The banquet began later that evening.
Elves, Ludwig had learned, did not simply celebrate. They performed celebration like an art form, as if beauty itself would take offense if one cup was placed poorly or one note of music fell beneath perfection. The inner palace hosted within the World Tree transformed as the sun lowered beyond the endless canopy. Soft golden lights bloomed from hanging flowers. Pale stone floors, almost marble in their shine though grown seamlessly through the living wood, reflected the glow of lantern fruits suspended from curling branches. Curtains of translucent leaves swayed between high arches, each leaf catching light like thin green glass.
Many elves came.
Then the High Elves.
