The Arrival

"The Spirits watch over the areas governed by the Elementals, more specifically in places like this one." The Dryad continued, "In areas such as this, referred to as Spirit Groves, Spirits gather in great numbers, and they need not be actual groves, such as this one. They could be reefs, mountains, deserts, or any other place where an Elemental's influence is particularly strong.

"The Spirits have various varieties at varying strengths. For example, the specks of light you see around the Grove are Sprites, the weakest of the Spirits. They have no consciousness and wander aimlessly, attracted to strong souls.

"Next are the Lesser Spirits, they have consciousness and are attached to individual instances of an Elemental's domain. Using the Grove as an example once again, each of the trees here house a Nature Spirit, as well as most elder trees."

As she said this one of the trees bent into a chair-like shape behind me, so I took a seat. When I did, I felt a warm presence wrap itself around me, and the Sprites in the area gathered closer around me.

"She must like you," the Dryad said with a warm smile, "the Spirits in the grove won't change shape for just anyone.

"Now where was I," she paused, "Ah yes, now for the Greater Spirits. The Greater spirits, like myself, exist in Spirit Groves to prevent outside influence from tainting it. Unlike the Lesser Spirits, we Greater Spirits have a collective name shared between each existing Greater Spirit under a specific Elemental. Nature Spirits are called Dryads, as I introduced myself to you. Air Spirits are called Sylphs; Earth Spirits are called Gaias; Water Spirits are called Nymphs; Fire Spirits, Ifrits; Lightning Spirits, Indra."

She paused for a moment, taking a breath before asking, "Am I going too fast? I want to make sure you know at least the basics First One, but it's useless if you don't remember it."

I smiled, responding, "Oh no, you're fine Dryad. I'm getting everything." I honestly didn't remember what she had said, but I was writing it down in my journal so I could always go back and check.

"Ok good. I'll continue then. Of the active gods, the most powerful are the Elementals. The Elementals represent all aspects and instances of their element, and the seven of them are named after the colors of their element. Nature is Vert, Earth is Brun, Air is Blanche, Water is Bleu, Fire is Rouge and Lightning is Jaune"

She paused for a longer time than usual, so I asked, "What about the 7th? What are they called?"

"Ah… the 7th." The Dryad paused, glancing around before answering, "The 7th is a pseudo-elemental. They are called one by the Upper gods but are too powerful to be one of us. They are Death, and they go by many names: their original, Noir, Lich, and more recently Nex, given to them as a token of friendship by Pyaira.

"They have no Spirits, nor Groves for them to guard. Noir is seen as both the ruler of all the Elementals, and as an outsider that has no business in our affairs. Noir usually doesn't intervene with anything involving the gods, being too busy managing the recycling of mortal souls to do so."

This Noir left me with more questions, but I got the feeling that speaking about them was taboo, so I didn't ask further questions.

"And that is all about the gods that I'm allowed to say," the Dryad said, "there are higher gods, and possibly more that I don't know I don't know, but I worry these answers are too vague for you, First One."

"There's no problem." I said, not being fully truthful. Although this is more than I expected to get, and I didn't even know I didn't know this, all it did was give me more questions. I looked back over my notes for a second before putting my journal away, asking, "And what about me? Why am I special?"

The Dryad paused, "First One, what you ask of me is something you must find out yourself. However, I can give you information on how you can better utilize your abilities."

"Yes. Please." I said, silencing all distractions so I don't miss a single thing.

"As I mentioned earlier, humans, and all creatures, have souls. These souls have vastly different strength depending on the species. For example, and ant has a weaker soul than a boar, but a boar has a weaker soul than a human. You however, have a soul that is beyond the strength of a normal human, approaching the realm of Sprite level. However, the energy of one's soul cannot be used without a focus. The focus can be anything, from a desire to an object, so long as the individual's will is strong enough. Alternatively, focuses can be given, as is the case with Spirits being given focuses by the Elementals.

"Additionally, the more one uses their soul's energy in small amounts, the more powerful their soul becomes, allowing them to live longer lives. However, if one uses too much of their soul energy at once it can shorten their life, so please be careful not to do that, First One."

I nod before asking, "And how would I determine the nature of my focus?"

Without hesitation, as if they had been waiting for me to ask this question, the Dryad said, "In order to determine your focus, and to use your abilities better, you would need to look back on your desires and what you can do now. By honing those skills, you can become strong."

I tried to think about what my main desire could be. All my life I only did what felt natural to me, but I guess that could be my desire. What I've been able to do is feel the emotions of some other creatures and detect the presences of others. There was also that time with the Spidder Queen, where I was shown her memories, so that might be something I can do too.

"Thank you Lady Dryad," I said, standing from the spirit's seat, "everything you've told me today will remain with me forever."

"Yes," she said, looking a bit sad, "but unfortunately, you will not fully remember everything here."

I stood in silence, confused. Was she about to erase my memories? I didn't think she would be able to do that.

"Everything you've seen, heard, and felt here tonight will feel distant. You will know what I've told you, but you won't remember anything." The Dryad walked closer, "So, before I send you off take this," she created a shaft of wood, more smooth than anything I could ever craft if I was given all the time in the world. It felt natural in my hands, as if I was meant to hold it, "and this."

The Dryad continued briefly, before stepping right in front of me, turning their head to the side and, before I knew it, pressed her lips against mine. It was warm, like the sun heating you up on a cold day, and smelled of the forest the morning after a stormy night. It was so pleasant; I couldn't help but lean in and close my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, it was morning. I was in the same tree as I was earlier just before I left. But I couldn't remember where I went or what I was going to search for. I felt like I had a dream but couldn't remember what it was.

After stretching and yawning, I noticed something hard under my tongue. Spitting it out into my hand, I saw an oval piece of amber with a small leaf preserved within it. I had a feeling this was given to me my someone, but still couldn't think of who.

Grabbing my bag before climbing down to join the others, I found a smooth branch without any blemishes or impurities being held by the branches of the tree. I grabbed it, deciding to use it as my new walking stick. I noticed it felt natural in my hands and smiled.

I didn't know why, but I felt more at ease this morning that usual. I kept the smile on my face all through the day, and the next, and the next. I found myself being more aware of where the others in the group were, and could tell when Maddie would try to scare me by grabbing my shoulders, so much so that she got annoyed.

"How do you always know when I'm behind you?" she complained, "Do you have eyes on the back of your head?" Maddie then ran her hand through the back of my hair to check. "You don't. What gives Prez?"

"It's not like you're very good at being sneaky." I said with a smile, "You have a specific way of walking that I can feel coming up behind me."

"You don't make sense sometimes, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do."

By the end of that day's travels, we had made it to the mountainside, where the landscape turned from being hilly to rocky. We set up camp there for the night, and the next day, we walked toward the shore, where we were greeted by the sun shining off a different sea. A patch of relatively flat land, just outside the forest's edge, laid next to a cave opening in the mountainside.

I dropped my bag down to my side and walked towards the shining sea as the sun shone at my back.

"It's beautiful." I whispered to myself, "We made it."

I turned to face everyone, tears starting to form in my eyes, "We made it!"

With that everyone dropped what they were carrying, smiled, and dropped to the ground. Some, like Maddie, fell asleep right there. Others, like Mr. Smith cried tears of joy. But me? I couldn't help myself from laughing. I laughed until my voice hurt as tears streamed down my face.

"The shining sea, the looming peaks, we made it across the continent." I tried to say, but it came out as a whisper that I could barely hear.

I finally closed my eyes and smiled, and as I went over to the carts, next to Maddie, I went to sleep.