at Ronn and said.

"Mother, I want to go alone to the meeting.", Alonn said suddenly.

"Hah!? But you have never been to such an important event!", Meria said surprised.

"Listen! This is a good opportunity for our son to get a wife! If he goes with me, the other women will think he is still dependent on us!", Ronn tried to convince Meria.

Meria frowned slightly and laughed before saying: "To get a wife? Do you really think our son has this skill? The only girlfriend he had was a human who visited the capital five years ago, and who never came again!"

Alonn contorted the corners of his mouth but was silent, he knows that he does not have much skill with women.

"If an elf shoots arrows everywhere, one hour he hits a target!", Ronn said slowly.

"Father!", Alonn this time couldn't stand it and exclaimed.

"Sigh... You know what? Do what you want!", Meria said and left the two alone.

The Elders' meeting mentioned is a great event for the elves. The oldest elves in the capital, regardless of their status, hold a meeting to make important decisions, and all families in the capital need to send representatives to attend the event.

As the elves' lifespan is considerably longer than that of the other races, around 150 years, the Elders who attend the meeting are at least 145 years old, with this being an unwritten rule.

The population of the capital Fjörd, counting only the pure blood elves, reaches fifty thousand. For this reason, Fjörd is considered the least populated capital in the world.

Every year that the Elder meeting is held, about five thousand elves attend. The reason for this is that not all elven families take this tradition seriously.

For this occasion, Alonn wore sacred clothing, special robes that are used only in important events, and that in fact is only a white robe and wood crown.

"Boy! Only come home if you get a wife! Hahaha!", Ronn shouted from the residence door to Alonn.

"May the world bless you, my son.", Meria spoke with a strange smile and waved to Alonn.

Alonn waved back and left for the event.

After walking for a while, Alonn found other elves in similar clothes.

Unfortunately for Alonn, the only friends he has made in his entire life are his blood relatives and Leaff. As a result, he was destined to spend the entire event isolated.

The event was hosted in a large stadium built in the middle of one of the oldest trees in the capital, with each of them having a trunk so thick that not even a hundred elves would be able to cover its circumference.

There were plenty of seats, so Alonn simply chose any one and sat down.

There was a tree painted in a golden color in the center of the stadium, and several meters high above the ground, in the trunk, there was a suspended platform where the Elders were.

Whenever something needed to be announced or if a voting was needed, one of the Elders would speak on a sound amplifier.

Feeling a little bored, Alonn simply closed his eyes to wait for the official start of the meeting.

After several minutes one of the Elders, an old woman with white hair and green eyes, went to the amplifier to speak.

"To all those present here, thank you for attending this event that's so important to our culture. As everyone knows, the Elders meeting is an event held since the construction of the first elven village where the today's capital is located."

Upon hearing this, Alonn opened his eyes and looked at the platform carefully.

"We know that this tradition has lost its place in the hearts of many countrymen, and it saddens us immensely.",

"Today's discussion is extremely important, so much so that those who did not attend will seriously regret it! Since the decisions made here are by law guaranteed in their validity!"

Upon hearing this, many of the elves present frowned. Usually, Elders meetings only deal with trivial matters, so this was really a surprise.

"I hope everyone is patient, as the most important matters will be deliberately left to after the trivial ones!"

"First, it was decided that there will no longer be any need to keep soldiers stationed on the border with the human kingdom! In recent times, there has been no armed conflict with humans, and our diplomacy is making great strides!"

'...What!? Is it trivial!?', Alonn thought with wide eyes.

He was not the only one to have this reaction, many war veteran elves upon hearing the announcement. they were also astounded. The last war against the human kingdom took place almost a hundred years ago, so most of the veterans are old, almost gaining the qualifications to be Elders!

"This has already been decided, and those who are unhappy should understand that everyone here on this platform is also a veteran of war. Our decision considered more factors than personal feelings.", the Elder said.

"Second, it was decided that there will no longer be any need to keep soldiers stationed on the border with the dwarf kingdom!"

"..." the public simply looked at the Elder in shock, are these really trivial matters!? Besides, shouldn't they at least make a vote with those present to decide!?

"Any matter that needs a vote, will have a vote!" As if he could read the public's mind, Elder spoke in a low voice.

"Third, an alliance between the three great races has been proposed! A vote must be taken with those present!"

"What!! An alliance!?" this time the public could not remain calm, this was simply unheard of!

Although recent times have been peaceful, this does not mean that it has always been so. In the past, wars between elves, humans and dwarves were so intense that the elven population was not even half that of today.

"Those who agree to make an alliance must get up and go to the right side of the stadium, close to the east gate. Those who don't agree should get up and go to the left side, close to the west gate," the Elder said while pointing with one hand.

No one stood up immediately, and everyone seemed to be taking the matter seriously.

Suddenly, one of the older elves in the audience raised his hand and shouted, "Can I ask you a question?"

"You should," the Elder said with a smile.

"Why was this alliance proposed?"

"This... You all will naturally understood when the last subject of the event is announced."

"In this case, this should be postponed after listening the reason for the alliance!" An elf suddenly shouted.

"Yeah!" Many elves agreed.

"Its just that when you all come to hear the reason for this, you all probably wouldn't think straight and choose based on emotions. So it must be decided now! Think for yourselves, will an alliance with the other races bring more benefits or harms!? I'm sure you all had a good education in our glorious schools and academies!", the Elder said.

"That makes no sense! How can we choose correctly if we don't know the reason? You are probably trying to manipulate the voting results by doing this!", one of the elves shouted, gaining support from many others.

'Indeed. There seems to be a reason why the Elders don't want to talk about reason first. So this vote is basically irrational.', Alonn thought.

"I know it doesn't look... wise. But the voting must happen now!", the Elder spoke in an extremely serious tone of voice.

Upon hearing this, everyone understood... this voting is really just an illusion. Moreover, everyone wondered, since when did the Elders have the power to make this kind of decision? Nobody remembers the Elders taking such an overbearing instance before.

Alonn finally understood that something big was about to happen. And it will probably impact his life.

"But then, what kind of alliance will this be? Economical? Military?", An elf then asked out loud.

"I am happy to see that you all are taking this seriously and thinking deeply. It will be a mutually supportive alliance, both economically and militarily.", the Elder replied with a smile, looking a little relieved.

After dozens of minutes of deep consideration, some elves have finally started to make decisions. Some went to the right side, others to the left. Others remained seated where they were, not needing to get up.

Not that anyone finds this voting really useful, looking at the Elders' instance.

Meanwhile, Alonn continued to think.

It is true that the world is relatively peaceful, but that does not mean that there are no conflicts or problems. The human kingdom faces constant threats from wild animals and giant beasts in the countryside and on the coast, and this demands many soldiers and supplies. The dwarf kingdom faces constant earthquakes and volcanic activity, and it is no exaggeration to say that they face constant danger of sudden extinction.

The elven republic, within Elden florest, does not face serious problems or dangers. It is probably the safest territory in the world.

Taking this into account, it is certainly disadvantageous for the elves to sign a mutual support alliance with the other two races.

In the economic aspect, an alliance has no advantages, since the other two great races are already deeply dependent of elven products, such as weapons or tools.

Taking these factors into account, it is wise to avoid an alliance that has no advantages, and brings only possible disadvantages.

However... If Alonn can understand this, it is impossible that the Elders cannot. In this case, why did they propose an alliance? This is certainly not without reason.

After reaching that point in his line of thought, Alonn looked at the Elders' platform and sighed.

Seeing that he was already on the right side of the stadium, he did not get up.

After a few minutes, Elder said out loud, "Those who are still undecided, hurry up. I'll give you just five minutes to make a decision."

After five minutes, Elder analyzed the result of the voting by looking at the number of people on each side of the stadium and said: "It was decided by the great majority that an alliance with the other two races will not be made."

Even a blind man could notice the difference between those on the right and left side of the stadium. Compared to the number of elves who agree with the alliance, the number of elves who disagree is basically doubled.

If it was not possible to discern the result with the vision, an inspector would personally count the number of people on each side.

"With this decided, we must now talk about the reason for the proposal of the alliance.", the Elder said with a somewhat strange voice.

After taking a deep breath, the Elder said: "In a mountain of the dwarf kingdom, a spiritual being was spotted and it was a white horned tiger."