15-5. Catching Up

There were no helpful notifications this time. No countdowns or warnings to keep his spells to himself. Just an endless expanse of green.

Comforting, enveloping green.

He could sense Sara nearby, but he couldn’t see her. So, no conversation. No brother-sister bonding. But oddly enough, Elijah didn’t mind. He felt like he’d been going non-stop ever since arriving in the Empire of Scale, so a little downtime was more than welcome.

Sure, he’d had moments of inactivity. Those trips he took into the wilderness to explore the planet were relaxing enough. But those days were far too infrequent for them to have any real effect on his psyche.

But this was different. More all-encompassing. And on top of that, the sheer vitality of it felt rejuvenating in a way nothing else ever had. It was like he’d been tossed into a pool of unadulterated life energy, and it seeped into every aspect of his being. At first, he’d worried that it would be detrimental, as all unchecked life could be. However, it only took a little while for him to realize that the vitality would be nothing but advantageous.

It suffused every cell, strengthening them and healing any unsensed damage. Over and over again until he was as healthy as he’d ever been. Healthier, even.

The effect was so distractingly comfortable that Elijah barely even noticed the passage of time. Because of that, he was surprised when a gate suddenly opened before him. Somehow, the step he’d begun back on Vyrin took him into the familiarity of the Hartwood Grove.

Warm vitality and dense ethera hugged him as the gate closed behind him. He breathed deep, tasting the atmosphere. Ozone. Flowers. Fresh grass. And most of all, community.

Children congregated nearby. Maybe a hundred feet away as they listened to a lecture given by one of the grove members Elijah didn’t know. Above, houses stood in the trees, bridges crisscrossing between them on different planes.

The Grove had grown. It had only been a handful of years since Elijah’s departure, but in that time, the population had surged. It had reached the point where most of the new arrivals were housed in the bungalows along the coast, rather than in the heart of the grove itself.

“It’s so cozy!” Sara exclaimed. Then, she pointed to a spot near the tree. “That’s where I almost died! You remember? Elijah. Elijah!”

“Oh. Sorry. Yeah,” he said. He was always aware of the grove, but the sense of his locus was even stronger when he was on Earth. And it took a few moments for him to adjust.

“Welcome back,” came a familiar, scratchy voice. Elijah turned to see Nerthus standing nearby, having grown out of one of the ancestral tree’s roots. “Did you have a good –”

Sara let out a squeal, then threw herself at the giant spryggent. She could only reach his legs, but that didn’t stop her from hugging him. “I have heard so much about you!” she exclaimed. “I’ve only ever seen one spryggent before, and I didn’t even get to talk to him. How long did it take before you became sapient? How long did you live in your tree? Did you feel anything? What did you think of Elijah when you first met him?”

On and on the questions went, covering all the things Elijah had never even thought to ask his friend. For his part, Nerthus looked entirely nonplussed, with absolutely no idea how to respond to Sara’s rapid fire questions.

Instead, he just stared down at the comparatively small dragon-girl, a bit confused and a little frightened.

“You don’t have to answer them all at once,” Elijah said. “And Sara – give him some room. Don’t hug strange trees.”

“He’s not a stranger. He’s practically family.”

“I…I do not mind,” Nerthus admitted, gingerly patting Sara on the head. “Her enthusiasm is infectious.” Then, he knelt down. “You have changed much, young dragon.” He peered closer. “I sense great potential in you.”

Sara blushed.

Elijah laughed. “Don’t give her too many compliments or you’ll inflate her ego.”

Before anyone else could respond, another figure trotted close. “Welcome home,” Miguel said without much in the way of emotion. “Would you like my report immediately?”

“Uh…”

A moment later, Nara appeared at the tree line. Behind her trailed a handful of children, following her like a line of baby ducks. Most of them were elves, but there were a few humans as well. And one dwarf who’d died her hair green, for one reason or another.

Overwhelmed, Elijah took an involuntary step back.

“How about we do it one at a time?” asked Sara as she approached Miguel. She extended her hand, palm up. Miguel eyed it suspiciously. Then, he slapped it, which confused Sara. “Did I do something wrong? You’re supposed to grab it.”

Elijah reached over and turned her still-extended hand. “Like that.”

Eyes glittering with mirth, Miguel took her delicate hand in his own. He clasped his other hand over it, then shook it seriously. “Ma’am.”

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“Such an odd custom,” she admitted. “Strangely intimate, though. I’ll have to remember it for future dealings on Earth.”

“Pardon my ignorance, milady, but who are you?” asked Miguel, holding back a smile.

“Oh. Sorry. Introductions,” Elijah said before Sara could answer. “Miggy, this is Sara. Sara, this is my nephew.” Then, in a conspiratorial whisper, he added, “He’s kind of a big deal around here.”

Sara glared.

So did Miguel.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Sara said. “I look forward to working with you in the future.”

“As do I.”

Elijah tried not to roll his eyes. Both were technically middle-aged, but Elijah had trouble looking at either of them as anything but children. Miguel at least acted his age – most of the time. Aging seemed to work differently when people didn’t show physical signs. And when their lifespans expanded well beyond mortal norms.

Or maybe Miguel was just matching Sara’s energy.

“Lady elf,” Sara said, noticing that Nara had arrived. “I assume you’re the Nara Eski tel’Amoris I’ve heard so much about.”

Elijah blinked. He was certain that he’d never told Sara the sea elf’s full name, largely because he hadn’t remembered it himself. Clearly, Nara had done her research.

The nature of her sources remained a mystery.

“Oh? You’ve heard of me?”

“Of course! Elijah speaks very highly of you. I believe he once told me that the Hartwood Grove would collapse without Nara Eski tel’Amoris.”

“I didn’t say that,” Elijah interrupted. “Not in those words, at least. I mean, it’s accurate. But I definitely don’t talk like that.”

Sara glared at him. “The sentiment remains,” she said. Then, without further ado, she wove her arm under Nara’s and tugged her away. “Why don’t you show me around? I find the entire concept of this grove incredibly intriguing.”

Nara glanced back at Elijah as she let herself be dragged away. The children – who were more like toddlers, really – followed along, happily and without a care in the world.

“What just happened?” Elijah wondered.

“She’s a dragon, isn’t she?” Miguel asked.

“Uh…sure. Like a teenage dragon, I guess. It’s complicated. Just think of her like she ranges from twelve to seventeen, with occasional forays into adulthood that might be more acting than actual maturity.”

At that, Miguel laughed. Then, he stepped forward to hug Elijah. Patting him on the back, he said, “Good to have you back.”

“A little shorter trip this time around,” Elijah acknowledged. “Also, I don’t like that you’re taller than me.”

“Took a step forward in body cultivation,” Miguel said, grinning. “Time away from the towers has been good for me, I guess.”

“That’s what you decided?” Elijah asked, remembering that when he left, Miguel and Ron had disagreed on how the former should live his life. Ron contended that, now that Miguel had a child, he shouldn’t run off to participate in every tower or Primal Realm he could find. Miguel argued the opposite, that he had an obligation to do that so that he would be strong enough to protect everyone in the grove.

Miguel massaged the back of his neck. “I took my elders’ advisement into account and stayed home. I’ve been training some of the kids and working on my cultivation. The cave’s been getting a little bit of a workout, much to Nara’s annoyance,” Miguel admitted.

“What stage?” Elijah asked.

“Silver body. Third tier of everything else, still.”

“Pretty good.”

“You?” Miguel asked.

“Got grandmaster soul,” Elijah admitted. “But my core’s still sitting at tier four. I’m hoping to change that in about a year.”

Then, he explained the opportunity he had before him, ending with, “I think the First Fang is a big deal. I don’t know what difference it’ll make, but I’m pretty excited about finding out.”

“Lucky. Core cultivation is difficult here,” Miguel said. “Even with Biggle helping out. We’re much better with body.”

That was probably because of the boost given by Elijah’s soap. The grove still produced their own version, but it lacked some of the punch that Elijah could give it. It was better than nothing, though.

“What about you?” Elijah asked Nerthus. “Any big developments on your end?”

“The grove is sixty-two percent more powerful than when you left,” the spryggent answered. “Partially, that is because of the adaptation that came with your return, though that is still ongoing. The rest is because Earth continues to grow denser. My calculations suggest that it will settle sometime in the next century. Perhaps at the high end of the grade, though some of our Scholars believe that we have an opportunity to jump to B-Grade. I remain skeptical that that is possible, even with the effects of your grove.”

“Is it so far-reaching?” Elijah asked. He knew that the grove affected its immediate surroundings, including Ironshore and the mountains. However, he didn’t think that was enough to influence the entire planet.

“You forget about your satellite trees,” Nerthus answered.

Elijah didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he threw his awareness toward those trees. When he’d returned from the abyss, he had discovered that those trees had already connected to the grove, so he could sense them well enough. And when he looked deeper, he discovered that Nerthus was correct. They emitted a dense stream of ethera that drained into the atmosphere.

Given the distribution, it didn’t take a Seer to infer that they would have an effect on the world.

“Damn.”

“Yeah. If we could plant more trees, we could definitely raise the ethereal signature of the entire planet,” Miguel said. “B-Grade is supposed to be a big deal. It can support deities without issue.”

“No transcendents, though,” Elijah pointed out. He’d done a bit of research on the subject back on Esik, which was an A-Grade world. Despite its higher designation, it could barely handle transcendents, and even then, not for long stretches. That was why Kirlissa lived on the moon. “I think we need to hold back on planting more trees.”

“Why?”

“Wealth without the ability to protect it is a good way to get attacked,” Elijah said. “If Earth progresses too quickly, it’ll outpace our development. I don’t know how long it’ll take me to reach deity, but I know it won’t be a quick process.”

He could probably get the levels within a few years, but there was more to it than that. Not only were there multiple walls between here and there, but Elijah still needed to work on his cultivation. So long as he stayed ahead of the curve, he could maintain his edge when it came to Legacy. And that, in turn, would give him access to a better deity class.

He’d already seen a similar benefit with his other evolutions, and he intended to keep that momentum going through deification. And one day, transcendence.

But first, he had something to do.

“Nerthus – I think I’m about to make you very, very happy.”

“How so?” asked the spryggent, cocking his bark-and-leaf-covered head to the side.

Elijah summoned from his Arcane Loop the jar containing the seeds of the exil fruit. “Seeds, man. I come bearing the gift of seeds.”

With that, he emptied all that he’d gathered in the Empire of Scale. Sacks of coffee cherries. Other seeds that he’d bought in the city. Some that he’d taken from Tura’s stores. There were so many that the resultant stack stood almost three feet high.

Nerthus just stared in shock.

Then, slowly, a smile spread across his gnarled face.

And before Elijah could react, the spryggent took him his arms, picked him up, and hugged him tightly. “This is the best day of my life.”

Elijah hugged him back. Then, he noticed something. “Are you crying? Is that sap?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”