Chapter 244: Chapter 224 – Once Again in the Forest

"Between the forest elves - those who dwelled in the Great Emerald Forest proper and the plains elves - those who dwelled in Alfheim and the fertile plains around it - used to be some animosity. An elven civil war, some observers even called it.

 

Those who lived in the plains were the ones to first embrace trade and friendship with their non-elven neighbors, and the large number of half-breeds amongst them made many of the old traditions far less influential.

 

The forest elves tried to stand strong on their own merits and traditions for a good century or so, before the younger generation, having witnessed how their cousins in the plains prospered under the new ways, had enough and toppled the council at that time.

 

Nowadays, the forest elves and the plains elves still maintain their own respective traditions and customs, but the old animosities had long been buried. Instead, the plains served as a bridge between the elves who favor seclusion in their forests to the world at large." - Excerpt from "A History of Elven Cultures in Alcidea: Separate yet United" by High Elder Nydia Celearwen, written circa FP 741.

Early spring the next year, Cal stepped through the gate that led to the Ether Road hub in the Great Emerald Forest once more. Leila had joined the group of students once more that year, as Lumi was now old enough to be left for a while.

 

The younger half-elf girl looked at the forest around her with some wonderment, which was to be expected since it was her first time coming to the homeland of the Alcidean elves. Her cousins on the other hand eagerly showed the others around, as they were all too familiar with the place, having grown up there and all.

 

Since they were not in a hurry - in fact, her schedule for the trip that year was positively relaxed, considering the relatively short distance they needed to travel compared to the previous years - Cal told her students to go out and have fun for the next couple of weeks to come, asking her nieces to guide the rest.

 

Most of the group left cheerfully when they heard that, leaving Cal with Kino, Kyara, Martha and Vernon. The five of them looked at one another, exchanged meaningful glances, and had Martha lead the way.

 

Martha headed towards one gate by the corner of the area, which saw no traffic whatsoever, and talked to the stationed guard there for a brief moment. Then she touched the gate and closed her eyes for a few minutes, before she gestured to Cal and the rest to come along.

 

When they stepped through the gate, they found themselves deep within the forest, with the exit gate located atop a branch on the largest tree Cal had ever seen. The tree was so tall she couldn't see its top even halfway up its trunk as she was, and so large around she thought it might be as large as some palaces she knew of.

 

"Lady Mart'avriel," said an elven guard who gave a polite bow to Martha on seeing her visage. "Lady Renard, and lady Kyara, we welcome you to the Emerald Grove."

 

"They never welcome me," sulked Vernon behind her, to the amused laughter from the rest of the group. Vernon had gone with his normal mortal form for the trip, and the sight of his wooly form sulking was one even Cal found quite amusing.

 

"Thank you, Febriel. Is my brother present and unoccupied?" asked Martha to the bowing elf, who was clearly a leader of the place's guard contingent.

 

"Master is at the top garden last we saw him, madam," replied the elf with another polite bow, clearly used to subservience. "Would you require a guide to show you the way?"

 

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"No need, I remember the way," said Martha with a smile. She then made a gesture that encompassed the rest of the group behind her with her hand. "They're all with me. They might visit again in the future as well."

 

"Understood, madam. It shall be noted."

 

As the well-armed elven guards made way to allow them through, Martha led the group towards an opening in the massive tree's trunk. To Cal's surprise, the inside of the tree was hollow, the trunk forming a protective circle around the many rooms carved within the trunk itself.

 

Kino and Kyara had not looked surprised, but then again, given the guard's familiarity with them, this was likely not their first visit either.

 

Martha brought them towards a rotating staircase that looped all the way around the tree, and seemed to be continuous from ground level to the very top. They took to the stairs and began to climb up.

 

It was a long trek, easily an hour, maybe more, of climbing stairs. Through that hour Cal saw many of the different "rooms" carved within the tree. Some looked like laboratories, the sort she had seen often in Paradise.

 

Yet others looked like massive gardens, where certain specific plants were cultivated with tender care. Those gardens often had elven caretakers who administered the plants as gently as if they were their own children.

 

A few others had enclosures with beasts and monsters caged within. Those had guards stationed to keep the creatures from running wild, and the sort of beasts kept varied greatly. Some varieties Cal had only seen on Ur-Teros even.

 

After the long trek, they finally reached their destination, an open-air platform, likely at the very top of the gigantic tree. The platform was a botanical garden, with many sorts of flowers and fruits being grown there, varieties that normally only grow and prosper at high altitudes.

 

When she looked below, Cal understood why. She could see clouds beneath her. The treetop was so high it was taller than some clouds, and when she inhaled, the air did feel rather thin compared to before.

 

In the midst of said garden sat a middle-aged elven male with a dignified look, who was brewing some tea in a wooden teapot. If Cal were to remove the chubbiness on Martha's features, she could see how they looked similar.

 

The elf gestured for them to approach.

 

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