I followed the once-corrupted back to the nest that contained the [Little Guardian’s Focus] - or, rather, I allowed the once-corrupted to carry me there.

There was a sense of movement, a mental tugging similar to what I felt from each [Little Guardian’s Totem], but different enough that I couldn’t mistake one for the other. I could sense the Great Core’s Tangleroot; more specifically, I could sense its location relative to my own. Not that it mattered that much. The bad-thing - or was it a good-thing now? - couldn’t pull itself from the ground and wriggle away, and I already knew where to find it.

Still, it would be more useful for other bad-things in the future.

I let myself fall more deeply into my thoughts, focusing on the Tangleroot Puppet, trying to see if it could communicate with me in any understandable way. I was disappointed by the result, and my earlier good mood had already begun to wither slightly by the time that we made it back to the nest of the [Little Guardian’s Focus].

“There you are!” I heard the-female-who-was-not-Needle shout. “Where have you been, little guy?”

“It’s the Little Guardian, it’s the Little Guardian!” a chorus of high-pitched voices called out, giggling in unrestrained [glee]. My once-corrupted transportation grunted, quailing under the assault of a crowd of tiny once-corrupted.

“Sorry about that,” not-Needle said, making noises at the once-corrupted that I had allowed to carry me. “We just got done with story time; I told them a little story that kids their age love back in Orken. The little gremlins haven’t shut up ever since.” She snorted lightly, a gust of air blowing through her nostrils.

“That’s umm...that’s okay? They’re not going to make him upset, are they? I don’t want any of them to get bitten if I put him down,” the once-corrupted replied, making noises in return.

I ignored the talking Coreless, slithering down the once-corrupted’s body and toward the tiny future-disciples. There weren’t nearly as many of them as in the previous many-nest, but the links that I held to them were still easier to find than the ones tied to the other once-corrupted. The tiny Coreless felt strongly, no matter what it was that they were feeling. The simplicity of it all was as refreshing as it always had been. Clear. Easy.

I let a tiny Coreless take me up with his little fingers, sliding my scale-flesh against his skin-flesh. He giggled, radiating [happiness]. The other tiny Coreless burst with dashes of [envy], so I quickly moved on to the others, allowing them to scratch at my head-scales and using [Illusion Spark] to delight them with flashes of pulsating color.

The-female-who-was-not-Needle laughed, making noises again. “No, for some reason the little cutie gets along perfectly with annoying little gremlins. They probably remind him of himself. Skies know that he can be adorable and irritating in nearly equal measure. Isn’t that right, Little Guardian?”

When she finally finished speaking, I turned towards her, flicking out a tongue and transforming my illusion into a tiny replica of not-Needle providing offerings of Little Puppeteers into my open mouth. She didn’t seem to get the hint, just snorting again. I found [fondness] and [appreciation]. I wasn’t sure why. The two Coreless watched for a while longer; eventually, the-female-who-was-not-Needle spoke up.

“So, where did you two go?”

I let their voices fade away, focusing instead on securing the loyalty of the tiny Coreless. By the time I was done, there was no doubt that they understood the wonder of the Great Core.

The noises of the gathered Coreless passed by nearly unnoticed as I reared back, untangling my coils into a position fit to strike. The snake looked back at me, an uncanny reflection of myself.

It was perfect. I gave the first of the once-corrupted a hiss of approval.

“How are you feeling today, Garric?” the-female-who-was-not-Needle asked, probably wondering whether she would be gifted with such a magnificent creation.

The once-corrupted grunted, fiddling with another carving. It was another depiction of me, the Great Core’s likeness visibly jutting from the surface of my head-scales. He was dedicated. I gave another hiss of approval, and decided to bestow him a name for his service - The Carver.

“I’m okay; just trying to keep my hands busy,” The Carver said, making noises at not-Needle.

A tiny Coreless toddled up, looking at the finished carving with wide eyes and visible [longing]. The Carver bared his teeth, motioning towards it with one hand.

“Go ahead, you can have that one - but make sure to share if anyone else wants to play, okay?”

“Okay!” the tiny Coreless responded, [longing] turning to [joy] with astounding speed. Tiny fingers curled around the darkwood snake, holding on tight, and the little Coreless dashed away.

The Carver shook his head slowly. “It’s amazing how quickly some of them have started to bounce back,” he said. “Sometimes I think they’re handling things better than we adults are. Alice would have loved to have the chance to dote on them all. She always loved children, even if we never had any of our own.” His [Little Guardian’s Totem] shifted towards [grief]. He redoubled his efforts, focusing on the darkwood between his fingers again. His hands were trembling, and a tiny drop of red ran down the carving.

The-female-who-was-not-Needle reached out, patting the once-corrupted’s shoulder softly. She didn’t say anything, just holding it there. The Carver’s finger’s slowly steadied, and he breathed in a ragged breath. He started to carve again, cutting darkwood into the shape of a new [Little Guardian’s Totem].

I stayed silent, not quite knowing what to do.

Even after all this time, even with all of my new understanding, sometimes I just didn’t know enough.

Instead, I just did the only thing that I could, watching as The Carver worked - and then, when he finally slipped a long thread through a hole in the darkwood carving, I finished it for him.

He held the newest [Little Guardian’s Totem] tight, poring over it with his eyes, before putting it aside and moving on to the next.

The trembling of his hands stilled just a little bit further, lost in the repetitive motions.

I caught its scent-taste first, that familiar mix of smoke and fire. I found its glow next, and swept my eyes across its fire-red surface. And then, finally, I saw the hands that held it.

“Stop!” not-Needle shouted, racing across the nest with a speed that almost sent me tumbling. The Grateful One paused, mouth still open, the mana core of a flame-gaze bad-thing held in front of it.

“Where did you get that? That’s not safe,” not-Needle warned. I could sense the [worry] in her voice, hardly needing the confirmation that her [Little Guardian’s Totem] gave me.

The Grateful One paused for a moment, a free hand snaking towards the thread around her neck. “Erik’s bag,” she mumbled. “He asked me to grab him something earlier and I found it.”

“And what were you planning on doing with it, exactly?” the-female-who-was-not-Needle questioned, the noises coming fast and breathless.

The Grateful One’s response was much calmer. “I was going to eat it.”

“You were going to eat it, just like that...Elara, that’s an almost-certain way to become Mana-Touched, if not dead. The human body can’t handle an extreme mana infusion like that safely, not without a lot of time and preparation. You haven’t had that.”

“...but I’ll be stronger, right? I could be a Seeker like you, right?” The Grateful One replied, her eyes lit with an inner fire. “I talked to some of the Virtun delegation when they were here. They said that they all did something similar. They were weird, sure, maybe a little different from normal - but they were strong. Free. And...and the Guardian Statue’s healing will help protect me from the worst of it all.”

“Well, yes - but,” not-Needle started to say. I felt a spike of [anticipation] and [fear] from The Grateful One, followed immediately afterwards by an unyielding [RESOLVE].

She swallowed the mana core whole. Moments later, her face twisted in pain, and her legs buckled.

She fell, clutching desperately to the [Little Guardian’s Totem] around her neck.