The soft warmth of the sun crept through the oaken woods, chasing the dark of the night away and waking the flowers of spring. A small village, surrounded by wooden fortifications, and housing no more than fifty humble Gauls, laid peacefully at the shore, as though nothing bad there ever happened. As it should have been.

The sky was dotted with bright-pink clouds of dawn, hardly enough to call it a cloudy day. The village's people awakened upon the crowing of the rooster, and they all peacefully went about their daily lives. Anvils rang with the collision of their hammers, a bard sung a fine melody and led laughing children to school as they waved their mothers goodbyes, and fish, fresh as it gets, were selling like hot cakes. It was a dreamy place, until a groan of the earth rumbled below, and the sun vanished behind the clouds that grew greyer and darker every second. The grass turned red with blood that leaked out of the ground as if the earth itself was bleeding.

The sea drew back from the shores as something rose from the waters. Tall, black spikes emerged and pierced out toward the sky, reaching as high as the clouds themselves. The featherless wings and scaled back of a great beast began to form from beneath the waves, rising high up into the sky, until its ugly black head showed. White slit eyes flashed open, gazing down upon the panicked village of Armorica. They were helpless against the monster. White smoke belched out from its nostrils, and ten-thousands of blood-crimson fangs glinted in its horrifying smile.

The shadow of the great, winged lizard loomed over the land, darkening all that it touched. White flames crept from underneath its feet as it firmed its grip on the red-stained earth. Its growl was that of an earthquake. It spread its wings wide, spanning them from one horizon to the other, great tornadoes of white fire blowing out from them with but the twitch of a muscle. It raised its enormous, spiked head, and bellowed an earth-shattering roar. Pale flames spouted from its maw.

And just like that, the entire land was set ablaze. People screamed in agony. They were calling someone's name, crying and begging. For aid. For mercy. For their gods to release them from the torment.

Asterix yelled out, waking himself. "No!" His eyes flung wide open, though they were heavy with sleep. It was still dark, though the room made of leaves was dimly lit by the soft red foxfire of his sylvan friend. Ugh. That horrible dream again. It had been haunting him ever since he came to Tyria, becoming worse every time he had it. It began when he was still held captive by the Inquest, where the nightmare started out with a shadow, looming over his home with fangs as long as trees. Now, it was a dragon that destroyed everything in its path, bright white flames consuming all it touched. Sometimes he wondered how he was even able to catch any sleep at all, with that monster waiting for him to close his eyes so it could torment him again.

He sighed. He heard Dogmatix give a quiet weep, the poor thing. He seemed to have woken the animal in his fitful sleep. He shifted to his side, intending to give the pup a comforting pet. But when he did, he saw Liliwen, sitting up from her bed, her green-blue arms wrapped around her legs, and her big, crimson eyes staring at him.

"I'm really sorry… Did I wake you?"

"No," the sylvari answered, a small smile formed on her face. "I just decided to stay awake tonight."

"What? Why?"

Liliwen simply shrugged her shoulders, and she stopped smiling, instead examining him intently. Was she watching him sleep? "What did you dream about?" she asked abruptly.

Asterix blinked back at her, stifling a yawn. He laid his head back on the pillow and stroked Dogmatix over his back. "About home," he answered in a muttering tone. He decided against sharing more details than that. "What time is it?" he eventually questioned.

"It's still dark. Try to get some more sleep." Liliwen answered. Asterix nodded quietly. It took a while, but he eventually slipped back to sleep, this time, without dragons haunting him.

When the summer sun rose from the jungle treetops again, the town of Mabon quickly resumed daily routines, transforming from a quiet sleeping hamlet into a bustling market. This time, other than the sylvari traders, there was also a crew, or rather, a 'krewe' of two asura, performing an odd experiment using a type of living ooze. And yet another unknown species, a race of bird-men with tusks, were offering their weaponry as trade to customers. After some morning routines, Asterix made a quick stop by a sylvari blacksmith on his own, asking the man if he could get his revolver adjusted to make less sound when firing it.

It was done within a flash. The blacksmith disassembled the gun and made the necessary changes, after which he expertly reassembled it. He even took it for a quick test-run after the adjustments were made, loading the revolver with one of his own bullets, taking out a practice target, and offhandedly shooting into it. It was almost scary at how casually he went about it, but the gun was making significantly less noise than it did yesterday and still functioned perfectly otherwise. The price was twenty silver, which translated into one fifth of a gold coin. Asterix paid for the service and rejoined Liliwen, and soon they resumed on their travels.

They walked by the thin beach of Ventry Bay. Sometimes, Dogmatix would walk closer to the shore, watching tiny rainbow-colored jellyfish floating about in the salty water's surface, until Asterix called him and the pup dashed over the sand to catch up. Soon they steered southwards, leaving the bay, and hit the southern section of the jungle. The remainder of their travels went peacefully and without unexpected hold-ups. Asterix greeted people they passed on the road each time, taking off his helmet and nodding a smile. Most of them were sylvari, but there were also friendly asura, humans, and even some wayfaring charr. Most of the time, they returned the gesture. Before long, the silhouette of an enormous, majestic tree came into sight, with pastel pink leaves so large several Roman camps could fit on one. The tree towered above all else, its boughs reaching high past the clouds and its roots curling out into all directions. Asterix couldn't help but gawk at the sight.

"By Toutatis, that tree! It's humongous!"

"That's the Pale Tree, our mother." Liliwen answered, smiling.

Oops… "Well, she's quite a sight— I mean, she's…beautiful," Asterix quickly corrected. How does someone compliment a tree?

Liliwen laughed merrily. "Look at you, you're turning all red! Did you burn yourself again?" she asked. Asterix quickly shook his head dismissively.

"Also, who is Toutatis?"

Asterix's flushed face turned even redder. "Oh…uh…far-flung uncle," he blurted. He prayed to the god for forgiveness in silence.

"That's interesting! Your family uses rather odd names."

Asterix just nodded blindly.

Liliwen slowed in her step as they entered yet another sylvan settlement. "This is the village of Astorea. The Grove is just beyond it. You can reach Lion's Arch and Hoelbrak from there." She stopped and glanced around. "Before we enter, did you still want to learn that stealth trick?"

The good wing on Asterix's helm flitted up attentively. He totally forgot about that. "Oh! Yes, please."

"Come along, then," Liliwen said, and she walked over to a training area. They passed some sylvari who were practicing their combat there, slamming and slashing their weapons into wooden dummies. Oddly enough, even their weapons were grown from plants, yet it was amazing how effective they were, often leaving the practice dummies in disrepair and in need of replacement. Their coach cheered them on, complimenting them as they thrashed their helpless, unfeeling victims.

The two walked a bit further until they were at a safe distance from the trainees. "Here is nice," Liliwen spoke up. She suddenly began to giggle uncontrollably. "Oh, this is so exciting! I've never taught anyone stealth before!"

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Asterix answered with a grin.

"All right, let's see…" The sylvari hummed and tapped a finger to her lips, thinking. "Let's start with loosening up our magic skills a little, shall we?"

Asterix suddenly shot her confused look. "Wait, I thought you said there was no magic involved?"

"I said hardly," she grinned. "It still requires some. Don't worry, just do what you always do when you're using magic."

Asterix blinked, humming nervously. "But I've never used magic before…"

Liliwen shot the same look of confusion back at Asterix. "…You're joking, right?" the sylvari asked, befuddled upon Asterix's response. "All creatures have an innate ability to control magic, and you're telling me you never used it?"

"I'm even afraid I might not have this 'ability' at all," Asterix confessed, knowing that he was much different than anyone else here on Tyria. What might be common practice to them, was only a druid's business to him. And he was no druid.

Liliwen blinked back at him with a perplexed look on her face. "Well, of course, there are exceptions," she muttered. "But like you said, there is a first time for everything!" she added, grinning cheekily. She plopped herself down on the ground. Asterix followed suit and sat down, and so did Dogmatix, whose ears perked intently.

"First," she spoke, "it's important to know how magic works. It's like a great river, splitting and coursing through the world and intertwining into everything that exists. We are the fish. We swim freely within its currents. Feel those currents." Liliwen closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nostrils. "Do you feel it?"

Asterix again repeated Liliwen's actions, closing his eyes and breathing deep. He tried to concentrate on the invisible force, but he couldn't find or sense it, let alone recognize its existence. He only felt the hot sun on his back and a cool breath of wind brushing past, together forming a pleasant warmth. Wait, there was one other thing: a sudden slight tingle from below, slowly climbing up his spine and tickling his neck, but it was insignificant and tiny; almost negligible. He dismissed it, convinced that it was just an involuntary twitch of a muscle. "No, I don't feel a thing."

Liliwen reopened her eyes and looked at him. Strange, he should have at least felt something by now. If he couldn't even distinguish magic, then what was the point of trying to teach him a simple spell? Fortunately, there was another way. "Let's try a different approach," she said, and she looked around. Eventually she reached out a hand and picked up a twig from the ground. Dogmatix's tail shot up and began to wag like a fan, and the dog started yipping excitedly, breaking the Gaul's concentration. Asterix glanced at Liliwen, who held out the stick to the ground and drew out a circle, adding lines to the inside of the disc until it formed a symbol. Asterix watched the drawing take shape with piqued interest.

"This is a signet. You can only link one simple magic spell to it, but then it will cast that spell for you, at any time you wish, and it can be used over and over again. It's a great alternative for people who want to use magic but have trouble learning to control it." She tossed the stick aside, and Dogmatix darted after it. "You can sew one on your clothes or have a tattoo made of it, so that you'll never be without. But, I'm afraid I can't make you a working signet. For being effective alternatives, they're rather difficult to make..."

"Interesting! That's very useful to know," Asterix piped up. "And it's okay, maybe I'll meet someone who can make one of those signets for me." He watched Dogmatix approach the two and drop the stick in front of them, waiting for one of them to throw it again. The pup barked blissfully and gave chase again when Asterix took the stick and threw it.

Liliwen got up and brushed the sticky sand off her blue leafy garments. "I'm terribly sorry that I can't teach you that stealth trick. You're quite unlucky to not be able to use magic naturally, but if you find a good mentor and practice a lot, you will master it. I'm sure of it." She smiled down at Asterix. "I would have been honored to be that mentor, but I can't come with you. As a Warden, I have to stay here with my people to defend them and keep the peace. I'm sorry."

"Why all the apologies?" Asterix grinned as he stood up himself. "I was a complete stranger to you and yet you still decided to help me in getting this far anyway. I don't know how I could thank you for everything you did."

Suddenly, the sylvari's red eyes spread wide open. She started to tremble, and tears were beginning to form. "Hey, are you okay?" asked Asterix, who looked back at the woman in confusion. Was it something he said? Liliwen suddenly knelt down and pulled him close to hug him, sobbing profusely.

"T-thank you! Y-you have no idea how much t-that means to me…"

Asterix was completely taken by surprise at the sylvari's sudden change of mood. He rose a hand to pat her gently on the back, feeling the touch of her sleek leaves in his palm. Dogmatix returned with the stick in his jowl, and he cocked his head sideways in confusion at the two. Liliwen continued to cry a little more, still holding the Gaul in her embrace. Somehow, the sensation of being locked in her grip felt like a strong déjà vu to Asterix, as if something powerful had clamped around his chest and was squeezing it. Even stranger was his urge to struggle and break away, despite the fact that it was only a hug. His instincts had never failed him in his life, but, against better judgement, he ignored them this time. Eventually, Liliwen let go of him, and snorted.

"Oh, look at me," she blubbered, "Getting all teary-eyed. Your shirt's a mess now." Asterix tried to comfort her with some more reassuring pats on her shoulder, telling her it was okay. Yes, she was perhaps a little bit unstable, emotionally. He could only assume it was thanks to her past with the Inquest. He would have liked to give them a good mouthful of his fist. Those villainous maniacs…

His good helm-wing suddenly knocked into a horizontal stance as he accidently reminded himself of that. Right. The Inquest… There was still the possibility they would be tracking him down, and the longer he waited with getting rid of that mark, the bigger the chances he would be found. Instead of reminding Liliwen about the Inquest, though, he decided to give it a different approach. "How about we take a tour through the Grove before I leave for Hoelbrak? I'm excited to see the Pale Tree up close."

"That sounds like a splendid idea," Liliwen replied as she wiped a tear from her eye. And so they went into the direction of the Grove. The already thick roots of the Pale Tree looming overhead, became thicker as the two walked toward it. Once Astorea was behind them, the tree could be viewed in her full glory. She was as tall as a mountain. Her white trunk was as thick as Asterix's village spanned in width, and her network of roots gently embraced the land known as the Grove below her, where the sylvari went about their daily life. Clusters of foxfire lit the city like lanterns, and the spores and seeds of various flowering plants wafted in the air. It was almost enough to give someone an acute hay fever.

The Grove was separated into three floors. The bottom floor, the Great Helix, was a place of serenity and teaching. It was pleasantly cooled with the shade of the Pale Tree, and filled with clear sweet water springs. With permission, Asterix took a moment to refill his water reserves there. The middle floor was by far the busiest, as it was where all commerce happened. At one point, Asterix scolded Dogmatix and shot him a stern look when the hound attempted to leave his mark on a root of the great tree. Dogmatix was utterly confused about it, how could he realize it would have been disrespectful? He would have to keep it in until they left the Grove.

The prettiest sight must have been at the top floor, where one could behold the Pale Tree's strong roots spiraling over the Grove like a dome. After the tour, Asterix and Liliwen took a break and sat down at a field north of the city, and allowed Dogmatix to take his business to one of the regular, smaller trees nearby. They both watched the Pale Tree from a distance. The sun felt good on their skins.

"Beautiful."

"She really is." replied Liliwen.

Asterix was actually talking about the place in general, but he went with it anyway. He leaned himself back to support himself on his hands. "Are there more trees like her?"

"I'm not sure. We never met another Pale Tree before. But maybe there are," Liliwen shrugged.

"I bet there are. I mean, she must have come from somewhere," he grinned.

"Yes, I do believe you're right," she replied, smiling. "Maybe we'll even meet one someday."

Asterix looked back at the Pale Tree. Yes, there must definitely be more out there, like her. After all, she couldn't have just come out of nowhere. Something, if it were not a tree itself, must have carried her seed, so there was no doubt in his mind that there were more. He would even bet his money that they all had groves too. Eventually, Liliwen stood back up.

"I think we've dawdled enough now. You should have arrived at Hoelbrak long ago," she told as she dusted herself off. "I'll walk with you to the asura gate to Lion's Arch."

Asterix sighed. "I was just beginning to enjoy it here too."

"Yes, but I'd like to remind you that you're going to be followed by certain people, if they're not doing so already," Liliwen replied. "That Inquest mark will not be going away on its own. Also, there are almost no facilities in the mountains. They don't like it there." She suddenly gasped. "Oh! Speaking of which, before you go there, make sure you buy some warm clothes in Lion's Arch. They're not called the Shiverpeaks for no reason."

"I'll do that," Asterix answered as he got up himself and called back Dogmatix. They began their walk back into the Grove and remained at the upper floor. The gate was easy enough to find. Asterix doubtingly stared at the glowing, circular stone portal that towered before him like a big house. It definitely wore the markings of asuran architecture. A web of light-purple magic streamed and waved in the opening as the inner section of the gate turned like a cog. An asura gatekeeper stood near it, keeping it functional and properly maintained. But Asterix couldn't help but think, wasn't this gate somehow similar to the portal he fell into just two weeks ago?

"…This thing is safe, right?"

Liliwen was about to answer, but then the gatekeeper quickly stepped in. "Why, naturally it is safe! You'd dare question our intellect?" he said. "There is only a 0.0001 percent chance that anything could go wrong."

Asterix furrowed a brow. "And what when something does go wrong?"

"Doltish bookah!" the gatekeeper sneered, "You sound like a sylvari sapling that just got out of its pod! Let me rephrase: There is close to zero chance that something bad happens. In fact: there's a greater chance an Elder Dragon will come crashing down and squash us. Now stop worrying your limited capitulum over it; are you gonna use our gate network or what?"

Asterix frowned. Rude… I was just asking a question. What was that just now about dragons? He brushed off his thoughts. "…Alright," he finally shrugged, not willing to annoy the gatekeeper further. However, he still felt uneasy about entering the gate.

"Good. Is it just you, or is that lady coming with you?"

"Just me and the dog."

"Anything you're taking with you? Items with powerful magical properties, by chance?"

"No, I only have my backpack with rations and water..." Asterix groaned a bit under his breath. He deliberately did not mention his sword. That asura was like a Roman officer snuffing out his belongings for suspicious things. It was almost as if he were visiting Lutetia. He began to wonder if Lion's Arch looked anything like it. The gatekeeper shot him a suspicious glare, but eventually, his features lightened up a bit. "Very well, that'll be two gold, then."

Liliwen quickly bugged in. "Two gold for only one person? That's not fair! It was always one gold before."

"Prices fluctuate, my botanic friend. Besides, he's bringing his rat," the asura pointed his clawed index-finger at the little animal. Dogmatix growled at him in return.

Liliwen was about to protest, but she was stopped by Asterix. "It's fine, don't worry. I'll pay," and he fished out two gold coins from his coin pouch. He now only had one gold and a handful of silver left. Hopefully it would be enough to make the trip to Hoelbrak and get warmer clothes beforehand. Before he handed the money to the gatekeeper, he turned to Liliwen.

"Thank you for all the help. I promise I'll make it up to you someday. I'll come and visit the Grove when everything's calmed down here for me."

"I look forward to it already. I'll have lots of questions to ask you, with you being Ascalonian!" Liliwen grinned.

Asterix smiled back a little nervously. Maybe he should have told her the truth. She might have believed him. But that would have to wait until the day he returns to the Grove. He handed the two pieces of gold to the gatekeeper and picked Dogmatix up with one hand. "Goodbye Liliwen, good luck with the Wardens!"

"Bye! Good luck scamp, come back soon!"

And so, Asterix took a breath and stepped through the gate. He flinched and shut his eyes as he felt a brust of energy enter his body, similar to what he once experienced back in Gaul when the Teragriff attacked. Just like last time, the sensation could only be felt for a split second, only not as intense. Probably had something to do with the distance. The dampness of the jungle was now gone. It was still warm, though. He carefully opened his eyes again and now, he was in Lion's Arch. He blinked a little. It did not look much like a city at all. He had only just entered what appeared to be a small canyon-like formation of cliffs. Palm trees were dotted around the area, and the air smelled very familiar, like home. Lion's Arch was at sea, apparently. Several other asura gates, most likely leading to the other cities, surrounded him. They looked well maintained and were all seemingly functional.

"Welcome to Lion's Arch, sir!" the gatekeeper of the city greeted. "Are you staying , or going to another city?"

Asterix perked a helm-wing and looked at the asuran girl. "Oh, I'm heading to Hoelbrak," he answered. "How much does that cost?" he asked as well.

"With the stuff you carry, including the dog, it'll be one gold and five silver."

Asterix quickly took out his coin pouch and checked its contents. He would have three silver left. Hopefully it would be enough for some clothes. "Do you know where I can find a tailor first?"

"Sure!" The asura girl lifted a finger and pointed. "Just head straight down there. You'll cross two bridges until you reach the Mystic Plaza. You'll find a tailor there. Be careful where you step though. The first bridge might be a little…unstable."

"Thank you, I'll be right back." Asterix politely made a bow and headed into the direction he was pointed. The asura was not joking about the bridge being unstable. It was a wide bridge made with strong wood, but it looked like a complete wreck. The entire city did, as a matter of fact. Craters of impact were in the cobblestone and the buildings that still stood were slanted to the side. He could only imagine what ever could have happened to this city.

But it was good to see that the people of the multi-cultural Lion's Arch were working on rebuilding it. Every race of people, charr, norn, human, sylvari, asura, and even other critters of lesser race, worked their part in it. He had to blink for a moment shortly after he had shakily crossed the first bridge with Dogmatix in his hand. Were those flying ships!? Great balloons of hot air kept them floating high in the sky, and they carried massive construction frames, built beforehand somewhere else and then carried into the city and fitted on top of one another like bricks. It was a rather abstract way to go about the rebuilding of the city, but it was certainly effective.

He let Dogmatix down after they were on solid ground again, and crossed the city field. It looked awfully void, as though something should have been standing in the middle of the great field. There were traders, citizens, and even some Lionguard keeping a watchful eye. Lionguard, Lion's Arch, multi-cultural…wait, of course! This was the Rome of Tyria! It even connected to all the other big cities of this world. He grinned upon the revelation. It was a good thing this particular Rome was much friendlier than the one back home, too.

He soon entered the next plaza after crossing the second, newly built bridge. The place was a little messy, but much busier, as well. After some looking around, he finally found the tailor hidden subtly behind old ruins. It was run by yet another asura.

"Hello, how may I help you?" she asked when Asterix approached her.

"Good afternoon," he answered and got three silver coins out. "I need something warm to wear. What can I get from this?" He held the meager handful of coins out toward her. She looked at it, and stared at it with a little bit of disappointment in her face.

"A wool scarf is the best I can offer." she answered.

"I'll take it."

The trade was made and Asterix left the plaza with a dark red scarf in hand, heading back toward the gate hub. He kept Dogmatix in his hand once again when they crossed the large damaged bridge, just in case. He paid the remainder of his money to the gatekeeper, and was led to the gate to Hoelbrak.

"That scarf won't do you much good out there, you know. It might be the season of the Phoenix, but those mountains are covered in an eternal winter," the gatekeeper warned him as he wrapped the scarf around his neck.

"I have no money left. Not even a copper. It'll have to do." he answered. He picked Dogmatix up and got ready to enter the gate.

Hoelbrak, here we come.