Shadow in Lightning

Chapter 9

The four elven women opened their arms while circling the small tree and started to chant a prayer in the elven language. I had been studying the language with Victor but I didn't know enough yet to really understand what they were saying. They slowly began to raise their arms and the space between the bark started to shine a bright neon blue and began to pulse. Almost like a heartbeat. Badump..., badump..., badump.... you could hear the pulsing of the energy flowing through the tree's veins. As the light got brighter you could start to feel the magic in the air, there was so much of it that breathing became a challenge. There was no way these women could produce energy like that. Then the intensity of the magic grew exponentially with a force that knocked my team to the floor and I would have joined them if I hadn't used static cling to keep myself from being blown away. The magical energy in the air scorched my eyes forcing me to close them. The pain was unbearable and just before I passed out the energy vanished, like it was never there in the first place. I opened my eyes to see the four women on their knees and hands clasped together. Their eyes were closed and they had smiles on their faces, they looked like they had found peace. Before them was a glowing tree of pure white, kind of like if you turned a light bulb into the shape of a tree. Sa'Lun then walked up to me and said that their god had given us his approval to use this tree to teleport to the elven camp and that he also said that he is watching me and to continue to prove myself worthy.

With an awkward nod the team and I followed Sa'Lun into the light of the tree and the next thing I knew I was standing in front of a much, MUCH larger version of the tree we found in the woods. It was also glowing the same as the other. As my surroundings came into sharper focus the light of the tree dimmed and then disappeared. Leaving the tree to glow its natural glow. Around us were about 20 more of those trees forming a line leading up to the one I was standing next to and in between them was a small wooden bridge with large pools of water about 100 ft long and 20ft wide. I couldn't tell how deep it was but in the water were these glowing yellow flowers that coated the bottoms of the pools making it give off a golden shine. Man, I got to give it to them. These elves really knew about aesthetics and how to please the eye. This place was absolutely beautiful and I would see why they wanted to defend it. Sa'Lun guided me to the elder walking me through town. As I discovered we were in the treetops, the wooden planks were carefully placed and constructed to make a plate that spanned several trees to make a small hamlet. There were about 100 or so elves living up here and from what I heard through casual conversation with Sa'Lun (As casual as it could get with her constant pursuit of my groin) that there were another 50 that stayed down below to patrol and trade with outsiders. The villagers took turns living below with the exception of Sa'Lun, apparently she preferred to stay below, not seeking the easy and comfortable life the canopy provided.

We finally made our way to the house that the elder lived in. It was a little larger than the others but not by much. I did have a few separate buildings but I was assuming that they were for official business and things of the sort. Each building was made of a massive branch that had definitely been artificially grown to be as large as they were, and hollowed out making a unique tree shape at its peak with a bushel of leaves blooming out. Like a fat tree with a small top. I wasn't so much a fan of this and apparently a lot of people felt the same as building traditional western homes with living vines and branches forming the walls and floors.

She walked me up to the door and there was a young man standing there. In human years I'd say no more than 10 or 12 but I'm sure he was much older. He was short with violet skin and had blue hair that came to his waist. Given my current predicament I could understand the lack of development in growth.

"Good day to you my friend. I have been informed by our priestesses about the deeds you've performed for our people. I must say that I am truly grateful for and sorry for all the trouble you've gone through on our parts. If there's anything I can do please let me know and I'll do my best to accommodate you."