Baron Ashdale turned and nodded. “As surely as the sun rises. For as old and as powerful as Morgana is, she’s twice as vindictive. She’ll be weak for a while, which will buy you some time, but not much. I would recommend you to flee these mountains as soon as possible. She won’t leave them or get too close to Halirosa. She might treat Ashdale as a game, but even she wouldn’t test the full might of the Adventurer’s Capital.”

“We can’t do that!” Jill cried out, maybe a bit too fast.

Baron Ashdale raised a brow, and Jill blushed, sinking back into her chair and looking away.

After a silent moment, Baron Ashdale spoke. “At the end of the day, I can’t make your choices for you. All I can do is offer you advice. Morgana isn’t a simple foe by any means. Even at the height of his power, Progenitor Ashdale couldn’t weed out that parasite fully.”

The table slipped into an awkward silence.

Jill knew what the Baron was intending… but it didn’t matter. Turning back was no longer an option.

“Ah! Before I forget.” Baron Ashdale broke the silence a moment later, jerking Jill from her ruminations.

He leaned forward. “Since you enjoyed the tale of my clan’s Dragon spruce, I’ve got another story for you! Would you want to hear it?”

Both Jack and Mr. Gopher leaned forward, their eyes practically sparkling as they nodded.

Baron Ashdale’s grin grew wider, and he laughed. The older man leaned back in his chair, placed one hand against the bottom of his muzzle, and stared up at the tree in contemplation. “Hmmm. Now, how did that go again? Ah! Yes! That’s right.” He snapped and pointed at Jill.

He leaned over the table once more and grinned a devilish smile.

“Did you know the Ashdale and Rubyseed Progenitors once met each other?”

“What?!”

“How?!”

Jack and Jill both responded.

Baron Ashdale threw his head back and laughed.

Jill narrowed her eyes. “Sir Ashdale, while I appreciate the hospitality you and your clan have shown us, and I’d hate to call you a liar, I honestly don’t see how that’s possible.”

That was an understatement.

While the Ashdale clan was relatively powerful politically, militarily, and economically, it was a young Awakened Beast clan in the grand scheme of things. An Awakened clan’s power was in its bloodline, passed down from its Progenitor. This bloodline not only granted the clan its sapience and strength but also allowed an Awakened Beast of significant strength to take on human form.

When exactly was determined by many factors, mostly the type of spirit beast the Progenitor was more closely related to and the overall purity of their descendant’s bloodline.

In general, the stronger the Awakened’s bloodline and the more powerful their Origin, the harder it was for them to take human form.

Typically, the Progenitor themselves would only reach human form after breaking into [Firmament Breaker], the third and final greater realm before Ascension. First-generation offspring, on the other hand, could often do so as early as [Soul Fusion] or [Shedding Flesh], the midpoint of the second greater realm, [Earthly Transcendence].

However, there was another way for an Awakened to take human form.

To be born with it.

Once in human form, crossbreeding with humans or other humanoid races, even other Awakened Beasts, was possible. Why one might do this varied from person to person, but the most common reason was to strengthen their offspring’s compatibility with human cultivation techniques. This resulted in children who grew quickly and faced fewer restrictions or bottlenecks.

Mixing blood in such a way wasn’t without its downsides, however. Children born through the union of man and beast were born with a weaker bloodline as they drifted further and further away from their Progenitor. It was a delicate balancing act between the power of their bloodline and the flexibility of human cultivation. However, an Awakened who obtained human form on their own merits would almost always be more powerful.

Eventually, most clans would slowly evolve into a form similar to Baron Ashdale, retaining much of their primal beastal feature but gaining many of the benefits of a humanoid form. Walking shifted to a more bipedal form, while paws and claws became grasping hands. Throats and voice boxes twisted to become capable of human speech, while digestive tracts became able to process different materials.

In fact, the Ashdale were at what many Awakened considered the peak of a clan’s potential, having both the strength of their bloodline to lean on and the flexibility and breadth of human cultivation. This often resulted in explosive growth for a clan as a whole, and many sought to maintain the period for as long as possible.

This was in stark contrast to Jack and Jill’s own clan.

The Rubyseed Iron-tailed squirrel clan was old blood — so old that some of Halirosa’s founding members had been Rubyseed, if in a small part. With that age, however, came a weakening of their bloodline. Even as children, Jack and Jill could have passed as human if not for their signature tails. In a few more generations, their bloodline might grow so weak that not even their tails manifested, effectively signaling the end of the Rubyseed lineage through extinction.

There were ways to strengthen one’s bloodline and draw closer to one’s Origin, though such methods were beyond their clan’s means.

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Baron Ashdale grinned and nodded. “Yes, I was quite surprised myself when I learned of it. I wouldn’t have thought it possible if it were not for my ancestors’ journals, though it makes some sense in retrospect. After all, as I mentioned before, Progenitor Ashdale was quite the wanderer. Unlike many Progenitors, he only settled down and established the clan later in his life.”

Baron Ashdale picked up his cup and sipped his tea before continuing.

“One of his earliest journals, while he was still quite young, records his meeting with a rather… eccentric old squirrel preparing for ascension.”

“Hold up, I’m confused,” Jill cut the Baron off. “Even assuming any of this actually happened, what does it have to do with the Dragon spruce?”

Baron Ashdale smiled, nodded his head, and stared at the tree. “I was getting there. You have to understand something first, however. You see, the tree in this garden isn’t the first Dragon spruce to grace these mountains. No, that honor belongs to Progenitor Rubyseed’s tree. Not only that, but despite her size and age, you must understand that this old girl, in reality, is still just a sapling.”

By this point, Jack was practically vibrating in excitement, and Jill knew her brother well enough to know that the man already had a thousand questions rushing through his head.

Jill raised a brow and looked up at the tree as well. She found it hard to believe such a massive tree could be called a sapling in any context. Then again, even for as large as Ashdale’s tree was, it was hard to imagine flocks of drakes roosting in its branches. She let the Baron continue.

“Progenitor Rubyseed’s tree, in contrast, was ancient. According to my ancestor’s journals, the tree was so massive that the mountain it sat upon had become more root than stone.”

Jill held up a hand. “Hold up. I think we’d know about a tree that size. Even with how big the Crimson Mountains are, something like that would have been visible for thousands of miles in all directions. You think someone would have mentioned it before?”

Baron Ashdale only shrugged. “I can’t say for certain what happened to it. Maybe someone eventually came along and cut it down, finding it was excellent material. Or… maybe Progenitor Rubyseed took it wherever he went. Progenitor Ashdale never found out. When he returned a decade later, both his friend and tree had simply… vanished. These events eventually fed Progenitor Ashdale’s interest in the far north, and was why he had brought back and planted his own Dragon spruce in this valley. Partly as a memorial to a friend to whom he never got to say goodby, and partly hoping one day she’d grow just as majestic as the one from his memory.”

Jack and Jill stared in wide-eyed silence.

Bang!

Jack shot up from his chair and slammed his palms onto the table.

“You have to let us see those journals! Do you have any idea what this could mean?!”

Jill had to agree. Whatever happened to Progenitor Rubyseed had always been a bit of a mystery. Despite Having reached the legendary status of [True Celestial], the last step of the [Firmament Breaker] realm, no one, not even his clan, had actually expected a squirrel to Ascend.

So when Progenitor Rubyseed vanished into the mist one day, everyone assumed he’d been nearing the end of his natural lifespan and had gone off to prepare his ultimate resting place. After all, even [Firmament Breaker] Cultivators weren’t immortal. In fact, the “Tomb of Rubyseed” had become somewhat of an urban legend over the millennia, with dozens of stories — and false reports of its discovery — about the theorized treasures it might contain, spurring on young Adventurers to comb the Crimson mountains in search of it.

Even Jill had to admit she’d often fantasized about finding her ancestor’s hidden tomb in her youth. About reclaiming the treasure within for her clan and finally lifting them out of the pit that time and poor choices had stranded them in.

That all those countless centuries of speculations, exploring, and rumor mill may have been based on a false premise from the start was frankly mind-boggling.

Baron Ashdale smirked. “Typically, even I couldn’t let outsiders have access to clan records so easily. But… given the circumstances and the boon you’ve given us, I’m sure I can arrange something,” he said with a chuckle.

“Woot!” Jack thrust his arms into the air, giving a confused Mr. Gopher a high-five from across the table.

“For now, finish your tea, and I’ll send for someone to make the appropriate requests,” Baron Ashdale continued. “I find it is perfect for fighting the chill, especially here in the mountains. I’ll be sure to send some along with you when you head on your way.”

Still lost in thought over today’s revelation, Jill nodded and reached for her cup.

She lifted it up to take a sip… then froze, her eyes wide. Her heart pounded as her hand shook slightly, and her eyes snapped up to meet Baron Ashdale’s.

The man only smiled gently over his own cup.

He knew.

Of course, he knew…

The man easily controlled Little Red, meaning he was likely already at [Elemental Dominance], maybe even early [Core Condensing]. He could read her like a book from the very start.

It took more than a slight effort to still her shaking hand, but Jill eventually raised the cup the rest of the way and broke eye contact with Baron Ashdale. As soon as the tea hit her core, its soothing warmth spread through her body, melting what ice had gathered in her veins during their talk. It would return, in time, she could tell. But for that brief, blessed moment, warmth returned to her body.

If anyone had bothered to ask, Jill would have claimed the moister at the corner of her eyes was nothing more than steam.

The group spent the next few moments in silence as each person was lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Baron Ashdale sat his cup down and stood.

“Well, now, no point in wasting any more time. How about we go see if we can’t do something about those journals?” he said with a smile.

“Finally! Let’s go!” Jack yelled as he stood. Jill’s brother grabbed up Mr. Gopher — much to their chagrin — and rushed for the garden entrance.

Baron Ashdale laughed and chased after them. Before he’d taken more than a few steps, however, Baron Ashdale turned and looked at Jill.

“Are you coming, my dear?” he asked. I promise, my ancestor is a far better storyteller than I am.”

Jill nodded and responded. “Ya… I’ll catch up in a moment as soon as I finish my tea.”

Baron Ashdale nodded but said nothing more, instead turning and walking toward the same entrance Jack had vanished through.

Jill sat at the table, enjoying the silence as she contemplated things.

Was Baron Ashdale right? Were they taking too much of a risk remaining in these mountains? Was she needlessly putting Jack in danger? It wasn’t like the [Pure Water] spring was going anywhere, nor would her affliction kill her… anytime soon, at least.

The more she thought about the matter, the more an odd feeling began welling up inside her. It was only after a few moments that Jill realized that the feeling wasn’t really coming from her, however.

Tilting her head in confusion, Jill accessed her storage ring and pulled out a small object. It was a… seed. A large seed half the size of her fist. It was the very seed her grandmother had given her.

There it was again, a slight pulse. Faint, fleeting, but not just her imagination.

Jill frowned, then slowly turned to stare up at the giant tree in the middle of the garden, her eyes narrowing. She stood and slowly made her way toward the trunk.

With each step she took, the odd feeling grew stronger, resonating with something deep inside her that she quickly recognized was her bloodline.

By the time she drew close enough to touch the trunk — nimbly dodging the kicking leg of Little Red in his sleep — both the seed and her bloodline felt like they were slightly… humming.

Jill looked down at the seed, then back up at the Dragon spruce.

Silently, she whispered a phrase that, even after months of exploring and contemplation, had remained a mystery to her.

“Where roots meet the sky…”