Chapter 116: The Trial of an Awakened Ability (2)
Cerus tilted his head. "But what could they possibly need? A tribe that’s been protecting plant abilities for generations probably already has everything they could ever want."
He paused for a moment, deep in thought. "Unless..." His eyes widened slightly. "They’re also dealing with a declining birth rate. That’s possible, isn’t it?"
Ikarus nodded. "I think they are. Their tribe lives deep in the mountains, but even from here, you can see the mountain becoming more barren every year."
Maeve slowly lifted her head. Although the pain made her vision blurry, she could still make out the faint outline of a mountain in the distance.
To her, it looked like nothing more than a tiny shadow on the horizon, but her husbands’ sharper eyesight probably allowed them to see it much more clearly.
"I’m certain that’s a sign that they’re lacking new generations," Axan said quietly. "As for why it’s happening... we don’t know."
The Azuryn Tribe had struggled to have children because their Leaders had gone so long without finding their mates. Without enough descendants, the tribe’s Aether Energy had slowly begun to fade.
The Pyrax Tribe had faced the same problem for a different reason. They had abused and mistreated their women for generations, causing many females to refuse having children.
But what about the Sylvara Tribe?
They had always taught their people to live in harmony with nature. They didn’t even have a tribal leader, believing that nature itself was their one and only leader.
And one thing was certain, they were nowhere near as cruel as the Pyrax Tribe.
"Something must have happened to their Mother Tree," Nyx suddenly said.
Everyone turned to look at her. As one of the tribe’s elders, Nyx had lived much longer than the younger generation. It was only natural that she knew stories and knowledge that most of them had never heard.
"The Mother Tree?" Maeve asked, frowning. "What’s that?"
"Just as its name suggests, it’s the source of the Sylvara Tribe’s power," Nyx explained patiently. "Most tribes rely on newborn placentas as a substitute for Aether Energy. But the Sylvara Tribe is different. They rely on the Mother Tree to produce the Aether Energy their people need."
"As for why the Mother Tree is suddenly dying, I’m not entirely sure," Nyx continued. "Only the Sylvara Tribe truly understands the Mother Tree. We outsiders can only make guesses."
The atmosphere grew heavy as everyone tried to process what they had just heard.
A sacred tree that had protected an entire tribe for countless generations was dying and it didn’t sound good at all.
Maeve slowly lowered her eyes. ’The Mother Tree...’
For some reason, the words stirred something deep inside her heart.
It wasn’t sadness. It also wasn’t fear, but it was a strange feeling she couldn’t explain, as if something far away was calling to her.
Just then, Pinky’s voice echoed inside her mind.
[Hidden Information Detected.]
[Current analysis is insufficient.]
[The Sky Mother recommends traveling to the Sylvara Tribe to investigate the condition of the Mother Tree.]
Maeve blinked several times, caught completely off guard.
’Wait... what?’
’The Sky Mother was the one who gave me this suggestion? It didn’t come from you?’ Maeve asked inwardly.
Pinky quickly shook its round body. [No, no, no! This is exclusive guidance from the Sky Mother, Host!]
Maeve’s eyes widened because that was unusual.
Normally, Pinky was the one who analyzed situations and suggested side missions based on the system’s data. The Sky Mother rarely intervened directly.
The only time Maeve had truly spoken with the Sky Mother was after she gave birth. She had never expected to receive the Sky Mother’s guidance so directly again.
It turned out all she had to do was fake it till she made it.
Maeve let out a cough, drawing everyone’s attention. "It seems..." she began softly, "the Sky Mother truly wants me to go to the Sylvara Tribe."
She paused for a moment before continuing. "If she personally guided me there, then... I’m sure she has a very important reason. That’s why, I think we should go there first."
"Maybe the answers we’re looking for are waiting for us in the Sylvara Tribe," she added.
Her husbands exchanged glances, carefully thinking over Maeve’s words. After a long moment of silence, Axan finally spoke. "You’re right."
He took a deep breath before continuing. "I don’t believe the Sky Mother would ever lead us in the wrong direction. If She wants us to go to the Sylvara Tribe, then there must be a reason." He paused briefly before adding, "I think we should go there first before assuming the worst."
Cerus nodded, though he still looked uneasy. "But I don’t think it’s a good idea to suddenly show up at their territory either."
Maeve gave a small nod. "I suddenly awakened a plant-based ability," she said softly. "So... I think there’s a reason for that too."
Maeve wasn’t a narcissist, and yet ever since she arrived in this world, she somehow kept finding herself at the center of one important event after another.
She had never asked for that role. In fact, she would have been perfectly happy living a peaceful life with her husbands.
But if she had truly been brought into this world to help the Azuryn Tribe, then perhaps her journey wasn’t meant to end there.
Maybe, she had also been brought here to help the Sylvara Tribe.
After all, the Azuryn Tribe would never truly live in peace until they fully understood and learned to control their own nature and perhaps the Sylvara Tribe was the key to making that happen.
"I’ll go with her to the Sylvara Tribe," Axan said suddenly. "When our mother was still alive, I went to their territory with her once. I’m not sure, but they might still recognize my face."
Back then, their mother had become friends with one of the members of the Sylvara Tribe. They had met by chance while both of them were collecting water from the river that flowed down from the mountain.
"Then I’ll go with her too!" Cerus said immediately.
Ikarus shook his head. "The number of wild beasts is increasing day by day. Even though we’ve strengthened our defenses, your strength is still needed here."