Chapter 9: The Day of Gifts
The day had started very early. When Alven appeared in my chamber to report the progress on the investigation of my father's missing body, the sun hadn’t yet risen. He apologized for not making progress, his shoulders drooping under the weight of embarrassment, suggesting he could resign due to the damage to his honor while avoiding my gaze with his green eyes.
While on Earth, I believed that while anyone could make mistakes, certain people didn’t have the luxury to err. Politicians were among those; they couldn’t afford to make mistakes against the society they dedicated themselves to serve. Resigning might not cover up their mistakes, but it would keep their dignity intact.
But we weren’t politicians.
Even mistakes in Elysian were blessings because Earth also fed on the errors made in this universe. If we eliminated all negative emotions, we would devalue positive ones.
In truth, Alven hadn’t made any mistake or faced failure. He was struggling to solve a non-existent problem...
"Alven..." I murmured. "I see you're doing your best, this was never going to be an easy matter. Keep trying, I trust you," I comforted and encouraged him with these words.
"I don’t think this matter has anything to do with the public, my heir, perhaps we should closely monitor those within the palace, maybe even your siblings."
My eyebrows knitted together. I had to resist smiling at the thought of several foxes brushing tails in my mind. "If you find nothing after investigating within the palace, then you may turn to my siblings..." My intention was to avoid drawing direct attention to them. "Start with Hesna when you question my siblings," I suggested, hiding my excitement.
Though his eyebrows furrowed, his expression quickly returned to impassivity. "As you command, my heir," he accepted my order before asking, "Do you suspect her?" based on our friendship.
Should I suspect her, trust her? I’m still trying to figure it out...
"Let's just call it a hunch..." I said. He nodded once more, "As you command," accepting my directive again.
After telling him he could leave, he saluted me, took three steps backward, then turned and walked out. A smile appeared on my lips as he left. Was there really a conspiracy, or was Eva trying to mislead me? I hoped to find out soon thanks to Alven and his team.
I’m not sure how long I sat on my throne contemplating this, but by the time I snapped out of it, the sun had already graced Elysian with its light. Another person entering the room with the sunlight was a guard in bronze armor. “My heir, Elysian nobles Lara, Amila, and Darya await your permission to present themselves,” he informed, and I smiled. My speech at the dinner last night must have reached its goal. “Let them in,” I replied.
A few seconds after the guard left, Lara entered. I scanned her in her light grey pants matching her sleeveless shirt. The tattoo starting from her right wrist, extending up to her neck, and then to her right temple was the signature of the Holy Spirits. Her russet hair was tied up at the top of her head, her eyes held a neutral gaze.
After bowing, “I am Lara, the third-generation descendant of Mavka, the magic ambassador of Elysian; I offer my respects to you, our beloved heir,” she introduced herself.
“Welcome, Lara,” I said, accepting her. She straightened up, lifting her chin to meet my gaze directly.
“It’s an honor to be here, my heir.”
“I would have preferred you attained this honor earlier.”
I knew she understood the jab. Nonetheless, without changing her expression, she assured, “You can be certain such a delay will not occur again.”
“Let's hope so. Let's conclude this matter. I’d like to talk about our magical past. How have the images stolen by my siblings from Earth affected our magic?”
“As you know, although your siblings stole emotions and images from Earth, their source is essentially Elysian. However, there are immutable concepts, things people always need: justice, loyalty, hate, and love. Even though the creator of Earth gave soul to Elysian, these images were embedded in the core of both universes. The theft of these images by your siblings left Earth bare while granting Elysian unshakable power because Earth was now entirely dependent on Elysian.”
Her fluid and uninterrupted response to my question made me slightly smile. A part of me whispered that this reticent woman would stand by my side.
“Of course, this also reflected on magic. The result of Elysian's rapid empowerment was your siblings becoming representatives of the emotions they stole. Through magic whispered by the Holy Spirits, every sent emotion would touch the souls of those representatives, empowering them further. These powers accumulated in objects stolen from Earth by your siblings. Eva gained control over the serpent, Bilun the owl, and Hesna the diamond…”
It was pleasant to hear about these matters from the magic ambassador with all the details. “I believe you are fulfilling your duty well,” I encouraged her, hoping for more frequent meetings, before telling her she could leave.
After saluting me one last time, she exited, and the next noble to enter was Amila, the climate fairy of Elysian. As she walked in, her white hair fluttered, and her short orange dress swayed. Her black skin, long legs, and long white eyelashes were notable.
Approaching my throne, she placed a basket filled with strawberries on the ground, “I wanted to give a small gift to our heir on the Day of Gifts…”
“You’re very kind,” I said, and she stepped back to stand directly in front of my throne.
Just like Lara, she bowed and introduced herself: “I am Amila, the third-generation descendant of Amera, Elysian’s climate fairy; I offer my respects to you, our beloved heir. It’s a great honor to be in your presence…”
She truly was as delicate as a fairy. Her words flowed melodically from her tongue. Naturally, due to her nature, I could guess she admired Hesna, thus likely siding with her.
“The honor is mine…” I copied the smile on her face to my own. “Since my arrival, I can say the climate has been wonderfully balanced. Even the slight disturbance caused by the miniature was well managed. I want to offer my thanks and congratulations for that.”
“I strive to perform my duty well, my heir, for I am in love with my mission.”
My smile widened. After congratulating her again for her dedication, our conversation ended. She expressed her respects before leaving, and at the same moment, Darya, the servant of the Supreme Forest Avar, entered. Her earth-colored hair braided on both sides accentuated her slanted eyes, her wheat-colored skin shone with brown freckles, which were hard to see under her short eyelashes. Her dress, featuring autumn colors, was strapless, long, and had a slit. I couldn’t deny she looked exquisite.
When she stopped at a respectful distance, she greeted me, “My heir,” before introducing herself: “I am Darya, the third-generation descendant of Verena, the servant of the Supreme Forest Avar; I offer my respects
to you, our beloved heir.”
“Welcome…” I calmly accepted her respect. “Today will be a busy day for you.”
Her tongue artfully articulated, “Indeed, my heir, but even the exhaustion of the Day of Gifts is wonderful.”
Our agreement made me smile genuinely, revealing my teeth. The Day of Gifts was my favorite religious ritual in Elysian. On the last day of the second month of each autumn, we worshipped to express our gratitude to God, offering gifts. The Holy Spirits would come closer to the lands of Elysian to convey our love and respect to God. Since the ceremony would take place in Avar’s magical lake, the preparations were mainly made by the forest’s protective spirit Urman and Avar’s servant Darya.
“Then I won’t keep you any longer, I’m grateful for the time you’ve spared during this narrow window. I hope for a repeat soon and wish you great success for the afternoon.”
“Thank you, my heir, I continue my preparations to the best of my ability. With your permission…”
I slightly extended my hand to show she could leave, and she turned to exit. Standing up, I ordered the entire palace to prepare for the ceremony. Everyone had taken a break from their duties that afternoon, retreating to their rooms. It was a perfect opportunity to roam the empty palace.
Before heading to my room, I ventured into the palace’s dark corridors that didn’t catch the light. The golden frames of the portraits on the walls shone even in the darkness, illuminating the portraits of our former monarchs who had turned into Holy Spirits. Laurel leaves twined around the frames like ivy, whispering peace and victory. The long, dark corridor bore the weight of Elysian’s history.
Ever since I was a child, I wondered why the corridor where we hung the portraits of the old monarchs was the darkest in our diamond palace.
A few days before we were unknowingly sent to Earth for a test, I remember discussing this with Bilun. I was fifteen, and my sister was eighteen... Back then, everyone thought the eldest child would be the future monarch. That’s why I told Bilun, “Your photo will hang in this dark corridor...” intending to hurt her. My childish jealousy was furious at the privileges granted to my sister, who would be monarch. While I was alone in the vast corridors of the palace, Bilun was surrounded by scholars, guards, and servants who admired and respected her.
Bilun had replied, “Our nanny says monarchs don’t need light; they carry the torch of knowledge in their hearts,” adopting a demeanor of wisdom and calm beyond her years.
I found this notion ridiculous at the time. I thought monarchs lost all their value after death, forgotten in a dark corner because I wished this fate upon Bilun. But now, I can admit she was right. Monarchs take the torch of their knowledge with them after death, increasing their value as Holy Spirits. Indeed, darkness was too weak to kneel before our ancestors.
Knowing the corridor was endless, I took a laurel leaf from one of the portraits and turned back. Holding onto the gold railings, I descended the stairs covered with red carpets. Unlike the corridor I had just left, the corridor leading to my room was bathed in sunlight, the wall-mounted candelabras unnecessary for now.
The guards at my room door opened it upon seeing me. Entering, I picked up the dress laid on my bed. On the Day of Gifts, palace inhabitants, nobles, people, women, men, everyone wore seamless white dresses that ended below the knees, presenting their purest selves to God through the Holy Spirits.
When the door closed again, I had already shed my green, velvet dress for the white one. Looking at myself in the mirror, I noticed my wavy hair falling to my waist and my stern demeanor softened slightly. Peace had spread across Elysian on this special day, seeping into all souls. Thus, my skin was brighter, and my eyes looked purer.
We would offer our gifts to God in our purest, evil-free state.
Teleporting to our magical forest, Avar’s magical lake, I saw everyone was already there. The ten nobles stood at ten different points around the lake, ready to start the ceremony.
The crowd and palace staff kneeled around the lake, stretching into the forest. Avar’s clean air provided relief to the masses. In the midst of autumn’s brown, orange, and yellow leaves, the people of Elysian, dressed in pure white, forgetting all differences, felt the warm breeze caressing their skin, listened to the rustling leaves, and admired the lake’s clear water.
When the sun concentrated all its light on the lake, it was time to start the ceremony. People by the lake, glowing white in the dark with their wooden drums, began to play in unison. With each drumbeat, all our hearts thumped against our chests. The drum sounds echoing in Elysian’s sky and roaming its land were our way of thanking God for letting our hearts beat. Me, Eva, Bilun, Hesna, and all the nobles closed our eyes, lifted our heads, and whispered in an unknown tongue:
"Kýre akúste tis kardis mas."
"God, hear our hearts."
"Kýre, áko tin kardin mas na chype."
"God, hear our heartbeats for you."
This whisper resonated from the foothills to the peaks, from the shores to the bottoms of lakes, from the abysses of oceans to the waves of seas. When a surrender that sped up our hearts enveloped every cell, I felt dizzy, a gratitude sprouting in my heart indescribable. The people’s accelerated heartbeat due to the drums stirred our intoxicated spirits.
"Kýre déçheti ta dóra mou."
"God, accept our gifts."
When the sunlight expanded, enveloping the entire crowd, the nobles took their first steps into the lake. The wind that slipped through their hair and fluttered their dresses seemed not to touch the water, nor did the water stir with the nobles’ steps. After the nobles cut their wrists and began walking on water, the flowing blood meant, “God, we do not hesitate to sacrifice the blood you gave us back to you.” When the nobles formed a small circle in the center of the lake, now tinted red, the crowd ceased their drumming.
A few seconds of silence were broken by the sound of wooden rattles. Darya stepped forward. In the center of the circle, she raised her hands and shouted, “Daseke pévma!” A sparkle appeared in her palms. The sparkle grew, reaching our height.
The forest's protective spirit Urman had heard our call and graced our ceremony. As the light beam slowly faded, Urman's furry body emerged. His body clung with leaves smelled of decayed leaves and tree bark. His face was as hard and wrinkled as tree bark. His staff was long and crooked like a branch.
The first gift, since the ceremony was held in Avar, was offered by the forest spirit Urman. Raising his staff, Urman spoke in the language of nature, marking the ten most majestic trees in Avar as a gift to God. The oxygen produced by these trees, their fruit, and all their beauty were now for God
.
When the crowd put down their rattles, Urman vanished. After Darya expressed her gratitude to God for the power bestowed upon her and lowered her hands, the nobles left the lake in synchronized steps. With each step, the red in the lake vanished, and its clarity returned.
As the crowd picked up a two-stringed instrument and began playing, it was our turn: the four sisters carrying the blood of the monarch. We took our first steps from four different corners of the lake. The water flowed gently beneath my feet, caressing my soul. I felt lighter, my emotions calmed, and my spirit refreshed. The weight in my chest, the burden on my shoulders, was gone. Urman's foul smell had disappeared, replaced by the scent of earth exuding presence and truth.
When we formed a circle in the center, the eldest among us, Bilun, moved to the middle. The white feathers of the owl on her shoulder, as well as her dark eyes, shimmered. As Bilun began to stroke the owl, a few feathers fell into the lake.
“I gift the symbol of the wisdom bestowed upon us to our God, convey it, Holy Spirits…” she said before stepping back to her original position.
When it was Hesna’s turn, she stepped forward. She touched the diamonds on her temples, closing her eyes in tranquility. After taking a deep breath, she removed one of the diamonds from her body. “I gift the symbol of loyalty to our God, convey it, Holy Spirits…” she said with a transcendent melody.
Then it was Eva’s turn. As she released the serpent coiled around her wrist into the lake, her eyebrows defiantly arched. Although everyone’s soul was filled with peace, Eva remained unconvinced by the magic. A smug smile was on the tip of her lips. “I gift the symbol of immortality I stole from our God, convey it, Holy Spirits,” she said as the water stirred. The serpent did not disappear into the water due to these waves.
Eva accepted God’s challenge.
Her amber eyes turned to the serpent writhing among the waves. When the serpent hissed with its thin red tongue, a bright yellow light emerged from Eva's gestures. The serpent, as if receiving orders from this light, stopped and hardened. The waves seemed to bounce off the serpent as if hitting a rock. Eva waited a few moments, allowing everyone to witness this show of power before snapping her fingers and plunging the serpent into the lake, forcibly making God accept her gift.
No one interfered or showed surprise at her attitude; everyone expected the smug smile that settled on her lips as she returned to her original position.
When it was my turn, I took three steps and positioned myself in the center of the circle. I reached inside my dress to pull out the laurel leaf I had placed on my chest. “I gift the symbol of victory to our God, convey it, Holy Spirits,” I said as I dropped the leaf into the lake. I felt a cold liquid flow through my veins, spreading to my nerve endings as the leaf was sucked into the lake, my gift accepted.
Suddenly, the sunlight was cut off, and orange spirits resembling the northern lights on a starless night appeared. These were the Holy Spirits. Flying around us excitedly as if to emphatically affirm that all our gifts were accepted, they vanished as suddenly as they appeared. The sun chased away the night and continued to shine above us.
As the crowd ceased playing the stringed instrument, we began to step out of the lake. When I stepped onto the land, Avar's soil clung to my feet. Although it was uncomfortable, I continued walking without hesitation. It was now the crowd’s turn to offer their gifts. Each person gathered around the lake, ready to drop something valuable to them into the water. The prayers falling from their lips were as chaotic as they were melodious.
“Accept my gift, my God!”
“I gift you my being, my God!”
“Thousands of thanks to everything you have created, my God!”
“I whispered my respect and gratitude to this gift, accept it, my God.”
As I watched them from a distance, leaning against a tree, I sensed a shadow beside me. “If it were me, I’d gift chocolate to God or throw some money into the lake,” I heard, and laughed, looking over my shoulder.
White wasn’t his color, but he still managed to look great with his messy hair ending below his chin. The sunlight filtering through the trees hit his amber eyes, creating a perfect hue. Like the other nobles, he must have vanished to bandage his wrist after offering his blood to God.
“Çağın…” I rolled my eyes at the sight of the white cloth bandage on his wrist stained with blood. “You couldn’t manage it at all,” I grumbled, gesturing at his wrist with my chin.
After glancing at the place I indicated, he reassured me, “The bleeding has stopped, don’t worry,” dismissing me before lamenting the initial topic. “Actually, there’s no chocolate in Elysian. How can there be no chocolate in the divine city of inspiration?”
Before rolling my eyes again, I said, “Then you’ll have to throw money.”
“A little bit.”
“A little? To our God?”
“You also threw just one laurel leaf? Why should we throw more, as if they need it.”
Narrowing my eyes mockingly, I teased, “Are you questioning our religion?”
He furrowed his brows and focused on something behind me. As if struck by a thought, he paused for a few moments before changing the atmosphere with his question, “Do you know what I admired most on Earth?”
“No?” I asked, raising my eyebrows curiously.
His gaze drifted from the spot behind me back to my green eyes. “Religions on Earth command to question.”
The admiration in his voice raised my eyebrows. There was only one religion in Elysian. Our God and the Holy Spirits, former monarchs communicating directly with God, a single monarch who could communicate directly with the Holy Spirits and nobles tasked with overseeing the monarch. All these beings were sacred, powerful, respected. Submission to God, obedience to the Holy Spirits, cooperation with the monarch and nobles were the values of Elysian's people. Those who opposed these values had never ended well, even causing wars because of them. No one could question our religion.
I wasn’t surprised by Çağın's different perspective, but his admiration for the religions of Earth... It made me feel odd. Perhaps I feared he might be accused of such a reason and confront me one day.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to silence my thoughts. “Questioning certain things is good, of course…” I said in a mild tone. “But why question something that’s right?”
“The fact that our religion cannot be questioned leads us to misunderstand the concept of questioning…” he articulated slowly. I knew beneath his lively, playful nature was a deep, sensitive, and empathetic man. Now, that man had settled into Çağın's expressions, tone, and gaze. His wise appearance was illuminating his soul. “Should we only question what we think is wrong? Who decides what’s right or wrong?”
“Our God,” I said without hesitation.
“Yes, in Elysian.”
“In Earth too, Çağın. Our creators
are the same.”
“I know… Our creator commands humans to question while commanding us to obey.”
“That’s our duty. Service to Earth, obedience to God. Besides, unlike humans, we benefit from God’s extraordinary gifts, we can use the power he bestowed upon us. He commands them to question, but during my time there, I didn’t even see a single person on Earth who questioned.”
“You’re right…” he conceded. “Forget questioning; they were peddling dogmatic teachings for money,” he agreed, making me chuckle. I wished to discuss this topic seriously, but as I playfully wagged my index finger at my friend, threateningly, I teased, “Tell the truth, did you seduce them?”
His features relaxed, and his eyebrows lifted playfully. “Actually, I considered it…” he adapted to my tone, dispersing all seriousness. “I even prepared a contract about how we could print money, but I decided against it. Thankfully, I’m perfect enough to control my temptations,” he added, grinning from ear to ear.
“The nobles have started visiting you, I wonder when I should come?” he changed the subject.
“You were the first noble to introduce yourself to me…” I said with a smile, and he smiled back. “Then on the day I become the monarch, I’ll prepare a feast for you after the ceremony.”
“I’ll hold you to that promise,” I winked before standing up straight from leaning against the tree. As I tried to smooth out my wrinkled dress with my hand, I continued talking. “I’m returning to the palace; I have to finish the work I left this morning.”
“Do you need me to come with you?”
Shaking my head, I declined. “Enjoy yourself…” After a brief goodbye, I teleported myself to the palace. The Day of Gifts ceremonies would continue until midnight, meaning the palace would be empty. Therefore, I was surprised to find nobles who, like me, had left the ceremony early and were waiting to present themselves to me.
Elysian's Reaper Noyan and the spirit of the four elements Ova had presented themselves together, introducing themselves with grace. Noyan's long black hair fell over his white ceremonial dress, his long lashes fluttering over his thin eyebrows made him a beautiful and noble man.
“I’ve always wondered…” I said, looking into his eyes. “What do you do when deaths occur simultaneously?”
“I go to the nearest one first.”
I was caught off guard by such a straightforward and simple answer, managing to say, “I see…” before adding, “You may leave.” He acknowledged my command with a nod and must have been called to a death, for he teleported out of the room.
My meeting with Ova was as brief as with Noyan. After expressing her respects, she asked, “I need to offer gifts to the earth, air, water, and fire, my heir. May I be excused?” and left the palace.
After a heartfelt conversation with Iris, the master of the veil between Earth and Elysian, the next noble to present himself was Renan. Without hiding the arrogance on his freckled face, he introduced himself and openly shared his admiration for Eva during the recent ceremony. His attempt to declare his allegiance in such a naive manner revealed he was too weak to pose a threat.
Another noble I realized was as irresolute as Renan was Arya, who presented herself with reckless confidence. She was the guardian of our graceful tree Ravi, through which we sent dreams to Earth.
“After the war, our people had forgotten what a dream was; not a single person visited Ravi…” she began discussing this topic. “When Eva completed her test on Earth and returned here, our people, especially the youth, admired her. Everyone was excited to hear she was immortal. ‘Immortal like God?’ everyone asked. Thanks to those who wanted to be like her, Ravi was revitalized, and dreams began to be bound again. I’m sure after today’s ceremony, the number of visitors to Ravi will increase. Eva was perfect enough to make everyone envy her again.”
I wasn’t aware of Ravi’s situation but had seen a hint of malice in some dreams from Earth. Eva had tainted even the cleanest of dreams. She truly was powerful.
“I appreciate this information…” I expressed my gratitude before telling her she could leave. She bowed to my command and exited the room.
I hadn’t noticed it was nearly midnight during these meetings. Trying to dispel my exhaustion with a deep breath, I stood up. I had barely taken two steps away from my throne when the door was knocked.
Without guards to announce, I called, “Enter!” myself.
A woman in a daring outfit with a pink tulle skirt, having shed her white ceremonial dress, entered just minutes before midnight. My lips curled with great pleasure as I felt the thrill of victory inside me.
As Şafak knelt to salute me, the only thing on my mind was to learn about her connection to Earth and go to Bilun as soon as possible. Bilun’s approval was the only obstacle in front of my throne, and I was very close to reaching my throne now.
