A New World, an immersive game experience

Chapter 371: An ice lily

"However, I must correct you," Eldrian said, causing Micaela's smile to disappear. "You say it is not out of prejudice, but it is. It might not be hate-filled prejudice, but it is a prejudice of their lives being lesser than ours. A similar case that has led to plenty of wars."

Eldrian paused to make sure they understood where he was getting at. Often, hating someone was not as bad as seeing them as lesser. At least if you hated someone some part of you realized that they are your equal or even better. Even if you tell yourself otherwise.

Not pushing further, Eldrian hoped that they would take heed of his words and work on at least approaching those in the simulation more humanely. Even if they could not understand where he was coming from, he hoped they would attempt to change.

This led to the end of the meeting as most did not wish to stir the already heavy mood in the room. They clearly knew what Eldrian was hinting at and did not say. They wanted to argue, yet they knew they had no validity to argue. Anything they said would only prove him right all the more.

Eldrian left not long after and decided to pay Erik a visit. He was not in a rush to log in again. Not after the last experience. He felt he needed some time just as himself to stabilize his perception of how he was. He also had no idea how long the system needed to fix his avatar's soul. It having been long completed actually.

...

"Eldrian, hey." Turning to look at Erik's arrival, Eldrian pointed for him to take a seat next to him and enjoy the view of the park lake.

"Life is strange," Eldrian said, still trying to work through Medion's memories. They were not clear and felt like a dream to him now, yet the effect they had had on him was ever-present.

"Indeed," Erik sat down and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Eldrian asked, knowing that sigh. A sigh of feeling defeated.

"It's Akarui..." Erik paused as he replayed those moments in his mind. He still could not quite accept it.

Akarui had done her best to try and find the best, the very very best flower she could. Having spent hours in search, ignoring those that had dazed her. Refusing that they were good enough.

In the end, she had returned with a flower that seemed totally normal. It certainly seemed exotic, yet it did not appear to be magical.

The flower she had come back with looked like an arum-lily. A single petal forming a cup wherein the seed cone of the flower rested. Completely normal, though with interesting colors. The shock on Zamia's face though had quickly told Erik that it was not a normal flower.

"Whe-where did you find this flower?" Zamia quickly recovered from her shock, taking the azure-colored flower and inspecting it in doubt. The inspection telling her that it was indeed what she thought, a flower she had thought had long since gone extinct.

"It was under this tree..." Akarui explained how she had searched and searched, something telling her that she needed to look under this specific tree. Its roots were covered in moss covering the opening of a small cave. Inside, she had found plenty of the flowers. Lighting up the cave, the seed cone inside of the blue petals shining like modern lights.

She had been slightly worried when she plucked it and the shining stopped, however, even so she had felt confident it was an amazing flower. While it might not be the prettiest when plucked, in the cave it was truly breathtaking.

"Can you show me?" Zamia asked, the three quickly making the journey to the specific tree. Erik was shocked that she could find her way without getting lost once. Like she had always lived in the forest and knew it like the back of her hand.

They ended up at an old moss-covered tree a short distance from the spring in the glade. Though their trek had been really roundabout.

'A fragol tree, there aren't many of them in the forest.' Zamia thought as she looked at the tree and failed to realize even from so close where the entrance was. That was until Akarui clambered down to its roots and pried open the moss covering. A surge of magic suddenly filling the air and leaving Zamia stunned.

"This..." Not having the words, not having had such a shock in years. Zamia followed Akarui in silence as she observed the moss with a new light. Shocked that they had missed it all these years, millennia in fact.

Even more shocking, when Erik attempted to enter, the opening grew to allow him ease of access. This left Zamia even more stunned. While dryads are intuned with nature, as an alicorn she should be far more intuned with it.

Yet this shock was quickly overcome by what appeared before her as they moved just a few meters into the cave and round a bend. The sight of bright azure light filling the room was breathtaking. In the center was a small pool of sky blue water.

Erik sighed again as the words that Zamia spoke next still sent shivers down his spine. "The flower is called an ice lily. It sounds so plain that you would think it is a normal flower, right?"

Eldrian didn't reply as he was certain the question was rhetoric.

"Ice lily... Ice... Lily..." Erik mumbled it a number of times before finally getting back on track. "I still can't believe just how amazing this flower is supposed to be."

"What does it do?" Eldrian asked, wondering why a cave of flowers could have left Zamia shocked. He was certain there could not be many things that would accomplish that.

"It does... It can... It is just amazing. It can be used in too many ways, when I had tried to tune myself with one of the flowers I had nearly lost consciousness."

"What?"

"The flood of information was just too much. The flowers aren't singular, rather they are a collective. And that cavern was not the only one in the forest. Each flagol tree seemed to have a similar cavern underneath, in fact, it seemed to be the only place that the tree grew.

Not one of the three plants were common, or even just rare. The flagol tree was an ancient tree that few could make use of. The wood was far harder than even mithril, the leaves soft and supple yet capable of giving those who ate it enough energy for days.

It was considered a delicacy by the Alicorns. They would only eat it on special occasions such as marriage and the birth of a new family member. Not to mention the flowers it bore only once a decade.

Unlike most trees, they could not help the tree grow faster. Hence they always made certain to not harm it.

The moss instead was called nulling moss. It canceled all magic, making it impossible to use observe or inspect, or to feel the magical power of the flower cavern. If one tried to inspect the moss it would give the information of being normal moss.

It was impossible to realize its uniqueness without actually finding it hiding something's aura. It was also impossible to find the moss even knowing what it looked like. Since it appeared just like any other moss. Yet, it was one of the most valuable plants on Gaia. Capable of being used to hide one's information from nearly anyone.

Even with this, the ice lily was still more valuable.

"I can't believe this," Zamia mumbled still unable to come to accept the sight before her. Kneeling down she scooped out some of the water. The taste sending her back to her childhood and the last invasion, the memories of her parents brought tears to her eyes.

As they flowed down her checks the teardrops quickly turned sky blue, falling slowly through the air like a feather. Making nearly no ripples on the pond.

This again left Zamia stunned, turning around she quickly noticed another thing she had missed. The entire cavern was magical, behind the moss covering the walls there were veins of divine metals.

Yet this caused her no joy nor excitement, instead, it caused her all the more worry. This natural wonder was something that was best never disturbed. Their arrival was destined to destroy the beauty here.

"So what does an ice lily do?" Eldrian asked since Erik again paused after explaining the tree's and moss's ability to him.

"It purifies," Erik said, the meaning lost on Eldrian.

"Purifies what?"

"Everything, yet... That is just if left undisturbed. If consumed it can give a person a special bloodline. If used for potions it can either become a deadly poison, or it can be turned into a revival fail. Capable of reviving people that even Zamia said she could not revive."

"Still... Even so, its true power is purification. Yet as had happened with each discovered garden of ice lilies, people would gladly sacrifice the purification for the immediate benefits."

Eldrian sighed yet he could see why. A potion capable of reviving people that even Tier 10 magic could not, was certain to be beyond worth. It would likely be capable of bringing someone back from just a sliver of a chance.

The poison likewise should be capable of killing even Tier 10's then, possibly even harming legends. Eldrian had no idea what bloodline it would give someone, yet he could guess it was not something weak from the other uses.

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