More than two hundred people sat before Elijah. On some faces were expressions both reserved and reluctant. Other expressions ranged from awe-struck to haughty. And still others were almost entirely blank, and Elijah could only determine their emotions by the feel of their rapidly beating hearts. For his part, Elijah was incredibly anxious. Combined with the intended inductees into the grove, the island played host to more people than it had since the pirate incursion. And he could feel them all, right down to the cells that comprised their bodies. He knew which ones were powerful – not many. He knew what they were feeling, and he could infer what they were thinking. Before he’d attained a garnet mind, it would have bordered on overwhelming. Now, he could confine those senses to a handful of faceted leaves. In doing so, he’d discovered that they were arranged into nine groups of nine, each one inextricably linked to the other eight in its cluster. And each cluster was bound to the whole via the thicker branches of his soul that would one complete his entire system of cultivation. There were nine major branches. Nine leaves attached to each branch. And it felt right. Elijah wasn’t certain of the number’s significance, but it clearly meant something. One day, he might discover more, but for now, he needed to focus on the task at hand. Because all those people had gathered for a reason. It was time to expand the grove, and that required his full attention. So, he turned from those musings and to the other group that had gathered nearby. At present, they were out of sight, but Elijah felt them. The biggest group was the elves. Fifty-two of them had agreed to join the grove, though there were a couple who’d refused the offer. Was it because they were afraid? Was becoming part of a grove simply not what they wanted? Elijah didn’t know, and he’d not even asked Nara. After all, if they didn’t want to join, he wasn’t going to force them. Still, more than fifty people was a lot. Nine of them were children ranging from only five years old to approaching the age where they would need to choose an archetype. The same was true of nearly all of the children who’d come from Ironshore. The youngest among them was nearly fourteen, and the oldest – Rosabella – was expecting the system to activate any day now. Then there were the adults. He hesitated to include Hope among them, considering that she was still a teenager, but by almost every metric, she was a grown woman. Still, it was difficult for Elijah to think of her that way. She looked so young, though not nearly as fragile as she had before reaching the first stage of body cultivation. Her cancer was gone now, and her body had responded to its lack with vitality and vigor. It was wonderful to see that she now had a real chance at life. The alternative was too depressing to consider. Miguel was there, of course, though he needed no induction. At present, he was with Hope, and he’d insisted on escorting her down the aisle, which was lined with flowers that emitted a powerful aura of ethera. After, he would take his place beside Elijah, as a Green Warden – or a Knight of the Hartwood, as his evolution named him – should. Finally, there were Elijah’s friends. Oscar and the dogs were nearly unrecognizable. Like Elijah and Miguel, they were wearing suits tailored by Hope. Even the dogs, which seemed to amuse the girl to no end. The pack clearly had mixed feelings about their attire. Predictably, Escobar loved it. Just as predictably, Freddy hated hers. The others were somewhere in between. Kurik looked just as uncomfortable as Freddy, and he kept toying with his braided beard. Biggle had refused Hope’s offered suit, instead donning what he claimed was a traditional Alchemist’s robe and apron. Both were far different from his normal attire. They were festooned with gold-threaded symbols, and the outfit was completed by a tall, conical cap and a pair of ornamental goggles. When Elijah first saw the outfit, he thought it was ridiculous. However, upon further inspection, he’d come to realize that there was a quiet dignity underlying the quite loud attire. Still, it did nothing to allay the mad scientist vibes that usually surrounded Biggle like a cloud. It also stood in stark contrast to the other, last-minute inclusions. Mako’s request to join the grove had come as a bit of a surprise. After all, Elijah only barely knew him. Certainly, they’d spent a week or two traveling together beneath Chimera Island, but since then, he’d only seen the Hawaiian Explorer a couple of times in passing. He wore what Elijah recognized as traditional Hawaiian ceremonial attire, which included a mahiole, which was a woven helmet adorned with red-and-yellow feathers. A matching ahu’ula, which was a feathered cloak, hung from his shoulders, and his lower half was sparsely covered by a loincloth, known as a malo. Otherwise, he was bare-chested and bare-legged, which showed off his kākau. The intricate tattoos on his chest, one leg, and his arms were meant to indicate lineage and rank. Some of that, Elijah had known from his years in Hawaii, which included friendships with many native islanders, but Mako had eagerly explained everything when Elijah had granted his request to join the grove. The decision had been a spur-of-the-moment thing, though Elijah felt certain about Mako’s inclusion. The same was true of Davika, the woman who’d led that small settlement of refugees, though she had taken some convincing before she had agreed to join. Her farms outside Ironshore were her primary concern, though so long as she was allowed to continue that endeavor, she was amenable. She wore a simple sari – green with gold brocade – though she managed to simultaneously pull off nobility, elegance, and an earthy solidity that seemed at odds with the other two. There had been a few others in Ironshore they’d considered inviting. Nature attunements weren’t that uncommon, though most of those people only possessed nature-adjacent archetypes. Rangers were the most common, but there were a few nature-attuned Warriors in the city as well. But in the end, Elijah wasn’t going to invite people he didn’t know. The grove was far too precious to house strangers. Especially when he didn’t have the infrastructure in place to protect it. Hopefully, as it grew, so too would that ability. Nerthus stepped forward, and everyone went silent. Despite his youth, the spryggent carried with him the sort of gravitas usually only achievable by someone at least five times his age. Of course, it also helped that he was nearly eight feet tall and so obviously magical that vitality wafted off of him like a high-priced cologne. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel~fire~net For a brief moment, the silence reigned. “A Druid’s grove is a precious thing,” he began, his gravelly voice carrying across the crowd. “It must be nurtured. It must also be protected. That is our calling. Those of us who pledge our lives to the grove know that it is more than the trees or beasts within. It is home. It is a representation of our community. It is a treasure unequaled in all the multi-verse, and it demands our devotion.” The crowd shifted as he let those words settle. “As you give to it, so shall it give to you,” he continued in a quieter voice. “Joining a grove is no small matter. It represents dedication to something larger than yourself. When it is in danger, you will protect it. When it falters, you will support it. If it falls, it will only do so after we have all fallen before it. Such is our pledge.” He glanced from one end of the crowd to another, then settled his gaze on the prospective members of the grove. He continued, “If this frightens you, you do not belong here. If it seems like too much, you should leave before you make a grave mistake.” “Very well,” Nerthus said. Then, he stepped back to stand to the side of Elijah, who remained in the place of prominence. For a moment, Elijah hesitated. There was a part of him that was afraid to share the grove with anyone else. Was it fear? He knew it was a possibility that someone among the inductees would attempt to exploit their new position. In fact, it was almost guaranteed, and they’d taken steps to ensure that, should that happen, they would be in a position to deal with it. But if Elijah was honest with himself, he knew that wasn’t the real reason behind his hesitation. Rather, it was pure selfishness. The grove was his. It would always remain his, but the notion of sharing it awakened his possessive nature in a way nothing else ever had. Was that normal? Or was that the dragon asserting itself? Was there even any difference anymore? But what he did know was that the grove needed to grow. It needed more support than he could give. He needed that as well. So, he only hesitated for a moment before announcing, “Nara Eski tel’Amoris, come forward.” The sea elf woman stepped out of the gathered inductees. She looked as beautiful as ever, her tan skin highlighted by the blue tattoos of her people. Her white hair shone with unnatural luminance, and as she walked down the aisle, she moved with elven grace. All eyes followed her as she appeared to glide forward. However, Elijah could feel the tremble in her legs. The rapid beat of her heart. The impending panic attack threatening to overwhelm her. Outwardly, she appeared calm, but she was terrified. She stopped a few feet in front of Elijah. “I have come to pledge myself to the grove,” she intoned. “The grove will accept your pledge,” Elijah answered. The ceremony came, in part, from Nara’s experiences on Kashii, but it also included input from Nerthus. Elijah had only made a few tweaks, though he thought they were important. Elijah placed his hand on her head. Nerthus’ gnarled fingers joined his. And as Elijah activated Roots of the World Tree, Nerthus used a similar ability he’d gained from his class evolution. Energy – both ethereal and vital – swirled, and a green haze surrounded the kneeling sea elf. “I pledge myself to the Hartwood Grove, root and branch, leaf and seed. I shall stand as warden and witness, guarding its peace and guiding it to prosperity. By soil and sun, wind and rain, I bind myself to it. I vow to shelter the small, to mend the broken, and to give more than is offered. “May its vitality flow through me, and may my deeds be reflected in its legacy. This I swear beneath the boughs of the ancestral tree, now and forever,” she finished. Even as she uttered the last word, the swirling energy stilled. For a second, silence settled onto the grove. No wind rustled the leaves above. No chirps from the birds or insects. No one even breathed. They didn’t dare disturb the peace. Then, that cloud of energy rushed into Nara. Her breath caught, and her eyes opened wide as her body was infused with dense vitality. Elijah didn’t need the notification to know that the induction had been successful. It was obvious to any witness. But he was far more focused on the small smile on her face. “Welcome, sister,” he said. “Rise now as a member of the grove.” Nara did, her wobbly legs nearly giving out. Elijah caught her, then held her upright until she could do so on her own. Then, she turned to face the others, tears flowing down her cheeks. She only hesitated for a moment before taking her place across from Nerthus. Between Elijah, the spryggent, and her, they formed a triangle with Elijah at the head. Then, he called out, “Hope Latham. Step forward.” Hope did just that. She wore a simple green dress trimmed in white, though she was barefoot. And she clung to Miguel’s arm like it was her only lifeline. Still, her legs were steady as they strode forward. When they reached the end of the aisle, Miguel gave her a small hug, then took his customary place to Elijah’s right. He was apart from the triangle, but close enough to offer his support. As befit a Knight of the Hartwood. Hope’s pledge was less elaborate than Nara’s, but that was because she wasn’t a Druid. Still, it was heartfelt, and when it was complete, she had officially joined the Hartwood Grove. That came with tears of joy, just like with Nara. Though Elijah saw that Ron’s cheeks were wet as well. Next came Oscar. Then each of the dogs in turn. The beasts recited the pledge via a series of barks that Oscar interpreted. Escobar’s monologue went on for quite a while, and at times, Oscar stumbled over some of the flowery words. Meanwhile, Freddy’s pledge was short and sweet. The others fell somewhere in between. After that was Kurik, who veered closer to brevity than loquaciousness, though he was more respectful than Elijah had expected. Dwarves took their ceremonies seriously. On and on it went, and with each pledge, Elijah received a notification confirming their union with the grove. However, he also felt pressure building with every passing vow. Finally, when seventy-seven people and six dogs had joined the grove, Elijah felt that bubble of energy burst. It swept across the grove and toward the boundary of his locus. It did not stop there, though. On and on it went for miles and miles. The boundary of his domain followed, overwhelming Ironshore and reaching high into the mountains. In the other direction, it stretched far into the sea. It didn’t stop until it had expanded by nearly fifty miles in every direction. And that wasn’t the extent of it, either. Elijah could feel the trees he’d planted near the Primal Realms as well as the one in Argos. Each of them stretched their ethereal roots toward the grove, growing hundreds of miles in a second. The tree on Chimera Island was the first to connect. Then the one in the Temple of Virtue. The others failed to reach the grove, but Elijah could feel that they were much closer than ever before. Amidst that expansion, it was easy to miss the influx of levels he received. Five of them, all in a single instant. Elijah gasped as he felt a nearly infinite surge of information nearly overwhelm his mind. It took an entire cluster of leaves to handle it all, and even that was a strain. Without his recent step forward in cultivation, he never could have endured. As it was, he struggled to maintain consciousness. The feeling quickly passed, but even then, he felt more than a little woozy. Nerthus had felt it too, and he’d blacked out. Thankfully, he remained upright, so most people didn’t notice. With a shaky voice, Elijah announced, “So the ceremony concludes. Thank you all for coming. Please…ah…” Elijah forgot what he was meant to say. Thankfully, Carmen stepped out of the audience and announced that there was a reception planned and to follow her. However, when everyone began to file out, the new members of the grove remained. They’d felt the influx of power as well. Not to the degree that Elijah had, but it was still overwhelming. Moreso for the children who hadn’t chosen an archetype. But they all sensed that it was a good thing, too. Scary. Powerful. But ultimately beneficial. Elijah gave them his best smile. “Welcome to the grove.”