8 Discovery and Experimentation
The Dark Essence had observed the world for a long while. Years went by, but it was still learning and discovering new things.
Although it had been observing the life of the elves and dryads, it had not yet gone into the mysteries of the creatures themselves.
As the Dark Essence descended upon the body of the elf Ition it shrunk. It's foot long size went towards the elf's head.
Although the Dark Essence wasn't required to shrink its size to inspect anything, it wanted to infiltrate with its whole existence. Just as a precaution to not miss something important.
The Dark Essence came into contact with the forehead of the slumbering elf. There was no change or obstruction. The skin of the elf was completely intact, no tears, rips, or holes appeared anywhere.
The Dark Essence examined the insides of Ition's head. The outer part of the head seemed to be harder than the rest it. The innermost part was hard but not like the outside.
It was golden with tinges of azure along its form. The substance was like a solid-liquid, everchanging. It took up most of the space within the head. Below it was a channel that moved downward.
"This must be part of the golden sap the Azure Elves drank at the end... How odd, that the elves receive their reasoning and intelligence through that sap," I'll have to investigate that sap as well.
It also explored the rest of the head and body.
Ocular-
The eyes that connected to the golden substance through various strands. Containing the essence distinguishing the Sun Elves.
Respiratory System-
The nasal cavities of the nose that extended through two long tubes filled with the atmospheric air leading towards two large lungs within the chest; each tube worked independently but simultaneously. Constantly delivering the atmospheric air to every part of their body.
Oral-
The mouth, used for communicating and consuming fruits comprised of energy formed by special trees every week and month; the fruits were called Arcane Pomes.
The long tube extending from the mouth to the stomach, the elf's esophagus. The esophagus led to a small cavity in the center of its body.
The fruits formed of energy were swallowed ending up there. The cavity opened when it was time to consume the fruits but closed when not in use. This allowed the elves bodies to work at their full potential.
The cavity was large enough for the fruits to be suspended. Connected to the cavity were hundreds of holes, those holes were channels leading to all parts of its body.
The Dark Essence assumed that when the Arcane Pomes were ingested, the energy within them would be converted into something their bodies could absorb. Possibly a liquid, gaseous, or elemental substance.
The Dark Essence decided to call that cavity an Elf's Core and the ever-changing golden material in the head an Elf's Nucleus.
The major element of the Sun Elves was not only these remarkable features. It was their internal framework.
Their internal frameworks were the things that allowed the elves their flexibility, control, and longevity.
The elves consumed Arcane Pomes every week and special Arcane Pomes every month, supplying their life force. Then they absorbed the power of their corresponding suns light in order to strengthen their life force.
The Dark Elves and High Elves absorbed the light of their suns differently. The High Elves absorbed light directly from their sun and surroundings while the Dark Elves absorbed the light during twilight hours.
That wasn't all it saw. After the Dark Essence shrunk, it noticed many things it didn't see in its original size. Such as small particles or cells.
In its original size, it only looked at the surroundings as a whole. It was similar to looking at a rock as a rock, instead of the many things constituting it. It wasn't that the Dark Essence couldn't perceive the small atoms and electrons, but that it never placed them into consideration.
The Dark Essence had already discovered the existence of energy within the world and the atmosphere itself with its different atoms. When it first entered the world, those things were distinguishable.
It was strange.
From outside, everything was visible to it and able to be taken into consideration, but after it became one with the rest, those viewpoints vanished as if they encountered a border that couldn't be passed once the Dark Essence was no longer aware of them.
The Dark Essence observed the elf's body for a long while from within. It now understood the basic structure for functioning.
The Dark Essence thought for a while, what could it possibly do?
With its ethereal body, it couldn't interact with matter anywhere. It had no such thing as force or power.
It moved through matter as if it was not moving through it. Unlike a substantial body, one comprised of matter that took up space, the Dark Essence was literally space. It was an unfamiliar concept, but it was a truth.
"Hmm... maybe if I shake a bit, change will perhaps occur?" The Dark Essence finally had an idea. Could this be the beginning of its interaction with the material world?
The material world referred to everything that is matter, like dark substances being Indefinite Material, matter was Definite Material.
The Dark Essence began shaking within the body of Ition, in the place where Ition's Elf Core was. It started with a gradual tremble.
Slowly but surely, something was bound to happen.
It shook and shook and shook, yet there was no change. At least not one the Dark Essence could ever perceive with its limited capabilities, not yet.
It saw no change within the Elf, but outside, the matter seemed to be disturbed, searching for something. Thus far, the matter was only becoming slightly turbulent, imperceptibly.
"No change? Maybe I'm not using enough effort," within seconds the Dark Essence produced an even wackier shaking.
"Oh! It's working!" A spherical gap expanded within the Elf's body. It was only in the area the Dark Essence was shaking.
The original Elf's Core that was barely ten inches wide was now double its size. The Dark Essence's foot long shape had been shaking so roughly it caused a gap wider than itself. The surrounding tissue of the Core had completely disintegrated. All that was left of that tissue was small atoms floating around violently within the gap.
"AAAAAAAAH!!! AAAhh-!" *COUGH* Strange agonizing noises appeared out of nowhere. The Dark Elf Ition stood up, rolled, collapsed and tumbled around.
The Dark Essence was still in the original location Ition's body had been. Completely unaffected by the elf's movement.
It observed the elf and its random spurt of activity. "Does this Elf have problems? No other elf I observed ever did that..." The Dark Essence was truly bewildered. The Dark Essence was knowledgeable but naive. It had never seen pain or suffering and didn't understand it.
Ition had been dreaming of the lake it was slumbering in, bringing and introducing its tribes folk to the beautiful scenery it had witnessed. Ition was content, just waiting for all the praise it would receive.
"Wow Ition this is a paradise"
"What a blessing it is to have someone within our Azure tribe, so wise, finding beauty everywhere."
"Here, have my only Azure robe, you deserve it."
*Dark Azure Head* "You have made our clan so proud, why don't you become the new Dark Azure Head. Continue finding beau-"
That's when an unexpected pain assaulted its senses. From within, it felt like it was being torn and emptied, on the outside, it felt a crushing pressure that seemed to want to turn it into pulp.
When the gap appeared, an abundance of matter in the immediate surroundings was disturbed. The atmospheric molecules madly surged towards the elf's body trying to infiltrate it and refill the open space within its core.
As the molecules didn't have a way to enter, they madly clashed against the outside. Ition's nose was open and lead within its body, but after the surge of pain, Ition's nose closed up not allowing any other forces within.
The particular actions of matter at this moment were similar to water. If someone was underwater trying to dig a hole, it would immediately be covered in water. The hole would be there but it would be occupied by water.
The elf screamed from the internal and external pain, but within moments it was already experiencing a new form of suffering.
As it began wailing the original pressure upon its body lessened only to be changed into a sensation of choking. It wasn't regular choking that happens when you swallow a large Azure Pome whole, no. This was a suffocation like having a hundred inch wide branch shoved through its throat. Well, not that it would know how that felt...
The Dark Essence had been ecstatic after the results. Although it didn't interact with matter, it was able to displace it but this was only its first try!
Within moments those ecstatic feelings vanished, being replaced with a new emotion it hadn't felt before.
Those molecules were trying to occupy the vacuum it had created after all that shaking. The molecules were trying to expunge the space it created.
It was ANGER!
"How dare those puny molecules attempt to eliminate my first efforts at interacting with Definite Material!"
Moving in sync with the thrashing elf, the Dark Essence tried to remain within its Elf Core as it began shaking at insane speeds once again.
By now, all the elf could do was lay limpid on the ground as it suffered.
Choked by air, then the energy within the air. Pummeled by pressure wanting to occupy the open space. Being disintegrated by another strange force within. The poor elf only wanted to sleep in the beautiful land reaching the center of the lake. What did it do to deserve this? What did it do wrong? Little did it know, it was only experiencing the byproduct of experimentation executed by the Dark Essence.
The Dark Essence shook as the atmospheric air rushed inside. The shaking disintegrated the rushing air making it chaotic. After a moment the air was interchanged with energy.
The energy created by The Crystal Tree was naturally much more powerful and effective compared to the atmospheric air of the world.
The Dark Essence and The Crystal Tree's energy exchanged within a battle for who would take the final place. The vacuum or the matter.
The battle went on for days. It was a miracle that the elf was still alive at that point. The cause might've been because of the elf's recent birth. Its life force was fresh and powerful.
The Dark Essence's shaking separated space non-stop.
The energy replenished the space.
The elf fainted in and out of consciousness.
All the while, the body of the elf was transforming hugely. Within the original location of the Elf's Core, was now a gaping sphere-like hole. It was a little more than two feet across. The original channels that were connected to the core were double their size. They snaked around like cracks in the ground, still reaching every inner part of the elf's body. The perimeter of the vacuum had formed a clear silhouette. It appeared similar to the crystal leaves at the very top of The Crystal Tree.
Overall, the constant battle between the Dark Essence and the Energy had remodeled every cell within the body of the elf, Ition. Every cell was charged with energy. The Elf's Nucleus (inner head) was more crystalized. The original gold and azure Elf's Nucleus was now clear-like.
After so many days of trying, the results never changed. Every time it dispersed the energy into the surrounding tissue creating a new vacuum, the energy would always be there to occupy more room. It wasn't just the energy and atmospheric air trying to occupy the vacuum. The tissue near the space seemed to disintegrate, wanting to occupy the vacuum as well. There was just no end to it.
The Dark Essence finally decided to concede. It couldn't do much to matter but after it was more powerful nothing would stand in its way.
The Dark Essence halted it's shaking. The Elf's Core, no... It should be called the Crystal Core now, was immediately filled with energy. The energy that had been entering chaotically became even more frantic. After a while, everything stopped.
The slowly regained clarity. Its body was completely sore, yet there was a powerful liveliness coursing throughout.
Ition sat up and rubbed its head feeling exhausted by the torture that seemed neverending.
After a long time, Ition stood up. A strange feeling overwhelmed the Dark Elf. It felt like it was the most powerful elf in the world.
This definitely had to be a good fortune it encountered! "This lake must be a special place for reconstructing the body! I must share this with the rest of the Azure!" The Dark Elf seemingly forgot about the suffering lasting days as it ran back with the fastest speed towards the Azure Center.
After the Dark Essence stopped shaking, the energy rushed in filling the original vacuum. Now it was like a foot long sphere of crystal. It contained limitless amounts of energy from The Crystal Tree.
"Maybe I was a little too unreasonable. There's not really any reason to try fighting it out with Definite Material. I did gain a lot from that encounter though. Maybe I should try something similar in the time to come." The Dark Essence thought about all its gains. It had truly gained knowledge that was very important. An example being the interaction between shaking, creating space and the interaction of matter with space.
Not only that, but it felt like more. As if it had gained something important.
It returned to its original thirty-meter sphere and followed behind the elf, satisfied.