Chapter 18: The World Tree 2

On the day of the Theophany, I woke up early and had breakfast with my parents, then we moved to the court where we welcomed the nobles, merchants, priests and clergymen, and foreign diplomats from Aegyptus(Egypt), Medes, and Europe. This year, the Holy Day of Theophany was planned bigger, so the number of guests was adjusted to suit the size of the celebration. After we accepted their gifts, we returned with some of our own, then we moved to the main temple of Alta, where the majority of the people were waiting outside waiting for the ceremony with their hands folded together in their chests. I planned this day to be remembered for ages, that's why there were free food and drink stands, street performers, and exhibitions of statues made by the ever-increasing artists in our newly opened universities. The streets and the buildings were adorned with the most beautiful flowers of all colors collected from our gardens. I even organized the world's first military parade, where the rhythmic movements, discipline, and equipment of our soldiers gathered the awe and joy of the citizens and the fear of the foreign diplomats.

First, as the head of the state and the clergy, my father, adorned in his white/ yellow clothes stepped forward and talked about the importance of the day. After my father, some of the priests sang hymns with the followers of their churches and temples brought with them. In between, there was a large event of conversion, where foreigners who wanted to convert to the Faith of Light gathered and were converted by the chief priests and the king. After this, there was an event of prayer where I would take the lead.

However, instead of praying at the place where everyone gathered, I slowly moved toward a secluded place near the location of Hagia Sophia in my previous world's Istanbul. Hagia Sophia is one of the world's most important holy sites for two major religions, built by a Roman emperor who massacred more than 20k people and burned down the church that stood before its place. Then almost a thousand years later, the same story was repeated by another Emperor of a different state. The significance of the temple as the symbol of the power of an empire was far more important than its significance as a place of prayer. I have no intention to repeat the failures of others, that's why I will plant a tree in its place, the World Tree. A tree as a symbol is more humanizing and interactive than a temple, as trees are living beings who go through cycles of life and death regularly, like humans, and the effects of nature on the human psyche are scientifically proven to be beneficial, especially their calming effect.

Apart from my vassals, people were curious about why I was walking toward a place where there were only a few houses and nothing else except trees. I walked for a while reassuring my father and mother who questioned why I was moving toward a different place. The place I arrived had a 300 meters wide circle of iron rods with lead centers in regular intervals. These rods all had a single spell enchantment on them, the plant growth enchantment. Then my vassals brought movable stairs. The first four steps of the stairs were made from iron, whereas the next two were made of gold. Since gold has a very high density, it is an extremely good magic conductor and battery for spells. Gold is around 2.5 times denser than iron, but is 5 times more efficient in holding magical energy and casting magic spells. This is especially the case when you reduce the range and focus on a single object when casting the plant growth spell.

I already planted the seed of the World Tree deep in the ground with the help of a small magic drill made from gold, my telekinesis magic, and bugs that I used to dig deeper. I activated the seed and made its roots grow as much as they could without being seen from above so that no one would catch on to my plan before. I then placed the metal rods around the planned location of the tree in a circle so that once I could actually grow a 300 meters tall tree, I would be able to feed it with magic power.

I climbed the steps under the curious and questioning gazes of everyone and stopped at the last step and kneeled on the ground and started the prayer ritual. I have waited a decade for what was to come next. I felt anxious and the thought of a potential failure and the idea that everything that I had worked for so far would still be not enough to change the inevitable almost made me faint. As this World Tree, this façade was not about winning a war against humans, which can easily be achieved by superior organization and superior technology, but against the very nature of humanity, the fundamental ideas that eventually led them to destruction in my old world, the heart of darkness that hides behind the skin of civilization. I tightened the grip on both of my hands that was held together in prayer on my chest as I was struggling at the hands of the pathetic fallacy that followed me everywhere in my old world and was now crushing me under the pressure of the innate passions that drive men to insanity and cruelty. Then, I felt a hand behind my back and a light striking deep into the heart of darkness and driving it away. The Goddess's voice that had always been in my ears felt a bit closer that moment and the warmth that I felt in that light gave me the courage to finally speak the prayer to the very same Goddess that had saved me, gave me a second chance, guided me and comforted me. It was the first of many genuine prayers that I recited in her name.

"Heri órava omessë! -Lady, have mercy on us-

A Aina Cala órava ómessë! -Holy Light, have mercy on us-

Amis meneldëa Eru órava omessë! -Goddess the mother of Heaven have mercy on us-

A Aina Cala arca atarmë! -Holy light pray for us-

Aia Aenna quanta Eruanno! -Hail Aenna full of grace-

A hyamë rámen úcarindor! -pray for us sinners-

Ar aistana i Ilualda! -And blessed is the World Tree-

Sí ar lúmessë ya firuvammë: násië!" -now and at the hour of our death: Amen-

...

While I was reciting the prayer, I started to unleash my magic power and activated the magic enchantment devices around the World Tree and started the growth of the world tree. The surrounding areas were bewildered by the sudden surge of magic power and the shining light above my head and the silhouette of a white-haired woman with purple eyes in a blurred image that seemed to be smiling at me as I later learned completely took everyone's breath, yet the only sound heard there was my voice echoing as if sung by thousands of people and the sound of an enormous tree growing from the ground. By the time my prayer was over and I got up and looked at the surroundings, everyone was on their knees praying towards me and the World Tree.

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
ryuutaurus

The prayer that I used was a modified version of a mixture of the Litany of Loreto and Aia Maria translated into the Elven language of Tolkien by Tolkien himself.

"Heart of Darkness" is a reference to the book of the same name. It is one of my favorites.

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