Path of Dragons 18 - Chapter 8 - Aspara (Patreon)

Elijah had never actually met an aspara, though he knew enough about them to be impressed by Kor’s declaration.  More than that, he’d seen them in action, albeit through the lens of a core vision of a long distant past.  Back then, they had fought alongside a flight of dragons against the future Ravener, and they had more than held their own.

In addition, Elijah knew them to be an elder race, though one that had been lost even before the system codified such designations.  That meant that Kor was quite a rare being, and it also explained why he felt so unfathomably ancient.

“You have no response?” asked the aspara, quirking one mossy eyebrow.

“Just processing,” Elijah admitted.  “I was under the impression that your people were extinct, kind of like the trolls or hobgoblins.”

“Neither of those are extinct,” Kor countered. 

Of course, Elijah knew that, technically, Kor was correct.  The trolls remained, though with diminished intellect and a lack of sapience.  They were entirely wild.  By comparison, hobgoblin blood had been diluted enough that they had splintered into multiple sub-species. 

“They may as well be,” Elijah pointed out.

Kor said, “There remain a few from the old blood.”

“Ah, like the orcs.”

“What do you know of orcs?”

Elijah shrugged. “A lot, actually.  Or at least I know about a specific type of orc native to Orveth Kaal,” he said.  Then, he went on to explain what he’d encountered in the ancestral world.  He also told Kor about the Poet’s insistence that there remained a few transcendent-level orcs out there. 

“That is interesting.  I have not encountered an orc in…longer than I care to consider,” Kor admitted.

“There’s one here,” Elijah said.  He gestured vaguely in the direction of the cave where he’d left his companions. “Back there somewhere.  Along with a dragon and a human.”

“I am aware,” Kor stated.

“Oh?”

“I see everything within my domain.”

“And all of this is your domain?”

The aspara answered, “Yes, though my grip on it is routinely interrupted by other powerful creatures.  Such is life in Sylvara.”

Elijah asked, “Is Shelly one of those interruptions?”

“She is, though through no fault of her own.  Her mere presence sends ripples through the entire realm,” Kor told him.  “Fortunately, she is a peaceful beast.  There are others whose presence is much more hostile.”

“I haven’t seen any.”

“You will, should you remain in Silvara for much longer,” Kor promised. 

“I’m leaving after a year,” Elijah answered.  “Which brings me to a bit of an embarrassing question – how long were we…you know…fighting?”

“Fighting?”

“What would you call it?” Elijah asked, remembering the epic struggle.

“An exploratory graze.”

Kor clearly didn’t believe in mincing words or softening the blow.  But Elijah had always known that if the aspara wanted him dead, he wouldn’t have survived for even a second.  It wasn’t so different from how he felt about Kirlissa or the Poet.  Oddly, he believed he could survive for at least a few seconds against someone like Mano.

He would surely be killed if it came to a fight with his adopted brother, but it would take at least a couple of moments.

Not that it mattered.

Dead was dead, regardless of how long it took him to succumb.

“Ouch,” Elijah said. “But the question remains…”

“A little more than three days,” Kor answered.

“Damn,” Elijah sighed, running his hand through his hair.  “Time really does fly when you’re a tree.”

“You seem inexperienced.”

“With that form?  Sure.  Just got it a couple of weeks ago,” Elijah admitted.  “Still trying to get a handle on what it can do.  Or more accurately, how I can retain my sense of self while living the tree life.”  He shook his head.  “I have a long way to go, I guess.”

“That you do, young Druid.”

“Any advice?” Elijah asked.

“Every path is different,” said the aspara.  “Any advice I give you is doomed to counterproductivity.”

“So they all keep telling me,” Elijah sighed.  “How about this?  You drink coffee?”

“I do,” Kor answered.

“Good.  I knew I liked you.”

After that, Elijah pulled his French press out of his Arcane Loop, along with some of his best coffee.  It had been grown on his island, so it was as high of quality as Earth could produce.  Perhaps there was some other planet in the multi-verse that could grow better, but Elijah had yet to find any such place. 

Besides, there was something satisfying about drinking the coffee whose strain of trees he’d grown from the Miracle Seed so long ago.  Some of those trees still lived, though after Nerthus’s intervention, they scarcely resembled the ones Elijah had planted.  Whatever the case, the current brew was incredibly potent.

And it smelled fantastic.

Of course, Elijah would have preferred to start a normal campfire to boil the water he took from his Arcane Loop, but he didn’t think Shelly would appreciate that.  Instead, he used an ethereal hot plate he’d taken from the Vengeance. 

For his part, Kor watched him with barely disguised interest.  Clearly, the old aspara didn’t get very many visitors.  Which, if Elijah was honest about the situation, was probably precisely what Kor wanted.  However, aspara were obviously social creatures, just like humans. 

And there was no telling how long it had been since Kor had engaged in conversation with another sapient being. 

Still, Kor maintained an extremely reserved façade, even after he tasted the coffee.  As far as Elijah was concerned, that made him a very good actor, because Elijah knew just how good his coffee was.

In any case, the two remained mostly silent as they sat atop Shelly’s head, just enjoying their coffee.  As they did so, Elijah couldn’t help but study his new acquaintance, and with every sense at his disposal.  Visually, Kor cut a striking figure that blended man and tree.  However, unlike Nerthus, who tended toward something human-like, Kor was more like a tree that had adopted humanoid features. 

The difference was unavoidable.

The study didn’t end with sight, though.  Elijah took it all in.  Kor smelled like pine needles and freshly mowed grass, while every time he moved, the creak of wood echoed through the air. 

But the most telling sense was, as always, Soul of the Wild.

Elijah might have expected the aspara to blaze like a wildfire.  Yet, he did not.  His aura was more like a comforting campfire, steady and oddly tame.  It only took Elijah a few moments to realize the reason behind it.

Kor had incredible control.

He was far wilder than Elijah could ever claim, and yet, he kept himself in check.  Somehow, he’d managed to do precisely what Elijah wanted to – keep the Call at bay.  And Elijah desperately wanted to ask how he’d managed it.

He bit his tongue, though.

Kor had already told him that he wouldn’t help with Elijah’s cultivation, and as disappointing as that was, it was also understandable.  A man who made a habit of standing on mentors’ shoulders would never learn to support himself. 

Or so they always said.

Elijah wasn’t entirely certain he believed that oft-repeated mantra.  As far as he was concerned, no one ever made it to the top alone.  Everyone got help, either from teachers or parents.  Or friends.  Colleagues.  Allies. 

“You seem pensive,” said Kor.

“Just thinking.  No man is an island,” he said, quoting a saying from Earth. 

“That is true.”

“What would you say if I asked you for help with cultivation?” Elijah asked.

“I would refuse. As I said before, that is the path of weakness,” Kor explained. 

“Figured as much,” Elijah said.  He drained the last bit of his coffee.  “Not even a tip?”

“Not concerning cultivation,” Kor answered.  “However, I will offer you a warning.”

“What’s that?”

“Be wary of the Wild Revenants,” he said. “They rarely venture into my domain, but rarely does not mean never.”

Elijah narrowed his eyes.  “Wild Revenants,” he mused.  It was the same name mentioned in his armor set, and he didn’t think that was a coincidence.  Especially considering that their backstory was that they took refuge in Silvara.  “What are they?” Elijah asked, feigning ignorance.

“Fallen Druids,” Kor responded.  “Groveless.  Merciless.  Without pity or purpose.  They attack like rabid animals, never considering any other option.”

“I see.”

“You do not, else you would not take it so lightly.”

“I don’t,” Elijah insisted.  “I’m just not sure what it really changes.  Everything here can kill me.  Even the trees.  A bunch of fallen Druids running around just means there’s one more thing to worry about.”

More troublingly, if Kor considered them dangerous – and he obviously did – then they could easily erase Elijah’s entire existence.  The fact that Kor hadn’t already killed them just made it worse.

So, he asked, “What should I do?”

“Leave.”

“I can’t.”

“Then remain in place and hope they do not discover your position,” Kor suggested.  “For someone like you, it is especially dangerous to meet those foul creatures.”

“Why is that?” Elijah asked.

“They are Druids, and their song is a seductive one,” Kor explained.  “If they do not kill you, they will attempt to recruit you.  Death is the better result.”

Elijah put his up away, then pulled a hot meal out of his Arcane Loop.  He grabbed one for Kor as well, though the aspara refused, saying that he got all the nutrients he needed from the land.  That prompted Elijah to ask about photosynthesis, and for a while, Lor lectured him on the altered version of the natural process.  In addition to sunlight, it incorporated ethera into the mix.

Elijah found it fascinating.  Even more so now that he’d experienced life as a tree, however briefly.

When he’d finished, Elijah asked, “Any other advice?”

“No,” Kor said.  It was a predictable answer.  The aspara wasn’t exactly cagey, but he seemed wary of giving too much away.  Elijah couldn’t help but wonder if that was because he didn’t want to unduly influence Elijah’s path, or if he was afraid he might use that knowledge against him. 

Both were probably valid, at least to some degree.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Elijah asked.  “Do you need supplies or anything?  A taste of civilization?”

Kor’s lip curled at the mention of that last word. “I think not,” he said.  “But I will call upon you from time to time, just to see how you fare in this realm.”

“Fair enough,” Elijah said, though he knew the aspara cared very little about Elijah’s well-being.  Instead, he simply craved some sort of contact with another sapient being.  Elijah definitely wouldn’t have been his first choice, but that didn’t really matter.  He was likely all that was available.  Still, he didn’t say as much, instead letting Kor’s white lie stand. 

With that, Elijah turned the waning conversation to more important matters, and he spent the next hour grilling Kor for information about Sylvara.  Many of the aspara’s answers were already known to Elijah, but he still learned enough to justify his mini interrogation. 

But eventually, Kor tired of the conversation.

And just like that, he picked up and leaped away.  He sailed through the air, the arc of his jump not ending for miles and miles. 

That left Elijah alone to ponder the things he’d learned.

Some of it was actionable.  Much of it was not.  But in the end, more information was better than less.

One thing was certain though.  Now that he had Shelly’s attention – or at least a piece of it – he wasn’t going to let it go to waste.  So, without further ado, he left the tortoise’s head and leaped back up to the edge of her shell.  Within a few minutes, he’d reached his destination.

Once there, he shifted into his dragon form, then brandished his claws.

After that, he dug down to the tortoise’s shell and started scratching.  Because if there was one thing he knew, it was that turtles – whether they lived on land or in the sea – absolutely loved having their shells scratched. 

And Elijah very much wanted to make friends with the enormous tortoise.

So, given that he didn’t have enough food to bribe such a large animal, he resorted to scratches.  He just hoped it would be enough.