The air outside the sweat lodge was crisp and cool on Xavier’s skin as he emerged from the heavy steam-soaked air within hours later. It was tinged with the scent of rain-soaked soil and distant wildflowers adding a delicate fragrance. Above, the canopy of Verdantspire Haven filtered the light into soft green hues, as if the very forest breathed with them.

  Xavier moved quietly alongside his companions, Ella, Lianna, Sihri, Lythara, and their feline friends Valkra and Frostclaw, as they were guided through the winding forest paths by a pair of Verdantspire Wardens. Their guides were silent but steady, carrying staves crowned with woven herbs and small talismans that faintly shimmered with energy.

  The path soon opened into a quieter part of the settlement, where the guest dwellings were sculpted and coaxed into shape within the massive trees. The structures here were seamless blends of life and craft, smooth walls of living wood curved into gentle arcs, doorways framed in vines heavy with blooms, and roofs layered in moss and flowering ivy. Every part of Verdantspire Haven lived and breathed around them.

  Inside the quarters were much like Xavier remembered, though these ones might be a little more comfortable than the last ones due to their change in status with the Animari people. Though still simple they were deeply comforting. Fresh reed mats covered the floor, still warm from being in the day’s sun. Along the walls were carved niches that held bowls of herb-laden water, natural aromatics filling the air with scents of cedar, sage and lavender. In the center of the rooms were low tables that held not only fresh fruit but nut breads and simple clay cups of steaming spiced tea.

  It was not the luxury of the higher sections of Ironhaven, but it offered a much more welcoming gift, peace. A gift freely offered by people who knew and valued its worth.

  Xavier crossed the room and sat his satchel down beside one of the mats, he methodically began to unbuckle his weapons and remove his travel gear. He had a deep ache in his muscles, not from injury but from that weariness of carrying a unseen burden of overwhelming proportions.

  The rest of the group took up their own positions around the room to relax and wait. Ella moved to one side of the room, sitting cross-legged with a quiet sigh, her bow and shortswords stacked neatly beside her. Lianna lingered near a shallow bowl of water, trailing her fingers along the surface as if grounding herself through the motions. Sihri, true to form, sprawled across one of the mats and pulled a light woven reed blanket over herself with a soft, contented sigh. Lythara stood near a window carved through the living wood, her crimson eyes half-lidded as she gazed outward toward the faint, pulsing glow of the Lir’Valis Nexus. For a long while, no one spoke.

  The herbal steam rising from the water bowls wrapped them in warmth and subtle fragrance, easing the tension that had clung to their bodies like second skins. Outside, the faint sounds of Verdantspire Haven drifted in. They could faintly hear the measured cadence of Warden scouts moving along patrol paths, the soft clatter of stones being laid along ritual trails, and the gentle, musical notes of woven chimes stirred by the evening wind. Beyond those sounds, however, they could hear another building commotion, something was being prepared. Xavier could feel it humming beneath the surface, the gathering of community, the stirrings of another ceremony.

  This would not be a grand feast, not a victory parade, no this was something older. Something rooted in tradition. They had not simply succeeded in their quest, they had earned a place in Verdantspire, through blood, fire, and truth.

  Xavier leaned back against the curved wall, the living wood warm against his shoulders, and closed his eyes for a moment, the scent of herbs filled his lungs and for the first time in a long while he was able to just relax and be relatively at peace. He took the time to review the minimized prompt he knew would be there from the quest completion.

  Having learned the hard way in the past, he examined his attributes. He noticed he had received an additional 2 points in Endurance and checking the log he confirmed it was due to the long-extended flight from Ironhaven. He took the time and assigned his points, increasing Strength by 4, Constitution by 4, and having a weird feeling he put the final points into Luck. This brought his scores to:

  Satisfied, he closed the tabs out and simply relaxed for a while.

  They came for him not long after sunset, when the light of the Lir’Valis Nexus had begun to arc across the distant canopy. The door to the guest quarters opened without a knock, and a Warden stepped through with a slow, deliberate bow. No words were spoken, but the intent was evident in the actions.

  Xavier rose fluidly and began quietly re-strapping his belt before checking Vaeltheris once over then moved to follow. Ella moved to stand with him but paused as the Warden held up a hand it was not in warning, but ritual.

  “This part is for you alone,” Lianna translated softly from behind him, her voice low. “Tradition.”

  He hesitated, glancing to her in askance. She gave a single nod, then reached out and placed two fingers over her heart. Ella did the same, silent but watching. Sihri waved lazily from the mat. Lythara met his eyes and inclined her head the barest inch. Bracing himself he stepped outside.

  The path to the plaza had changed. Not in direction, but in presence. The forest was alive not loud, but more aware it seemed, each step was accompanied by the subtle stir of branches, the low pulse of air through leaf and vine. The trail was marked by wreaths of silverthread grass and ribboned bundles of root and bloom tied to guiding posts. Lightstones flickered above the trail like stars that had taken residence among the trees.

  As the Warden led him through, the trees began to thin and the hum of the ley lines intensified, rising not in volume but clarity. By the time they reached the edge of the Nexus Plaza, Xavier could feel it pulsing beneath his boots, a rhythm that mirrored breath, heart, earth.

  The Lir’Valis Nexus hovered at the center of the stone platform, its crystalline form awash in pale light that shifted between green, gold, and soft silver. Glyphs inlaid in the flagstones pulsed faintly in harmony. Small crystals orbited lazily around the obelisk, catching and refracting light like droplets caught in slow motion.

  Around the plaza, dozens,perhaps hundreds,of Animari stood in respectful silence. Ursari, Cervari, Vulpiri, Falconi, Duskhari, Iskari and many others he didn’t know the names for. Some wore ceremonial leathers marked with carved totems, others wore simple traveling cloaks dusted from the road. Some had flowers or woven bands in their fur or hair. Most held nothing in their hands, simply there to witness. The thing that caught Xavier’s attention was that none were armed.

  High Speaker Kaelith stood upon the steps before the obelisk, dressed in a mantle of pale root-threaded cloth and leaves stitched with silver. Thror Ironpaw flanked her on one side, arms crossed, unmoving. Sylara Dawnshade stood to the other, her antlered brow bent slightly in calm focus. The rest of the council were arrayed along the circle’s perimeter present, watching, but silent.

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  Kaelith gestured once, and the Warden escorting him stepped aside and Xavier took the final steps forward on his own, stopping at the center where the veins of light converged. The Nexus pulsed overhead behind Kaelith, brighter now.

  “Long have we guarded this place,” Kaelith said, her voice carrying with no need for effort. “The breath of the ley, the whisper of the old roots. We held fast while the world grew hard and cold beyond our trees.” Her golden eyes held Xavier’s without blinking. “You walked into fire when we asked it of you. You returned not with blades, but with truth. Hard truth, truth that binds, truth that severs.”

  She stepped forward, holding out a small object woven from pale root fibers, threaded with strands of deep green and a single crimson bead. It smelled faintly of fresh-cut earth. “You brought Rynthavael to our attention, a small fledgling village barely enough to really be called that,” she said. “But now it stands on its own, and not as a shadow of the old, but as the beginning of something new.”

  She placed the woven talisman into Xavier’s open hand. “Verdantspire does not offer allegiance lightly. But tonight, we offer it fully to you Lord Vael and to Rynthavael.” The Lir’Valis brightened in response, a soft rising breath of wind curling outward from the platform as the crystals around the obelisk flared with light.

  As the last of the light from the Lir’Valis dimmed into its gentle pulse and the Animari of Verdantspire dispersed into small clusters, Xavier descended the platform and wove through the quieting plaza. The warmth of the ley still hummed beneath his boots, but the ceremony was over. He realized that what came next would not be witnessed in stone circles and sacred flame, it would be decided in halls of power and shadowed streets. He also realized that there wouldn’t be a celebration of their return, the threat of Arenvalis still lingered. No, tonight was just a ceremony to recognize the fledgling alliance.

  He caught sight of Lianna beneath one of the broad-limbed trees at the edge of the plaza. She was standing with her arms crossed and her weight leaning slightly into one hip. Her gaze was distant, but the tilt of her ears flicked slightly at his approach. Beside her lounged a second figure, same height, same white and black colored fur, same lean frame, but where Lianna stood with alert stillness, the man who Xavier now recognized as her brother Liosan exuded a casual defiance of formality.

  Liosan leaned back against the curved trunk of the tree, arms draped over one of the low branches like a jungle cat at rest. His right leg bent lazily at the knee, toe tapping the stone in a rhythm only he could hear. His long fingers spun a strip of leather between them with idle precision, though his pale eyes watched Xavier with a flicker of amusement. And he was barefoot. Of course he was.

  When Xavier drew near, Liosan grinned and gave an exaggerated wave with both hands, then flicked his fingers into rapid-fire signs that ended with a dramatic flourish.

  Lianna didn’t bother translating the first part. She just rolled her eyes. “He says it’s about time you showed up. He was worried the Lir’Valis swallowed you.”

  Xavier didn’t bother to tell her that he understood the sign language used by Liosan. The fact that Liosan had made a crude joke didn’t really need to be acknowledged if she wasn’t going to.

  Liosan signed again, more gestures than sentence, and cocked his head like he expected a round of applause.

  Lianna went on, “…and that since you have already adopted his sister, it is only fair you deal with the rest of the family.”

  Xavier raised a brow. “Is this his way of asking to join us?”

  Liosan’s grin widened. He slid from the branch in one smooth motion and strode forward with a loose, easy gait, signing as he walked.

  “He says,” Lianna translated, “he is already coming. He is just letting you pretend it is your decision.”

  That earned a short huff of breath from Xavier and a half smirk. He was more amused, not annoyed.

  Liosan stopped a few paces away and tossed the strip of leather into Xavier’s hands. It was blackened and soft with use, carved with the Animari glyph for oath in sharp, deliberate strokes. The edges were frayed, but it had clearly been carried a long time, likely prepared well before this moment. Xavier slowly came to realize that it was likely when they first left with Lianna.

  He tapped his own chest twice, then pointed at Xavier, then signed something slower. His posture never lost its looseness, but his eyes, just for a moment, held something quieter, more somber, beneath the humor.

  Lianna’s voice dropped slightly as she spoke his words, “He says he follows his sister’s path, and now yours. Until you no longer walk it.”

  Xavier closed his fingers around the strip and gave a nod. “Then he’s welcome,” he said. “And his timing is…”

  Before he could finish, Liosan was already behind him, slipping into position with exaggerated silence, shadowing Xavier’s stride like a stage mimic.

  “…horrifyingly punctual,” Xavier muttered.

  Lianna choked back a laugh. Liosan beamed. No ritual bound him. No proclamation marked his place. He simply moved forward, hands behind his head, tail flicking slightly as he fell into step beside Xavier as if he’d always been there.

  The ley pulse continued beneath the plaza, steady as breath. From the trees beyond, a warden’s horn called low and long, once for nightfall, and twice more to mark the shift of the patrols.

  The next morning came softly, with light threading through the high canopy like gold-stained silk. Verdantspire Haven stirred early, not with noise, but with motion, Warden patrols shifting routes, merchants folding away night covers, scouts returning with fresh-tied bundles of moss, root, and dried leaf and the general population going about with daily life.

  Xavier stood near the guest dwelling’s arched doorway, securing the last of his items and pouches to his belt. Liosan lounged nearby atop a root that had grown into a natural bench, chewing a stem of sweetgrass. It was clear that he had a blatant disinterest in the concept of punctuality. He offered no help, only a sideways glance and a one-handed wave when Xavier looked his way.

  Ella emerged from within, her movements precise. Her bow was slung across her back, the short spear bound to the side of her pack and her twin swords sheathed at her belt similar to Xavier. She said nothing, but the slight nod she gave was enough. Lianna followed moments later, checking the new trail maps provided by the scouts. Her hair was pulled into a tight braid. Her eyes, though calm, watched everything.

  Sihri arrived last, arms stretched high in a long, lazy arc. She wore a short cloak now, fastened with a smooth obsidian pin, and the curve of a smile ghosted her lips.

  “I dreamed of too much wine and a terrible idea involving that Duskhari scout from last night,” she announced, brushing a leaf from her ear with a flick of her hand. “You all rise far too early for people who pretend to value wisdom.”

  Xavier tugged the last strap tight. “Seems we’re ready.”

  A rustle of movement behind them signaled Kaelith’s approach. She moved lightly, her fur brushed smooth, and she was dressed not in her ceremonial mantle but in the simpler layers of a Warden’s traveler, light leathers, woven root-thread cords, her walking staff in hand. The golden eyes that met Xavier’s held none of the ritual distance of their previous conversations.

  “There is little I can give that will shield you where you now go,” she said. “But these will aid you, in the ways that matter.”

  She passed him a folded bundle wrapped in herb-lined cloth. Inside were several small pouches: a set of Animari healing powders, a sealed flask of concentrated bloodroot elixir, and a rolled scroll written in Verdantspire script.

  “Directions to the hidden passes near Thandor’s Reach,” she explained and pointed to the scroll. “Paths long forgotten by the kingdom, watched by none but wind and time but our scouts remember.”

  Xavier accepted the bundle with a nod, slipping it into his pack with care.

  “Others will come,” Kaelith said, her gaze sweeping over the group. “You have planted something that has begun to grow. Even in silence, roots spread.”

  Liosan tilted his head, signing something sharp and sly.

  Kaelith looked at him, unamused. “You may be clever now. But I expect you to return.”

  Liosan grinned and offered her a bow that bordered on mockery, but the look he gave her afterward was not a jest and once again bore his odd contrasting somberness.

  Kaelith reached into her sleeve and withdrew one last item, a thin strand of white-vined root, still faintly pulsing with life. She wound it into a loop and placed it in Xavier’s hand.

  “When you are far from trees and can no longer feel the breath of the ley beneath your feet, hold this. And remember that you do not walk alone.”

  She stepped back then guided them to the small plaza where they had departed for Rynthavael previously. Warden scouts were already gathering at the eastern edge of the plaza, where the shadow paths began to thread their way into the deeper wilds. None of them would go far, just far enough to ensure they passed beyond Verdantspire’s reach unseen.

  Xavier turned once to look back at the Lir’Valis Nexus, its glow now calm, like the quiet surface of a deep spring. He took a calming breath. “Let’s go.”

  The group began to move. Sihri fell into step beside him, one brow lifting as she cast a glance back over her shoulder.

  “Ah, farewell to green things and still mornings,” she murmured, brushing fingers across a vine as they passed. “I shall miss the hospitality. I shall not miss the scent of wet leaves stuck in fur. I miss the arid sands of home.” She then clicked her tongue and grinned. “Now, let us go where the lies wear crowns.”

  The forest whispered softly around them, and the road ahead waited without judgment.

  The path they followed curved southward through the deep-folding woods, winding its way back toward Rynthavael. The atmosphere of the forest had softened since their departure, there was less tension in the roots, fewer watchful eyes from the canopy above. Here, the air smelled of moss and loam, of river stone and fresh bark. The Verdantspire Wardens who had guided them to the first ridge were gone now, having vanished into the trees without farewell. Their part was done, what remained was the return home to prepare for the next leg. It was not in triumph, not yet at least, simply necessary.

  Xavier led the way, the woven talisman Kaelith had given him resting beneath his cloak. Each step closer to home and the Syr’Vailen brought the subtle hum of ley resonance stronger beneath his boots, the deep pulse of the earth ley line that fed Rynthavael and the lands under his purview, growing louder the closer they came. Not in sound, but in sensation, a presence beneath the soil that welcomed them in quiet recognition.

  Ella moved just behind him, her gaze sharp and steady, watching for more than threats. Lianna was ahead and to the side, occasionally pausing to check the path—more out of instinct than concern. The forest was familiar now, the Living Labyrinth protection bent it for them showing known paths back home.

  Sihri wandered a few steps off the trail, hands clasped behind her head as she hummed low and tuneless. “Verdantspire had beauty,” she said aloud, not looking at anyone. “But this land... this land listens.”

  Liosan trailed behind the group, arms relaxed and gait casual, a thin twig between his teeth, signing brief quips to no one in particular. Occasionally he glanced back over his shoulder, as if expecting the trees themselves to follow.

  They passed the fork near the Blackroot spring, the first spring Xavier had found in the settlement, by midday, where the stream curved in a crescent around the hill and joined a hidden pool at its base. The markers they had carved before leaving remained intact, freshly tended, even. Someone had kept the path clean in their absence.

  By the time the treeline broke and the hills of Rynthavael came into view, the scent of fresh cut wood, soil, and hearth fire reached them on the wind. Homes had been raised. Trails had been widened. There were more people now, visible even from this distance. A few figures stood atop the central ridge, already turning toward them, next to them stood several Wardens, their outfits distinct from those of the Rynthavael guards.

  Xavier paused near a sun-warmed stone, resting a hand briefly against its surface. The air here was different, charged, awake. He did not speak but simply admired the growth and change of his fledgling village.

  Ella stepped up beside him and gave a single nod. Lianna did not stop walking. She was already moving downhill. Sihri stretched her arms toward the sun, toes curling in the moss. Liosan signed something quick and sharp.

  Lianna glanced back over her shoulder, translating with a smirk. “He says the prodigal menace comes, and expects a meal, possibly applause.”

  Xavier exhaled once through his nose and started walking. The valley welcomed them home without a word.