Alma 150 The Artificial Seed-Myth Hath Blossomed

It was a customary salute that had been created several thousand years ago when the Avunians acquired their affinity for Anima. They had given Reed a salute he had not many years.

Both the Seers, Avunians who possessed the ocular mutation that allowed them to perceive the shadow of the soul, and Sirens, who possessed the extrasensory ability to detect Anima fluctuations with their long, glowing hair, reacted strongly when they noticed him enter the main bridge. 

They knew the all too familiar shimmer of his soul and the distinct Anima fluctuations he created by instinct. The Nexus afforded every Avunian that piece of information, as they were all connected with one another through it. As such, it was not surprising that they all reacted the way they did when Reed walked into the bridge. 

Every individual, be it Chosen or mortal, had their own distinct Animsignature, a pattern of extremely minuscule Anima fluctuations they emitted naturally in a repetitive cycle. 

For the Avunians, who had become capable of perceiving this mysterious spectrum of energy over the course of their long duration in Mulia, it was a second face to them that only they could see. 

And all Avunians knew the faces of their royalty by instinct, for it was known to them subconsciously. 

Reed, no longer disguised, was well-known as the Velvund in the East, especially given his status as a continental hero. His valiant efforts during the Twilight War had already become the stuff of legend in the eyes of many aspiring Chosen and mortals. 

For the Avunians, it had been purely reflexive. They had not even seen his face, but already knew who he was the moment he stepped foot into the room from his Anima fluctuations. 

To them, it was still shocking despite the fact that they had been informed by Velvund that the "Lost Prince" had returned home. A thousand hushed, low-flying whispers floated across the Spirit of Bountiful Charity as the crew of the warship discussed the Stainless Prince's unexpected return. 

There had also been informed that the Stainless Prince's beloved, the Lady Evergreen of the North had survived as well, which was another equally outrageous revelation on par with the return of the Lost Prince.

No one doubted Velvund's words, but they had still held a bit of skepticism over the entire announcement until... he walked into the bridge. 

It was undeniable now. None could deny the startling truth of them. A genuine miracle had come true. 

The Stainless Prince was very much alive as they had been told. More than a dozen eyes etched the figure of the resurrected prince into their minds. In a matter of minutes the entire East, by extension of the Nexus, would learn of the truth. 

For everyone, this would be the first time they would lay their eyes on their missing prince since he had apparently disappeared in the chaos of the Twilight War almost three years ago. 

He looked nothing like his former self, which was certainly surprising for the entire East. The Stainless Prince looked completely different from when they had last seen him. It initially confused many Avunians until they remembered that the prince was a human unlike them, a somewhat humorous lapse of their judgment. 

Unlike them, who aged extremely slowly, the prince had all but grown into manhood in what seemed like a single day to them. His boyish features had already receded to make way for sharper, more refined angles around his face. The calm, composed expression on his face also helped seem older than he really was, giving him a slight aura of additional maturity befitting of a prince. 

He had the visage of a proper young man now, not of a still-developing boy like in the past. What surprised most was how tall he had seemingly become since they had last seen him. The young prince was now, at the very least, over two heads taller than he had been before. 

No longer could they look down upon him. In fact, a majority of the crew had to look up at him now. Many found the dramatic change in height pleasing and saw it as a sign of a strong and healthy bloodline. 

When the prince stood beside the former King, many felt an odd sense of inspiration rising from their hearts for some strange reason. The sight of the young prince and the former King felt like it should have belonged in a painting. That particular memory-fragment would later become a piece of cultural history to be remembered... 

It was as if they could see the former King's shadow within the young prince, if that were possible. Everyone in the East would experience the same uncanny feeling, much to the confusion of the populace. 

How could such a thing be possible? No one knew, but many suspected that there was definitely a reason for that feeling, only serving to strengthen the legend of the Stainless Prince...

Lady Evergreen's reappearance was just as startling to the Avunians as the young prince's was, as many had thought her dead, too. When she entered the main bridge, all eyes turned toward her. The minds of the crewmen, especially of those who were male had turned into mush the moment they laid eyes on her. 

To some, the changes that had occurred to Lady Evergreen in light of the three years that had passed seemed almost impossible to accept. Her beauty was frightening, unlike anything they had ever seen in a human, period. It was extremely unnatural. She had a form that was essentially the definition of perfection, which was not something that Avunians considered impossible for humans to possess.

Even the Avunians, who were all blessed with astounding natural beauty, by means of their race's innate connection to Nature, had only ever given birth to someone as beautiful as Lady Evergreen only a couple times in their race's history. 

To put it bluntly, those few times had only arisen in the very distant past with their ancestors, the Alf. The ancient, High-Alven Queens of the yore had finally met their match in Man today, in the far future with Lady Evergreen. 

For many young Avunians, both male and female, Lady Evergreen would go down as their first major crush and person of their affections, something never heard of in history -- that a human would ever garner the adoration of an entire generation of Avunians on the basis of their beauty. 

An unknown amount of love poems, ballads of admiration, and portraits of her would be made henceforth for many years to come... 

And this was everything that Velvund desired from the beginning, which is why he had made the announcement of their return. 

The East and the world at large, required them as they were, more than ever. In light of the potential world-wide disaster ahead of them and the ramifications it had the potential to bring about, the Four Empires needed a Light of Hope. 

This was Velvund's intended plan, as far back as when he had first met Reed. To put him on the grand stage of the world for the sake of the future. 

He would slowly fashion his figure into that of a hero-myth, someone who could inspire hope in the masses no matter what befell the continent. Someone could, with enough time and preparation, completely unite the continent together for once. 

For this purpose, a narrative had to be written. History had to conform to the necessary requirements Velvund needed to make Reed into a mythical figure, much akin to... the Four Sovereigns. 

The alteration of the war records during the Twilight War had been for this very reason. Even the widely acclaimed and highly dramatized film about him and Lu'um had been made for that intended purpose. 

Velvund had already planted the seed of a future myth into the ground two years ago. Hell, even before that -- the adoption of a human prince into the Avunian royal family had also been a part of the plan. 

Here was a figure who was not a native to this world, a poor orphan who had suffered much at the hands of fate, who near death, had been thrust into their world. 

Adopted by the Avunian royalty for the astonishing purity of his soul, he became a bridge between humanity and the Avunians. 

A genius contender and a celebrated war hero by the continent, who had thought him dead. The romantic war-story depicted about Reed in the film also painted him in a tragic light, as a figure of good who had been robbed of his future, despite all of his struggles. 

This was someone that even the mortal world could sympathize with and project themselves into, as he was not born the son of some noble or king in Mulia, but a poor foreigner from another world who had worked himself into reversing his ill-fortune. 

Even the title, Stainless Prince, had been connected by him in order to create the connotation that he was clean of all possible guilt that could ascribed to someone who was both royalty and a Chosen. 

Velvund almost wanted to immediately marry Reed to his eldest daughter when he had made that touching speech when he became a prince. It was as if the Goddess had given him the perfect grandchild and inheritor for his will. 

He was not yet stained by the mistakes of Chosen that belonged to the past, nor the failures of the nobility of Mulia. Velvund would make sure that his reputation would remain that way, too. 

A success story and proof that there was still Hope even for the lowliest of all mortals. 

And now with his death and rebirth, the artificial myth Velvund created had grown into the next phase. 

A miracle had occurred. The resurrection of the dead hero, who was beloved by the common, mortal people and the Demigods of Mulia. 

To snuff one's Hope, only to bring it back even hotter and brighter than before. This was what Velvund had intended with announcing the return of Reed and Lu'um to the world. 

Simply put, even Reed and Lu'um's appearances contributed to this perpetuation of the myth Velvund was creating. A hero and his accompanying heroine must be beautiful, majestic, courageous, and sage-like if they were to inspire the masses below... and boy, had they succeeded in that aspect, much to Velvund's secretive joy. 

And now, Reed and Lu'um would soon set out to save the world by fixing a set of natural disasters, the accursed fissures. It was perfect, down to the letter for Velvund. 

The hero and the heroine protecting the world's peace was another major requirement that was needed if the artificial seed-myth was to fully germinate and now, the opportunity had fallen into their laps. 

Velvund would make sure the entire world knew of their exploits, so as to cement their status as a genuine legend even further.

The old King stared out at the fissure with a calm smile. He was as happy as could be.

Everything was going according to plan. The world and its denizens danced on the palm of his hand as he thought about his next step...

Chapter end