Shades of the New World

Chapter 234: Naming ceremony

Even though he was fairly sure that the Thought Imprint left by Veidrakar was much more detailed than any normal one, he still made sure to leave a note for Sasha, so the girl didn't wake up all confused and lost.

Half an hour later, he came back from the forest, with a hundred or so tree saplings inside his Storage Ring and another idea that popped into his mind. He finally resolved himself to name all the World Sprites today.

'I'm a bit dumb to only remember this now, but when I gave Enri her name, she definitely became much smarter compared to before. So I should just take on the task like a champ and name all the World Sprites once and for all,' Evin decided.

Noting that Sasha was still asleep, Evin fell into his shadow once more.

"Alright, I've decided to give all of you names, but first, let's plant all these trees around this place," he then declared to the World Sprites.

Evin made sure to properly get the sapling's roots with some dirt in the storage ring, so after some unaccustomed work with the World of Earth, he was finished with the mass planting after an hour. 

And while he was at it, he made sure to observe everything from above and arrange the trees in the nicest way he could imagine which just turned out to be 7 groups of 3x4 trees, totaling up to 84 trees in total. Four short of the 88 World Sprites he had (including Runa and Enri). Evin easily solved the problem by putting the odd four in the center, and then arranging the seven 3x4 columns around it, turning it all into a monument made of trees of some sorts. He also made sure to leave considerable spaces for the trees to grow big in the future.

Sasha was still asleep outside his shadow, so there were no new developments on that front. 

'As I suspected, Lady Veidra's gift takes some time to unfold,' Evin thought idly and focused on the task at hand.

"Alright, everyone, pick a tree and stand next to it. When I get to you, I'll give you a name and cut your height into the tree," Evin declared and watched as the World Sprites scurried to random trees.

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Weirdly, the World Sprites could very clearly understand his orders, but it felt to Evin as if they only understood Evin's intent behind it, not the words themselves. Although a bit inappropriate, they were like pet dogs in that regard. 

But Evin decided not to dwell on it, as he was pretty sure the World Sprites were going to become as smart as most kids very soon.

Sighing, he approached the first World Sprite. Compared to the others, this one was a boy of considerable height and had curly short hair scattered around his head. But one thing that caught Evin's attention was his sharp eyes that made a weird contradiction with the usually relaxed, and almost dumb expression the World Sprites had.

'This one feels like a Draco,' Evin thought and named him thus. He then carved Draco's name onto the tree and also left his measurement on it. 

He looked at Draco for a bit to see whether he undertook any changes, but nothing seemed to be happening, so he continued on.

The next one in line was a short girl with a naturally cutesy expression. Evin wasn't quite sure, but he was fairly certain that if the girl wasn't a mass of darkness, her hair would be on the brighter side of the color spectrum, perhaps a blonde or fire-red one like Arza's. 

"You'll be Aya," Evin decided and repeated the same procedure: he carved Aya's name and height onto her tree and moved on.

A male World Sprite with his hair split in curtains looked back at Evin, in a scrutinizing, almost annoyed way. 'What's this idiot staring at me for?' it seemed to be thinking, which made Evin chuckle lightly, despite himself.

"Alright, you'll be D," Evin said smilingly, hoping he wouldn't go around naming the World Sprites as letters any more.

Next to D was a girl with quite the sharp features. Although her age suggested that she was only 10 or so years old, she seemed to lack the baby fat that made kids and teenagers look cute and childish in people's eyes. Her hollow dead gaze also didn't help with the dark aura that came from the girl.

"I guess you're Skoll," Evin gave a suitable sounding name and moved on.

Next in line was a tall girl, with long, silky hair fluttering on her sides. She had a barely noticeable half-smile on her face, which almost looked belittling and mocking to Evin. But while her expression was a bit jarring, Evin could clearly see the intelligence hiding behind her deep dark eyes.

"You'll be Lapis," Evin said after thinking a bit, satisfied with name he came up.

Next to Lapis stood a boy with a very peculiar hair, one which defied gravity and gathered up all around the boy's head in all its curliness and fluffiness. Moreover, a seemingly eternal smile was plastered on the boy's face, forcing Evin to fight back the urge to hug and tease the boy.

"Let's name you Vollrath," Evin said happily and carved the boy's new name unto the tree.

Next in line was a boy that Evin actually recognized. The boy usually had a strict look on his face, but whenever Rith came inside Evin's shadow, his seriousness would be replaced with avid curiosity and softness. After Evin noticed this, he let him hold Rith in his hands, thinking that perhaps it will trigger a growth spurt or something. Obviously, nothing substantial happened, but it was fun to see the boy making a satisfied face with Rith in his hands.

"Namipa," Evin murmured and carved the name on the tree.

Next to Namipa was a tall boy, coolly looking at Evin with a calm gaze, one which Evin also recognized. Whenever he appeared inside the shadow, more often than not, this boy would notice him appearing first. And after he recognized that it was Evin, he wouldn't make a fuss and just look back to whatever he was doing before. Evin was sure that this one was one of the smartest World Sprites in his shadow. 

"Lucario seems fitting enough," Evin said and saw the boy nod slightly in approval. 

Evin smiled and looked at the next World Sprite. Amusingly, this one was extremely similar to Lucario. Similarly tall, with a confident posture; a sharp, inspecting expression; and a charismatic face that instilled a feeling safety in an onlooker. But, there was one flaw in the boy's perfect faade. The boy's eyes betrayed the nervousness and panic which was brewing inside him. Darting all over the place with sharp and random movements, a clear contrast to the unassuming, confident gait he showed with his body.

"You can be Einz," Evin said and finally left the boy in peace.

After Einz, came one of the tallest girls between the World Sprites, one with a charming short hair fluttering around her face. Evin recognized the girl pretty clearly, because whenever he visited the World Sprites in his shadow, this one would come running at him the fastest, excitedly jumping around him in an almost exaggerated manner. Her free-spirited nature helped Evin choose a name pretty quickly.

"Briese," he decided and carved the name on the tree.

'That makes it 10. This is quite fun,' Evin thought gleefully and continued on with the task at hand.