Master Of None

"It is my honor to meet you then. I am Walker." The great water spirit giggled more before starting to move towards the center of the garden. It turned around and made a waving hand to attract Walker to follow. 

"The water spirits that live around her are the reason we have so many water elemental crystals. We have other spirits but they are much fewer in numbers. The forest spirits are the bonding of multiple grand spirits. Sorry, you looked confused." 

The enforcer commander had seen the curiosity and confusion bloom on Walker's face while he stared at the great water spirit. "Well, I was going to start asking questions. I have never met an elemental spirit. Honestly, I don't know what they really are. I have researched monsters but nothing in the way of spirit."

"You don't even have spirits in your kingdom!?" The grand water spirit rushed back over to Walker and looked at him from every angle. It was as if it was analyzing the way Walker could exist without having known another elemental spirit. "I can't believe you don't know one. They are usually everywhere unless they have gone in to slumber."

Sierra waitied for her chance to speak again, she was very used to the way the grand water spirit would act. " Water spirits are in a term, living mana. They are formed through the will of the world and act according to their elements. They don't need a physical body but make one out of their element so they can interact with the world. The oldest will become-"

"Great spirits like me!" The great water spirit cut Sierra off. "When we do that we are as strong as we can possibly get without creating a body, but that means little since it is a step back for a spirit. We can merge ourselves with other spirits. That is what most nature spirits are, not that they remember those times. When we do that we use all of our energy and lose our minds. But we become something amazing." 

"It is exactly as the great water spirit says. The forest elves are blessed to have such a spirit here." Sierra reinforced the lesson. 

"I hope this isn't prying too much, but why are you still a great water spirit then? Would it not be natural to merge with a great earth spirit or great fire spirit?" Walker listed off other elements trying t discern why this particular great water spirit didn't want to merge.

"I could never do that. I made an oath that I would remain as I am until this tree dropped its last seed. That day is very far from where we stand. I believe this tree will touch the stars before it drops a seed." The water spirit raised its watery arms toward the sky. "I also need an incredible amount of saved mana to merge, no other great spirit I have met has even been close." 

"It may sound rude, but I am thankful for that. If you left my breaks would be very dull." This was the first smile Sierra had offered. It made the bubbly giggling happen yet again from the great water spirit. 

"Now come, I want to show off the flowers my lesser spirits are growing. They need the positive reinforcement to keep up the hard work." The greater water spirit led Walker and Sierra to a patch of flowers that looked like it was recently watered. There were small drops of water moving around the leaves. "These are my little lesser water spirits. Aren't they adorable?"

"Yes, they are. Adorable as ever, and making the flowers very beautiful" Sierra said this fairly loudly and looked at Walker.

He realized this was the hint for him to compliment the flowers as well. "Yes, these purple flowers are extremely beautiful I hope that I can grow them in my own garden one day. If they look half as beautiful as these then I will take it as a victory." He laid it on thick knowing first impressions were important. 

Walker could feel the increase n water elemental mana around them. "Ooo you really have a sweet side. You can sense their reactions, can't you? The look on your face says you might even be able to see the way the mana flows around you." 

The great water spirit was right, Walker had the earrings that enhanced his senses, this had given him the ability to gain a spiritual sense which helped with mana. "I have a few skills and gear that help me out in that area." Walker could still feel the water elemental mana increasing. 

"Then you should be able to feel what is about to happen. This is a big day for some of these lesser water spirits." The great water spirit raised a hand and a large amount of water elemental mana flowed from it. Sierra was looking on wide eyed, she had only witnessed this one other time in her life.

"These little ones have finally reached the right age to merge and become a full water spirit." The water droplets started to float up and smash in to each other. The water elemental mana that the great water spirit had given them was making them change faster. 

Before Walker knew it the droplets had all become one large drop of water. It glowed blue with water elemental mana, and started to freeze solid. The frozen blue drop fell toward the grown, the great water spirit caught the falling drop of ice. "You can take this one while it sleeps. If the spirits are all dormant this one will wake them up. It may take a few years to wake the others, but this one should be awake in a year at most." Walker was surprised by the frozen drop being placed in his hand.

"Are you sure? Aren't the water spirits too important to this place?" He was worried he might anger the elves by taking a spirit with him. 

Sierra heard his worried voice and explained, "The water spirits flow through nature. The new full water spirit would have left to find a new garden. But if it wakes up in a place with a lot of sleeping spirits it might stay and try to wake them up. It would be overjoyed to have its own garden too." 

"Mhm, mhm. That full spirit will be right at home. Seeing it leave makes me sad, but it needs a new home. Take this as my trust in a true hero to foster the growth of spirits as well as the other races." The greater water spirit started to dissolve in to the air again. 

"Well, I can't say I expected that from the great water spirit before they went back to rest in the air. That full spirit you're holding has great potential. We have had four greater water spirits come and go here, not including the one you just met. The full spirits are two steps below them, but very powerful. It is imperative that elves learn the flow of natural mana, a water spirit will be of great use in that teaching. Maybe your kingdom could learn from it and our ways." Sierra sounded like she was dreaming a little and returned herself to her enforcer mask. 

Walker held the cold drop of ice in his hands and tried to imagine what the full water spirit would be like, This was a being that made no sense to him since it didn't need a body to exist within the world. He knew that he could learn an untold depth of knowledge on all elements and not just the water element from speaking with it. The desire to get home and wait for it to wake up was too tempting, but he had other goals first.

Shaking himself from his thoughts he tucked the ice drop in to his cloak. "We should get back. I am sure everyone will be awake soon or already is." 

"My enforcers reported they woke up a little after you had left. They are off to their respective areas. The girl Remey was nearly falling off the branches to get to the master alchemist we have." Sierra had somehow received a report without Walker knowing, he was amazed at this possibility. "Would you like to go to the stables where your serpent and dragon companions are headed right now? They should arrive just before we do if we leave now?' Walker only needed to hear this once before he nodded yes. The temptation of seeing a thought to be extinct species was too strong. He gladly followed Sierra up a few branched and over to a larger space of green grass. It looked like it should be much smaller bit the closer they got the larger the space seemed to be.

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