Book1, Volume 5
Chapter 43
Michael stood in front of the young majestic Syldrake Tree, reflecting; It's been 7 days and one night since I first arrived in this wonderful village and received my mission. They've learned so much thanks to their hard work and the Memory Rosebud Bulb spell that I was given... without it, I just don't know how long it would have taken them to reach this point. It looks like they're now ready to face them.
But they're not the only ones that have learned, thanks to that old raven spriggankin I've also learned so much... like how energy flows within plants and trees, how they use that energy to do things like heating a pan or cooling the air or pouring water, and how they seek and absorb energy from the ley lines in the ground and gather it from the very air around us.
Michael's daily schedule for the past few days was rich and full. Every morning he would wake and get ready to start the day with Lunori. They would then visit the courtyard where he would create the mornings' defensive lessons for his students (for that is what he thought of them as).
After placing the Memory Rosebud Bulbs in the air he would leave with the old raven spriggankin to the edge of the village where he would learn about trees and plants; Learning how to grow, mold and manipulate them. Afterward, he would rest for an hour or so to regenerate his Oryn energy and fatigue bars.
He would then head to the courtyard and create the afternoon's offensive lessons. After placing the lessons in the air he would once again follow the old raven to the edge of the village where he would try his best to learn simple daily use spells along with another group of young spriggankin. And while the spells were basic fundamental beginner spells, that didn't mean they were easy to learn, especially with the language barrier.
Still, he did his best to understand and learn what was being shown and taught. The method of teaching him was the same as that first day, when that dark Talric had taken his hands and pressed them up against the tree, fingers spread apart. The dark Talric then pressed its hands over Michael's, placing its clawed fingers between his so they could both touch the tree. And then the dark Talric sent its energy into the tips of Michael's fingers, gathering a small bit of Michael's energy, and then guided that energy within the tree.
Together, Michael's and the Talric's energy spread throughout the tree and into the ground touching the ley line and then back up giving him insight into how the tree gathered and used the energy around it.
Once the dark Talric ran out of energy for that session, another young spriggankin would then take his hand and repeat the process. He would do this 3 times per morning lessons increasing his understanding of the trees.
On the fourth day, Michael introduced weapons in his lessons; He chose staves for the taller spriggankin, rods for the mid-height spriggankin, and for the smaller Ossils and Ferrewls he chose thorn daggers and slingshots.
At first, he thought he had done something wrong since after touching the Rosebud Bulb the spriggankin would go off on their own into the forest. But after a short while later, they came back to the courtyard with their chosen wooden weapon in hand. It was then Michael realized the reason they had left in the beginning and he was very happy to see that they could make their own weapons.
He also added in the idea of adding thorns to the weapons and shared his Seed Burst and SnapDragon kick spells.
He did so because after sharing his Butterfly steps spell, quite a few of the spriggankin were now able to sprout their own types of magical wings from their backs during training, wings that matched their masks. The others that didn't grow wings still seemed to develop their own type of 'steps' spell reminding him of the movements made by forest animals and critters.
Maybe their masks have some type of influence over the spells they learn? Either way, I should share the other spells too. Michael thought at the time. After all, he now had good reason to believe that a few, if not more, would be able to learn their own variation of these spells as well. Which would be a big aid in the battle ahead.
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As for Michael's magic lessons, they had progressed to the next stage; The spriggankins guided his energy, showing him how they slowly molded and shaped the trees into rooms while strengthening the walls and how they created pathways for the energies to flow like the wirings of a house. A process that would take months to complete for a simple home.
A home that spriggankin would then move into, signaling their entry into adulthood. They would then spend years adding to their treehouses making them bigger, roomier, and more comfortable as their homes further took on the characteristics of its maker.
On the sixth day, Michael introduced sparring into evening training. And foreseeing the possibility of injuries, he made plenty of Healing Nectar as well as shared how he made it in a Rosebud Bulb.
It was also on the sixth day that Michael was led to a grove of trees just outside the village. The old raven, through a series of gestures, asked Michael to choose a tree. There was a good variety of trees to choose from, and while the Kokinut tree did capture his eye, or rather tummy, for a moment, it was a young spiraling serpentine tree with velvety scales that connected with his heart. His eyes glowed as the infobox popped up:
[ The Syldrake Tree is a tall, strong tree that spirals up from the ground to the sky like a serpentine dragon. Its sylven draic scales are covered in a soft spiln fur giving it a soft touch belying the hardness beneath. Myth has it that when a Syldrake tree taps into a large ley line overflowing with life energy, it gains the rare chance of coming to life, transforming into a true majestic Syldrake becoming a warden of the forest which birthed it. ]
Wow, what a wonderful myth... this is the one... the tree I'd like to make my home. Ever since he was young Michael loved dragons. And growing up he grew to love the garden and trees in the backyard of their home so it should come as no surprise that the tree which combined his two loves would be the tree to capture his heart.
Michael walked up to the Syldrake tree and placed his palms on the cool velvety scales. He felt small vibrations of energy circulating within, flowing from the roots to the trunk and up into the small green canopy above. A light welcoming honey musk scented the air.
Smiling, he summoned forth his own oryn energy as his trinity cores responded, sending streams of energy through his body to his arms and out the palms of his hands into the serpentine trunk where the two energies collided with one another like raging waves on a stormy night out at sea.
Michael's brows scrunched and his muscles tensed as he pushed his palms harder onto the tree, not wanting to lose contact with the clashing energies within the tree. Sweat trickled down from his forehead as the energies began to merge with one another with each collision, slowly calming the turbulent waters, becoming one.
Michael breathed a sigh of relief as he gained control of the energies and directed the flow towards the roots, guiding their growth towards the ley line below.
The roots snaked down towards the ley line, connecting as more energy then came rushing up the tree! Michael's fingers whitened as they pressed hard into the scaly trunk; His small arm muscles twitched as he struggled to maintain contact with the tree. Gritting his teeth, he battled to control the new energy streams guiding them into the cells of the trunk, beginning to shape and hollow out the rooms that he had envisioned in his mind.
His breathing became rapid and haggard as the last of his energy left his body causing him to collapse onto the soft ground. Ah, I'm completely spent... but still... I know I made a connection... A smile emerged on Michael's tired face as he closed his eyes to rest for a while. [ding!]
[ Congratulations Wylla! You have learned the advanced spell: Sylvanic Creation: Tree House. And earned the titles: Happy Little Homemaker and Tree Whisperer. Yay! ]
“Yes! I'm so happy... thanks, Anari.” Now I just need to make sure I take some Syldrake seeds or maybe a sapling with me so I can grow my home when I leave this area. Ah! I got so caught up in my mission... and my desire to make my own Tree House that I forgot about my goal. Michael moved his upper body up off the ground and got into a lotus sitting position as he leaned his back against the Syldrake tree with his hands on his laps.
Resting, he tilted his head while looking down as his shades of green hair partially covered his face. It seemed that over the course of the week his hair had gone through all the main colors and now settled to what he could only think of as his true color: shades of green. But still, he found that with a simple thought and a flow of energy he could change it to any color he desired... which he credited to his camouflage skill.
As for his current dilemma; Hmm... I wonder, will I still be able to keep my spells once I change my race and gender?... It'll be so disappointing if I can't... Michael sighed. Oh well, no point worrying about it for now... I'll just take them with me when the time for me to leave comes and hope for the best... fingers crossed.
That evening, the sound of a rattling door grew louder in his mind.