Nih'iquel'zan looked out over the forest clearing, admiring his work. All around him spread a veritable carpet of flowers in every color. Blues, pinks, yellows, and reds swayed in the breeze, all neatly arranged in a beautiful tapestry of a garden. The riot of colors was hemmed in by the earthen browns and greens of the treeline.

He took a deep breath in. The scents of wood, flowers, and earth mingled together to form a heavenly perfume that he simply couldn't get enough of. He closed his eyes to better appreciate it.

This was pure bliss.

After drinking in the atmosphere for a moment, he walked around the clearing to inspect his plants more closely. In one blue-skinned hand dangled a wooden watering can, still mostly full from his morning run to the nearby lake.

He stopped above a newly-planted section of seeds and activated Rapid Growth. Tiny green shoots through the soil, their progress slow but obvious as his skill worked. He'd accelerate them until just flowering, then turn it off. That way, he'd be able to appreciate their beauty for as long as possible.

Carefully stepping between the colorful living bouquets, Nih'iquel'zan navigated toward the center of his personal paradise. There stood his prized possession, the centerpiece of this entire monument.

A needlelike purple stalk jutted from the ground, rising nearly five feet into the air. Gauzy leaves sprouted from its sides at regular intervals, the translucent tissue progressing in a gradient from the lavender of new growth to the deep blood red of mature foliage. At the top of the stalk sat a bulbous teardrop shape that seemed far too large for the thin stalk to support.

This was his real pride -- an Era Seed. A plant known to his people for the powerful stimulants contained within its leaves -- particularly the young ones. That, and its incredible fragility. So much as a single idle touch would break the stalk, killing the plant entirely. It meant that the oh-so-valuable leaves could only be harvested once.

His mother claimed that its flower was the most beautiful in the whole world -- well, her original world, at least. Though considering the near-complete lack of "useless" plants on The Hub, he was more than willing to bet the title still held true even there. Not that anyone grew flowers there, anyway. Everyone was too busy preparing for battle to even think of indulging in such fanciful things.

But despite his mother's words, Nih'iquel'zan had never seen an Era Seed bloom. All the ones he'd seen and raised were harvested well before that point. But judging by the size of the bulb, whatever flower it produced was sure to be a majestic one.

And he fully intended to see one before he died.

He bent to carefully water the plant's roots, tucking a long strand of platinum hair behind his ear. Around him, the colorful rows of flowers native to this planet waved gently in the breeze. Usually the plant took forever to grow -- hence the name. But between his skills and the Era Seed's current maturity, the flower would definitely bloom before the portal shifted and the next phase of the Raid began. Before the level 20's declared open season on poor little level 10's like him.

He shook his head forcefully to banish the thought. No point in worrying about that now. He still had days to enjoy himself and his garden, and enjoy them he would. Besides, maybe he'd get lucky. Maybe his people would just leave him be, turn a blind eye to killing him.

They wouldn't. Experience was experience, after all. But it was a nice thought.

As he tended to his garden, watering and arranging everything into perfect order, he took a moment to appreciate this planet. Specifically, its wide variety of plants and fertile soil. The portal could have spat him out on some craggy wasteland or a volcanic hellscape. Last Raid had evidently been to some sort of crystalline planet that was half underwater. The fighters they'd recruited from there had skin like gemstones and durability to match.

But this time, the portal had mercy. It had placed him here. For that, he was incredibly thankful. At least he could spend his first -- and last -- Raid doing what he loved.

A crunching sound reached Nih'iquel'zan's ears. He froze, listening to the forest around him. The sound continued as twigs and rocks were crushed beneath... something. He couldn't be sure what. But whatever it was, it was coming his way.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Fear turned his veins to ice, but he didn't allow it to overwhelm him. The combat practice back home had prepared him that much, at least. He slipped toward the trees at the edge of the clearing, swiftly scrambling up into the foliage above.

It wasn't thick enough to hide himself completely, but that was alright. With a thought, he pulled his cloak of leaves tight around him and activated One With Nature. His form blurred, blue skin turning mottled as he blended into the treetops.

It was a good skill. A very useful one, according to his father, especially for ambushes and sneak attacks. The man would've surely disagreed with this cowardly, underhanded use of it.

Nih'iquel'zan sat motionless as the sound grew nearer. Judging by the volume, this thing wasn't trying to be stealthy. If it was, well... it wasn't good at it. At all. Even a Be'beef'uloch might've made less noise.

A few moments later, a pair of figures emerged into the clearing. The first was a small avian creature, its grey wings carrying it up to a nearby tree. The second resembled the so-called "humans" that seemed to represent this planet's intelligent life. Only, this one was malformed. One of his arms was lumpy and misshapen into a particularly grotesque mass. He -- at least, it seemed like a he -- also sat in a chair instead of standing on his two legs. Large wheels to either side crunched loudly over the forest floor as he rolled forward and into the clearing.

"Woah," the seated man breathed. "What're all these flowers doing here?"

The other creature -- a parrot, if the tag was to be believed -- squawked a reply. "No idea, but be careful. They could be some kinda trap."

Nih'iquel'zan scoffed inwardly. As if. He had seeds for more dangerous plants stored away, but that wasn't by any desire of his own. They'd been practically forced upon him by his parents. He'd considered planting some around to defend his garden, but he wasn't specced for combat. If a fight did break out, it would only result in his early demise. Maybe even the Era Seed's, too.

Besides, they weren't beautiful.

A quick glance at the pair's tags made his eyes widen. The parrot was level fourteen, but the human? He was already level seventeen. For them to be this high this early in the Raid was... well, it wasn't unheard of, but it was impressive. There was no chance he'd be able to beat them, even if his skills had been tailored for that.

Fortunately, he didn't have to. All he had to do was wait for the pair to move along. Hopefully they'd become bored after a brief inspection and pass the clearing by without incident.

He breathed slowly and quietly, lying in wait for the pair to leave. Except, they didn't.

"I don't think it's a trap, Squawk." The man continued to let his gaze wander. "These are all wildflowers. See, there's bluebonnets and primrose and indian paintbrushes and stuff. Dunno what they're doing here, of all places, but..."

"What about that one?" The parrot pointed a wing toward the Era Seed.

The man frowned. "No idea. Is that even a plant?"

The chair inched into the clearing to inspect the strangely needlelike plant. Nih'iquel'zan winced as it crushed some flowers under its wheels. He'd have to fix the plants once they left.

"I don't recognize this one... Hey, Squawk, can you use Identify?"

"On a flower?" The parrot scoffed. "Really? Is that really the best use of my talents?"

"I mean, why not?" The man grinned. "It could be some super cool alien plant! And if it's dangerous, we should know, right?

The bird seemed to roll its eyes before fixing the plant with an intense gaze. "It's called an Era Seed, apparently? Weird. It's defintely an alien plant. Apparently it takes ages to grow, so I don't know how it's this big already..."

"Is it dangerous?"

"No?"

"As in, 'no?' Or is that an 'I don't know but probably not?'"

"No, it seems fine." The bird read off some invisible system text. "You can even eat the leaves, apparently. They're good for you."

"Cool!"

The man rolled forward even more, inching toward the plant. His arm stretched out to touch it, and Nih'iquel'zan's heart leaped to his throat. He'd spent days getting this plant to where it was, and it would take days more to bloom. He didn't have time to grow another. If it were killed...

"Don't touch that!"

He didn't think. He simply blurted the words out in a blind panic. One With Nature dropped at the disturbance, his blue skin and leaf cloak suddenly becoming more conspicuous.

Instantly, both figures snapped their gazes to him, their postures going tense. The man raised his right arm defensively, while the bird raised its wings in preparation for flight.

Nih'iquel'zan gulped. Perhaps that hadn't been the best idea.

***

Chad's head snapped up at the sudden voice, his hand jerking back from the massive purple toothpick. Up in one of the nearby oaks squatted a disheveled-looking humanoid with blue skin and long, platinum-colored hair. His body was mostly obscured beneath some sort of leafy blanket, but Chad could just make out that he had a pretty slight build. A tag above his head identified him as a Lorinthian Gardener (Lvl 10).

And he looked absolutely mortified.