{Year 18}
"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Lys asked. "It might not hurt to have someone you know with you."
As Liri prepared herself to leave, she looked back at her mother with a warm smile.
"Yeah… I don't want you to be in any danger," Liri replied, a little cheerfully. She hoped her mother would take comfort in her confidence. "I have to go on my own."
One year after the attack, Liri and the other survivors traversed the northwestern lands, migrating from one place to another. They had gone to see a few of the other ven villages only to find out that all of them had suffered the same fate as Elmira.
As far as Liri knew, they were the only ones left. Now, after one more year of training and sharpening her survival skills, Liri felt like it was finally time to go investigate. Revenge was, obviously, a priority, but before that, she wanted to know who attacked them and why.
Moreover, she wanted to know why they were deactivating the Mother Trees.
The more time passed, the fewer Mother Trees Liri's [Clairvoyance] Mantra picked up. The one from Elmira had deactivated, as had all of the others nearby. This caused a polluting effect to take hold of the earth, and Liri could feel the world growing sicker every day.
One thing had become clear to her.
This was the injustice Alteria had talked about with Liri. The injustice she'd reincarnated to ameliorate.
[But,] she wondered, [what can I do about the Mother Trees?]
"Do not forget Alma's lessons, Liri," Lys said behind her, as Liri packed up a few things. "If at any point a situation looks too dangerous, retreating is always an option."
"I know," Liri replied with a nod. "I'll keep that in mind."
Liri's priestess robes, the ones she'd been wearing when the attack happened, had grown stained and ragged over the years. Most of her body wasn't even covered anymore. She'd gotten a little thinner due to this new nomadic lifestyle since she had less to eat regularly.
After the battle and the hunting that Liri had done over the course of the last year, her Soul Rating was now at 2900.
If she'd been back at Elmira, she would have been one of, if not the single most powerful ven in the village.
There weren't many people left to brag about that to, though.
[Is that enough?] Liri wondered. [I wonder what those guys' Soul Ratings were… Maybe they weren't physically powerful, though. They might have been relying entirely on their tech.]
Liri flinched as her mother's hands wrapped around her from behind. She calmed down, however, and let her mother hold her.
"When your journey ends, where will you go?" Lys asked quietly.
Of course, Liri had thought of this. She intended to one day see her mother again, after all.
"… Elmira," Liri responded.
"What?" Lys asked, confused.
"If it's possible, I'd like to take the village back."
"B-But, how?" Lys asked.
At that, Liri smirked a little.
"I'm blessed, aren't I? I'm sure I can find a way."
[In other words, hopefully, Alteria gave me enough power to make that a reality.]
"Yes," Lys replied, chuckling. "You are blessed. I have complete faith in you."
"I will try not to disappoint you, then."
Once Liri was ready, all she had was a bag with some food inside of it along with the sword she'd picked up off the ground back then, tied to her waist. It was brittle, however, close to breaking from overuse. She wasn't going to rely on it too much.
[This'll have to be enough for now,] Liri thought with a sigh. [Maybe… Well, I want to find some kind of civilization, but… If I do, will they be hostile to me? It might be a long time before I see a friendly face again.]
She could stall no further. Looking around, glancing at her mother and then at the other ven who all watched their protector get ready to leave with slightly worried eyes, Liri said:
"I'm going."
Lys nodded and pressed a kiss to Liri's forehead. Hugging her tightly, her mother said:
"Be safe, child. I love you."
"Love you too, mom," Liri replied as she returned the embrace. "Don't worry about me too much. I'll be back before you know it!"
"I will try my hardest not to. I won't make any promises, though," Lys said, wiping a tear away.
That moment marked the beginning of Liri's lone adventure.
---
The woods had gotten so much dimmer. The vibrance that had struck Liri's soul so profoundly she'd chosen to become a priestess of Elmira over it had long since faded. It felt like the earth was dying.
Still, despite the different emotions that swirled within Liri, she knew this was the right call to make.
She had to go do something about it.
Not just because she wanted to, but because there was a chance she was the only one who could.
[Oh, right, I… I also have to have a kid before I'm 21, too,] Liri remembered, grimacing. [Agh. I always kept that in the back of my mind because… well, my people liked me a lot. I didn't think it would be that hard to find someone who'd want to make a family with me,] Liri thought with a sad smile.
[… If I don't find anyone, though, maybe I can use these 3 years I've got left to make this world a better place. The question is, how?]
There was one card Liri had up her sleeve. One fact that she hoped meant something.
Before the attack happened, Liri had been told repeatedly that her connection to nature was the strongest any ven had ever had in Elmira. Maybe in the world.
If that was true, then, there had to be something she could do. With that in her mind, Liri knew what the first step of this journey was.
[I need to visit one of those deactivated Mother Trees. If I do, maybe I'll learn something.]
And so, Liri walked forward. Though her hands and heart were unsteady, determination burned strongly within her. This world was beautiful. Her people were beautiful. If anything wanted to take that beauty away, then Liri would fight them till the end.
"There should be one this way, right?" Liri asked herself as she looked around, vaguely remembering one of the walks she'd gone on with Alma, a few years ago. "Please, give me some insight, Alteria. Let me know what I can do for this place."