Tadel thought he was overthinking it, too.
There couldn't be a second World Tree in the Allen World, much less one in human hands...
His arrogance kept him from noticing the invisible but very real barrier between them.
"Is Yiruilanze doing all right?"
"She eats well, sleeps well, and even flirts with me when she has nothing better to do."
Annan was joking, but as he listened to Tadel's soft laugh on the other end, he suddenly realized the Elf Elder was trying to make conversation.
"Tadel..."
"What?"
"Do you think the elves might attack Free City someday?"
"That day will never come. Elves aren't like you hum—" Tadel swallowed the rest.
Annan finished the sentence for him in his mind and let out a breath.
"Humans do like starting wars. But we're short-lived, so we chase that fleeting spark of brilliance."
"Which is why, in your brief lives, you can create works of art even elves struggle to match. I've never understood that."
"Maybe it's because we have an ability even the gods envy."
"An ability?"
Annan leaned against the railing, just as Olmedo had a few minutes earlier.
"Death isn't a tragedy for us. It's proof we existed, that we left our mark on the world."
"But for you, life is a cycle. You die, your souls return to the World Tree, and you become someone new to experience the world again. That's why you can't accept change."
"You're doing the same things elves did ten thousand years ago, and elves ten thousand years from now will do the same things you do. You've trapped yourselves in that system."
"Humans envy elves and long for the near-endless lives of the Long-lived Races. The way I see it, you should envy us."
"Because our time is limited, we throw