After Alara was reborn, she quickly became frustrated. Her thoughts were slow and cloudy, and everything passed in a blur.
She had no idea what the usual process of reincarnation was, but figured that retaining her memories was likely not intended.
Her birth went by quickly; it was not as if she had much influence, her body moved on instinct. Though her birth took hours, it did not feel like it to her.
She could not focus well and found it hard to listen to the voices in the background. However, she eventually realised her new name seemed to be Sylvie when her blurry, undeveloped eyes picked up on multiple cues from what appeared to be giants from her baby-like perspective, who she figured were the parents, midwives surrounding her.
From her birth, everything went by quickly. Alara, or now Sylvie, was not a fan of acting as baby-like as possible. Her lack of means of communication meant she was forced to soil herself and cry constantly when she was hungry.
Eventually, her eyes developed enough that she could finally see her family. And she had to say it was strange seeing a Wood Elf for the first time, they appeared both alien yet familiar simultaneously. Her Father, Yorik, was a lithe man with an athletic build of very tall height with solid musculature. She often found him wearing what appeared to be full, leathery armour that seemed to be a uniform of some sort. It was dark green and had an emblem on the sleeve identifying him as a guardsman, perhaps.
Yorik had elaborately braided dark brown hair and piercing dark green eyes that were vibrant. He had remarkably beautiful features for a man, with pointed ears and sharp, almond-shaped eyes. His skin tone was coppery, and he moved with a grace she hoped to one day match.
Her mother, Mryna, was a slender, graceful woman of above-average height. Like her father, she had similar elven features and vibrant green eyes, and Sylvie had never seen such a beautiful woman. She always wore her hair in a long braid and an earthy tunic. Mryna always smiled beautifully at Sylvie, her eyes shining as she looked at her, and Sylvie found the warmth in her gaze overwhelming.
She missed her parents on Earth, but it was difficult not to accept the pure love of a Mother like that. Sylvie promised she would be a good daughter.
Mryna was a leather worker capable of handling her fatherâs leather armour. Sylvie frequently saw her repairing Yorikâs armour, making her wonder what he was doing that required him to seek repairs so often.
Sylvie also had two brothers, many years her senior; the oldest, Ballen, was nine, and the younger, Lanren, was five, who still commonly had language lessons with her mother, which was helpful for her to begin picking up the language. The unknown language was beautiful, especially when her Mother spoke it.
She quickly grasped the language from listening to her brothers and parents, who frequently talked around her. Sylvie was surprised at how easily she comprehended the language, which was referred to as Elvish; her young mind soaked up things like a sponge.
Sylvie quickly understood that her family, though not poor, was not particularly well off. The family home was spacious enough, and they never lacked food, yet nothing indicated luxury whatsoever, though she found the Elves here seemed rather minimalistic in general.
Sylvie was a beautiful baby. Everyone adored her big green eyes and angelic face. With her reputation of being bright and well-behaved, she became rather popular in the elf community she lived in. Her Mother loved to take her out frequently, her chest puffed up in pride as she showed off what a wonderful child she had.
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Sylvie enjoyed going out regularly, as it helped her pick up the language quicker and allowed her to see the settlement where she had been born in greater detail.
Doing so allowed her to pick up many things in her early years. Sylvie was considered a sharp child with a great temperament. She quickly gained movement, going from crawling to walking. She learned to speak early and started saying her first words at around eight months. By five years old, she had a good grasp on her new existence and was frequently told how bright she was.
Sylvie was beloved by the community and her family even more so. Her older brothers doted on her so much that it felt embarrassing at times to be someone with the mind of someone far older.
She discovered that the settlement she was born in was an elf city called Falamel. The city formed a large circular structure that continued upwards around a ginormous tree that must have been thousands of meters tall.
Each section of the City would be split into the lower and upper quadrants, separating the City into many regions.
She lived within a quadrant at the bottom, indicating her family's lower status. The higher in the tree you live, the higher the status of the Elf.
Each region of the City had a name and speciality, and she grew up in Neolune, an area known for its craftsmanship.
A Triumvirate of Wood Elves ruled the City consisting of noble, established families that protected the sacred Tree of Life for generations.
Five primary families were responsible for the numerous regions and city quadrants.
House Liadon was a clan of skilled Warriors that ruled over the Military. Her father was considered a subordinate of theirs as a guardsman.
House Browman was a clan of crafters, responsible for the crafters in this City. Her mother would be considered under their jurisdiction.
House Meliamne was a clan of powerful Mages responsible for the Mages in the City. They ran all the academies focused on teaching magics and ran the mandatory aptitude testings.
House Boleyn was a clan of bureaucrats known for managing Falamel and the Towns and villages located outside Falamel.
House Galandriel was the oldest and most prestigious of the clans, known for being the descendants of the purest, oldest blood and their wisdom and charisma. They were the closest things to Royalty among the Wood Elves and were considered the leaders of the Triumvirate.
It was a magnificent city, even from the perspective of someone from modern Earth. She found herself admiring the sheer magnitude, artistry, and detail the Elves put into the craftsmanship behind the city.
Even the less glamorous sections were a magnificent marvel of beauty, which was both so alien yet bore a resemblance to ancient Roman and Greek architecture.
Sylvie had only explored a small portion of the City but found she longed to see more every time she saw something new.
One thing she learned to grow used to was the utilisation of magic in the Elves' daily lives. It was treated as common here, and Sylvie yearned for the day her core formed.
It turned out you needed to form a core that would take a period to manifest.
You would need one to utilise magics, and not everyone, even Elves, were guaranteed to manifest a core. Fortunately for her, Sylvie knew she would form one, with it not being an ordinary core, thanks to her meddling.
Though Sylvie unwittingly enjoyed the last few easygoing years, she grew bored of waiting for her core to awaken and decided it was time to make an effort to use her talents.
Not everyone knew what they were good at, but she knew exactly where she would have an advantage compared to others.
Her Father and Mother regularly interacted with the community, and her childhood was filled with going to the market, where she frequently met and spoke to the local alchemist.
It was time she mustered up the courage to ask them about it.