episode 238; THE SIGIL ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM! THE TRIBAL CLASS OF SIGILS! THE RUPTURING PART III: THE SKY GRYPHON HOUSE PART II: MEETING BAHN VIII

Joseph walked out of his house and into the Village. The Village hadn't changed much in over four hundred years except for the large shady trees that blanketed it. It was almost as though the Village was gradually reverting into forest. Another thing to note was that almost every Villager had a domestic farm. The outskirts of the Village were also walled with trees.

"Joseph, could you approach one of the trees. I want to examine them" I spoke within Joseph's mind.

Joseph walked to the tree and touched it. I smiled.

"Your Chief Bahn VIII is really an amazing man. I see…so this is how he's managed to ford off the Weaver Of Calamity's Forces for so long" I said.

"What do you mean?" Joseph asked.

"For now, let's hurry to Bahn VIII's residence" I said.

Joseph hurried along the streets. Soon, we stood before a house at the Northernmost part of the Village. It was similar in size to the other houses in the Village and was quite neat with its own farm.

"It appears resources are equitably distributed in the Village. Bahn VIII and his descendants upheld our agreement these past Four Hundred Years" I thought.

"Chief Bahn VIII is a very good man. Though the Village for the most parts depend on rations for survival, everything is distributed equitably" Joseph admitted.

A Guard walked up to us.

"Joseph, shouldn't you be working on maintaining the walls?" he asked.

"Walls? I don't see any Walls" I whispered within Joseph's mind.

"By 'walls' he means the trees" Joseph explained.

"I see, makes sense" I said.

"Talking to yourself now Joseph?" the Guard asked.

"I need to see Chief Bahn VIII. It's urgent" Joseph said.

"Natalia arrived a few minutes ago. She informed us you'd be arriving soon" the Guard said.

"Natalia?" Joseph wondered.

I smiled.

"Another Guardian is working through her just as I am working through you" I explained.

"I see" Joseph said.

"Follow me" the Guard said and escorted us into Bahn VIII's residence.

"How come the Guard can't perceive your presence?" Joseph asked curiously.

"That's because I'm utilizing the Private Messaging setting instead of the Conference Call Setting" I explained.

"Whatever are you talking about?" Joseph asked.

Soon, we stood in Bahn VIII's Meeting Hall. He was seated amongst his elders. A girl was in their midst.

"Natalia?" Joseph stared in surprise.

"Hey there Joseph, you wouldn't believe what happened to me this morning" she said excitedly.

Joseph pulled her aside and whispered sharply.

"Actually, I think I would. My reflection spoke to me this morning and it wasn't really my reflection. He said he was an Ancient Guardian" Joseph blurted out.

"You too?!" Natalia exclaimed in excitement.

Bahn VIII just watched them in amusement.

"San, Ciella? If I'm right, those are the names of our Ancient Guardians" Bahn VIII called out.

"I see the knowledge of our names was passed down. What I'm wondering is how you forgot all about the Stellar Systems" I said.

Everyone in the room could hear my voice now.

"We were taken by surprise by the Weaver Of Calamity's assault over Four Hundred Years ago. During the initial assault, his Army cut off all access to our Water Supply, our Trade Partners, our Hunting Grounds and our Farmlands. We were forced to retreat into this Village. Fortunately, our ancestor, Bahn IV foresaw a potential attack by the Weaver Of Calamity and guided us to raise these Tap Rooted and Fibrous Rooted Trees. Their shady branches and leaves shield us from the Weaver Of Calamity's Aerial Scout Units" Bahn VIII explained.

"But that's not their greatest feature is it?" I asked with a smirk.

"No, it isn't. According to records left by our ancestor Bahn I, the Guardians had placed a drop of Phoenix Tears into the Ocean. Some of the Ocean Water still makes it to the Village via deep underground filters and are nested in hollow cavities underground. By planting Tap Rooted Trees around the Village, their roots are able to extract the Water filled with Phoenix Tears and this is stored in the Stem and Branches of the Trees. The Village is thus shielded by a Wall Of Trees filled with Phoenix Tears which are debilitating to the Weaver Of Calamity's Army. However, the Weaver Of Calamity's Army of late have been resorting to long range attacks. They've already torn down most of the trees near the coast. They avoid the Sea though. We estimate about Four Years before they make it to this Village" Bahn VIII said.

"Well done Bahn VIII. You protected your people just like a true leader would. There is a Mountainous Island just a few miles off the Coast. It could serve as a new Village for your people. Within it are vast fields and it is also a strategically more defensible position. That's where Ciella and I are now and we'd like for you all to join us there however since the path to the Mountain has been cut off by the Weaver Of Calamity's forces, we're going to have to temporarily reclaim some of the land his army has taken from your people. First, I'll need to account for our current resources as well as the resources we've lost to the Weaver Of Calamity's Army. Everything starts from there" I said.