After everything was settled, Darian entered the city together with Niara and Ailik. They moved calmly toward the Nether Tree. When they got close to the trunk, Ailik took a deep breath and knelt toward that divinity.
That was a ritual all Nethergod Spirits had to perform to receive blessing and knowledge. However, to do that, they first had to find someone with whom they shared a connection. It worked like a test, where the Nethergod Spirits brought different people from time to time to confirm that bond.
She murmured a few words, and it didn't even take ten seconds before a leaf fell from high up the tree, slowly shrinking until it was about a handspan in size.
But the leaf didn't go to her. It floated toward Darian instead.
He took it, already knowing what to do; it was the same process as before.
This time, however, he only heard a calm voice in his mind. 'Thank you.'
