Meanwhile, on the other side of the quadrant on New Sparta...
In a mystical dreamscape filled with tall towering trees, was a village of Elves. Their houses were perched atop these trees, with multiple vine bridges and overpasses connecting to each other.
A group of Elves were currently sitting on one of the largest bridges connecting two opposite sides of the forest together, holding their bows and pulling its string taut.
Then, they released it, shooting their arrows at the hay target below. Upon being struck, the hay bale suddenly exploded into a flurry of colorful powder of smoke that billowed out into the air like a volcanic eruption.
What followed after that was the harmonious sounds of zithers being played from somewhere inside the forest. The thick and dense foliage bounced these pleasurable sounds, making it seem ethereal and coming from the gods themselves.
"WE WELCOME YOU BACK, LADY FARREN!"
A guardian Elf wearing a cuirass made out of vines shouted at the top of his lungs, with his voice being echoed by the other Elves beside him.
Today was the return of their Lady Farren from her courageous and honorable trip out into the Queens region of the Royal Continent.
She had been travelling all around, pursuing any clues that talked about potential Darkwood reserves hidden in undiscovered tombs and natural mazes.
Now, Lady Farren was already a venerable warrior amongst their midst, hence her title as ’Lady’.
But it was only recently that she attained sort of a celebrity status within the rest of the Elven community here in New Sparta.
It wasn’t just because she had been retrieving Darkwood at a commensurate rate than others. But it was because of one other item that she brought back during one of her travels.
And that was none other than the magnificent Compound Bow!
This weapon was unlike any other. Its craftsmanship bested even that of the famous blacksmiths back in the Elven Kingdom. The power that could be purchased with this bow was unbelievable. Even a small kid could cut through large slabs of stone with a single carefree shot. And that wasn’t even using their Dao Hearts at all!
Not only that, but this Compound Bow was actually made out of Mithril. Real, unadulterated Mithril. That alone made it worthy to become the Elven Kingdom’s most treasured relic.
The fact that Lady Farren brought this mythical and legendary weapon into the hands of the Elves made her worthy of being called a leader by all the Elves here in New Sparta.
Hence, there was a lot of fanfare and tumultuous cheering upon her arrival.
Lady Farren, a middle-aged female Elf with flower petals braided into her hair, stepped out of the carriage and received the warm welcome of her community.
The male guardian Elf who announced her arrival immediately bowed and gave her veneration. "Lady Farren, it is an honor to serve you!"
Lady Farren nodded back at the Elf. "Did anything of interest happen while we were away?"
"We have retrieved a couple of Darkwood vines from certain individuals. One of them requested a meeting with you, and we obliged. They will be informed of your arrival soon."
"That is good to hear. Unfortunately, our travels didn’t amount to much," she said, crestfallen.
A lot of those leads ended up as duds or as traps. She persevered, thinking that she was bound to find at least one Darkwood out there. But it was a forlorn dream.
Wanting to forget about that, Lady Farren walked briskly towards the largest tree in the Elven Forest. She wanted to see the Darkwood they accumulated while they were gone.
As she walked, the male guardian Elf caught her up to speed with the rest of the events that transpired while she was away.
"We have been hearing some rumors about the Dwarven King making an appearance, but we don’t know for sure if it was legit..."
Lady Farren ignored that rumor.
"We have turned down alliances from most companies, as you requested Lady Farren. But there is a small population of Elves that are displeased with this."
This one, she wasn’t that concerned about. "It doesn’t matter."
The male Elf continued. "The other factions will get a foothold because of this, but like you said, it won’t matter. The Compound Bow is still too large of an influence for others to make a significant change."
Lady Farren resolved herself to find Michael and the Reborn company soon. It was just unfortunate that she couldn’t find time to go to Metropolis soon.
"What else has happened?"
"The Werewolves’ Lunar Celebrations are coming near. One of the tribes has made their game an archery competition. They have asked us and the other Elven Factions to participate."
This was expected. "Has she been practicing?"
The male elf looked troubled. "Uhh... that’s the thing, Lady Farren. She hasn’t touched a bow in almost a week."
Farren clicked her tongue. "That brat. Tell Lyra to come to my quarters later."
"Don’t discipline her too much, Lady Farren. She did just recently recover from her curse."
Most Elves treated Lyra like she was as fragile as glass.
Sure, the little girl used to be afflicted by the curse of the Dao Heart, but that changed ever since she took a hold of the Compound Bow.
Using the weapon seemed to have miraculously cured her of that disease.
"That’s exactly why I’m hard on her. She needs to keep using that bow or the curse could come back," Lady Farren said sternly.
The other Elves had nothing else to say after that.
Soon, they finally arrived at the bottom of the grandest tree in the forest. They all took their bows and shot it at a branch high up in the sky.
Their arrows, with string knotted on the fletchings, wrapped around the branch and allowed them to pull themselves upwards.
Finally, Lady Farren was back home.
She immediately entered her quarters and into her vault. And there, she saw the growing collection of Darkwood all neatly lined up on a velvet-lined cabinet.