Phloria walked to the entrance, finding that it had no door.
She knocked on the wall, drawing the curious looks of those still on the ground floor. A humanoid figure appeared out of the vines that comprised the door’s frame, taking the appearance of what looked like a bush shaped like a man by an expert gardener.
He was a Thorn, the plant folk born from bushes, that she had met back in Kulah and Laruel. They had no definite form and could shape their bodies at will as long as they didn’t exceed their mass.
“Are you lost? The human district is quite far from here.” He tried to sound as calm and reassuring as he could, even taking a form that the stranger could better relate to.
“Thanks for your concern, but I’m not lost. I’m your new neighbor, Phloria, and I’ve come to say hi.” She offered her hand, yet her polite gesture received a contemptuous sneer from all those present.
“My name is Klodran. Welcome to my Garden of Knowledge, Phloria, but don’t do that anymore. No one likes to be examined with Invigoration at the first meeting and many are not as forgiving as I am.” He replied while inviting her to come in.
“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t trying to examine you. I’m new here, like real new. Just a few hours. How did you know I’m an Awakened?” Phloria turned to a shade of purple while trying to explain her blunder.
“You are not afraid of us and you are far from the human district, so you’re bound to be Awakened. Your ignorance about our customs would explain why you keep looking around trying to make sense of this place.” Klodran said for his guests to hear.
Once they were reassured that the human harbored no ill intentions, they resumed what they were doing. Some read books while others had vines coming out of the walls connected to their ears.
“What’s a Garden of Knowledge?” Phloria asked.
“The fall of the human race on Jiera brought disorder in the balance between the races. Without them, monsters encounter no resistance when pillaging the lands to increase their numbers, beasts have no way to learn magic if not by studying, and us plants have lost our only source of entertainment.” He sighed.
“Beasts are good at many things, but arts aren’t among them. Without the humans, plant folks lack the social interaction we need to not devolve into mindless predators. Your society helped those like me to find purpose in their lives.
“To stop monsters from reaching a number we can no longer contain we need more Emperor Beasts, but only a few magical beasts manage to evolve each year. With the sudden increase of our enemies and so much land to cover, the survival rate of young Emperor Beasts dwindles.
“Gardens are places where beasts and plant folk come to study magic up to tier four freely, in the hope to increase their chances of Awakening or at least their combat prowess.
“We also have a great collection of music and art pieces we’ve managed to salvage from the ruins of most big cities.”
“Is that what those vines are for?” Phloria pointed at the several beasts with their ears plugged.
“I wish. Each book is written in a different language and there are so many languages that translating and printing each book in all languages is impractical. It’s much easier to have the translation read out loud and stored inside a magic crystal.” Klodran said.
Phloria walked along the isles filled with books for a while until the headaches forced her to stop. Each time she read a different language, Leegaain’s pin filled her mind with the knowledge she needed to understand it, but there were so many that the process never stopped, causing her great pain.
‘Gods, I would’ve never thought that just the fact that everyone speaks the same language would make so much difference in the quality of life. Tyris is probably the most unappreciated Guardian on our continent.’ She thought.
After a while, she found out that the two continents had most spells in common and even managed to find a few useful techniques she had never heard about.
“Can I copy them?” Phloria asked Klodran.
“The knowledge here is free. Even humans can come here and try to learn magic. We have prepared the fake magic section for them, but they are so scared that they rarely come out of their homes if not to work.”
“Where is the tier five section?” She asked.
“Gardens are for beginners while workshops are for masters. Neither plant folk nor magical beasts can use all elements, so there is no point in having such spells here. On top of that, tier five spell are forbidden for those who aren’t recognized by the Council. They are too dangerous.” The Thorn said.
Phloria took note of all the relevant spells she found and noticed how stressed everyone was. Magical beasts had a limited lifespan and weren’t used to spend it fighting monsters every single day.
They were supposed to hunt, practice magic, and sleep while now they had become soldiers. The plant folks had nothing of the flirty and carefree attitude of those living in the Kingdom.
With their regenerative abilities, they had no fear of death, but the lack of social interaction made them cold and cruel.
Meanwhile, Lith had left Solus with Tista in the tower to take a stroll on his own. Keeping his hybrid form for so long had proved to be mentally tiring. Lith had to be always careful when he touched anything or anyone to not harm them with his claws.
He had no problem fighting as a Wyrmling, but living as one felt awkward if not alien. Lith wasn’t used to the weight of his two sets of wings nor to the sound of his voice in that form.
‘This isn’t like my sexy role plays with Kami. Claws and talons are a hassle, not to mention how complicated it is to eat without lips. No matter how well suited to fight this form is, it’s damn uncomfortable to live in.’
For the first time in his life, Lith appreciated what being human meant. Reghia was truly a masterpiece of magic, with natural sunlight coming from the ceiling and a fresh breeze keeping the air clean, but it still felt like a prison.
Not even the smell of flowers from the plant folk’s houses and that of spring water from the several small lakes made him feel better.
‘Wait a minute, what the heck do they need ponds for? Water is usually condensed with magic and creating underground rivers is a security nightmare.’ After noticing a small group of odd-looking creatures coming out of the lake, Lith greeted them before asking for an explanation.
“Our channels are safe, you’re just being paranoid.” A female humanoid near the pond said, giggling at his worries.
She was about 1.78 (5′ 10″) meters tall, with shoulder-length emerald hair and eyes. Sky blue scales covered her from head to toe, turning of a pale white in the abdomen area and the palms, making it impossible to guess her age.
All the humanoids had faces with no nose nor ears. They breathed through gills on their necks and heard from two small holes on either side of their head. They had no lips either, leaving the row of pearly teeth in their mouth partially exposed at all times.
