Path of Dragons

Elijah watched via Soul of the Wild as Miguel completed his sword. The weapon itself was nothing particularly special, and Elijah had difficulty not jumping in to help with the carving. However, because of the advantages associated with working in the grove – and of being tied to it as strongly as Miguel was – the final product had turned out quite well.

"It is not so different from your first staff," Nerthus said as Miguel fell asleep. After staying up for three days, he'd fallen quickly into unconsciousness. Nerthus asked, "What was it called?"

"Staff of Natural Harmony," Elijah answered at once. He'd been so impressed with himself after carving it, and for good reason. Not because it was a masterful piece of equipment, but rather, because of the ingenuity it had represented. Stuck on a deserted island, he'd managed to overcome a host of problems to create something truly unique. In a lot of ways, he missed it. His later attempts were better in nearly every way, with the Feral Spire being the best yet, but that first staff would always have a special place in his heart.

"A fitting name," Nerthus agreed.

"What was all that about recruiting people for the grove? You made it sound like Miguel is going to venture out into the world and start handing out brochures or something."

"He is most likely to recruit new talent," Nerthus said. "You certainly have showed no signs of doing so."

"Ouch."

It was mostly true, though. The only people he'd even invited to Ironshore were his companions during the Trial of Primacy, and even then, he'd only offered a permanent place to Oscar. And that wasn't because he thought he could get something from the man, but rather because he thought Oscar could use the help.

He still hadn't answered Elijah's messages. Neither had Benedict, but at least Lamar had responded, saying that things were peaceful for now. He cautioned that that would change soon, though, and he'd once again asked for help dealing with his former teammate-turned-warlord.

Ron had reiterated that he needed help as well, though he'd made a point to tell Elijah that it wasn't as urgent as he'd first thought. Something needed to be done sooner rather than later, but it could wait a few weeks. That was a good thing, too, because Elijah wanted to finish his cultivation and achieve his class evolution before he left the grove. Largely, that was because he knew that if he cut that particular corner, it would likely be months before he got the chance to finish things properly.

But that timer weighed on Elijah. As much as he trusted Ron, the man had a habit of understating danger. He also wasn't great at estimating how things might escalate, so it wouldn't be terribly surprising if things unexpectedly got out of hand.

No – sooner would be better than later, so Elijah resolved to take care of that the moment he'd finished his cultivation and chose his class evolution.

"So much to do, so little time," he muttered to himself. It was an ironic sentiment, considering that his potential lifespan had never been longer. And the moment he reached the Ascendent tier, it would become even longer.

In any case, Elijah spent a few minutes centering his mind before taking stock of the grove. The hot tub was progressing well, with the ash lotus on the verge of sprouting. The amount of time that had taken was telling, given that he'd been steadily inundating the entire area with life from Nature's Bounty and Healing Rain. That it still hadn't sprouted was a testament to how long its life cycle generally was.

The cultivation cave, by comparison, was already teeming with so much life that Elijah expected that it was already prepared for another attempt. According to Nerthus, using it a second time so quickly after taking the next step with his Soul cultivation would probably set the ecosystem back by a significant degree. And because of that, it would take much, much longer to recover. However, he did make it a point to note that it would not cause any irreparable damage.

So, now that the cave was ready, Elijah only needed to ensure that he was as well. To that end, he focused on cycling energy through his core, compacted its contents, then slowly letting it expand until his core stretched to its limits. After that, he vented the excess, and it deflated. Although, when it did, it was infinitesimally larger than before.

Then, he repeated the cycle.

Over and over, he kept going, just as he'd been doing for days. It was not a pleasant experience, and packing more and more ethera into his core was quite painful. Yet, Elijah refused to let himself waver before the pain. Instead, it drove him to push even harder, to go even further.

Days passed, and he didn't move a muscle.

Vaguely, even as he continued cycling, he was aware of his surroundings. After having finished his weapon and gotten some rest, Miguel headed to the city. Carmen came and went a couple of times, only sleeping in her own bed a single time. Nerthus tended to the grove, and as the weather broke, an autumn chill swept over the island. Elijah had known it was coming, but he still found it surprising for some reason.

Probably because, after spending a subjective year on Ka'arath, his sense of the seasons had gotten a little out of whack.

Regardless, the cooling weather meant that Nerthus finally planted the cold-attuned natural treasures in the Frozen Glade. Hopefully, they would take root and help support the Frozen Oak.

But Elijah wasn't nearly as concerned with that as he was with his steadily growing core. Strangely, even as it expanded, the walls – ephemeral as they were – grew thicker as well. That meant that it took that much more energy to push it to its limits, and each cycle ended up taking longer and longer with every passing sequence.

Gradually, he began to feel spiritually bloated. It wasn't a physical sensation, though it did cause some discomfort. Rather, it was a feeling that his core approached the limits of what it could handle. He kept pushing, though, hoping to simply endure the pain. And for a while, it worked. He continued on, cycle after cycle, and with each one, pain slowly progressed toward agony.

And finally, he reached the end of his endurance. Tears streamed down his face as he tried to pack one more bit of ethera into his core.

"Stop. You have gone as far as you can," Nerthus advised, hovering over him like a concerned parent.

"I can go a little further," Elijah grunted.

"You cannot," Nerthus argued.

Elijah ignored him, getting one more cycle until he felt something beginning to tear.

"Stop. I beg you," Nerthus pleaded, putting his hand on Elijah's shoulder. "Everyone has limits. You have reached yours. If you do not advance your core within the next few days, you run the risk of being crippled. Remember what happened with your Soul." Stay updated through empire

There was something to be said for pushing those limits aside. After all, going too far with his Soul had been a net benefit, upgrading One with Nature to Soul of the Wild. However, he'd only survived intact because of the system's interference. And he knew that wouldn't be on offer a second time around.

So, against his nature, which dictated that he keep pushing as long and as hard as possible, he took Nerthus' advice. Slowly, he vented that ethera, and with every passing minute, gained a little relief. The tear mended itself, but a tiny scar remained. It was only barely perceptible, but he could see it nonetheless. A reminder of just how close he'd come to giving in to his hubris and, perhaps, dooming himself.

Eventually, the core shrank back to normal. Its walls were thick and fortified – almost calloused – while the size had clearly grown much larger than it had been even a week before.

Unfortunately, he could feel the effects of the Will of Iron waning. According to everything Biggle had told him, he still had another couple of days before it faded altogether, but he wanted to use it for that final push. The cycling he'd been doing so far was only preparation for the next step, which would require an entirely different technique. He understood it well enough, but it just wasn't possible to even practice it until his core was ready.

Now it was.

He still needed to wait a few hours before he could go down to the cultivation cave and cross the proverbial finish line, though. So, as eager as he was to do just that, he needed to waste a bit of time.

With that in mind, he inspected the Ash Lotus, which had finally managed to sprout. It was only a tendril, but he hoped that it would develop rapidly from there on out. If not, he wouldn't be able to take advantage before he left on his various tasks. Next he looked in on the Frozen Glade, where the Frozen Oak had taken firm root. It still had a long way to go, but Nerthus' efforts planting the lesser natural treasures had already had an effect. The entire area around it was at least ten degrees cooler than anywhere else on the island, and judging by the amount of ethera in the air, he suspected it would rapidly drop over the next few weeks.

The rest of the island was fairly normal. The family of deer were happy enough, while all the other animals and vegetation seemed to be thriving. And most of all, the cultivation cave was absolutely teeming with both life and ethera. It was just as ready as his core.

Seeing that, Elijah knew that as soon as he felt his core had normalized – and it would be entirely recovered in only a few hours, by his estimate – he would have no more excuses not to push forward. With that in mind, he went into his treehouse and took a long shower. The amount of gunk covering his body was absolutely atrocious, and the clothes he'd been wearing were ruined. In the end, it took almost half an hour before he felt entirely clean, and once he was, he dressed and headed outside. After that, he shifted into the Shape of Sky and headed toward Ironshore.

It didn't take him long to find Carmen, who was in her smithy working on what looked like a shield. He landed outside the building, regained his human form, then went inside. She looked up after only a couple of minutes, then held up a hand to tell him to wait. Ten minutes of banging on that shield later, and she dunked it into a vat of steaming oil before yanking it free. She inspected it – for what, Elijah wasn't sure – then set it aside once she was satisfied with what she saw.

"What's up?" she asked, walking his way. "You look different."

Elijah answered, "I'm going to be unavailable for the next week or so. Maybe a bit longer. I don't know. And I just wanted to see if you might want to have coffee or lunch or something before I get started."

She answered, "Sure. I need a break."

"And you want to spend some time with me before I'm potentially away for a couple of weeks?"

"Uh…sure. That too," she said before grinning. She punched him in the shoulder. "I'm just joking. Come on. There's this sandwich shop that just opened up a couple of days ago. I've been wanting to give it a try."

After that, he and his sister-in-law headed down the street a few blocks until they reached a quaint bistro that reminded Elijah of something he couldn't quite put his finger on. The two-story structure was fairly narrow, with the business occupying the entire bottom floor. According to Carmen, the owner lived above, where Elijah saw a balcony with intricate, wrought iron bannisters.

"It's like the French Quarter in New Orleans," Elijah said, remembering visiting the iconic city a couple of times in his wilder youth.

"Good eye," Carmen responded. "That's where the owner originally came from. Come on. I've heard the food is amazing."

Elijah followed his sister-in-law inside, and he was surprised to find that the interior was much like any other deli he'd ever visited. The owners – a tall, rangy woman and her much stouter husband – stood behind a counter, with the rest of the space dedicated to seating. After looking at the chalkboard menu, Elijah ordered a Cubano, while Carmen chose a muffalata.

And the moment Elijah took his first bite, he was absolutely in love with the place. After savoring that bite, he finally swallowed and said, "I've had a lot of Cubanos in my life, but that is the single best sandwich I've ever tasted."

"Here," Carmen said, cutting a piece of her muffalata for him to try. "You might not say that after you've tried this."

Elijah eagerly took the small sliver of sandwich, then stuffed it into his mouth. Ham and olive oil, provolone and mozzarella, multiple types of salami, and of course, olives – the taste burst in his mouth, and Elijah had to stop himself from stealing the rest of the New Orleans staple and fleeing the scene. He restrained himself, returning to his own sandwich. It was similar in construction, but entirely different in taste.

He knew which one he preferred, and it wasn't the one he'd chosen. The Cubano was a decent consolation prize, especially considering it was one of the best examples of that particular type of sandwich he'd ever eaten. Maybe the best, considering that he could feel the tingle of a significant amount of ethera with every bite.

After that, he and his sister-in-law enjoyed a pleasant meal. She explained her current project – a shield for one of the adventurers who'd come to town from Norcastle – and Elijah talked to her about the ingot of Celestial Gold Sadie had taken as her reward. She didn't really resent the fact that he'd volunteered her to forge a set of armor for the woman, and instead seemed eager to get started once she had the materials in hand.

But eventually, their meal came to an end, and more importantly, Elijah felt that his core had recovered from his previous strain. So, he took his leave, telling Carmen where he could be found in the event that there was an emergency. Then, he returned to his island, where he completed his final preparations – stripping down and eating a couple of his grove fruits – before heading to the cave.

He didn't waste any more time before diving into the ocean and tracing his way back to the cave. When he arrived, it felt like he'd run head-first into a wall of pure ethera, but he forged ahead, dodging between huge strands of kelp until he reached the absolute center.

Then, he closed his eyes, spread his arms, and began the final stretch of his journey toward a new stage of core cultivation.