Innocence is the gift of children and the pure-hearted.

~Mother Danu, The Primordial Goddess of Nature

Late morning, Crow opened his eyes and went outside to do his daily routine. The wood nymphs came to play as he finished and was wiping himself down with well water. They were already teasing him and giggling. Crow smiled at their antics and felt at peace. The nymphs were very innocent and viewed the world with the eyes of small children.

“Hey, do you have names?” Crow asked.

“We do. You may call me Rain.”

“I am Crow,” he said. Watching them, he had a wild idea but wasn’t sure how they’d feel about it. Fae weren’t like humans and were more like a soul or energy. Their physiology was hard to decipher as half their essence came from their tree. The closest thing to them in the human world was Soul projection. Powerful cultivators could leave, push their soul out of their body and explore, but if they left their body too long, they’d die. “Are you capable of bonding with another tree?”

“It’s possible, but not pleasant. And the chances become smaller if our tree is destroyed.”

“Why?”

“The bonding process is slow, and it requires all our energy. If successful, the tree will nurture us until we recover, which could take several days or even weeks. If our tree is destroyed, we suffer and may not have the energy to complete another bonding. Most wood nymphs would not survive it.”

Crow suspected as much but felt their lives were pitiable. After spending time with them, he knew they longed to play under the moonlight. He wasn’t sure what the Scath did with them, but their soft nature and innocence made them easy targets.

Dryads also required a tree to survive, but Crow learned later that they fed on trees infested with Dark Mana. So they were dual-element creatures of Wood and Dark aspects. Wood nymphs needed Wood Mana, and a lot of it, to survive. These fae were human-sized because they had plenty of mana, unlike Lily.

“Then what happens if your tree is transplanted? Could you survive that?”

Rain conferred with the other nymphs in their silent form of speech. Crow wasn’t sure what method they were using but found it fascinating. However, he remained respectful and didn’t pry.

“Why do you ask?” Rain asked after a few minutes.

“I could potentially move you away from here. Away from the Scath, and you can stay with me. Or I can move you to a place of your choosing.”

Once more, the women huddled together, and Crow smiled at the scene.

“Why would you help us?”

“I am a Draoidh, and fae are Mother Danu’s children, so this is something I should do. I mean no harm and won’t force you, but I’m saddened when I think about how long your people have been deprived of the moonlight.”

Rain nodded and, after some time, decided. Another fae stepped up, and Crow found the current development interesting.

“We believe as long as the tree is sound and alive, it could be done. But we aren’t certain.”

“My name is Autumn,” the other wood nymph that stepped forward spoke. It was the first time Crow had heard another wood nymph speak. Autumn flew to a nearby tree. “This is my home. I’m willing to try this, but can you explain what you intend to do?”

“I have a Soulscape. I was simply going to move it inside. However, I will warn you, there is a specific type of tree called a Fireheart Oak inside.” Crow described his Soulscape in detail, even the souls that resided within and why they were there.

“You are strange,” Rain giggled when Crow finished telling his story.

“Can you place my tree someplace that isn’t near the Fireheart Oak? We are afraid of fire,” Autumn asked and decided to test this idea. Their collective memories had never heard of anyone attempting this before.

“I can. It takes a lot of energy, so I will only be able to move a few of these trees a day. Plus, my training is essential because I found a way to escape. It’ll take some time to finish the spell, but we can leave this valley within a month if all goes well,” Crow explained. “I’ll bring you over first, and we can see if it’s safe. Once we are sure it can be done, I’ll come back here and tell your friends.”

“Family,” Rain corrected.

“We are sisters from the same mother,” Autumn added.

“Woah.” Crow’s initial shock was replaced by understanding. He wasn’t sure how fae propagated but felt they might have been seeded from the same tree. “Ready?”

“I am.”

Crow concentrated on the tree and spread his mana sense around it until he covered it from limb to root. Once he had the entire thing within his scope, he pulled until he felt it shifting to his Soulscape. Crow’s primary worry was that he wouldn’t have enough mana to complete the process because it consumed way more energy than moving over the Fireheart Oak saplings. Between the size of the tree and the fae hidden within, it felt like he was overburdened. Because of it, mana was consumed twice as fast as usual.

It was strange because he lost all contact with the world during the process and felt adrift in a void. Vaguely he could sense his body dripping with sweat and his clothes stuck to his body. The sound of his ragged breathing reached his ears, and by the time the tree disappeared, he collapsed to the ground, his mind spinning dizzily.

Arriving inside his Soulscape, he guided the tree to a relatively open area away from the Fireheart Oaks. There was enough area to transplant all the wood nymphs without crowding them in the slightest. It was also near a river and an ideal place to see the moon as it rose.

Stepping out of his Fireheart Oak, he wondered if this made him part nymph. In this world, he also lived in a tree. That bit of coincidence didn’t escape his notice, but he left it alone as he rushed over to check on Autumn.

“You okay?” Crow called out to the tree, but only silence greeted him. Checking the tree’s condition, it felt healthy and only slightly stressed. Unsure what to do, he knocked on the tree as if it was a door. Frowning, he was about to return when a streak of green light flew past him. Its speed created small sonic booms as it passed by, and then it slammed into the tree with enough force to knock free a few leaves and shake all the branches.

A wood nymph stumbled out of the tree, and her woozy gait made her look as if she was intoxicated. Tumbling to the ground, she giggled uncontrollably.

“Let’s do it again!” Autumn yelled out with excitement.

“Are you insane?” Crow asked but couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine. My tree is fine, and this place is really interesting.”

“What happened?”

“I got curious, so I peeked out of my tree as it was moving across, and… erm, I might have got left behind.”

“Then how…?”

“I’m soul-linked to my tree, silly. Once it was planted, it practically summoned me to it.” The nymph stood up and then turned and saw the centerpiece of his Soulscape, and her jaw dropped to the ground. “What is that!?”

“Fireheart Oak. I’m told it was something I created, and it maintains a balance between Fire and Wood Mana.”

“That should be impossible.”

“And yet, there it is.”

“Ooh… you have saplings. If…” the nymph paused, unsure if it was impolite to ask. At times like this, she’d consult her elder sister.

Crow knew the nymph was curious, and he had an inkling of what she wanted to ask.

“I won’t object if you want to link to it. However, I’m not taking responsibility if you are injured.”

“Yes!” The nymph ran over to the nearest sapling and ran around it but didn’t get too close. Several of the souls came over upon hearing all the commotion. Unsure what to call them, Crow finally settled on calling them Soul Butlers.

“These are the souls I was talking about. Treat them as your caretakers. Listen up! All of you will listen to and do as the wood nymphs command you unless those orders conflict with mine.”

“Yay,” the nymph giggled. “You, go water my tree,” Autumn commanded a bandit soul Crow never inspected. No matter how outraged the soul felt, it couldn’t resist the commands.

“When will you bring my sisters over?”

“I’ll bring another one over after I recover and do some meditation. There are no adverse side effects, right?”

“Nope, this is actually a better environment than out there. It is rich in Wood Mana—is that a fairy ring!?” Autumn ran over to the pool over water while clapping in excitement.

“It is, but I’ve deactivated it.”

The nymph’s eyes lit up with excitement, but nothing compared to how big her eyes got when she saw a moon in the sky.

“Alright, I will go back and let your sisters know you are safe.”

Autumn just nodded, unable to take her eyes off the moon hanging in the sky. Crow chuckled at the lively little thing and exited his Soulscape. It took a few breaths’ worth of time to get his body back under control before he could stand up.

“Is… my sister okay?” Rain asked.

“Everything went well. I can start moving you during my meditation breaks. It takes a lot of energy out of me. So we can only do this slowly.”

“Are you sure you can escape here? If you can’t, we’d be trading one prison for another,” Rain asked.

“I’m confident I can escape this place. Even if I can’t do it, I have a friend that I’m positive will get me out.” Inwardly, Crow wasn’t sure if Acco could actually help or not. His understanding of the Astrologer’s ability was shallow. If nothing else, he was confident his friends would think of something, and Lily, at the very least, could come and go as she pleased.

“Very well. You can transfer Eve and Holly when you have the chance. Their trees are that one and that one,” Rain pointed. “Now, darkness is almost here, so we must go. Remember to keep your door shut.”

Over the next few weeks, while Crow worked on consolidating his spell and preparing himself for his first transformation, he moved dozens of the nymphs into his Soulscape. It was much more lively in there than it had been in the past. Lily and Nin were going to be in for a surprise when they returned.