Book 5. Chapter 1: World Tree Seed

Book 5. Chapter 1: World Tree Seed

Having wrapped up the refugee rescue in Lakemere, Clan Hart spent some time preparing Lakemere before returning to their Refuge. Tanda had learned that much of the East Coast looked similarly.

Avian beastkin had arrived from various towns and villages, letting them know that Rifts had opened everywhere, and many required aid. Jake was starting to lament sending Rookards wolves to the West Coast.

Vesuvius joined with Takodas tamers to ride East. Soon, the reinforcements should arrive and provide assistance to those needing aid.

Meanwhile, Hearthtribe remained central. Aisling had some bad premonitions of what might happen if they didnt properly defend the center of the continent.

While Jakes people had empowered them and some villages had done well, Tartarus response was often brutal. It would pick apart their strengths with cunning efficiency, or people would get swept away by roaming bands of undead.

Jake did hear back from Morwen and Grayson, apparently they were waiting on Warrior Brotherhood for reinforcements. They were working to join up, but the storm, the terrain shifting, and the betrayers on the loose made it a challenge.

He was tempted to head out there, but he had faith in their ability to come out on top. Jake was hoping that once the teleporter was finished, Timones party and flock would head out West. They had hunted all the Rifts large or small near Harmony Peaks, even clearing to the North. However, they were still ready for the important arrival.

Jakes family now stood in front of the new Harmony Peaks HQIncluding Timone and his clan. Nestled in the valley against the river and mountain, the new city at the base was highly defensible.

It required them to build two dams. This allowed them to restrict the water flow leading into the split peaks, but also prevent Naga from attacking easily. They had managed to make an artificial lake by creating this barrier upstream.

The base was little more than a staging camp, at the moment. The HQ was a tower-like structure that looked pathetic next to the mountain it was beneath, but was nearly five stories high at the moment.

Much of the effort went towards bringing the prepared materials here. Thousands of avian beastkin had worked hard to collect hundreds of saplings across the jungle, along with enhancing the wall built at the base of the tower using stone. Having only roughly a week, Jake was impressed on what they accomplished.

The archway for the HQ portal was chosen within the walls for the time being, moving it entirely possible later. The plaza was large, capable of holding thousands of people. The wall protected this large area, Jake knowing it was useful for a final point of retreat.

The portal opened, and Valtor the scholar armor, Amara the magical tome, and Rhia, the pink child armor that looked like a certain pink ranger appeared.

Berri smiled. Rhia! Its good to see you!

Rhias eyes seemed to flicker in delight. Berri! She flew over to Berri, and immediately began to catch up with her. Timones family looked on in interest, noting the special creatures.

Valtor and Amara greeted Jake, then Valtor noted, Nadessa should be along shortly. The arrivals are here, and she should be able to allow them through to this location.

Timone gave Valtor a concerned look. You must be the one hassling my people. Your guidance is welcome, but everything is about numbers with you. Not everything is easily quantified, and my people are not so used to being soregimented.

Valtor chuckled. My apologies, Chief Timone. The Framework quantifies much, and I live within the [Menu]. I understand your people work differently, bringing order to the chaos of nature is a real challenge. Still, efficiency and effectiveness wins battles and saves lives.

Timone nodded. Your way works, but it will take some time for us to truly find harmony. Welcome, Valtor.

Nadessa strode out of the portal, and the small dryad girl holding a large staff looked excited. Her childlike grin was infectious, Jake knowing her pride for herself and her people were about all that made her act the way she looked.

To Jakes surprise, a handful of spriggons came through too. They immediately began jabbering and pointing at Bloodberri, quickly moving to join with her; playing with Rhia.

Nadessa chuckled, looking at the rambunctious creatures. Theywere insistent on wanting to come. Im not sure how they even knew about the event.

Jake watched as they jabbered and pulled on Bloodberris clothes, seeking attention. Berri gave them a smile, and they began to dance around her in a circle. Some of their dance gave Jake the feeling they were shimmying or shaking like a snake might undulateor at least trying to make it look like that. They were not all that coordinated.

Despite their wild nature, the dance almost seemed choreographed, and it ended with them prostrating themselves before her, raising up what appeared to be gifts in their tiny hands.

Berri clapped. That was cute. Oh! Thank you, little ones!

Blood then floated their offerings into their hands, causing the creatures pupil-less eyes to glimmer in the light and jabber in astonishment. Their gifts were what looked like delicious fruit and beautiful flowers. Blood placed the flowers in their hair.

Rhia looked on in astonishment. I see them a lot when youre not around, and they dont act like this! Some have really been making friends with the beastkin children, though.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

Nadessa did seem interested in the interaction, but she moved onthe arrival more important to her.

My people are finally here! Well, a decent number of them. Spriggons, Dryads, baby Hamadryads, and some younger Treants! Then, much of our stronger Fauns and Satyrs will arrive, those early in Tier 1. There are even a handful of Naiads!

They almost followed the original five in an orderly manner, though Jake saw one had gone back through the portal. That left just one more event for this arrival.

A handful of dryads and the Treants that joined Jakes guild stuck around in the plaza, as if waiting for this moment. Nadessa spoke with them a moment, before triggering the last arrival.

It was seven dryads, six holding onto a handle of a wooden box. It almost reminded Jake of a sedanthe odd construction used by aristocratic individuals in Earths history for transportation, a group of people meant to carry a person that sat inside.

Only, instead of four to six guys carrying a single one sitting in a chair inside the box, it was six little girls carrying another, even smaller, girl. The last dryad was carrying a sealed box, and Jake could feel the special energies contained inside, and definitely could feel a small amount of what he in his mind associated with divinity.

Fhesiah nodded to Jakes thoughts. That is truly special. The box is definitely sealing most of what's contained within, but it is still leaking out.

Those that remained in the plaza followed the procession of the odd guardians of the World Tree Seed and Treant King descendant, heading over to its new home.

A large clearing in the cave leading to the Heart of the World had been carved out. The tribe from the nearby plateau had been called upon, and they aided with digging out the massive area from the cave, as well as aiding with the HQ construction.

Auril-infused claws were amazing for digging, exceeding any pickaxe or drill. The cave was nearly horizontal and snaked around before it descended toward the prismatic stem. Despite the World Trees placement within the cave, the roots would not necessarily reach the stem going straight down.

Tamed dinosaurs and beasts were used to fill in the large pit that was dug out at the base of the mountain with soil. Jake was impressed with how large of an area they had carved out, the roots able to spread where there wasnt necessarily rockthough this was not a problem for the special tree as it got older.

They had managed to create a grotto-like area that was protected on all sides by the mountain. It was still near the base, and would protect the path to the Heart of the World. Already, there was grass growing in the clearing, with vines draping down the cavern walls from various trees.

Looking up, Jake was surprised to see how deep the chasm was. Jake questioned Timone, You guys did this all in a week? This is quite impressive.

Timone looked proud, gazing over the work his people had done. We all worked hard, hundreds of us. However, this area was quite eroded already. The recent avalanche by my daughter kind of uncovered it.

The sun shined down on the grotto, only reachable through the cave and not easily spotted from the outside. When Jake was looking up, he saw what he hadnt expected: the four heroic beasts.

They had gathered above, as if to watch the arrival.

The procession placed down their precious cargo, Nadessa taking the box from the dryad.

When she took the seed out, it glimmered in the light, and the feeling of divinity increased. Whatever this was, it was definitely above that of the beast avatar. It didnt seem the same level as a Champion, but this was before the unique entity grew.

Planting it in the auril-rich soil, Nadessa then focused her staff. Green energy that matched Tandas [Rampant Growth] spell was released into the seed, and the other dryads began to match her.

Timone and his wives all sang a wordless song, humming and vocalizing a soothing tune. The auril in the area were drawn in from afar, even from the heroic beasts aiding them. Their energies entered the seed as well.

The little girl inside the sedan exited, and Jake felt something special from her. Her skin was a pale cream color, and the leaves on her body appeared to match that of a sycamore. As she got near, a green glimmer surrounded her, then entered the seed.

The seed quickly sprouted, and grew rapidly from the ground. The auril from the area converged even more rapidly, creating a vortex within the grotto. This continued for several minutes, the tree growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Before long, it was almost as large as one of the Treants. However, it appeared to slow down as the base became thicker.

It was then that the rapid growth stopped. In a way, it was almost disappointingthe tree in their Refuge had grown a lot faster. In another, Jake could feel the immense levels of vitality coming from the tree. It resembled a sycamore like the girl, and she looked up at the tree with a smile.

She waved at the dryads and Nadessa, who all looked on with brilliant smiles. They were full of pride, happy that this worked out. The girl hugged the tree, where she glimmered green and disappeared.

Nadessa was beaming. She did it! She is now solidifying her bond, but also growing along with it. She will enter a slumber for a time, but we should have some control over its growth!

She looked over to Timone and family. Thank you so much for your help! Your control over the auril energy is truly special. Nadessa then addressed the four heroic beasts. Thank you, for welcoming the Elysians to your world! Well fight to protect the balance, to protect our world!

She turned to Jake. And thank you, Jake! Im so glad youre the one that answered our call. We will fight hard for this world, I promise. Not all of our people stay in the city, but they still participate in the defense and do Incursions. You can count on us!

The heroic beasts stood overlooking the special location proudly, the great protectors of the forest. Jake was happy to know that these creatures were present in Harmony Peaks, keeping watch for evil.

He spent some time hammering out their overall plans for the coming weeks, and learned that Valtor and Amara would be organizing adding magical defenses to the location. Similar to the formations Fhesiah had created to draw in energy, they would use scripts carved on the cliff faces to hide and protect the special location.

The world tree seed handled, Jake and his wives could get back to the front lines. Soon, it would be time for Jake to focus on his next means of advancement: Hearth Enchantment.