Gatrie and Sam sat around a table on the main floor staring at the teleport pad. Gatrie yawned while Sam rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms as the red light of day pierced through the front windows. "Why did we get up so early again?" Gatrie yawned again.
"Because the Council is supposed to arrive today and we need to be here to greet them," Sam frowned, "First impressions are everything."
Gatrie complained, "They're not going to get here so early. We could have slept in a few hours later at least."
"Why don't you get us some coffee?" Sam suggested, "I'll wait here for them." Gatrie peeled himself out of his chair and trudged out of the room. Sam stood up and paced around the room, not giddy but not nervous either. Though she didn't know the Riev clan very well, she was thrilled to be around more Council people again. A quarter of her clan lived on Mars with a handful of other Council families in a small conclave of sorts. So, besides her little trip to Perceval's home, it had been a couple months since she had been around her own people.
Five minutes passed before Gatrie returned with coffee for the two of them. He was just in the middle of sitting down when the runes began to light up around the teleportation pad, eliciting mumbled profanity. Sam snickered as she gave him a righteous look. The foyer suddenly filled up with a thousand Witches in dark chainmail and pale-yellow robes underneath. At the front of the regiment stood a slender man about Gatrie's height with shoulder length, blond hair. He extended his hand to Gatrie and smiled friendly.
"My name's Elffin Riev, Pleased to meet you," he said smoothly.
"Gatrie Forde and the pleasure is all mine," he shook the man's hand firmly, "This is Samantha Rice. Welcome to Vostea."
Elffin complimented them, "Lady Supreme told us this was a recent construction, but this looks quite well made. I was expecting something much more makeshift."
"Thank you, Lord Riev," Sam bowed, "Let us show to where you'll be staying."
"Please just call me Elffin; we're all the same rank under Lady Supreme," he smiled. Gatrie and Sam nodded and showed the Witches out of the Command Center. It was a quiet walk, a little too quiet for Elffin. "Are there no other animals here?" he asked, "I've never been somewhere so quiet before."
Sam hesitated, "There is another entity on the planet, but it's complicated. After you get settled, the three of us will go meet them."
"Ah, Lady Supreme mentioned something about this," Elffin remembered, "A super intelligent plant, right?"
"Something like that. They call themselves Myrrh. But they are so much more than an intelligent plant. They have the Arcane sphere," Sam explained.
"The Arcane sphere?" Elffin gasped, "That's incredible. Yes, I would be honored to meet such a person." They walked to the barracks where Elffin helped his clan settle in before leaving with Gatrie and Sam. As they walked, he questioned, "So, have you encountered any of the enemy yet?"
"No, so far only one planet has encountered the Apleem so far," Gatrie reported, "Though we were initially worried about Myrrh. When we tried to land initially, she covered the entire planet in thick foliage."
"The whole planet? You can't be serious," Elffin replied with astonishment.
"It's true," Gatrie pressed, "Every plant on the planet is connected to her. She can control them all at will."
Elffin joked, "She sounds less like a plant and more like a goddess of plants."
"She is incredibly powerful, but she referred to Emory as a goddess if you want the truth," Sam smirked.
"You're not wrong there," Elffin laughed, "Never in my wildest imaginations did I imagine someone could knock out Lord Grado with a single punch. Do you mind if I ask you two some questions about her?"
Sam nodded, "Of course. We'll answer what we can."
"Is it true that she didn't start working on the Arcane sphere until recently?" Elffin inquired directly, "I'm level eight combined, but I've heard the progression from level two to three of the Arcane sphere is equivalent to a full sphere development. It took me ten dedicated years of training to reach level five in Entropy."
"Yes and no. She told us she practiced general magik since she was very little, but it's true that she didn't start working on the Arcane sphere itself until we started military school," Sam replied.
"That makes sense I suppose," Elffin understood, "With that much understanding about magik at its most basic level, she can probably progress quite quickly. What about you two? What level are your spheres?"
Gatrie grimaced, "I used to have the Storm sphere, but now that I'm a Hexblood, my Arcane sphere is between two and three."
"I managed to make it to level three in Shifting before we set off on this mission. My Arcane sphere is only level one though," Sam slumped her shoulders.
"Don't feel bad about it; you two are doing very well for your age," Elffin patted them on the back, "Honestly, with a little bit of individualized training, you could make some serious progress in as little as a month. Why don't I work with each of you individually for a few hours every day?"
Gatrie and Sam lit up and said in unison, "Thank you so much!"
"It's no problem at all," Elffin stated nicely, "I had to take over my clan a lot earlier than I expected to, so it's my way of preparing for the future."
Finally, they reached the edge of the forest, a woman-like figure with skin made from bark and covered in flowers strolled out from behind a tree. She had a powerful presence that washed over the trio, something Sam had only felt when she first encountered Myrrh.
"Welcome, Sam and newcomers, to my humble home. You may call me Myrrh," she said melodically.
"Good morning, Myrrh. This is Elffin and Gatrie, the other leaders at the outpost," Sam bowed, "I thought I'd just have everyone meet you since things are happening on our end."
Myrrh smiled, "Pleased to meet you Elffin and Gatrie."
"The pleasure is all ours, Lady Myrrh," Elffin bowed as well, "I hear that we have you to thank for this lovely world."
"Thank you for allowing us space on your home. We appreciate your generosity," Gatrie bowed extra low. Instantly, the pressure coming from Myrrh disappeared, making everyone feel a hundred pounds lighter.
"I approve of these two, Sam. You can bring them around again," Myrrh grinned, "As long as you keep to your promise not to pollute the planet, you are welcome here. If you need more land, please let me know. Except, of course, when the army gets here."
Sam nodded, "We'll let you know as soon as they're inbound. Hopefully, we'll keep the fighting off the planet as well."
"Perhaps I should have said something sooner, but when I kicked them off-world last time, I got the sense they were going to keep their eye on me somehow," Myrrh awkwardly let out, "Have you looked at all the other planets and moons in the system?"
"We have scanning technology looking for signals, but maybe we've been looking in the wrong place. Thank you for letting us know," Gatrie answered.
"Also, I remember there was a certain plant I grew that they didn't particularly like," Myrrh remembered, "If you want, I could cultivate some of that again and separate it from myself. That way it could be harvested."
Elffin cheered, "We would like that very much. Thank you again for your generosity."
"It's no trouble at all. Expect a patch in the next few days. I apologize, but I too have much to get ready before they arrive. Sam, if your other friend comes by, please send her my way," Myrrh waved as she turned back to the forest. The group remained silent until about halfway back to the outpost.
Elffin cleared his throat, "So, she is a little terrifying. It's a very good thing she's our ally."
"We're her provisional ally," Gatrie corrected him, "She doesn't like the Apleem and is okay with us for the moment. Also, Sam, was she talking about Emory?"
"Yeah. I'm not sure what that's about. She got a little weird when she met Emory; in fact, she's the one who called her a goddess," Sam shrugged.
"Since there's still a lot of time left in today, let's start that training today," Elffin suggested, "Sam, swing by the barracks in fifteen minutes. Gatrie, come find me after lunch for your training."