--------///----Eclina's POV----\--------

Even though everyone was calling me, i couldn't help but just stand still, stunned at the situation. I knew for a fact that Gulvae just couldn't stand, not that she could actually stand, Althea. Not that the first meeting, where Althea grabbed her like a fish, helped the situation. Gulvae and Althea were essentially the polar opposites of each other. Gulvae was serious and brave while Althea was shy and scared of getting involved. Me and Alatrea could hardly see them on their own, but together? That in itself spoke to the seriousness of this situation.

I just had to take a few moments to myself before i joined the meeting. And when i was ready, i did. Soon, the world around me changed. Whenever we were all meeting, we would all have a different terrain that signified us. Mine was the forest and the Arbor, Alatrea's was a scorching land with a volcano in the distance, Althea's was a mountain range with storm clouds constantly gathering at the peak and Gulvae's was a surging ocean where a ravine ran across the bottom. It would be a mesmerizing sight to anyone who was seeing this.

Now normally, these four completly different terrains couldn't be anywhere near each other. But for us, they would all have a border where they all stopped at and created a neutral territory. That was where we would have our meeting. The first time we all had a meeting, i couldn't help but look around and just take in the sights. I never saw the Everstorm mountain, but Althea's territory gave me a glimpse at it. The same could be said for the other two. Thanks to Alatrea, i could see a glimpse of the Infernal Island chain. Even more so if i went to Alatrea's Sylum instead of meeting in mine.

Gulvae's was a bit different though. Obviously the sea would be a more special domain, it was all water so we would have to stay in the air if we met with her. Though, i did get a chance to learn how to swim... So that was fun. The clearly non amused expression on Gulvae at that time... Now that wasn't fun. Though now wasn't the time, now, i had to focus on this meeting. It wasn't like the first meeting where we talked about Alatrea's evolution, i had no idea what this one was about.

From Gulvae's territory, the ocean water started to ripple as a shimmering figure shot out and dove towards the neutral territory ground. Gulvae had grown compared to the last time we met, she was atleast four meters longer and grew two meters wider. Her fins seemed to have a somewhat metallic like sheen that was shared by her scales. The spines on her back seemed to grow a little sharper and i could see a small spark come off of them sometimes.

Though i wasn't the only one examining the other, she was looking at me and it seemed like she was comparing herself to me. Though we had to stop since we weren't the only ones here. From Althea's territory, an avian figure flew out towards us, a little slowly, but still towards us. It took her a bit, but Althea made it here. When she saw her, Gulvae jumped back and landed back into the ocean waters of her territory, only sticking her head out as she glared at Althea.

Althea didn't say anything, though she did look away and just looked at the ground. Althea didn't have many changes either, she just grew two meters taller and got four meters to her wingspan. She wasn't wary of me anymore, and that was good. But then i had to look away from them as i could sense Alatrea coming. I looked over to her territory, and saw the familiar figure that i've been talking and sparing with for years, coming closer. Alatrea eventually landed by me and gave me a smile.

(Gulvae) " I am preoccupied, get on with the reason for this meeting before i leave. "

And straight to the point. Well, i just needed to know what this was about too, so i didn't say much about her direct way of asking. Alatrea didn't seem to mind either, she just looked at Gulvae and nodded.

(Alatrea) " Recently, my teachers have been debating about something that concerns us all. At first, i wasn't allowed to know what the reason for the debate was. However, in recent times, i've been told that one of the massive rifts has been showing signs of opening. "

Even if she didn't speak loudly, those words sounded like thunder going off in my head. I couldn't help but think back to the first time i saw the rift underneate the castle. Just thinking back to it gave me chills. And something like that was opening up? Wasn't it too early?

(Alatrea) " At first, no one knew why this had begun. However, with the return of lord Fenrir, and the appearence of rifts that could not be detected, the elders looked at the rifts in their respective areas. It was discovered that the rift at Everstorm Mountain was showing signs of opening. "

When she brought up Mr.Fenrir, i thought back to when he said it might've been his fault. Now i knew what he meant by that. But at the end, we all looked at Althea, since it was in her territory.

(Althea) " U-uh, Teacher Agnastra told me and my family to leave for a bit. She didn't say why, she just said to go and come back when she said so. "

(Gulvae) " So you're useless. No new information despite the danger in your territory... What a disgrace. "

Before she could even respond, Gulvae dove under the water and swam towards the ravine.

(Gulvae) " There is no reason for me to be here anymore. I will be returning to my training. "

And like that, she was gone. Me and Alatrea just looked at each other for a bit before turning back to Althea, who looked like she was about to cry.

(Eclina) " Don't think too much about it Althea, They weren't supposed to open this early so it's normal to not be ready. "

(Alatrea) " She's correct. It's too early so being too weak to assist in its opening is a normal problem. Don't fret about your uselessness. "

Wait... Isn't that a little too harsh? Ah... She flew away... I just looked at Alatrea, who seemed to have an innocent look on her face, clearly not knowing that what she said could be taken the wrong way. Though i couldn't say much, she didn't know what she did wrong. I just shook my head and sighed at her.

(Eclina) " Anyway, what are your teachers going to do? "

(Alatrea) " Currently, they are fighting over who should lead some dragons to assist in bombarding the rift when it opens. "

(Eclina) " Why are they fighting in the first place? If the elders are helping, shouldn't Mr.Fafnir go? "

(Alatrea) " That's what my grandfather is saying. However, Teacher Fafnir believes that my grandfather can handle the situation while he stays to teach me. "

I didn't have multiple teachers so i couldn't get the problem, so i just kept looking confused. She saw that and just gave a sheepish smile. It looked like she didn't really know what to make of the situation either. After a bit of awkward silence, we talked a bit about some stuff and eventually said bye to each other. I left the meeting area and went back to my Sylum. I didn't go back out right away, i decided to stay and digest what i was told. I knew that it would be taken care of but i still felt worried. We didn't know what kind of things would come out of the rifts, so the fear that something stronger then an elder coming out scared me.

I didn't want to keep worrying like that, so i threw those thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on other stuff. I started looking around and just started to focus on my nature element. I knew i couldn't connect to it yet, though i still tried so i could get my mind off of worrying for nothing. Unexpectedly though, i felt a small response. It wasn't enough for a tail to grow, but i still got a minor connection to it. I got some knowledge about the nature element, which normally, i would be disappointed about. But this bit of knowledge was different, instead of it being the knowledge we get when we grow up, this knowledge came from the Arbor itself.

I only got a few years worth of knowledge, and most of it was chaotic since it was at the early years of the arbor, but it was still beneficial to me. I sort of understood the element better, but i just couldn't connect to it yet. I wasn't expecting to make progress with it, but doing so helped me get my mind off of the fear in my mind. And with that done, i just left my Sylum and went to sleep under Espiral's wings. The night was fine, it helped me digest the knowledge i just got and gave me some good sleep.

The next day, we both woke up and heard our stomache's growl, so we went for food. I already knew what it was like to be pampered with food, so this time i was going to make sure Espiral knew what it was like... Though he couldn't exactly fit inside, i could probably convince some maids or anyone else to come out and give us some goodies. Espiral was a bit confused on why i was doing this, but he didn't do anything to stop me from going to get us snacks.

I went back into the mansion and started looking around, especially for the kitchen. It wasn't that hard to find, considering i could just follow my nose and head right over, though i took my time since some of the maids tried coming up to me. They didn't seem hostile and actually seemed to want to pet me. So i let it happen. At first there were only one or two, then it turned to three and then even five. They all liked how soft my fur felt and just enjoyed petting me.

I saw a few more coming so i just decided to ask for some snacks and if anyone wanted to try petting Espiral. The snacks was easy, though there was a little reluctance with my other question. It took a little convincing, but i managed to get one to try it. And from what i knew, all it would take would be one. It didn't take long for the maids with the snacks to come back, so now all i had to do was go back to Espiral. And so i did. The other maids were following, probably to see how petting Espiral would go, and that was perfect.

After a bit of walking, we made it back to the fountain where Espiral was. He knew i was coming back so he was already looking at me and the maid that came with me. The maid looked a little worried, though considering Espiral's overall stature, it wasn't really surprising. It didn't work for her either since the maid was young and Espiral was probably the biggest beast she's ever met. Though despite that, she still reached out her hand and ran her fingers across his feathers. Espiral looked over to me, saw my smile and just accepted it.

The maid seemed to like the feel of his feathers since she hadn't stopped ruffling them up, and that gave the other maids the chance i was looking for. They eventually started to come around and try it for themselves, which seemed to make Espiral happy as he was being pet and feed with the snacks i asked the maids for. With my plan working out, i walked back and just left Espiral to his new experience. I eventually left and went over to the ocean for an actual snack, and saw a school of fish not too deep.

After deciding to grab them, i moved to gather them up and got a good amount of them. I didn't feel like chasing after the whole school so i left them and brought back the ones i caught. When i came back, there were a few different maids around Espiral, who was having the time of his life with a big grin on his face. I wanted sights like this to never end, but i knew that it would be impossible. With those thoughts in mind, i couldn't help but look in the direction of the Everstorm mt and just sigh.

The peaceful scenes like this might end a lot sooner then i wanted them too. That just meant i had to do better and get to the point that i could help. That'd be my goal, that might get closer after going over to Alatrea and actually sparring on this side. Even if that wasn't the original reason, i think she would be happy to train together... But thinking about that, maybe it would be better to leave sooner. I'd have to think about that more, but maybe it would be the right thing to do now that i knew what was going on in the world.