The elf chieftain took the scroll with curiosity, but his wife hurriedly caught his hand. "Wait, chieftain. What if he's a swindler? What if he's trying to trick you? He showed up uninvited. He looks exactly like a swindler to me, not an honest elf at all."
"Chieftain, you shouldn't look at his scroll. There's bound to be a trick in it. I heard from elves who came from far away that elves in one place love deceiving people. Once they strike up a conversation, they'll swindle every coin out of your pocket. Smart people don't fall for that."
The elf chieftain looked at Locke. Locke merely smiled and offered no explanation.
After thinking it over, the chieftain told his wife, "I've heard that smart people don't call something a trick before they understand it. This elf has a forthright face. I see no sign of deceit in him."
"I'll open it and take a look."
By this time, after a thousand years of development, the elves had shed the Plane Principles of other worlds that had marked their race and begun anew in this world.
The world's curse meant none of them could live past thirty, but the misfortune had brought an unexpected benefit. Generations turned over quickly, and civilization advanced rapidly. They now had records, institutions, writing, currency, and highly abstract concepts.
When the chieftain fully opened the spell scroll, more than a thousand Leaf of Power runes flashed before his eyes. In an instant, they took him through the entire Leaf of Power System.
His pupils contracted sharply, and the scroll fell from his hands.
When he looked at Locke again, his manner had changed to profound respect. Uneasy, he asked, "Are you a god?"
The question gave Locke pause. Natural Guardians had indeed been nature gods