After a lively and festive gathering everyone begins to head home to turn in for the evening.
Alima started getting nauseated a little after dinner, so Jaheim carried her back home, but they promised to show up again tomorrow.
Firion was curious to learn more about Eurelca from Emani who once travel through the country, so he and Kaida followed him home with his wife and their children.
"Lulu, after you put the girls to sleep can you bring me some tobacco?" He kindly asked his wife.
She softly responded, "Aye, but try not smoke too much my husband, for pain is one thing but too much of it is still bad for the lungs."
Two little girls ran beside her while she cradled a small infant in a satchel.
"Goodnight baba!" They simultaneously said.
"Eh? What does baba mean?" Kaida asked.
"That is what kids call their father around here." Lulu replied as she handed her husband a small wooden box.
As he opened it, he took out a little paper sheet and sprinkled some brown-looking mulch on top, then he rolled it into a cylinder and put the tip of it in his mouth.
Then he removed a small stick from the box and ran it across the bottom of his shoe which caused it to ignite into a small flame that he then used to light the cylinder.
"Is that cigarette?" Firion asked surprisingly, "I have only ever seen the most privileged of elves of Aldenburg with such luxuries, just like the cocoa I had earlier. But how did you produce that small flame? Are those little sticks enchanted?"
Emani just blinked a few times before he replied. "Its just a piece of palm wood with sulfur on the tip." He exhaled a fume of smoke. "We try not to use magic if we can avoid it, that stuff throws off the mana in the environment which can make the wildlife out here more vicious. And to your first question, yes, we do produce many "luxury" goods out here that we trade with Aldenburg and Eurelca for in exchange for their merchandise."
He took a deep breath as the flames gradually burned the cigarette.
"About a hundred years ago...I decided I wanted to enlighten myself to become a potential candidate for next oracle, so I took pilgrimage in Eurelca." He told them.
Firion was a little surprised by this. "So elves...I mean yumboes like yourself can become oracles like your grandmother? I thought it could only be something that devas could achieve."
"No, as long as you are of white fang deva origin your just as worthy as they are. For example, alongside the four oracles there are two that are yumboes. One of them is the high king of Junai and he is a direct descendant of the first known elf and white fang union, our equivalent of what you call a noble, King Omari." Emani carefully explained.
Firion's eyes widened, the king of Junai is actually an elf despite originally being a country composed of devas!
He continued. "In addition to the white fang devas and the blue horns there are two other deva races that are seldom scene outside of Eurelca, and one of them is most rare as I have only met a single red wing deva in my entire time in that country, and she is married to one of my many uncles. When you see her from a distance you could easily mistake her as an angel."
"Wait a minute...red wing deva? Firion do you remember that story you read to me?" Kaida reminded him.
He then told Emani about a popular story known throughout Aldenburg called "The Red Angel" which is an epic romance summarized as a elf prince who falls in love with a woman who is referred to as a red angel.
For the first time Firion sees him actually crack a smile.
He holds the cigarette between his middle and index finger and chuckles a bit. "Funny isn't it? Because from what I hear from travelers fleeing Aldenburg is that many secrets are held from the general population. So it makes you wonder, if that book is actually a personal story rather than pure fiction."
Is it possible? While the novel is much loved for being such a wild tale on a foreign romance, could it be that its actually a retelling of events forgotten? Or was it purposely made to seem like a fiction?
"I wish I could ask more, but I don't wish to spend the rest of evening on one subject. Emani what was the other deva race you encountered in Eurelca?" Firion pressed on.
He resumed, "As I mentioned, there is one more deva tribe, and its the most common one you will probably encounter in Eurelca, and that is the black scale tribe who possess long serpent tails, kinda like what you would see on a snake. Also, they have heavily bred with local elves for eons since the first settlers fled their motherland of Xuanlong. The elves who bred with them eventually started calling themselves the yōsei, when you see them you will be amazed by their culture."
Firion became puzzled again and asked, "Where is Xuanlong? I have never heard of this place."
"Its actually located north of here." Emani put out his cigarette by squelching the flame between his fingers and got up to pull a book from a low shelf.
Carefully he flipped through the pages and presented it to Firion and Kaida.
"This is a picture of the landmass. I heard from some of the black scales and yōsei who lived there say its a very mountainous region. Also, while much is not known about the red wings I believe the Zana Tortuga is where they live." He showed them another page of what looked like many tiny little islands.
He added, "While I said I only met one red wing, I DID however meet a clan of elves who told me they are descended from a group of red wings who fled their country, and that is the Alux elves. All of them had tanned skin, black hair, and the reddest eyes you have ever scene. Based on from what I observed from the woman my uncle married, I believe they're being honest about their ancestry."
Firion and Kaida were bewildered by the revelation of all this, especially Firion, as the actuality of the world he thought he knew so well from the perspective of a single nation was actually heavily modified by the ruling caste to keep those of lower status from pursuing the outside world.
Suddenly Emani's wife Lulu poke her head through the door way.
"Mume, I believe its time for bed. I already put our son to sleep. Remember you need to rest your leg." She commanded.
He solemnly agreed with his wife. "Well I believe we have exhausted the evening. I will be with my grandmother tomorrow to help with any questions you might have. Lala salama! That means sleep peacefully."
"Lala salama to you as well!" Firion smiled.
He and Kaida walked away from the home as they headed back toward the villa.
"You know, today was amazing Firion! We learned and tried so many new things." Kaida said with such content.
Her beautiful smile made him more bold as he picked up his blue horn wife, which only made her giggle.
He carefully whispers her ear, "You know, we have not finished what was started this morning."
He face sported a devious smile while her eyes calmly agreed.
Under a starry night the two kissed each other deeply as they intended to complete the day from the ritual that was interrupted that very morning.