[Avalon]

Inside the temple, the dryads held their breaths as they held off the fear evoked by the being in front of them. 

"Well? What do you all have to say for yourself?"

"..."

The voice was calm, yet the dryads felt intense pressure from the underlying tone. They remained silent and kept bowing towards Arian ignoring the increasing numbing pain on their knees. A day had passed since their attack on the mortal realm. The dryads had initially planned on simply increasing the forest's outer defenses, but when they reached the edges of the floating island, they were met with a view that angered the race as a whole.

Patches of forest gone with the surrounding area of the island completely devoid of trees. The dryads considered those trees as friends and family, for they used to be the same as them. They had all stood against the test of time and had lived for hundreds of years. Yet, the mortals simply used them as resources for their own use.

Anger took over them and Lina personally led the dryads out to battle with their minds clouded in vengeance. They slaughtered their way through each camp and killed off most of the occupants. Aside from the dwarves who fared better than most, the other camps were decimated with survivors numbering the fingers of a hand.

After the battle, clarity returned to the dryads and they were happy to have avenged their fallen comrades. They had also defended their homeland from so called invaders, they were clearly high in their victory. Yet...

"What have you done!"

The patron goddess of their most beloved priestess appeared before them, her face filled worry and anger. The dryads couldn't understand why the goddess was angry. All they did was kick out the mortals from their lands and protect their priestess from mortal hands. But Arian didn't see it that way. She fully knew the political implications of the dryads actions. As of now, Ferizia and her peerage were considered a major threat to the world around them.

"Do you have any idea of the troubles you have added for my daughter?"

"... no mam."

"No, off course you don't."

Arian sighed as she stared at the dryad in front of her. She couldn't fully blame the girl of the event. She realized that newly created beings would take time to adjust to their own body. The dryads were the same and she failed to realize this. Having just been created, their mind has not fully acclimated to their current situation.

They were newborns, emotional, unstable... she had realized this too late. Like all living beings, there must be a process. Before one could learn to run, they must first learn to walk. But before one could even walk, they must first learn how to crawl. Yet, Arian failed to do so in her excitement for Ferizia's growth. She thought it would be fine as they dutifully followed her daughter's orders. Now, she realized that even following her daughter's order in such fervent manners was another indication that they were anything but matured.

"... no, I shouldn't take my anger out on you lot. Rather, it's my fault to begin with. I have experience when it comes to the creation of life... yet, I failed to see the problems with your race as I was too caught up in my own daughters growth. Ahhh... this is a pain to deal with."

Arian lost all semblance of intimidation as she plopped down on the seat behind her.

"First Irene and now the dryads..."

She then gave a tired look at Ferizia who guiltily had her head down. The action was very adorable yet it made Arian's heart ache to see her like that. It was almost as if Ferizia thought that it was all her fault that Arian was having a hard time. Since the time she had been living in this new world, Ferizia truly saw Arian as a second mother to her. Therefore, she didn't want to be a bother to her as she knew the goddess had other responsibilities aside from watching over her.

She couldn't help but think that she was making things hard for her new mother.

"Ohhh, honey."

Arian pulled the girl into a warm hug. Ferizia instantly felt comfort as she snuggled into Arian's bosom. The two then spent a few minutes comforting one another under the eyes of the dryads.

"I'm sorry mum for troubling you. I must be a pain in the ass to deal with."

"Language young lady... and no worries dear. That's why I'm still here, to make sure that once I leave, you won't have any issues to deal with. My servants could last a couple of years without me so for now, I'm here to help."

Unable to scold Ferizia, Arian then turned her focus to the dryads.

"Starting from today. All of you are undergoing training as well as studies. I need to make sure you all learn many things such as common sense and social etiquette. Understand this though. Even if you are my daughter's servants, don't dare to think I will not erase you from this world if you endanger her in anyway. Understood?"

An intimidating aura then engulfed the entire room. The entire race immediately knew their palace and all shouted "YES MADAME" in complete unison with one another. Arian then glared at Lina.

"As for you, punishments are in order. You represent your entire race and have failed to lead them properly. Since the problem is not solely yours, it will be light. You must understand though that what you and your race did is very bad to Ferizia at the moment."

Arian then began to explain to Lina and the dryads that Ferizia was now a prime target for the mortal realm. She was already much of a target initially with her run in with the two armies. Adding in Irene's previous offenses as well as the dryads, the mortal realm would not let Ferizia go once her connection with the disasters and dryads come to light. This in turn would make it hard for her to hunt down malicious spirits around the world which in turn makes it very hard to manage the gate between the two realms.

The dryads were shocked and upset at themselves. Lina felt even more remorse as it was she who personally led the dryads through all of it. Soon, the entire race made a vow that they would fully learn under Arian. They even requested they all be punished and in the end, the sight of hundreds of dryads doing squats with stone blocks above their heads could be seen.

Seeing their weathered faces, Ferizia had personally went to a few and wiped the sweat from their foreheads. She then asked Arian to lighten their load who then agreed to do so under her daughter's pure and bright eyes. That day, the dryads fully swore to better themselves and to better serve and protect their beloved priestess till the end of the world.