--------///----Eclina'S POV----\\\--------

(Espiral) " Right? "

(Rosaline) " It... May work... But it's such a simple idea... We may never have thought of that... "

(Eclina) " Why not? "

(Livillia) " To us, the Grand Silver Arbor is our progenitor. Would you think of asking lady Ignastra for anything? "

Espiral seemed to shiver a bit but then he shook his head.

(Espiral) " No... I'm too small. "

Normally i would question what he meant but i understood that he didn't mean small in size but small in presence. He knew he wasn't strong enough to really be acknowledged by her.

(Livillia) " Exactly. We may be some of the forests first dryads however our existence compared to the Grand Silver Arbor is similar to yours and lady Ignastra's. We may be kin but that doesn't mean that our opinion will be listened too or taken seriously. "

(Garris) " However this is different. As Espiral pointed out, Eclina is a progenitor. You've recognized her life force so perhaps the Arbor will do the same. "

(Rosaline) " It most definetly will... However it's most likely the best plan as of now... We'll need to gather some of our sisters in order to awaken the Grand Silver Arbor. Lord Garris, if you would be so kind. "

(Livillia) " Sister, you seem to be forgetting something. The Grand Silver Arbor speaks differently then we do. "

I didn't understand what that meant, and neither did Espiral or Mr.Garris. Though from the look in Rosaline's face, she did.

(Garris) " What does that mean? "

(Rosaline) " Unlike the beast and biped species, plants do not communicate through words as we had no need or ability to use them. Before we were dryads, we spoke to each other through feelings and emotional suggestion. The Grand Silver Arbor may be different however if it is not it is imperitive to remember. We may be capable of translating yet the possibility that we are unable to help due to the Grand Silver Arbors pressure is also there."

(Garris) " Hmm... We'll cross that ravine if we get there. For now, let's collect your sisters and begin awakening The Arbor. "

Mr.Garris shrunk and knelt down for Rosaline and Livillia to get on. When they were both on, he did what i did for Espiral and made some air seats for them to keep them from falling off.

(Garris) " I'll be back soon so stay here till we come back. Untill then... There. "

Mr.Garris made a air covering above us so the rain wouldn't keep falling onto us. It was big enough that i could lay Espiral down with his wings fully out and still have space for my container of goodies and to lie down. So i did just that. We nodded at him and then he took off. Resting while listening to the sound of the rain was relaxing, and having snacks for us was even better. I took out some of the alpha meat from my container and gave some to Espiral, who took the meat and happily guzzled it down. I tried it out to see if it had any taste, which unfortunately it didn't. It tasted just as bland as the kids.

(Eclina) " Haaah. "

(Espiral) " What's wrong big sis? "

(Eclina) " It doesn't taste good... It doesn't even have a taste for me. " 

(Espiral) " Oh... Well if you're not going to it the rest, can i have it? "

(Eclina) " Ok... Now i have nothing to eat... "

The thought of going through the fight and not really coming out of it with anything was enough to dissapoint me and make me sad. Then Espiral put his wing on my back and tried to cheer me up.

(Espiral) " It'll be ok Big Sis, we can get some more food later. "

(Eclina) " Haah... Fine. But i wanna be carried back next time! It's no fair that i don't get to get carried. "

(Espiral) " Wha? But, I don't... Maybe? Can i? Where do i..?"

He started looking hard at me and i could see the visible confusion on his face. His temporary paralysis was pretty much gone so he was able to stand and fly a bit. He flew up a bit and ended up accidently hitting the cover Mr.Garris made for us. Though after he shook that off, he went around the cover and started looking at me from different angles. The whole time he did that he was flexing his talons. 

(Espiral) " Big Sis, can i? "

(Eclina) " Ooou. Yes! "

I walked out from under the cover and stood still under the falling rain. Espiral circled me for a bit before he grabbed my back. I could tell that he was trying his best not to to pierce me with his talons but it still happened, which made me yelp.

(Espiral) " I'm sorry Big Sis! "

(Eclina) " It's fine. Just means we have to do something else... "

Despite what i was saying, i couldn't keep my disappointed tone out of my voice. He heard it and came down to comfort me again. We tried other things like him grabbing me up by my tails, but we found out that it would hurt more. I even made a harness thing that i saw on a horse in Reina's parents kingdom, but then we found out that the earth along with my actual weight was a bit too much for him to handle. After that we just gave up and went back under the cover.

Since i wasn't using my air for anything, i swapped it out for my light and fixed the cuts from his talons and whatever earlier wounds that din't heal from the fight with the Spark Wolves. I fixed up any other damage that Espiral may have had, which didn't seem to be much since he avoided the attacks that would hurt him and kept out of range of anything that would be too dangerous. Other then that, we laid under a flame Espiral made to keep us warm while we waited for Mr.Garris to come back.

We were pretty much cuddled up with one of his wings on my back while we waited, which almost made me fall asleep. Though instead of sleeping, i decided to head into my Sylum to see if i could check up on my fire and figure out how it changed. When i got into my Sylum, i could tell my fire was different since it seemed to be glowing a little brighter then i remember. But other then that, there wasn't much i could figure out from it. Looking at it didn't tell me anything and connecting to it felt essentially the same. But there was something else going on in my Sylum, i could feel something else but i didn't really know what it was.

Since i couldn't figure it out, i decided to just leave it be and go back. When i got back, Espiral was still next to me but he seemed to be asleep so i made sure i didn't move enough to wake him up. Though after a bit, i ended up falling asleep to the sound of the rain. It had to have been atleast thirty minutes later when Mr.Garris came back with six more dryads. Other then Rosaline and Livillia, i didn't really recognize any of them. After they said hi, they went to work and circled the tree. They put their hands on it and seemed to be doing something, but i couldn't recognize it. It felt like an element but it wasn't any that i knew of.

They seemed to just keep going for minutes which ended up turning into an hour and then two... Then three... It didn't seem to be working but they kept going and Mr.Garris said to not bother them so they wouldn't have to start over. Though to do that, he let us go out, but not too far incase they woke it up. Me and Espiral were just running / flying around to find ways to kill time till we could go back. We managed to get some fruits for me so i wouldn't be hungry or grumpy, but other then that, not much happened. There were some beasts that we avoided or just didn't care about us, but none that we could get food from.

Though after another two hours when the moon was getting close to peaking, Mr.Garris called for us to come back. We made our way back to the big tree and i could just feel something was different. It felt similar to what i felt in my Sylum but i didn't know what it was. When Mr.Garris saw us, he motioned for us to come closer, which we did. The dryads seemed to look exhuasted but they hadn't moved from when i last saw them.

(Garris) " They're close to waking up the Arbor. We're going to need you here to ask the Arbor to release Fenrir's skull for us. "

(Eclina) " Ok! "

The dryads focus seemed to get sharper as the forest started to resound in a... Chrous? Of cries from beasts, trees, flowers even the ground we were standing on seemed to be crying out in joy. Then i felt a "gaze" looking all around us and all around the forest itself, then i felt that gaze look and actually focus at me. That gaze felt like the other progenitors... Just different. Then all the dryads, that i could see, seemed shocked and looked up. It seemed to take a few minutes but then they all nodded their heads towards the tree. That's when i felt the gaze from earlier, shift. I felt it go down and into the other dryads. Then they all backed away from the tree and grouped up infront of us. I was confused but then Mr.Garris knelt down and solved the question for me.

(Garris) " This presence... It's an honor to meet you, Grand Silver Arbor. "

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All the dryads turned their heads at the same time and looked to Mr.Garris.

(Grand Silver Arbor) " You... Child of Fenrir... Current elder... Protector... of my forest... Thank you... "

They all spoke at once but their voice was the same. It sounded old, strong, unmovable. It was like hearing a mountain speak but it didn't have any gender in its voice despite being in the dryads.

(Garris) " It's an honor of the highest magnitude to be thanked by you. However i must ask, how is this possible? "

(Grand Silver Arbor) " ... I am... Borrowing... The conciousness of my kin... This is... Temporary... Even by borrowing... The conciousness of all the... Dryads... In my forest... They can only last... Ten..? Minutes... At the most... So tell me... What do you... Require... Of me... " 

Mr.Garris looked over to me so i took that as my moment. 

(Eclina) " We need Mr.Fenrir's skull. "

The dryads all looked to me and their eyes narrowed as i felt the atmosphere in the forest change. It felt... Dangerous.

(Great Silver Arbor) " You... Child of Fenrir... Yet different... New progenitor... Yet still young... Strange... Tell me, why..? For what reason... Must i... Relinquish... His skull to you..? What reason must i... Endanger his body..? "

The pressure from its gaze was a little intimidating... But for some reason, i didn't feel like it would hurt me.

(Eclina) " So we can bring him back. Mr.Leviathan said we need his skull to do it. "

The dryads all seemed stunned by my answer since the pressure of the forest just disappeared and the dryads faces went blank.

(Great Silver Arbor) " Impossible... They are dead... There is no returning... Explain... Yourself... No... Show me... "

Then a dryad that wasn't Rosaline or Livillia, crouched down and extended her hand out. I thought about it, then thought it wanted to see my memories. I walked up to the dryad and let her hand touch my head as i focused on everything related to Sylum, Elysium and the progenitors. As soon as i focused on them i felt the tree view them, it happened in an instant so i managed to go through all that i remembered in a minute. After we were done, the tree took the dryads hand off and stood back up. The looks on their faces went through confusion, joy, anger then understanding all in a matter of seconds. 

(Great Silver Arbor) " They live... Impossible... Yet reality... These... Realms..? I exist in them all... Yet i am unaware... These rifts however... Inexcusible... Another impossibility... And yet another... Reality... I shall... Deal with them... Your... Memories are not enough... Eclina... I require... Blood... And time... " 

(Eclina) " Blood? My blood? "

(Great Silver Arbor) " Correct... I need... Time... To understand your... Capabilities... In sensing these... Rifts... "

(Eclina) " Are you sure? I can just keep checking myself. "

(Great Silver Arbor) " I am... Sure... You have your purpose... And i have mine... This is our home... My responsibility has... Always been... The protection of... Their graves and... Our home... I shall not allow... My purpose... To get in the way... Of yours... You must grow... You must learn... You must become what... Can defend Astrum... However, i will still... Require... Your capabilities... Until i myself am capable... of sensing these rifts... " 

(Eclina) " Ok. How much blood do you need? "

(Great Silver Arbor) " Atleast... Half... Of all the blood... in your body... I shall make it... Painless... However... I will need more time... Then i can stay... For... In order to not... Kill you... Quickly prepare yourself... " 

At that last part, i was surprised, and a root suddenly emerging out of the ground in front of us didn't help either. The root was absolutely massive and the whole thing wasn't even out. It looked like it was only the top part that was out but it was already bigger then us and almost as big as Mr.Garris.

(Great Silver Arbor) " Now please... stand infront of... My root... I shall begin... The process and... Free Fenrir's skull... "

I did what the tree asked and stood infront of the big root. When i sat infront of it, a small... Needle? Grew out of it. Eventually the needle pierced my chest and started draining my blood. I thought it would hurt, but i couldn't feel the part where the needle was stuck in. But i did feel something else. I felt something changing in my Sylum, but i couldn't check while this was happening. I had to wait. But the longer it went on for, the more the feeling in me grew. I had to keep myself from moving too much but that kept getting harder, especially after a half hour passed. I felt myself getting dizzy and i was starting to get hungry.

Despite all of that, i managed to keep myself from messing it up, but i was exhuasted and hungry. Thankfully, Espiral and Mr.Garris had food for me. I didn't know when that happened, i didn't even notice that Mr.Fenrir's skull was out but aside from all of that, i was starving and tired. I ate everything they had for me, which seemed to be enough to fill up a herd of steel bison, and instantly fell asleep. Though before i went to sleep, i thought i heard Mr.Garris try to say something.

Eventually i woke up, and felt Espiral on my back with his wings around my face. It took me a second to react since i was still tired but i ended up shaking him off me. He fell to the ground and woke up with an awkward screech only to see that it was me that woke him up. Then he rushed and hugged me for seemingly no reason.

(Espiral) " Siiiis! You're ok! "

(Eclina) " Of co- Ack! "

I don't know how, but SOMEHOW a feather of his ended up in my mouth, which wasn't a good experience. He seemed to get it and backed away a bit so i could have some space. I got the feather out of my mouth and just looked back up to Espiral. He seemed worried but i didn't really know why.

(Eclina) " Why were you so worried? "

(Espiral) " Because you didn't wake up yesterday! "

(Eclina) " Really? "

(Espiral) " Yep! I got worried so i stayed here and watched you sleep! "

(Eclina) " Oh. Thanks Espiral... But where's Mr.Garris? "

(Espiral) " He's with the dryads. He said something about checking with them and seeing if they made progress. He should be back soon though. "

(Eclina) " Oh. Ok. "

After that, Espiral stuck to my side for a bit. Sort of like a duckling with its mother. But a duckling that was bigger then its mother. I just let it happen since there wasn't anything wrong with him following me. I decided to walk over and look at Mr.Fenrir's skull. His skull was absolutely massive and looked just as big as his head was whenever i saw him. It looked clean, with no cracks, any missing teeth or any other damages. I couldn't imagine how the tree managed to keep it like this, but it was still cool however it did. 

Other then that, i didn't really know what to do while i waited... But then i remembered about the feeling i had yesterday and decided to take a look. When i got to my Sylum, i saw what was giving me the new feeling during giving the tree my blood. Near my other elements, there was a ball of green light that seemed to be sprouting flowers and roots. It looked like i could touch it, but then the other feeling i had when i went into my Sylum stopped me... It definetly seemed familiar now that i went through the whole thing with the big tree... Which was what it was... The big tree was in my Sylum, more then just physically.

I was curious about why the big tree didn't want me to connect to my new nature so i tried asking it but i got a weird response that wasn't in words but in feelings like what Rosaline said. The big tree was saying that i wasn't ready? It's too much for me to control? Without someone for the big tree to speek through, understanding it was hard. I thought more on what the big tree was trying to sayand actually looked at the nature more. The ball of nature seemed... Unbalanced? Compared to my others.

Everything else was calm and contained while my nature was constantly overflowing with flowers. It even seemed to be bigger then my other elemts despite having just gotten it. I didn't get why but the tree tried to explain. But without someone to make it easier, all i got was, "I am an embodiment of nature", "It was my mistake", "You are not ready". I couldn't figure out what that was all supposed to mean but i understood that i wasn't going to be able to use the new nature... Which was disappointing, but something that i was looking forwards too when i could actually use it.Though i ended up getting curious about how the big tree made it into my Sylum.

Though I got another cryptic answer. "Shifting between reals is difficult but possible" Other then that, it didn't say much else. There wasn't much i could do in Sylum anymore so i decided to just leave. I woke back up to Espiral sitting next to me just waiting for me to come back. Though there was nothing for us to do without Mr.Garris coming back. So we waited. It had to be a half hour later when he finally came back. He noticed that i was awake and came over to us.

(Garris) " You're awake, good. How do you feel? "

(Eclina) " I feel just fine. Disappointed but fine. "

(Garris) " Hmm? Disappointed? Did something happen while i was away? "

I told him about my new nature and he seemed to understand what the issue was.

(Garris) " It must've been a two way transfer. While the Arbor was siphoning your blood, you must've been absorbing some of the nature from the arbor. Considering where you gained your nature from, then it's obvious your body would be incable of handling the nature element. The arbor is almost as old as the progenitors themselves. Obtaining an element from the arbor is not something a child would be able to handle. "

(Eclina) " Oh... I'm still disappointed that i can't use it. "

(Garris) " Just gives you more incentive to continue to train and grow. Perhaps you'll be able to use it a year from now, maybe two. Perhaps it'll take a decade or more. All we know is that as you are now, you're unable to handle it. For now, let's focus on checking the forest for rifts and continuing your training. The sooner you're capable of fending off most of the beasts in the forest, and the sooner the arbor becomes capable of sensing the rifts on its own, the sooner you'll be able to leave the forest. "

(Eclina) " Ok. "

Over time i hadn't thought about leaving the forest as much as i should've... I was able to talk to mama and papa on occasion and i enjoyed being in the forest... But i'd eventually have to leave... Though i was definetly curious about what was out there. And i definetly wanted to see mama and papa face to face again. I was worried about the day i'd leave the forest but at the same time i was looking forward to it.Though when i looked at Espiral, he seemed concerned.

(Eclina) " What's wrong? "

(Espiral) " Umm... Big Sis... When you leave... Do i get to come with? "

(Eclina) " Huh? Why wouldn't you come with me? "

It seemed to take him a moment to figure out what i meant, but when he did find out, he rushed and hugged me. Then he started babbling and making happy noises but i just sighed and shook my head. I knew how attached he was to me so i always thought he was going to come with me whenever i was going to leave. Though i never told him that so i didn't even notice him being worried about that.

We spent some time in the hug but after it was done, we took off to check all over the forest incase any rifts had popped up. Which, some did. We ended up finding and closing three rifts along with an underground rift that the dryads found. They were all far apart but they were all small so they didn't have a chance of opening up. We went around the forest a few more times just to be sure we got them all, and when we were sure we went back to the big tree. Mr.Fenrir's skull was still there and didn't really seem to be any different.

(Eclina) " Umm... Mr.Garris? What're we supposed to do with Mr.Fenrir's skull? "

(Garris) " Hmm? For now, we do nothing. Fenrir and the other progenitors are handling the situation on their end. We can't do anything to speed up the process of his revival, all we can do is wait and protect it. If there's anything that needs to be done they will tell us. For now we'll just continue our training as is and wait until you either leave the forest or Fenrir returns. "

I nodded at that and went on with the rest of our day. There wasn't anything else that happened but for now that was a good thing. Taking time and working to get stronger was going to be what me and Espiral were going to have to focus on for now. We would need to be as ready as we could be for the time we would have to leave the forest, and i was going to make sure i could be ready to do what i would eventually have to do.