Ellie was lifted off her feet by wind elements and moved into the pool. Her Master waited there, her hands extended, and her eyes closed.

The ancient water spring that fed the pool had an incredibly pure source of old water element, which made it an ideal source to absorb.

As with all elements, the longer a thing existed, the more elements it gathered, which strengthened the material, or immaterial form. Right now, a whirlpool formed inside the rounded pool that Aila had excavated, and all beings around could feel the abundance of elemental essence.

"Little snake, if you approach Ellie, I'll eat you." Elena said fiercely to the river python. It backed away, fearful of the chaotic elements that rolled off the sister of who he believed to be his mate.

The elements continued to gather, and concentrate in the pool, while Ellie floated above the surface, held aloft by the wind currents.

The usage of the elements drew a lot of attention, not only from the forest, but also from the nearby town of Aros.

A storm formed above the pool, and as the clouds gathered, lightning began to fall. Aila sucked up the lightning as though she were a sponge. It had no effect on her, and did not bother Ellie.

The others watched in awe as Aila used the water elements to form a core, held Ellie aloft, and sucked in the lightning elements as though it were nothing to be concerned about.

"Master." Alara said as she was nestled in Nuri's arms, and against the larger woman's belly. Ivadra reclined across Nuri's and Alara's lap, happy she could get the warm hugs of Nuri, and be in her sister's presence.

"She'll be fine." Nuri whispered in her ear. "Just watch, and stay quiet. She needs to concentrate."

Nuri didn't know if she needed the quiet, but Nuri felt that she needed the quiet so she could keep her eyes on her beloved Master, and move in if she needed to.

Aila held a new core aloft, a blue crystal marble, polished as smooth as glass, made only from the purest of water elements, left seated on her palm. She placed her palm in front of Ellie.

With a deep sigh, as she was saddened she wouldn't feel as strongly about little snake as she does now, she pulled the core into her mouth, and swallowed it.

"Uh!" Ellie rolled her eyes and passed out. Aila put her hand on her chest, and pulled her new core into her space.

"Break!" Aila said loudly. Within Ellie's space, the water core from a river python turned into dust, and the new water core took its place within her altar.

'We could have had a lot of fun over the years, Ellie.' Aila whispered inside her mind. 'If you could have controlled your wilder instincts, and not tried to mate with little snake, you could have had a lot of fun. I really hope I didn't steal your passion with this move of mine.'

* * *

"Master, how did you make her a core?" Elena asked. She looked down at her sister with a soft gaze, and gently stroked her side. Ellie currently rested on a bed within the part of the manor that hadn't been altered to resemble a temple yet.

"A core is simply a concentrated form of elemental essence, compressed until solid. Beast cores are not much different, but affect the holder and make them more wild." Aila sighed a bit. "I learned that when I swallowed all those cores a few months ago. They gave me an incredible boost of elemental essence, which is only possible if that is what they contain. They turn to dust when discharged, just as wood and stone do." Elena thought for a moment, and slowly nodded.

"I think I understand. Since stone is held together by earth elements, then the cores are held together by their element. So what will happen to Ellie now?" She asked as she felt that her sister had lost something.

"She won't have a nature that makes her behave like a python." Aila sighed and looked out the window. "Little snake will have to get it into his head that Ellie is not his mate." She lifted her eyes to the ceiling.

"Elena, make sure the others finish winter preparations. The snow will start to fall soon."

* * *

Aila watched the patterns in the winds, the air, and the elemental eddies that her senses revealed. Due to the amount of elemental essence she had already absorbed, and her vortex's voracious hunger, she could see the eddies as the elements flowed in the atmosphere.

That was why she could see that winter would soon be there. It wasn't the chill in the air, as the frosts hadn't started yet. It was the sudden small amounts of ice elements in the air.

She looked at her hand as the ice elements were sucked into her body.

"It will take a while to fill my body with the elements I need to transform." Aila said softly. "One of the girls is sure to reach their transformation before me at this rate." She sighed again.

"Life and light. Death and dark. Flame and lava. Earth. Wind and lightning. Water." She pursed her lips a bit. "I'll need to actively seek out some metal. The boars only took me up to half full. Maybe I should search the mountain again."

* * *

"Do you really believe there is an expert on this side of the mountain, Sil?" An older man sneered.

"Whether you believe it or not, Elder Ram, you'll soon see." She pointed her finger as the group of ten free core cultivators felt an immense presence approach. Out of the stone of the mountain, a large lizard erupted.

"Sil! Did you bring us to our deaths?" The elder cried out. Sil snorted.

"I wasn't pointing to that stupid beast." The lizard looked up the slope at her with an angry glare, but then looked in the direction she pointed. The ground lizard was over twenty feet long, it's spine lined with shiny metal, and it's teeth made of a metal they had never heard of before. They always avoided the mountain for that reason. The ones who lived here were powerful rank five beasts, and well beyond their abilities.

A young woman floated above the ground, and watched the lizard for a minute.

"Your choice, lizard. Get in my way, and become food."

Elder Ram paled and with the group, they retreated a few hundred feet away, fully ready to run. The ground lizard roared at Aila.

Aila responded quickly. Just as she fought every battle before, she struck without mercy, and did not let the enemy get ready to attack.

"Bloody stones." Elder Ram, who was once considered one of the strongest of his clan, watched as a young woman flashed forward, and punched the lizard in the middle of its head. A shockwave traveled along its spine, and rattled the plates that protected its body.

The beasts eyes looked a bit blank after that punch, but Aila did not stop. She hadn't put all her strength into that punch as she didn't want to turn the lizard into a puddle of blood and gore. She struck it again in the same spot, and once more for good measure. The life element that had illuminated its flesh flashed, flickered, and slowly faded away.

Sil watched the battle in awe, but as Aila touched the spine and sucked away the metal, Sil's eyes showed a longing that she felt deep inside.

"S-Sil, y-your warning is accepted." Eler Ram stuttered a bit. "Our people will stay on our side of the mountain, and not interfere on this side. The way it has always been." The others quickly nodded, more than eager to accept this excuse to not tangle with someone that strong.

"Beast crap." Elder Ram said in a whisper as he watched Aila plunge her hand into the lizard's side, take out the core and swallow it. The core did not explode, but he could feel the violent energies of that core flow around the young woman, and disappear.

"Quietly. Let us leave this place before another monster decides to show up." The elder said in a low tone. In his mind, two monsters was more then enough for his lifetime.

He didn't see how Sil's eyes reflected her inner thoughts before she covered them up. It wasn't fear she felt, but she was unfamiliar with the desire that flooded through her. She had always sought the cultivator's path to grow stronger, so this sudden physical desire felt different, or strange.

As her method of cultivation was impure, she was able to control her emotions more than someone who absorbed the dark elements alone. A dark elemental channeler would be flushed with excitement easily, and experience rampant desire and lust.

Much like she was now.