Chapter 3: The Story of Adan Pt3

She'd told the boy he was lucky, for if he were an average human, her spell would never work. She explained that all she required was a strand of his hair, along with 10010 strands of hair from other humans.

Adan compiled by giving her a strand of his hair; he then asked the same number of rodents to grab one hair strand from the same number of different humans located north of the Forest Mountain. It took many days for the rodents to return with strands of hair, but once they did, the good witch threw the hair into her rock-composed pot behind her rotting stump and started mixing.

After hours of waiting, the good witch gave the boy a liquid mixture and a grass-weaved dropper. She told the boy to drop one drop on different trees located on Forest Mountain and drop the last drop on Clover, for that drop was where his strand of hair lay. The good witch said they wouldn't be related, and that some offspring may be unique.

When Adan asked the good witch what she meant by "unique," the good witch replied, saying, "some will be born with the elements you have seen over the years."

Adan was confused at her mentioning of elements as he went on to do what the good witch instructed. The witch gave him a head start by testing it on the tree she'd been growing.

He dropped one drop per tree and the last drop on Clover. She knew it would take at least 30 years for the offspring to form as seeds, which is how long she and the other trees would sleep, so she told Adan to be patient.

By 30 years' end, Adan counted 10011 seeds on the branches of all the trees, including Clover. Each one looked different, but the ones that stood out the most to Adan lay on the ends of 21 branches on 21 random trees.

Adan knew not all of them would survive if they fell on the same ground, so he decided to split them up over a 5000-mile diameter, with Clover's Forest Mountain in the center. He put them in a flower pattern with five inner and outer petals.

Next, Adan asked a bird to bring in 10010 woodpeckers, so the birds weren't tempted to eat the seeds. It was two days before every woodpecker, he'd requested, came flocking to the mountains.

Two years later, all the seeds fell from the trees and were ready to be taken. Adan decided to plant Clover's seed in front of her. A day later, Clover rose from her slumber with Adan beside her; surprisingly, she knew everything that'd taken place.

Adan asked Clover if she had any information on the offspring. The tree said there would be 12 main categories for the children of the forest: light, dark, metallic, spiritual, music, nature, fire, water, wind, earth, and lastly, time and holy.

"However, I only gave off one offspring with the element of time, and the good witch's tree gave off the element of holy, which will obviously be the one to keep the peace between our races," she smugly added as if she'd just explained something grand.

Adan then asked with furrowed brows, "where is the holy element?"

Clover told him the seed with the holy element was taken by the good witch, then proceeded to explain the appearances of the offspring.

She explained that some would look more tree than human, while others would look completely human.

She said the ones that looked more tree than human shall be called bircheans and live tree years. She also said the more human ones should be called druids, but humans should accept each race.

Adan asked what a tree year was, and Clover responded by saying that one tree year is equivalent to 10 human years or simply ten regular years.

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Birchean description: a birchean can be viewed as a complete split between the DNA of humans and trees. Their bodies are shaped and function as humans, but their anatomy is a different story. Most of their outer skin is composed of their parents' bark pattern; however, some body parts do not follow this protocol.

The rings found within the inner structure of a tree can be found rounding up a birchean's neck. The same rings can also be found on their elbows, knees, and shoulders. The hair is composed of the leaves from the parent, whether it be maple, pine, or other. One could flexibly wood where joints can be found, making them more bendable. Some of the body features are also considered to be softer than the rest of the body. The texture of these body features can be described as leafy, yet softer than the lamb's ear plant; however, the color of these areas is the same as the bark. These areas include the face, stomach, and privates (bircheans can completely hide private areas). The palms and bottom of the feet are rougher than the face.

Bircheans inner structure is that of a tree, except for some parts, such as heart and lungs. They absorb all the food they eat, so there's no need for restroom breaks. The bircheans have no mating season and can decide to start a family at any time, as humans do; unfortunately, it can take up to two years for a female birchean to give birth. During those two years, they must stand still as a tree, providing nutrients to the fetus as humans do. Lastly, bircheans have unnoticeable roots on the sides of their feet, which they can attach and retract from the ground at any moment. The roots are used to suck nutrients from the soil until infancy. After that, they play more sophisticated roles, such as communication or grabbing hold of the earth while sleeping.

Druid description: a druid may have some traits of a tree, making them appear different; other than that, their anatomy is exactly that of a human. For example, one could have leafed hair, yet the rest of their body is human. Another example would be of one having patterned bark skin, but the rest of their body is human. Some druids may show no tree traits to the naked eye, appearing completely human.

Tree years may be one trait that separates bircheans from druids; however, some druids are given the trait to live the same life span as bircheans.

[A/N - I may change or add to these descriptions later on]

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Adan asked how long their offspring would live. Clover said since their child possessed the element of time, then she and her offspring would live precisely 1000 years.

She then mentioned that the children of the forest should never have as much trouble as they did when it comes to reproduction, for they're both human and tree.

Adan asked Clover how she knew so much of what would happen.

Clover said unto him, "Ever since I awakened, I've been able to see bits and pieces of the future."

Adan's final question for Clover was if she knew what he would do next.

Clover said he would set out to find the offspring so that he could greet every last one of them. After that, he would return home to see his wife and child so that he may finally rest in peace.

Adan went on to do precisely that, dying at the age of 87. Before his death, he'd asked the violet feathered owl to watch over his descendants, a favor she'd known to be selfish; nevertheless, she saw to it without question.

After Adan's death, druids were accepted by the humans after doing many good deeds for them. Seventy-nine years later, some bircheans decided to explore the outer world, while others chose to stay behind and learn from the trees. The humans accepted the bircheans a year later after they healed a very ill person from a well-known family.

One hundred years have passed, and the good witch is still alive with The Holy Tree, who's now seven tree years old. Before the witch fell ill, she told The Holy Tree how there was no such thing as a holy element. She then went on to tell her how she was the only one who could control all the existing elements.

The good witch said, "You and all other holy trees that come after you will be charged with the responsibility of keeping peace among the bircheans, druids, trees, and humans. If one of you is to fail, then the next one will be burdened with more than they can handle alone."

The first Holy Tree, Rona, said that would never happen, but the good witch insisted it would happen as soon as trees were cut for the pleasure of humans, and The Holy Tree of that time dies before bringing about a solution.