When the dangling, streaming clusters of purple flowers above me faded back into their colors like Idleaf’s eyes, I had a new rune on my right shoulder. It was still warm. No wonder there, though. The amount of energy that washed over me and gathered there in that one spot was breathtaking, literally. I mean, bearing that rune was quite a strain, like Deckard adding another badge to my army weights, only...let’s say deeper, that strain went much deeper.

Though I didn’t feel my body falling apart, I finally understood Idleaf’s fears and her reluctance to place on me more than just the runes needed for our connection. Any more than this basic rune, and I’d be writhing on the floor, most likely dying very painfully. It put my own strength into an interesting perspective. I knew I was weak, even among humans, no misplaced delusions there, but to feel firsthand what one simple rune from the World Tree did to me made me feel really, really small.

»Are you all right, Korra’leigh?« There was concern in Idleaf’s voice, apart from the excitement she was brimming with.

Yet, despite the fact that I wanted to reassure her I was fine, I didn’t answer right away, taking my time to pull myself together. »I am. The rune is much heavier than I expected, though.«

She giggled. »Of course, it’s not easy to bear, but I knew you could do it.«

Her confidence in me, based on who knows what and the guesswork of the elder World Trees thousands of miles away, made me happy. Sadly, it didn’t make bearing the rune any easier.

»So, what now?« I asked after taking a deep breath; the strain seeping into my voice.

»Now you use what you given, pup,« Esudein grumbled. Considering the rune was supposed to be about strength, speed, and agility, it sounded strange coming from him, lying there idly under the Idleaf’s beautiful canopy. That’s why I gave her a look, wanting to make sure it was the right course of action.

»He’s right, Korra’leigh. Why wait? Try it.«

Silly me. What else could I expect from her? She was excited about everything new, whether it was things, people, experiences, tastes, or smells.

»Same deal as with this one?« I asked, pointing to the rune on my side, the one I was able to contact Idleaf with. When she nodded enthusiastically, anticipating what would happen, I took another deep breath and sent my own mana into my shoulder, into the rune on it.

Expectedly, it lit up, so much so that you could see it through my fur. Then it warmed up; still nothing strange there either. After all, that’s what the rune on my side was doing, too, when I called Idleaf. But this time, the mana I sent into it returned back, into my body, giving me some of that warmth back, energizing me. I could actually feel the energy coursing through my veins, the weight of the rune disappearing, and my body getting lighter.

»Give try, pup. Go on.«

At Esudein’s urging, I hopped from one root to another. Small steps at first. However, I soon found myself running around like a madwoman, enjoying the new speed and strength in my four legs. It was thrilling.

Unfortunately, the rune had its limits, or more accurately, I had my limits. Figuring out how the new rune worked wasn’t that hard. The faster I wanted to be, the more mana I had to pump into it. Simple as that. But that was the catch. By doing that, I actually was converting my mana - admittedly similar to Idleaf’s - to that of the World Tree, putting more strain on my body. In other words, the more I pushed myself, the more my body fell apart, disintegrating at the cellular level - or some shit like that. At least, that’s what I imagined. Anyway, I found my current limit at about 8%, give or take. A safe one, at which my mana regeneration was barely able to keep up with my mana consumption, was around 5%. No spreadsheet on it, no system telling me precisely, though. The numbers were based on gut feeling.

And then there was the thing where I went further, much further, even pushed the rune up to 30% boost - I chickened out there - for a short while. Only the consequences of doing so were quite severe. It put me in serious pain, the kind that would render me useless in a fight.

»How do I get a skill?« I asked after I’d tried everything I could and calmed down. Seeing what a mere rune could do made me excited for having one...or two skills. »Is there a special technique or training I need to undergo?«

Idleaf mused, her gaze somewhere I couldn’t see. I knew the look; she was talking to the elder ones. »There’s no such training. Just do what your heart asks, using the rune.«

At first, I wanted to argue that there must have been some sort of training or at least exercise. But then I realized who most of the Guardians tended to be. If they weren’t elves, they were beasts, mostly beasts. And the beast, Esudein being no exception, didn’t strike me as the type to practice one technique from morning to night; I myself had a hard time doing that. Well, of course, there were elves, like I said - unsure about those. Either they followed the advice I just got, or they kept the methods they came up with close to their chests, and even the World Trees were either unaware of them or unwilling to share them. Well, whatever. I couldn’t even be sure if their exercises would be compatible with someone like me.

»Okay, that sounds simple enough,« I said when I thought about it. It did sound simple. If I wanted to get that [Guardian Kick] skill, all I had to do was kick - a lot - while using the rune. Of course, I had a much more complex skill in mind. Ideally, one that would encompass my entire fighting style, both in human and bestial form. Was it too much to ask? I had no idea.

Esudein’s chuckle broke me out of my reverie. Well, calling it a chuckle was a stretch. It sounded more like a tree falling down. »You got guts, pup. But young tend see things simply.«

Did he mean to say it wasn’t that easy? I refrained from asking that question, not wanting to look more foolish than I had managed to look so far. Instead, I glanced around, wondering what to do next and how to tell them they were waiting for me in Castiana. But first, the question that was nagging at the back of my mind.

»Is everything all right here?« The meaning I put into words implying something, like whether Idleaf was okay, whether someone was trying to get to her.

That earned me another chuckle from Esudein, an appreciative one. »Idleaf indeed chosen well. She well protected, though. Those who came to find her, now part of the woods.«

Oh, so someone came here after all. »Who dared?«

»Fools. Thought fuddlers and their ilk.« Mind mages, who else. According to what Esudein said and the meaning of his words, the mages themselves and those controlled by them.

»Hopefully, they’ve learned their lesson.«

»Fools are fools. They hardly ever learn, pup.« He had a point. If you didn’t know something, you could learn it, and find out how it was. The point was to realize one’s ignorance. That was often the hard part, playing on the pride of many, and so the fools hardly ever realized. Of course, Esudein knew those who came to Esulmor weren’t complete morons but had a purpose, and that was Idleaf.

»They likely won’t stop trying. They’ll try tricks, fool you.« I know it sounded stupid to worry about beasts like Esudein and creatures like Idleaf, but I couldn’t help myself, not after my experience with mind mages.

»Then they end up like the one of woodland folk. Food for woods.« A shiver ran down my spine. I had no idea who he meant by woodland folk, but the image of moss eating away people was still vivid in my mind. Not a pleasant thing to see.

»Woodland folk?«

»One of many creatures running around world, pup.«

That didn’t tell me much, so I turned for help to Idleaf playing with one of the squirrels that had come down from Esudein’s antlers.

»Humans call them elves, Korra’leigh.«

At the mention of them, my heart stopped for a brief moment in panic. Elves already here in Esulmor? How was that possible? Their kingdoms were on another continent, months away, or so I was told. Perhaps some kind of teleportation magic similar to what Idleaf used? Was it someone sent by the elder World Trees? Their Guardian? So many questions rushed through my mind, just to make me realize how stupid some of them were.

Guardian of the elder World Tree? ‘Seriously Korra?’ Those trees were thousands of years old, and most likely their guardians as well. Not someone Esudein could have killed so easily or spoken of so lightly. So if I had to guess, a scout from one of the Elven Kingdoms.

Still, damn!!!

When they hear this in Castiana....

»Something wrong, pup?« If Deckard was able to tell what I was thinking, it was no wonder Esudein sensed my unease. I almost laughed at his question, though. Was something wrong? Fucking elves. Smacking myself with [Indomitable Will], I calmed my mind and tried to keep my perspective before answering. After all, I only had a one-sided human view of elves. For all I knew, they could actually be the nature-loving beings I’d mostly read about on Earth.

»Humans don’t have a good history with elves,« I explained my odd reaction.

Esudein grunted in understanding. »Time can change lot.«

Again, I didn’t quite get it. »Idleaf?«

»A long time ago, humans and elves fought side by side, is what the elder ones say. Though, it was long before I put my first root in the ground.«

Time can change a lot. Now, I could understand. Even Earth was not exempt from something like that, and nations that once fought each other ended up as allies and vice versa.

»Ah, I see. Still, you should be careful with them. From what I’ve been told, they seek to take the World Trees for themselves, their kingdoms.«

Idleaf giggled. »The elders told me that’s what they tend to think, that they have control over them. They couldn’t be more wrong. Frankly, some are unhappy with their elven Guardians, who tend to listen more to their kin than to who they are supposed to guard.«

That...was an interesting piece of information...yet the other Guardians, someone I tried not to think about much. Why? Because over the years, their power must have grown to staggering levels. Honestly, I was afraid to run into them someday. »What if they come here? I mean, one of their Guardians.«

»Then it should be with the intention of saying hello to me. Otherwise, the elders will step in. Don’t worry, Korra’leigh.« I was aware that the ancient World Trees had waited millennia for another one of them to gain consciousness, but I still thought Idleaf had put too much faith in them. Of course, I could be wrong. Hell, I wished I was wrong so badly, and it was only my distrust of others that I had developed in my slave captivity that made me wary of those trees. However, in my opinion, a lot could have changed in a thousand years, and originally noble thoughts and virtuous intentions could have been twisted into something despicable. A year in the cellar did a lot to me, changed me whether I wanted to or not. That was what the mere presence of people around one tended to do, influencing you, some in a good sense, others in a harmful way, some deliberately, others without realizing it. So I just found it hard to believe that millennia in the presence of the race, plagued by internal power struggles, did not affect the World Trees.

Again, I strongly wish that I was wrong. That the elder World Trees really were untouched by the millennia; kind, caring, and enthusiastic about a kid in their ranks.

»Okay,"« I said, a forced smile on my face. »Just promise me you’ll be careful about other Guardians.«

Hearing my concern, Idleaf put on a more serious face and left the squirrel alone for a moment. »I promise, Korra’leigh. We’ll be careful, won’t we, Esudein?«

His massive head, bearing a crown of antlers and moss rivaling in its size that of the trees around, moved in a nod. »We will. So will Zeewet.« He meant he was gonna tell her. However, having had my own experience with her, I could imagine that once she found out where the wind was blowing from, she would ignore my advice.

»I can’t wait for them to get here,« Idleaf squealed with eagerness. »They’re so interesting, so different. Korra’leigh, did you know they live high in the mountains? Have you seen the snow?«

Hearing her, several questions immediately popped into my mind. It didn’t snow here? Or was it just that she didn’t see the snow with her own eyes? More importantly, though, the northern eagles and Miros were moving here? Where exactly? Esulmor? »Is Zeewet moving her kind here, into the woods?«

»Woods are mine,« Esudein boomed. »Hers will be mountains.«

Ah, Granora Mountain Range beneath whose southern slopes lay Esulmor. Still...damn! Thinking back on it, the proud eagle might have mentioned something like that. However, I didn’t pay much attention to it. I simply didn’t want much to do with her, and the likelihood of creatures as proud as herself simply moving here to the mountains, which from what I’d heard were more than half the size of the ones they now inhabited, I saw as slim. Yet, to my surprise, the northern eagles and Miros were on their way.

»When are they coming?«

Idleaf pondered. »Zeewet took six days to return to their nesting grounds, and she said she was one of the fastest Miros.« Of course, she claimed that about herself. In fact, I was surprised she didn’t just say she was the fastest. »They sent some of their kin to build nests in the mountains first. That was three days ago, but they’re not as fast as Zeewet.«

»So...take a guess,« I urged her.

»I don’t know Korra’leigh, another six days, maybe,« she whimpered and then frowned. »I wish they’d be here sooner.«

»Why? Can’t you just show up next to Zeewet whenever you want?«

Idleaf shook her head. »It’s not the same, not like having them near my trunk.«

»You can form your spirit up in the mountains?«

»No, silly. But when they’re here, I’ll be able to feel them through the roots much more strongly.«

A terrible thought crossed my mind. »Are you sucking the life energy out of the creatures around you?« It came out of my mouth before I realized what I had actually dared to ask her. Now I dreaded her reaction.

It was Esudein who chuckled, though. »Pup has lot to learn.«

»It’s ambient mana that I draw from, Korra’leigh,« Idleaf said, having fun at the idea of me thinking differently. »The more diverse, the more nourishing.«

»Wait, ambient mana. So what do the diverse...creatures have to do with it?«

»Every creature, however small or weak, emits mana into its environment.« Okay, that made sense. I was under no illusions about myself and my mana manipulation skills. Yet, one would think that mages and beings of their caliber - Miros and northern eagles included - would be able to keep mana from leaking away from them.

»Even you?«

»Even I…if I don’t focus. But don’t worry, Korra’leigh, it’s not mana I would miss.«

Question: How so? was already on my tongue, but I thought about it before I opened my trap. »Is it like when a bucketful overflows«

»Yes,« Idleaf beamed when I figured it out. Basically every creature here on Eleaden produced mana. Not all were able to use it, though. And so when their reserves were filled, the excess mana overflowed from their bodies into the environment.

I couldn’t help sighing. »I really do have a lot to learn.«

»You do, pup. Such as how...take care of your moss,« Esudein noted. There was no reproach in his voice, no disappointment, just a simple statement of fact. Yet I froze. Shit! The moss! The surviving remnants of it on my head I completely forgot about it for all of the mossbears to see. What a shame. The feeling that I had let him down overwhelmed me. Sure, I could tell him about Stella and our fight, blame it on her.

Instead, I lowered my head and let out a growl, recognizing my shame. Those would be just excuses, earning me nothing but more shame.

***

That was it. After that shameful display, there was nothing more to say. The time for my training with the mossbear had not yet come, nor did Idleaf have any special training in store for me. Doing anything with moss would require having some - a usable amount of it - and I still had a long way to go.

So, I said my goodbyes to Esudein and the Mothers, with as much respect as I could put into my words and with the Idleaf’s help, enchanting my wings again, flew over almost all of Esulmor. I admit, I may have taken the long way around, doing a few extra laps, enjoying myself. It was great to fly again. Unfortunately, the time was ticking away, and I had to put an end to my fun. As before, the further I got from Idleaf, her trunk, the magic she put in my wings grew weaker until I was forced to land and manage the rest of the way back to Castiana on my feet.

Luckily, I now had four.