26 - Granhilda's Revelation

“Pardon the intrusion.”

“Oh don’t worry, I live alone.”

“Is that so?”

“I do live with Woolie, my sheep friend, but he’s out at the moment.”

I invited Granhilda into my home. During the spring, Woolie liked to spend more time with his pack, so he’d be gone till sunset on most days.

“Let me get you something to drink.”

I prepared some water and herbs, along with a plate of berries while Granhilda made herself comfortable in the kitchen table.

The room was silent, a stark contrast from the lively conversation we had outside.

When I placed the wooden cup in front of Granhilda, she smiled. “Ah, reminds me of home. Did you know? Elves don’t consume plants, but we use wood in everything. Furniture, construction, weapons…”

“Here’s some berries as well, help yourself.”

“Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve had some Earth-like hospitality. Now then, please tell me more about the circumstances of your arrival, and I’ll cross-check with my experience.”

“I just kinda… woke up here one day? I was in a whole new body and didn’t recognize where I was. One moment I was on Earth, and the next I was here.”

“That is mostly true. It’s more accurate to say I regained my Earth memories at some point in my childhood.”

“That’s the problem I have. I don’t remember a single thing about my life here, like I’d been transported into this body instead.”

“What made you think otherwise?”

“Oh, it was the prerecorded message.”

“… Pardon?”

The more I told Granhilda about the strange voice in my head congratulating me for my reincarnation, the more Granhilda groaned and shook her head.

“No… no, no, no… this is all wrong.”

“Did something go wrong with my process?”

“… I can’t say for sure. What I know for certain is that our circumstances are different.”

“Is that the case for other otherworlders?”

“Mmm, it’s hard to say. But… there is a theory.”

“What’s that?”

“Sometimes, otherworlders from the past leave their experiences in writing. They do so with languages from Earth, so only otherworlders from Earth will understand the text.”

“From Earth, you say?”

“Earth isn’t the only world where otherworlders come from.”

“What in the-”

“That’s not important for now. Right now, we need to confirm your experience; you might be able to finally prove our theory correct.”

“And that is…?”

“Like I said, otherworlders from the past sometimes write about their own experiences. In fact, we have evidence of one such case from over ten thousand years ago. It’s an artifact in the form of a book we call the Lucy Memoria; simply reading the contents outside of the prologue will allow one to produce mana, but spending said mana will cause everyone with the knowledge to lose all memories of the book. Till this day, no one is able to recall what’s written in it.”

“Ten thousand years ago… that long? But what’s that got to do with us?”

“It’s the prologue. That particular chapter is known to us because it doesn’t generate mana, sparing us from the memory erasure. In it, Lucy recalled her experiences with reincarnation. She was cognitive from birth, but was unaware of her so called ‘gift’ until she accidentally activated it one day; the ability to burn her own memories in exchange for mana.”

“That sounds just like what the artifact does.”

“Correct. But if that was her ability, how can we be sure what was written in the prologue is true?”

“Oh, since she probably had to erase her own memories, there’s a chance everything in it might not even be fact?”

“Yes, that is why we don’t have a definitive answer. In the previous generation, otherworlders simply remember their Earth memories at some point during their childhood, and nothing else. No abilities granted, nothing. They got by with their own strength.”

“But this Lucy from ten thousand years ago remembered everything from birth, and was given an ability unbeknownst to her?”

“Correct, which defies our experiences of reincarnation, including my own.”

“Yours was different too?”

“Just a little. Mine was largely the same, except I recall right before my death on Earth, I was visited by a goddess in my dreams.”

“Oh…!”

“I was granted a request, and when I awoke from my dream I found myself here, already having lived ten years of my life.”

“Actually, I think I had a dream like that too…”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, but mine was just a white void shaped like a humanoid, I didn’t meet any goddess or anything. I was frustrated and started venting to them in my dream, and everything I vented about translated over into this world.”

“Could that be your mind ability?”

“Uh-huh. I wished I could just read books in my mind, and somehow that turned into ‘all of humanity’s knowledge’. I wished I could live in peace and quiet, and that threw me right here in the highlands with no civilization whatsoever.”

“Ah, the monkey’s paw, of course. And the difference between ours is that prerecorded message of yours. My conclusion is that in your case, there was some kind of mishap, and in the process of regaining your Earth memories, you lost the ones you had up till that point. Am I right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Hmm, this reaffirms our theory then.”

“And that is…?” I asked for the third time.

“You, otherworlders from my generation and the ones from the previous generation; we were all brought here by different gods.

*

“Umm, I feel like this is too complicated a conversation for a kid like me.”

“Indeed, this might be a bit too complicated for kids. But you’re not much of a kid now, are you?” Granhilda laughed, acknowledging my combined years of life experience.

“No really, I don’t think this conversation is at all suitable for someone who knows nothing about this world.”

“True. Am I right to say you don’t care much for this reincarnation talk?”

“To be honest, not really.”

“You just want to live here in peace?”

“Yeah…”

“Alright, I won’t pry any further then.”

Granhilda sipped her cup of herbal water.

“Oh? This is a lot like tea.”

“Isn’t it? It took me a long time to finally figure out the combination! I use about this much for-”

As I babbled on about the amount of flower petals I used for the tea, I found myself loosening up, the tense feeling in my stomach slowly disappearing.

Granhilda told me about the basics of this world—Allstoria. Something about cataclysmic events shaping the very society we lived in every era, like the so called ‘Mana Burst Catastrophe’ that altered all life on Allstoria ten thousand years ago.

But to me, it didn’t mean much when all I knew was the highlands. Still, it was like being told a fairy tale, and it reminded me of the times I used to spend with my grandmother by my bedside, telling me stories.

“Granhilda, why do the goblins and orcs here look so much like those on Earth? Did whoever created them take inspiration from Earth?”

“It’s actually the opposite; Goblins and the like originated in this world. In very rare instances they get transported to Earth for brief moments, and chance sightings gave form to the classic green grinners you see in fiction.”

I coughed up a bit of tea.

“W-What?”

“You know of legendary creatures such as Bigfoot and the Wendigo?”

“Yeah- wait. No… you don’t mean-”

“Yeap. They are actually monsters from this world. We still don’t know why, but think of it as a glitch in a game; when very specific conditions are met, creatures can randomly get teleported to other worlds, and randomly get teleported back here. It’s why sightings back on Earth are so sporadic and fleeting, they’re labeled simply as myths.”

“… Now I’m going to be worried about falling through the ground one day and finding myself in a series of endless hallways.”

“Hahaha! Don’t worry, the chances of that happening are… well, I’ve never heard of any such case, so relax.”

“That’s because if they did fall through the ground, you’d never hear of it.” I felt a shiver run down my spine as I imagined horrible fates outside of my control. “L-Let’s not talk about those topics anymore… Umm, do you know of any highlanders besides me?”

“No, but I’ve heard stories. They’re distant relatives to snow elves and spirits; legend says their lives are intrinsically tied to the highlands they inhabit, guiding weary travelers when they find themselves lost in the mountain blizzard, like caretakers.”

“Like you and I now?”

“In my case, I only found you by sheer coincidence,” Granhilda laughed. “Though, the mana you projected did contribute. Try to keep that down next time, yes? Sensitive mages can easily sniff you out.”

Along with the compendium, Granhilda also gifted me a piece of parchment containing the alphabet of this world, along with the phonetic pronunciation to help me learn.

“Best if you’re able to pronounce Saintword before learning vocabulary, makes things easier that way; next time we can proceed to elementary language classes.”

“Next time? You mean you’ll come visit again?!”

“Oh my, look at that smile. Of course I’ll come visit again.” Suddenly, Granhilda turned pensive, “Or rather… Ricolette, what do you say about coming with me and leaving the highlands?”

“Eh?”

I could tell from Granhilda’s firm expression she wasn’t joking.

“I’ll take you to see a reliable Ethermage, the best I know. You’ll be able to travel and see the sights, visit places you’ve only seen in fairy tales, learn how to hone your abilities.”

The offer was extremely tempting. Even after weighing my options, I leaned towards leaving myself. Mister B and Kikko can surely handle things on their own; they’ve done so all this time without me. I’d be sad to leave Fokko, but it wasn’t as if we’d never see each other again; I could always come visit.

Same with Woolie. I was confident he’d want to tag along, but even if he didn’t I could still come visit.

I wouldn’t lose anything if I said yes.

“Sorry, Granhilda. I’m waiting for someone.”

“I see. Same as me, eh?”

“You too?”

“Yes, that was my request to the goddess. I’m still waiting till this day.”

“Oh, I’m sorry…”

“Why? Waiting puts my mind at ease. It means my someone’s still living a fruitful and healthy life on Earth. I can wait; I’ve got elf years ahead of me.”

“How long do elves live for?”

“An average elf like me? Five centuries to a millennia. High elves live up to three thousand years, at which point they ascend to becoming the Ancient Elf. After that they live on forever as immortal beings, an Exalted One.”

“I… have no idea what those are, but I’ll take your word for it.”

A millennia… I don’t know if I can stand living that long.

“I hope you’ll be able to meet your special someone soon, Granhilda.”

“Same to you and your mother, dear Ricolette.”

“How did you-”

“I was a mother too, you know.”

Granhilda stayed for dinner. With a snap of her fingers, she started a fire that’d have taken me several minutes, or one Fokko sneeze. It made me a little jealous, but I’ve lived well enough by myself to know I can manage just fine without it.

Woolie came home surprised to find another person suddenly at our doorstep, but with his easygoing nature, he got over it almost immediately. According to Granhilda, Woolie was a sheep species in this world called a ‘moffa’, but to me Woolie was Woolie.

“It’s like I’m back in Evergrow city,” Granhilda sighed in satisfaction with her plate of meat and mushrooms picked clean.

“Only plants we have up here are flowers and herbs, unless you’re into leaves.”

“Oh, I understand. How about I bring some vegetables with me next time I visit?”

“Yes please! PLEASE!!”

“You’re an excitable little one, aren’t you?”

“To be honest, I’m just… happy there’s someone out there who knows I’m here, that I exist. Just the fact that we can meet again makes me happy.”

All too soon, it was time for Granhilda to leave. But possibly because of my sullen face, I managed to pull her into staying yet again. However by this time night had fallen, and my body demanded I turn in for the day.

“Sorry, Granhilda. I think I’m turning in for today- yawn…”

“It’s alright, I’ll stay awhile longer. The views here are marvelous, nothing like what you’d see on Earth, eh?”

I nodded, my eyelids drooping.

“There you go. My… it’s been awhile since I’ve tucked anyone to bed,” Granhilda laughed. “Reminds me a lot of my granddaughter.”

“Wha wazzat…?”

“It’s nothing, Ricolette. Sweet dreams.”

“… Promise you’ll- yawn- visit again…?

“I promise.”

That was all I needed to hear. I closed my eyes once more and fell asleep.

*

When I awoke the next morning, Granhilda was gone.

It was a little sad seeing the house empty again, but with the promise of future visits, I didn’t feel quite as lonely as I did before, especially not when I have my trusty friend-

“Woolie?”

“Muuhuu…”

Woolie waltzed into the house with ease, his usually woolly coat now small and light.

“Let me guess, you shed your wool as a good-bye present for Granhilda?”

“Muu!”

“Haha, I’m sure Granhilda’ll appreciate your fluffy wool. We’ll have to look into regular shaves when summer arrives… your wool regrows too fast.”

It was while I was fluffing up Woolie that I noticed an envelope sitting on the kitchen table.

“Granhilda?”

I rushed over to open it, retrieving a letter written with Earth language.

Dear Ricolette,

Apologies for leaving without saying goodbye, I didn’t want to wake you. As I promised, I’ll come visit again. Times have been pretty busy lately, so I don’t know when time will allow for such an outing, but rest assured I’ll be back.

I’ll consult with my trusted connections regarding the ability bestowed upon you. I understand you’d likely not want to be too involved, so I’ll keep your name out of it. I’ll let you know how things go on my next visit; rest assured I will not divulge your location.

I’ve left you some writing materials for practice, as well as a parting gift. I planted it outside your home, some ways away from the forest alongside the cliff walls. Take good care of it, and it’ll give you plenty of returns in the years to come. Plant life here grow similarly to those on Earth; I trust you’ll be able to look up all you need to know in that mind palace of yours.

Until we meet again, stay safe, stay out of trouble, and do your best.

Granhilda

P.S. Please burn this letter once you’ve read it, I don’t want my writing to end up as an unreadable artifact lest it somehow ends up in the hands of some explorer.

Or my peers. That’d be embarrassing.

“Just in case, right, Granhilda?” I chuckled to myself.

After burning the letter, I went outside to find what Granhilda left me.

“Ooh, it’s a little sapling.”

Only just sprouted too. The little green stem barely had two leaves to absorb sunlight, but the stem looked strong. Spring’s a good season, giving it ample time to prepare for winter.

“Gotta take real good care of you for Granhilda’s return, eh little guy?”

First, I’ll have to figure out how much I need to water it. What do I do with the changes in seasons? Should I fence it off?

“Hehe… back to my mind palace I go.”