Page 81 of Gift from the Nexus

“I’ve seen them. Extraordinary trees, to say the least. If you didn’t know you were looking for a tree, it would simply seem as though lava was flowing down the side of Pyra. They grow in close clusters, more like bushes than a tree. Their leaves are a bright red with dusted black tips, and the bark is charcoal,” Gaster says, nodding and stroking his beard. Lost in his memory.

“So someone will need to go there and dig the root up. Hopefully.” I summarize.

“Correct. On to ingredient number two. The Gingko berry,” Nikoli says with a grimace.

“What’s that foul face for?” Draken asks him, laughing.

“It was a repugnant taste. I threw up, like a lot, after sifting it out. Mixed in with everything else, it’s not as noticeable, but that’s definitely the ingredient that makes the creatures sick.”

“This is my assumption, but I believe this will be located near the swamp lands on the outskirts of Aquaria. It’s said that the marshlands smell horrendous and it’s the scent the larger reptile shifters give off, but I believe it to be the perfume of the Gingko berry,” San says.

“Isn’t that where—”

“Walker’s from. Yeah. We can ask him if he’s seen or knows of this.” Draken nods, finishing my question and answering it for me.

“Good. Next,” Corentin says.

“The heart of a five-hundred-year-old Everest Tree.”

That one seems to catch my entire Nexus off guard as we stare at Nikoli in confusion. The Everest Trees are the massive trees that create a symphony through the forest when the wind blows between them in Aeradora, but I didn’t realize a tree has a heart.

“How do…actually, I don’t know what I’m trying to ask first. Trees have hearts? And how do you know it was five hundred years old?” I ask.

“Not all trees have hearts and it’s my taste buds. They’re sensitive to certain compounds that degrade and accumulate over time. Using this tree and its heart for example, my taste buds know that it gets sweeter with time. Take that and all its other factors such as texture and composition, I can gauge a pretty accurate age,” Nikoli explains excitedly, although I’m still partially confused on how that’s possible.

“He can go into more specifics on his gift later, Primary. That alone would be a multi-day lesson,” Caspian cuts in, knowing good and well I was about to bombard Nikoli with questions.

Nodding, because yeah, we don’t have days and days for me to spare on learning about his gift, I push on. “Okay then. What’s next?”

“The Noxious herb. Nasty little shit,” Nikoli says with a shake of his head.

“Hold on…” I say, turning my head to Gaster and Oakly, who are both already looking at me. “That was an ingredient in the Poison of Essence cure.”

“It was. We won’t need to hunt for that one. I have some,” Gaster says, nodding to San.

“Good because that one was last recorded in the Central, but the exact area is unknown, like the last ingredient. That’s the only one I can’t find. Just one mention of in all the records and it’s nothing but a description, no known whereabouts.”

“You’re going to find this hilarious, Willow.” Nikoli chuckles, shooting Oakly a mischievous smile. One she returns enthusiastically.

“It’s called the Willy Flower.” Oakly rushes to say before Nikoli, unable to contain her excitement any longer.

“Oh, Elementra, that’s awful. Ugh, I hate that nickname,” I grumble playfully.

I could kill Oakly for starting that nickname, but thankfully, she’s the only one who calls me that, and only when she’s trying to get a rise out of me. But seriously, what kind of nickname is that? Gross.

“Enough. Needless to say, we have no clue where the Willy is?” I ask as everyone continues to laugh at my expense.

San composes himself quicker than the rest, clearing his throat and jumping right back into librarian mode. “No, not a clue, unfortunately. The description was incredibly vague. Based on the composition, we assume it will flourish more in a fertile area with lots of sunlight and well-drained soil, so that at least eliminates Pyrathia and I think Aquaria would be too wet. Nikoli also mentioned sensing remarkable healing properties. We don’t know what it can heal, but in this recipe, he believes it’s an offset to the more unfavorable ingredients included.”

“That doesn’t give us very much to go on. We’re looking at anywhere in the Central, Terian, and Aeradora. It might not even be in this realm. What if this was the ingredient that led everyone to believe the Bane of Essence wasn’t possible?” I ask, feeling a little discouraged.

“It’s here. It has to be, or I wouldn’t have been able to identify it. I can’t detect foreign substances, only Elementra-native ones.It’s possible that we’ve always been led to believe the Bane wasn’t real because this particular flower is hard to identify, and the other main ingredients aren’t as simple as picking a plant out of the garden. So for generations past, incredibly difficult, translated to impossible,” Nikoli says confidently.

“You’ll have to test every flower brought forth that could be it, won’t you?” I ask him. That’s a huge task and a time-consuming one.

“I will, but it’s not as daunting as it sounds. One sniff and I’ll know or not. Whoever is assigned to look for this won’t be searching and picking everyday flowers and bringing them to me. It’s going to be rare. In possibly difficult locations to get to. So hundreds of different flowers won’t be showing up for me to look over. Typically, the rarest of flowers to find are spectacular to see. Colorful and brighter than your everyday daisy, so that’s what we’ll be looking for.”

“You said these are the main five. What are the other ingredients?” Caspian asks thoughtfully. I didn’t even catch that when it was said.

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