Chương 362: Lovers' Forest

Yater explained the rules a bit more to me, and we went outside to sightsee. He already told me we should wait till the night time for that, but we wouldn't just sit in the house and wait. Either way, we first went up the Ancient Elder Tree. I wanted to see the view from those tallest ramps. Elysians had no problem with us climbing the tree, we were even allowed to go to the tallest point available.

"This view is amazing! I can even see past Elysian Empire from here!". Yater nodded, and said "Yes, pretty much whole Elysian Empire can be seen from those trees. If you look to the North, you will see a large tower". I looked in the direction and indeed, there was a tower there. Yater continued "This is also in the Elysian Empire Territory. This tower was made by Elysians, but it is still from natural resources. Rocks, wood and such, were used to create it".

I asked, "What is that tower used for?". This time Nathan replied, "It's called Wisdom Tower, and it's a testing ground for Elysian Warriors. All warriors have to pass this test, and it is a great achievement as well as earns them a great deal of respect. I'm not sure what trials await the young warrior there, but they must be difficult". I knew that Nathan used flowery words on purpose, and he didn't think too much of this tower. Either way, it was something Elysians considered special, so he couldn't say it was mediocre or something.

I asked, "Can only Elysians take the trial?". Yater replied, "As far as I'm aware, yes. I never heard of anyone but Elysian, who took the Elysian Warrior Trial. I'm not sure if we would be allowed to enter. It is their sacred ground after all". Yater then pointed towards the west, and said "In that direction, is the Imperial City of Zarok. You might be able to make it out, if you try". I focused hard at the direction Yater pointed, and searched.

'Hmmm?' I thought. "I think I caught a glimpse of something". Yater smiled, and asked "What would that be?". I replied "A huge tree. Not like this one, different… Bigger. Like a huge, no, massive oak tree". Yater nodded his head, and said "Very good. That tree is where the Imperial City of Zarok is. Do you know what that tree is?". I shook my head in reply. I've never seen such a massive tree.

Yater replied "It's a World Tree". I asked confused "World Tree?". He nodded, and continued "Yes. The World Tree is as the name suggests, the tree of the world itself. It is a holy tree, and doesn't appear anywhere else in the world. I will tell you more about it later". I nodded, but couldn't hide my interest. 'A World Tree. Just what type of tree is that?' I asked myself.

Yater then showed me a few more landmarks, but they were not as important. Some mines, Royal Fields and such. Although I would love to check out the Royal Fields, we weren't allowed in that area. Only Elysians were allowed entry. We walked back to the ground, and headed towards one of the places where we could relax. Yater was wealthy indeed, because he was able to rent one of the hot springs, just for ourselves. Otherwise we would have to share it with Elysians, and everyone knew it could end badly.

"This place is great. I can already feel my muscles relax", Irwin said inside the hot spring. Nathan also relaxed in one corner, with a cloth on his face. Yater drifted around, like a log of wood. I also sat down, while Irwin said "Hey Nex, show us your equipment". I looked at him, as if looking at an idiot, or perhaps he was an idiot, and said "I never realised you liked men. I don't spin that way though". He jumped up, and landed outside of the spring, with his manhood fully visible. He said "What! Are you afraid to compare? We are men here, there is no shame".

Yater called out "Shut up Irwin. Behave a bit will you?". I could see a glint in Irwin's eyes, when he suddenly jumped back into the spring, and grabbed Yater. "Oi idiot, what are you doing!". He lifted him up, and removed the cloth covering his private parts. After a while, Irwin said "Eh? It's not much, is it Yater?". Yater's manhood was fully visible, and I didn't want to look at that, so I turned around.

Yater was about to explode, when Nathan said "Just quiet down. It doesn't matter". Yater replied "Then show us yours!". Nathan lifted the cloth from his face, and asked with a grin, "You want to be disappointed in yourself even more?". He stood up, and walked out of the spring. He then turned around, and like some sort of pervert, took off the cloth covering his private parts. He then stuck a pose with his manhood fully displayed. 'Oh for fuck sake, what are these people into?', I questioned their sanity.

Irwin replied "Aye old man, not bad at all. Much better than Yater". Then I felt three gazes focusing on me. 'No way' I thought, and looked at the three. "Bullshit! No way in hell, will I associate myself with you perverts". They all started walking towards me, so I quickly ran towards the exit, but I was too slow. Irwin grabbed me, lifted me up and removed the cloth that was wrapped around my waist. I asked "Happy now?".

Irwin replied "Oi oi Nex, you are not so bad yourself". Irwin let go of me, and Nathan motioned for me not to worry. This didn't break the rules, we didn't offend anyone. Besides, nakedness was also considered natural by Elysians. In some rural areas of the Elysian Empire, people walked without clothes too. I looked at Yater, and his face was grim. I said "Hey, don't let them get to your head. Does it matter?".

Yater exclaimed "Of course! It doesn't matter, I'm still a master!", then laughed to himself like a mad man. We left the hot spring a while later, and walked around the city. We then ended up in one of the bars, and sat there till the evening. When we walked outside, the place turned magical. Yater said "I told you it's something else during the night". And it was. I marvelled at the sight for a good few minutes. 'I saw many things in my life, but not something like this' I thought.

All the houses and trees were illuminated by some sort of purple light. The source was unknown to me, but I could see a few spear like sticks, with purple balls of light on top of them. Houses had them too, but not on sticks. It looked like a wooden plate, which hung from the walls. The purple ball of light was placed on top of it. My attention though, was drawn to the Ancient Elder Tree.

Some purple lights illuminated the bark of the tree, giving it a magical look. Not only that, small glowing bugs were flying around, and made the world seem even more mysterious. When I finally woke up, I looked around me, and saw the three master also looking at the sights. "This is amazing. Such a contrast between night and day", I said. Yater smiled, and replied "Isn't it. This place is also known as Lovers Forest. Elysians come here often during the night, and marvel at those sights. They return home later". Yater didn't finish, but he didn't have to. I already knew what for.

I asked "Those glowing bugs, what are they?". He replied "These are Fiery Flies. They come out during the night, and do the same thing Elysians are doing. The purple lights are Formations. The colour can be changed. Today is purple, but tomorrow or in a few days, it can change to green, or red and so on". I nodded, and looked at the sights a bit more. A few Fiery Flies flew around me, and sat on my right arm. They were not hot, but warm. Some even landed on my head, and played around.

Yater said "Don't worry, Fiery Flies are not hostile at all. Although I never saw them get so close to someone from the outside". They danced around me for awhile, then flew up and joined the others. "Interesting creatures", I said quietly. Suddenly, I heard a loud bird cry. Yater got excited, and said "Oh! the Moonlight Swallow is going to fly around. We can have a look".

I looked towards the sky, and saw a large bird flying around. It was silver and blue in colour, its feathers looked almost metallic. The bird had a distinctive long tail behind, shaped like a letter V, which was black and blue in colour. A few silver feathers stuck out of its head, and danced around in the wind. The Moonlight Swallow flew a few circles around the tree. I noticed it was actually descending, because it got bigger and bigger. Yater saw this too, and asked surprised "Is it going to land?".

We all looked at the majestic bird, as it got closer and closer, until it landed not far away from us. 'This bird is huge!' I exclaimed in my mind. It stood at least twenty metres tall, and shone like a well polished piece of metal. The Elysians were also taken by surprise, they gathered around to watch the bird too.

The Moonlight Swallow started walking, and looking at people gathered. When it looked at our group, it made its way towards us. Yater couldn't contain it anymore, and repeated "It's coming" quietly. The bird stood in front of us in all its glory. I then heard someone say "Outsiders, move away from the Swallow". When I looked behind, I noticed a few Elysian Warriors standing there. Nathan grabbed Yater, and we backed away. The bird though, walked towards us.

The Elysian Warriors saw this, and stepped in front of us and the bird. It seems the Moonlight Swallow didn't appreciate that, and released a cry at the warriors. One of them said "Please Moonlight Swallow, if you have any needs, we will tend to them". The bird extended one of its wings, and swung it. The warriors got swept away, and the bird continued towards our group. I could see amazement on all the Elysians gathered. 'This is not normal in that case. What does this bird want from us?' I asked myself.

The bird walked up, and lowered its head to look at us. It stopped its gaze on me, and opened its mouth. I thought a loud shrill would follow, but no. The bird rubbed its head on me, and then lifted off, to fly in the skies a bit more. 'Just what the hell was that about?' I asked myself. Nathan grabbed me, and said "We need to leave". We left the gawking audience behind, and headed towards the cart that would take us back to the Ancient Mountain. Without any explanation, we boarded the cart, and left that place.