Even though I can tell the hunters have already started burying stuff around the tree, that won't help. It takes time for stuff like that to decompose and turn into useful nutrients. However, there might just be another way to supply the tree with nutrients, if it works.

'Ekertan, I summon you!'

A few minutes later I can feel my mana start draining, then Ekertan takes form. To my surprise he completely ignores me as he turns and bows to the tree. The look on his face is one of both shock and awe, something I really wasn't expecting.

"Um, I'm guessing that means you recognize this tree?"

Ekertan says "Yes, of course I do! This tree is sacred to the elves!"

"Oh, then you might not like my current plan."

Ekertan says "What are you planning to do with the sacred tree of life?!"

"I am planning to grow it to an adequate size and then make a ship out of it. Then I will use that ship to sail the elves back to the peninsula."

Ekertan says "You want to cut down the sacred tree and turn it into a boat?! Are you insane?!"

"Well, yes. But this is a separate issue. I don't really have any other alternatives."

Ekertan says "If that is the case, I would rather you just leave the elves to their fate!"

"Then either the orcs or the humans will wipe them out! Either of which would most likely destroy the tree anyway. Not to mention I already told Core I would do everything I could to bring the elves back."

Ekertan says "You can't kill this tree! It very well could be the only one left in the world!"

"What if I get a seed or something from it first?"

Ekertan says "This tree is very special, it only seeds once and that is when it reaches one thousand years old."

"Well, that makes things more complicated."

Ekertan says "It is a moot point, it would take hundreds of years for this tree to reach that size."

"It was under five feet tall when I moved it here yesterday."

Ekertan says "What?! How is that possible?!"

"I have been pulling the mana out of pieces of the gate and feeding it to the tree. Oh, I've been adding a little sacred power in with it."

Ekertan says "You are forcing the tree to grow?!"

"No, I haven't forced anything. The tree has happily gobbled down everything I have offered it."

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Ekertan says "Then, if that is truly the case, maybe the tree agrees with your plan."

"Wait, are you saying that the tree is sentient?!"

Ekertan says "All the others were, so there is no reason this one wouldn't be. It is certainly capable of stopping you from forcing it to grow."

"Do you think you could communicate with the tree? See if it understands my intentions and approves?"

Ekertan says "I should be able to. Is this why you summoned me?"

"No. Originally I just wanted you to try to bless the earth and maybe make it easier for the tree to grow."

Ekertan says "Oh, yeah I can do that!"

Ekertan then moves closer to the tree and kneels down, then he leans forward until his forehead touches the trunk. He stays in that position for several minutes as he communicates with the tree. Then he gets up and walks in circles around the tree as he chants in elven.

I catch just enough of the words to understand that it is some type of spell. When he finishes I notice that the ground around the tree has darkened. I am guessing that he did as I asked and blessed the ground, but I have no idea how.

Ekertan says "The tree understands your intentions, but asks that you take its seed before cutting it down."

"I can't wait around for a thousand years!"

Ekertan says "You won't need to. Apparently this tree is already old enough to produce a seed. It is just small because it was abandoned and neglected."

"So, if I keep feeding it and helping it grow it will be able to produce a seed?"

Ekertan says "Yes! It wants you to take the seed to somewhere more appropriate and plant it."

"Do you think planting it in the city would work?"

Ekertan says "No. It needs to be somewhere with life and people. A dead city wouldn't work."

"It's not a dead city anymore. There are beasts living there and if I succeed then there will also be elves living there."

Ekertan says "I didn't think of that! Sure, the city will work!"

"Okay, then that's the plan!"

Ekertan says "Any other questions? You are almost out of mana."

"No, that was everything."

Ekertan says "Then good luck and I hope you succeed!"

After that Ekertan vanishes and I turn and head for the ocean to resume hunting. Once I am shifted into a meg I start swimming around the island looking for the beast. As I swim around I think about the beast and where it might be, then I realize a problem.

The beast is huge, meaning it will need a lot of food, and will have to hunt constantly. It will also need to hunt large creatures, not like these little fish around me now. That would mean that the beast probably hunts in the deeper waters where bigger prey lives.

After circling the island I learn that there are no deep waters between the island and the mainland. So that just leaves the other three sides of the island for the beast to hunt in. That doesn't mean the thing will be close to the island, its hunting area could be thousands of miles.

Yesterday I stayed in the shallows because I wasn't confident in using this form. Now, after having some practice, I am not as worried about it, so I head deeper. As expected, the deeper the water the bigger the critters, and the more dangerous.

In the shallows nothing dared to challenge me, but once I leave the shelf it is a different story. The first thing that tries to eat me looks like a turtle but has the tentacles of an octopus. It is fairly slow, so I could run away, but I decide to fight it anyway for the experience.

Knowing how to swim as a meg isn't good enough, I need to know how to fight too. For me, the hardest part to get used to is only having a bite attack. Against something bigger my only real option is to use hit and run attacks and wear it down.

The turtle thing is tough and takes a while to kill, but it is good practice. It also turns out to be a lot of fun, enough that I am reluctant to go back to shore. Despite the amount of work and effort the fight took, I don't feel tired at all.

Of course, that might be because sharks don't need to sleep as far as I remember. Probably the worst thing about this form is that I can't get the Jaws theme out of my head. Of course, there are far worse things that could be stuck in my head.