Vrasus huh? I like it. It feels good, like it fits, I wonder how he thought it up?

After asking if this name, Vrasus, was to the Great Tree’s liking, Neltu was waiting with a fairly nervous expression on his face. It seemed that at this point not only did the old elf, as the Green Ones had been revealed to be called, not want to anger the Great Tree out of fear but also genuine respect and gratitude.

Also, Vrasus sounded very good to the Great Tree. The name felt like it fit very well with its personality, bearing, and really it just liked the sound of it. It was very curious how Neltu thought up such an excellent sounding name, or perhaps this was just how having a name for oneself felt like? Regardless the Great Tree was pleased, but being too enthusiastic might have some negative effects, so played down how it was feeling in its reply.

“Vrasus? Hmm…” the Great Tree paused for a moment, trepidation could be seen appearing on Neltu’s face. “I like it.”

Once this was confirmed, Neltu was very visibly relieved; it seemed this truly was important for the old elf. After a moment of gathering himself, he enthusiastically continued talking to Vrasus, as the Great Tree was henceforth known.

“This one is glad Elder Vrasus is pleased. The name comes from an old folktale passed down in our people, although somewhat obscure I think it fit rather well.”

“Really? I am curious; I wonder if you would be willing to tell me this tale Neltu?”

Truthfully, Vrasus was curious about this tale, but this wasn’t all that affected his decision. This was supposedly an old folktale of the elves; it’s very likely that some of their culture could be gleamed from this, and at the moment what Vrasus needed more than anything was information, hence the quick reply needed almost no thinking about.

“Of course I am willing! However, sadly, this one hasn’t heard the tale in a long time; I only remember the general story. If elder is still willing then I can go over this though?”

“It’s fine, go ahead.” Vrasus obviously wouldn’t care about the smaller details or presentation at this point.

“Very well. The story occurred long ago, far before recorded memory, back when the world was young. In this time life was very prevalent throughout the lands, which were entirely covered in lush verdant forests. No great civilizations had yet arisen, though intelligent beings lived in small pockets all across the land.”

“It is said that back then many powerful beings inhabited the land, such as dragons, giants and spirits. One of these beings, a giant named Vrasus, lived gently alongside my people’s ancestors in a small village.”

“One day though, a great calamity befell the land. An army of monstrous beings consumed many godlike beings and wiped out numerous lesser races, but Vrasus alone, instead of choosing to flee decided to defend our ancestors. The original tale goes into quite a bit about his heroic defence against the monsters, how he killed entire hordes despite suffering intense injuries himself.”

“Supposedly in the end he died, but the time he bought plus the inspiration of his noble self-sacrificing nature united the land in war against the beasts, eventually leading to victory. He was greatly revered afterwards and this tale was passed down by my people as a form of respect.”

Finishing his tale, Neltu briefly cleared his throat before continuing.

“Whether or not this tale is true is of course unknown, but regardless I think that the character of Vrasus suits elder’s demeanour quite well.”

Whilst Neltu was speaking, Vrasus had been listening intently, trying to pick up useful pieces of information, but at the same time grew quite pleased. This Vrasus, as the story was told, would be well respected by the elves. Regardless of if the tale was fictional, it would still have a cultural significance and obviously wouldn’t be a name given to someone viewed as an enemy. If this name gave the elves a feeling of comfort or any sort of positive feeling then that would benefit Vrasus greatly, and from the story this was obviously the case.

Furthermore the name fit fairly well. Although Vrasus obviously hadn’t thought fought valiantly against any armies, the tree was still an immensely huge being in comparison to the elves and had lived calmly beside them for a time, who had also benevolently protected one of their own. The name wasn’t without meaning, which could help the elves identify Vrasus more closely with its new name. Perhaps the only shortcoming of the situation was that from the sound of it the tale wasn’t told very commonly. Other than this Vrasus also wished Neltu knew more details; then it was possible that more information could be obtained.

Well, this is still good for me. Asking for more is unreasonable.

“I agree.”

“Ah, hearing elder say that is most reassuring. I thank elder greatly for taking the time to listen to this elf speak. If there is anything this I can do to repay elder for saving my grand-daughter, speak and I shall do everything in my power to assist. Afterwards, I’m afraid I must retire; this body of mine is not what it used to be sadly.”

Vrasus was somewhat shocked by this rather abrupt end to the conversation, but after some thought it made more sense. Of course Vrasus knew Neltu likely didn’t actually need to leave soon due to his body; if this was the case then why did he wait so late in the day to come? The elves came in the first place to investigate Vrasus, but more specifically they wanted to know if there was any threat present, which now seemed to not be the case. The contents of the conversation had been civil on both sides. Names had been exchanged, or given as the case was. In the end a non-aggressive, even somewhat friendly relationship had been established between the two sides, there was nothing else that needed immediate attention. It was also possible that the Elves needed to gather and decide on their next course of action, but as how their leadership worked was unknown this couldn’t be verified.

Although there was still much that Vrasus didn’t understand, the conversation had still been extremely beneficial. There is much that could be done personally and delicate political gymnastics with the elves wasn’t required for the moment; that would only make the situation more complicated than it needed to be.

As for a reward for saving the elf child, Sera, there was nothing Vrasus immediately wanted or needed, but felt that denying the need for anything would only trouble the elves, perhaps even seeming suspicious. The first thing that came to mind was requesting information, but Vrasus was unsure what it even wanted to know, nor if the elves had any easily accessible forms of information which could be simply browsed. So in the end, it was decided that keeping an open favour for use in the future, perhaps when something more specific was needed, would be the best choice.

“There is nothing I can think of which I immediately need, but I’ll keep the offer in mind if anything comes up in the future.”

“Very well. Then I bid elder goodbye and hope he has a good night”

He?

This was actually the first time Vrasus considered whether it even had a gender, after all it was a tree. But when it thought about its deep male mental voice, this did make more sense. Well, being a tree, the gender would only be used for identification anyway, but male did seem more appropriate both from the voice and namesake, so Vrasus just decided to go along with it from now on.

Makes no difference to me.

After the short diversion of thought, Vrasus returned his attention towards Neltu and bade him a short farewell. Neltu then calmly removed his hand from the tree for the first time since the start of the conversation, the web of aura threads reclining back into his body in an instant, before turning back towards his fellow elves.

In the earlier parts of the conversation the other elves had been very confused and concerned by Neltu’s behaviour. They of course couldn’t hear Vrasus’ voice, and Neltu was too busy to explain what was going on, but after some time they seemed to understand some of what was going on and had been communicating in hushed whispers. Not that this mattered; Vrasus could hear everything clearly, he just couldn’t understand the words.

Now seeing their elder return to them some relief was seen on their faces, but mostly they still seemed confused and quickly begun speaking with Neltu, likely asking questions. The smallest of them though, Sera, urgently hurried up to Neltu, clutching the strange object she held at her chest.

At this point sudden realisation was seen on Neltu’s face and he stopped walking. He appeared somewhat troubled and tried speaking some words to the small girl, but she seemed determined over the matter. A resigned expression overcame Neltu’s face whilst letting out a sigh. He turned back towards Vrasus, extending his hand.

Hm, more?