Taber navigated cautiously through the maze of bark and brush. He'd wandered a fair distance away from where he'd started, and had found that this particular area felt more like a jungle than a forest. The trees towered high above him and the locale was littered with various forms of vegetation. If it weren't for the narrow path that sliced through the shrubs, he'd have felt like a pioneer navigating through uncharted territory.

Aside from the strange pair of trees in the area where he'd began, the forest was rather tame. Almost too tame. Even in the months prior, whenever they'd head to the arena, there was at least a couple of Dire Wolves or something. However, nothing seemed to come up in the past half hour. He was almost sure that nothing existed at this point.

That is, until he'd finally arrived at the colusseum. After stepping through the corridors and entering into the fighting grounds, he caught quite the peculiar sight. An adventurer in knight armor. Her helmet was missing, and she appeared to have been slashed diagonally across the face by someone. Perhaps, even some thing. However, despite how upsetting the sight of the maiden's blood-matted brown hair was, that wasn't what had truly caught his attention.

There beside her, a blade embedded itself into the ground. As he stepped closer, he noticed its beautiful crossguard. It was sculpted into a tangle of vines, with pure gold roses planted into the center of either side. Whoever had made it, he could tell from the craftsmanship that it was their finest work.

He bent over. As soon as the hilt was in his hands, he could feel a pure energy gently pulsing from it, like a heartbeat. He examined it further. As he turned it around, he saw an inscription on the blade. Fel na ie, Kora na prisma.

Taber hadn't studied a whole lot of foreign languages in this world, but he did dabble in one. Fae'ek, the language of the Elves. He knew that 'ie' was the word for 'deity' and that 'prisma' translated roughly to 'protector.' He whispered to himself. "Fae the Goddess, Kora the Protector..."

There wasn't much of a delay before a vine shot up from the ground, wrapped around his wrist and slammed it into the dirt, knocking the blade loose from his grip as it clanked. Taber winced in pain, however that was soon overshadowed by the fact that the lady who had once lay slain began to stand up, grabbing her sword. She stood, staring blankly at Taber, who haphazardly attempted to reach to his hip for his sword.

He was finally able to pull it out of its sheath, slashing the vine and jumping back to his feet. He held his stance, waiting for her to do something. However, the mysterious lady just stood there. It was in that moment that he'd noticed something that he hadn't seen prior. Her eyes were the deepest green he'd ever seen. A forest in their own right, a forest he could imagine getting lost inside of. It wasn't hard to imagine, at least. He was lost in them already.

Blood aside, her hair had this braid reminiscent of royalty. In fact, it reminded him of how his mother usually wore her hair, a style he'd always thought to be a little outdated. But beyond the braid, the pins that decorated her hair resembled various plants, with ornamental flowers speckled lightly throughout. Put plainly, it was beautiful.

A couple of moments had passed before the young-looking lady had finally moved. Gracefully, she raised her sword, the blade pointed in his direction. Almost as if to say, 'are you prepared?' Taber swallowed, then followed suit, touching his blade against hers. The acceptance of a duel. He returned to his stance.

He was ready. He was confident that he could take her on. After all, he trained constantly against Azerael. If anybody was going to prepare him for this kind of challenge, it was-

Blood shot from the gash in his cheek before he noticed her blade, right next to his face. In a panic, he batted it away and leapt back, losing his footing momentarily. How? He wondered. I barely even saw her move, I didn't even take my eyes off of her...

He blocked another strike before she grazed his right shoulder. He swung, missing as the lady took a quick step back. He could barely keep up. With every swing he made, trying to stay on the offensive, she would gracefully evade before countering with a terrifying precision. It almost reminded him of Azerael. But Azerael wasn't this quick. If anything, it felt more like a hybrid of Azerael and Alexander. Aggressively elegant.

He didn't like this. All of the skill that he thought he'd built up over the months suddenly felt pointless. One strike after the next rendered meaningless, as if she were negating them through sheer will alone. She didn't even need a sword.

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Above all, with each strike he'd clumsily parry, one thing he noted above all was her presence. Most notably, the way it felt. Connected. Innate. Like she was in her element, regardless of where she was. That was when he'd made a terrifying realization.

She was a Dryad, the Guardians of Kora Forest.

He remembered back to what he'd read about these entities, each page turned replaced by the sound of the metallic cacophony before him as their swords clashed. How while most Dryads are believed to be strong only in numbers, there are some who believe that there exists one Dryad in each forest with enough power to match an army of them.

So she wasn't just any Dryad. She wasn't even a Dryad Princess. Taber Black was fighting not the protector, but the essence of Kora Forest, in human form.

Taber activated Stone Body while still attempting to retain focus, gradually coating his physique like granite platemail. The next attack that hit dinged off the side of his ribcage as he went for another attack. This time, Kora couldn't dodge it fast enough, allowing him payback for his cheek.

Now that Taber had finally completed his armor, he had a chance, however slim that chance might have been. Kora elegantly reassumed her posture, before sending a volley of thrusts aimed at his chest. He blocked. Dodged. Parried. The onslaught was almost too much to handle as the last few broke past his blade. The tip put a few cracks in his stone skin, and while none of the strikes penetrated, that didn't stop him recoiling from the sheer force behind the impacts.

He batted away his panic, this wasn't the time to get overwhelmed. He had to stay focused. Who knew if she would spare his life? All he knew is that he was engaged, locked in combat with the Will of the Forest. But why? Why pick him? He wasn't a slouch, but he certainly wasn't as gifted in Magic as Kieran, or as powerful as Azerael, or even as quickly adaptive as Alexander. The way he saw it, he was just a guy with a sword who might put up a wall or two every now and again.

So then, he thought again, why him? He was able to block a swing from above and push her away as her feet scraped across the ground. She stood up straight, but took no stance. Instead, she placed her foot just barely in front of the other and raised her left arm. Taber noticed the ground shift very slightly beneath his feet and, instinctually, channeled energy into his legs, jumping up just in time for a swarm of vines to miss their target.

He landed, slamming his hand into the dirt as it cracked and tore, limestone spikes shooting up from the ground sequentially. Kora sommersaulted backwards, placing her hands on the ground as a tree erupted out of the dirt, halting the spikes in place. She shot forward, placing her hand in front of her. Taber ducked beneath the tendrils of wood that shot out, grabbing her armor as she got close and slammed her into the ground. He reeled back his fist, before it got entangled in a vine. He yelped as he shot backwards, attempting to control his now rolling body.

He managed to summon a wall behind him to break his momentum and stood up, creating another, smaller wall in front of him as Kora closed the distance. Reinforcing the stone on his fist, he reeled back his fist again. Grapeshot!

The impact from his fist shattered the stone before him as the tiny fragments shot forward, penetrating Kora's armor. Still, she didn't falter, closing the distance and forcing Taber to duck under her blade. She continued to swing, slash, chipping away the armor that Taber was now struggling to keep intact. What was worse, it appeared as if Kora's wounds were slowly healing. Figures. After all, she was the forest, and the forest was her. He realized that he'd never be able to defeat her to begin with.

He brought up his blade in one last-ditch attempt to block her attack. And accompanied by one ear-piercing ring, Taber watched as the top half of his blade soared through the air, embedding itself into the softened dirt. Glancing down, he noted Kora's intricately decorated blade pressed firmly against his throat.

He slowly raised his hands, dropping the blade and clamming his eyes shut, bracing himself for death. In the darkness, he felt the pressure release. He opened his eyes to see Kora sheathing her sword, gazing at him with those forest-green eyes. To his surprise, she placed one foot behind and bowed forward. He hesitantly followed suit. However what had surprised him more was when she spoke, with a voice dressed in silk.

"We have been watching you for a long time now, Taber Black."

Taber stood, stunned and in total disbelief. Watching me?

"For six months, we have sensed a presence that in recent years has become unfamiliar to us. The presence of one blessed at birth with Terra Magic. And so for six months, we Dryads have waited patiently -- I have waited patiently -- for the opportunity to gauge how far you have come. To gauge whether or not you are ready, worthy of our blessing."

"Blessing?" Taber shifted his balance, wincing gently. "Wait, 'blessed at birth?'"

"You did not merely aquire Terra. Terra chose you. You're much more attuned to nature than any of the others who dwell within our protection. And so, it is my greatest honor as Guardian Kora, Will of the Forest, to grant you the Blessing of Kora. You have proven yourself worthy."

With the end of her speech, a faint green glow radiated from him as his wounds healed, slowly but surely.

"My blade is yours to wield one day. However, it will be awhile before it is complete. Until then, venture forth, young one. We eagerly await your return." As she finished, an orb escaped her bosom, floating softly before Taber. He took one last glimpse into her eyes. "Thank you." The orb began to glow as soon as he placed his hand upon it, and everything was engulfed by a blinding white light.