I felt like doing an extra chapter today, hope you enjoy it, It is a side story so its really not part of the main story, really I mean it

- Your Author Sederance

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Eldest Sticky Weed Slug:

*Crawl crawl crawl crawl*

Ooh some moss, I opened my mouth to take a bite and as soon as it hits the stomach a voice speaks to me.

"Hello I am the creator of your world, I want you to gather a group of your species and maybe one or two plant species and get them to the highest mountain in your sight. I will be waiting"

Am I hearing things? Was it the moss that I ate, I threw my senses at the moss to see if something was wrong with it, but nothing came back.

Hmm, time to go back to my family, and the Sticky Weed Slug crawled to his home, which ironically was on the tallest mountain in sight.

Crawling to the summit, he noticed a purple moss that glimmered, "I will bring this home" The slug thought and used a part of his body to make it stick to him, upon reaching the summit, his wife and 10 kids were playing around and that was when he was teleported into a place unfamiliar to him.

Huh? What happened, where am I? and that was when the voice speaks again. "Welcome to Sof, or Survival of the Fittests. Simply just survive and you will do fine"

"Dad I'm hungry, do you have food" one of his kids asked. a chorus of voices spoke up and the Slug was now conflicted.

Seeing as there was no food in sight, He simply said like a wiseman which he was not" I do have food but we are going to have to eat it slowly, wait for more to grow, just don't eat all of it, for who knows when it will appear again."

The chorus of voices just grew louder.

Hardwood Treant POV

Lumbering about my domain I spoke with one of the few trees that actually talked to me.

"Elish, you are to kind, I am just doing my job to protect you, nothing more" I said to the tree that gave me some water.

The tree seemed to have spoke to the young treant and he blushed (If trees can blush, maybe change of leaf color?)

"I know you are going to reach 1,000 years soon, I will wait patiently then for you to join me and we can welcome you to the council" the young treant grinned.

Some crashing through the jungle and another treant appeared. "Aishel come quick, the elder wishes to speak to us" the treant called and I sighed.

"I must go Elish, I will come back once the I have finished the Elder's task." I cooed and he then shouted to the treant "Coming Neido, what does the Elder want now?"

Walking side by side through the forest Neido speaks first. "The old man must be off his rockers, he claims a heavenly being speaks to him, bah he must be crazy"

I sighs at what Neido said and after a bit of think replies "Even if he is off his rockers, it is by the laws of the council to obey the eldest as he is the most knowledgeable"

"But as they say, as time goes on, so does your mind, eventually he will be some blubbering idiot" Neido laughs.

"How is your domain Neido, any new sprouts that catch your eye" I asked

"Sprouts don't catch my eye kiddo, they have to bloom into a tree to catch my eye, weaklings that can't become trees are not worthy of animation" Neido cackles which makes me feels deeply unsettled.

"I see you caught the eyes of a tree yourself though, tell me about her" Neido said.

"She is called Elish, she is kind and caring, offering me some of her Aether which she painstakingly gathered all this time despite needing it to animate. When that was rejected she gives water." I said simply.

"BAHAHAHAHAHA, your to soft kid, we are called HARDwood Treants for a reason" Neido shrieks with laughter.

Wiping away tears Neido calms down and said "If Treants could live and give birth to saplings then that would be ideal, maybe ole Undith and I could have gotten one by now. Sadly we trees need Aether to grow and animate.

I was going to retort to that saying but we had already arrived at the council.

"Neido, Aishel come to the circle, I have an announcement to make." the eldest tree spoke.

"Yes Elder" we both bowed our canopies and sat in our respected seats.

"Role Call, Iloma" the Elder an olden oak speaks

"Here" a 20 meter tall tree sequoia-like speaks, with rainbow leaves

"Hajen"

"Here" A tree with golden apples speak.

"Undith"

"Here" a tall and slender tree with sparkling bark speaks

"Neido"

"Here" Neido speaks

"Jasha"

"Here" A small but wide willow tree speaks.

"finally our newest member, Aishel"

"Here" I speak.

"Good, recently I have heard from a divine being telling us to go to the tallest mountain in sight. We are moving, gather your most beloved tree, and we shall move to the holy lands" Elder Oak explains.

Some believed him like Iloma and gave him praise on being able to hear such a divine being. Others like Neido just air gagged and secretly called him crazy.

As I went back to get Elish, telling it was okay, we are just moving to a better place, maybe she can animate faster, and my talking calms her down as I pull her roots out.

We traveled day and night, Elish was getting weaker as time went on due to her being seperated from the Aether that supplied her.

Neido was the first to bail, alongside Undith, Soon after Hajen left too.

When we finally got to the top all we had was Elder Oak, Iloma, Jasha and I along with our trees.

We waited for some time before we were suddenly teleported to an unknown lifeless planet.

"THE AETHER, WHERE IS THE AETHER" Jasha suddenly cried out, her willow branches drooped even more,

"Elder Oak, the connection to the Aether is gone, this place is lifeless," Iloma speaks calmy.

I despaired, "Elish, I am sorry, I am sorry" I fell to the ground and cried.

Elish just waved her branches and rooted herself.

"Great Being, I don't understand, what is the meaning of this?"

""Survive?, SURVIVE.. we cannot live without the Aether that nourishes our bodies, Great Being send us back I beg of you" Elder Oak was becoming more senile by the minute.

Time went on, Jasha bailed first, crushing her core, her Aether dispersed and that was when we got hope. We (Iloma and I) lapped up the Aether quickly, by that time Elder Oak succumbed to insanity and also crushed his core.

"Maybe we are the reason why Aether exist in the first place, to populate planets and give them life" a soft voice spoke.

I turned around to find the tree that I brought starting to move, the branches formed arms, the canopy swaying as the tree takes it's first steps

"Elish, you animated?, please tell me this isn't a dream" I was exasperated

"It isn't my dear Aishel" Elish smiled and hugged me.