Hill surveyed the forest once more and chose a Livewood tree as the heart of the Forest Formation. As long as a Druid was present, they could speak directly with the tree. Nothing that happened in the forest could be hidden from them.
He looked down and asked gently, "I'm Hill, lord of Aglaia. Who's hiding behind the trees?"
Unless they were a god of the Natural Elemental Law, no one could wrest control of plants from Hill. The Nature Consciousness of Telashir doted on him so much that, wherever he went, the native Nature Consciousness liked him twice as much.
So Hill had noticed the figures who teleported in as soon as Purvi stopped. He could even sense that these Mithril Elves had come from a small grove of Gloom Trees and Shadowcrown Trees at the forest's center.
Gloom Trees were suited to treehouses. Shadowcrown Trees towered skyward, their canopies blotting out the sun. They not only helped Elves conceal themselves, but also made excellent rope. Their wood was ideal for Elves who wanted to cook: it burned slowly and produced almost no smoke. A few slender branches could keep a campfire going all night.
That place was probably where the Mithril Elves had hidden all these years. No wonder so many Livewood trees had appeared.
This way of hiding was useless against a master of the Natural Elemental Law... but someone like that would have no reason to trouble Elves.
Three Mithril Elves slipped lightly out from behind the trees. In front stood a female Elf with golden hair and violet eyes that shimmered with starlight. Though she was only about five feet tall, she had a far more commanding presence than the two male Elves behind her. One had red hair, the other silver, but both had