WALK

After I had finished helping the men, I retreated to Elevetih's gate. 
It was a colossal bronze gate that dominated the imposing fortifications. Upon it was a vast, rolling sea, with such great attention to detail that it felt as though you looked upon the sea itself. 
Interspersed were naval vessels, sails billowing and hulls cutting through the waves, but through it all stood the epicentre of elf being.

Tree of Life, of Knowledge, of Good, and of Purity; or as it was more popularly known, The World Tree

It's immense branches reaching skyward, and its roots running deep.

No sooner had I gone through the gates was I met by two soilders; an elf woman and dwarf man. The toil of war was heavy on these two, their armor dented and weapons forever pale red with the blood of those slain. 

They bowed as they spoke.

"Almighty hero, we have been tasked with escorting you to the World Tree." The elf said.

"Her Majesty Cassandrea and Lord Tulote are waiting for you there." The dwarf continued.

"Ah, lead the way then" I replied.

As I walked through the city I took note of its architecture, it was grossly different from Surton. Instead of cobbled thoroughfares, what paved the ground was smooth, iridescent white stone. 
It was twillight and it appeared they were luminescent as well; they has cast a sort of soft ethereal glow and paired well with the light from the numerous glowing crystalline lanterns that hung from the occaissional equisitely carved lampposts.

Despite the recent battle, there was an unnerving sense of order. The elves in particular exemplifing this. Their long, flowing robes and tunics of muted greens, blues, and silvers contrasting the night. Children, perhaps a little too wide-eyed from the recent commotion ran around, chasing each other to and fro.

Here and there, roots of the world tree that took on tree form broke through the paving. They seemed to usually house wooden platforms and bridges.

"Sir?" The elf asked

"Yes?"

"I just want to thank you for saving the city from evident destruction."

"That was no problem at all, and besides you I wasn't the only one there you know? So was Tulote and Cassandra."

"Ah, yes! But may I speak freely hero?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"When me and my elven comrades saw you fighting, we fell to tears. There was something about you, it reminded me of stories my grandmom used to tell me of the great war and Mother Usasha's creation of the great tree."

"What are you getting at soldier?"

"What I'm saying is that, I could sense the power of our bygone leaders present with you. The world tree reacts only to the Great four, and it's creators powers, so combined with my powers and the split-second glow of the world-tree I knew that you were the one." She continued. "What I'm basically trying to say is that you gave us the resolve to fight on and the hope that this war will end soon!"

"Thank you for believing in me, and honestly, I'm still getting used to this whole hero thing."

"Well, the cosmos know why they chose you hero."

"And they chose right." the dwarf guard chipped in.

As we walked deeper into Elevetih, so did the intricacy of the architectural marvels.
Most residential buildings were tall, elegant structures, often built from a pale, almost pearlescent kind of stone that seemed to absorb and diffuse the light. They rarely had harsh angles, but rather, featured curved walls and flowing lines which gave them an organic, almost sculpted apprearance. For those buildings that had balconies, they were wrapped in, what I could only guess was, living, glowing flora.

"Hero?" said the Dwarf

"Yeah?"

"Is it alright if I ask of you a favour?"

"Sure, go ahead!"

"My father and mother had voluntared themselves as cooks for the Imperial Navy, and have not come back since their deployment. I just want you to confirm for me if their alive, and If they are to let them know I'm doing ok, and so is my sister."

"It'll be the first thing I do when I find them. Oh and, could I have your name so as to fulfill what youve asked?"

"Oh yeah, my name's Sigusmund." 

"And I'm Raven!" the elf chipped in.

"You guys can call me Arda."

"Oh no! I would'nt dare be informal with the Hero!"

"Neither would I"

"Well, just letting you both know hahaha"

As we continued walking, I saw glimpses of artisan workshops with elves crafting away at delicate jewelry or weaving fabrics. Others seemed to be libraries and what I could only assume was this world's equivalent of scriptoriums. 

As I got deeper into the city, a small crowd started to emerge.

That began to grow

And grow

And grow

Until they had all encircled us.

The crowd was all chanting at the top of their voices.

"LONG LIVE THE HERO! LONG LIVE THE PROTECTOR OF THE IMPERIUM! LONG LIVE THE SAVIOUR OF US ALL!"

In the midst of all this, a little elf girl had tugged at my shirt.

I turned around, and knelt down to meet her.

"Why hello there little one!"

"Hero! Me and my brother wanted to let you know how incredibly awesome you are! You beat those big baddie disgusting demon things and saved us all!!"

"Awww, thanks! I did beat those big baddie disgusting demon things didnt I? Oh and where is your brother?"

"He's being a big scaredy cat and won't come out from behind mother."

She pointed towards her mom, and sure enough there was a little elven boy peeking out from behind.

I smiled and waved at him.

He smiled back and waved a quick wave, then retreated behind his mother.

I chuckled.

I then cut off one of my silver buttons and handed it to the little elf girl

"Here you go kiddo, now both of you guys can go about and tell people of how you met the hero."

I just knew that they would've bragged so much about that.

The more I saw and interacted with children in this world, the more my resolve grew to save the world, stop this senseless suffering and get back to my children.

In the center of the city now, the World Tree stood before us.

Dominating the cityscape and standing at the heart of Eleveith it was a titanic force of creation. 
Usasha really went all out on this didn't she.

Its branches, massive as entire forests, stretched outwards and upwards. Some of the lower branches were so immense that they held platforms and even entire structures, seamlessly integrated into the tree's wood. They were accessible by winding ramps and bridges.

It was quite clear that parts of the city LITERALLY resided within the World Tree.

At its base, where the righteously gargatuning roots plunged into the earth, was not solid ground. Rather it was a pool of pure crystal clear water. This wasn't still water though, it seemed to swirl with soft currents.

The air around the tree was fresh, and smelt of pine, damp earth, and something so indescribably ancient and alive. 

It was immense creation.

"ARDA! There you are, that took you long enough!"

"I missed you too Tulote."

"HAHAHAH!"

"So this is the fabled hero?" Cassandra asked, "By Usasha, what are you feeding him? He's so scrawny!"

"WELL! I haven't had much time to have properly fed him, so much has happened."

"Well, we've some food being prepared! Come hero, even you still need to eat you know?"

It felt weird being fought over.

"Oh and, Raven, Sigusmund, you're both dismissed, you did well getting our hero here safely."

"The honour is entirely ours your majesty."

They both smiled at me before leaving.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spyed them jumping through the streets.

They were a silly lot those two, but good people, with good hearts.

Even in a world riddled in demonic energy, goodness and all that was pure still prevailed.

Before I was able to enter into the World Tree, the Gladius started glowing.

"What the-"

Everything faded to white

"Oh God, please not Tulote's crazy father."

After all those shenanigans the first time around with Silus, I did NOT want to do that again.

If he dared try anything like that, I was gonna chase him down with his own sword.... somehow

"Why hello child."

Oh yeah, that was NOT Silus.