Path of Dragons 17 - Chapter 49 - Paradise (Patreon)

Elijah wanted it to work.

He did.

Or at least, that was what he kept telling himself, even if he was well aware of the conflict in his heart.  As the portal manifested, with summoned vines growing upward, then forming an connected arch, Elijah simultaneously wanted what was best for his adopted son and hoped that the universe would step in so he wouldn’t be forced to confront the incomparable change looming on the horizon.

The interior of the portal shimmered, then came to life as a plane of green-grey energy.

“When we step through there, we’re going to be in a different world,” he told Callux.  “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but you should be prepared for anything.”

“Battle?”

“No,” Elijah replied, shaking his head. How was he to explain the reality of his son’s race?  That not everyone would welcome his presence?  How could he tell him that, once they stepped through that portal, he would be exposed to the world?

That what he was would no longer be sheltered by Orveth Kaal?

How could he prepare Callux for the very real possibility that it might not even work?  It didn’t for Ok’tarik, and he was as advanced of an orc as existed.  The difference – that Callux wasn’t fully an orc – should have been enough to bypass the system’s restrictions, but Elijah had no idea if his reasoning was well-founded.

But every time he doubted it, he thought back to the war elves.  They had orc blood, too.  And the system no longer restricted them.  Surely, that was a sign of what Callux could expect.

Elijah wasn’t certain, though.

Nor was he sure if he really wanted things to change.  Having the system react to Callux the same way it had to his father would solve a lot of potential problems.  And all it would cost was the orc’s future.

Put that way, Elijah’s concerns took a backseat.  He wanted nothing but the best for Callux, and he recognized just how selfish he’d have to be to keep him in Orveth Kaal.

“Just step through,” Elijah said, gesturing to the portal. 

The young orc wasn’t a blind rule-follower, but he’d learned to trust Elijah.  Even so, he didn’t stride forward purposefully or unhesitatingly.  Instead, he took his first tentative step, obviously afraid of what he might find once he passed through.

Elijah reached out to grip Callux’s shoulder.  He squeezed it, then said, “It’ll be okay.  I’ll be right behind you.”

Callux looked at Elijah with wide, innocent eyes.  Then, he gave his father a self-serious nod and said, “I am not afraid.”

Then, without further delay, he stepped up to and through the portal. 

Elijah expected some grandiose moment.  A flash of light, maybe.  The system descending and strangling them both with its immense pressure.  Yet, none of that happened.  Instead, Callux just stepped through like it was nothing.

Like it wasn’t a first for his people.

Like it wasn’t the blooming of a seed Elijah had planted half a decade earlier.

“You see that?” Elijah asked Fungee.

Predictably, the fungal colony did not answer.

Elijah sighed, then followed his son through the portal.  From experience, he knew the trip would take at least a week or two, so it gave him plenty of time with his thoughts.  Mostly, they centered on his plans for Callux and how he would react to various complications, should they present themselves.  However, he soon moved on to other, unrelated topics.

Mostly because he didn’t want to spiral.

He thought about the orcs and the ongoing industrialization of their society.  They hadn’t responded as well as he’d hoped.  They had stronger weapons and better equipment, but their society remained largely the same.  In the grand scheme of things, it hadn’t been that long, and he’d always known transforming their prospects would take a good deal of time. 

But he had hoped for more tangible and immediate changes.

The civil war still loomed, but in an empire where people routinely lived thousands of years, things tended to move pretty slowly.  Once it truly started, the situation would deteriorate quickly, though.  Everyone had been clear about that.

The most immediate issue was the dragons in Orveth Kaal.  They were on a much more limited timeframe, and as such, their plans would need to come to fruition far more quickly.  They would attack, probably sooner rather than later.  When that happened, Elijah couldn’t waste time before returning.

Until then, he intended to stay on Earth to help ease his son’s transition to his new home. 

Round and round those thoughts went, and Elijah continued to touch on many of the same subjects.  Sprinkled in there were concerns about cultivation, his plans for advancement, and worries for Imal and his friends.  They were safe enough at the moment, but the multi-verse was a dangerous place.

Anything could happen at just about any time.

Still, concerns for Imal became increasingly common, which was especially frustrating because he couldn’t do anything about her situation.  She was on her own.  And when she emerged from her chrysalis, she would be a freshly minted deity.

Elijah couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy there.  He also wondered what class she might have chosen.  It would be powerful.  There was no doubt there.  But would it suit her?

He hoped so.

A deity with an unsuitable class would be all but crippled.  In that way, he almost pitied Alrhok.  Or he would have if the traitor hadn’t taken the absolute worst route available.  If Elijah ever saw him again, he would kill him without a second’s hesitation. 

Such was his anger – not at the act itself.  That had turned out okay.  But rather, the betrayal was what really stung.  He’d considered Alrhok a friend.  Clearly, the feeling was not mutual.

Killing him would be satisfying in a way that Elijah hadn’t really felt since Bloodrock Bay, what felt like a lifetime ago.

Eventually, Elijah’s mind settled into a meditative pseudo-trance where he did what work he could on his mind.  He wasn’t sure if cultivation worked in his current state, but he was almost positive that it would bear at least some benefits.

That took him all the way until the moment he finished his step and found himself within the familiar confines of his grove.

Callux had arrived only a few seconds before him, and predictably, he was dumbfounded by what he saw.  In a lot of ways, the center of the Hartwood Grove looked the same as it always did.  Sure, the ancestral tree was slightly bigger.  The flowers were a little more vibrant.  And the atmosphere was a bit denser and more vital. 

But it was the same familiar grove.

Which meant that it was unlike anything Callux had ever seen before.  He stared around, wide-eyed and close to shock.  And that was before he caught sight of the group of children following a sea elf along the outskirts of the meadow.

“Little people?” he muttered, struggling to make sense of it.

“Children,” Elijah said, laying his hand on Callux’s shoulder.  “Like you.”

“Too small.”

That was something Elijah hadn’t anticipated.  In the five or so years since Callux’s birth, he’d grown to roughly the size of an adult human.  Maybe a little bigger.  His arms and legs lacked the musculature of maturity, instead leaning toward long, gangly, and a little awkward.  But he was still much too big for his age.

Putting him with other children would come with potential issues.

“You’re just big,” Elijah said with a laugh.  He didn’t want to make too big of a deal out of it.

“Elijah.”

Elijah glanced to where Nerthus had just grown out of a nearby root.  He wasn’t any bigger than the last time Elijah had seen him, but he was thicker.  His leaves and the moss of his beard seemed much more vibrant as well.  It was his power that surprised Elijah, though.

Nerthus had always had a calm, steady presence, and that hadn’t changed.  But now, it was like looking at a sinkhole.  From the surface, it didn’t seem so impressive – not until you realized that it descended into the earth for hundreds of yards and contained enough water to fill many much wider bodies of water.

“Nerthus,” Elijah replied, adopting a self-serious tone.

“Why have you brought an orc into the grove?”

“Oh.  Right.  I guess that would seem a little surprising,” Elijah admitted.  “Callux, I want you to meet Nerthus.  He’s one of my oldest friends.  Like my brother, but part tree.  Nerthus, this is Callux.  My son.”

“S-son?” Nerthus asked, obviously taken aback by the revelation.  His brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of the mechanics involved.  When that failed, he just asked, “How?”

“Does it matter?  He’s my son,” Elijah said.  “And I expect everyone here to accept him.”

“Of course,” Nerthus said.  Then, he turned his attention to Callux and extended his gnarled, root-like hand.  Turning his palm up, he channeled a little vitality, and a small plant began to grow.  It sprouted quickly, then bloomed into a sunflower. 

That delighted Callux, who never tired of seeing that kind of thing.  Elijah had spent countless hours growing plants for him, and that wasn’t even considering what he and Fungee got up to. 

Nerthus plucked the flower, then handed it to Callux.  The young orc wasted no time before sliding it behind his slightly-pointed ear.  He beamed.  “Thank you.”

After that, Nerthus knelt and engaged in an earnest conversation with Callux.  Most of it dealt with normal get-to-know-you sort of questions, which Callux answered as well as he could.  Despite his advanced physiology and obvious intelligence, Callux still hadn’t quite mastered the art of speaking.  So, his answers were somewhat halting – an occurrence that was probably supported by his nervousness at finding himself within such a new and alien environment.

However, Nerthus’s efforts proved extremely effective at getting Callux to open up.  So, when the spryggent offered to show him around the grove, Callux was more than happy to follow his lead. 

Elijah accompanied them for a few minutes until he was certain that Callux wasn’t going to freak out.  Only then did he relax and allow himself to truly enjoy the feeling of being home.

It didn’t matter how much time he spent away from the grove, it would always be the place where his life had invariably changed.  It was where he’d become the man he now was, and where he’d been given a second chance. 

What’s more, he was connected to it in a way he could never be to anywhere else. Part of that was simply how his magic worked, but it was also the way his mind processed things.  The emotional connection was even stronger than the ethereal bond.

Or maybe they worked together.

Either way, even an hour in the grove was a balm to his psyche in a way that nothing else could claim.

For a while, he lagged behind the pair, watching contentedly.  But then, he felt someone arrive on the island, bringing him back to the reality of his other responsibilities, both as the leader of the Hartwood Grove and as a big brother to a very golden dragon.

He let Nerthus know that he was heading to the other side of the island.  Callux didn’t seem to care, which was slightly wounding.  But Elijah ignored that – as best he could manage, at least – then set off.

It didn’t take him long to cross the island, even on foot.  But as he did, he marveled at how it had grown.  The trees were taller, the homes more expansive.  He’d felt it all before, but there was a marked difference between sensing things with his locus and seeing them with his own two eyes.

Finally, he reached his destination.

“Took you long enough,” Sara said, her hands on her hips.  Okar was nearby, talking to the dwarf who’d brought them over on a fancy-looking skiff. 

“Funny,” Elijah said.  “I was going to say the same thing.  Don’t trust your wings?”

She jerked her head toward Okar.  “He’s scared of heights.”

“That’s not true!” Okar shouted without turning his head.  “I just don’t like riding on your back!”

“Lies,” his sister whispered.  It carried across the entire dock.  Then, she grinned and launched herself at Elijah.  Soon enough, she had her arms wrapped around him.  “So glad you’re back.  I missed you.”

Elijah returned the hug in the same spirit, admitting, “I missed you too.”