Chapter 3: The Slumbering Renewal
The burden of the spirit tree is always a heavy one. After all, spirit trees literally shoulder the fate of the entire land.
Hearing Sein's recount of the Spirit Willow's story, Ori, now a Spirit Oak, wondered what his desire was.
The Spirit Oak recounted his earliest memory. On the branch of his father, Ori's consciousness blossomed for the first time....
" Father loves all of his children. That is why he was not willing to lose any one of us. He lit the sky ablaze to find me. Though his intention was good, Kuro's children suffered. Naru cared for me as her own. My work in Nibel was to restore the balance of elements. I wasn't able to save Gumo in the forlorn ruins and Kuro's children but I was able to save the land and those dear to me."
"In Niwen, I only wanted to find Ku at first. However, my purpose as a Spirit Guardian guided me in the restoration of Niwen's spirit light"
As the Spirit Oak meditated, he grew from a seed into a sapling. The new spirit tree of Niwen is slowly coming to an understanding of his new power. When every new spirit tree is born, the land will fall under a slumber.
Like a bear hibernating through the winter, the spirit tree's slumber will eventually welcome the renewal of Niwen. But unlike Baur's hibernation through winter, the slumbering period is a busy time of recovery called the "Dream."
In the Dream of the newborn, the unknown shall rise.
From memories, new rules are written.
The Spirit Oak grows slowly in his slumber. With the help of Naru, Gumo, Ku, and many others, Niwen slowly rebuilt. In Kwolok's swamp, the Moki expanded their territory back to their former residence in the Silent Woods. Gorlek, the tribe of master builders and craftsmen, provided their skills in the rebuilding process while the Moki, due to their large numbers, was able to help Gorlek realize the reconstruction plans. During Spirit Oak's slumber, his power slowly reclaimed the lands lost to the Decay. As the effects of the Decay were reversed, the clouded minds of forest creatures were cleared. One of the creatures was Howl, the Great Wolf of Niwen's Gate.
In the land of Niwen, there are several guardians apart from the spirit tree's spirit guardians. These guardians are known for their large stature and destructive power that can easily wipe away creatures of Decay. Howl (the Wolf) was one of the guardians alongside Kwolok (the Frog), Baur (the Bear), and Mora (the Spider) but he was the first to fall under the effects of the Decay. Now that the Decay was over, Howl was no longer the bloodthirsty shadow the patrolled the forest floor of Niwen.
Apart from Howl's return, the footstep of Spring woke up the resident in the harsh, frozen mountains in the North. Water from the thawing snow and ice flows down from the mountain, forming a pool next to Baur's pass and eventually pooling into the sever-colored Sunken Cove.
After waking up from his slumber, Baur moves around to direct the water from the mountain to the watermills in the Wellspring. This will prevent the water from overflowing Baur's pool and flooding the Moki's home in the Inkwater Marsh.
"Ah. The coming of long-awaited spring water. I need to speed up my digging to make channels into the Wellspring. Perhaps I will ask the Gorlek to build a tool for me. I am grateful to be able to move around after such a long time but digging new channels is not easy."
"Do you need help, Baur?" said Howl, "I have the time and I can move more swiftly on the forest floors."
"Plus, I need to familiarize the changing landscapes."
"Sure why not, and have you dig up my collections," Baur snarled "and don't forget you were the first one to fall under the Decay because you are too careless and weak-minded."
"Said the one who slept through the whole ordeal. At least my instinct helped me do my duty even during the Decay," Howl giggled and smiled like a hyena, knowing Baur wasn't wrong about him digging up his last collection of smoked fish. Quickly, Howl noticed his strange laugh and quiet down with a few dry coughs, then he runs away embarrassingly.
Baur looked at the leaving Howl angrily yet pity him at the same time because it is strange to hear a wolf laughing like a hyena. "Alas, not all effects of the Decay are reversed," Baur thought to himself and quickly return to his work.
While Baur attends to his work, Mora is working with her children nonstop the erase the remainder of Decay. With Kwolok gone, Mora's workload was doubled but her children were numerous enough to handle the web-spinning and waste-gathering. Thus, Mora only needs to carry the wastes and dispose of them in the Bottomless Valley. After dragging the waste to the edge of the valley, Mora and her children pushed the large waste-containing cocoon into the dark pit. The cocoon fell into the endless abyss without making a sound.
Meanwhile, the moon lights up the sands on Silver Shore and a figure emerged from the water. This figure, larger even than Mora with her legs extended, swims slowly and drags its body on the shore. On the SIlver Shore, this figure digs a giant hole in the soft, pearly sand. After three long hours, the unnamed creature covered the hole with sand and crawls back into the deep sea.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Tori_Lycan
Tori_Lycan Everyone is busy during the Slumber. Who is the guest from the sea?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone