Yeosang and Jongho accompanied Aleera down the hills and back toward the forest. The golem got a breather of fresh air after spending so much time sleeping, and he observed their surroundings, the season, and the animals that passed him. Jongho knew this intrigue all too well. The colours of the sky were rarely ever the same two days in a row and occasionally, the plants would move and lose their whirling leaves in what the family called wind. Jongho couldn't see or feel it, but he liked how it made everything swirl and move.

Yeosang didn't mention Seonghwa's fall to Aleera, since it didn't matter now anyway. Thus, Jongho also kept quiet. He didn't want to disrupt his fellow golem while he enjoyed his learning.

The dryad was at ease now that their diplomatic mission was a success. His flowers blossomed over his shoulders and his right cheek, and Jongho tried to mimic their shapes with his skin the same way he had carved tattoos into them before. Just like the sky, Yeosang was also an ever-shifting marvel to look at, donning pretty dresses every day. Sometimes he was more of a person, sometimes a whole tree, but mostly some fluid shape in between.

Jongho enjoyed looking at him. Yeosang was like Seonghwa in the healing and the joy he spread when he laughed, but he was gentler and strong, like nature's spirit itself.

After so many years, Jongho still resonated most with him.

"I'm impressed you ever managed to make the golems sign their peace treaty in the beginning," Yeosang chuckled when he peered back at Aleera, struggling to climb a hill on clumpy legs. They waited for him and Jongho neatly arranged his crystals around his shoulders so they looked like those fancy shoulder pieces San liked to wear on his uniforms. Maybe Yeosang would like them? He mentioned many times how attractive San looked.

Although Jongho also knew he was the most handsome golem. Seonghwa told him. So surely, he rivalled San's beauty.

"Me too," Jongho replied when he thought back to that memory. Everything had been so foreign and new to him then, all those new people, the many new places he visited, and the concept of being married to Seonghwa. He didn't know yet how gorgeously the elf blushed when his naked body wound on another and how strong his spirit was compared to his delicate frame.

Still, Jongho was glad he followed the whims of the golems to marry him. He watched as history was written and as Seonghwa continued to show his strength and become more and more beautiful. In a way, he was mightier than any golem. Because he moved when he had to.

Jongho admired that about him.

"How has your time been? Did the emperor treat you well?" Aleera asked when he caught up to them and they continued their walk to the far forest.

Jongho nodded wisely.

"He treated me as an equal to his other husbands and himself, even if he didn't have to. I learned many things from him. Feelings and friendship and love," he shared, and Aleera's curiosity didn't show on his outside since Jongho only expressed nuances of his thoughts for the others to read, like his expressions with his colours or movements. Usually, golems just spoke or watched for anything they needed to know. Listened to the stone around them.

"Maybe I should also go travel. I don't expect marriage, but it's an excuse to stay away from the others. They always send me out when I just found the most comfortable position after a decade," Aleera grumbled, and Jongho snickered with mischief, because he would do the same. Just so one of the elders would be forced to move.

"How awful," Yeosang shared his compassion, but Aleera was untouched.

"There is much to see. If the empire is changing so much you ask us to come, there will be new things to learn."

"You will see rare creatures at our meeting," Jongho foretold him. "The gorgeous elves of the water and the oldest of our ancestors, the titans."

"Titans?" Aleera perked up, knowing myth and legend from their clan, but not what Jongho learned.

So Jongho indulged him on their way back, recounting everything Asteria told him word for word. Yeosang listened serenely, feeding the birds that came to flutter down on his crown with seeds and berries.

Aleera was fascinated by his tales and he desperately also wanted to meet the titans now. When Jongho used Seonghwa's usual phrase and promised to introduce him, he felt the closest thing akin to excitement in the vibration of Aleera's rock.

When they entered the forest, they hushed their voices. Jongho didn't want to disturb the serene nature and Aleera was busy looking around this place he hadn't seen before since golems used no roads, they just marched straight ahead towards their destination, across mountains and through water since the elements didn't hold them back. He marvelled at the magical forest until they found Sylvia awaiting them. She had two other walnuts with her and though they all could shift as they wanted, they still looked distinctively different to Jongho. The colour of their bark, the decoration they fashioned. Yeosang preferred wearing many more details than others of his grove, but Sylvia's heavy branches were laden with age.

Sylvia greeted the golem with them and Aleera politely greeted her back, as he learned at Seonghwa's court. Together, they continued on their path along the border. Sylvia was as curious as Aleera about the stories Jongho had to tell, so he kept the topics flowing. Sometimes Yeosang talked with them, other times he simply relished nature and the kisses of sunlight on his leaves. It was a long walk, but they were all at peace with one another and enjoyed their time. Aleera sat with them when the dryads halted for a break and Sylvia told them how she mourned the forests of the Crystal Sphere, once so thriving and magical but now charred and not daring to regrow in over ten years.

Jongho also missed the home he found among the elves. He always found it beautiful there, and he wanted to sit in Seonghwa's gardens again and play his music. To hear the song of Seonghwa's soul echoing through his castle and to see the others at peace in their areas of the castle.

Everything was possible now. Empire or no empire, the elves would return to their lands and they no longer had to fear any orcs hunting them down. Sylvia promised to help them grow their forests anew and Aleera chipped in, offering to rebuild their homes.

Seonghwa would have his home back, with the help of his many allies. And maybe it would be even more peaceful for them if he didn't become emperor again.

Since they were on the topic of the future and their ideas on it, the dryad eldest addressed Yeosang.

"Tell me, how are the emperor's elves doing now? Any recovery among the others? Those in the grove regained their strength quickly, thanks to their faith in him. They already began disassembling those ghastly orc forts to build huts from the wood. They are more energetic than ever," she said, and Yeosang grinned brightly at that news.

"Seonghwa sparked hope among many. Those who were hurt worse are still recovering, but Seonghwa joined a whole crowd of them to arrange this meeting. Both the leftover rebels hiding in the kingdoms nearby and those who have already recovered to accompany him. It's not everyone, but enough people to speak for their kind could muster the strength," Yeosang informed her and Sylvia looked delighted by the news.

"Soon, all of them may march for their home again. I hope to see the nymphs at the conference. Their presence in the grove was a rare occasion for us," Sylvia replied, and Jongho couldn't agree more. They were so different from any land dweller, the nymphs. He liked the colour of Lillwen's hair.

They wandered along the border between the Crystal Sphere and the Kingdom of Man, then the Cliffs of Zephyr. On their way, they got a good look across the nearby leftovers of burnt elven villages and the sad remainders of the forest. Some goblins dug their way through the ashes in the distance, but the two groups didn't bother each other. Nothing sprouted yet, but some of the fog had lifted and light dared touch upon the blood-soaked soil again.

That night, they took one more break near the meeting spot to gather their energy. Yeosang found Jongho to brief him on their schedule. They were still in the proper time window, though they were likely the last to arrive, simply because the others had either magic or mounts at their disposal.

"Let's check if Pebble found her way back once we're there. Make sure she didn't fall into a hole," Yeosang said, and the character trait he shared closest with Seonghwa was definitely his ability to worry about others. Only that Yeosang did it quieter, not rushing in to risk his own life for everyone else. Jongho witnessed it often, that silent care of his.

"She found back out of the dragon's lair, so I'm sure she will find back to us," Jongho reassured him. There wasn't much that could harm a golem.

But speaking of the dragons, Jongho wondered what became of them. No one saw them rise into the sky after the war, so they were likely still slumbering in their spots. Would they still serve the elves? Or was that bond broken now that the elves had left first, strictly speaking? Jongho knew the titans would be curious to encounter one of the dragons, and Nox Eltanin deserved an apology for Jongho denying it of its reward, but if it looked at the stars, Eltanin might understand that Seonghwa's destiny had different things planned for him.

Perhaps Jongho would get an opportunity to communicate with a dragon properly in the future. From how he knew Seonghwa, he might bring them new treaties to sign with their claws.

The last stretch of their journey was uneventful. It was raining, but the dryads gladly soaked up the water and the golems kept marching, unbothered by the dark clouds. Soon, they found the forest Seonghwa told them to visit, heard it in the whisper of its trees that something grand was happening in their midst.

Hongjoong's mages lit purple torches to guide their visitors closer, and Jongho could feel the magic thrumming in the air. They passed the barrier without an issue, however, and soon found themselves at the encampment Seonghwa had prepared. It was surprisingly extensive, with many tents among the trees that reached far into the woodland and were assorted to shelter the races among each other, offering a spot to mingle in the middle, just as the Crystal Sphere had once been. Jongho heard their whispers about Seonghwa, who was floating around, tending to the people and giving orders. Most of their visitors hadn't known of his survival yet and were stunned to witness him.

Everyone else had already gathered. Seonghwa with as many of his elves as could join them to witness the decision for their future, Hongjoong's mages, who set up the camp for everyone, San's seraphim who ensured the general safety, Yunho's human king with a group of elite soldiers in armour that covered every bit of their skin, and Hlin with a small fellowship of her people, who were drinking and celebrating around the fire. Mingi was near their shining star with Aodhán and the angel twins, staying in the shadows so he wouldn't draw anyone's wrath.

The dwarves had arrived, Crius and Asteria sat in the clearing nearby, carefully squeezed among the trees, and the nymphs glided around the encampment, smirking their sinister smiles at the human men ogling them.

The dryads and Aleera went to greet Seonghwa, and he welcomed them with his ongoing glow, happy to see so many allies gathered even when the many tasks should wear on him.

It was peaceful among them, everyone equally intrigued to hear out Seonghwa and discuss their future.

But Yeosang remembered someone else was missing and his head snapped around the moment Jongho also finished his headcount.

"What do you think our troublemaker is up to this time?"