Spirit Taming

Chapter 429: Snowy Peace

"How is it snowing but there isn't a cloud above us?" Reese looked up and saw that the snow was seemingly coming out of nowhere. He was very unsettled and wondered if there was a beast around that could affect the weather around them.

"It is the trees. There are many that can affect the weather or will change the environment when they grow." One of the guards answered quickly before keeping the pace with the moving carriage. This was enough for Clark to look at the trees specifically.

'Snowing willow- rare

The snowing willow is a very rare tree depending on the area it is found in. Whether expected or not, the snowing willow can grow in places with lesser ice energy, therefore, it is found in some fancy gardens. It will always produce pollen that gathers small bits of moisture. Then it falls from the tiny white flowers to the base of its tree.

This will meet the flowers that grow on its roots causing smaller seeds to form.

The snowing willow will often be grown for looks and not materials. However, there are some that prefer to carve wooden staffs from the snowing willow to assist with ice type magic skills. Some beasts will even prefer to slumber in the branches of the snowing willow because of the calm ice energy that radiates from it constantly…'

This proved to be very interesting, and as Clark looked on the ground, he found that were some roots with smaller brown flowers. Compared to the pure white flowers above, the roots were very hidden. But some of them had clearly dried up and fallen aside showing the tiny brown seeds that spilled out on the floor of the frozen jungle.

Without any hesitation, Clark picked them up here and there. He knew that they might be able to be sold somewhere for someone that needed them. But he also considered that he might want to grow them one day.

This wasn't because Clark wanted a fancy garden or anything like that. But because he was considering having a home of his own again. There was a chance that he would be able to set up a mansion or some place for himself and his group to work. He would need facilities to forge, meditate, and train. Having them all separated and shared within Nova seemed to be too tough.

There was also the fact that some families made their homes in the wilderness. If he could manage this, it would be better. Privacy and autonomy sounded much better than being burdened by a busy city. He would be able to grow much faster while being uninterrupted. Yet, that idea was still far off. He needed to get other things done now.

Having a mansion in the wilderness was something he could think about in his dreams for now.

"We will need to turn back and try another route." The guards all stopped making everyone uncomfortable. The carriage driver and the horses pulling it definitely the most startled by the sudden change in the atmosphere. The horses showed an unsettled expression that only prey animals showed when they were near a predator.

"There is a beast here somewhere. It stopped the snowing willows up ahead. It is stealing that much water energy from the air." This was a good point. No one had noticed that the trees had stopped raining down their snow and pollen. If that was the case, then the beast was powerful enough to steal away energy that the plants naturally gathered.

It meant that the beast was stronger than average for the area.

"I see it, it's right there in the trees. I don't think it cares about us as long as we don't touch it."

Jerold managed to spot the beast in the trees. Where they were all looking after he pointed it out made them all wonder what it was. Yet, Clark and the guards manage to understand it and why Jerold had the feeling it didn't care about them.

'Snow aged sloth- rare

The snow aged sloth is the same as many other species of sloth, it rarely moves or cares about anything. While weaker species will hide and blend in to the trees, the snow aged sloth can not do this. It requires the ice energy to survive since it does not eat other beasts and will rarely eat rare herbs.

The snow aged sloth is called as such since it lived primarily within the canopy of the trees. It covers itself in snow piles within the trees while growing strong enough to take large amounts of ice energy from around it. But this doesn't mean it isn't weak.

The large claws on its hands can easily cut through trees without a single bit of resistance. If it is attacked, the sloth will show exceptional speed. This is thought to be because it constantly hones its body with ice energy along with being able to release it at once. It is also able to create a large area of intense cold, killing even some tougher ice type beasts.

It is strongly recommended not to attack it under any circumstances. If one is in the general area, most beasts will treat the area as a peaceful place. Some beasts even intentionally live under it and will not attack due to the safety there. This is true for many beasts that have small children, it is a safe place to raise young.

The sloth will also be able to feed on excess ice energy from the birth of these young, therefore giving them more protection.'

The risks that came with moving through were suddenly gone as long as they had respect for everything. But that didn't change the feelings of danger they had. "We will move through here. It is required that all of you remain silent and peaceful. Do not touch a single beast in a harmful or intimidating manner." The guards put their weapons away and took off their helmets.

They purposely showed themselves in a weaker state to welcome anything that lived in this area.

"I get it now, those healers live near these sloths so they are safer. They can live and study without many beasts bothering them and the temperature is warmer because the sloths absorb the ice energy. It's perfect for healers." Brad understood this and looked around. It was clear that this was the case for a much larger area than they realized.

But with this information to go on, he could only be impressed.

"Yeah, Brad should be right. It means they get a safe space around their dungeons. I bet they have a tamer with one of these sloths around too. Then they can attract more and they can have their own little areas." Reese jumped in with his support of this idea. No one had anything to counter them. Even the guards seemed like their eyes had been opened.

They had never taken a job, here beasts existing was the only reason an area was safe.

It was much more common for them to head to a wilderness area that had walls, powerful guard tamers, or even some group of highly trained intelligent wild beasts that cooperate with tamers. Not that a tamer group had trusted the naturally occurring wild beasts to maintain a peaceful zone in a rough area like this.

"Then if we check the map," Isa looked at the map and showed Maria and Clark where they were. "We are only an hour from the clearing we should be arriving at. Ella! We are going to move carefully, keep everything tight and ready to be moved in an hour." Isa heard the happier reply for Ella. It was a good sign that she was being told to tighten and prepare the bandages on her brother.

It means that he was going to be within help sooner than later.

"Look, there are ice bear cubs too." Maria noticed three ice bear cubs playing around a tree. They had been born too recently to worry about needing more food than their mother could give. The eggs for ice bears would be born and hatch within a day.

It was something that only happened in the wilderness that many tamers had heard about because it was so different from other beasts that could grow so large.

"And there is the mother." Ralph pointed out the ice bear the size of their carriage watching the group move. But she didn't flinch or take a step. Her eyes knew of the dangers of battling here. She was living the trust that every beast had in the area.

Naturally, Clark used his analysis to gather inf formation for Ella later. But he didn't take his eyes off it. Instead, he kept watching the mother ice bear before they got further away. His heart was beating very fast since he felt that there was much more danger resting her than expected. The only hope he had was that they would see their goal sooner than an hour.

It would be better to be at the white robed healer's training area sooner than later.