As the flash of power rolled over Zalia, the form of Ro-ak slowly began changing, growing. Feathers became leaf-like, feet turned from small and thin to large trunk-like limbs made of wood and bark from which writhing vines formed toes. His form grew until it matched the size of the remnant just as the body of the remnant deflated like old grapes on a vine. It withered, turning from large and powerful to no more than a bunch of dried out leaves hanging suspended from the vines across the room.

“Thank you, Zalia,” Ro-ak said.

His voice carried power, like that of the starlight wolf. His voice was grating like gravel being dragged across stone, yet it was melodic and full of mystery at the same time.

“Happy to see you returned to your former power Ro-.. um, Nateysta,” Zalia replied, bowing her head just a little.

“I am not as I once was, much of my former power is now lost. Yet, I remember now. I remember everything. You may call me by the name you have given, I see it as an honour given by the one who has brought me back,” Nateysta, Ro-ak, said.

Zalia tried to see his rank with Aura observation but it simply returned a few question marks much as the starlight wolf had.

Nateysta - ???

Well, he was most certainly a god of some type. The story had described him as a nature spirit however, maybe something that her power lost in translation, or, maybe whatever word the Endarian’s used to describe nature spirits was more akin to what a god was in her world, where the Bathar’s version was akin to a nature spirit.

That was all too confusing for her and thinking about the levels of translation from Bathar, to Endarian via Delphi, to her own language via whatever unspoken power she had was enough to give her a headache.

“Do you have the power to take us out of Cormaine?” Zalia asked.

“I do not know how, though I might be able to find out just how to go about it now I am partially restored,” Ro explained.

“Is there more fragments of your power laying about in Cormaine maybe? Can you feel any?” Zalia asked.

There was a lot she wanted to get answers to now the opportunity was here.

“Not that I can feel. They may have been consumed already, unguarded as this one was. The shades would try to absorb such an undefended power,” Ro replied.

“Damn. What about how you and Hetheir managed to find yourself in Cormaine, do you have any memory of that?” Zalia asked.

A thought tickled at the back of her mind but she ignored it for the moment.

“Yes, I do. Cormaine is a sister world to the one you are from, the world containing the place you call Endaria. While there are many worlds amongst the stars, these two are linked on a deeper level. Thus, the gap between the two is easier to bridge than most. I do not know how they managed to do it but the creatures you see flying around in this place, not the shades but the others, took advantage of that weakness. Somehow, they latched onto that connectivity and… ate Cormaine. Yes, for lack of better words, they ate the world. Ripped it apart, took its parts and assumed its place as the sister world of Endaria. I felt it happen, like the sundering of the land so often wrought by earthquakes yet it was the whole planet that shook. Now, they seek to use this connection to consume Endaria too,” Ro explained.

“You seem to know a lot about events, despite your almost dead state previously,” Zalia questioned.

“Dead, yet not. I hear many things, Zalia of the Druids. While I do not yet know how to escape Cormaine, I do know that your best chance is to use the weak barrier between the worlds as the path to your freedom. No such thing as the ritual description you took from Juniper would be able to work without using that weakness,” Ro said.

Zalia stopped for a moment, considering the new information. She also had an idea on how Zayes might have awakened the Hidden. The Hidden had never told her how it had happened but maybe Zayes had found one of these remnants of power that belonged to Nateysta and used it to achieve the feat. Maybe, she didn’t know anything about the subject but it was a possibility. Thinking about the shades, she realised she might have one she could make use of as well. Juniper. Zalia knew her name, unless that wasn’t her real one, and could probably use that to control her much as she had controlled the Hidden. She might even be able to learn the Hidden’s real name through that. Now that would be helpful. She just had to find the right shade.

“Right, how strong are you currently? I can’t seem to identify what rank you are but would you be able to take on one of those big aura monsters?” Zalia asked, her mind switching to the current issue she was soon to face.

“I believe I am able to fight one but to kill one is a different matter. At the level of power we are at, death is not so permanent, as you have seen. It may take decades or even centuries to recover from such an injury but recover we most likely will. It takes a lot to put one of us in such a state that it requires outside interference for us to return,” Ro explained.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“So… they are on the same level as you in power? Like the starlit wolf?” Zalia asked.

“The Divine, or the Demonic. Past Diamond rank, there is Mythical, then Ascendant and past that, Divine or Demonic. The range of power within this rank is greater than even the difference between Tin and Ascendant with the monsters you speak of and I myself being of an equivalent of a high Gold or possible Diamond ranker where some can much surpass even the Ascendant. The biggest difference for us is our inability to fully die,” Ro explained further.

“Divine and Demonic, I see. That would be the further ranks no one really knows if they exist or not then. I know you weren’t around for it but have you managed to hear somehow that we might come under attack? Delphi won’t bloody tell me what danger exactly is coming but I have a feeling we might need you,” Zalia said.

“I know. I will be there,” Ro promised.

“Delphi, if Ro does manage to find a way to get us out of Cormaine and back to the world I come from, would the collective come with us?” Zalia asked.

“I do not know. We have not spoken of this. That future is… shrouded from our sight. I will bring it to the collective and we shall talk amongst ourselves about it,” Delphi replied.

“Good. Do consider it strongly. Your once safe home here is not safe anymore, I think, and Endaria is a much, much nicer place to live. I actually know of a beautiful little pond where the Water lilies I planted in yours first grew. It sits in a forest, under a small waterfall surrounded by a beautiful grassy clearing,” Zalia urged, sending Delphi memories of the little pond she and Boreal had spent a few comfortable moments at.

“It does seem nice, Zalia. We will consider,” Delphi promised, sounding just a little sad.

“I know it would feel bad to leave your old world behind, trust me, but there is nothing much left here for your kind. Imagine all the new memories your people could collect,” Zalia added, trying to convince them.

There was no response to that.

“This is all assuming we can find a way out, anyways,” she finished.

“A task for me to work on. For now though, I wish to give you a blessing Zalia,” Ro said.

“What for?” Zalia asked, a little surprised.

“Drastically reducing the time I would have had to spend in that state, of course. You have done me a great service,” Ro explained.

“I won’t say no,” Zalia said.

“Good, put your armour upon my altar,” Ro directed.

Zalia did as he said, taking off the armour and placing it upon the altar delicately. She managed to fit it onto the relatively small surface and turned around.

“Alright, what now?” she asked,

“I give you my blessing Zalia of the Druids. May nature guide and help you just as you guide and help it. May the power of nature’s wrath flow through you in times of war and the beauty of nature’s gentle times bring you peace,” Ro chanted, his voice deepening, crackling with the sounds of earthquakes and storms, before softening to the sounds of a gentle river winding through a quiet forest.

Zalia brushed aside a host of messages as a deepness settled around the room, the vines above and trailing the floor moving with an energy and life they should not have been able to muster. The altar grew roots from its top that surrounded and grabbed onto pieces of the armour, a thin layer of wood growing over it.

Once the roots retreated and the deepness had risen once more, her armour was transformed.

Congratulations! Your bonded item ‘Duskwraith Armour’ has been blessed by a god.

‘Duskwraith Armour’ becomes ‘Druidic Armour, Blessed by Nature’.

Congratulations! Your bonded item ‘Druidic Armour, Blessed by Nature’ has become deeply bonded.

Duskwraith Armour (Heirloom) - Bonded Iron rank’ has become ‘Druidic Armour, Blessed by Nature’ (Blessed Heirloom) - Deeply bonded Bronze rank’.

Druidic Armour, Blessed by Nature (Blessed Heirloom) - Deeply bonded Bronze rank.

Tin - wearing the armour applies Shadows Veil to you.

Iron - Shadows Veil gains a new effect called Partial Intangibility.

Bronze - When intangible, you may step through Flora to move out of similar Flora within a limited range.

Shadows Veil - Shadow Veil suppresses the wearer's aura and magical signature, making it challenging for magical beings or entities with heightened senses to detect their presence.

Shadows Veil now muffles any sound you make while wearing the armour, making your movements silent, even when moving quickly or engaging in combat.

Partial Intangibility - Shadow Veil grants the wearer partial intangibility, allowing them to phase through thin barriers or objects, such as walls, fences, or closed doors, as long as the barriers are not too thick or magically protected.

The armour had taken on a more natural look, changing from its leather and slightly religious appearance to match what was her nature. It was still fashioned in dark colours, a full set of armour made of smoothly carved wood that looked grown, not made. Where the helmet used to have two horns it now had two small antlers atop. Carved into the surface of the armour were the depictions of Boreal, a starry sky and now a wraith-like crow. The crow was on one shoulder plate, Boreal on the other while linked constellations decorated in between and down the chest plate. It all curved and flowed in a very natural way and once she had finished putting it on, she almost resembled a leafless tree more than a person.

She noticed a couple changes to the abilities of the armour. Firstly, Shadows Veil now made her entirely silent, her movement making no noise whatsoever. She was used to hearing a tiny bit of sound when she moved, a slight scrape of the foot or bump as armour pieces connected but now there was nothing at all. It also added the ability for her to step between Flora of similar types when using the intangibility. Overall, a solid upgrade. It still didn’t allow for her to store the armour in its own spatial storage which was unfortunate but… or did it?

Stasis, now Druid’s Grove, had allowed her to store living wood before, why not her armour?

She gave it a go and much to her pleasure, found it vanished off her body straight away.

“Thank you Ro, Nateysta, I shall treasure it for as long as I live,” Zalia said, giving a deeper bow this time.

“May that be a long time indeed,” Ro replied.