"Now your first task is to analyze the way you made it here," Acacia, his now master told him.
"You could see me?" Icarth asked with some wariness in his voice.
"Yes. I can see almost anything in the forest as long as I focus on it. Now tell me how you got here," his master answered.
Icarth nodded silently, shelving his wariness for now.
"I wanted to test my stealth skills so I tried to get here as silently as possible," Icarth answered.
"And what did you do wrong?" his master questioned.
"I didn't account for beasts above me," Icarth answered tentatively.
"Very good, but that was not how the Spider-Monkey found you," his master corrected him.
Icarth fell into silence seeing his master urging him to answer correctly.
'How did it find me? Maybe by my scent? No, it was above me so unlikely. So then it must be-'
"The string. I must have tripped on one of its strings," Icarth finally answered.
"Correct. The spider monkey had laid out a few of its strings on the ground to sense its prey. You triggered one of the strings alerting the monkey of your presence."
Icarth nodded with a weird feeling inside.
"Don't feel bad, just make sure it doesn't happen again," his master told him.
"Now tell me what you did wrong when chancing upon the other beasts," his master continued.
Eyes twitching, Icarth narrated all the other mistakes that led him to fight the other beasts that had come across his path.
Branches swaying, his master complimented him, "Very good, it seems that you are aware of your shortcomings."
"Now sit. It is time for me to see how you should be trained."
Obeying, Icarth sat down in front of the tree.
"Come closer child. Rest your back on the trunk."
Icarth complied and faced away from his master.
"Now, whatever happens, don't move."
The blue pearl shined with primal power and universal energy flooded toward the forest guardian as if it was the most natural thing to do. Slowly forming a conical funnel, the universal energy entered the tree in which the forest guardian was residing.
The tree glowed ever so slightly and the bark started to crack and expand. Various branches and offshoots broke out of the body of Acacia and wrapped around Icarth.
Through all this, Icarth stayed stock still even when his senses screamed at him to move away from the encircling branches. After all, he knew deep down that if the forest guardian wanted to kill him, it wouldn't require this much trouble.
The growing branches and greenery wrapped around Icarth encasing him in a tight ball of branches, vines, and leaves.
Slowly but surely, flowers started to grow inside the barrier and each one released some pollen that forced Icarth into a slumber.
Outside the barrier, in the clearing, a large tree could be seen standing. A large empty hollow could be seen as it continued to grow. The barrier of thorns and branches was situated at its base, slowly sinking into the ground.
In front of the barrier, a tall humanoid figure stood extending its arm so that it merged into the barrier. The brambles and wines winded around its arm crawling up to its shoulder until it stopped.
".....Struze...." the figure murmured with its mesmerizing voice. It seemed deep in thought, a peerless blue pearl could be seen in the center of its face gazing at the barrier of the brambles.
Inside the barrier, the wines and twigs surrounded every inch of Icarth's body scanning it from the outside as the released pollen was scanning it from the inside.
'The treatment worked with no side effects.' Acacia noted, checking Icarth's body in detail. She had to do so to make sure that Icarth was faring well after the treatment.
'His body is abnormally tough for a low grade.'
'Muscles are enhanced with universal energy.'
'I see...Fewer pain receptors. That's why his pain tolerance is so good.'
After an hour of analyzing, Acacia released the barrier to reveal a slumbering Icarth.
Wines and leaves still adorned his body and hair, with the sleep-inducing flowers laying around him. All this formed a serene scene, one in which a young boy could be seen sleeping among nature like he was part of it as well.
Seeing this, Acacia sat down next to Icarth's peaceful figure.
'A perfect host....' Acacia sighed slightly. A rustle went through the surrounding trees in response to her.
'Fate is truly mysterious.'
Acacia sat down next to the slumbering boy, her hair of vines, creepers, and leaves with flowers intertwined within them cascaded down almost blending in with Icarth's flowery bed. Her body was composed entirely of redwood, with a light green dress that made her seem like a statue carved right out of wood. The moonlight cast its light on the new master and pupil resting in the clearing a scene which no beast dared to intrude upon.
With this, Acacia held a vigil next to Icarth, protecting him from anything that might affect his serene sleep.
After an hour, Icarth finally woke up.
His eyelashes fluttered, scattering the pollen from his lashes. Opening his eyes, Icarth saw the night sky.
But Icarth didn't get up immediately.
That was one of the best rests that he had gotten in a long long time. It just seemed right to him that he was laying like this covered by branches, vines, and leaves in the fresh night air.
Waking him from his reverie, Icarth heard his master's voice call out to him from beside him.
"You're awake." The same gravelly voice like the bark of trees scrapping against each other sounded out behind him.
Lifting himself out of the small pit, Icarth sat up from his bed of leaves, vines, creepers, and soft branches to face his master.
The tree had grown bigger from the last time he had seen it, but it was certainly his master as the blue pearl could be seen sitting comfortably in the hollow.
"Master," Icarth greeted rubbing his eyes.
"I have examined you, child. It seems that your body is as good as it can be for now. What you need is to train your skills now," Acacia told her pupil.
Icarth nodded.
"Now for the next hour, you will meditate to try to control the universal energy without actually seeing it."