Many people across the continent were surprised, and even a bit frightened, seeing the pillar of green light reaching to the heavens.
-It has begun.
Send an additional ten thousand troops to the border with the Elven Forest.
No human enters that place without my permission.
The emperor ordered when he saw the light from his palace.
-At once, your majesty.
A general standing next to the monarch said and rushed to give out the orders.
Everyone in the court knew by now what was going on, and for once, the whole royal council was unanimous in their decision to protect the newly born Dryad, at all costs.
And they were not the only ones, as many powerful organizations had the same idea, including the shadow blades, and many other underworld organizations, which all agreed never to take a job if the target was a dryad, and even kill anyone stupid enough to propose such a thing.
The sects and guilds were also on the same page, in this matter, issuing orders, never to try to harm a dryad, under a death penalty.
Back in the Great Forest City, the elves all waited patiently for their turn to enter the circles, which would not take that long as the priestesses were replaced only a few minutes after the ritual began.
Since then, every few minutes, another elf would enter a circle, before their predecessor left.
Thanks to that, the mana supply to the throne was uninterrupted and steady.
Soon, it was Paul's and Elaina's turn to enter the circles, and no one protested, knowing by now that they were the ones who brought the lady to their forests.
Additionally, the elders told them beforehand that some mana from the human could help the transformation process by easing the burden on the lady's body.
As soon as Paul entered the circle, he felt his mana being drained.
Luckily, he transformed most of his mana into nature element beforehand, so he had a lot of it to spare right now.
To many elves' surprise, he lasted for more than half an hour before reaching half of his capacity, and swapping places with another elf.
-Good work, now go and rest till tomorrow.
The elder said, approaching him and Elaina.
-How long will this ritual take?
Paul asked, sensing that the girl on a throne was soaking up the power like a sponge, without any visible effect.
-That is unclear.
The elder answered.
-The Queen's seed will only sprout once it has enough energy stored, and as you can see, it needs a lot of energy, but that's a good thing, since the more power it needs, the more powerful the dryad will be.
The elder explained.
Hearing that, Paul nodded and said goodbye to the elder while leaving with Elaina.
The same guards who brought them there waited for them outside and escorted them back to the guest house.
As they left, Paul saw hundreds of golden guards stationed around the temple, and thousands of elves waiting for their turn to enter the circles.
Among them was Elaina's former clan, but no one from it so much as looked at them, and Elaina was visibly relieved that they decided not to stir any drama in front of the temple and golden guards.
As they arrived, there was a small feast waiting for them.
-It looks like the elders thought about everything.
Paul smiled, seeing the table full of delicious-looking food.
-It's obvious that we need to replenish our energy after being half drained, and the food will help with that.
Elaina smiled, also happy to see the food since she was getting hungry.
After their meal, both Paul and Elaina cultivated to restore their mana, which took them a few hours, since they could not dual-cultivate, and Paul didn't want to set up a noise-cancelling array.
Mainly because he had no intention of antagonizing his hosts, since most elves had a hostile attitude towards humans.
For the next three days, the ceremony went on uninterrupted, and every day the two of them were brought to add their mana to the others.
Even though it was slow, there were now visible changes to the girl's body as her hair grew long and turned green, in addition to her accelerated growth, as she no longer looked like she was eight or nine.
Instead, she looked like she was at least thirteen or even older.
-According to our texts, this is normal during the transformation, as every dryad emerges as an adult after her transformation ends.
The elder explained, when Paul asked about it.
Now it also made sense why she was wearing robes that were too big for her when she was brought in.
-How much longer do you think it will take?
Elaina asked the elder.
-If I had to guess, then it should be over today or tomorrow at the latest.
The elder answered, and just as he did, the pillar of light turned golden, before it shrank and enveloped the girl like a cocoon.
-Or it might end right now.
The surprised elder mumbled.
At the rate the seed was consuming mana, the elders estimated that it would take at least a few more hours before it had enough energy to sprout.
However, it seemed that they were mistaken, and the seed had possessed the necessary power much earlier.
-What now?
Paul asked, surprised at this development.
-Observe.
The elder whispered.
Soon, a small ball of light separated from the cocoon and drifted before one of the priestesses.
The elf extended her hands, and a golden seed dropped onto them.
-Congratulations, Cerin.
The head priestess said with a smile.
-You have been chosen to plant the lady's tree.
It's the greatest honor for any priestess, but you need to make haste and plant the seed as soon as possible.
Did you see the place our lady has chosen?
The head priestess asked, and the young elf nodded.
-Yes, it's next to the mirror lake.
The young priestess answered.
-Then make haste.
-Ten guards will accompany you as escorts.
Laira, the commander of the Golden guards, added, and on her signal, ten Golden guards approached the young priestess.
Not even a minute later, they departed.
-What is going on?
Elaina asked.
-The lady has chosen her tree's caretaker and showed her where to plant her tree.
This means that her transformation was successful, and she will wake up as soon as her tree sprouts, which should be soon since the lake is not far from here.