Master Of None

”So you are one of the forest witches?” Alma’s words didn’t sound much like a question. Instead, it seemed that this was more of a judgement.

To be fair, Alma was the next elf queen who had grown up in the forests and was more acclimated to the forests than anything else. However, she had taken the important step to receiving a drop of high elven blood within her allowing her the growth needed to go beyond what the elven race was thought to be limited to.

She had become what was equivalent to a high elf of her time and in the future, there would be more to awaken this blood within them. The former strength of the high elves from their past was just waiting for them to grow and develop enough to reclaim and exceed it.

”Yes, I am one of the forest witches. I am specifically a root witch. Any plant that puts roots in to the earth and takes earth and water to become stronger is within my grasp. I can even grow entire trees faster than most people.”

This witch was one of the shortest who came from the witch born race’s endless night forest. While she was short, it was clearly due to her age. Her features actually matched that of the ancient human carvings proving she was most likely human through and through before she was reborn as a witch born.

Not that race mattered, she had a slight green tint to her blond hair and her eyes were a deep brown. It felt as if her body itself was showing off her innate affinity while she grew them in to root magic as she called it.

’We have many farmers and experienced herbalists that can grow plants quickly. What I want to know is why you feel you have the right to come in to contact with the spirit trees. We do not have a dual elemental spirit tree, the only one you would be able to mix with the best would be our grand spirit tree as everyone calls it. The central tree that holds nature mana itself.”

This was what had brought them together once Alma had returned. In contradiction to the other witch born, this forest witch, or as she said root witch, went straight to the central spirit tree and wished to sense it and touch the roots. Naraully this was what had Alma contacted and taken from her work.

She had to catch up on a few matters involving the elves’ growth and the ways that the other elven settlements within the world had been recontacted or entirely moved to Genesis at this point. Plenty of traveling paths or mapped areas had changed making it harder for some elves to live in their previous homes.

The earth and dark elves had entirely moved to Genesis now and left their previous home, not because of true dangers but for the opportunity to grow more. To be the anchor of unity within the entire elf race for the future. It was very inspiring for many of the other elves who had doubted they could reform in to one unified race rather than arguing elemental elves.

”I don’t mean it any harm. This is something that my grand witch of forests tells me is a chance to enlightenment for myself and many others. However, they can not feel what I can feel. They won’t grow because they see what I feel and experience. They will just become motivated. I wish to see what path I may take by following the roots forming here. To know what life will form from the earth we stand on. What waters might nourish it.”

The way this small witch spoke was almost poetic. It did say a lot though, she seemed to be enamored with the growth of plants from the earth. She also looked at the cloudy sky with excitement. She desired the rain to fall and nourish the land.

She was most likely more in mind with the echidna race than the other races. Even the elves didn’t all have this sort of pure adoration for the world at all times like this girl.

”What is it specifically that you believe you will learn? How could that help Genesis.” Now Alma put her foot down. This wasn’t a thing anyone could do. Those who cared for the elemental spirit trees were hard working, dedicated, and of all else, loyal to the growth of Genesis. This young witch was new. She was not proven. She was unknown.

There was a small hesitation, it seemed that this young root witch didn’t even really know. She had been encouraged to do so by the grand witch of forests, however, she was left to understand it herself.

”First, I want you to take the linked tree road and stand before the forest elf forest. Walk there and observe the linked trees who are guided by the queen of the forest elves. Tell me what you feel. Tell me what you learn. Tell me what the forest is and why it has sustained the elven race for years.”

Alma was not throwing her away, this was becoming a new challenge for some of the youngest elves who were attempting to rush ahead in to the farming, herbalism, and other spiritual arts related to the plants within Genesis. They all felt they had the knowledge to do what they could yet they lacked a proper understanding.

Whose that returned would be tested by the elder elves who had more insight about the growth and unity of the first. How the trees connected and made sure other plants grew around them. This small aspect of nature that allowed for their forests to feed them for generations was just a simple aspect of their lives.

For another to do so from another race was different. The tradition of sending young elves in to the forests alone to understand the balance of the forest’s nature was not new, but these changes and allowing others of different traces was new. But it brought them all together.

”I am allowed to leave this city?”

”You have guards watching you. You have freedom as an equal citizen. Why not?” Alma turned away and left the young root witch to her own thoughts. She knew that the grand witch of forests was not pushing this witch any one way or another. She had left this here because she wanted the root witch to follow a slightly different path now. And so, Alma would let her run in to the wisest one she knew when it came to the unity of nature and the forest, the current forest elf queen who was building the linked trees to be able to freely travel to Genesis at any time she wished.

While Alma handled this, Remey was handling the young witch who focused on alchemy.

When it came to the dual affinities of earth and fire, she had not expected that this witch even had them. She thought it would be purely fire or maybe fire and wind. Yet, earth and fire were the two affinities mixing in a way she had not at all expected.

Dry earth. Not lava or magma. Not volcanic. Not even dangerous. The ways these manas came together was more like a dried desert. A force of nature that naturally halted the growth and condensed the value of a plant or monster due to lacking resources.

This was why she was amazed by the small acts of witch brewing this witch did. She was using the herbs she had dried and condensed to ensure that less were used while promoting a larger viable witch brewed potion.

In Remey’s case, she would lose a lot of the materials she needed when condensing herbs in to basic potions, meaning that she had a greater waste. This witch did not have that since she used her natural affinities and processes to make everything usable. She just needed more herbs to counter some negative effects which would be costly but viable in portions produced.

As a result of all of this, Remey was recording the processes and directly comparing the alchemy processes she knew. This had already started a massive upheaval in the ideas of the youngest training alchemist apprentices. Not because they were seen as being wrong, but because they wanted to test their basic ideas and see if they could do better.

There was also the fact that the new herbalism garden made so that herbs could be grown naturally without interference had become under this young witches eye. She watched as herbs were left to grow or fail. Seeds, roots, all the like were left there to attempt to grow without a single hand or magic touching them. Just as the endless night forest gardens were sometimes forgotten for years at a time.

She shared all this openly and Remey was about to begin challenging some of her own herb knowledge and potion making.

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