The Azure Elves had found homes and were settling in.

Their everyday life consisted of miscellaneous tasks and chores. Some built and planted, while others ventured the land admiring its beauty and finding new things.

Every ten or so days, they would meditate under the ten-colored sky and near azure plants while their bodies absorbed the essence and converted it into nutrients for them to live.

One elf was more adventurous than the others. It went away from the Azure center into the surrounding forest.

The Dark Essence chose to follow the stray elf. This elf was an Azure Dark Elf named Ition. The Dark elf had an adventurous spirit loving the unknown. It was nine feet tall with shapely muscles and short silverish hair.

The elf did not find a home, it just up and left.

It passed through the long meadows and hills.

The first sight it was confronted with was a long crevice. The crevice was long, but since it had plenty of roots going through it, there would be no problem crossing it.

The dryads were in numerous within these roots. It gave the impression of a complex network.

The Dark Essence observed the crevice from above. It would have to come back and explore it a bit more.

The Elf continued its journey for the time of many days.

It finally stopped in one place. It was a circular lake. Short grass enveloped the lake making it seem like an orderly land. The land and the water was level. A plot of land stretched to the near center of the lake. It was a peaceful and relaxing area, Ition laid down within the fresh green of the grass letting its mind drift into slumber.

It had encountered many different things as it journeyed. There were many troublesome, as well as fulfilling moments.

As Ition was walking, it happened upon a barren land that contained a few patches of plants here and there. Within the center of that land was a large plant that rustled with the wind.

On closer inspection, the plant had a pale green color that seemed sickly. As a virtuous individual, Ition wanted to offer it help. The help that came from Ition was naturally to meditate next to it.

When the elves meditated within nature absorbing the surrounding essence, it benefitted the plants substantially. It was like a return system, one took, while the other absorbed. The elves attracted their essence, dispersing it throughout the surroundings. The dispersed essence would benefit the environment.

But after entering a distance of five meters from the pale plant, long thorny vines rose and extended towards Ition. Ition sensed impending peril rapidly trying to escape, but within moments there were hundreds of vines shooting around blocking any escape routes.

In a moment of bravery, Ition charged towards the pale plant five meters in front. In a deadlock sprint towards the plant, Ition saw a large hole open up within the plant. Four strips of plant separated the thick stem like the frame of a metal lantern. Within the hole were numerous rows of thorns opening and closing.

Half a meter away from the opening Ition pushed with a leap going straight through the hole grabbing hold of two of the plant strips. As Ition landed on the other side of the hole, it pulled with an unknown strength that accentuated its shapely muscles. Ition ripped the plant strips leaving the plant weak and unstable.

In the plants feeble moments, Ition sprinted to the perimeter of the barren land. The plant was turning paler, and its vines squirmed around. A stale green liquid oozed from the ripped strips. The tall plant had collapsed without the support from all four strips.

As more liquid oozed out its squirming became sluggish, it gradually stopped moving.

Ition let out a sigh of relief. It was the first time it encountered a battle or danger of any sort.

Ition walked towards the plant gathering the thin thorny vines and braiding them together into a thick whip. It used the plant strips as a handle. Maybe in the future, it could tell this encounter to its tribesmen.

Most of the vines had been covered by the stale liquid. The liquid on the vines made for a robust adhesive.

Later on, the vines would hold together and remain strong.

Ition wound up the long whip and wore it like a sash around its shoulders. It dug a large hole and buried what it could of the large plant.

After that, it continued onward.

It didn't encounter any more dangerous plants along the way. On the journey, Ition arrived before massive cliffs and plateaus. It would have to climb the cliffs to the top as the surroundings were too wide to go around. It would definitely take many days.

All the lands contained massive trees that soared into the sky. Every few miles there would be a few. Even from a distance, they appeared clearly.

The land was beautiful, there were grasses long and short, of different colors and essences.

The last place Ition had encountered was a massive jungle of roots. They were everywhere and of all sizes. The dryads were even more numerous here.

It took a total of twelve days to emerge from the jungle. That's where Ition ended up. The land stretched for miles with the beautiful lake as a natural paradise.

The Dark Essence stared at the elf from above. Time was of no importance to it, considering its existence, time was insignificant. It could travel and follow any creature for indefinite amounts of time. But, in the long run, was that really what it wanted to do? No!

The time had come for it to make some change. The thirty-meter body of the Dark Essence began to shrink.

It became smaller and smaller until it was only a foot. With its ethereal spheroid appearance, it inched towards the sleeping elf.