“You think it’ll work?” asked Elijah. Nerthus nodded, answering, “Of course it will work. I only remember pieces of my old planet, but it uses similar architecture.” Elijah frowned. “What is that like? The not remembering, I mean. You remember your parents, don’t you? And you know more about the system than I do, even now.” Nerthus looked down, then shifted uncomfortably. “Those are difficult questions to answer,” he admitted. “In many ways, I remember so much, but accessing those memories is like catching a leaf in the wind. An image of my mother’s face. The smell of my father’s leaves. The warmth of a summer rain. It comes in fleeting glimpses.” “That must be difficult.” Nerthus smiled, his wooden face creaking slightly as he clearly settled on a fond memory. He had grown so much since Elijah had first met him. Back then, the spryggent had been barely a foot tall and incapable of leaving the ancestral tree to which he was bound. But now, he had reached a height of nearly ten feet, and his visage had taken on the aged look of a wise sage. That was supported by the mossy beard and the cape of interwoven, leaf-bearing vines. But he was still just Nerthus. The grove’s primary caretaker and, if Elijah was honest, his staunchest ally. He had plenty of other friends, but Elijah knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Nerthus would always be there for him, and in a way that no one else could be. “It is easier with the grove. It supports me as I support it,” he responded. Then, he returned his gaze to the canopy of trees. “And I am certain this will work. If we are to expand the grove’s membership into a proper community, it is the only way.” Elijah couldn’t really argue with that assessment. For all that he loved his island, it also represented a finite resource. There was only so much land, and if they wanted their nascent community to grow into something larger and more complex, they needed to get creative with how they used their space. The first option was to build more of the small bungalows the sea elves seemed to prefer, but the reality was that those just weren’t a feasible strategy. Once winter fell – which was only a month or so away – the sea elves would be driven inland by severe weather and frigid temperatures. The ones who had a few levels under their belts would be fine, but the children would not be able to endure that kind of life. So, Nerthus had suggested a popular expansion model from his home world. The gist of it was simple. If their community couldn’t spread outward, then the settlement would grow upward. Verticality hinged on the engineering of a handful of special trees, from which a series of platforms and bridges would spread. The layout would not only increase their available space – as much as three or four times, once the trees reached adulthood and they established multiple levels – but it would also preserve the island for the native wildlife. It seemed like a perfect solution, so long as they could pull it off. There were practical concerns, like ensuring that the grove received enough sunlight, but Elijah trusted that Nerthus would have considered those issues. “You’ve already got the seeds, don’t you?” Elijah guessed. Nerthus answered, “I do.” “How long have you been planning this?” Nerthus gave the tiniest of shrugs, answering, “Since Nara and the sea elves came to Ironshore.” Elijah frowned. Not at the sentiment. Nerthus was nothing if not a serial planner, which was a necessity to stay ahead of the many problems that plagued the development of the grove. He had to see issues before the manifested, lest he become overwhelmed. Perhaps if Elijah had more of a presence in the grove, he wouldn’t have needed to stay so on top of things, but he’d already established that he wasn’t and never would be that kind of Druid. Instead, Elijah’s frown came from the reality that Nerthus had anticipated the issue from so far away. Pointedly, he hadn’t said that he had started growing the seeds when Nara and her people had arrived in the grove. He’d done it when they got to Ironshore, which meant that he’d been planning for their membership in the grove for months. “I’m pretty sure this island would fall apart without you, man,” he said, patting the spryggent on his gnarled arm. “Can I see one of the seeds?” Nerthus disappeared, almost as if he was a tree growing in reverse. Elijah tracked him as he shot across the grove to the small cavern he’d established as his home. Nerthus didn’t sleep – or not the way Elijah thought of it – but he did need somewhere to keep his things. Mostly, the cavern, which was nearly a hundred feet below the ancestral tree, was filled with various seeds, all arranged on shelves bearing enchanted jars. However, he had another attached cavern that functioned like a silo, containing all sorts of herbs and vegetables that he sold in Ironshore. Idly, Elijah wondered if any of those might be useful for him. Probably not as such. Sure, he could take a few of the vegetables, which would make for good rations, but he chose to leave them be. Nerthus needed his space. He needed his own projects. Otherwise, he would never develop any independence. Not for the first time, Elijah remembered that Nerthus was functionally less than ten years old. Sure, in reality, he was much, much older than that, but much of that time had been spent dormant and hibernating inside the ancestral tree. There, he’d awaited the opportunity to enter a newly-touched world. Elijah wasn’t certain how it all worked – and neither was Nerthus himself – but they’d both agreed that it was probably meant to give the spryggent and the tree the best chance to reach their lofty potential. After all, resources were well-regulated on any established world. By comparison, Earth was like the wild west. A dangerous frontier, but one that offered people nearly limitless opportunities. Elijah followed the caretaker via the locus of his domain, watching as he retrieved a small, netted bag containing a cluster of seeds. A moment later, Nerthus sprouted from the ground, bag in hand. He passed it to Elijah. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. “They are seeds from the ancestral tree, modified for our purposes,” he explained with no small degree of pride. The second Elijah focused on them, he could discern that they were quite different from the seeds he used outside of Primal Realms. There were some commonalities, but they were mostly constrained to the underlying structure. Tree seeds were tree seeds, after all. But the way that structure twisted around itself was an expression of something wholly unique. He activated Nature’s Design, though not with the intention of forcing growth. Rather, he did so to augment his perception. Within the grove, he could sense everything. That became even more focused with the addition of Soul of the Wild. However, with Nature’s Design, he could see beneath the surface of vitality and to the underlying threads of other attunements. It was those that he manipulated to properly grow his specialized trees outside the Primal Realms. In this case, Nerthus had already put in quite a lot of work, and Elijah could immediately see the differences. The first thing he noticed was a dense thread of earth that he interpreted as stability. Doubtless, the physical expression of that would be that the trunks would grow to be more robust than normal. However, there was also plenty of air there. Water, too. The way they all twisted together was mind-bogglingly complex, which reminded Elijah of just how far he had to go before he could even approach Nerthus’ abilities with plant life. That he could see it at all represented significant progress for him. “What will they look like?” he asked. “I’m guessing taller than normal, right? Thicker too? Sort of like redwoods?” Elijah was forced to explain those trees, which weren’t replicated outside of Earth. “Larger,” Nerthus stated. “More than a hundred feet in diameter. At least a thousand feet tall.” “Damn,” Elijah breathed. The sheer scale of those trees was both impressive and intimidating. “How many?” Elijah nodded, feeling that he should have predicted that. After he spent a little more time examining the trees and following Nerthus to approve their placement, he gave his consent for the project. In truth, so long as Elijah had his own home, and the grove continued to grow stronger, he was happy with whatever Nerthus chose to do. In fact, he looked forward to seeing the new expression of the spryggent’s plans each time he returned home. He could sense it all well enough, but seeing it was akin to opening a present on Christmas morning. Sure, he usually knew what he was going to get, but there was no substitute for seeing it with his own two eyes. For his part, Nerthus was extremely excited about his plans, which Elijah could understand well enough. Not only was it a massive project, and of the sort that tended to get Nerthus worked up, but it would also empower him as well as the grove. And finally, it was preparation for expansion, which was the natural imperative for any tree. Once all that was done, Elijah headed to Ironshore, where he visited the Branch. He’d already arranged to give Atticus access to his bank – to deposit, not to withdraw – which took advantage of one of the Merchant’s skills. Apparently, many of their abilities were intertwined with accessing unique functions within the Branch. Whatever the case, he was happy to see that much of the fee he’d already paid Gunnar had been replaced. He also had three messages waiting for him. The first was from the assassin himself, and its purpose was to inform Elijah that he had arrived in Seattle and begun his investigation. If Gunnar meant to ignore the contract, he certainly wouldn’t have sent that message. Instead, he’d have disappeared entirely. Follow current novᴇls on 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍 So, Elijah felt there was a good chance that his gamble might pay off. A good thing, too, because he had no intention of playing detective in Seattle. He recognized the need to keep an eye on the situation. And he certainly wanted to make the person who had hired Gunnar to assassinate him pay the price for that transgression. But he also knew he just wasn’t equipped – psychologically or via his skillset – to accomplish that goal. Gunnar was a necessary evil. And besides, Elijah kind of liked him. The second message came from Lucy, and it was a warning that Seattle’s forces had discovered a Primal Realm. Even now, they were gathering their people and preparing for an assault. The only problem was that the closest town – Rubibi – was still quite a distance from the Primal Realm, which was located in an extremely inhospitable environment. Elijah focused on the last line, where Lucy asserted that, from everything she’d heard, the Primal Realm was thought to be the dragon realm. No one had entered, and there was some debate about the types of enemies it spawned. However, the assertion came from a simple fact – all the other realms had already been found. At some point in the past month, the guilds had discovered the angel Primal Realm. The sphinx realm had also been found, though Lucy wasn’t certain who’d discovered it. Elijah knew where the djinn were. All that was left were the dragons. The second Elijah realized that fact, he was beset by an undeniable urge to investigate it himself. He managed to suppress it, but only just. Still, even as he moved on to the final message, he couldn’t ignore the feeling of ownership – bordering on entitlement – that threatened to overwhelm him at the mere mention of the dragon realm. The third message was from Sadie, and it was one he couldn’t overlook. She needed his help. They’d already talked about him coming down to the Hollow Depths, and he’d long since resolved to do so. He’d only been waiting on Sadie to contact him. She’d sent him a few messages since her departure, but those were all personal in nature. She didn’t mention needing him to assault the Primal Realm, but that was a given. After reading that message and sending a few replies, he left the Branch behind and began his preparations. Food and water were the most pressing needs, and he contacted his normal Cook – a goblin who worked for the Stuck Pig – to prepare hundreds of meals. Meanwhile, he gathered mundane supplies like fresh changes of clothes, some oil meant to help repair leather armor, and a mountain of blankets and pillows for his new tent. Finally, he returned to the grove to let Nerthus and the others know about his impending departure. That led him to Nara, who had waded a couple hundred feet into the ocean, where she was trying to nurture her polyps into fruition. “Need some help?” Elijah asked on approach. “I would prefer to do it myself,” she responded. “Corral is finnicky.” Elijah looked a little closer, and via his locus, he realized something important that he’d overlooked. “You saved some of the leviathan’s bones.” “I did. You nearly killed the last polyp.” Elijah massaged the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to.” “Doesn’t change the fact that it happened, though,” he muttered, running his hand through his hair. He didn’t like the idea of entirely destroying such a potent and interesting natural treasure, but it had been a necessary part of his cultivation. Regrettable, but unavoidable. “You’re trying to integrate it into a combined reef?” “I am. They resist for now, but I am certain I can get them to coexist. When I do, they will both be healthier,” she explained. Looking up, she gave him a small smile, “And the grove will become more powerful as well.” “Do you not approve?” Elijah shrugged. “I trust you,” he said, a broad spectrum of meaning in those three words. And to his surprise, he realized that he was telling the truth. Part of that came from her bond to the grove. Anything she did to harm it would be detrimental for her and her people as well. But he also felt like he knew her well enough to recognize that she was a fundamentally good person. She cared about nature. She wanted everyone and everything in the grove to flourish. He continued, “I’m planning on leaving soon.” He glanced up at the darkening sky. “Maybe tonight, but more likely tomorrow morning. If you need me for anything, send me a message via the Branch. But for now, the grove’s in yours and Nerthus’ hands.” “Truly?” she asked, blinking in surprise. Elijah nodded. “Like I said, I trust you.” Then, he added, “I know this is all a little overwhelming for you. And after what happened with your last grove…I know it’s daunting, being in charge. But you can do this. If you have any issues, talk to Nerthus. Or Ramik. They will help.” “I…I will do my best.” Elijah smiled broadly. “That’s all anyone can do.” Then, he headed to his tree house to finish his preparations, secure that he was leaving the grove in good hands.