Within the seemingly eternal twilight of the Living Forest, as Illithar had taken to calling it, she knew a peace that she never felt before. She felt more alive, her body seeming to feel far stronger than it had when she first entered the forest.
She mentioned this to the Librarian who said, “Well it is only natural. Elves and the dryads shared a symbiotic relationship, one so close that the two nearly became dependent on one another. Not just in the way that Altia mentioned but even further, to the point that elves would be able to absorb some of the ambient mana that these ‘living’ forests produce, making them stronger.”
Illithar digested this, finally asking, “So... I’m getting stronger?”
The Librarian nodded.
“You are, although, since it has only been three days the changes should not be too significant. But should anything strange happen, please let me know.”
Deciding that it wasn’t anything to deny, Illithar nodded.
“I-I’ll do my best.”
He nodded, soon returning his attention to the shadows which were accompanying them, whispering things that only he was able to understand. As Illithar mulled over this, she cast her gaze back to see Erwin walking by himself. His gaze met hers and on impulse, she quickly returned her gaze forward, although she wasn’t entirely sure why she did that. It was just something about his eyes, they unnerved her.
They weren’t like any other eyes she had seen, eyes that had seen things that she couldn’t even begin to imagine. She had seen many types of eyes, eyes that were empty, eyes that were depressed, eyes that were full of childish innocence, and eyes that are tortured by what they’ve seen. But Erwin’s eyes, while they did reveal he was being tortured by past actions, they held something more, something she could only call determination. As if he had already failed once, he was not going to fail again.
As for Erwin, he was curious as to why the elf had looked back at him and suddenly looked away. He briefly entertained the thought that she may be interested in him but chucked that thought out the window as soon as it came, he did not have the time for that, nor would he feel right doing so. He already had a wife and family, not to mention the great duty he was given: to defeat the orcs and save the Alliance. He couldn’t be selfish now, not when he was needed the most.
As for Altia, she continued to lead them deeper and deeper into the forest, although she too would cast glances back at the Librarian. She had believed him when he uttered the First Language but now, she was once again a bit more doubtful. Why would one such as he walk among mortals, even helping them? Just who was he, that was the question.
But, she just couldn’t bear to ask him that question, or any more, even though she was suspicious, she didn’t wish to displease him if he truly was one of the Named Ones. But even so, just from observing him, she could tell that he was no mere mortal, or perhaps even a god. If only her mother was here to confirm if he was truly a Named One, or any of her mother's sisters, surely, they would know.
They too were Named Ones, the first Dryads to have ever been made. At first, there were only a hundred, but since they couldn’t properly reproduce like animals and could only produce non-sentient trees, Darkness himself decided to implement a rule, that should a tree reach the age of a thousand, they would evolve into a dryad.
That way, dryads could continue to grow as long as they fostered their young, watching over their saplings until a thousand years came to pass. But in the Age of Decline, as dryads began to succumb to sleep, there was no one left to watch over the saplings, so very few if any at all were born into the world. Those that were born were alone and soon to be cut down by orcish axes, as well as many of the dormant dryads. Now only a few remain within this protected patch of trees compared to the numbers the dryads once knew, although they couldn’t speak for their eastern sisters in Ortus. But, perhaps with the arrival of this Named One, they could prosper once more and let the voices of dryads sing in the forests.
When night fell that day, only the Librarian and Altia were left awake, the Librarian writing something in a book and Altia just watching him. She was struggling, she didn’t know what to do. If he truly was what he claimed to be then he'd hold the answers she sought. But, at the same time, she couldn't help but be afraid of the answers, the hard truth may just give her more pain. But as she stood there, lost in her thoughts, she suddenly noticed that the Librarian’s singular silver eye was staring at her.
“It seems you are struggling, I did tell you that it was fine to ask me any questions you wished.”
She gave a start at his words, finally saying, “I... I am afraid.”
He tilted his head curiously.
“Afraid of the answers?”
Altia's head was bowed, her eyes unable to maintain the Librarian's gaze..
"I just... I've lived this long holding onto the hope that they may still be alive... if I found out that they weren't, I'm not sure what I would do."
The Librarian was silent for a few moments, finally saying, "While the answer may be painful, it will end far quicker than the nigh endless torture doubt will bring."
A few moments pass as Altia steeled herself, finally saying, “I want to know what happened to my kin, did they survive or did they...”
She couldn’t finish the question, she didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that her family could very well be dead. She could hold the Librarian’s gaze, hoping that by some chance, her kin did survive.
“Well, the original trees you might’ve once known are now dead, but their seeds may yet remain. Since I was dormant for a thousand years after the Calamity, I’m afraid I do not know much.”
Altia could only bow her head in grief, her sisters beyond were dead.
“Is there any chance to reclaim those seeds? If possible, I would like to bring them to safety.”
The Librarian nodded.
“It is within my power but I have only promised you answers, not favors.”
However, she was desperate.
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“Please, I will do anything that you ask, if it means that I can save them.”
The Librarian thought for a moment, turning his silver eye to meet hers as he said, "Then give up your own seeds, so that you may save your kin's."
"What?" Altia was stunned.
"Give up my own seeds?"
The Librarian nodded.
"Is that not a fair trade? A seed for a seed, you will doom yours to death but you will be able to save your kin's offspring."
Alita could only shake her head.
"I cannot do that, I... I have a duty to my seeds."
The Librarian shrugged.
"Then do not give up your seeds."
However, Altia wasn't so ready to give up.
"Is there any other way?"
The Librarian shook his head.
"I'm afraid not."
After a few moments, she asked, “Then... is there nothing else I can do?”
The Librarian nodded.
“Of course, but these will be things you will have to do yourself.”
Altia frowned.
"But how, how can I save them when I am restricted here?"
The Librarian said, "As long as you carry with you a piece of your heartwood, you can travel from your tree, that way you can save the seeds of your kin yourself."
Hope briefly flared in her eyes before she became despondent again.
"But how will I find them? They are spread all over Occasus, nothing but seeds that are no different than any other."
The Librarian said, "The seeds born from a dryad possess greater mana than the seeds of regular trees, if you look carefully, you shall find what it is you seek."
Altia shook her head.
"But I cannot see, I am helpless."
The Librarian looked at her and said, "Then you can ask me for help. I can help you, provided that you trade something of equal value. Of course, you need not decide now on what that will be but you must pay the price before I lend you my aid. While you may not be able to pay the price for a great request, something such as finding the locations of these seeds would be more manageable in price."
With hope daring to rekindle itself once more, Altia could only fall on her hands and knees, touching her head to the ground.
“Whatever you need, I shall provide, I will serve you for the rest of my life if need be. But please, lend me your aid."
The Librarian answered, “I shall, once I have finished with what I first set out to do.”
The dryad nodded, she didn't care that it was not going to be immediate, all that mattered was that it will happen, and that was enough. With the dryad feeling more confident about conversing with the Librarian, the stars moving across the night sky as she asked questions and the Librarian answered. Alita was like a young sapling again, resting in the shade of her mother, listening to her soothing voice which spoke of memories long before her time. Dryads possessed perfect memories and could recite word for word the stories which represent their histories, teaching it to their young ones so that they too could eventually repeat those same histories word for word to their own young.
Her education was cut short as her mother sacrificed herself to make the wall of trees, with several other dryads, their life force being what sustained the wall. As such, she grew up denied the completion of her education, that education being completed, albeit roughly, under the tutelage of the Librarian.
The remaining nights were also spent in this manner, the Librarian doing his best to answer all of her questions, although since he hadn’t particularly focused on dryads, he was learning as she asked, constantly communicating with the network of shadows across the globe to collect the answers she desired.
As a result, by their journey’s end where the treeline turned into barren rock, both the Librarian and Alita had learned much about the history of dryads, with Altia once more promising to aid the Librarian whenever he needed it. Then after exchanging farewells, the Librarian, Illithar, and Erwin turned their gazes skyward, studying the mountain’s peak before the Librarian began to lead them on a path that only he could see, making his way to one of the ancient entrances that the dwarves had sealed long ago.
While mortal eyes could not discern the sealed entrances which had long since become one with the surroundings, the Librarian’s eye saw more than just the physical and soon, he stood before a pile of rocks that appeared just like any other. Confused, the two behind him were about to raise a few questions when the Librarian created a gate, summoning a Custodian which bore the Hammer of Thavrar. At an unspoken command, the Custodian brought the hammer above its head with both hands and brought it down upon the hollow mountainside, destroying the center stone and causing all the other stones to collapse. Gesturing that the Custodian go first, the Librarian and the other two followed, with another Custodian summoned to protect the rear.
As they walked through a stone passage, hunched forward because the tunnel was made for dwarves, the party observed that it was remarkably well-preserved despite the fact that it must’ve been abandoned for centuries. And even though the floor was covered in dust, by the light that the Librarian summoned they could see the dull gleam of metal inlay and intricate stone carvings.
After they continued on deeper, their surroundings began to change, the ceiling gradually getting higher and higher until the group could finally walk without bending forward. And so, without having to shuffle with hunched backs, the group were able to more quickly traverse the tunnel until they were finally greeted with the first turn of the passage. It was a direct right angle, the passage continuing on for perhaps five meters before abruptly turning again, another right angle.
Confused by this, Illithar asked, “Um, what is it?”
The Librarian answered, “It appears that this is a maze, likely a defensive measure of the dwarves. A maze such as this, with relatively thin passageways, would force an invading army to thin out their numbers considerably, making it easier for the dwarves to deal with these groups, not to mention that the maze itself is a deadly weapon, capable of losing squads of soldiers here for days on end, driving them mad. Only the dwarves would know their way through this maze, perhaps they incorporated secret messages in the design to help them, or perhaps even did it on purpose to confuse the enemy. Oh, the possibilities. However, perhaps an earth mage could—no they can’t, ah such excellent spell engraving, they managed to hide this from an earth mage’s sight. That must be how I could not see before....”
As the Librarian began to ponder this instead of the mission at hand, Erwin said, “Could we traverse the maze?”
The Librarian stopped speculating for a moment, saying, “Of course we can, while the engravings here would prevent a normal mage from seeing the solution to this maze, they are not powerful enough to blind my eye, at least, now that I am here personally. But that is of no matter, all you need to do is follow me.”
And so, as he set off deeper into the maze, Illithar and Erwin would only follow, their footsteps the only ones to be heard echoing throughout the labyrinth. At first, Illithar and Erwin attempted to count the turns they made but after a while, they just stopped. The maze seemed to be endless no matter how much they seemed to progress, with the two beginning to feel doubts as to whether or not the Librarian truly knew what he was doing.
It soon came to the point where they sincerely believed that they were going in one large circle, each passageway was the same as the other, each always ending with two branching tunnels which in turn led off into more tunnels. Tunnel after tunnel did they walk, finding absolutely no signs of life, just the same floor covered in a film of undisturbed dust. But, just as the two were beginning to believe that they’d be trapped in there forever, they suddenly turned a corner and found a hallway stretching out before them, this time its end obscured by darkness. Relieved that they were finally out of the maze, Illithar and Erwin continued to walk, only to be stopped by the Librarian.
Confused, Illithar asked, “What’s wrong?”
The Librarian, busy scanning the walls of this particular hallway, said, “There are several dangerous traps, if you had moved forward, I’m afraid you would’ve lost your life.”
As Illithar took this in, the Librarian said, “Well, let us rest here for the day, I shall disarm these traps while you sleep so that when you wake, all we have to do is continue walking.”