"If your little one wishes to see the ancient, I can bring you there. Normally no one is allowed near the ancient, but since you are loved by the spirits, an exception will be made." Runa said, causing Little Bell to clap her little hands happily.
"Good for you, Little Bell, you will be able to see the ancient," I said with a smile.
"Mmmmm! Let's go!" Littler Bell called out happily.
"Let's take a look around first as we make our way there," Runa suggested, which even Little Bell agreed on. Since I was here, I might as well take in some of the sights. After all, it's not every day I get to make a trip to the elven kingdom.
One thing I noticed was the stares I was getting from the elves as we passed by them. I can understand why. It is not every day they see outsiders like me roaming around on the streets. I had not seen any race besides elves out on the streets, which meant it was a very closed off nation.
From what I could tell, the top portion of the trees was where people lived, while the bottom section had many shops. Not just built next to the trees but also many stalls that stood out on the streets that people walked down. There were no carriages or anything like that on the lower level. Foot traffic seemed to be the main way people went from place to place, but there were these things called leaf winds. It was a large leaf that used wind magic to keep it in the air and travel to a certain destination. I saw many pick up stations, kinda like bus stations, along the streets that allowed people to move freely around the city at a fast pace.
Just seeing such an innovative idea made me want to implement such a system in our cities as well since it would reduce the need for scaled horses and less mess on the roads. While this might cut up some of the cleaners' jobs, it would reduce the risk of disease as well.
The more I looked around, the more unique things I spotted. Some trees had vines that were attached to platforms that worked as elevators to move people up and down to the levels near the footbridges. Everything used a certain kind of wind magic which surprised me in the way they were able to inscribe such intricate runic inscriptions to make full use of wind magic in many ways I would never have thought of.
"So, how is it?" Runa asked.
"Truthfully, it is filling me with ideas. Your way of innovation with runic inscriptions amazes me. I already have many ideas on how to implement such things for the empire I plan to build upon more modern technology. I do hope the time your people stay in my city to help with such things will allow them to implement these things within your own kingdom as well. After all, I do plan to join a no hold bar alliance with your elven alliance. I want our two nations to be able to grow and prosper alongside each other." I had planned to make things tight lipped but I think if the empire I am aspiring to create and the Elven kingdom can become sister states where we share and trade with each other without restrictions, then I think we can easily become allies who will defend each other no matter what. This will allow us to grow strong and prosper together in many ways.
While I know the eleven kingdoms will not be able to use a lot of the things I plan to make for my kingdom due to them not being nature friendly, they will at least be able to have the forest outskirts defended by this technology. Of course, we will be doing free trade between the two nations as well, which will mean a portal that will allow for free passage would need to be created.
As such new international laws will need to be created in order to make sure that any crimes committed by citizens of our nations do not go unpunished and create tension between us. I do not wish to arrest some elven noble and have to go to war over such a thing. We would need an international court that would have both elf representatives and Cyrilia Empire representatives.
So many things were flooding into my mind as we continued to walk through the city. This was filled with sprites, so glowing balls of light were flying all over, making it look like a truly magical place.
We walked for a while before finally taking one of the leaves to the elven palace where the elven royal family lived and Runa's home. As for the guards who were following us, they were left behind a long time ago. But I can say that I truly liked the air of this city. It was a harmonious place. It felt comforting being here. Even with all the curious stares I got, not one person said anything or treated me differently. Even in the first shop we went into, they did not say anything mean to me and greeted me with a smile. I guess a lot of that has to do with Runa being with me, but still, there was no hint of any hatred in their eyes which most would have when faced with a stranger such as myself.
The palace was the only thing that was different. I had called it a castle earlier during our walk, and Runa specially corrected me and said it was a palace. It was made of what was called moonlight ore, a rare ore that the elves mined under the roots of the world tree. It was in high abundance as it has been sitting there for many, many years. The palace itself was carved out of a large chunk of this that the ancient had unearthed itself and presented to the elves for becoming its protector.
