A sage fruit.
The words alone carried a weight that few outside her people could ever understand.
Among the elves, it was not simply a treasure, but the very foundation of their strength, the reason their nation could stand as equals with the rest of the world without question.
They were nearly impossible to obtain. No one could request one, and effort alone was never enough. Only those who had proven their worth over the years, those who had risen through expectation and responsibility, were ever considered.
Even then, it was never guaranteed. The requirements were strict, and the cost was always high.
Those who were granted a sage fruit did not remain the same. They surpassed their limits and became something entirely different from the rest of their kind. From that moment on, they were no longer treated as ordinary elves.
They became figures that stood above them, guardians who upheld their nation, beings whose existence carried a purpose greater than themselves.
