Path of Dragons

As Elijah soared through the sky, he was entirely amazed at the landscape laid out below him. Enormous, snow-covered evergreens stretched as far as he could see, the carpet of white and green broken up only by a few remnants of the civilization that had once called the area home. There were patches of road, overgrown and covered in ice, buildings half-buried beneath the snow, and tall, faded billboards advertising legal services. Elijah even saw a stretch of highway, complete with an overpass, that led nowhere in either direction.

On the surface, none of that seemed all that surprising. However, when he looked closer, he saw plenty of disparities. Most notable was that the trees were at least five times taller than they should have been. Elijah had seen a lot of pine trees in his day, but he felt certain that they shouldn’t have been able to grow to heights bordering on a thousand feet. The things were absolutely glorious, and he ached to land on those spreading branches and connect with one, just to see how it differed from the ancestral tree in Druid’s Park.

He resisted that temptation, though he felt that he would eventually find the time to satisfy his curiosity. Just not until Ron and his people were safe.

The other curiosity was that the density of the ethera was quite a bit higher than he’d expected. It wasn’t nearly as thick as it was around Ironshore, much less in his grove, but it could definitely give Norcastle a run for its money. That perked Elijah’s interest, because he knew that there were only a couple of explanations for that kind of spike in ethera.

One was the presence of a tower, which was the most likely candidate, but he expected that powerful enough natural treasures could create a similar boost. It was also possible that they were within the range of a Primal Realm. That last option was less likely than the others, largely because if that was the case, then surely Ron and the other residents of Forest Hills would have seen something similar to Hong Kong. Not zombies and the like, but some sort of powerful enemies intent on spreading their influence.

In any case, Elijah wished he had the time to figure it all out, but he remained on a timer. He only had a few days to spare before he needed to get to Hong Kong. Sure, the resumption of the Primal Realm’s functions wouldn’t occur for another few weeks, but Elijah had no intention of showing up the day before that happened. Instead, he wanted to get there, take stock of the situation, then solve the problem before the undead had a chance to once again attempt to take over the world.

So, he didn’t have time to satisfy his curiosity, as much as that constraint irked him.

Finally, the other characteristic that intrigued him was that the entire region was absolutely lousy with goblins. However, they were definitely not the sorts of goblins he was accustomed to seeing. They only barely resembled people like Ramik, and they didn’t even look like the goblins he’d encountered in the first tower he’d conquered. Instead, they were far leaner, with slightly larger heads, small tapered ears, and enormous hands and feet. In addition, instead of green or yellow – or even blue – skin, their complexions were so white that they blended into the snow. Without Eyes of the Eagle, he never would’ve even seen them from above.

The other problem was that when he got too close to the treetops, he discovered that they had no trouble climbing. And that they were incredibly territorial. Before he even knew what was happening, there were a hundred arrows streaking toward him. He beat his wings, using Savage Strength to augment his attributes, and he climbed out of range. Even as the flight of arrows passed beneath him, the little creatures shot at him again.

That was when Elijah decided to turn around and return to the settlement. Once there, he landed near the destroyed school and went inside to the Branch, where he immediately accessed the Communications System and sent a message to Ramik.

Thankfully, the goblin was quick to respond, and within five minutes, Elijah got an answer:

Sender	Recipient
Ramik Orlox	Elijah Hart
The creatures you have encountered sound like grimlings. They are extremely territorial gnome-goblin hybrids that are generally accepted to have inherited only the negative traits of the forebears. You are unlikely to be able to negotiate with them, as they are known to kill any non-grimling that comes into their territory. They also practice cannibalism. In fact, they will eat just about anything. Proceed with caution, for they also breed like agots. Good luck.

Elijah had no idea what an agot was, but from context, he could tell that it was not good news, though that wasn’t particularly surprising. Interbreeding between the various races in the multi-verse had resulted in innumerable variants, and it seemed that grimlings were just the latest for him to discover. Still, Elijah wasn’t certain if Ramik’s obvious disdain came from facts or from racial discrimination. After all, most of the “pure” races tended to look down on the hybrids. Ramik had given no indication of that kind of thinking, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t present.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

So, Elijah decided to check for himself, though this time, while using Guise of the Unseen. So, he shifted into the form of the Blight Dragon, then adopted stealth before heading back into the forest.

Stalking among the trees was even more awe-inspiring than flying above, and Elijah quickly found himself slightly distracted by it. The trees were well spaced apart, and there wasn’t much underbrush, so it almost felt like he was strolling through those old, English forests he used to see on television. The only thing spoiling it was the presence of the grimlings.

The things were ubiquitous, often clinging to branches or stalking through the forest in clumps of a dozen or so individuals. Most were obviously on the hunt for local game, though some were gatherers as well. Elijah followed one of those groups as they stalked a large elk that had grown to the size of an elephant. The beast was a majestic creature, but the grimlings took it down without issue.

More impressively, they dressed the animal in minutes, and soon enough, they were all carrying comically large bundles on their backs as they made their way deeper into the forest. He followed them, though he did venture close enough to get a better look at them. Doing so verified their dual heritage, though he did notice a little more variance in size than he had from afar. Some were almost as large as dwarves, while others were nearly as small as little Rosabella.

They did seem capable, though. Even more importantly than that, their numbers were absolutely daunting. Thousands of the creatures were present, and when the pack of hunters finally reached their destination, Elijah was surprised to find an entire city of the creatures.

Though at second glance, Elijah hesitated to label it a true city. Certainly, it was a settlement, and not a small one. However, the layout was haphazard, with the only true organization to it being that everything roughly surrounded a huge fire pit at the center. Otherwise, the buildings – if some of them could even be called that – were incredibly primitive. Some looked like igloos, though with a conical shape rather than the familiar structures created by the Inuit. In addition, there were buildings that were basically lean-tos made of rough lumber, some tents created by draping thick hides over an A-Frame, and even a couple of primitive treehouses up above. Those were little more than rickety platforms hanging from the sides of massive trees with only a hide for a roof.

In a lot of ways, the place was incredibly impressive. If less than a million grimlings lived there, Elijah would have been very surprised. However, what made it even more remarkable was that the little creatures always seemed to be doing something. Often, he’d considered humanity to be quite productive, but Earth’s natives couldn’t hold a candle to the grimlings. It was like looking at an anthill that had recently been kicked, and Elijah couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement.

And a little dread.

What if these creatures spread? Sure, they had never left their forest, but what if they did? They could probably sweep across the entire continent in a few months.

What’s more, it only took one look for Elijah to understand that he couldn’t just kill the creatures. He didn’t even dare try to make contact, because every warning he’d received had made it abundantly clear that they would attack first and ask questions later. Maybe he’d survive. Probably, even. But he’d be forced to slaughter untold numbers of the grimlings to escape.

He didn’t want that on his conscience.

Killing an entire species – which was probably what it would take to ensure the safety of Ron and the others back in Forest Hills – was not something that interested him.

So, with that off the table, Elijah turned his mind to another option. It wasn’t ideal, but given some of his recent advancements, he thought it was viable. Without his recent efforts at core cultivation, he never would have done it, but now that he’d taken the next step, he’d increased the number of dolmens he could attach to Roots of the World Tree.

Roots of the World Tree

Empower a dolmen, connecting it to your grove. Teleport to any circle in your network. Cooldown: 1 Days Additional Effect: When inside any circle, create a persistent gateway to any other circle. Duration: 1 Minute. Maximum Capacity: 20. Cooldown: 1 Day Possible number of circles dependent on core cultivation. Current: 10 (4 Used)

Pushing forward with his core cultivation had added five more opportunities to create a dolmen. He wasn’t certain if that meant that it would double with each tier of core cultivation or if it just added five with each one, but he suspected it was the latter. Doubling every time would grow out of control in a hurry.

Not that it mattered right now. He’d only just reached the Drakyn stage, and it was far too soon to start working toward the next – especially when that was supposed to be orders of magnitude more difficult. Tiers one-through-three were still in the Mortal Realm, and the fourth marked true entrance into ascendence. That wasn’t just a label, either. It was incredibly meaningful, and from the guides he’d read, it was generally regarded as the first step in true cultivation. So, he wouldn’t be getting answers about Roots of the World Tree and its relationship with his level of core cultivation anytime soon.

What he did find interesting was that the cooldown for the spell had decreased significantly, dropping all the way to a single day. In addition, the capacity of the additional effect had increased as well. Being able to transport twenty people was far more useful than the old threshold, which was capped at four individuals.

In any case, Elijah soon retreated from the grimling city, and he followed his instincts as he roamed through the forest. He knew now that those instincts were a nascent expression of his connection to the natural world, and since he’d upgraded both his Soul as well as taken the Connection specialization, it was much stronger than it had been when he’d built his last dolmen.

As such, it didn’t take Elijah long before he found a trail. It didn’t manifest in tracks or smells, but rather, he sensed it like a tickle in the back of his mind. He followed it through the forest, and as expected, as he did so, he felt the ethereal density rise with every step.

The grimlings began to thin out until, at last, the forest was free of their influence. Only a mile later, Elijah found his destination.

It was a tree that absolutely dwarfed all the others. Not in size. In that respect, it was diminutive. Indeed, from a visual perspective, it looked like a perfect example of a cherry tree in full bloom.

Untouched by snow, the pink and white blossoms dripped with ice, casting the entire clearing in an ethereal glow.

But as awestruck as Elijah was by the beautiful tree, he was a little more interested in the snow-white fox curled up at the base of its trunk.

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