The storm raged on, through day and night. To pass the time, Corvis and Starlid watched Squib improve his ability to command plants, but even while he watched, Corvis made sure to add his new plants around the dungeon. He filled the rooms and halls with grass while growing the Starfall vines from the ceiling. He grew small pieces of vampire vine on a few of the thickest moss patches, attempting to discover how the mosses would fair. He even grew several ferns throughout the rooms. After all the additional improvements, Corvis could only think of one more thing to do. Using all of the rest of his mana, he grew three saplings. As they appeared, the leaves darkened into a deep purple. The young trees grew visually, reaching 10 feet tall before stopping, leaving the room almost empty of mana. His mana pool was dry once more after his newest additions, but the cave now took on a less empty feel, even if it appeared alien, with soft blue light brightening it. Now I just need animals, thought Corvis.

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Finally, on the third day, the normalcy outside was broken as the storm grew more intense. It became more chaotic and destructive for several hours until finally, it dispersed with one final burst of strength.

The former forest was little more than a few lucky shrubs or grasses which had miraculously survived. A few trees had rooted deep enough into the stony ground to hold fast against the storm but were left disfigured and broken. The large stone flats that surrounded the dungeon formerly only had a few springs dotting its surface. Now though, they were thoroughly scarred, with new steaming rivers scouring the land—the riverbeds composed of dark stone. Most of the Star Spring now had a thick layer of steam cloaking it from any outside view.

After pondering for a moment, Corvis made plans. I need to scout the spring. If we can get any animals who weathered the storm, somehow, we could use them to improve the defenses. Then maybe I could experiment with them. 

Corvis looked to Squib, his only access to the outside world. "Squib, I have a mission for you. I want you to explore the spring and see if you can find any plants or animals that survived. Also, if possible, I would like you to find a water source nearby."

The snail seemed to gain a burst of energy and responded in kind before it made its way slowly toward the dungeon's entrance. "Very well, Creator. I will work to fulfill this with the utmost urgency! You can trust me!". As he left the room with Corvis's body, he stopped. Squib's eyes looked at the trees, which had grown with staggering speed. Then his eyes scanned the rest of the room. Vines hung from the ceiling and walls. Moss grew everywhere. Grass grew below his foot. Then his eyes hovered over the vampire vine, with its slow pulses of red. The snail sat like that for a moment before his voice entered Corvis's awareness once again. "Creator, I know this may be impertinent, but I must implore. May I take up residence in this room? It, for lack of a better word, calls to me. As if this is where I was meant to be."

Corvis was silent for a moment before he responded, "Naturally. Feel free to do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't get in the way or endanger us. You can stay wherever you want when you're not needed." Corvis said simply.

Squib responded almost as soon as Corvis stopped talking. "Thank you, Creator. This means more than you know. I will be off to complete the tasks you've given me immediately. I will be back as soon as I have fulfilled all you have asked or until you call me back."

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After a long time slithering up the stone face, Squib finally climbed his way out of the dungeon valley. When he finally reached the top, he looked upon a once familiar sight with new eyes. His vision had improved much since his rebirth. Before, his vision was like a blur, more equipped to see light changes than actually discern details. But his vision wasn't met by his former home, but a bare, scarred, plain, devoid of the lush trees that once grew. Hot, stagnant water filled holes where roots once grew. Squib could see that few plants had survived the catastrophe. The few that had survived, one way or another, appeared weak and beaten. The snail felt a pang of sadness as he thought of this once lush forest, now reduced to nothing. Even in the throes of sadness, he didn't let himself get distracted from his search. He pushed his feelings down as he continued to comb through the area, searching for anything that may have survived.

This place brings back memories. I hate to see it like this, he thought.

Squib still remembered the days before his rebirth, although they were a haze, blurred by his lack of self and simple mind. Looking back now, he realized he was like a fragment, incomplete and weak. Now, though, he felt almost whole. Something about himself still felt wrong, broken, but he had a sense of self for the moment, and that was all he needed.

Squib roamed the destroyed forest, stopping to examine the water-filled holes or the plants that miraculously held on to life even as the forest was razed. His newly improved vision allowed him to see with much greater detail, allowing him to fulfill his mission with much greater capacity than before. As Squib moved next to a sapling in horrible shape, he felt something swell in him. It wasn't energy, not that he could tell, but something else. It reminded him of the other things he had felt since his awaking. He could see the beauty in things now, and there was plenty of beauty in his Creator's domain and around it. For reasons he couldn't explain, he found himself studying everything new to him, trying to understand it. Though, he couldn't understand some things, like the strange feeling he felt when he saw the plant. It was something he couldn't look at or examine. More fleeting and with less substance than the things around him.

All he knew was that he wanted to help the small tree. Squib quickly decided to take it back with him to his master's domain, as everything there seemed to flourish. Focusing his mind on the plant, he sensed something—a weak plea for help. The feeling in him swelled, becoming stronger. With his mental connection to the plant, he loosened its roots from the earth, and vines that had grown on his back just yesterday gingerly grabbed the sapling and pulled it from the ground. It gave out what felt like a shriek, then quieted. He pulled it to his shell and took control of the roots. Squib made them dig into his mossy shell, only stopping when he felt the pain of its roots boring through it. He felt a quiet voice give thanks before going silent once more. The strange feeling he had disappeared and was replaced by an emotion similar to when he spoke with Corvis.

Squib roved out further, examining the pools and plants that survived. Whenever he encountered a plant, he repeated the previous process, slowly collecting the few still living plants onto his shell.

Hours passed as he collected the few plants nearby and examined all the springs. Squib's disappointment kept growing as he searched. From what he could see, all the water-filled holes nearby didn't have a source. Instead, they were filled with rainwater. His search for animals was no better, as it too bore no fruit, even after hours of scouring the land around him. If there's nothing in the area around the Creator's domain, I must expand my search area, thought Squib as he started to move away from the dungeon.

His journey away from the dungeon was uninteresting, with barely any change of scenery and no animals or water sources in sight. What he did find were a few more plants, and he added them to his shell.

After hours of travel, he appeared before a vast hot spring, bubbling water pouring from the earth and belching steam into the air. He leaned over the edge to peer into the water, only for his eyes to meet steam. He reared back in pain as one of his eyes started to burn ferociously. At the end of his stalk, the small eye was melting while the skin began to dissolve. Squib entered his shell in panic, but the pain didn't stop. Only after a few minutes did the burning stop, but his eye was blinded. What was that!? Why did it hurt so bad!? Thought the snail in agony.

Slowly, once the pain resided, he peeked from his shell. The spring was still as it was, and the surroundings unchanged. He peered at his blinded stalk with his other eye. The flesh on the stalk was white as if it had been bleached. Not only that, but the flesh was swollen, and the eye itself was gone. This is terrible! What am I going to do with one eye! Thought the snail in panic. As if to answer his question, his skin on the damaged stock started to glow a dim green. Curious about what was happening, Squib watched as his flesh slowly deflated and eventually gained back its original color. In just over two hours, the skin was almost as dark as it once was. 

Amazing, the pain is gone! So much to notate! But it appears my eye will take longer to recover. So be it, I have a mission to complete, and the Creator is waiting. The snail peered into the spring once more, this time from a much safer distance. As he did, he saw something—movement beneath the water. As curious as Squib was, he was no fool and decided he was not well equipped to study this place. I'll tell the Creator about this. He may know what to do, he thought before circumventing the spring. Slowly, Squib slid onward in search of creatures now that he had found a possible water source.

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While he waited for Squib, Corvis closed his mind to the outside world and concentrated on his mana pool, focusing his attention on drawing mana from the world around him. His mental effort bore fruit as his mana slowly began to fill after several hours of effort.

After nearly four and a half hours of this, he felt something familiar. The same feeling as before, as if a bug was crawling over his skin. Quickly he returned to his normal state and shot his vision to the area of intrusion near the dungeon entrance.

Corvis's vision landed on a poised figure, who stood near the center of his first room, a curious look on his face. The figure's most striking feature was his robes, which were loosely fitting, but clearly tailored to the wearer's size. The accenting on the robe appeared to be made of gold, while the primary color of the robe itself was a dark blue, with a massive orrery emblazed on the chest in some shimmering blue metal. Runes seemed to be knitted into the cloth itself. The robes blazed with magic, seemingly gathering the surrounding mana. The man had a necklace around his neck, appearing to be a miniature functional orrery, with slow-moving gems representing celestial bodies. From his boots to his cloak, all the man wore shared the same elegant style as the robes.

The man scanned the room, eyes searching for something. After a few moments of this search, he squatted down and carefully pulled a piece of moss from the cavern floor and then began to examine it. After only a moment, he began to smile before standing back up and dusting himself off. After that, he spoke.

"I'd like to make a deal with you, Seed. If it's the guide in control, then I extend this to you."

That symbol… I believe I know where it's from, but I was hoping it would take a little longer for them to find me. 

"Starlid, there is a person in the dungeon a-"

Before he could finish speaking, Starlid interrupted "Really! What's happening? Where are they?"

"We need to cooperate with whatever he wants if he is who I think he is," responded Corvis, his voice carrying the weight of the situation.

"Why?" asked Starlid

"Well because - "Corvis was interrupted when he heard the voice once more.

"Seed, I know you know I'm here. I want to make a deal. Trust me; we will both benefit if this doesn't come to violence."

Quickly he responded to Starlid after listening to the stranger's words, "I'm almost certain he is a member of the Elder Council."

"Okay, you're going to have to give me more than that," Starlid responded.

"I will, but first, I need to respond to him, so tell me how to talk!"

"Okay! All you have to do is focus on him and try to project your words into his mind. Make sure to use mana!" Starlid responded quickly.

Corvis did as instructed and focused mana on his 'voice,' then projected his words at the man, reinforcing the action with mana.

"Can you hear me?" asked the dungeon.

The man's face brightened up before he responded. "Yes, I can hear you. It's a pleasant surprise that you have a mind yourself. The Seeded's guides are a bit… eccentric." he said with a shrug. "I prefer to speak to the more cold and logical Seed. But anyway, back to the topic at hand. I would like to make a trade, but first, I have some gifts for you. To start our relationship." stated the man with a smile.

"Some gifts? What kind of gifts?" asked Corvis, curiosity clear in his voice.

"Let me show you," said the man before he tapped his necklace. Suddenly a strange force surrounded his hand. He opened his palm, and a hole appeared in his hand, dark at the center with a ring of light surrounding it. The man reached his hand into the hole and pulled out, at first, a large jar, then a glass square with a handle attached to it. Both the containers had holes on the lids, but one was made of metal and the other made of wood. The glass jar gave off a red flow and appeared to have some sort of sapling inside, with tiny wisps of light floating around it. He put the dark glass square on the ground and held the jar up.

"This is the first gift. It's called a fairy tree. It's part of an almost extinct species because of the environment they require. They need high levels of mana to survive. That limits the places they can grow. It just so happened that Argak's Seeds are one of those places, so we give them to all of your kind, or at least those we find, to help preserve the species."

After thinking for a moment, Corvis responded. "I understand that they require a special environment to live in, but I don't get how they are so few in number."

"Every part of the tree has high mana concentration, so naturally, they can be instrumental in rituals and alchemy. It doesn't help that they are considered very beautiful, so many nobles or royalty would take them to their personal gardens only for them to die."

Corvis looked at the small sapling with much more focus, examining it. The tree's leaves all glowed with a soft orange light, while tiny wisps floated around it, being themselves a deep red. The branches were all delicate and had small spots that glowed the same orange as the leaves. This trend continues to the small trunk, which had small patches that rhythmically pulsed the same red as the glowing lights. After a moment, one of the knobs released what appeared to be one of the tiny wisps that floated around in the jar. Suddenly, the man removed the lid, and the wisps floated out before gently falling to the floor and bursting into an explosion of red light. As this burst happened, Corvis felt the familiar energy of fire mana, the heat and hunger of it slowly diluting as it spread apart like ripples in a pond.

"The tree seems to need fire mana. If you put it here, it will die." simply stated Corvis.

"You would think so, but the tree has a unique trait. As long as the mana concentration is high enough, it can survive in any type of mana environment. It can even switch. This sapling was harvested from a fire Seed whose tree had produced a sapling. So while it is a fire mana Fairy tree now, once it's here long enough, it will become a star mana fairy tree." said the man in response to Corvis.

"Interesting. I'm assuming it is called a Fairy tree because of the wisps of mana that come off of it?"

"Correct! As to why they do that, no one knows. Maybe it's a defense. Maybe it uses them to somehow 'see.' Whatever the case, no one is sure. All that we know for sure is that if the orbs get too far away, they burst like that and turn back into mana."

After a moment's pause, Corvis responded. "Thank you for the gift. It seems interesting," he said truthfully as his mind searched for ways to study it. "What is the other gift?"

The man chuckled before he lifted the glass square. "I think you'll like this more than the tree. It came from my own personal menagerie, and I just got it recently myself, but when I heard there was a Seed of Argak that used star mana, I knew it would be more worthwhile to give it to you. It's a Starstrike Viper—one of the few creatures that use star mana. When I was studying it, I saw it hunt, and it is very interesting. As you can see, the viper is solid black except for its mouth, which glows a soft white light most of the time, but flashes a bright light when it strikes. The poison itself is unique as well. It's filled with star mana, so animals that are normally immune to poisons would still be affected by it since it gives star mana sickness!"

"This gift is much more up my alley. While the tree is interesting, I much prefer animals to plants," said Corvis in a much livelier tone.

With a chuckle, he responded, "You Seeds always prefer creatures to plants! I knew you'd like it more than the tree!"

The Starstrike viper seems like a great gift… he must be trying to butter me up for a better deal, but what does he want? Thought Corvis.

"Now that you've given me these gifts, why don't you tell me about the trade?"

"Well, to be honest, it's less a trade and more a rendering of services. I want you to absorb this," the man said as he reached into a pouch at his waist and pulled out a dark brown crystal, pulsing with mana. The mana itself gave off a sturdy, resilient feeling. "and then make a copy, except with star mana instead of earth mana."

"What is it?" asked Corvis, as he had never seen it before.

"It is colloquially called a 'Heart of the Mountain.' Although they are found in many other places as well. I found this one in a desert, for example. I want a 'Heart of the Starfall,' but none of the starfalls I visited or own have them. So naturally, when I heard of a Seed of Argak that uses star mana, I came right away."

"Heard of? How did you hear about me?"

"My organization has devices that can not only detect your kind but the mana they use. What made it so easy to find you, though, was a mana confluence and then a building of star mana in this location."

"I see." Corvis paused for a moment. "I think we can come to an arrangement, but since the object you want me to make is so rare, I assume I'll be getting many rare plants and animals in return."

"I'm fine with that. If possible, I'll try and get you animals and plants of equivalent value, but it may take a while. And don't worry, I'll collect the creatures before asking you to go through your part of the bargain."

"I assume you'll let me choose?"

The man paused for a moment before responding, clearly in thought, "If you can name some plants and animals, of course, I would get you them, if at all possible."

"Perfect, give me a moment to think about what I want."

Corvis thought about all the knowledge he had and what he would like to study, but could also be helpful in defense. His mind shot through many creatures before coming up with a list.

"I think I know what I want. I'll be wanting both plants and animals."

"Perfect, let me write them down," said the man before he pulled a leather and metal-bound book off of a strap on his waist. A metal circle sat on the center of the cover, with a shallow hole in the center back to leather. The mage put his finger into the circle's center and appeared to trace a symbol with a glowing finger. After he traced the symbol, blue runes lit up on the metal of the book cover, which he then opened. With a quick motion of his finger, a pen appeared in his hand.

"Go ahead and give me the names of all the things you want."

"For animals, I want six Kh'revi Death Worm eggs, five Pyron Basin Crocodile eggs, five Etherial-Scale Streakers, six Trion Tree Phantoms, a few Blood Wyrmlings, six Death Reef Kraits, as many Ivereion Ice Peak Oxen as you can get, several Archaon Sewer fish, all of the same species, as many Ash Blood Flies you can get, as many Terror Jaw Flies as possible, and as many Velvet Archer Worms as possible" listed off Corvis.

The man tapped the back of the pen on the journal before saying, "I'm not sure if I can get you even one Velvet Archer Worm. They're very rare and not exactly the most… durable, but I can try."

"Of course, if you can't get it, then don't worry about it."

"Also, I have something to ask if you're willing to answer."

"What is it?"

"You seriously want me to going into a sewer and fish until I can get several fish, all of the same species?"

"Yes. I would say it's worth it for the Starfall Heart."

"You have a point. But how do you even know about Archaon? Why would a newborn Seed like yourself know about a human city?"

"My guide told me about it."

"Oh, okay. Well, let's get to plants. What do you want?"

"Wayfarers Bane, Glassleaf, Trion Greatwood, Bloodweed, Black Skull Coral, Velvet Fern, and some of the fungus species from the forementioned sewer, form both in the water and below."

After writing down all the names, the man looked up. "That's all? I thought you would want more."

"Oh, I will, but that's all I could think of for now."

After a moment's pause, the man responded. "Okay then, I'll collect all the things you've asked for. After that, I would like my Starfall Heart."

"Of course."

After the short dialogue, the man began to glow with profound blue energy. After a few moments of this, the amulet around his neck began to absorb the energy. The orrery started to speed up, almost becoming a blur, before he simply vanished, leaving no trace behind other than the glass containers holding Corvis's gifts.

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Squib's eye scanned the horizon The thick cloak of steam hanging over the whole spring only worsened his vision. So he continued to slide forward, deeper into the spring. After what felt like hours to him, he saw something. A massive rock jutting from the ground. It was the only landmark for miles, so he decided to head towards it.

After crawling the long distance forward, he saw a cave under the rock. The entrance was too small for him, but he had an idea. With a mental command, he had the plants bore their roots through the stone, widening the entrance enough for him to go in.

After a bit of difficulty, he slid through the hole and into a widened entrance. To his surprise, he had actually completed his most important tasks. On what appeared to be an ancient corpse were snails, and they slowly ate the mummified flesh.

Squib felt a jolt of excitement and pride as he had completed his first mission in less than a day. "Come with me, fellows," said Squib, judging their reactions.

To his surprise, they didn't seem to react much at all. The few that did anything went back to their meal quickly. Squib's interest was suddenly peaked. He looked down at the creature before him, examining it. The beast had a scrunched, dried face, with jagged teeth jutting from its dried gums. The mummified corpse's arms were long and placed in an X across its chest, with a necklace sitting in the space between them. It had only one thin, nothing but skin and bone, leg, while the other was missing. The creature appeared to have ancient clothes on, but they were almost entirely gone, likely rendered dust with age. What appeared to be gold wrist bands wrapped around its wrists, with no obvious way of removal. They were covered with strange imagery that Squib couldn't understand.

After his examination, he decided to take the snails and the body so that his Creator could try and make sense of it. Thinking for a moment, he decided that he would command the vines on his back to wrap around the creature, and he would drag it and the snails back. Squib sent vines to gingerly wrap around the dead animal with a mental command, careful not to crush it or any snails before he began his long journey back to the dungeon.

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Starlid looked at Corvis's core for a moment before asking, "Now that you're done talking to him, can you tell me who he was and what this 'Elder Council' is?".

After a moment of collecting his thoughts, Corvis responded, "The Elder Council is the governing body of the World Keepers, as their commonly known. While they have many names, their true name is The Serenus Torili. I have no idea what it means, but that's what they call themselves. The Elder council is, unequivocally, a group of the oldest and most powerful people in Graed'Deor. And if I'm correct, that was the leader, Sarilous."

"Really?! Why would someone like that come here in person?" Starlid's tone went from surprise to curiosity.

"I'm not sure. The man is quite strange if rumors hold true."

"Well, I hope you got a good deal."

"I believe I did. Good enough that my father won't be rolling in his grave, at least."

"Are you sure? The thing you were talking about sounded rare."

"Don't worry, some of the things I asked for are extremely rare in their own right."

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Squib looked down into the dungeon's newly grown forest. His eye sweeping over the beauty before him, and he felt his heart swell again. The Creator has given me so many gifts… How will I ever repay him? Thought the snail before getting back to business.

Squib looked down into the deep hole in the ground where the dungeon was, then looked back at the corpse. How… how am I supposed to get down. I totally overlooked this hurtle.

Squib sat on the edge for a moment, thinking about getting down when he saw something that gave him an idea. Vines hung from the top of the rock face to the bottom. As fast as his muscular foot could take him, he sped, for a snail, over to the vines, dragging his quarry in toe. When he arrived at the vines, he tested the waters, and the vines responded with even more vigor than the plants outside the dungeon. The vines responded to his commands quickly and efficiently. With his powers proven, he moved forward with his plans. He had the vines carefully grab the body before gingerly lowering them to more vines, which caught them and continued the chain. Then, he had the vines do the same to him, and down he went.

In what would have taken him an hour at best, the vines had lowered him down. In only about ten minutes, he had arrived at the bottom. That was much faster than climbing down myself. Maybe I'll use that on the way up next time, thought Squib, happy to find a way to move in and out of the valley faster.

Squib quickly went to the corpse and grabbed it. Careful not to damage it or any of the snails, he began to drag the corpse to the dungeon entrance. The closer he got, the more energy he felt returning to him.

After a long day of exploration, Squib finally arrived back in the dungeon. When he entered once more, sight returned to his injured eye. With great satisfaction, he reached out to Corvis, telling him of his success. "Creator, I have completed both tasks. There is a problem though, the water source burned my eye very badly when I got too close, and it is a little far away."

"That's fine. I'm sure we can find a way to tap into it. Even better, you brought back more animals! They may be only snails, but every bit helps."

"Thank you, Creator!" Squib said, happy to not only have completed his task but also return home.