Once Humanity had found a path to survival they had been at a point of desperation for a long, long while. The one race who took pity on them were the Cloven, but it was far from a straightforward affair.

The first Cloven who found the Humans were killed, with mechanical weapons that were vastly superior to the bow, or even the highest velocity magic they knew of. But that the Humans had lost the ability to replicate and were reluctant to use other than in the most dire of circumstance.

Rumours of a huge roaring beast emerged and powerful [Druids] were sent to investigate. The Cloven loathed nothing so much as predators. What the [Druids] found were Humans who realised their game of hide-and-seek was over, and that they needed a different path forward, because if the Cloven, one of the mightiest races to emerge from the destruction of Mankind, were to decide they were finished, then that was that. Even the tools that might allow them some bittersweet revenge had all remained in the hands of already destroyed factions.

But the Cloven did not know that. And they did not need to, instead the clever Humans recognised what sort of mages it was who had come to their doors. Not only a mage of nature magic, but ones who adored plant-life above all else. And this settlement, as luck would have it, happened to be sitting on the Norwegian seed vault. First they brought them the most complicated narcotics they could find, and the [Druids] were amazed. All the native narcotic plants on Ross that the Cloven knew of were of a psychedelic nature, if you didn't count predators.

Next they brought them spices, cacao, vanilla and cinnamon, different curries and allspice, wasabi and turmeric.

Once they estimated the Cloven were suitably impressed by the variety of plant life available to such a wretched settlement, and the Human negotiators had hinted it was merely the tip of the iceberg, the Humans had earned themselves their first allies on Ross. Even if the mysterious disappearances in the area remained unexplained, such a defenceless species were no threat to the Cloven as a whole, or even a mid-sized settlement, and so the sacred plants they had been showered with was enough to turn their heads right around and go advocate for the clearly special caretakers. It was so rare for them to find kindred spirits on this wretched continent, after all.

The other factions among the Cloven were not so easily blinded however, once they knew that a sapient race remained hidden so close to their territory all kinds of questions had to be asked. And right when they were finally getting somewhere, when it was established that the race in question was Humans, it reheated the debate all over again. The first question on everyone's mind was: why was there no [Quest]?

Unbeknownst to the natives of planet Ross, the appearance of a remaining shard of Humanity had sparked even greater debate in the heavens. The appearance of the Humans had sent large parts of Yar-Sang society into a panic, that was until the response of sending every other race at them proved so effective, then the rumours started that this addition was the flashy debut of a brilliant institution looking to make a real splash on the Ross-experiment scene. The leadership could of course neither confirm nor deny. But the betting factions were in a furor, new methods to get every soul predicting the next twist were deployed and the end of Humanity turned into the entertainment of the millenia.

Once it was all over the cries for more were deafening, but it was not like the Yar-Sang could pull new species out of their tail-ends, what they did was guide species who sprung up naturally due to the rare conditions present on Ross.

When a faction of Humans were once more discovered, and in a position to ally with the Cloven, one of the betting favourites from the last era no less, it was too good an opportunity to pass up. The clamour for a [Quest] to signal that the Cloven should support the Humans to see if they could ultimately recover was global, and eventually, despite the dangers of playing games with a race possibly as old and shaped in the same scientific vein as themselves, the leadership caved.

Weeks had passed, but when [System] approval finally arrived was when the Cloven really committed to negotiating with the Humans. But no matter what the quests said, the Cloven wanted those incredible non-magic plants. It was completely impossible to predict what a thousand years of surviving on Ross would do to them.

The negotiations did not go nearly so smoothly as when the [Druids] had been in charge, ultimatums were issued and Humanity responded in kind. The whole storage was rigged with the same toxic weapons as the Humans had unleashed during the war, it was claimed, if the Cloven refused to negotiate in good faith Humanity would have no choice but to survive without help whilst keeping the plants hostage.

The Yar-Sang watched the back and forth with bated breaths, if the Humans somehow made good on their promise it would send the Cloven into an unfettered rage that would force them to either intervene or lose the chance to observe the greatest comeback in the history of the planet.

But the voice of the [Druids] prevailed, they had been at the forefront of the battle against both humanity and the ensuing wars, and had several of the highest level individuals among all Cloven, and their word that the risk to the plants was unacceptable, ultimately prevailed. Even if it would require the Cloven to accept the demands of Humanity.

It was decided the Humans would be granted the region of Doc Forrest and be hidden in this new location, slightly further from Cloven lands. This was usually the abode of starving predators who were forced out by the sapient elks, but a population that had been moved once could be moved again, and the project was soon underway of providing the Humans with a new homeland.

The Humans soon planted trees, flowers and herbs that reminded them of home and started finally rebuilding. Truly rebuilding, albeit under overbearing restrictions.

Besides the Great Spirits there were also lesser two bit Spirits who were on their way to that exalted state, but who had far to go yet. Livia had considered them demi-gods when she read about them, but that implied a power that was just not there, in most cases. Such creatures had goals of their own and hardly bothered with the constantly destructive and bickering lesser species.

One of the most wellknown was the Rainbow Spirit. Every kid was told of the magic and mysterious being growing up, about how one could find him and be granted a boon if one could just find their way to the very beginning of the rainbow. Of course many great warriors and magicians had tried it over the ages, but none, even the greatest, returned to report what could truly be found there. Although they did not warn you off either, they simply refused to speak of what had occurred there.

Of course if you instead found yourself at the opposite end, at the very end of the rainbow. Well, let's just say you will find quite a different Spirit altogether.