Magic crystals were placed around the oak tree, and Hugo, Shin, Xander, and Jayden's men were standing close to it.
Jayden, wearing the traditional ocxoa clothes Mina made for him while in the Stone Tribe, was waiting for Mina next to a strange female. Jayden's eyes were glued to Mina. She pulled the white cloak tight around her body while she gazed at the strange woman.
Mina had never seen her kind before. The female's skin was light pink, and her long hair was green. Her amber eyes were kind and wise. However, mischief lurked there, also. A dress made of leaves of all colors hugged her body. "Come closer," the female said when Mina stopped a few feet away from Jayden. "I won't eat you!" She giggled and looked at Einar and Arald. "But I might eat you two!" she purred. Jayden cleared his throat. "I get that you are horny and tired of using your right hand all the time, but be quiet while I woo some males. Living alone in a cave is depressing! And lonely!"
Jayden straightened his back. "You can do as you like after the ceremony. You can take turns with all my men if you wish so. Not with Aksel, though. He is taken, even if he screwed things up with his mate."
Aksel folded his arms. "Lady Ivy is not my mate."
The strange woman rolled her eyes. "You know she is, and you deliberately told her you don't want her because you are too poor for her. Now, hurry and pull your head out of your ass before someone else steals her from you." She winked at Caesar. "You and Ivy would make a cute couple!"
Aksel growled, balled his fists, and proceeded to throw daggers with his eyes. Caesar grinned.
Isis intervened. "Daya, as much as I like you, we need to start the ceremony."
Daya confused Mina. Jayden had never mentioned her before.
"What are you?" asked Mina.
Daya spun around in place. "A Tree Spirit, of course!"
Mina bit her bottom lip. "But I thought the Dark Mages destroyed all Tree Spirits."
"A few of us still exist," said Daya. "Now, come to your mate."
Jayden held out his right hand. Mina went to him, placed her left hand on his outstretched palm, and both looked at Daya. "We have gathered here to celebrate the union between Jayden and Mina. Fate put her in his path a few times, but since he was mostly thinking with his dick and not his heart, it took a while for him to recognize her as his." Isis and Andres laughed. "At least his beast was smarter than him. Not by much, but there is progress there." Jayden growled in annoyance while more ocxoas laughed. "I know you are eager to take her to the Crystal Cave, but I have only just begun," Daya said while she took out a green ribbon from her dress. "While Addanos had already blessed your union, I would like you to receive the Tree Spirit's blessing. Jayden, could I have your lucky dagger for a moment?" Jayden frowned as he gave Daya his magic ore dagger. "Pinky promise I won't tell anyone you used it to kill the Orc and let your men think you did with your bare hands," said Daya while taking Mina's left hand into hers and cutting her palm. Mina winced in pain, and Jayden's eyes turned golden.
Andres laughed so hard tears were running down his face. "Sneaky Commander. I always thought there was something off about that story with the Orc."
Jayden ignored Andres. "What are you cutting our palms for?" Jayden asked when Daya grabbed his left hand.
Daya tsked and smacked the back of his head. "You should have told your mate that the Sons and Daughters of the Land live long lives. You know you can live two hundred years or more, but Mina is human. Her lifespan will be shorter than yours. I am tethering her life to yours, so she will live as long as you!"
"Wait!" Mina said. "I did not know about this!" She looked at Hugo, but he was signaling her to continue.
Jayden ignored everyone. "Mina, I didn't say a word because I didn't know there was a way to make your lifespan longer. But we don't have to do this if you don't want to. If we only have five more days or fifty years left, I will treasure each moment we spend together as if it were the most precious and rare pearl ever to exist!"
Mina wanted to be with Jayden for as long as possible. "I want everything with you," Mina said, and Jayden stole a kiss from her.
Daya laughed in delight. "There might still be hope for you, Jayden. Now take Mina's left hand into your left one. Interlace your fingers," Daya added when Jayden did as she asked. Mina found Daya's request confusing, but she was curious about what will happen next.
Daya tied the ribbon around Mina and Jayden's left wrists. "The Tree Spirits see and approve this union. From now onward, Mina's life is connected to yours! She will live as long as a Daughter of the Land."
Mina felt invisible strings connecting her to Jayden. When his warm mouth kissed her, she thought she felt his emotions.
Daya removed the ribbon and healed Mina and Jayden's palms. After that, Isis looked around at everyone gathered to attend the ceremony. "Each time an Uzgaia brings his mate before Daya, the story of how the first Uzgaia came to be is told. This is a tale as old as time.
Our world is not the only one that exists. There are many other Universes parallel to ours. In some worlds, there is no more magic, forgotten altogether or banished by humans. In other worlds, humans created horses of steel and carriages that could fly without magic. Some Universes are peaceful, while others are violent. But one world—of beasts and gods—is the deadliest.
"In the beginning, only the Magic Tree existed. His roots spread out endlessly, for there was no Beginning or Ending. One day, tired of his lonely existence, the Magic Tree released two seeds—one green as his leaves and the other red as the blood. A female was born from the green seed, while a male appeared from the red one—the Primal couple. Except for loneliness, the Magic Tree had never felt anything else, but when he saw the female and the male, for the first time in his existence, the Magic Tree felt love. And the female and the male loved the Magic Tree. The three of them lived happily. The Magic Tree made up stories for the female and the male to entertain them. When there were no stories, there was laughter.
"But one day, the female took two leaves from the Magic Tree and created the first bird. The female loved her bird, and even the Magic Tree seemed content to have it fly around his many branches. But the male was not happy. He wanted all the attention and the love of the female. He loved her from the moment his eyes met hers. Out of jealousy, he killed the bird. The female created more, but each time the male killed them. When the female made the first planet and filled it with birds, the male crushed it. The Magic Tree named the female Creator of Life and the male Death and Destroyer of Worlds. Life created a new world and forbade Death to touch it. Since Death could no longer destroy Life's creations, he also decided to make things.
"Everything Life made was full of light and laughter and love, while Death only made dark things, full of hate and anger. When Life created the first gods, Death did the same. And so Chaos came to be. Chaos started the first war and conquered lands in the name of Death. Chaos killed everything in his path—from animals to other gods. From his violent ways, seven mighty beasts were born.