Life always spreads its roots in silence and grows upward.
At the heart of the Silva Empire, in the center of Driandel, the vast stem of life breathed quietly, crouched in stillness.
The fortress of the Silva Empire was a living stronghold, one that gathered the breath of the earth, the light of the sky, and the pulses of life flowing along the veins of the world to nurture itself.
That morning, Drian quietly opened her eyes upon the throne.
The leaves around her were trembling faintly, and the pulse of life surging through the veins of the stem was spreading into the depths of the fortress.
Drian slowly touched the soil at the center of the fortress and whispered in a low voice.
“I can feel the energy of fire above the earth, and the energy of water below it. The soil is sufficiently damp, and the sap has settled deep. Now only our growth remains.”
Before her lay a large pile of life cores.
They were the resources she had gathered for this moment.
She placed her hand upon the mound of cores, closed her eyes, and gathered her energy beneath her heart.
Then she cried out, short and resolute.
“Now……!”
Drian slowly raised her hand.
At that moment, the roots of the fortress began to dig deeper underground.
As they absorbed the moisture and nutrients below, thick, dense growth rings were added layer upon layer.
The stem rose higher and higher, and the leaves spread wide, forming a blue dome that embraced the sky.
Branches intertwined to form complex passageways, and at their center, a deeper heart of life was reborn.
There, new cells, new connections, and a function of harmony that had not existed before were growing.
“Our center grows deeper, and wider.”
Drian brushed her fingertips across the living rampart.
Vines grew in the wake of her hand.
She was leading Driandel’s will to grow into its next stage.
Within the fortress, vines and branches intertwined as one, guiding the flow of a new energy, and at the very center, a vortex of energy one layer deeper was born.
It was like a ring of growth.
The fortress of the Silva Empire was no longer merely a place where Drian resided, but had been reborn as a vast biological structure that regulated and expanded all activities of life.
As the fortress grew, the surrounding land and forest began to respond in turn.
The veins of life extending from the throne stimulated every corner of the city, and among them, especially in the areas around the fortress where ancient trees and vines were intertwined, a new movement was beginning.
Until then, that place had simply been a cradle of life.
A place where trees grew, leaves bloomed, and Bramble Infantry rested for a time—now it was transforming into Silva’s new military stronghold.
“At this rate, we could raise new soldiers as well.”
Drian personally oversaw the growth of the barracks, too.
Following her will, a subtle tremor spread through the earth.
The trees that made up the barracks felt that tremor and raised themselves, while the vines changed their forms, creating curved bows and tendril-like launching structures.
Now, new soldiers were born from Silva’s newly grown barracks.
The long stems that once swayed with the wind had now become bowstrings aimed at the enemy, and the sap that once formed between branches hardened into sharp crystals, reborn as biological projectiles fired like arrows.
Silva called these new soldiers “Vine Archers.”
Though they were plants, they resembled human forms, and they moved with greater precision and flexibility than any being in harmony with nature.
Their bodies were made of slender stems and broad leaves,
and at their fingertips were small sensory protrusions that could detect even the faintest currents of wind and humidity.
Even when an enemy held their breath and moved in silence, the Vine Archers could pinpoint their target’s location through changes in air pressure.
They were now able to defend the Silva Empire from its enemies from relatively safe positions.
Their bows were not held; vines grew and coiled around their hands.
Their arrows were not shot; they separated a part of themselves and sent it riding upon the wind.
Tarban looked at them and said,
“You must move as lightly as leaves, yet as firmly as stems.”
The Vine Archers bowed their heads in response to his words.
The forest was no longer a quiet refuge.
It was becoming a breathing weapon, one that watched for intruders and, when necessary, could deliver a fatal blow.
Drian sat in the middle of a council garden covered in leaves.
She pointed to an ancient tree nearby and spoke.
“Ignis and Aqua are each raising their own armies. Can we alone remain as we are?”
The ancient tree lightly shook its branches.
She continued.
“We, too, must study power. They are not a threat to us. Rather, we may be able to help them, and receive help in return. That is why we must grow to match them. They, too, must surely have expectations of us, so we must also connect with their energies.”
The ancient tree shook its branches again.
Drian turned her head and looked out over the wide plains.
“I will build a research institute. In our own way, we will sow the seeds of wisdom and watch what grows.”
Drian consumed her life cores once more. From her embrace, a seed grew rapidly, becoming a massive ancient tree with a hollow center.
Under Tarban’s direction, the researchers summoned several Bramble Infantry and Vine Archers.
Patterns of new leaves were etched onto their bodies.
Now, they had developed the ability to adapt to the world.
The Bramble Infantry could alter their constitutions to suit the surrounding environment and respond to enemy attacks, while the Vine Archers came to possess even stronger bows and arrows.
Drian spoke to the soldiers whose abilities had risen another level.
“We are organisms who fight alongside nature. The life growing beneath our feet is our strength, and our armor.”
“Yes, we will keep it in mind, Your Majesty.”
The soldiers answered as they knelt on one knee before her.
The forest was, by nature, not a noisy place.
But that morning, the texture of the wind was a little different.
The leaves swayed not upward, but sideways, and the damp air left faint tremors at the tips of the leaves.
Bramir was seated upon a massive branch below the throne.
He closed his eyes, listened to the resonance of the leaves, and spoke quietly.
“Fortunately, it is not a wind blowing from the west. This is the sensation of another organism. Moisture bearing will is approaching.”
His words were immediately relayed to Tarban.
Tarban nodded to Bramir, then went to Drian.
“Your Majesty, Aqua has appeared before us. They have reached the edge of Silva’s outer roots. It seems they have words to convey to Your Majesty.”
Drian rose from the throne. Her voice spread outward.
“You sent a current, and we heard the tremor. Is this the first communion of mutual flourishing?”
She spoke to Tarban and Bramir.
“Watch them, but do not stop them. Strong roots protect themselves, yet when necessary, they accept water.”
Bramir nodded and adjusted the surrounding branches once more.
The leaves slowly changed direction.
What they chose was not confrontation, but permeation.
Tarban quietly gave orders to the soldiers.
“Do not be wary of them. If their current deepens, they too will know that we are ready to harmonize.”
That day, Silva’s roots grew a little farther downward, and Aqua’s waves flowed over the soil, traveling along the layers of moss and quietly seeping into Silva’s cycle.
It was not negotiation, but natural resonance.
Drian quietly walked to the edge of the forest.
No sound of footsteps came from the moss-covered earth.
The vines blocking her path parted on their own, and the leaves formed a path like a single ray of light.
At the end of that path stood a woman.
Nereia, the empress of the Aqua Empire, whose silhouette wavered like rippling water and exuded majesty.
The hem of her garment seemed to hold seawater, and her hair flowed down like an ocean current, wrapping around her ankles.
“It is good to meet you like this, master of the forest.”
Drian approached her.
“We will not be wary of you. But if you have entered our territory, there must be a reason worthy of it.”
Nereia smiled softly.
“I, too, have not come to harm your empire. I merely wished to know where your roots would head from here.”
Drian gazed at her in silence for a moment, then nodded.
“I can only answer this way. We grow along the veins of the world. That is all.”
“Then this current will not avoid you either.”
At that moment, a branch standing between the two of them slowly bent, laden with dew.
It looked as though it were offering a greeting.
Drian wrapped her fingertips around that branch, and Nereia gently placed her own hand atop it.
As the two energies crossed, the air in the forest flowed differently for a moment.
The gazes of the two great women met.
Nereia spoke first.
“We are not enemies. Yet it is still too early to call us friends. How would it be to leave it as a solidarity that watches the world together for a time?”
“Gladly. Even if one embraces your current, too much of it will damage the roots.”
Their conversation was not long, but the silence held between their words was sincere.
After that day, Drian and Nereia remained close to one another while still maintaining a certain distance.
Between the two empires, a wordless agreement began to sprout: they would not harm each other.
“I have just met Nereia of Aqua.”
Drian’s voice echoed within the fortress.
Before her sat Tarban and Bramir.
She continued.
“Aqua is not wary of us. I, too, have no intention of avoiding them. Rather, we have even received grace from them before. They have not yet made any particular demand of us, but there must have been a reason they approached us directly.”
Tarban answered in a low voice.
“If this foolish subject may offer his humble opinion, Aqua is wary of Terra. We, however, are a threat to Terra. Therefore, I believe what Aqua wants from us may be for us to suppress Terra.”
Drian thought for a moment.
“If that is true, then Aqua came this long distance to borrow our strength. In that case, what is the reason Aqua seeks to keep Terra in check?”
“From Aqua’s perspective, Ignis is situated beyond Terra. At present, Ignis is expanding its territory far more quickly than the other empires, including us. It seems they are the objective.”
“Where is Ignis heading now?”
This time, Bramir answered.
“Recently, Ignis has shown signs of intending to attack Metalum. Since Metalum is an empire that threatens us, I believe it is not bad news, in truth, but……”
Drian asked with a grave expression.
“But what is Metalum’s relationship with Aqua?”
Tarban answered again.
“Metalum appears capable of aiding Aqua. If Metalum is weakened, then for Aqua, it would be the same as losing a companion.”
Drian pondered for a moment before opening her mouth.
“Aqua has not yet made any demands, so for now, we will proceed in our own way. Extend the roots of the forest deeper. Prepare thoroughly for every situation. Even if we have entered an alliance with Aqua, bear in mind that this does not always mean the outlook is favorable.”
Now Metalum’s footsteps resound.
The alliance of Aqua and Silva, and the approach of Ignis.
In this situation, what will they do?