The Silver Gardens are the Wilderness owned and defended by Noble Blood Certa. Though smaller than the Golden Forest of Blood Denegis, it holds a more diverse fauna than the Golden Forest ever could, since the Silver Gardens has inside it, depending on the entrance, a different biome.
And even though accessible from the inside, it is of utmost difficulty to enter the other Gardens once inside one of them.
The Silver Gardens are also surrounded by giant trees made of white stone that grow upwards to two hundred feet towards the sky, towering over anything on the outside, and hiding everything that is happening on the inside.
They also have three entrances that lead to the three Gardens themselves, as Blood Certa calls them.
The Jaguar Path leads to a rainforest, the Moose Path leads to a taiga, and the Turtle Path leads to a wetland.
Or at least a small form of the real thing.
Though naturally occurring, the Silver Gardens have yet to be explained by the scholars of the Archivum Citivas on how they came to be, how they're always changing, and how, despite constant change in both entrances and biomes, an entire species of turtles could just vanish from overhunting without the Vita Herself intervening.
However, Blanc did not think that to be the case, and may perhaps have just learned how and where to hide themselves from the eyes of the greedy humans who found value in their death.
The Turtle Path, which leads to the wetlands, is, as the name suggests, the place where the turtles used to live and the place that held most of the population of turtles.
The Jaguar Path also held some turtles inside, but they were rarely spotted and were considered more of a mistake than a naturally occurring fauna inside the Garden.
Luckily, once inside, he was in no rush to leave, wanting to take their time in getting stronger, all agreeing that a month inside, while foraging and harvesting what they could as they attempted to pass through the Gardens, would be enough to have all, including Miyanna, get considerably stronger.
And hopefully, find enough turtles inside for all of them to get a Black Mark from harvesting as many as they can.
The month of hunting was decided upon in the last two days, since before they planned to stay inside for at least two to three months, but since they received the gold from the Metamorphs, they knew they could just buy more once they were out of this Domain and have ample time to get Celine to safety before her pregnancy advanced too much.
"Any questions?" Blanc asked as they walked towards the Jaguar Path.
"Yes," Kael replied, raising his hand, "Besides turtles are we hunting for something else as specific as turtles, or just hunting for whatever we can find?"
"Though most of the beasts could offer good Marks from their Raw Vita, it would be best if half of what we manage to hunt are some form of predators."
"That sounds awful," Miyanna muttered, imagining what this month would feel like.
"Don't worry, my love, the Jaguar Path may be the most dangerous of them all, but we will be fine," Blanc said, sounding only half-certain before expanding. "As long as we stay focused and alert, that is. One moment of carelessness, and we could end up wounded… or worse."
"How will we share the Raw Vita?" Lune asked, convinced by Blanc's poor answer.
However, hers a valid question. One that usually comes with a hierarchy included, especially when they talk about beasts that hunt alone, instead of a pack, as the wolves they killed before in the Golden Forest.
"Hmm," Blanc thought for a moment, "I think it depends on the beast and how many there are."
"An example?" Celine requested.
"If, let's say, we find a lone jaguar, we must make sure that Miyanna kills it and receives its Raw Vita. But if we find more later on, we can decide then who needs it most. For now, Miyanna needs Raw Vita the most since she has none. But if we fight against more beasts at once, just as before, whatever you kill is yours."
"I-I'm happy you prioritize me," Miyanna muttered, her cheeks crimson.
"Oh, sweet sister, it's true, but this isn't a love declaration. You need it most. Once you harvest your first one, you will understand why," Celine giggled.
"Exactly," Blanc nodded, "A body without Raw Vita is too fragile. Its vulnerability to sickness, its shorter lifespan, its weakness, and its lack of adaptability make it very difficult to have a compelling and fulfilling life."
"I see…" Miyanna muttered, realizing how much it mattered.
Blanc chuckled, "And that's just scratching the surface on why it is important to harvest Raw Vita."
"And how do we share the turtles if we find any?" Lune followed up.
Blanc thought for a while about the answer, but could not come up with one that satisfied his mind. "I'm not sure, Little Flower. We can decide that once we confirm they really are out there."
Fifteen minutes later, they passed the south side of the city of Kanat and were now walking on the road that took them towards the Jaguar Path.
The path was just as Blanc had noticed on the outskirts of the city. Devoid of any life that protected the entrance of the Gardens.
Or at least that's what Blanc thought.
In the distance, coming towards them from the entrance of the Silver Gardens, two male voices could be heard.
"Hide, quickly," Blanc whispered to the others, pointing behind the normal trees that marked the path forward towards the Jaguar Path.
With no questions asked, even though they had not heard anything yet, they all listened to Blanc's instructions and hid behind the trunks of the trees, waiting for whatever approached to pass so they could continue.
"Yeah, and my brother rode out with the Patriarch to put down the beasts," said one of the two men.
"Damn, lucky for him. From what I saw, he did not take that large of an entourage, which means the Patriarch has great trust in your brother," said the other as they approached Blanc and the other's location slowly.
"Fuck him, he does not deserve that, and my father does not have that great a view on the Patriarch either; he calls him soft," said the first man.
The second man laughed, making his metal armor clink loudly as they were passing the exact spot Blanc and the others were hiding near, "I don't know, man, he gives off the wrong feeling, but in a good way. I think the Patriarch is not to be fucked with. I suggest you calm down your father before he finds out."
"Haha, the Patriarch can skin him alive for all I care. At least then I might finally get some of the inheritance he keeps hoarding, as if he's taking it with him when he dies," the first man said.
"We could just kill him ourselves and split the money, if you're up for it," the second soldier suggested.
"Hmm… tempting," the first replied, and the two burst into laughter as they continued on, heading slowly toward Kanat.
Once they were past, Blanc signaled with his hand for the others to follow quietly, and they began moving in the opposite direction of the guards, toward the entrance.
Five minutes later, they reached an eight-foot opening carved into one of the stone trees. It stood unguarded, silently welcoming the five of them, almost enough to make them forget the guards' earlier conversation and how unsettling it had been.
Through the opening, they could see the rainforest beyond, as if the doorway were a portal to an entirely different world, beckoning them forward.
But as tempting as it was, Blanc did not wish to rush inside.
"We rest here for a bit, then we go in," Blanc instructed.
"Why? Those creepy bastards could return anytime," Miyanna offered a good counter.
"I agree with Miyanna, my love, I think we can rest inside," Celine added.
"I can hear them sooner than they could see us, so you don't have to worry. As for why now, it's safer," Blanc began, "Both the climate and the dangers inside are different, and it will be hard to focus properly on resting, so it will be wise to do it now."
Hearing his reasoning, neither Celine nor Miyanna could deny that there was truth to all his words, so without arguing further, all agreed to eat, hydrate themselves, and rest for an hour, or until the guards could be heard returning.
Though resting, this was the best time for Blanc to remind all of the dangers this Garden posed.
"It will be warm and pretty hard to breathe in due to all the humidity," he began, "But you will have to keep long clothes on. Insect bites and venomous beasts are no joke. Better to sweat and drink too much water than get ill from poison, understood?"
All nodded at his question.
"Kael, Lune, never go too far from us, and during the night, even if we light fires to keep insects and predators away, make sure to never go without an adult too far away from camp to solve your business, understood?" Blanc asked the twins, who replied with yet another sharp nod.
Blanc then turned towards his first wife, "Celine, my love, if you feel ill and want to leave, we will do so as soon as possible. Please, do not remain silent. Your health is more important than all the turtles in existence, okay?"
"Yes," Celine replied, a warm, loving smile on her face.
"Lastly, Miyanna, my love," Blanc spoke, turning towards her, which made her straighten her back, "If we have to fight, make sure you learn as much as possible, but do not die trying to. Let me go in and handle what you cannot, okay?"
"Okay," Miyanna replied, embarrassed.
"If there is anything else I missed, I will let you know inside. Ready?" Blanc asked the group.
And from their nods full of confidence, it was clear that they were as ready as they could be, so without another word, Blanc took a step inside the Jaguar Path.