It had been several days since her first meeting with El-Deen, and Stroth still wasn’t convinced she was somehow being absorbed into the Ele’s collective being, but since setting foot on El-Kera, something had indeed felt different.
In his always-serene voice, El-Deen was explaining, “While within the Dominion, we expect you to live as the Ele live, which means dressing as the Ele dress.” Gently, he opened the broad, plain metal case on the desk between them. Secured within were five different masks, crafted from seamless, polished black glass.
Stroth had studied their forms and knew their meanings - the Builder, square of jaw and brow, oversaw everything from shipbuilding to agriculture; the Speaker, uncannily human-like, represented the Ele in diplomacy; the Conductor, streamlined with few features, saw to governance and administration; the Artisan, asymmetric and abstract, shaped culture and created art; and the Warrior, a fearsome skull, defended the Ele and their sacred land.
“A weighty choice,” El-Deen remarked, once Stroth had inspected her options, “but we do expect you to choose. Whatever you decide will become natural in time.”
In the back of her mind, Stroth heard everyone she had ever known telling her she was the Conductor, one who curated, but to her surprise, her hand instinctively drifted to the skull mask - the Warrior. Why not embrace this season of change?
Noting her choice, El-Deen approached, and Stroth could hear him smile behind his own mask as he declared, “Quite so. Henceforth, you shall become El-Endelle, the warrior.”
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