The elven guards, however, had no sense of humor. A few birds appeared from thin air and carried small strips of parchment with their messages to all corners of the Forest. Minutes later, my ride arrived.

Graciously gliding between the trees, the creature flew and landed its massive body on the ground with the precision of an eagle and the grace of a cat. Atop the majestic griffin, an elf in silvery armor waved at me. She removed her helmet and smiled.

"Your Grace, welcome back. It is a pleasure to know that death to you is but an inconvenience!" Velora the Ranger now a bona fide Griffin Rider greeted me.

With my eyes stinging, I jumped to hug the woman. "Vel! Oh, how I've missed you! And riding a griffin! You did it!"

The beast stirred, clearly uncomfortable with me on them but didn't fight back.

"Yes! After your fight with the dragons..." she paused because the memories were painful. "After that, the griffins sought us on their own accord. They are very intelligent, almost able to speak. They knew you protected them from the dragons and came to investigate us. After that, we were able to bond with them. A new Class appeared, and now it is a whole Path! Crazy, isn't it?"

I got down and caressed the griffin's beak. It smelled me and became docile. The eagle beak could peck my head off as if it was a sunflower seed for a macaw.

"Is this one of them? It's been centuries!"

"Once we bond with them, we bond for life. The griffin is blessed with our elven longevity," Velora explained.

And high elves never aged. They were immortal although they could still die from violence, disease, or poison. I moved my hand up and ruffled the feathers on its head. The griffin purred and lowered its head.

Velora jokingly soured, "I'm jealous, your Grace. Starflare doesn't let anyone but me touch him."

"Oh, don't be silly. It was my friend before it was yours. The envy is mine, Velora. Although I would love to have such a majestic child with me, I couldn't. My life is too violent."

"Trouble with the dragons?" She asked. I felt the rider-mount duo get angry again.

"Nah. Just some pesky gods getting what they deserve," I said as if it wasn't much. One of the guards listening to our conversation choked on his own. "But are you my ride to the Trees? I need to talk to Sariandi."

"Sure. Since Starflare already accepted you, hop on."

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I stood in Fulgen's throne room. The room was crowded with even nobles and their myriad of princesses. I must say, they weren't an endangered social class anymore. The pink-haired ones, my biological daughters, were already on the second generation for some.

In front of me, High Queen Sariandi and the four Season Queens. Winter, and Fall on one side, Summer and Spring on the other. Atop Sariandi's head, the Crown of Aiur. The four Season Queens were Sariandi's daughters, born before Yznera offered me a deal to resurrect the Star Elves, the pink-haired Royal family. These four daughters each rule over fulgen for a season of four months but are beholden to Sariandi in all aspects. That was the way she found to not be overwhelmed by the burden of ruling an immortal realm.

The four Season Queens had their daughters as well, the first host of elven Princesses. These princesses received the fertilized eggs and gave birth to the Star elf princesses. Despite not having the same blood, they were their daughters. I just donated genetic material. From my {Detect Sentient Life}, I could tell that some of these Star elf princesses already had more in the oven. Another baby boom. The Perk that doubles pleasure and rest is a mixed blessing.

"The crown recognizes the reincarnation of Her grace, Queen Mother Alloralla," Sariandi said solemnly. "It is good to see you, mother. The one that helped us in our darkest times over and over. Three times have you come to help Fulgen and to that, we are eternally grateful. What brings you here today?"

I was expecting a 'why don't you visit more often' lecture but to the elves the century since my last visit was like a season apart. Things in Fulgen changed slowly.

"I came with a simple request. I would like a sapling from one of the Heart-Trees," I said. The Heart-Trees were the seven gigantic trees that made the center of the Forest. They were laid out on the vertices of a hexagon with the seventh in the middle.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The elven nobility went crazy. The hushed conversations became full-blown arguments and shouts. I could feel their anger toward me.

"These trees predate the Gods," Sariandi said. I didn't know that. "What are you going to do with it?"

"I'll make it my home," I answered matter-of-factly. "In a safe place outside the reach of mortal or any eyes.

By the faces the Season Queens made, I knew my request was about to be denied. "I need to talk to the other Queens. This is a most unusual request, please understand. This court session is adjourned!"

They took me to some lavish chambers in the central tree that held the administration. I sat on the bed to rest and think, playing poke-the-sphere with Pandora. Nenandil was silent and I let her be. Minutes later, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," I said.

Ikesha and Lixiss, the two maids that doubled as jailors, maybe keepers, during my tenure slash imprisonment as Queen, entered. "Your Grace, Queen Mother. It's been a long time," They said as if we were friends meeting after a long separation.

I stared coldly at them. "Is there anything I can do to help you, ladies? Maybe you came to lock my door for old times' sake?"

They looked away. "We were doing as the council ordered," Ikesha tried to defend herself.

I jumped out of bed and straightened my skirt. "Ha! The oldest, lamest excuse in the whole universe. I. Was. Just. Following. Orders. Please spare me. You have heads on your necks and a Mind score above twenty. Please use it!"

My shuts rang in the wooden corridors of the tree. I was a meter away from the two cowed women. "So, hello to you. I am fine. Do you have any other business with me besides greetings?"

Just to play with them, I put a [Death Contract] on Ikesha. The two women shuddered and took a step back before I withdrew it. "Just as I thought. The only kind of people that put [Assassins] guarding their Royalty is the kind that doesn't want the Royalty to go anywhere. Farewell, ladies."

Without a word, they curtsied and went away. I closed the door and summoned my two pet [Archmages]. "Could you guys make sure nobody detects what I am about to do?"

"We can only try," Marlowe said. "But we are pretty sure we can."

"Do your best."

I was pretty sure they wouldn't grant me the sapling. And like hell, I would come back with empty hands. I crouched and touched the bare bark of the tree, the floor of my room. There I sang, six octaves above the maximum hearing range of an elf. A barrier sprang around me, sustained by the two casters.

my music was for the tree alone. I asked it if would grant me a living branch I could plant elsewhere safe. At first, there was no reaction but I felt the bark underneath my hand resonate with my music. Elven revered the seven trees of the Forest-Heart more than Yznera to whom they only paid lip service. I felt it. A spirit, a soul of the tree. Knowing what I should do, I crossed over to the Ethereal World.

There, the tree shone with golden power. It was as solid as in reality but even more alive.

"Great heart-tree, my greetings," I said with reverence.

The tree didn't speak with words but I could feel it accepted and recognized me.

"I ask for a boon. A seedling so I can plant it in a safe spot. What do you ask in return?"

I saw the image of a great forest, far away. Trees grew as time went by fast, my mind evoking images from my memories to fill the concepts. It felt like one of those timelapse videos. The clouds racing by under a sun that dashed to and fro across the sky.

"A forest. You want me to plant a forest of your children elsewhere. I shall do as you ask."

The tree felt restrained. For too long it sat idle in this Forest. I felt the sadness of thousands of years without any saplings growing. The ground around it was not receptive to growing new trees and its isolated spot in the center of the other six giant trees not letting its acorns fall in fertile soil.

"I know just the place. Grant me your seeds, and I shall create a forest with your children. One of them, however, I wished to plant in a separate realm only I can access. If you fear that sapling will too grow lonely, I can try to find a dryad that wants to bond with it."

The tree hummed in agreement. It was happy with my offer. I felt the whole trunk shake and I saw dozens of acorns fall from the roof. Somehow I knew these acorns also existed in the physical world.

"Thanks, mighty tree. May our covenants hold for all eternity."

It went to rest, the effort of communicating and giving me the acorns too much. I crossed back. The pile of acorns lied at my feet. I sent them to my item box.

"It is done, boys. Let's rest until the Queen summons us."

She called us the next day.

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"We are sorry to inform you, Mother Queen, that your request has been denied. These trees are too important for Fulgen, and their saplings can be exploited to find a weakness or to channel some magic to harm the Forest."

I nodded as I listened. It was a steaming pile of dragon crap. Resonating magic through bloodlines was a thing, but it was in the realm of Blood magic. That, according to my resident expert in the field, required blood, which almost all trees didn't have, our current host notwithstanding.

"You might reconsider this, Sariandi. I died three times for the sake of this Forest. I ripped off my own eggs to bring back to life an extinct race of elves. I bled and suffered for five years straight to pay the tithe of our covenant with nature. Are you sure you want to deny me this small boon?"

The hubbub among the assembled nobles and princesses told me some elves, almost half, sided with me. The four Season Queens, however, all had that smug smile of superiority a Karen might show when she's humiliating some supermarket manager.

Sariandi sighed and looked to the sides, then straight at me. "We are sure of our decision. We appreciate it if you could be... more understanding."

I nodded. "I understand your standing. I shall not press the issue. However, mark my words. This is the end of my cooperation with you. Should Fulgen and its inhabitants be in jeopardy, they should not look forward to me to deliver them. This is also the last time I set foot on this Forest. Farewell, daughter."

I ripped open a gash in reality leading to the Ethereal Realm and walked away.