An elderly man and woman stood in an open space, their noble steeds stood at a distance behind them, grazing on tall grasses that surrounded them.

The man, Alaric Ironfell held something in his hand, it was a golden card, his and his wife’s names written boldly across the front.

His expression remained calm, but his eyes carried a gravity rarely seen even by those who knew him.

The golden card in his hand emitted a faint glow.

It was a summons. One that could not be ignored.

For the first time in over a century, the Elder Covenant had called for an emergent gathering.

Alaric closed his fist around the card, Esty walked up to him and they both exchanged glances, nodding slightly at each other and moving forward simultaneously.

Each step was heavier than the last.

They finally stopped at a transparent window that looked like a portal to another world. Alaric took a deep breath and slotted the card into this mirror, slowly turning it to the left.

The space before him instantly shattered like glass, cracks spread across the void, forming a colossal gateway,

Beyond the gateway lay a realm, completely hidden from the world.

A place where even time stood still.

This was the meeting place of the members of the Elder Covenant, all twelve of them, representing all the races that existed on the planet.

The world knew nothing of the Elder Covenant, Kings and Queens knew not of it; even the Patriarchs of great clans only knew fragments of the truth.

Yet, for thousands of years, an unseen hand had guided the course of history from the shadows.

When real war threatened to engulf entire continents, they intervened.

The Elder Covenant was neither a kingdom nor an empire.

It was an agreement forged in blood, sacrifice, and necessity.

And among its members were the oldest and most powerful beings alive.

Alaric and Esty stepped forward without hesitation, the moment their feet crossed the threshold, the sunlight faded out of existence, the doorway behind them was gone in a breath.

They both walked in silence through this gateway for about ten minutes, until they finally came to a large black door.

Alaric blinked twice and placed his hand on the metal handle, twisting it and opening it.

"Ahh! They finally decide to join us." A hooded creature spoke, this was Banqui, an elder of the Dragonborn race.

About twelve individuals sat on a large round table in a dark ominous room with nothing but candles as illumination.

"Late as always," another member voiced out, Rhaenys Von Bastian, an elder of the Elven race, her hood didn’t do much to hide the pointy nature of her ears.

There were mutters from all over the room, as the last two vacant seats were suddenly occupied by Alaric and his Matriarch.

The man cleared his throat and spoke up. "Fear not friends for I, the Patriarch of the most powerful human clan in the world, am here! With my lovely lady of course." He bragged, gesturing towards Esty, who sat in silence as usual, a smile on her face.

"Your pride does not excuse your tardiness Alaric Ironfell, and for that you have been fined of 100,000 gold coins." Banqui spoke, his deep dragon voice echoing all over the small space.

Amongst these elders were twelve different races,

Human, Elven, Dragonborn, Phoenix, Dwarf, Giant, Titan, Spirit, Angel, Beastkin, Vampire and Treant(Ancient tree spirit).

Alaric frowned after hearing the fine. "100,000?" He asked, flashing an evil smile in Banqui’s direction, "Tell me Banqui, is that the real price? Or are you just too broke?"

Banqui looked at the man and laughed, maniacally so, but the rest of the elders didn’t join him.

"Alaric—I am Dragonborn, there is no lack of riches on my end, this fine was agreed upon by the entire Covenant. And be careful, next time you’re late, it will be double." The entire table nodded in agreement.

Banqui was tall, not as tall as a dragon, but he possessed every other feature; the long snout, bright red scales, and the ability to breathe fire.

The old man frowned again but agreed to pay his fine when the meeting was adjourned.

"Today we are gathered here, because Yggros has discovered something that could potentially be the end of cultivation on the planet as we know it." A Dwarf, by the name of Sylvanor The Great, stood up on his chair and spoke.

A small woman, with a nature-esque aura stood up from her head and thanked the Dwarf for changing the subject to the more pressing matter at hand.

These elders were all reknowned in their continents as the best of the best, leading the strongest clans/houses and possessing years and years of knowledge, cultivation and battle experience.

"Thank you Sylvanor. Everyone, it has been over a hundred years since we had a meeting, and I wouldn’t call anyone here if it wasn’t absolutely necessary..." She spoke in an almost angelic voice, one that could put even the most powerful warriors to sleep.

"Go on!" A deep growl escaped the mouth of Thorin, a giant who sat on the edge of the room, due to his size, even the cloak of the Covenant couldn’t fit him so he sat bare chested, nothing but a skirt of Moose hides. Thorin was a rough looking giant man with hair that covered his chest and head.

"The reason I called you here is because the World Tree is dying." She concluded, looking around the room slowly.

"The World Tree?" Esty asked, "You mean, the originator of spirit energy?"

"Precisely," Yggros responded, "And if we don’t find a way to revive it soon, then it will be the end of spiritual energy as we know it, cultivation will cease to exist, all preserved life will wither and die.

That tree is a source of life for the Tree spirits as well—so as it grows weaker, so do we. We are on the brink of extinction." Yggros said wearily and slumped back into her chair, without saying another word.

"So have you figured out how to revive the tree?" Rhaenys asked, parts of her golden hair visible through the dark hood she wore, her eyes were dark green, warm but icy.

"Yes, but I can’t do it alone."