Chapter 538

Chapter 538: The Legends of the Elves

Great Demon God Saslokar.

A faint sense of familiarity rose in Duncan’s mind. Soon he remembered that he had indeed heard this name before—it had come up long ago, during a casual chat with Morris.

“I remember… this is the name of the ‘main god’ described in the ancient faith system unique to the Elves,” he said slowly. “This demon god has the power to control dreams and wandering souls. In your legends, this Great Demon God is even linked to the beginning of the current ‘Deep Sea era’—”

“Yes, Captain Duncan,” Taran Ael nodded. “According to those old legends, the world was originally a dream. It was created while the Great Demon God Saslokar was in a half-sleeping state. The Elves were residents born inside that dream. Our inborn mission is to serve Saslokar within the dream and prolong His sleep as much as possible, to keep the whole world from facing doomsday when the Great Demon God wakes.”

Lucretia listened carefully at the side. As a learned person, she clearly also knew something about these ancient, strange Elven legends, so different from today’s mainstream faith and branded as ‘heretical’. She could not help cutting in: “But Saslokar is destined to wake up—that is also part of the legend.”

“That’s right. The Great Demon God is destined to awaken, and His awakening means the end of the world,” Taran Ael nodded again and went on. “Most of the less mainstream belief systems have similar ‘end-of-the-world prophecies’. In most cases, they are only warnings, used to threaten believers, to strengthen their own persuasiveness and their control over the congregation.

“But the Elves’ legends are not like that. In Elven stories, this ‘world doomsday’ has already happened.

“In the legends, the end of the world began with a nightmare. Because of that nightmare, the Great Demon God saw the coming of a Great Flood. The Elves’ long-standing efforts to soothe Him lost their effect. He woke in terror, and the flood leaked out of His dream into the Mortal Realm, turning into the boundless ocean…

“After that, because of His awakening, the Great Demon God Saslokar vanished. The Elves could never return to that peaceful dreamscape. They could only survive in the endless sea left behind after the flood. That is how Elven myth explains the coming of the Deep Sea era.”

Taran Ael’s account was not very different from what Morris had once told Duncan. He simply added a few more details. After the Elven scholar finished speaking, Duncan showed a thoughtful expression.

After a few seconds, he broke the silence in a low voice: “Both your creation myths and your doomsday prophecies revolve around the element of ‘dreams’.”

“Yes. In Elven culture, ‘dreams’ always take up a very large part,” Taran Ael nodded. “We believe that inside and outside the dream are two worlds. Both worlds truly exist and can affect one another. Falling asleep and waking up is the process of traveling between these two worlds—or, in more traditional words, it is the ‘Journey of Nowhere’.”

He paused to organize his thoughts, then continued: “Since we are talking about this, I will mention one more side topic—among the Elves there is also a special congenital illness called ‘the Dreamless’.”

Duncan frowned: “The Dreamless?”

“Just like the literal meaning—people who are born unable to dream,” Taran Ael explained. “Dreaming is a mortal instinct. In our view, dreaming is as uncontrollable and unavoidable as death. Of course, some people dream more, some less. Some even think they do not dream at all—but research has shown that those people only have dreams that are too short or too shallow. When they wake up, they simply cannot remember their dreams. They still dream.

“The Dreamless are completely different from that—they truly do not dream.

“The sleep of the Dreamless is pale. After they fall asleep, there is only empty chaos. Their consciousness seems to ‘jump’ straight over the entire sleeping process. No skilled psychiatrist or priest can find the slightest trace of dreams in them.

“This completely dreamless condition only appears among the Elves. It has about a one-in-ten-thousand chance of occurring. It is inborn and cannot be cured.”

Duncan could not help sighing: “…In a race that puts such extreme importance on ‘dreams’, the Dreamless must be treated in a very special way.”

“Yes. To most Elves, the pale, empty sleep of the Dreamless is dangerous and strange, even terrifying. In history there really were many unfair treatments aimed at the Dreamless. But most of that happened before the Age of City-States,” Taran Ael said, waving his hand. “Now we no longer target or discriminate against the Dreamless on purpose. But as you said, the influence of traditional culture is still there. They are more or less… regarded in a special way.”

Duncan listened to these parts of Elven culture and legend that Nonhuman Folk found hard to learn about. When the Grand Scholar finished, Duncan thought for a moment and slowly said: “Yet among the many legends and records about dreams, there is one thing missing—the ‘dream of the Nameless One’.”

“One possible explanation is that the ‘dream of the Nameless One’ is only what those cultists call it. The thing it refers to has another name inside Elven culture,” Taran Ael said. “This kind of thing is very common. Elven culture is ancient and difficult. Parts that spread outside are often misunderstood and altered by Nonhuman Folk. We cannot expect a race with an average lifespan of less than a hundred years to all understand whether a vessel with seven thousand years of history was used to hold wine or draw water.”

Lucretia had been silently thinking at the side. When she heard the Grand Scholar’s words, she suddenly looked up and said: “If it does ‘have another name’, could that so-called dream of the Nameless One actually be the same as the dream that Great Demon God Saslokar created in Elven legends?”

“The Old World?” Taran Ael frowned, then quickly shook his head. “The dream created by Saslokar is only a legend. There is no evidence it really existed. Even if it did, in this Deep Sea era it must have already broken and scattered…”

“But you and another Elf far away in Pland did both fall into a huge, strange ‘dream’ at the same time,” Duncan reminded him. “Have you forgotten that endless forest?”

“…I did think of it,” Taran Ael said after a moment of hesitation, still very cautious with his words. “We can make such a bold assumption… but we must confirm it with enough evidence. If that dream really is the legendary ‘dream of Saslokar’, if it is the ‘Origin World’…”

“Then it won’t only be Elven society that is shaken,” Lucretia said calmly. “The entire scholarly world will be shaken.”

“Yes, the whole world,” Taran Ael said, his expression especially serious. “It would mean that among the countless guesses and mutually conflicting records, we finally have one ‘record’ about the history before the Great Annihilation that has been verified. Even if we still cannot break through the black wall that stands ten thousand years behind us, that wall would at least have a crack. Through it we could glimpse faint reflections from before the Deep Sea era.”

Duncan had, of course, thought of this as well. But he did not speak. He kept thinking in silence. Only after a long time did he ask with a trace of curiosity: “Are there any more detailed legends about the ‘Great Demon God Saslokar’?”

“Most ‘legends’ are vague and full of contradictions. Even a race like the Elves, with stable and complete inheritance, cannot avoid this,” Taran Ael said slowly. “In most legends, Saslokar is described as a giant dressed like a shepherd, holding a Gatekeeper’s cane that can measure the entire world. But some stories describe Him as a huge billy goat. The Epic of Bran Marr, kept in the city-state of Morka, says He has no form at all. He changes into any appearance in line with the imagination of those who come before Him. He is a ‘reflection’ of the most grand and awe-inspiring image in a mortal’s heart…

“But no matter which legend it is, there is one common part: Saslokar dwells at the roots of the world tree ‘Atlantis’. The giant tree Atlantis is the first plant ever born into the world. Saslokar created it in His dream as His home. Loneliness then drove Him to shake the branches of Atlantis hard. Dust, fruit, and leaves all fell from the tree, and what fell turned into all the things in the world.

“The dust that fell from the World Tree turned into mountains and minerals. The branches and leaves of Atlantis became all kinds of birds and beasts, flowers, fish, and insects. The fruits of Atlantis turned into the first Elves. Dust does not rot, so mountains and minerals do not decay. Branches and fruit began to rot as soon as they touched the ground, so living beings in the mortal world gained the cycle of life and death.”

Taran Ael paused here, picked up the teacup that the doll Lunie had left on the table, took a sip, then went on: “That is how the Great Demon God created all things in His dream. After this first ‘creation’ was complete, Saslokar began to walk through His world.

“He strolled around Atlantis and set the rules of the mortal world with His gaze. He could circle the World Tree once every year, so Atlantis withered and flourished on a yearly cycle. Because of this, the mortal world gained clear seasons. He returned to the foot of Atlantis on the last day of every year. On that day, the Elves had to dress in their finest and go out in a grand procession to show Saslokar the skills and creations they were most proud of. If the Great Demon God felt those things were good, they would continue to exist in the dreamscape He had created, and the world would go on.”

After saying this, Taran Ael finally let out a long breath.

“That is all, Captain Duncan.”