Thalia went to the main plaza after gathering pigments in the forest for her practice. It's been almost three years since Rydel had come back from his mission.

Life has returned to normal, he was getting used to his power and practicing a bit more. He didn’t have much to do until The Trial.

Thalia had come to love Neena. At first, the little fox had tried to act aloof, but she had managed to wear down her defenses. Nowadays, it was a normal scene seeing the two of them together in the town.

Neena was now in her lap getting petted. Thalia was sitting in a reclusive zone of the plaza. Right now,

nobody was trying to strike up a conversation with her, as they knew that she just wanted a quiet place to gather inspiration.

Thalia blended red sand powder with water and added spiritual energy to thicken the compound. She injected a dash of her Dao of Painting, with this she could decide the tone of the color without having to add anything else.

She continued creating more natural colors using pigments like carbon to get black and ashes to get grays.

She also used herbs for greens, fully knowing that they'll decay with time and turn from green to brown, it added a timeless quality to her paintings.

She decided to recreate a fond memory. It depicted a family encounter, where Rydel had asked them to dig a hole in their backyard and fill it with cold water.

Because of Rydel’s insistence, everyone was in their underwear. Rydel was laughing in a victorious pose after throwing Edyrm into the clear water.

Edyrm was upside-down with just his legs being visible, but you could sense the joy that he emitted, even if his expression was that of mischief, already thinking about his vengeance.

Neena was behind Rydel with her tails ready to trip him up into the water too, which she managed to do in the end, she radiated her usual aloof aura. However, the glee in her eyes was unmistakable, another troublemaker in the making.

Thalia painted herself helplessly watching the commotion in a hammock. In reality, she had been rolling on the ground laughing, but a lady's image had to be preserved.

She added different details, like the hanging sun shining on them. She also put the faint outline of the moon, she didn't want to forget one of the most important symbols of her actual family either.

Diverse types of trees added a sense of earthly and fresh smell. You could even taste the carefully prepared dishes and snacks.

Neena peered closely, she loved seeing Thalia using the Dao of Painting. The image was beyond realistic, she had the sensation that if she reached with her paw, she’d be able to enter inside. She closed her eyes and was able to hear the laughs and rustles of the leaves inside of the painting.

Thalia smiled in satisfaction and kept it on her spatial ring, one more memory for her personal gallery.

Thalia thought about her current life. She was happy and didn’t have any complaints. She had a partner that she loved with passion and it was a mutual feeling. Moreover, her family has recently expanded to two members, with a son and daughter.

Granted, other elves would think of her as weird for thinking of a little fox as her daughter. However, it was her true feelings. Considering Neena her pet would be an insult.

Thalia stood up and went to have lunch with her friends in another corner of the plaza. There stood two female elves, Thalia greeted them.

“Did you bring the good stuff?” Dessielle asked.

Both looked like they were in their early thirties. Dessielle had green hair and was single, a fact that their friends used to openly tease her. She liked dancing, but she hadn’t formed any Daodrop, unlike Thalia.

“What are you talking about?” Thalia said with an innocent smile.

“T-the white strawberry milkshake.” Mylaela said with little stars in her eyes.

Mylaela had brown hair and was the mother of the two twins in Rydel’s class. Like her daughters, she was usually reserved and timid. Her hobby was wood carving, she hadn’t formed a Daodrop either, it was uncommon to have formed one even among their generation.

“Tsk, do you only talk to me because of the milkshake?” Thalia grumbled but took out a jar.

“Of course not, Lia. I helped with your alibis when we were children, it’s your obligation to repay your debt now.” Dessielle said after savoring her cup.

“Yes, yes, I’m here for whatever you need.” Thalia rolled her eyes.

“I l-like being your friend Thalia.” Mylaela shyly added while lowering her head.

Neena decided to take a nap while they chatted. The three friends spoke about their lives and the latest gossip for about two hours.

“Have you been able to loosen your bottleneck, Thalia?” Dessielle asked.

“I’m still stuck at level 49. I have already used the first attempt of The Trial, and I don’t want to use any of the two remaining before being completely sure of my chances, Edyrm is in the same case as me.” Thalia sighed.

“My foundations are a bit lacking, I either need some breakthrough in my fighting style, Dao, or encounter a treasure that increases my attribute points. I have been painting non-stop but I can’t find the inspirations to take my Daodrop to the peak.” Thalia added.

“Having inspiration in artistic Daos is next to impossible. I loved wood carving, but even shaping wood of my most heartful moments like you doesn’t do anything.” Mylaela said with dejection.

“In my case, I don’t even know where to start with dancing, becoming one with the music doesn’t work for me either.” Dessielle said with a sad face.

“If we all could be like Miss Perfect, drawing their rite of adulthood, a battle of the Grand Elder shaping nature into her will, and her son's birth, we’ll all be the elites of our generations.” Dessielle added with a tinge of envy.

She had always been competitive with Thalia and considered her rival. Alas, fate was fickle and she wasn’t able to keep up. However, they were still best friends and her little envy didn’t affect their relationship.

“Hey! Don’t go grumpy-mode on me! We are still young, barely a hundred years old and both of you are still in late E-grade, reinforcing your meridians. It’s not like you don’t have a chance to reach D-grade.” Thalia tried to cheer up her two friends.

“I-It’s very difficult, even in the actual clan, only Galather and the Grand Elder had reached D-grade.” Mylaela said.

“Then we only have to double the numbers in our generation. The three of us, and maybe even Edyrm if I’m magnanimous enough to allow him.” Thalia happily said.

“Ho-ho! You are in for a treat if you allow your husband to surpass your strength, who knows what perverted games he thinks about with a poor and helpless beauty.” Dessielle said with a lecherous smile.

Thalia and Mylaela both blushed.

“It wouldn’t be so bad…” Thalia thought aloud with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

“Both of you are perverted old men!” Mylaela said and hid her face with her hands.

“Hey, it’s not my fault! If I had a wife with such lithe curves…” Dessielle eyed Thalia from the bottom, the latter posed with an embarrassed face.

“I can’t stand you!” Mylaela stood up and moved away from the two demonesses.

Dessielle and Thalia loudly laughed. They soon wrapped up the meeting and said their goodbyes until the next day.

Thalia went back home to find it empty. She put Neena down and let her to her devices. She prepared for a date with Edyrm, she applied a little bit of her Dao into her neck, forming green vines that crawled a little bit into her face. She had a bath and put on a cute dress.

Edyrm came back half an hour later than her. He had ruffled hair after practicing with his Dao of the Gale.

Today, he had thrown his squad teammates from a high branch and lifted them with a strong burst of winds. They didn’t suffer any wounds, as their endurance was high enough to drop from such a distance.

Both of them left an hour later towards the north, there was a private zone downwards the river, where the pair usually spent their moments alone.

“Do you remember when I proposed to you here?” Edyrm said with remembrance

“Of course, for once, everything that you did was perfect. From the decorations, to even asking Elder Vulas to play the flute, I still remember how moved I was from hearing his Dao of Music.” Thalia happily said.

“Cough, weren’t you happier with my proposal?” Edyrm asked.

“Of course, my love.” Thalia hugged Edyrm’s arm as the two of them walked on the river's edge.

“I’m worried about Rydel.” Edyrm eventually said.

“Of course you are! The first step is the most important event in our lives, he could even step in the forbidden practices if his greed clouds his thoughts.” Thalia said.

“I’m confident that he’ll shine on his Trial. It’s just that there is a high chance that the High Elves will poach him into the capital to become a royal guard.” Edyrm said.

“They can’t force him to do anything that he doesn’t want. But he is indeed young and it’s a good opportunity to leave the forest.” Thalia sighed.

Both of them remained in silence for a while.

“What’s that?” Edyrm pointed at the distance.

Before doing anything else, both Thalia and he went into hiding. Thalia used her Daodrop to paint themselves into the surroundings, getting camouflaged.

They saw a small boat floating a couple of dozen kilometers in the distance. Luckily, their training had kicked fast and they weren’t discovered.

‘Do you recognize that ship?’ Thalia sent a spiritual message to Edyrm.

‘No, they don’t have any visible flag. This is suspicious.’ Edyrm responded.

‘Do we engage or wait for reinforcements?’ Thalia said.

She hadn’t brought any communication talisman, but she could quickly go and come back with helpers.

‘No, it’s too dangerous. Those aren’t elves on the prow.’ Edyrm said with seriousness.

Thalia was surprised and squinted to have a better look, she didn’t dare to deploy her divine senses in fear of getting caught.

The race that was on the ships were elvenoids. They were ugly with short ears. The males had bulky physiques compared to elves, while the females had curvier figures. They were donned in light armor with short swords or bows.

‘Those are humans!’ Thalia exclaimed in surprise.

Humanity was present in the rest of the Afrein Peninsula. However, their population was extremely low and there weren’t pure humans anymore, only half-elves. They weren’t shunned or depreciated, but they weren’t seen in a positive light either, they were a minority that lived in the capital and some secluded places.

However, those in the ship seemed like pure humans as depicted in history books.

‘Indeed, do we try a peaceful meeting or a sneak attack aimed at maiming?’ Edyrm asked with a serious expression.

Thalia was conflicted, she didn’t know their power and it could escalate into a political catastrophe.

However, she didn’t know if those were an advanced party, which would give them time to notify their comrades. Thalia's face turned into resolve.

‘If they didn’t come bearing the High Elves' permission, they are our enemies. We will exterminate them.’ Thalia said with a cold expression.