Chapter 359: Polinators

The Great Tree lowered one massive vine, the leaves glowing faintly.

"Your next mission will be the Glow-Moths. Without pollination, nothing else can thrive. You will find the Glow-Moths in the Whispering Glades."

Renkai grinned. "Both within a few days’ journey. We can start today if we prepare."

Patricia clapped her hands once, excited. "And I want to help! Glow-Moths! Imagine the colors!"

Lira smiled, warmed by her friends’ enthusiasm.

"We’ll need to gather carrying crates, protective wards for the moths, and calming herbs for the Burrowers. Let’s organize groups—some from the Academy can come too."

Serelyth stretched her wings. "Students helping? That might be fun."

The Great Tree approved with a rustle of powerful branches.

"Yes. Let them see how true ecosystems form. Let them understand what balance means."

By midday, several students,those that Lira trusted, from the Academy arrived—some of Lira’s own multi-elemental class. They were wide-eyed, eager, and slightly overwhelmed by the Grove’s size and magic.

One young student, Talia, stared at the Fénix flocks with her mouth open. "They actually live here... this is unbelievable."

Lira placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You’ll learn how to care for them too. Everything here responds to harmony."

Another student, Joren, knelt near the fire plants, awe in his voice. "Professor... you built all this?"

Lira shook her head gently. "No. The Grove grows itself. I just listen and help."

The Great Tree hummed approvingly.

Supplies were gathered:

reinforced boxes lined with moss

gentle containment runes

calming incense

soft lanterns infused with moonlight magic

binding ropes made of plant fiber

seed pouches and nutrient powders

Each student got a small copy-book from Lira to record observations.

"We don’t just bring the creatures," she told them. "We must understand how they live, what they need, and how they keep balance. Every detail matters."

The students nodded seriously.

When everything was ready, the first two groups set off in different directions, crossing meadows and streams as they left the Grove’s heart.

Lira led her group toward the Stone-Root Highlands—giant rocks jutting from the earth like massive ancient bones. The wind was cool, carrying a faint mineral scent. The ground felt firmer, crusted with layers of stone and old roots.

Serelyth hovered above. "The Burrowers love these conditions. They dig tunnels that loosen the land and help plants breathe."

Lira nodded. "And we need that soft soil in the Grove."

They stepped carefully, mindful of hidden holes.

A few minutes later, a low rumbling sound echoed under their feet.

One of the students gasped. "Is that them?"

"Yes," Lira murmured. "They’re close."

Another vibration followed—gentle, rhythmic.

Thalanir pointed to a cracked stone ridge. "Look."

Small round creatures emerged, dust shaking off their crystal-spiked backs. They sniffed the air curiously, then waddled closer, unafraid. Their fur was soft, glowing faintly with earth mana.

"They’re... adorable," a student whispered.

Lira knelt and extended her hand, palm open. A Burrower approached, sniffed her fingers, and then nuzzled her wrist.

"They trust," Serelyth said softly. "Maybe they remember her from before."

Together, they coaxed more Burrowers into the moss-lined boxes, humming calming melodies and spreading the herbs.

Once secured safely, they began the journey back.

Patricia, Maelin and few students reached the Whispering Glades—a forest of slender trees with pale leaves that chimed as the wind passed through.

"That sound..." a student whispered. "It’s like singing."

Maelin smiled. "The Glow-Moths follow the chime. When the trees sing, they come out."

As twilight fell, tiny glowing shapes emerged—moths with wings like stained glass, each color shifting every second.

The students gasped in amazement.

Patricia whispered an attracting spell and raised a lantern. The moths swirled around her, painting the air with shimmering light.

"Easy," she murmured. "We’ll carry you home."

With gentle hands and glowing runes, they gathered whole clusters safely.

Both groups returned near sunset—tired but exhilarated.

Lira’s group brought more than twenty Earth-Burrowers.

Patricia’s group arrived with several glowing swarms of moths, their lanterns radiating soft multicolored light.

The Great Tree greeted them with a warm rustle.

"Well done. These will help the Grove breathe and bloom."

Lira opened the boxes, letting the Burrowers crawl into the fresh soil she had softened earlier. They immediately began digging, creating tunnels that aerated the ground.

The Glow-Moths fluttered toward the fire plants, pollinating gently, their wings lighting up the grove like drifting stars.

Everything felt alive.

Everything felt right.

As night fell, Lira stood on a small hill and gazed over the Grove:

Fénix perched in flaming trees

Glow-Moths drifting like colorful spirits

Burrowers moving through soil

Water creatures swimming in the streams

Students recording everything with excitement

Her friends laughing, planning, helping

She breathed deeply.

"Great Tree," she whispered, "this ecosystem is becoming more... beautiful than I imagined."

The Tree answered softly:

"And there is still much more to come. Night-creatures, wind-spirits, guardian flowers, ice-bloom plants... you have only just begun."

Lira’s heart warmed.

She placed her hand on the Book.

"Then let’s continue building this world. Together."

New Mission for you will be The Pollinators of the Everflare Grove, but not take some well deserved rest.

For several days after the arrival of the Fenix flocks, Lira allowed herself a rare pause. Not true rest—she still tended plants, checked the portal stones, taught her students at the Academy, and welcomed new creature arrivals—but a softer rhythm, one that let her observe the Grove’s evolution with clear, steady eyes.

The fire-trees she had grown with the Giant Tree’s potion glowed warmly through the dusk, their crimson leaves pulsing softly as the Fenixes nestled inside them. Their feathers shimmered like molten gold as they descended at night to warm the young fire-plants, brushing petals with heat that encouraged growth. The sight soothed her heart.

The Grove was becoming... alive in ways she could have never imagined when she first discovered it.

But there was still emptiness—vast meadows where wind brushed untouched grasses, wide sky-lit openings where no creature flew, flowering vines that bloomed but produced no fruit.

On the seventh evening, when the moon rose silver-blue and the Fenix trees hummed with quiet fire-light, the Giant Tree spoke.

Its deep voice vibrated through the Grove like distant thunder.

"Lira... you have brought fire, water, earth, and sky into balance. But now the Grove needs its breath of life. It needs the Pollinators."

Lira blinked, startled. "Pollinators... like bees? Do such creatures still exist in the wild?"

The Giant Tree exhaled, a long sigh that rustled every leaf in the Grove.

"They existed once in great numbers—whole colonies of Lightweaving Bees, Emberwings, Honey Sprites, and the great royal Azure Melissae. They shaped forests, meadows, orchards. Without them, entire ecosystems collapsed."

Renkai stepped closer, attentive. "Have they vanished?"

"Not entirely," the Tree said, voice heavy with age and regret. "But they hide. Deep under mountains. In forgotten caverns. In forests burned by war. In ruins swallowed by vines. They have been hunted, captured, and driven from their homes. Many species are gone forever... but some remain, waiting for someone who can offer them sanctuary."

Lira’s heart tightened. She looked around the Grove—the massive glowing mushrooms, the fire trees, the serene ponds where Turtle-Kin swam, the gentle wind swirling around the Kirin, the distant thundering of Salamanders playing near volcanic stones.

All of it... depended on balance.

Flowers needed pollinators. Fruit needed pollination. Magical herbs needed specific species to activate their alchemical potency.

Without pollinators, the Grove was alive but incomplete.

She swallowed softly. "I want to bring them here... but how do I find them? Where do I even start?"

The Great Tree’s bark glowed faintly, like veins of amber illuminated from within.

"You must begin with the Everflare Meadow," it said.

"There, a species called the Sunhollow Bees once lived. Their honey could heal burns and cure poisons. But their hives were destroyed during the wars, and only fragments of their colonies may remain."

A glowing cluster of pollen-shaped lights drifted down and hovered before Lira, forming a shimmering map on the air.

"Your first mission is to locate the Sunhollow colony remnants. Without them, the Grove cannot flourish. But be warned, Lira..."

The lights dimmed, trembling like frightened creatures.

"They are guarded. Something else lives in the Everflare Meadow now. Something that preys on what remains of the bees."

Serelyth—who had been perched on a root above—raised her head sharply, dragon eyes narrowing.

"Prey on bees? That requires either speed or cunning. Or venom."

Maelin shivered. "What kind of creature hunts pollinators?"

The Giant Tree’s reply was low, rumbling.

"One born of shadow and hunger. A creature that should not exist... yet does."

Lira felt a cold, determined calm settle into her chest.

"Then we will protect the bees," she said.

"For the Grove. For the land. For every species still hiding and waiting."

The Giant Tree nodded, branches trembling in approval.

"Prepare yourselves. This mission will test harmony—not power. And the fate of every plant and magical herb in the Grove will depend on your success."

Lira turned to her companions—Serelyth, Maelin, Patricia, Renkai, Thalanir, and even little Fluffy, who perked his ears as if volunteering.

She tightened her cloak and breathed deeply.