The afternoon found Anton traipsing through a nice bamboo forest. He couldn’t really just sit around forever, but when asking for something to do the Island Tenders had little to offer him. Aside from seasonal planting and daily tending which they had well under control, there was nothing that could use his input. They had the responsibility of overseeing that nobody took too many of the local resources, but an outsider was even less able to help with that part.

Everything was already taken care of, and while he could use his energy to feel his way around the back of Paradise, visiting with his body felt more personal. He also hoped that moving to different locations might provide some insight into how things were the way they were. But unfortunately whatever he might find was too… diffuse. Spread out over a large area, it was difficult to notice any oddities. Quickly, at least.

Anton wouldn’t mind spending a few years atop Paradise, exploring every nook and cranny of his shell, but while he had some time, he doubted it would be that long before there was something important for him to get involved with. He didn’t want to be so far away at that time. Instead, he had allotted himself a month or so, nothing hardline because cultivation couldn’t be held to a strict schedule, but not too long.

As impressive as the bamboo forest was, with towering stalks surrounding him, what was more impressive was that they had only been planted several days prior. Everything grew quickly atop Paradise, the abundance of natural energy happily entwining with the local plants. At a certain point that growth slowed, then stopped- not because it couldn’t theoretically continue, but because there was no more space. Without any animals or insects living on the island, the plants weren’t eaten. The only way they spread was through winds and water- and more recently human intervention.

It was impossible to avoid comparing Paradise to the Grandfather Willow back on the mainland. Both were entities of great power, though there was much less intentionality about the Grandfather Willow. It could be controlled by those who knew what they were doing, but there was no recognition by it. Even those who lived among its hanging branches for years would be snapped up by it reflexively if they did not match their energy properly. Conversely, Paradise was an active creature, seeking out food- and threats. Though generally uninteractive with humans, there was a vague sort of friendliness or at least a comforting disinterest.

-----

The next week Anton took Erin up on her offer to swim beneath Paradise. He felt he had explored enough, and found nothing of particular use. He was quite certain there was more to Paradise’s power than simply size, but he didn’t quite understand it. More exploration might help trigger the right thoughts… and it would at least be interesting.

There wasn’t much more to what they were doing than simple walking to the edge of Paradise and stepping off into the water- though they had to either keep themselves anchored to Paradise or remember to swim. He wasn’t particularly fast most of the time, but when unattached the movement relative to the surrounding water became obvious.

After Erin explained what to do- speaking underwater wasn’t exactly effective- they dropped down into the water. There was actually a sizable distance on the lip of the shell to swim down before they were underneath, and towards the edges there was little of interest. Further in, however, they began to come into contact with the things Anton had sensed.

There were giant barnacles, vaguely round and with sufficient size for a human to squeeze into their opening. It seemed likely they had to feed on more than just the extremely small particles of life that dotted the oceans, potentially fish or larger creatures. Even if they somewhat sustained themselves off of natural energy, they would need more, especially if they had to compete with others.

Then there were the mussels, which had actually stood out to Anton more. They were like great black coffins, sticking directly off of the belly.

Not that there were terribly many of either at the moment. Erin was already popping them off of Paradise’s shell, and Anton slid a large blade he’d been given beneath the edge of one of the barnacles. He could feel the drain the thing was causing on Paradise. Not really significant by itself, but along with the larger ones adding potentially a hundred kilograms of weight… it seemed like it could be a problem. They also didn’t seem to be contributing anything in return, though the Island Tenders left the smaller ones around so they could observe that.

The first popped off relatively easily, but the second gave Anton more trouble. He had to gather a good portion of energy before the thing finally detached, and it cracked before the grip it had on the shell gave out. Anton could see many markings on the underside, staring with the clearly different areas where barnacles had been attached. The mussels had threads that dug their way into crevices in the shell, many of which looked natural but some of which might have been pried open from much smaller. It wasn’t terrible since the shell itself was immensely thick- even damage a meter deep could be considered superficial.

Even so, Anton was somewhat concerned he had caused some of it when he noticed a long, straight line where he had pried the second mussel off. Yet when he touched the surface with his hand, he could tell it was smooth, no jagged edges from recent formation. Yet clearly not part of the natural shell, or damage from the barnacles and mussels.

There was a nearly limitless number of smaller barnacles and mussels covering the surface as well, along with a thin layer of some sort of gooey algae. Yet clearly not one that needed direct light, since there was a great shadow cast by Paradise.

Combined with the larger obstacles, getting a clear picture of the whole bottom of the shell was difficult. Anton could hold his breath for many minutes- an hour or more if he was avoiding strenuous activity- but he still had to occasionally take a break, swimming back up the side to sit on the strange shoes that shouldn’t hold.

As he sat he thought about what he had sensed and felt. His natural energy stretched around and under, but from a larger distance he could hardly even make out the markings he knew were there, let alone anything new.

After he had renewed his breath he dove back in, tracing along the lines and angles he could find. Once he noticed, it wasn’t terribly difficult to discern that they were formation markings. Old ones, buried deep in the layers of the shell. Yet despite that, they hadn’t grown out, and strangely seemed to still fit the right size. Perhaps Paradise had grown this large in a previous age and simply remained, but Anton had the feeling that wasn’t quite right.

Either way, the formations were active, and unfathomable. Yet they didn’t seem out of place either, but fit into the natural harmony of the creature. Anton might have thought this was a phenomenal occurrence of a massive natural formation, but if that was the case he would have expected more factors to have come together to sustain it. Though his understanding was not that of a master, Anton could at least pick out how the arrangement of plants, leaves, and roots in an area might cause a natural formation- but this was clearly carvings in the shell. Self-sustaining, too.

Anton waited a bit longer after his next breath to catch Erin at the same time. “Are you aware that there is a formation etched on the underside of this shell?”

“I thought you would notice it,” Erin smiled. “We haven’t found it to be a danger, obviously. I’m not much for studying formations myself, but we have some disciples interested in the study. They’ve set some up around the island.”

“There’s something familiar about them.”

“Ancient formations are often quite similar in style.”

“Well, yes,” Anton admitted. “But I have the feeling there’s something more to it.” It reminded him of what Catarina had done with Fuzz… and more recently herself, to some extent. That explained another part of Paradise’s strength, but not all of it… and it raised more questions. Who, and why? The answer to either might lead directly to the other, but for the moment Anton only had speculations. “Do you have a copy of the majority of the pattern? Or would you mind me taking notes to show to someone?”

“Your granddaughter, I presume? The foremost formation master of the Order, and one of the best in the world.” Erin nodded, “That’s fine, though if she find anything interesting… or dangerous… I would ask that you share that information with us.”

“Of course,” Anton agreed.

-----

Some time later, Anton found himself back on the continent. His research into Paradise had done as much as it could for him. He certainly found it interesting, if not directly helpful to his cultivation at the moment. He was heading west, currently having stopped in the middle of Ofrurg to visit some grandchildren. Specifically, the children of Annelie and Anish. He had some more young descendents, but he ended up mingling with these the most. Their parents were the only ones focused on cultivation, after all.

Devon had chosen not to get remarried. Alva didn’t seem interested in doing it a first time. And Catarina and Timothy… had no children. Though he was fairly certain they had tried, but they didn’t talk about it anymore.

So he had some more loosely connected to him, and these three.

In a world with cultivation becoming more common children were beginning to learn younger and younger. There were some difficulties and risks associated with that, but people were learning about them. And it couldn’t really be said that the there oldest were too young now. They were older than Annelie herself when she’d first begun, at least.

The boys, Wolter and Lucas, had taken to a strange mix of the two sect’s cultivations. Somehow the Glorious Flame Palace and Frostmirror sect were still firmly attached to each other, unexpected but quite convenient for the family’s living situation. Gudrun was cultivating only ice. The complete severing of emotions had been phased out, given that the best members of the most recent generation had all taken an alternate route, but they still practiced emotionlessness when they chose. For Gudrun, that seemed to be all the time.

“Grandfather, are you going to fight on the frontlines?”

“That’s hardly a greeting,” Anton replied.

“Welcome back. It is good to see you again. So?”

Anton sighed, “I’m not sure if I’ll be fighting. There might not even be a war.”

“Of course there will be a war,” she stated flatly. “While you are here, can you teach me to shoot?”

“I don’t know any techniques compatible with ice,” Anton admitted. “But I would be glad to teach you the fundamentals of archery. I don’t know if I have time to help you develop proper techniques though.”

“That will be sufficient.”

“I’m glad you came to me to learn. I was beginning to think you didn’t like me.”

“You are one of the best archers in the world, and attacking from afar if possible is only logical.”

… at least the boys were enthusiastic about seeing him.

-----

His last stop before heading to Ambati would be with Lev and the Grasping Willows. He wanted to study the Grandfather Willow, for the same reasons as he studied Paradise. He highly doubted that there would be anything formation related, but that was just a tangential curiosity.

It was unlikely a tree would be the perfect source of inspiration for a cultivator who had no cultivation ties to such a thing, but it was an opportunity to see friends if nothing else. Studying powerful phenomena would never be a bad idea for a cultivator. As long as it was done safely, and by this point if he wasn’t safe around the tree he should have been dead many times over. Though he did have to pay attention still, as it would be embarrassing if someone had to come disentangle him.