53.9 Free of Soot

General Summary

Day 1090 - 1095

After five days of hard work, the council announces their plans to join the Empire and the mood is celebratory as longer term plans are drawn up for a weeklong festival beginning with Dragon Awakening Day and ending with Empire Day. Hundreds of elves have been roped in by Nishvalen to bring their guilds along to the Imperial standard of work and tell stories about our way of life. Osyr, too, have been encouraged to share the ancient history of the Empire and teach both humans and modern elves about our history. Their lectures and story times are attended by all manner of people throughout the city. Nishvalen is right — in a few human generations, this will not be a ‘new’ Imperial city anymore.   With much effort from Nishvalen, work in the city grinds to a halt for celebration. Only necessities remain open, and they are heavily aided by volunteers and magic to ease the burden. Persivus gets involved as well, realizing that if there are people concerned about their livelihood during periods of not working, that points to a deeper issue to solve in the city. Ideas from the South are independently recreated here as he devises ways to distribute free food to those who need it.   For the most part, the city is wholly aligned with the plan to join the Empire. But unsurprisingly, the local church of the Candlemaker remains elusive. They are mostly foreign priests from Eir who have not adapted to Deldrin’s cosmopolitan nature yet. Nishvalen asks me to help persuade them, and in turn I delegate to Liliales. My son pays a visit to the church with Qishali, and I tag along in my pure elf form. We are a multicultural nation, but if elves are the ‘problem’ then I don’t want fae solving the issue without reminding the priests of what they fear.   We visit just as the sun is bringing dusk upon the city with long shadows. And as a gift, he brings an antique lamp containing a flickering candle. He is all charm and smiles as he asks the guard to bring the Flamekeeper forward to meet the Dusk Wing Prince for a drink.   The High Flamekeeper, when she emerges, is remarkably young — 20’s or so. And her magic is very strong, nearly as strong as the scion of the Fisherman who I dealt with so long ago. Her magic is less ‘candle’ and more ‘sun’, which I imagine makes her even less friendly towards elves. Her name is Safaeli, and she accepts the invitation to drink with some suspicion. Her words are all about poisoned drinks, honeyed words, and shadows that snuff out the light. It is not a high level of hostility by human standards, but to the subtleties of an elf, she may as well be holding a blade.   But Liliales speaks well about what our family has experienced at the hands of the church, and our respect for the nurturing flames that burn through the night. While he does not have personal friends in the faith, I do, and I smile and nod at Safaeili, thinking of the incense and candles tucked in my travelling bag from the Keeper of Flame in Haven. My role in this meeting, so far, has been to select an appropriate tea for myself as I will not be partaking in Liliales’ stronger offering.   He speaks about an order within the church that views their work as illuminating knowledge, which is something we prize as well. He has a way with words that does not seem to impress the young Flamekeeper and she turns to me, asking after the relationships I mentioned. When I describe Gedrin, she seems impressed and refers to him as “Venerable Teacher”, which is less a sign of him being *her* teacher and more about his influence within the church.   She speculates that his long life is what has allowed him to develop bonds with elves, as he teaches that the differences in lifespans can make it difficult to overcome barriers of understanding between our people.  

Your plans are long, slow, insidious. You can be patient, where we cannot. If the world is a game-board, elves are playing chess while humans are on the same board playing checkers.

  She sounds resentful, as though everything elves create for humans is inevitably a trap. From this perspective, she thinks it is better to just remain apart. 

Liliales switches directions and speaks about fae in the Empire. He speaks about his birth parents, still fae of seasons, who were afraid of him and his memories when he was part of the Vanguard. He speaks to his varied experiences with people all over the continent, including Fae of the Red Thorn who cycle in ways he never could have imagined being close to. But now, two of his best friends are Despair and Agony, and he can see how these drastically different ways of life can still touch and find commonality.  

Isn’t it better to connect to the wider world, rather than keep yourself apart?

  She is afraid that these benefits and opportunities are just a disguise for darkness. That they will trade something without even knowing what they’re giving up. Venerable Teacher Gedrin has spoken about how parts of the church itself are sooty and must be burnt out to purify what remains, and she thinks that this means they should not be tempted by anything aside from that purification.   This burns me up inside, to hear this youngster speak to me about the purification of the church and how we might stand in its way. I paint flame illusions of Killeon and the ritual used to sever elves from the Empress. I show her Elder Hamman and his leering gaze towards Nina.  

You could have burned these away, if I hadn’t done it first. And when I was finished, I sent a letter of friendship to the Keeper of Flame in Haven. It’s rich to speak to me of how far your church needs to go to be purified. As though by staying apart from my people, you keep yourselves pure.

  Liliales continues in his diplomacy. Eventually she asks what we are offering and I step in again.  

I have given your church plenty, and asked nothing in return.

  And I leave, entrusting the rest of the diplomacy to my more even-tempered son. I cannot justify listening to this young woman’s arrogance and suspicion.   In the cool night air, I wait outside the building for Liliales and Qishali to do their work. When the emerge, Safaeili is stumbling with drunkenness and Qishali helps her to her quarters. Liliales tells me that after the second bottle, she started talking about her own problems and he grew to better understand her. He thinks they had a remarkably similar start to life, but he has always had a bigger tree to shelter beneath. She has been holding too much responsibility for far too long, as her magical gifts made her into a holy maiden long before she was ready. And now, she makes decisions out of fear rather than wisdom.  

She needs the shade of a bigger tree. She needs a pillar to lean on, safety and security. She’s terrified of appearing weak in front of the people who rely on her. I’m tempted to kidnap her so she has the space to figure out who she is.

  I’m so proud of him. And my reaction in that meeting makes it clear to me that the time for me as an individual diplomat is drawing to a close. There are plenty of people better for the job now, and I’ve lost some of the short-lived mortal empathy that once made me so effective at speaking to humans.