The Silver Gardens are the wilderness owned and defended by Noble Blood Certa.
Though smaller than the Golden Forest of Blood Denegis, it holds a more diverse fauna than the Golden Forest ever could, since the Silver Gardens has inside it, depending on the entrance, a different biome.
And even though accessible from the inside, it is of utmost difficulty to enter the other gardens once inside one of them.
The Silver Gardens are also surrounded by giant trees made of white stone that grow upwards to a hundred feet towards the sky, covering anything that stands behind the outside world and the Gardens.
They also have three entrances that lead to the three gardens, as Blood Certa calls them.
The Jaguar Path leads to a rainforest, the Moose Path leads to a taiga, and the Turtle Path leads to a wetland.
Or at least a small form of the real thing.
Though naturally occurring, the Silver Gardens have yet to be explained by the scholars of the Archivum Citivas on how it came to be, how it's always changing, and how, despite constant change in both entrances and biomes, an entire species of turtles could just vanish from overhunting.
However, Blanc did not think that to be the case, and may perhaps have just learned how and where to hide themselves from the eyes of the greedy humans who found value in their death.
The Turtle Path, which leads to the wetlands, is, as the name suggests, the place where the turtles used to live and the place that held most of the population of turtles.
The Jaguar Path also held some turtles inside, but they were rarely spotted and were considered more of a mistake than a naturally occurring fauna inside the Garden.
Luckily, once inside, he was in no rush to leave, as they wanted to take their time in getting stronger, all agreeing that a month inside, while foraging and harvesting what they could as they attempted to pass through the Gardens, would be enough to have all, including Miyanna, get considerably stronger.
And hopefully, find enough turtles inside for all of them to get a Black Mark from harvesting as many as they could.
The month of hunting was decided upon in the last two days, since before they planned to stay inside for at least two to three months, but since they received the gold from the Metamorphs, they knew they could just buy more once they were out of this Domain and have ample time to get Celine to safety before her pregnancy advances too much.
"Any questions?" Blanc asked as they walked towards the Jaguar Path.
"Yes," Kael replied, raising his hand, "Besides turtles are we hunting for something else as specific as turtles, or just hunting for whatever we can find?"
"Though most of the beasts could offer good Marks from their Raw Vita, it would be best if half we manage to hunt are some form of predators."
"That sounds awful," Miyanna muttered, imagining what this month would feel like.
"Not to worry, my love, we will be fine," Blanc replied, half confidently, before explaining why, "Though the Jaguar Path is considered the most dangerous. So, even if I know we will be fine, we need to be focused and alert to our surroundings. A moment of ignorance on our side, and we might get wounded or worse."
"How will we share the Raw Vita?" Lune asked.
A valid question. One that usually comes with a hierarchy included, especially when they talk about beasts that hunt alone, instead of a pack, as the wolves they killed before in the Golden Forest.
"Hmm," Blanc thought for a moment, "I think it depends on the beast and how many there are."
"An example?" Celine asked.
"If let's say, we find a lone jaguar, we must make sure that Miyanna kills it and receives its Raw Vita. But if we find more later on, we can decide then who needs it most. For now, Miyanna needs Raw Vita the most since she has none. But if we fight against more beasts at once, it's as before, whatever you kill is yours."
"I-I'm happy you prioritize me," Miyanna muttered, her cheeks crimson.
"Oh, sweet sister, while it's true, you need it most. You will see the difference after harvesting a few and understand why," Celine giggled.
"Exactly," Blanc nodded, "A body without Raw Vita is too fragile. Its vulnerability to sickness, its shorter lifespan, its weakness, and its lack of adaptability make it very difficult to have a compelling and fulfilling life."
"I see…" Miyanna muttered, realizing how much it mattered.
Blanc chuckled, "And that's just scratching the surface on why it is important to harvest Raw Vita."
"And how we share turtles if we find any, Brother?" Lune asked.
Blanc thought for a while about the answer, but could not come up with one that satisfied his mind. "I'm not sure, Little Flower. We can decide that when we find one first."
Fifteen minutes later, they passed the south side of the city of Kanat and were now walking on the road that took them towards the Jaguar Path.
The path was just as Blanc had noticed on the outskirts of the city. Devoid of any life, protecting the entrance.
Or at least that's how Blanc thought.
In the distance, coming towards them from the entrance of the Silver Gardens, two male voices could be heard.
"Hide, quickly," Blanc whispered to the others, pointing behind the normal trees that marked the path forward towards the Jaguar Path.
With no questions asked, even though they had not heard anything yet, they all listened to Blanc's instructions and hid behind the trunks of the trees, waiting for the two to pass so they could continue.
"Yeah, and my brother rode out with the Patriarch to put down the beasts," said one of the two men.
"Damn, lucky for him, he did not take that large of an entourage, that means the Patriarch has great trust in your brother," said the other as they approached slowly Blanc and the other's location.
"Fuck him, he does not deserve that, and my father does not have that great a view on the Patriarch either; he calls him soft," said the first man.
The second man laughed, making his metal armor clink loudly as they were now passing the exact spot Blanc was, "I don't know, man, he gives off the wrong feeling, but in a good way. I think the Patriarch is not to be fucked with. I suggest you calm down your father before he finds out."
"Haha, the Patriarch can skin him alive for all I care, at least then I could get some of that inheritance he keeps hoarding as if he could use it after his death," said the first man.
"We can just kill him and share the money if you are up to it," said the second.
"Hmm, tempting," said the first man before both started laughing as they passed them and were slowly making their way towards Kanat.
Once they passed, Blanc signaled with his hands for all to follow quietly, as they began walking opposite to the guards towards the entrance.
Five minutes later, an eight-foot opening inside one of the stone trees stood unguarded, welcoming the five, making them forget the conversation the guards were having earlier and how disturbing it was.
Through the opening, all could see the rainforest inside as if this door were a portal between two different worlds, calling for them.
And as tempting as it was, one did not want to rush in.
"We rest here for a bit, then we go in," Blanc instructed.
"Hubby, why? Those creepy bastards could return anytime," Miyanna said.
"I agree with Miyanna, my love, I think we can rest inside," Celine added.
"I can hear them sooner than they could see us, so you don't have to worry. As for why now, it's safer," Blanc began, "Both the climate and the dangers inside are different, and it will be hard to focus properly on resting, so it will be wise to do it now."
Hearing his reasoning, neither Celine nor Miyanna could deny that there was truth to all his words, so, without arguing further, all agreed to rest, eat, and hydrate themselves now for an hour, or until the guards could be heard returning.
Though resting, this was the best time for Blanc to remind all of the dangers this Garden posed.
"It will be warm and pretty hard to breathe due to all the humidity," he began, "But you will have to keep long clothes on. Insect bites and venomous beasts are no joke. Better to sweat and drink too much water than get ill from poison, understood?"
All nodded at his question.
"Kael, Lune, never go too far from us, and during the night, even if we light fires to keep insects and predators away, make sure to never go without an adult too far away from camp to solve your business, understood?" Blanc asked the twins, who replied with a sharp nod.
Blanc then turned towards his first wife, "Celine, my love, if you feel ill and want to leave, we will do so as soon as possible. Please, do not remain silent. Your health is more important than all the turtles in existence, okay?"
"Yes, my love," Celine replied, a warm, loving smile on her face.
"Lastly, Miyanna, my love," Blanc spoke, turning towards her, which made her straighten her back, "If we have to fight, make sure you learn as much as possible, but do not die trying to. Let me go in and handle what you cannot, okay?"
"Okay, hubby," Miyanna replied, embarrassed.
"If there is anything else I missed, I will let you know inside. Ready?" Blanc asked the group.
And from their nods full of confidence, it was clear that they were as ready as they could be, so without another word, Blanc took a step inside the Jaguar Path.