Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1008 - 123: The Twisted Aesthetic

Chapter 1008: Chapter 123: The Twisted Aesthetic

If seen through the eyes of humans, Elven architectural style is very peculiar. According to human habits, whether it’s the Neville Federation, Falar Empire, Neutral Land, or even the land-dwelling humans of Sea Country and the Mages on the Butte Plateau who differentiate themselves from humans, as long as their race was originally human, the architectural styles vary but are fundamentally similar. Human architectural style typically maintains straight lines on walls, and no matter how strange the outer shape, the internal structure of the buildings is usually neatly squared. Inside a house, even if it’s polygonal, every side is straight. Moreover, within an architectural complex, the scale of buildings doesn’t differ too drastically, which aligns more with human aesthetics.

However, the structure of Elven architecture is wholly different from humans, or rather from the majority of races; their buildings might be better described as distinctive pieces of art rather than houses. There are hardly two Elf structures that are the same. Elves generally make homes in trees; even when constructing buildings, they are built upon the treetops, not the ground. Therefore, their architectural style is strictly constrained by the shape of the tree canopy, the direction of the branches, and the sturdiness of each limb, thus, the design of their houses don’t follow a fixed pattern. Compared to human buildings, Elven structures look especially distorted—walls in wave-like formations, slanting architectures with skewed centers of gravity, windows of varying sizes, irregularly shaped roofs, doorways that are wider at the bottom than at the top—these traits would be considered fatal flaws in human constructions are present in nearly every Elf home. Such houses would likely be deemed uninhabitable in the human world, but Elves live in them quite comfortably, even constructing their Royal Palace in this style.

Yet, the Elves’ greatest strength is their ability to transform what could even aesthetically be considered flaws into merits through their own decorative touches. Wavy rooftops? They’re adorned to resemble the waves of the sea. Walls of varying lengths? They’re embellished to represent the kneeling legs of a giant. Windows of uneven sizes? With clever use of colors, what would normally be side-by-side windows are given an illusion of depth; they appear different only due to variance in distance.

In the construction process, Elven designers fully showcase their artistic talents. Although each house in the Royal Palace may seem slightly discordant when viewed separately, once combined into an architectural complex or a Royal Palace, any sense of inconsistency is overshadowed by the surrounding structures, creating an overall harmonious appearance. In fact, altering just a small aspect of one house could destroy the aesthetic of the entire edifice.

Their artistry extends far beyond just these elements; every building, every pillar, even the most commonplace window bar or doorknob, and certainly the least noticeable corners and components, are meticulously crafted by the builders. They are covered with exquisite patterns, most of which are plant-like, making each house seem to be nestled within the embrace of flowers and greenery. Of course, even without these patterns, the Royal Palace is literally surrounded by plant life, not just by the branches and leaves of the World Tree, but by a multitude of vines with an array of colorful flowers blossoming upon them. Their scent is not as intense as that found in the floral paths of swamps, but rather a subtle, refined fragrance, much like the aura of Elves themselves—noble, elegant, yet always maintaining a distance.

Because the Royal Palace is built within the canopy, the massive amount of branches and vines obstruct the view of the palace’s entire structure; however, it is presumed to be a multi-tiered circular arrangement around the World Tree as its center. And this trunk on which everyone is now standing is the main thoroughfare leading to the Royal Palace.

It was only at this moment that the young ladies became aware of the city guards. Ever since entering the Elven Royal Court, they had been keenly observing their surroundings, indeed encountering many ordinary Elven civilians, but apart from their own escorts, they had yet to see a single Elf positioned as a city guard, which could give one the impression that the city lacked law enforcement and defense forces. But upon reaching the Royal Palace, they finally saw guards who, unlike those in other cities who patrol everywhere, were stationed only at the intersections between tree trunks; indeed, with the unique nature of the Royal Palace, control of these junctions was sufficient to oversee the entire aerial network of traffic and ensure that no one suspicious could pass through.

"Actually, there are quite a few guards in the Elven Royal Court, not just concentrated around the Royal Palace," Pannis noticed the curiosity and confusion in the girls’ minds and explained in a low voice, "But these guards are all rangers of the Elf guards, and tracking down an Elven ranger in a forest is not an easy matter. Some powerful rangers, when hiding, even I would need to exert great effort to find them. In fact, there have been guards present all along the way we passed, just hidden in the trees."

"Why hide?" Catherine asked, puzzled, "According to logic, a major reason for the presence of city guards is to deter criminals, not just to apprehend them. In other words, they are there to prevent crimes, not just to fight against them."

"How many people would commit crimes in a city where every intelligent being is above Silver Rank?" Pannis countered, "Would a person bold enough to do such a thing be deterred by Gold Rank city guards?"

"Eh, probably not," Catherine paused, then said with a wry smile, "I really can’t imagine a city that is all Upper Rank professionals. I guess only the Elven Cities are at that level, right?"

"Yeah, only the Elven Cities are like that, after all, their starting point is too high," Pannis nodded and added, "Such cities aren’t really special; their most notable feature is the low incidence of crime, the excellent public order, and the safety of living there."

"Weird, I’ve read a research report about city security before," Vivian spoke up from her contemplation, puzzled, "According to their research, the more powerful individuals a city has, the worse its public security tends to be; beyond a certain point, it might even descend into chaos."

"That’s because they didn’t study deeper," Pannis explained, "If they did, they would find how greatly they were mistaken."