(Location: Echo Gorge)
In a clearing in the Echo Gorge valley, a female giant was "discreetly" observing a young child dancing.
The scene might have seemed funny from the sky... but the frozen expression on the giant's face somewhat spoiled the comical aspect of the situation.
She was in shock.
Seeing Nansien perform these dance movements with such precision left her speechless.
The problem wasn't just with the dance itself, but with the mystical aura that enveloped the child while performing it.
'T... that's definitely Drole's dance... but how can Nansien perform it so well?!'
Dolores knew Drole's dance well, but she only knew how to perform it.
At the time, she didn't have the necessary talent to feel a very deep connection with nature.
Yet now she was watching a child much younger than her demonstrate an even stronger connection with this same nature.
Despite the extraordinary and mystical nature of the scene before her, no joy, no excitement appeared on her face.
Dolores was simply... confused.
Drole's dance is not supposed to have such an effect on someone of a race other than that of giants.
And yet, the facts before her eyes were irrefutable.
Nansien was dancing... and nature was responding to him.
'Could he be a small-sized giant?'
It was the most logical explanation her mind could consider at that moment.
After all, she had already heard rumors about the small size of the legendary blacksmith of the Giant Tribe.
Thus, small-sized giants were not impossible existences.
Unconsciously, her previously frozen face began to smile more and more as she considered this possibility.
'I'm really not alone anymore.'
Dolores knew, deep down. She had never been completely alone, thanks to Ordo and the inhabitants of the valley.
She simply hadn't encountered another giant for a very long time.
It was a bit like the feeling a foreigner would experience when meeting someone from their culture in a distant country, after years of isolation.
Of course, the fact that she avoided them because of their violent nature had also contributed to this isolation.
And yet... all this time, she had a giant near her.
A different giant.
A 'kind' little giant, who preferred calm to conflict, just like her.
.....
Nasiens' POV
'Calm... peace... gentleness.'
Since the beginning of performing Drole's dance, I've been literally bathing in these emotions, in the heart of this forest.
It's been some time since I've been trying to correctly reproduce this dance after observing it with Dolores.
But despite my efforts, I couldn't emit this peaceful aura that she radiated while dancing.
I was missing something, no doubt, even if my movements were technically identical to hers.
At first, I thought it was simply a lack of talent.
But... that hypothesis didn't really hold up from a genetic standpoint.
I was literally born from the best possible lineage between a giant and a fairy at that time!
Even Nansien, in the original story, demonstrated a slight connection with the minerals of the earth.
It's just a shame that he was never shown fully invested in that part of his heritage.
No.
This option was clearly not the right one.
So I considered another possibility: that it was related to my deep nature.
Unlike the former Nansien, I never really had a strong emotional connection with the earth or nature itself.
I literally come from a world populated by humans with no real connection to their environment.
On the contrary, they have gotten into the habit of modifying it on a whim or to satisfy purely selfish needs, to the detriment of other species.
If the planet itself didn't have a powerful natural system to manage pollution, and if there weren't really sensitive humans to this situation, humanity would already be in a critical situation.
So I decided to act as if this hypothesis was the right one.
I started dancing alone, as often as possible, in the heart of nature.
But unlike the other times, I used fairy magic to read the heart of my environment.
Heart Reading is extremely versatile fairy magic.
It allows one to read emotions, intentions, thoughts... the heart of living beings.
But unlike fairies, who only use it on living creatures, I chose to apply it to the earth itself or to nature as a whole, during the dance.
The result was... surprising.
I could feel different emotions emanating from the ground and around me, but they all had one thing in common:
'Gentleness. Peace. Calm.'
Unconsciously, I wanted to immerse myself in the embrace of the earth... and continue dancing, again and again.
Unfortunately, an uninvited guest came to disturb this moment.
Dolores is watching me.
She thinks she's hiding her presence behind the foliage, but also by masking her magic as best she can...
However, her giant build doesn't really help, and I can perceive the slight movements of her body through the earth.
'Am I becoming a new Toph Beifong?'
The idea, at the moment, made me laugh. But very quickly, my scientific brain considered a bold hypothesis.
I remembered that Drole fought by performing movements close to a dance, unlike most giants, who manipulate the earth with brute force.
In the Avatar universe, elemental masters use "chi" to manipulate their innate element through precise movements called "bending."
To obtain a certain effect on the element, the master must execute the right gestures while properly channeling his chi, otherwise the technique will be sloppy.
This universe allowed me to see things from a new angle.
"Can I try too?"
Normally, this would have been impossible, and I wouldn't have even considered this possibility.
But things are different now.
I have a perfect memory thanks to Vegapunk's model.
And above all, I have managed to confirm the existence of a link between me and nature.
The ground trembled slightly under my feet.
Despite this, I continued to put my theory into practice.
While dancing, I used Heart Reading in the direction of the earth beneath me and my environment.
I circulated my magical energy according to my intention and the dance, while observing the emotional response of nature (environment).
When I execute a movement that doesn't correspond to my intention and the amount of magical energy needed, the earth seems... sad.
But it still responds.
On the other hand, when my dance is right and in harmony with my intention, it becomes happy.
I also noticed that nature cooperates much more easily with me when it's in a state of positive emotion.
If it's happy, it's receptive.
If it's sad or in a bad mood, it resists.
"N... Nansien! What have you done!"
For the first time since the beginning of my experiment, Dolores addressed me from her pseudo-hiding place.
Her words drew my attention to my surroundings.
It had completely changed.
Around me, several earth sculptures in my likeness rose, each in a different posture of my dance.
They were as tall as Dolores, and their shape was surprisingly well-drawn.
"Honestly, I don't know myself in detail, but..."
I believe I have discovered how Drole developed his own variant of [Creation] magic.
Alias: [sol].
Besides this discovery, I feel much stronger just by standing on the ground.
Is this it? Receiving the favor of nature itself?