15-18. Crying Dragon

“Nerthus…this is amazing,” Elijah said, grinning broadly. “How did you do this so quickly?”

“It has been nine months,” Nerthus pointed out. “We are on our seventeenth generation.”

At that, Elijah just shook his head. He’d always known that spryggents possessed a connection to plant life that exceeded anything he could expect from anyone else. However, knowing that and seeing it in action were two different things. From what Elijah could tell, Nerthus’ instinctive control of vegetation exceeded that of even deity-tier Druids.

Certainly, he was better than Tura, meaning that Elijah had no chance of rivaling his friend’s abilities. Not now, and certainly not as Nerthus grew in power and experience.

In this case, he’d used those abilities to perfect the coffee trees by hybridizing the current orchard with the cherries he’d brought from the Empire of Scale. The end result was a much more potent product that he was eager to taste.

Of course, he couldn’t do so until the seeds had been removed from the cherries, then roasted. Most of the time, he would have preferred to do that on his own, but the reality was that he was quickly running out of time.

Building thirty-five dolmens didn’t happen overnight, after all.

The project had been even more draining than Elijah had expected. Even with plenty of assistance, the process was a personal one. Carving that much stone had left him mentally exhausted, and that wasn’t even considering the psychological toll. Especially with the first few, which had commemorated events from his life. After that, he’d gone with generic nature scenes.

Doing so had lowered the grade, but Elijah didn’t much care about that. From what he could tell, their grades only affected efficiency. And that only mattered when he used them to teleport long distances. For instance, his trip from Vyrin to Earth had only taken ten days – a product of the dolmen’s high grade. If it had been lower, the journey would have taken much longer.

However, that didn’t really matter on Earth, where the difference could be counted in seconds.

So, he’d engaged in the equivalent of mass production. The dolmens were still powerful structures, and he hadn’t really cut any corners. However, the lack of personal connection certainly affected the end result.

By the end, he’d just wanted the whole thing finished.

Despite that, he was pleased to learn that Mako had used his new mobility to gain a few levels and discover two new towers. Already, the grove had begun construction on strongholds meant to protect their new assets.

And there were doubtless more to come. After all, the new version of Earth was still mostly unexplored. The continents had been mapped to some degree, but they were just outlines. It would take decades more to make noticeable progress on that front. And hopefully, by then, the grove would already be entrenched in the best leveling spots.

In terms of sheer numbers, they couldn’t compare with some of the planet’s larger factions. What they could do was focus on levels and quality. Doing that would go a long way toward protecting the grove from those greedy enough to try its defenses. With Elijah contemplating long absences, that was an absolute necessity for his peace of mind.

Elijah reached out and patted Nerthus on the arm. “Thank you. I don’t think I say that enough.”

“You don’t,” the spryggent agreed. Then, he smiled – a tiny thing that barely moved the rigid bark of his face – before adding, “But the seeds help. I have great expectations for some of the hybrids I have created. Especially the exil fruit tree, which I have managed to cross-pollinate with the grove fruits. For now, the results have been disappointing and worse than either fruit on its own. However, I still believe there is untapped potential there. Davika has agreed to offer her assistance, should I reach the point of viability. After that, we will be able to grow them at scale.”

“Wow. The dragons all said the exil fruit couldn’t grow anywhere but its home planet.”

Nerthus nodded. “They were correct, yet that is not the entire story. The issue with the exil tree is that it requires a very specific blend of ethera to prosper. That environment is extremely difficult to create because it features strands of elemental ethera.”

“Which we have because of the natural treasures I brought back.”

“We do. Even having cleared that issue, there is the problem of ethera density,” he stated. “The grove fruit traits will help with that. Even if I manage viability, the fruits will be slightly weaker than those of a pure exil fruit. I hope to change that as the grove’s ethera density continues to improve.”

“I guess that’s where I come in,” Elijah said, running a hand through his hair. It had grown longer over the past few months, reminding him that he needed to visit the barber. “I hope to improve my core soon, so that should help.”

“Indeed, though I expect we won’t be capable of supporting the full power of an exil fruit until you reach deity.”

“That’s kind of a big deal,” Elijah said, though he recognized that as an understatement. The exil fruit was considered one of the best body cultivation aids in the entire Empire of Scale, which meant that it was likely one of the best in all of existence. Certainly it wasn’t that effective for deities and beyond, but for demigods, it was just about the best out there.

And if they could produce those fruits themselves, it could truly set the grove and its defenders apart.

Just one more brick in the foundation he was trying to build.

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“I am very aware,” Nerthus agreed. “I have also made some progress with the other seeds you brought, but those have very few obvious benefits, save to increase and redirect the grove’s ethera. They are…fun, though.”

Elijah grinned. “That’s awesome. Any chance I can see what you’re working on?”

Nerthus quickly shook his head. “No. Not until I am finished.”

“Fair enough.”

After that, the pair discussed the grove’s infrastructure, including a few new pillar trees Nerthus had decided to grow. Once they were finished, they would support more treehouses for new members. The grove’s population didn’t grow very quickly, but it was a steady increase. And that required more housing. Some of that was mitigated by the reef bungalows on the coast, but some people weren’t comfortable living in such conditions.

Either way, the conversation ended when Elijah asked about the fat for the soap. Being as how it had come from a powerful, if enslaved, beast, it was already extremely dense with both ethera and vitality. However, being submerged in the grove’s ethera was meant to infuse it with that ephemeral quality that separated Crying Dragon soap from everything else.

According to Nerthus, it was as saturated as it was going to get in the short term.

“Perhaps if we left it here for a few years, that may change, but it will not get any better before you need to leave,” he explained.

“I expected as much,” Elijah admitted. Though he did want to leave a few tons unused, just as a plan for the future. After all, he’d gotten the sense that Kirlissa had something else planned for after his visit to the First Fang, and though she’d not revealed much about the nature of the opportunity, Elijah had every reason to expect it to take a while.

Hopefully, by the time he returned, the unused fat would have grown even more powerful – especially if he continued to gain experience, which would push the grove’s atmosphere to new heights.

Soon, Elijah reached the soap-making facilities, only to find a familiar figure waiting for him. Sara threw herself at him in an energetic hug.

“Long time, no see,” he said when she released him. “What’ve you been up to?”

“So much,” she said gravely. Then, she went on a rapid-fire explanation of everything she’d been doing for the past nine months. He’d seen her a few times over that span, but never for more than a few hours.

“You’ve been busy,” he responded after she told him about her apprenticeship with Atticus, her efforts to improve Ironshore’s efficiency, and her work helping Nara to organize the grove’s inner workings.

“And there’s still so much to do. I wish I didn’t need to go home.”

Elijah shrugged. “Maybe Kirlissa will let you come back,” he suggested. “Once you’re done at the academy, I mean. You still need experience, don’t you?”

“Hmm. You think she would allow that?” she asked innocently. Of course, Elijah already knew that she very much intended just that. She’d revealed as much to Selene, who’d told Atticus, who had in turn told Elijah. But he pretended not to know.

“No telling until you ask,” he answered, ducking into the cave. “But you need to frame it as a learning opportunity. Talk about how you feel strained by the confines of her domain. Maybe say something about wanting to build your own legacy.”

“Oh, that’s good,” she said, following him and wearing a mischievous grin.

“For what it’s worth, it’s also true.”

She waved that away, concentrating instead on getting what she wanted. Or that was what Elijah assumed.

When he reached the first crate, Elijah could feel the ethera wafting off of it. He scanned the cave, then shook his head. “This is going to be a huge job.”

Thankfully, it wasn’t one he needed to engage alone. Instead, he would have plenty of help. It only took a little while before half the grove turned up. The most important among them were Biggle and a gaggle of tiny apprentices he’d decided to train. None of them were old enough to have gained an archetype, but according to the grove’s instructors, they had the right temperament for alchemy.

In any case, Biggle’s alchemy skills would help streamline the process. Everyone else was there as manual labor. Even Sara.

Elijah’s part was a little different. He did help move the crates, chop the fat into chunks, and deposit it into various cauldrons. However, his primary job was to keep Blessing of the Grove, Soul of the Wild, and, most importantly, his Mantle of Authority going at all times. The first two were to enhance the vitality and brand the entire process with his flavor of ethera. The third contributed to both of those goals, but the mantle also dissolved all impurities, which helped render the fat into pure tallow.

Even though the soapers had perfected their process, the sheer volume meant that it took the better part of a week to render all the fat.

As they were working on that, Elijah and another team prepared the lye water by dumping wood ash into the prepared barrels. Because the ash had come from burning the specially prepared grove trees, it was already a potent ingredient. The same was true of the water, which came from the same island stream that had become Elijah’s lifeline when he’d first washed ashore.

His duo of spells and the Mantle of Authority made the end product even purer and more potent than ever.

The whole process brought with it a wave of nostalgia. After all, making soap was one of the first major projects he’d undertaken after he’d ensured his basic survival. And as always, he found that making things – that step-by-step process – to be recentering in a way that nothing else really was.

Then came the camaraderie of a community project. People came and went, but there remained a carnival-like atmosphere. A few members of the grove had set up cooking pits that stayed in use the entire time, and someone had even established games for the children.

And some of the adults.

Sara particularly enjoyed the games of chance that reminded Elijah of the county fairs he’d attended in his youth. The dragon girl had no idea that they were all rigged. Nor did she really care, instead reveling in the game itself and the constant struggle for victory.

In the end, those two steps took nearly three weeks to complete, and in that time, Elijah reintegrated with the community in a way he’d never expected. He learned people’s names. He listened to their stories. He recounted some of his adventures while people sat around the fires on moonless nights. And at some point, he internalized the fact that they were his people.

Not just because they lived in his grove. Not because he was responsible for their safety. Rather, because he was part of their community.

After they had rendered all the fat and created all the lye water, the next step was to mix it all together. At the same time, they added the infused oil so that the soap would carry with it a distinct scent. Each batch was different. Some, because they used different herbal or botanical aromas. Others because the oils were slightly more absorptive.

Regardless, no batch of soap was the same.

Once that was done, they cooked each set until it reached a pudding-like consistency. Then, they poured it all into square molds. Rack after rack entered the cave for storage so they could wait for it all to cure.

Even now, the soap practically glowed to Elijah’s senses. Doubtless, it would be the best ever produced by the grove. The only question was how much better it would be.

And just like that, four weeks after they’d started, they finished the task.

“At least three more weeks,” Elijah said as he looked at the product of all their hard work. “We’ll leave it there to cure until it’s time to leave.”

“What do you have planned in the meantime?” Sara asked, standing next to him.

Elijah grinned. “Well, we have a little less than six weeks before we need to head back. How about I show you the sights? We can visit some interesting places.”

She returned his smile. “Sounds awesome.”