The Winter Whale and the Elves
Though we could not truly speak to each other, the elven woman and I managed a simple kind of understanding. Through gestures of hand and foot, through the shift of a gaze, we read each other’s intent.
Body language.
The elven woman smiled faintly and motioned to me. She walked ahead, then glanced back and gestured again—clearly telling me to follow.
I trailed after her through the forest. A pleasant breeze brushed my cheek as it passed. When that wind reached the trees, it set them swaying gently, and green light shattered into brilliance among the moving leaves.
Saaaah—
The trees of the forest, stirred by the wind, offered a soft, comforting tone. Birdsong drifted in from time to time, blending gently into the harmony.
What little wariness remained in me melted away without end, and my heart loosened into ease. The overflowing vitality of the place wrapped me in comfort; if I closed my eyes, I could almost believe I was floating through the sky.
Nightmare seemed to like it here as well. He trotted along cheerfully, tapping the grass and the earthen ground with his hooves.
I looked up at the colossal tree—the World Tree. Soaring so high it seemed to know no sky, its upper reaches were hung with countless wooden buildings, clustered like fruit upon the branches.
Yet even so, nothing felt out of place. It was as if those structures had always belonged there, growing naturally from the tree itself.
Halfway along the path toward the World Tree, a broad lake spread before us. Thick wooden vines that had grown across the way served as a bridge, stretching all the way to the far shore.
A cool wind swept across the water’s surface, sending wide ripples outward.
As we began to cross the thick vine-bridge, more elves appeared from every side. From small children to the elderly, their shining eyes held warm goodwill and curiosity.
I waved to the elves—especially the children. Their mouths stretched into wide smiles, and they waved back in answer.
The goodwill of humans was a familiar feeling. But the goodwill of another race—of elves, a people already fading from human memory—was something entirely new.
Welcomed by the elves, I crossed the bridge and set my steps toward the tree that rose into the heavens.
From the ground upward, the path was formed of thick wooden vines; once we had climbed a certain height, it continued along broad branches.
Unlike what I had seen in the forest where I first received the seed, not every elf was wrapped in wind. Only a few of them stepped upon the breeze and flew through the sky; most simply walked the paths like anyone else.
Now and then a few elves called out to me. Of course I could not understand a word they said.
Before long we arrived at the largest building constructed upon the World Tree. Built entirely of wood, it took the form of a vast temple, and a faint light spilled from within.
The elven woman gestured to me as I stood staring. She seemed to be telling me to go inside.
Stepping into the majestic temple, I beheld a sight that left me stunned.
Thin wooden stems stretched from every direction, long and trailing. Those stems were connected to the body of a single elven woman.
The soft light came from her—the woman linked to the stems. Seated in a chair with her eyes closed, she began to open them gently as I drew near.
“...”
Her first words were beyond my understanding. But what followed was in the human tongue I knew.
“Ceris… I have been waiting for you.”
“Y-you know me?”
I was thoroughly startled by her words. More than the joy of finally meeting someone I could speak with, I was shocked that she knew my name—something I had never told her.
“The wind tells me many things.”
As she spoke, the elven woman raised her left hand, still linked to the wooden stems.
Upon that slender palm a faint breeze gathered. It was the same wind that had sometimes tickled my cheek or tugged at my hair.
I stared blankly at the sight, then remembered the promise I had made long ago in the forest. I took out the small seed and held it out to her.
“H-here. Please take this. I came to deliver the thing I was asked to bring.”
The elven woman only gazed at the seed I offered; she did not reach for it. When I tilted my head in puzzlement, she spoke.
“Did you truly… come all this way just to deliver this seed?”
“Yes.”
“Even though no reward was ever promised…?”
“Yes.”
“I who receive this seed might offer no repayment at all. Are you truly without hesitation in what you have done?”
“Well… I might feel a little disappointed, but…”
As I spoke, I turned and looked back. Through the open entrance of the temple the landscape spread out at a glance.
The vast forest, the pure white clouds encircling it on every side. The lake, white and clear, was truly beautiful.
Coming this far in search of the elves—now a people of legend—had been entirely my own will. I had not come seeking any special reward.
And so I felt no regret for what I had done.
“I think learning of a world I never knew is reward enough.”
“You…”
“I’m an adventurer, after all.”
Someday, like other adventurers, I wanted to raise a glass with many people and look back on the memory of this day.
I wanted to say that I had truly traveled far and wide.
That the legends had been real.
It did not matter if no one believed me. Even without a way to prove what happened today, none of the memories I had gathered on the way here would become lies. Those experiences would remain as little stars, making my world shine all the brighter.
I turned back, stepped closer to the elven woman, and held out the seed once more.
“There’s something I’m curious about—may I ask?”
A startled look crossed her face at my question.
But then she smiled brightly, carefully took the seed into her hands, and answered.
“As much as you like.”
“What is your name?”
“Eres… I am Eres.”
Eres… Searching my hazy memory, I recalled that her name—Eres—meant “wind” in the elven tongue.
I took a small notebook from my bag and began to ask Eres the things I most wanted to know.
“What does the seed I brought do?”
“It is a seed of the World Tree that sustains this forest. One might call it a spirit’s core, filled with countless possibilities and abundant life force.”
“What is the name of the whale that carries this forest through the sky right now?”
“That child’s name is Laben.”
“Could you tell me why Laben carries the elves’ forest? If it’s a difficult question, you don’t have to answer.”
“It was a kind of bargain. We needed a place to live, away from dark mages and demons, and Laben was able to provide such a place.”
“What did you give Laben in return?”
“As it happened, Laben was suffering from an illness. The disease that was devouring that vast body was eating away at Laben’s lifespan, and we were able to supply life force so that the illness would not grow worse.”
“Is the way you look now connected to Laben?”
Eres nodded. I asked many other miscellaneous questions as well—whether elves truly never ate meat, as humans believed, and whether half-bloods could be born between elves and humans.
Without the slightest sign of discomfort, Eres answered everything I asked.
I closed the notebook and nodded. My curiosity was satisfied; further questions would have no meaning. Of course, one last question remained.
“Eres.”
“Yes?”
“Do the elves intend never to show themselves in this world again?”
“Ceris. The years that have flowed by have become a high wall. Just as we have been erased from human society, we too are forgetting humanity.”
“Hmm…”
“Of course, even a wall built so high will one day crumble. When more time has passed. It simply is not now. If a seed sown upon the ground like this should return here…”
After that long conversation, I was about to take Nightmare’s reins and leave when Eres, watching me, spoke again.
“Ceris. Please come a little closer.”
I tilted my head and approached her. She reached out a hand toward me.
In that moment, thin wood began to grow along Eres’s hand, twisting and intertwining until it formed the shape of a small bow.
“Ceris. We elves are not a race that forgets kindness. This gift is a token that proves the bond between you and us, and it is also a key that will allow you to return here.”
“A key…?”
“When you need it—only once—drive that bow into the earth. Then a path will open.”
With a dazed expression I slung the shortbow Eres offered over my shoulder and nodded.
“I’ll make good use of the gift.”
“Do you mean to leave now?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then I shall open the path of the wind for you.”
As she spoke, Eres raised her hand. At her gesture the surrounding winds began to gather, and outside the temple a fierce storm took shape.
That long, continuous form was a path of wind, stretching beyond the pure white clouds toward the outside world.
Looks like I’m supposed to ride that… but is it safe?
I took Nightmare’s reins and approached the raging storm. The violently swirling winds did not scatter outward; they flowed only downward along the long path.
I turned and waved to Eres.
My own way of saying goodbye.
Eres gazed at me for a moment, then smiled weakly, sat back in her chair, and closed her eyes. At once a green light began to flow from the countless wooden stems connected behind her.
Together with Nightmare I leapt onto the path of the wind. The storm that had been thrashing so fiercely caught us up and began to race downward at tremendous speed.
We passed the forest glittering green and came face to face with the vast form of the whale Laben. A giant eyelid blinking between the clouds seemed almost to be bidding me farewell.
The fierce wind sent Nightmare’s mane and my hair streaming upward into the air.
We flew through the night sky where darkness had settled, past pure white clouds. And what spread before us was a snow-covered field.
Upon the white expanse small lights were twinkling. I could see people wandering through the forest, holding campfires or lamps in their hands.
It was unmistakably Celion and the others. I pulled Nightmare’s reins and flew toward them.