Elevation of Mana Chapter 220 New Elder

Five years had passed since the deaths of the Ancients and most of the elders, and they'd not been good.

“Another one?” I asked as Chien brought me a familiar looking page, a form we'd made after so many reports.

“Yeah, from further south this time,” he said.

“How many does that make this year?” I asked.

“Fifteen, that we know of.”

Fifteen villages, of the ones we knew about, gone. They'd lost the strongest elders, with our race already floundering after losing three Ancients one after another we now lost huge numbers of the villages as well. Without someone who could protect them those villages couldn't defend against even simpler monsters.

“They want sanctuary I presume?”

“The eighty that are left.”

“Only eighty.” I was shocked. “Of how many?”

“Two-hundred and twelve.”

“We need to expand the walls,” I replied with a shake of my head.

Even beyond the refugees we were getting others flocking to the city. They sensed how dangerous the wilds were right now, and that too was getting worse in some ways. Animals were spreading back outwards, populations exploding, and predatory or aggressive ones were finding elven villages undefended, or under-defended against their attacks.

Some places were doing much better. Atal for example was doing fine, the population influx was even good. With our walls, better tech than average, and the presence of at least one elder and several comparable casters we were in an excellent position.

My own home village was also thriving, not because it was well situated but because I was sending soldiers to protect it. They weren't told why they were there, but I wanted the area mostly clean of magic monsters, particularly the area around the sealed off cave. That was one more disaster waiting to happen. The soldiers though I was nostalgic, and that was enough for most people.

The city on the other hand was surging, pressing against the edges and ready to burst. It was only through magic we were able to feed them all, and that food was less than stellar at times. It was also worrying to me, since I didn't know if there would be any long term effects from that.

“Tell me some of them can make food,” I said to Chien.

“Some of them can make food,” he replied woodenly.

“Seriously?”

“Well a little, mostly you told me to say it.”

“Shit.”

“It gets better.”

“Please don't.”

“Other than their main city, the swamps have collapsed as far as we can tell. None of our blimps have found a single village yet.”

“It was worth looking.” We'd agreed to help the few elders there on that account, hoping that someone somewhere was still around.

As I thought of missing and destroyed villages I looked back on the day we'd learned of my aunt and her husband. They'd been elders, but young ones, and the leader of their village was called off to the war. I'd ignored them for too long, and by the time we went to look there was little left. A few scraps of clothing had remained, which had been the focus for the funeral that I'd missed. That still haunted me.

“Please tell me there's good news,” I said. “Just, something, somewhere.”

“We've exceeded our estimates when it comes to gathering this week.”

“I'll take it, tell the people doing it good job.”

“Dad,” Adia called, appearing in my doorway. “Mom wants to talk to you.”

“What about dear?” I asked her.

“I don't know, she just looked in the mirror, started paying attention to her hair, and freaked out. Now she wants you.”

Standing I moved from the room quickly, my daughter in tow.

“What is it?” she asked curiously.

“Your mother has been expecting her first white hair for awhile now.”

“So? You have several.”

On Earth that would have hurt, but here it was an indictment of my power.

“It means that she's finally reached the next stage, if it's true.

“Next stage?”

“Of life, it would mean she's an elder like I am. It would be a wondrous announcement,” I informed her.

“Okay...”

“I know you haven't' known many elders, but it is a big deal.”

“I guess now, other than you I suppose.”

I found her in our rooms. She sat before the mirror, a single white strand falling down her head.

“Congratulations,” I said, a truly happy smile on my face.

“We finally made it. Took long enough.”

I moved forward to hug her, bringing Adia with me. She squirmed a bit, but seemed to realize this was seriously important. That was good, she could use this memory later.