Path of Dragons

Elijah leaned against the ancestral tree, slowly chipping away at the hunk of wood that he hoped would one day become a recognizable figure. But even with the knives he’d taken from the invading trio that had killed the guardian panther, it was slow going. And the results of his attempts at carving were scattered at best.

Gradually, he whittled the hunk of wood down to a basic shape. When he finished, he hoped it would resemble the first Voxxian monster he’d encountered, but he knew enough to recognize that the best he could manage was a vague likeness. That was fine, though. It wasn’t as if he intended to enter into some art competition. Instead, wood carving was just a way to pass the time.

After a couple of hours, he rose and crossed the Grove. As he did so, he snatched a handful of berries from the bushes he’d cultivated and popped them into his mouth. On the outside, they resembled blackberries, but they were far sweeter than any he’d ever tasted. More, only a few could sustain him for weeks – at least according to Nerthus, who after a dormant week, had recently returned to dole out a few parcels of information. One such nugget was that the fruit grown within his Grove was abnormally nutritious. Eventually, it would pass from abnormal to overtly magical, and would offer restorative powers.

But that was a long way off.

Still, Elijah appreciated the additional taste even if he didn’t really need the enhanced nutrition. Because of his hunting prowess as a mist panther, food scarcity had ceased to be a threat to his survival. Of course, a lack of variety still haunted him to the point that, when he finally managed to make good on his internal promise to explore the transformed world, he fully intended to abstain from eating shellfish for the rest of his life.

But for now, crab remained the most ready source of fat and protein. He could hunt smaller game fairly easily, but doing so just wasn’t worth the energy when he could quickly and easily kill crabs and harvest their meat.

After pausing to pulse Nature’s Bounty next to the bushes, Elijah continued across the glade until he reached the trio of trees that had grown together into his home. It had only just reached the point where it was livable, and he was eager to give it a look. For a long few moments, he just stood and admired the creation, though.

The trees had grown together so seamlessly that, at first glance, they looked like the same organism. From those winding trunks grew a series of branches and roots that twisted around the base of the trees, creating what looked like a spiral staircase that led to the expansive floor suspended two dozen feet from the ground. From a distance, the structure of the house itself was hidden by leaves and branches, but up close, Elijah could see the solid walls that looked to him like a woven basket made of tree limbs.

With no more hesitation, Elijah mounted the steps, feeling the branches that comprised the staircase give slightly beneath his feet. He ran his hand along the tree trunk as he followed the spiral up and into the structure itself. When he did, he found his breath catching in his throat.

Flowers danced along the ceiling, slightly glowing with soft, white light that illuminated the interior. Chairs, couches, and other furniture grew from the ground, their surfaces softened by moss and leaves. When Elijah reached down to touch the closest chair, he found that it felt little different from a modern version he might’ve had in his old apartment back in Hawai’i.

“No,” he said to himself as he sat down with a grateful sigh. “This is so much better.”

Of course, that might’ve been due to the fact that he’d spent the past year with nothing but stumps and logs as furniture.

“I am glad you like it,” said Nerthus as he suddenly grew out of the floor.

“I thought you couldn’t leave the ancestral tree.”

“That is true,” said the tree spirit, but he didn’t elaborate. That led Elijah to the conclusion that his home was somehow connected to the other tree, probably in a way Nerthus was prohibited from explaining. “Would you like a tour?”

Elijah nodded, and the little tree spirit led him deeper into the house, describing the home’s features along the way. To Elijah’s surprise, it wasn’t devoid of amenities. In fact, Nerthus had somehow incorporated a kitchen into the design. Certainly, it didn’t feature an electric stove or anything of that nature, but it did have a fire pit where Elijah could cook his food and a few raised, flat surfaces where he could prepare his meals.

More importantly, it had what Nerthus described as a cold box. Set into the floor, it was only a couple of feet wide and half as deep, but when Elijah opened it, he felt a blast of cool air. It wasn’t quite freezing, but it reminded Elijah of a small refrigerator.

“How is this possible?”

“Ethera,” Nerthus said. “I noticed that you had a food spoilage problem, so I took the liberty of addressing it. Are you pleased?”

Elijah nodded. “I definitely am,” he said. Being able to preserve his food would free up quite a bit of time, much of which had been wasted due to the need to constantly acquire fresh meat. With the cold box to preserve the meat, a lot less would spoil.

Over the next few minutes, Nerthus showed Elijah through the tree house, and to his surprise, it featured a multitude of bedrooms in addition to the kitchen, living area, and even a bathroom.

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“There is no running water as yet, but in a few months, I should have enough Ethera to manage it,” Nerthus stated, almost apologetically.

“No, this is great,” Elijah said. Indeed, he wasn’t above hauling a little water if it meant having a comfortable place to do his business. After squatting in the woods for an entire year, even having an enclosed space seemed like a nearly unimaginable luxury.

All in all, the house seemed far more elaborate and comfortable than anything he could have expected. So, over the next hour or so, he engaged in the arduous process of moving in. First, he gathered a crab claw he’d harvested earlier that day, and after cracking the shell open, deposited a good portion of the meat in the refrigerated cold box. Then, after disposing of the remnant, he headed to the stream where he washed himself. It wasn’t the same as using soap and water, but he did the best he could with his limited resources.

Once he’d removed the worst of the dirt and grime – as well as the scent of the raw crab – Elijah gathered the rest of his belongings. He didn’t have much. Just a few baskets full of berries and mushrooms, his carving attempts, some honey he’d harvested from a hive a few days before, and the gear he’d looted from the invaders’ corpses. He’d already made use of their clothing by picking out the stitches and adjusting it to fit his much larger frame, but there were a few strips of excess cloth he’d been using as rags.

After moving everything to the house, he looked around. On the one hand, he was grateful to finally have a real roof over his head and a comfortable, safe place to sleep. However, a wave of depression came with that satisfaction, largely because he had no one to share any of it with.

Elijah had never been what anyone would call a social person. He had friends and acquaintances, but he’d always been just as happy alone in the wilderness as he was accompanied by other people. Or that was what he’d thought before spending over a year with no one but an occasionally present tree spirit for company.

As he lay in his new bed, which was incredibly comfortable, and looking up at the softly glowing flowers, he found himself wishing someone else was there to appreciate it alongside him. His sister-in-law, Carmen, would have loved it. So would his nephew, Miggy. His sister, Alyssa, would act like she didn’t find it all fascinating and beautiful, but Elijah knew her well enough to know just how false her act was.

Finally, his mind wandered to his ex-girlfriend, Lacey. They’d never been truly in love. Elijah could recognize that with the distance and time stretching between them. However, for years, she had been his closest friend. Breaking up with her had been one of the most difficult things he’d ever had to do, but at the time, he hadn’t wanted to burden her with the reality of watching him slowly wither away and die.

Now, he regretted that they hadn’t spent more time together.

He fell asleep thinking about the times they had shared, and his dreams followed along with that theme right up until something startled him awake. He bolted upright, already embracing the Ethera in his core and priming himself to cast Storm’s Fury. Jerking his head around, he saw nothing but the still-unfamiliar confines of his new home, which was still softly lit by the white flowers growing out of the ceiling.

“What the…”

A wave of dense Ethera washed over him with enough force to send his mind reeling. Before, he would’ve said that it was impossible for there to be too much ambient Ethera. Clearly, that was false, and the excess left him feeling dizzy enough that if he’d been standing, his knees would have already buckled. As it was, he had to grab the wall just to steady himself.

Over the next twenty seconds or so, the level of Ethera slowly fell until it reached something closer to normal. And then, just as Elijah was thinking about standing, another wave of dense energy swept through him, starting the process anew.

Again and again, the cycle repeated over the next few hours until, at last, normality reasserted itself. By that point, Elijah was a mess. He felt alternatingly drunk, hyper aware, and everything in between.

Still, once everything settled, he managed to push himself out of bed and stumble his way out of the house. Lurching down the steps proved to be particularly perilous, and he ended up falling down the last few steps. After hitting the ground, he simply lay there for a few moments before pushing himself to his hands and knees as he tried to master himself. The results were mixed, but after a while, he climbed back to his feet and staggered toward the ancestral tree.

When he reached the tree, Elijah called out for Nerthus, and only a few seconds later, the spirit grew out of the lowest branch. “How may I…oh, dear…”

“What’s going on?” Elijah slurred.

“It is a surge,” Nerthus stated. “Please listen carefully, because I do not have much time. The tower, you have found it, yes?”

“I…yeah…I found it.”

“Good. Over the next few hours, the island will be inundated by wave after wave of monsters,” the tree spirit said. “After a period of calm, it will repeat unless you challenge and conquer the tower.”

“Conquer it? I can’t…I’m not…”

Elijah’s mind spun. He’d decided not to investigate the tower further, and for good reason. He had no idea what dangers lie within, and as such, he felt like challenging it would be walking to his death.

“You must. Otherwise, this island will be overwhelmed and destroyed,” Nerthus said. “Conquering it will –”

Nerthus collapsed, merging with the branch before he could get another word out. He was gone so suddenly that, for a long while, Elijah could only stare at that spot.

Until he felt something enter the Grove.

Elijah’s head stopped spinning, and he whipped around, already embracing his various spells. First came Essence of the Monkey. Then, Essence of the Wolf. One With Nature. And finally, Shape of the Predator. Even as he felt himself transforming into a mist panther, he searched his surroundings for the intruder.

It didn’t take long for him to find it.

The Voxxian monster, like all the others he’d encountered, was reptilian in nature. However, it stood on two legs and reached around four feet in height. So, given that size and power were correlated – at least as far as Elijah was concerned – he didn’t think the creature would give him much trouble.

Then, a second presence appeared in his senses. And a third. A fourth. They kept coming until there were ten of the Voxx stalking forward. There were subtle variations between them, but, for the most part, they were similar.

Fortunately, Elijah had embraced Guise of the Unseen the moment his transformation was complete, so he was hidden from view. However, their mere presence made his stomach roil, especially when he realized that they had taken a straight line that would soon bring them to the ancestral tree.

Perhaps it was just coincidence, but Elijah suspected that it was their goal.

And he couldn’t let them reach it.

So, throwing his very valid fears into the back of his mind, Elijah crept forward, intending to massacre the creatures that dared to desecrate his Grove with their horrid presence.

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