"Wha-...no! I mean, yes, never tell her that, and keep your voice down! But I'm talking about the other thing I say, Tessa. The Uril family motto!" (Tessa's father)
Tessa giggles sweetly seeing her father's terrified expression, her own fear already evaporating from her childish, short-term memory.
"Knowledge is power?" (Tessa)
Her father sighs in relief, then gives her an appreciative smile.
"Yes, Little Scholar, that's right. Knowledge is power. That's why your grandfather founded the Elven Magic Academy, and it's why I've spent most of my life supporting it as its headmaster, ever since I left the royal family. Now, do you want to guess what makes elves special? What our secret power that protects us from humans is?" (Tessa's father)
Tessa beams with pride at having answered correctly, then presses her little fingers to her chin as she ponders her father's second question. She cuts her eyes up at him uncertainly.
"Is it...knowledge?" (Tessa)
Her father smiles at her encouragingly.
"You're close, sweetie. It's wisdom. When you have knowledge and you know when and how to use it, that's wisdom. That's a very important difference, and it's what sets us apart from the humans.
"We live long lives, Little Scholar, especially us high elves. Much longer than humans. In fact, about four hundred generations of humans will live and die during your lifetime. Their short lives make it easy for them to grow to such large numbers so quickly, but it also prevents them from accumulating as much knowledge, and turning it into wisdom.
"Meanwhile, our numbers are much fewer, but the effects of our long lives on those around us much deeper. So, we cherish each other more. That's why, while humans fight amongst themselves, elves work as one.
"Our longer lives are why all human civilizations have already forgotten and repeated their ancestors' mistakes several times since I was born, but we elves remember and improve. Why humans have lost access to most of their magical knowledge over time, but we elves protect it and learn how to use it better.
"This is our secret power as elves, Little Scholar, and that's why its the job of every elven scholar to master a thousand times as much knowledge as a human. Our wisdom, and their lack of knowledge, is what keeps us safe. They worry about the strength of our country, knowing their magic is weaker than ours, and they don't know that they outnumber us, have better weapons and armor. In short, they're held back by a lack of knowledge.
"So, make sure to grow wise, Little Scholar...stay one step ahead of the humans. Do that, and you have nothing to fear from them." (Tessa's father)
Tessa looks up at her father, nodding along with a serious expression as he speaks. When he finishes, she smiles earnestly.
"I will, Daddy, I promise! I'll learn more than anyone else!" (Tessa)
The young girl squirms her way out of her dad's arms and grabs another book off the ground around her. She immediately opens it to the first page to read, leaning her back against her dad's legs, and quickly becomes absorbed in its pages.
Her father can't help but chuckle at the sight, pride swelling in his chest from seeing how happy and studious she is. A smile forms on his face, and there's only a faint nagging at his mind that, just maybe, he's already forgotten an important lesson.
Then, he suddenly remembers the sight of her crying in anguish on the floor, and how much he lamented his shortcomings as a father for the stories of her books being her whole world. His face goes pale, and he immediately grabs the book from her hands.
Tessa squeals in surprise and indignation, turning an accusatory glare at her father. Without missing a beat, he picks her up into a princess carry and begins walking towards the stairs.
"I...uhm...just remembered another important lesson for you. Not all knowledge is in books, Little Scholar. Some of it's hidden outside, with other people. And in pastries...yes, definitely in sweet pastries. It's important that you make time for these things, or you'll only grow knowledgeable, never wise. I think we should have some kur'kes and tea right now...to err, further your education. How does that sound?" (Tessa's father)
Young Tessa directs a skeptical expression at her father.
"Mmm...if kur'kes hold knowledge, then why are you hiding them from Mommy? Isn't hoarding knowledge bad, Daddy?" (Tessa)
Her father's steps falter slightly, a cold sweat forming on his neck as he considers his tactical failure. Seeing there is no path to victory, he takes solace in a strategic retreat...there's nothing wrong with living to fight another day.
"Err, sweetie, would you like me to tell you a story on our way to the kitchen? I have read every book in this library, you know? All you have to do is ask me about something." (Tessa's father)
Excitement gleams in the young girl's eyes, her voice soft and probing.
"You'll tell me a story about anything I want?" (Tessa)
Her father breathes a sigh of relief that his escape has been assured, so he doesn't notice the mischievous grin that forms on Tessa's face as he nods his approval.
"Of course, yes, anything you want, Little Scholar." (Tessa's father)
Tessa giggles excitedly.
"The First Queen! The one with the Neb-...uhm...Nebyu-...the Nebyu-lum!" (Tessa)
Her father lets out a deep sigh. He should have seen that coming...he must have told her that story a hundred times, and the last ninety-nine were at her...insistent...request.
"It's pronounced Nephilim, sweetie. Are you sure that's the story you want...again? That's a fable, Little Scholar. It's not a true record of events." (Tessa's father)
Tessa nods emphatically, then sticks her finger in the air as her voice takes on a formal tone, clearly imitating someone.
"All worthy fables have a grain of truth and something to teach you. Even children's stories make you wiser, Big Scholar, so never miss a chance to read them." (Tessa)
Her father frowns at the familiar words. He told her that so she'd let his wife read her something less dry! So mother and daughter could bond over her love of books without her mother falling asleep in seconds!
Still...his wife has cherished scouring for obscure fairytales together with her daughter, so he's happy to pay the price.
Resigning himself to his fate, he deepens his voice and begins to speak.
"A long time ago, on a planet far, far away, the first elves were created by the god, Nedilir. They didn't share the planet with any humans, dwarves, or demons who could threaten them, but they also new nothing of cities, books, farming, or advanced magic. They lived in small, traveling tribes, took only what nature provided, and left nothing behind but their children when they died.
"The first elves lived this way for many generations. They were happy and safe, and their numbers slowly increased, but they never grew in other ways. Whatever an elf learned in life, their descendants eventually forgot after their death. They never built anything greater than themselves, nor did they find ways to be happier or safer than they already were. They were doomed to spend eternity exactly as they were.
"However, one day a young elven man was foraging deep in the forest for his tribe, and he came across a beautiful woman he didn't recognize. She looked similar to him, but also different. She had unnatural ears, eyes like gemstones, and wore strange clothes he'd never seen. Her magic was beyond his imagination, casting spells he'd never encountered without the incantations he normally needed.
"When asked, the mysterious woman shared with him that she was a child of their god, Nedilir, and that her people, the Nephilim, shared the planet with the first elves. The Nephilim woman was kind to the young elven man, and even brought him to meet her people. What he saw left him convinced that he'd arrived in a dwelling of gods.
"The Nephilim lived in a large city full of endless food, surrounded by walls that even the most savage beasts couldn't breach, protecting palaces the size of mountains. The young elf witnessed many enchanted tools that he could never have imagined – those that turned night into day, that cooled their homes in the summer and heated them in the winter, and even those that could fly people across the city. He also learned that some of the young-looking people in their city were dozens of times older than any elf – the Nephilim never died of old age.
"Soon after that fateful encounter, the Nephilim and the first elves established a harmonious relationship. The elves would scour the forests around the Nephilim's city, providing their new friends with information about the local beasts and with the forests' bounties they'd collect. In return, the Nephilim tried to impart their knowledge on the elves. But, the elves sadly lacked the ability to utilize it fully.
"Still, the Nephilim made sure that the elves always had enough food, good clothing, and taught them how to use weaker elemental spells to mine ore, blacksmith tools, and build safer shelters. Over time, the two races grew closer.
"Eventually, after several generations of elves and millennia of good relations between their peoples, a Nephilim and an elf became close enough for the elf to mother a child, to the great shock of both races. The child was a little girl, who looked just like a normal elf, and so it was decided that she would live in the elven village with her mother. However, her Nephilim father, adoring the girl and her mother, continued to visit the two and care for them.
"As the girl grew up, it became apparent that, while she may have looked like an elf, she was also special. She was brilliant beyond what any elven child should have been, and exhibited god-like magical talent. Though she was not quite as powerful as her father, the girl was able to learn the Nephilim's strange, incantation-less magic.
"As the years and centuries passed, that girl continued to live with the elves while learning the secrets of the Nephilim from her father. With time, she helped her people to build there own magnificent cities, grow their own food, record their own histories, make their own enchanted tools, and much more. Her influence was so great, ushering in such growth and prosperity for the elves, that their many tribes eventually combined and declared her their First Queen.
"Though her name is lost to time, legends say that the First Queen was more powerful than any elf that has ever lived since, or will ever live again. That she had power surpassing the Elder Dragons of Azura, and that she lived hundreds of elven lifespans. It's believed that all high elves alive today are her descendants, her blood granting them longer lives and greater magic power." (Tessa's father)