*"I have located another one of our kind."* Karr spoke with a little bit of excitement within his voice.
*"And? That is not newsworthy of interrupting my gathering. Leave at once and apprehend whoever this person is. The courts will punish them greatly for breaking the agreement."* the man holding the staff reprimanded Karr. However, the shadowy figure had more to say.
*"Your honor, with all due respect, this is more important than your gathering. I have located another shadow walker, but it is unlike the rest of us... It walks among humans as if it was one of their own, and does not seem to even know of our existence."*
*"Oh? Now that is interesting. Do you perhaps think it is a lesser shadow that has evolved to the same realm as us? If so, a new addition to the bloodline would be greatly beneficial for our cause."* The body of the man holding the staff flared momentarily, causing every other shadowy creature to react the same way, as if they were in some hivemind.
Well, everyone except for Karr himself, who was eagerly waiting to continue his explanation.
*"I... Don't believe that is the case."* Muttered before continuing.
*"Their bloodline... Was pure. Purer than anything I've ever seen. Dare I say that their bloodline was only second to our master."* Karr explained, and the moment those last words left his mouth, the bodies of every single creature within the hall flickered wildly.
*"..."* However, the man holding the staff remained calm. He could feel the seething rage within the hearts of everyone within the hall; however, he needed to remain calm.
*"You have made a bold statement... Especially when none of us sense them."*
*"Believe me, it is true! It appeared for a mere moment and disappeared a moment later!"* Karr shouted; however, the man stopped him by raising his hand and patting Karr's shoulder.
*"If you believe what you say, bring this person to us or at the very least bring us evidence of his existence... If another shadow walker exists with such a pure bloodline, they might become a threat to our master's ascension."* The shadow walker holding the staff disappeared from where he stood and appeared above the elevated platform.
*"From now one..."* The man raised his staff into the air before descending it upon the magic circle on the platform.
The magic circle flickered with mana before it shone with dark energy, and when the shine finally faded, a rumble went through the entire hall, and possibly even beyond it.
The ceiling suddenly, while grey dust rained down upon the hall.
The pillars retracted into the ground, and when they finally went inside the ground itself, the ceiling had already fully parted, exposing the outside world and one of the most beautiful scenes ever seen.
*"You are banished from the clan and shall only return with the shadow walker you spoke of in hand. Is that understood?"* The man asked while pointing upwards
*"Yes, chief."* Karr responded before turning into a blob of shadows and launching himself out of the hall.
When Karr's shadowy figure finally landed, his illusory eyes landed upon an enormous white, blue, and green marble in the distance glowing as the sun's light reflected off its surface.
As Karr stood on the lunar surface, his eyes landed upon a certain continent before his shadow body erupted with power as all the mana around him was absorbed into his body.
*"It's been quite long since I've stepped foot on Gilea... I wonder how much it's changed since my last visit."*
*BOOM*
And just like that, Karr had catapulted himself toward Egladore, the human and elven continent.
***
-Central Milean Forest-
"Princess... You have returned!" A man with silver hair and a green skin tone shouted as he saw a girl with green hair and eyes walk toward a tree within the city.
The tree was enormous. It was nowhere near the size of the Elven Spirit tree. However, the tree was so large inside that it could have probably been considered a city within itself.
"Request a meeting with my mother immediately." The girl smiled politely asked while bowing slightly to the soldier who had talked to her first.
Hundreds of them could be seen standing around the large tree, while hundreds of people with green skin and blonde hair stood around the tree with their hands pointed toward it as a green energy left their bodies and entered it.
This was the dryad society, but even calling it that was a little bit of a stretch.
Most forests had at least one or two dryads to protect them from attacking species. They would watch over the forest, but in certain instances, other creatures would take upon the job, becoming the guardians of the forest themselves.
An example is Misty, the mist walker in the misty forest. Or at least she was before half of her forest got annihilated.
However, the dryad society wasn't technically limited to dryads. Several different species lived in harmony with them, an example being the treefolk, saplings, fairies, a certain tribe of beastkin, and many other peaceful races.
The only reason the society wasn't named after one of those races, despite their populations, was due to the fact that it was the Dryads who ruled that land.
"Come with me, princess." The soldier finally bowed before turning around.
The walls of the trees seemed to cave in before exposing a tunnel as the walls shifted and entered the size of the tree.
Both the 'princess' and the soldier walked through the maze-like tunnels for a couple of minutes before they reached the other side.
The scene would have been a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle to anyone else; however, to the princess, it was nothing.
What was inside the tree was a society of its own. The community itself couldn't be seen outside the tree since many of them were underground or very close to the large tree itself. Other creatures simply created their houses on the trees themselves, like fairies who would live inside the trees and some beastkin who built their homes around the trunks of trees very high up.
However, inside the tree was completely different.
It looked like a utopia if not for the fact that all the houses were made out of wood that the tree itself seemed to have built.
"Please step on the platform." The soldier muttered as a tree branch appeared before them, moving like a living tendril that could proceed with its own will.
However, they didn't step on the branch itself. Their eyes fell upon a floating enormous leaf that they both stood on, and within an instant, they were sent flying through the air.
They both felt no air resistance from being flung through the air in such a manner, and eventually, the leaf maneuvered through the air almost expertly before they ultimately landing in front of a dome made of leaves.
"The guards inside have made your mother aware of your presence." The soldier bowed again before taking a few steps back from the princess.
"Thank you." She smiled before entering the dome made out of leaves.
The leaves separated the moment she got close to them, and when she finally entered, she saw a mature-looking woman sitting on a huge pink flower that rested in a position that made it look like it was a throne.
She had crimson red hair that flowed down her back and chest like a fluid and silky waterfall made of blood. Her eyes glowed with a piercing green and emerald as several green runes shone within her iris.
Unlike other treefolk and dryads, her skin did not have a green tone. Instead, it was closer to a creamy white, just like her daughter.
Her skin was blemish-free, while her crimson red hair was some of the healthiest and most gorgeous on the continent.
The woman was wearing a beautiful green dress made purely from organic matter. One could see everything from vines to leaves on it, wrapped tightly around her hourglass figure.
"If it isn't my unruly daughter." The woman smirked.
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