Chapter 833: New City
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
The afternoon sun shined bright as Melody strode forward slowly with a smile; looking so pure, so elegant. The Ring of Air, Vilya glowed with life on her slim, fair hand. Her steps had a unique rhythm to them that was in harmony with the wind blowing from the mountains, and the sway of the trees.
As a Sunstrider, Melody was naturally absorbing the light and energy from the sunlight all the time. However, the Ring of Air, Vilya didn't seem used to this kind of ability yet. It kept reflecting back sunlight like a mirror.
This wasn't actually a desirable effect, but for Melody who was about to make a grand appearance, the blinding radiance would draw attention to the Ring of Air on her hand!
Even the aged and wise Sacred Oak was stunned. Its leaves rustled loudly in the wind, and it spoke in a shocked tone.
"That's....that's impossible! Even if Lord Elrond perished, The Ring of Air should not have signed a soul contract with you!"
No one could have imagined the series of events that led to Melody obtaining Vilya. Not Sheyan, not even Melody herself! But that's fate. Fate was great, fate was mysterious, and fate was awe-inspiring, all because of its unpredictability.
Melody merely closed her eyes and lifted her finger in response to Sindalor's questioning. Suddenly, the surface of Vilya emitted a continuous stream of shapeless ripples. When the ripples touched the air, they created wind. When the ripples touched water, they created waves. When the ripples touched the earth, they created thunder!
Sindalor watched all this with a sigh. Only he knew whether he was sighing at his manners earlier, or sighing at the cruelness of fate. He remained silent for a long time before he spoke again.
"Fine, great Twilight Elf. What can I do for you?"
Melody secretly heaved a sigh of relief. The performance just now took everything she had!
The 2 previous masters of the Ring of Air were both followers of the Moon Goddess Elune. Naturally, they used the divine power of the Moon Goddess to activate the power of the ring. Melody, however, was a follower of the Sun God. Using the power of Sin'dorei to activate Vilya was a first for her and for the whole Elven race.
Fortunately, perhaps due to there being few followers of Sin'dorei, the Sun God seemed very willing to help. It was akin to how each student in a class of 10 would get more attention from their teacher compared to the students in a class of 100.
Take the ability Melody just showed for example. That was the only move Melody can currently perform with the Ring of Air, called 'Natural Resonance'. It was similar to a starting pose in martial arts, and can only be used in sunlight.
But, so what? The important thing was that others would notice Melody wearing Vilya, the foremost among the Three Elven Rings of Power, and she could even resonate with nature. They don't have to know that it was the only thing she could do with the ring!
Melody smiled and answered the great Oak.
"I cannot just walk into Rivendell nonchalantly. I hope I can walk in with glory."
Sindalor said in that low muffled voice of his.
"Is having Sire Vilya in your possession not glorious enough?"
Sheyan chose to answer instead.
"It is a great glory, but the glory is too thin. Mortals care more about outward appearances. Vanity is a deadly sin, but a lot of times, it's necessary to put up the right appearance."
Sindalor gave it some thought and said.
"I understand. My nephew, Ferrell has somewhat recovered. He can't fight yet, but he could let little miss Melody ride on him. "
Sheyan instead asked sharply.
"Respected Lord Sindalor, can you tell me why you would stay here on this cliff looking over Rivendell, instead of staying inside the city itself to receive the adoration and care of the Elves there?"
The Sacred Oak turned silent. Seemed like Sheyan hit a sore spot. There was already a sacred tree called Noelier in Rivendell. Each city could only have one Mother Tree, that was the truth. The reason Sindalor moved here in the past was because Noelier was close to wilting at the time. Sindalor thought that it would be the chance to take Noelier's place.
Unfortunately, Lord Elrond invited his father over to save Noelier, and he did. Sindalor could only keep waiting in disappointment. It had waited for over 400 years!
Even for a Sacred Oak, 400 years is a long time. In order to grow bigger, in order to surpass the shackles of the lifeform of a tree, it had to become a Mother Tree.
The reason Teldrassil was called the foundation of the world was because it was the Mother Tree of the Undying Lands! It received the care of numerous great Elves everyday!
Sheyan told Sindalor honestly.
"We need Melody to make a grand entrance. If we only wanted Ferrell, we wouldn't have put in all this effort."
Sindalor kept his silence so Sheyan threw out his ultimate bait.
"Rivendell can no longer accommodate Lady Melody Sunstrider now that she has the Ring of Air. But, who cares? Rivendell has existed for way too long in the Misty Mountains. A new city belonging to Lady Melody Sunstrider will rise!"
"As for you, the great Sacred Oak Sindalor, you will take root at the centre of that city. The number of Elves that will bask in the glorious light of Sin'dorei in Rivendell today depends on your decision. You must know, the more Elves there are in a city, the more they can provide to the Mother Tree!"
It was all left on the table. Sindalor heaved out a long sigh, then the ground started shaking! Sindalor's long roots plucked themselves out from the earth. Its leaves folded themselves before glowing with a holy light. Next, white flowers with red inner petals bloomed on the tree, spreading a nice fragrance to the surrounding area.
The Sacred Oak, Sindalor completely turned itself into a large Ent. On its shoulder was a seat made of flowers. It held out its long branch-like arm to grab Melody before gently putting her on the seat.
Melody insisted on having Sheyan sitting next to her but Sheyan refused. He followed after Sindalor with large steps while looking upon Melody's back. Melody cut a holy figure on the Sacred Oak. It made Sheyan breathe a sigh of relief.
There were a lot of complications along the way, some of them Sheyan could never have expected. Despite that, things returned within his control in the end. In fact, it turned out even better than what he had hoped for.
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When the great battle Ent carried Melody into Rivendell, it gave everyone there a scare!
Some Elves wanted to voice out their objections, but they were silenced by the sight of the Ring of Air on Melody's finger. The light it reflected pained their eyes!
Melody called for a massive gathering on the plaza. During the gathering, she told everyone of all the injustice and hardships she suffered.
On the day the Elves came to an agreement, Melody, being the one sold out, had garnered sympathy from some of the Elves who had a neutral stance. Now that she told the Elves her story while Franklin created a perfect reproduction with his illusions, it won her even more sympathy votes!
Towards the end of the meeting, Melody shouted the slogan for the glory of Sin'dorei. At first, only a few answered her call, but in the end, the shouts from the Elves pierced the heavens. The Elves were a race full of emotions, and their actions were easily influenced by their feelings.
More crucially, for most of the Elves in Rivendell, Vilya was a symbol of authority. They recognised the master of the ring as the leader, and they recognised her justice!
The result was unbelievable. At least half of Rivendell were willing to follow the Sun God! Under the lead of Melody, they charged into Elrond's and Glorfindel's residences, and collected all the wealth amassed by Rivendell over thousands of years! Sheyan's explanation was that the wealth originally belonged to them anyway.
The Elves then packed their belongings and left Rivendell under the lead of Melody, full of hope and unease for the unknown future.
The procession moved in the direction of the orc city deserted by Saruman!