God Of Velmoryn [ LitRPG, Progression, High Fantasy ]

"Could you show me the mark?" the elf asked softly, slowly approaching Avenor.

"Wh… ah, you must mean this." Avenor caught on quickly and lifted his wrist, though the cuffs still covered the mark. "Erm… it's under…"

He didn't finish.

The elf extended her hand, her expression serene, almost absent. Silvery mana shimmered across her palm as the runes etched into the cuffs dimmed. A soft click followed, and the restraints fell to the floor.

Avenor blinked. Aria's eyes narrowed slightly. Neither of them understood the sudden display of trust. That's because they didn't know what kind of monster stood before them.

To them, the elf might have looked young and gentle. But knowing the mage's strength, she must have felt that she could erase Aria and Avenor from existence anytime she wished. However, in that moment, she didn't give off that kind of confidence as her focus was fixed solely on the mark.

She stepped closer and gently took Avenor's wrist. Her fingers traced the mark with something close to reverence. A faint smile pulled at her lips, oddly soft, almost childlike. Then she poured her mana into it.

"What are you doing…" Avenor jerked back instinctively, but it was too late. The mark burned hot against his skin.

And then… it glowed.

The very symbol he bore from the Goddess shimmered in response to the elf's magic, reacting like it recognized her.

"What did you do?" he asked, staring at his wrist.

"You truly don't know what you carry," the elf murmured, the smile already fading. "I'm Karla. The last daughter of the High Mother."

At those words, she finally looked at him, really looked. And something in her eyes shifted. The awe turned to confusion. Then shock. Then something worse.

"Why… why are you not an elf?" she whispered, voice trembling. Her cyan eyes grew glossy, the weight of the moment settling heavily across her face. "The one who bears the Sylvan Mark should be of elven blood. It was never meant for… how can it be… why did the trial choose…"

"An abomination? A mistake? A demon?"

The voice cut through her rising panic like a winter's chilly breath.

Aria's.

Her gaze never left the elf.

"Before you start forcing your grand hopes onto someone and then tearing them down with your disappointment," she said with visible disdain, "maybe ask first if Avenor even wants that burden."

Karla flinched.

"We didn't choose to be born like this," Aria continued. "But we shall not apologize for existing."

She paused, like she was giving herself time to calm down, though her face never showed any emotion.

"The Goddess you call High Mother imprisoned us in this forest. Yes, we know. We've seen the truth she tried to bury. All this time, we believed we were hiding from the elves, blaming your kind for what we endured."

She took a step forward toward the elf, the chains connecting the collar and the cuffs rattling. "But the one who cursed us wasn't some distant race. It was the Goddess we worshipped… the one who abandoned us. The one we were ready to die for…"

Not only was Aria's speech surprisingly emotional for someone dulled by dark magic, but the moment she chose to voice it… It all felt poorly timed. She wasn't reckless. If anything, she was the most calculating Velmoryn I had. And yet here she was, throwing barbed words at a powerful Elf, surrounded by hostile Velmoryns, with her magic completely sealed.

"I shall not defend my Mother's actions," Karla replied calmly. "For I see no fault in them."

Then, without raising her tone, she added, "But I would ask you not to insult my Goddess again. I may not be able to forgive that."

Did her tone change when she started speaking about the Goddess? She seemed friendly just moments ago, but got all serious now. Kinda reminds me of Roy…

Her attention turned back to Avenor, stepping closer to him.

"I do not know why the dungeon High Mother created chose you," she said. "But She must have had Her reasons. As Her loyal daughter, I'll of course obey Her will and answer all your questions. But first, allow me to explain the mark you bear."

She paused as if waiting for his consent. But before Avenor could speak, she continued anyway.

"Avenor… Elves have always stood above mortal races, not only because we defy the pull of time, but because of our affinity for magic. Even the weakest among us, those abandoned by the bloodline, would in time eclipse the strongest mortals through essence convergence. Many gods sought to enslave or deceive us into worship… some through coercion, others through gifts…"

Karla exhaled, not in grief or regret, but from the weight of memory.

"None succeeded. Elves remained loyal to the High Mother, for she held absolute authority over us. But despite that, she never abused that power."

"Hmph," Aria snorted, turning her head away when Karla's eyes settled on her.

The Elf's voice didn't falter.

"As I was saying. The Goddess's dominion over the Sylvan bloodline was absolute. No Elf could reproduce without Her blessing. No Elf could change their allegiance, even if they tried. That is why She was known as the High Mother of Sylvan, because She bound our blood, our future, and our loyalty."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Alright, but how does that connect to my mark?" Avenor cut in, making me want to slap him. This wasn't just ancient history. It was an open door into divine mechanics, the very foundation of godhood I'd been groping in the dark to understand.

"Please," Karla said with an oddly warm and calm smile, "let me finish, and all will be made clear."

Her eyes lost some of their sharpness, growing distant, as if she was looking into an almost forgotten memory.

"Everything changed when a god, nameless, domainless, and without worshippers, found a way to bypass the Goddess's control. That god stole Elves… and crossbred them with a filthy demonic race."

For a moment, Karla's gaze showed traces of anger, her teeth briefly tasting her lower lip. But she quickly regained composure and continued.

"I do not know the exact ritual, nor what demonic lineage was chosen. But the result displeased that nameless god. This new race aged far slower than mortals… yet they could not stand against time like we could. Worse, they inherited the demons' dark magic instead of our magic that is free-spirited. And worst of all…"

Karla's gaze drifted, landing on Aria again.

"They were born carrying the mark of our Mother."

She let her words hang in the air, the only source of sound becoming the wood creaking.

"The moment High Mother sensed their existence," Karla continued. "She sent Her strongest knights and inquisitors to rescue them. And we did. I was still a child then, but I remember the day our kingdom welcomed them. They were given shelter. Land. Names. We even called them Elves back then…"

Her voice quieted.

"But it became clear, over time… they could not remain."

Avenor leaned forward slightly, clearly invested in the story. "Why?"

"They needed flesh to survive," Karla said softly. "Which to us, the Sylvan race, is a sacred taboo. But even that could have been forgiven…"

Her eyes drifted to Aria once more. This time, the pity was bare.

"Avenor… do you remember how I said many gods had tried to kidnap Elves? Once the precedent was set, once it became clear that Elven blood could be merged with another, they began hunting the Velmoryn children. Not to destroy them… but to study them. To unravel how that nameless god had succeeded where they had failed."

"We did all we could to protect them, but too many gods had their gazes on them… In the end High Mother created this forest and filled it with powerful beasts the Velmoryns could use to grow stronger. Then She placed a curse over the land, an absolute one restricting beings above Platinum Rank from stepping inside."

Her posture straightened, voice filled with something between pride and sorrow.

"High Mother's power was terrifying back then. No god would ever hope to break Her curse. So long as the Velmoryns remained in the forest, they would be safe. Isolated, perhaps… but alive."

She paused, her jaw tightening.

"But then that nameless god approached two Netherworld Deities. I will not speak their names, nor their domains. If I did, they might sense me even now. I don't know what was offered to them, perhaps Elven blood, perhaps the chance to defeat High Mother, but whatever it was… it was enough."

Her voice dropped lower.

"The combined strength of three gods invaded our lands. Their armies… their monsters… I had never seen horrors like those. We fought. But we lost, Avenor. We lost."

Karla fell silent, her brows drawing together, shoulders trembling faintly. She didn't cry. She had lived this too many times already.

"High Mother descended for the final battle. She fought them, three gods at once. I don't know what happened on that battlefield. All I know is that Freya, the strongest daughter of our Mother, found me. But by then, our cities were burning. Our parents… our friends…" Her voice wavered but didn't break. "They were killed. Defiled. Our entire world was crumbling around us."

She stepped closer, lowering her voice to something more intimate.

"Freya fought to the very end. She burned everything she had just to save a few more of us. And when she knew there was no winning… she made the ultimate choice."

She looked Avenor in the eyes.

"She sacrificed her soul to seal away our people. What little remained of our race was hidden by a soul-forged barrier, one that not even the gods could find nor break."

"Before she died, Freya gave me the artifacts our Mother had entrusted to her. And she told me that one day, the one who bore the Sylvan Mark would appear. That I must guide them."

Karla reached out, gently taking Avenor's hand. Her fingers traced the mark as if showing affection to it.

"This mark," she whispered, "is the key to unsealing our… my people. To save what little remains of them."

Avenor remained still, the weight of her words finally sinking in. But after a moment, he spoke quietly, hesitantly.

"Is a mortal soul truly that powerful? I don't mean to be insensitive, but… are we sure other gods haven't already found them?"

Karla nodded, her thumb still tracing over the mark reflexively.

"Freya's soul wasn't just a mortal's. She was the strongest Inquisitor," Karla said quietly. "But you're not wrong, no soul alone could achieve what she did. Before her death… Freya pledged herself to another god."

She hesitated, her tone growing heavier.

"That meant that High Mother was already… in the final hours, only one god still stood with Her. But they had no power back then..."

"Back then?" Aria asked, likely thinking Karla was talking about me. "Does that mean They're powerful now?"

"Yes. They became one of the Ten Human Gods." Karla's brows pinched slightly, noticing the way Aria's expression dimmed at the answer. "But that isn't what matters now."

She turned back to Avenor.

"I can see you already bear a God's mark. I understand that you are a Velmoryn, and that you may not be willing to risk your life for my people. But if you choose to help… I swear this to you, on my name and blood, I will dedicate myself to your God. And so will… my people. We have no guardian left. In this world, it's not possible to remain without one."

Avenor's jaw tensed. "Verde, you bastard…" I heard his thoughts before he even finished forming them. "You knew. You knew she was here. You sent me to recruit her, this elf, maybe even all her people. And now what? I'm supposed to march into a divine war on your behalf? No. No, I won't do it. I don't care about Elves. I'm not dying in some god-against-god bullshit. I want to live."

Normally, I might've enjoyed his grumbling. I wasn't about to let a mage of this caliber slip through my fingers, but unsealing the Elven race was too dangerous. It seemed like the easiest way to place the biggest target on my own head.

Just invite her to my tribe, you idiot…

And just then, Aria turned to him.

"So this is why Lord sent you here," she said, smiling knowingly. "It seems the High Father wishes for you to take this path."

Avenor froze. It was one thing to argue with me when he knew I couldn't answer back, but Aria's words put him in a difficult situation. They made his doubt feel like betrayal.

"That…"