CHAPTER 7 (To the Valley of Dreams)
On exiting the whirlpool, they fell onto a field of a grassy flowery land. "Whew! That was one of the best traveling experiences that I have been through" commented Sven before he puked. The four uncontrollably laughed until they fell as it was one of the rare occasion that he would act and say something so hilarious. "So now do we want to take the short and dangerous path which would be another shortcut or the longer and safer path?" Kayne asked, undecided which path to go according to the map.
"I think we should be fine with the short dangerous path. C'mon, I mean, I'm not really scared of a bit of danger, I can endure things like that. Who's with me?" Sven declared confidently, repeating his bad habits of showing off his muscles. "Let's just find the quickest way, the eclipse is just a few weeks away, just stay together and do not wander off, if you need any help, just shout" Espie stated.
"The short dangerous path is called the Spiked Cavern Path, it is written on the book that this cave has poisonous thistles that would intoxicate all spirits badly, leading to a slow and painful death. It says that the flowers around here are the only antidotes of the poison." Kayne read out from the book, feeling unsure.
"Let me pick some of these antidote flowers from around here to create a cure so that in any case we are poisoned, we have the right medicine to cure it" Teva reassured while picking the flowers. After crushing the flowers and creating the medicine, she put the mixture in one of the medicinal jars she had and happily confirmed, "I'm done, let's go!"
Upon reaching the tall, craggy mountains that blocked their way to the valley, Kayne asked insecurely "No second thoughts? We can always walk around the mountain" The other four nodded to proceed with the shortcut and the group continued their way into the Spiked Cavern Path. The cave was so dim that it appeared like a dark monster. When they entered, the cave did not seem so bad anymore as they lighted the caves with their lighted bodies. The tunnels seemed to move up and down, left and right, apparently endless. Finally, they reached the end of the cavern tunnel. Sven came out of the cave first and suddenly tripped, laying motionlessly, shocking the others.
He laid in a tense posture and his face frozen in pain. Teva noticed one of the poison thistles had latched onto his fur and quickly took out her medicine jar. She then used a twig to remove the thorny thistle and used some of the antidote mixture to rub onto the wounded area. The rest of the three watch helplessly at them as they felt that they could not help.
Sven's face slowly unfroze and he uttered "I feel like I'm the unlucky one in the group, always getting myself hurt or something…" "It's your pride that would get in your way, showing off as if you are the strongest of the group, start to be more humble." Aura nagged at Sven, embarrassing him even more.
After the whole circumstance of the situation, the group continued on and arrived at the Valley of Dreams. It was dusk and they decided to stay over at one of the nearby houses that the some of the spirits are living in.
Espie requested to one of the villagers "We would like to stay over just for the night in your house, we travelled far from the Spirit Tree, and we would need accommodation for the night."
"It'll be my pleasure to let you stay here, Espie. Your friends can come along too!" answered the villager with a smile. "How did you kn…" "Who wouldn't? You are the Golden Spirit of the Spirit Tree, everyone knows about you. You are one of my biggest favourite spirits around here. Your birth was a big happening that spread all over Nibel and here. It is a big pleasure to meet you, you and your friends are welcome around this village. Make yourself at home."
The villager paused and continued "I've already heard from other spirits that your group helped the Glacial Village and Aquarius. Just take it easy for tonight. Relax your tired legs and have some tea and fruits, replenish your energies for tomorrow" the villager invited while going to prepare them. The five dug into the fruits and drank the warm flavourful tea, and went to sleep on the grassy beds provided for them. They quickly fell asleep as it was very comfortable.
The next morning, the group thanked the villagers and waved goodbye, going on their way to meet with the wisest spirits in the village. Espie saw Celestia, the Elder Spirit she had met earlier before the trip. Espie rushed over to Celestia and passed her the scroll. "I have helped the spirits in need of help, and I have finally came here" Espie reported to her.
Celestia, looking impressed, told Espie "We would begin training preparations three days later, meanwhile, you can stay at the Dream Sanctuary just beside the Dream Lights of the Dream Mountain beside. As you know this is the Valley of Dreams as this valley is located just beside. There, I will assign some of the Elder Spirits to pass down their wisdom to all of you and your friends to enhance their abilities. For you, I would be your teacher to enhance your unique powers, I've heard you have."
"Wait Celestia, why is this valley called the Valley of Dreams? And why dreams of all things?" Espie questioned curiously.
"Well, the Valley of Dreams is named after the Dream Mountain just beside. The Dream Lights that you see emanates from the Dream Stone on the summit of Dream Mountain. These Lights is said to bring psychic ability to spirits and give pleasant dreams when the resident spirits here sleep, so there's your reason. This valley is the root of Nibellion psychic abilities." Celestia answered before leading them to the Dream Sanctuary.
The group followed Celestia towards the Dream Sanctuary. Once they reached there, Celestia assigned the different beds and area they would be sleeping in. "Spirit Elder Celestia, why can't we train today? I mean, we only have a couple of weeks left." Kayne queried after much thought. "Patience Kayne, we, the Elder Spirits, have to plan on each and every one of your ability enhancements and ability mastery. Give us time, we will come when we are ready. Why don't you take a tour with your friends around the town? I've got to go. See you all in three days."
The five, after unpacking their items to the designated areas, went on to wander around the town. Throughout the three days, all five of them lost track of time and felt that the three days went past swiftly. It was time for the Elder Masters to teach them about their own abilities.
Celestia came towards Espie and assured, "Your friends would be in good paws, although they and the elders are going separate ways for a while, you will still be connected through your friendships." Celestia paused and allocated different Elder Sprits to each one of them "Espie, come with me. For Aura, your teacher is Misty, for enhancing your powers of sensory. Sven, you are with Cahal the strong for strength training, Kayne with Hugo the intelligent for wisdom and Teva with Kezia the nature herbalist." She assigned each Elder to each of Espie's friends.
"Since you're here, you five have to adhere to the culture here. Each of you have to learn at least the psychic flying abilities that most spirits here have. The rest of the psychic abilities the masters will teach will be based on each of your original abilities. With that said, let us be on our way."
The five pairs proceeded to their training with each of their individual masters.
