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    The next day I made my scrolls, bringing my total to sixty four, then took a long shower and got dressed and ready for the opening ceremony. After so long on Rackham I’d gotten used to taking my time doing things, but I knew that with the succession war only ten months away I needed to buckle down and get my recruitment going.


    While I had most of the A-rankers I needed, finding ten B-rankers to serve among my forces, not to mention as many C and D-rankers as possible, was still quite a challenge. This ceremony was a chance to show off my strength in front of a bunch of D-rankers, as well as possibly get a B-rank Dryad for my growing faction, which as I’d learned from Alyssa could be a huge benefit given their skillsets.


    It was also my chance to see some of them at work. So when we entered the main hall of the Divine Tree Temple, it was with the solemn gravity befitting the occasion.


    “Hey, do you think when Dryads eat vegetables its technically cannibalism?” asked Bethy in a loud voice as we all looked around massive amphitheater. My head slumped in defeat as my wife stifled her laughter. Bethy, unfettered, expanded on her thought. “Or, I guess fruit, since most veggies don’t grow on trees. But I wonder if any Dryad is ever sitting at lunch with a friend who ate an apple and is like ‘Grandma NO!’.”


    Alyssa, who was escorting us, smiled indulgently at the admittedly interesting question. “Fruit bearing trees aren’t killed when they’re harvested, Bethy. Nature’s bounty is a gift from the earth for all of us to enjoy. If a Dryad were to grow fruit and it were to be left uneaten, it would simply rot and fade away, and that would be a waste of all of the efforts of our fruit bearing cousins. We welcome the bounty of all fruit trees.” She paused. “Except lemons. Lemons are a trash fruit.” At our uncomfortable looks she winked at us. “Sorry, little tree humor.”


    The rest of us chuckled, able to appreciate a little ribbing, and Jessie looked smug that her new friend (who was very pretty and very much her type, I noticed) was finally warming up to us. “Good to know,” I responded, cutting off our vampire before she could take us further off topic. “Can you tell us a bit more about the ceremony? How does it work? And is this particular temple the main site for deployment?”


    “It is,” she nodded cheerfully. “It was decided long ago that using a central point was the fairest starting point for those undergoing the ceremony. This mother tree is, in fact, the most central point in the entire western hemisphere.”


    “What about the eastern hemisphere?” I asked curiously.


    She just shrugged. “We don’t go over there. It’s full of lemurs. Don’t let what you know of the more mundane version fool you, Verdenloft Lemurs are vicious, terrifying creatures. Their speed and ferocity is only equaled by their incredibly soft and shiny coats.”


    At her words I noticed a familiar gleam in the eyes of my vampire teammate. “No,” I told her bluntly.


    “What?” she said with feigned innocence. “I was just going to-”


    “No,” I repeated. “You don’t need to finish that sentence. The answer is no. I can’t imagine what you would do with a primate that other people describe as ‘vicious and terrifying’ that would possibly be a good thing.”


    She stomped her foot indignantly, causing the wooden floor to groan a bit in a worrying fashion. “That’s so mean! I’m the best pet owner. Luggage, Donuts, and Poptarts are healthy well adjusted members of society now. They were so rude when I met them and now they’re the sweetest!”


    “Again, you’ve traumatized all three of them,” I pointed out gently. “And they aren’t your only animals. In fact, there are a lot of them missing. Where are your squirrels, Bethy?”


    She paused, looking a little perplexed. “My…huh? I…kind of forgot about them to be honest. I haven’t seen them in ages. They’re probably fine though. I’m sure they’re just flying around my Domain having adventures.”


    “Your Domain is like a mile across tops.” I pointed out. “And as you mentioned, you have a pair of big cats and a hellhound living inside. No lemurs Bethy. End of story.”


    She pouted, but I think I might have actually convinced her, so I turned back to Alyssa. “Sorry about that. You were telling us how the ceremony works?” I was quickly getting used to refocusing conversations with Bethy around. It was more art than science, and I’d just needed to get back in the groove.


    The Dryad brightened. “Oh! Yes. Like I said, the Primordial Tree Sea guides us to our destination. But only in a very broad sense. We get a basic heading and a rough distance approximation and then we all set off. Once we reach the spot we were shown, we have to go looking for the tree that completes us. The variety of tree has a big impact on what kind of abilities you develop as you evolve, though the previous ability, which becomes a Skill, plays a large role as well.”A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    “Why do Dryads wait until D-rank to lifebond a tree?” I asked. “You would think they’d grow faster if they bonded earlier in their journey.”


    “It’s the Path,” she said with a smile. “Most trees here are D-rank themselves. You can’t enter D-rank without a Path, and trying to bond with a Path bearing tree when you’re still below the watershed and Pathless yourself is incredibly dangerous.”


    I probably should have assumed that. Most of the blocks in the Ascendant ladder were Path based, I found. Of course, that might be bias because I was a wishmaster candidate who could trade for points whenever I wanted, but still, it wasn’t a shock. I wanted to ask more about the process, but we quickly arrived at the lowest levels of the amphitheater, taking seats at the base of a large flight of stadium style seats grown from the wooden floor. Tree Singing, no doubt, and a seamless example of craftsmanship.


    Up at the front of the room, Tasha stood with a bunch of other Dryads, male and female, around what looked like a pedestal made from a giant bud. It was an incredibly odd thing to see, just this strange green stalk with a bulge at the top, so much bigger than any bud should be that it wasn’t even recognizable.


    On the bud there was a single golden leaf symbol, a rune of a sort, glowing away, the shimmering golden energy pulsing in time to some invisible heartbeat none of us could hear. “Welcome,” called Tasha, her voice carrying effortlessly through the amphitheater without needing to shout. The acoustics in this dome shaped wood room were shockingly good. “Friends, initiates, and guests. Today is a solemn occasion. Today we send our young ones out into this world to find their place.


    “As you all know, the Tree Striding Tour is when our most promising seedlings spread their roots, and after their ordeal, return to us full fledged Dryads of the Divine Tree Temple,” she paused, looking around with a smirk. “You might say it''s their chance to…turn over a new leaf.”


    Alyssa buried her face in her hands, groaning at the bad pun as the older Dryads chuckled good naturedly and the younger ones forced a laugh. Jessie just patted her friend on the shoulder with a sympathetic smile while Bethy burst into giggles. I was kind of glad Serah wasn’t here, the pun loving angel would have gotten so many ideas from that.


    Despite the reaction, Tasha just looked smug, and I saw my grandfather shaking his head in amused exasperation. “While we wait for the younger generation to…branch out, we’ll observe the rituals of bounty to ensure a plentiful harvest for the feast we will host upon their return. All fruit bearing Dryads will be given life sap priority, and non fruiting treekin will be expected to help them pick and transport their wares. You all know how this goes.”


    I didn’t, obviously, and Alyssa noticed my confusion. “Life sap is the sap from the mother tree. It’s incredibly dense with Vitality. It can speed up the fruiting cycle of Dryad trees or increase the growth speed of more combat oriented plants. During wartime life sap priority is given to trees with strong woods and combat applications, so the Tree Dancers can maximize their collaboration with the Tree Singers for the greatest effect. In peace times though, fruiting trees are often given priority on feast days. Jessie’s abilities have a lot of similarity to life sap, and it’s one of the reasons she’s had such a warm welcome here.”


    Jessie beamed proudly. One of the big upsides to her new racial trait was that the cap on Lifeweaving was gone. She could rank it up to Grandmaster or even Legendary, though with all her previous experience with the ability being innate, I imagined it would take her quite a bit of research and study to figure out how to advance it.


    I let that interesting concept fall to the wayside though, as Tasha continued speaking, calling our attention back up. “Now, as the first step of this hallowed ceremony, I invite the eldest of the initiates up to consult the Tree Sea’s knowledge bud. Daysia, please come up to see your destiny.”


    A Dryad with light green skin and daisy woven hair emerged from one of the higher benches and and made her way down to the bud. She walked with poise and elegance, a long skirt of woven willow branches trailing the ground…until she stepped on one of the branches and tripped. She caught herself quickly, but her face flushed emerald at the light chuckles from the audience and she hurried the rest of the way.


    Once she reached the bud, she curtsied to Tasha, then knelt and leaned forward to whisper to the plant. The golden leaf rune flashed, and in the reflection of her face showing on one of the chairs, I saw an identical mark blaze to life on her forehead, her eyes filling with golden energy as she channeled the plant.


    When she was done, she stood and turned, and the rune remained on her forehead as she strode out of the room. Alyssa leaned down. “The initiates always take up along the perimeter of the platform facing the proper direction to wait for the ceremony to begin. Once everyone is done the symbols will flash and notify the participants. They remain on the forehead until you reach the correct general area. After that it’s all up to luck. Or fate if you prefer.”


    Tasha continued, calling the next Dryad, a male named Sardin, and then continuing in apparent age order until she reached Alyssa. Our guide rose excitedly, slipping past the group to bolt to the stage like she’d just won a prize. The general mood of those going up seemed hopeful and excited, and I was pretty curious to see how I would fit into this. I needed to find my staff wood, but would I commune with the bud? I mean, I could, but how did they know that? Was there some other way they could bridge the gap for people without my gifts?


    Alyssa knelt immediately to commune with the bud, and it took barely any time for the symbol to appear. From what I could tell the more talented a person the faster it showed up, anywhere from a minute to a second. Alyssa’s was a respectable five seconds, not the most talented in the group but not bad at all.


    Once she finished, Tasha called a few more, then turned to me. “And for the end of our ritual, a new event. A guest has come from far way in search of a branch from one of our trees, to replace a treasured companion on his journey, a wooden staff who sacrificed itself to save his life. I invite Solomon, candidate of the Wish Curse Palace, and grandson of my dear friend, Nicholas Anders, the Radiant Pope, to come up to address the Primordial Tree Bud.” Well, no pressure or anything.