As Steed carried us, the world blurred, showing that he was moving so fast that our perception couldn't keep up. There was a brief moment when everything turned multicolored – likely him flying straight through the mist surrounding Caeos.
Then, a few short moments later, everything slowed, and we were hovering in a new area covered in greenery. As far as we could see, a forest stretched to the horizon; however, further inland was a noticeably larger tree than the rest.
"That's where we're headed," Steed pointed with an underlying eagerness.
"Whoa! I've never seen this many trees before," I said, "Even the air is fresher and thick with that woody smell."
"And not a building in sight...I barely sense any greed here. It's like they have no ambitions," Avarice looked slightly repulsed as he looked around, then muttered, "Perhaps a forest of gold will bring more value to this place."
"You're not turning this into gold," I told him sternly. "Frankly, I'm happy civilizations like this still exist. Not everyone wants to chase after money, you know."
"How does this place contribute to Pneuma City? Do they not provide revenue to the Royal Palace like the other districts?" Avarice asked.
"Of course they do," Steed laughed. "You'd be surprised how much the Fairy District brings in a year despite being the only all-natural district in the nation."
I opened the brochure, wanting to see what the crest's worth was. Skimming over parts, I muttered aloud, "...Fairy Crest...inactive...floral main element...over 3,000 pneumarians...464 klevonians...crest worth: 960 BILLION SPENDIL!?"
"Give me that," Avarice snatched the brochure from me (despite having picked up his own before we left the Royal Palace). "I refuse to believe that much money could be made without a single tree being destroyed."
"You have a thing against trees?" Steed raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"What nonsense are you...? No, what I meant by that was...never mind. The brochure says the Fairy District provides herbs that can be used for various things, such as spices for foods, or ingredients for medicines...population of 90,000,000...pacifistic governing...I don't see how this place could be worth so much."
"They managed to build their wealth without sacrificing the world they live in," I snatched my brochure from him. "Without greed in the way, they were able to figure it out."
Avarice looked down at the forest below us and narrowed his eyes while muttering, "profit without sacrifice...it seems...unnatural."
I shook my head and examined the brochure again.
"Oh, hey! It mentions Cindar's First Clock. Let's see that before stopping by the Crest House."
"That old thing?" Steed looked uninterested. "It's near the Crest House, so I suppose you'll see it anyhow. Come, let's head there now."
We flew toward the mountain-sized tree until we were at its base, where there were, surprisingly, some homes. They were made of stone and mud, but a large village was built there, in the concentration of energy within the district.
In the tree bark was a small castle compared to the others we'd seen, but parts of it were missing or hidden behind parts of the thick tree. It almost looked like the tree had grown around the castle.
"That's their Crest House," I said, intrigued by how that'd happened.
"There's what you're looking for," Steed pointed beyond the Crest House, where a building-sized clock stood in the middle of a beautiful park with paths that diverged to different gardens.
Steed chose to shoot off toward the Crest House instead as we flew closer.
Hm hm hm, I suspected as much, Viraa said lightly. Clearly, he just wanted to use escorting us as an excuse to escape his work.
Avarice and I marveled at its design when we arrived at the clock. It was circular but separated into several layers, each displaying a different time segment. The numbers engraved on it looked almost Roman yet alien at the same time. They were written in the universal common language.
"This is Cindar's First Clock," I softly touched it.
"The first piece of technology to establish Universal Standard Time," Avarice said, sharing my amazement. "A monument from The Era Before. I truly wish I could have met the Ancient Beasts."
I noticed the top of the clock that I assumed was part of its design move and realized that something had been resting on it the whole time.
We stepped back to see a giant butterfly, unlike any on Earth, perched up there as it watched us, tiny people, scurry about.
"Oh, it's a descendant of the district's Sacred Guardian, isn't it?" I said as it spread its gorgeous wings, creating a gust of wind before flying off.
I was smiling in the sky as I watched it fly away when we began to hear commotion around us. I turned and realized that a small group of people – some noncindarian civilians, a few klevonians, and a pneumarian – had gathered.
From what I could tell, the noncindarians had arrived with the pneumarian. They were going on about concerns for their children and pushing the crest to do something about it. Meanwhile, two klevonians were unsuccessful in trying to de-escalate the situation.
Since the pneumarian was standing with the civilians behind him, I'm guessing his child had gone missing, too.
Two klevonians with marks can deal with a pneumarian, can't they? I inquired.
Perhaps if they were part of another crest, Viraa answered.
Remember, klevonians with ascension marks can't harm a pneumarian from their crest, Za'Fia reminded me.
The pneumarian grew more aggressive as the klevonians tried to back away slowly, likely understanding that they'd be unable to fight if things escalated any further. Unfortunately, the pneumarian suddenly snapped and attacked them with thick vines that raced toward the klevonians.
I almost ordered Avarice and Za'Fia to help me save the klevonians when a wall of water smashed down on the vines, severing them.
Looking up, we all saw three people standing on the back of a large butterfly similar to the one that had flown off.
With no patience left to keep his emotions in check, the pneumarian erupted in power as dangerous thorns and thick vines bloomed around him. But, just as quickly, a blue arrow of energy was fired into his chest, causing his rampant energy to stop abruptly and him to fall to his knees.
From the edge of the descending butterfly stood a short klevonian, maybe 5'6". She was dressed in dark blue and black and had a matching pair of butterfly wings that fluttered on her back. In her hand was a steaming bow of glowing blue energy from which she'd just presumably fired that arrow.
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