Tale of Eldramir

As Ezekiel and his team were wrapped up by tree branches, they all did their best to cut themselves free. Ezekiel and Shine channeled their mana as best they could. But the moment they inflicted any damage the cuts immediately closed as green Life mana filled and healed them nearly instantly.

The others weren’t having much luck either. Fiana found her fires doing little, and what wood that did burn fell to the ground as charcoal as the branches regrew without issue. Martin, Nina, and Sasha all made their own attempts to break free, but they and their Spirits were bound tightly, and nothing was going to get them loose.

Only George didn’t attempt to try and break free. Instead, he just stared listlessly into the distance. Muttering under his breath. Those that could enhance their senses realized that George was reciting prayers to the Ancients. Given George’s usual confidence and attitude, this made all of them nervous. But they had little time to dwell on this, as they began to move.

The trees themselves pulled them further and further away from the rim of the caldera. But only some of the trees were moving. Ezekiel realized that the trees that were pulling them along seemed to be old oak trees. They were in all shapes and sizes, many of which didn’t look like normal oak trees.

“Be not afraid!” A voice cut through the group's collective panic.

They all turned as best they could to look at the wooden figure that was riding atop some branches alongside them. As they looked closer, they realized that this figure was surprisingly humanoid in form. It was as if someone had carved a suit of armor from wood. It had glowing green lines running up and down its body, and glowing green eyes in the helmet.

“You will not be harmed. Please, do not panic. It is simply faster for you to reach me in this way.” The figure spoke slowly, with a low rumble that reverberated through the human’s skulls.

“Then, why are we bound?” Fiana asked. By this point everyone realized that there was no point in struggling. For a Spirit like this to be able to speak to them so clearly, it was obviously a Legendary Spirit. One that was near or at the peak of its Tier. Only those ones were powerful enough to vocalize their speech. None of them stood a chance if this Spirit wished to hurt them.

“You do not see how fast you are truly moving. As the trees move with you, you do not feel it. I am at the center of this island. It would take you a week to reach me at your fastest pace. Now, it shall merely take a few hours. The bindings are for your protection. Else you would feel the forces with your bodies.” The wooden figure explained.

Each of the Mages paled at the wooden figures words. The speeds they were travelling at were well beyond what they could withstand. A Legendary figure might be able to move that fast. But even then, it would be tough. If they weren’t protected by the branches surrounding them, they’d probably be bloody chunks from the wind resistance.

“Can you explain what’s going on?” Fiana asked. It seemed like the other Adepts were content to let the fiery Mage do the talking.

“I need to speak with the boy and his Spirit. I felt it best to bring their protectors as well.” The Spirit said with a rattle of wooden branches as it pointed at Ezekiel. For his part, Ezekiel just rolled his eyes. Of course, the Legendary Spirit was looking for him. Why wouldn’t it be?

“I think I get why you think a low profile is a good thing. Even if you don’t seem to keep one all that often.” Shine said to Ezekiel.

“It’s not my fault I’ve gotten worse at staying on the downlow. I kept my magic secret for five years, until I got involved with a Guild. Now I just can’t seem to stay out of trouble.” Ezekiel complained as he tried to defend himself. “I blame the fact that I’m giving puberty a second go. It freaking sucks.”

Now that he knew that he wasn’t about to die right away, Ezekiel decided that there really wasn’t any point in warping at the moment. Technically he could break free by warping himself and Shine out of the grasp of the branches. But then he’d just get captured again.

“May I ask, what kind of Spirit are you? I’ve never seen a Life Spirit use magic like this.” Fiana asked. She wanted to know more about how the Spirit knew about Ezekiel and Shine. As well as what it wanted with them but figured that finding out more about this Spirit was more of a priority.

“I am--” The Spirit suddenly stopped speaking. It turned its helmet shaped head away from the group. Staring into the distance, its eyes seemed to brighten for a moment. Its previously seated posture suddenly hunched over, and it seemed to tense its body as if angry at something unseen.

“The green fool knows what I am. I have something I must deal with.” The wooden figure then went still, its eyes and the glowing veins along its body turned dim. As the Spirit went quiet, the bound Mages and Spirits turned their attention to George, whose face was turning red from the attention. He hadn’t expected to be called out by a Legendary Spirit.

“It’s rare, but sometimes, when a Life Spirit becomes a Legendary being, instead of solidifying its power, it can spread it out evenly. Instead of a Legendary tree Spirit. This is more of a Legendary forest.” George explained. “I read about it when researching Life Spirits. Apparently, it’s the last phase that a Life Spirit goes through before it ascends to Tier five. Though, obviously this has only occurred once.”

Ezekiel was not as knowledgeable of the higher Tier Spirits in the world. But he did know that there were a few Exalted beings at Tier five. He didn’t know what elements they were, but it seemed that George could confirm that there was a Life Spirit amongst them.

“Essentially, what happens is the Legendary Spirit in question, splits their mana between multiple bodies. So instead of one tree with third Step mana, you’d have up to three trees with first Step mana. Each tree is then able to gather its own mana, as if it were its own Spirit.” George explained. “It also means that, if they can withstand the pain, they could split their mana into multiple bodies of a lower Tiered Step instead. Basically, giving them an army of Life Spirits.”

“Wouldn’t that mean that it could reach Tier five quite fast? If it has multiple bodies with Tier four mana, couldn’t it just add them all together in order to push to the next Tier? There’s no conflicting will if it’s all its own mana.” Fiana asked. The two Hunters were still silent. Not as knowledgeable about such things as the Scholars.

Ezekiel also kept quiet. But that was mostly because of how familiar this process sounded.

“Apparently it has to do with the soul. Splitting one’s mana into a new body means that the soul is damaged. Repairing it leaves scars that are difficult to heal, which act like blockages that prevent the mana from being added back together perfectly. Mana can still be shared between bodies, much like a Spirit and a Hunter. But it can’t be used to push one body higher than the other. That has to be done individually. Similarly, the strength of their soul limits how many bodies of a given Tier that the Forest Spirit can have. If the soul is too weak, the newly split body just dies.” George explained. “Of course, this is all hearsay. The Exalted Life Spirit hasn’t exactly allowed any Mages to examine it. Not that we could, with a Tier five mana being too dense to examine by those of lower Tier.”

Ezekiel and Shine shared a mental glance. The process of becoming a Forest Spirit sounded almost exactly like what had happened to them. The only difference being that they could still share mana to push one higher. Though only because Ezekiel was of a much higher Step than Shine. When they eventually reach the same Step that might end up changing.

The party fell silent as George finished his explanation. Whilst terrifying, as much as it was amazing, none of them were in the mood for small talk. They also had no reason to make plans, as their captor would doubtless be able to hear them. For now, all they could do was wait until they arrived at their destination and hope that they could somehow get word back to their camp later.

The sun had not yet set when the captured party reached their destination. It had certainly dipped much closer to the horizon. In the nearing distance, they could all see a massive oak tree surrounded by what looked like many smaller oak trees acting as a defensive line. A soft crackling sound was heard as the wooden figure next to them all was animated once again.

“Apologies for my silence. There was an issue on the eastern borders of the caldera that needed to be dealt with. It seems my actions were not unnoticed by the enemy.” The Spirit said to them.

The humans all flinched. Their initial eye in the sky scouting had shown them the areas of the island that were firmly under the Cruor’s control. The crimson lakes and rivers showed that the eastern half of the island was firmly under the Cruor’s control. Given the Forest Spirit’s words, that most certainly meant that their presence was known on the island now.

If that was the case, then they would need to be especially careful near the shores. While the number of Spirits nearby wasn’t small, the Deep Cruor might still make it to the western side of the island at some point. Even the more southern and northern tips were now much more dangerous.

“I don’t suppose you might allow us to send word to our people? To let them know of the additional dangers.” Fiana asked the Spirit.

Their guide fell silent, the light in its eyes dimming for a moment before brightening once again. A wooden plate grew from one of the branches and was placed in front of Fiana. Her arm was released from its hold and a shiny metallic green leaf was placed in her hand.

“Write your message here. I shall convey the message to one of my bodies nearer to your camp. It will relay a second bark with your message engraved upon it.” The Spirit said.

Fiana nodded in thanks before writing her message. She simply summarized their current situation, and their placement on the island. Explaining to them that it would take them a week to reach their location if they had a straight path. Given the Spirits and obstacles in their way, it would likely take them double that time realistically.

“My thanks, Exalted one.” Fiana said as she released the pen. The Spirit wasn’t Exalted just yet, but to them it might as well be. The pen fell to the ground beneath them and was lost in the brush as they moved past. They were nearly at the foot of the massive oak tree now and their movement was slowing down. Just a few hundred meters from the base of the tree, they fully stopped, and found themselves on the ground, free to move around once again.

Looking toward the colossal tree in front of them, each and every one of them was in awe. The tree was at least a kilometer tall, and several times wider. The canopy was so thick that it blocked out all view of the sky from below. The only reason they had any light at all was due to the low position of the sun, but even that was mostly blocked out at ground level.

It was composed of multiple trunks and branches acting as pillars to support its size, with one central pillar that was bigger than any tree Ezekiel had ever heard of. Though he had to admit to himself that he hadn’t exactly spent too much of his life in the wilderness of the world. Especially not one as old as this. A living Relic from the Age of Hubris.

A bridge made of tree branches grew from the ground and reached out from the many smaller oak trees that surrounded them. It led up towards the central trunk of the tree. A doorway had appeared on the bark of the tree. Simply designed, but the spiraling knots of wood made for a unique aesthetic that Ezekiel didn’t expect a tree, no matter how old, to have.

“Please, enter. I believe that we should speak. Face to face.” The wooden figure said. It then fell into pieces, turning into mulch as it was absorbed into the surrounding trees. Turning to the wooden bridge, the Scholars took a deep breath to calm themselves, though George was slightly trembling. The Hunters, Ezekiel included, found themselves petting their Spirits for comfort. As one, they moved forward.

Back at the second base camp, a large oak tree now stood prominently in the center of the camp, having broken through the stone command center. Carved into the trunk of the tree was the message written by Fiana. Mixed in were several phrases and codes that the other Scholars used to confirm the validity of the message.

It didn’t take long for the various Adepts to call a council, nor for the different scout teams to be recalled, and for messages to be sent to the away teams still in the underground city. As they waited for word to get back to them from the away team, they had little to do besides wait, and make some preliminary plans to deal with the situation. Of course, some people were not content to let things lie, and felt the need to point fingers.

“I told you all, that brat was bad news!” Ginny practically screamed at her fellow Adepts.

“How the hell is it the kid’s fault? No one could’ve known that a Legendary Spirit would take interest in him.” One of the Scholars replied.

“Ginny, stop it. We get it, you don’t think the kid deserves to be here. But can you honestly say, for a fact, that he can’t do his job?” The various Adepts all looked at her as the Hunter from the Saber Scales spoke. The fact that a Hunter from a different Guild was supporting Ezekiel meant that he had managed to impress more than just some Island Hoppers Hunters. Even in the relatively short time they’d actually interacted with each other.

Ginny just huffed and ignored the question. Everyone else continued to devise different strategies. Some wanted to pull back. Take the necessary defensive precautions and get ready to leave as soon as possible. They saw little point in continuing an expedition that might break out into a war at any moment. Others said that they needed to get word back to the nearby human islands. If they could get more reinforcements, then maybe with the help of the Forest Spirit, they could break the Deep’s hold on the island, and expand humanity’s territory. At least for a little while.

Ultimately, the decision would boil down to whether or not the Forest Spirit could provide aid to them. As well as whether or not the other expedition teams were willing to continue with the expedition. There were a number of groups on the island, after all. It wasn’t as if this decision was something that only they could determine.

“We should wait until the Leader and Grand Scholars return from the underground city. That way we can ensure that none of our plans are put to waste.” One of the Sable Saber Hunters said. Many other Hunters agreed with her.

“Perhaps we should send a separate team to find the Guild Leader and Grand Scholars. Clearly our messages are too slow.” The nominal leader of the Saber Scales put forward. “That way, we could try and--”

The Hunter was cut off as the opening to the hastily made command tent was torn open. A gasping and panting messenger was standing at the entrance of the tent. He was an injured Tempest Mage and looked to be on the verge of collapsing. His sash indicated him as being a part of the Island Hoppers Guild. His Spirit was nowhere to be seen.

“Attack! There was an attack at sea. One of our fishing boats was destroyed.” The man fell over. He was barely caught in time by one of the Adepts near the entrance.

“Was it Wild Spirits?! Or have the Cruor moved their forces already?!” One of the Saber Scale Hunters asked.

“Neither... It was humans... Hunters... From a Cult!... Four Legendary Hunters!” The scout was beginning to lose consciousness. “Wild Spirits... held them off... whole ship... lost...” With those words said, the man fell unconscious.

Silence spread through the command tent. Before Ginny and the present leader of the Saber Scales began giving orders.

“Get that man to a healer. NOW! The rest of you begin packing up. Send our fastest messenger to the rear base camp. They are to pack all non-stationary equipment into Void Pouches and destroy whatever they can’t pack up. They need to get to the top of the bluffs as soon as possible!” Ginny shouted. The leader of the Saber Scales ordered his own Hunters to provide aid, and to accompany the messenger to instruct their own Guild forces at the rear camp.

“Our camps out here can’t defend against one Legendary, let alone Four Legendary Hunter-Spirit pairs. Our only choice right now is to regroup with our own Legendaries. Hopefully they’ve managed to get control of the defensive mechanisms of the city. Perhaps those will be of better use at this time.” The Hunter from the Saber Scales stated. “Move, people, move!”

A frantic chaos seemed to spread as the Hunters and Scholars alike began to pack up everything they could. They knew full well that they wouldn’t stand a chance against the forces that were coming for them. If it was one Legendary Hunter, then perhaps they would stand a chance, if they all worked together. Most of them would die, but they might take their enemy with them. But four Hunters? They’d be wiped out in an instant. They could only hope that they could get away in time.

Unseen by all in the tent, a small oak leaf that had been blown into the tent prior to the messenger’s arrival flew out of the tent as they all got to work. There was no wind as this occurred.

Several hours later, the entirety of the expedition teams from the Church and the two Guilds were atop the bluff at the entrance to the gateway leading down. Each and every one of the Hunters and Scholars was moving into the opened gateway as fast as they could. As the last few Hunters made their way through, the center point was swept clean of any evidence of human presence, and the gateway closed as the last Mages who held it open entered underground.

As the assortment of people made their way down, they were surprised to see that another camp had been set up at the bottom of the path. As well as defenses set up in front of the door to the focal point of the formation.

“Have the Guild Leader and Grand Scholars been informed of the situation?” Ginny asked as they all began setting up at the new base camp.

“Yes, ma’am. They were informed of both situations. The Forest Spirit and the Cult. All attempts to open the docks to the ocean have since been halted, and they are returning to the camp now. Well, all but Grand Scholar Scarlet. She’s already here.” One of the Apprentice Hunters from the Island Hoppers said.

He then explained how Scarlet and her team had run into a Legendary Death Worm while scouting the center of the city. There had been a waterway nearby that had given Scarlet the upper hand, allowing her to kill it. But they battle still resulted in injuries all around. She and her team were very lucky that no one had died during the fight. Nor had any Spirits, though most were going to be out of commission for a least a few days.

“Take me to her.” Ginny ordered. She and the nominal leader from the Saber Scales followed the Apprentice to a medical tent. Inside, Scarlet was staring at the roof of the tent as Death Mages worked to extract mana from her wounds, including a missing arm, while Life Mages worked to keep her stable. Ginny, having experienced such injuries herself, winced as she saw the same operations performed on her take place on the Legendary Mage in front of her.

“Guild Leaders. It seems like things have taken yet another turn for the worse.” Scarlet said. Her voice was flat and emotionless. Something that took Ginny by surprise, as she knew full well how much pain the Legendary Scholar would be in right now. “Report”

Ginny and the Adept from the Saber Scales did so. Going more in regarding the information sent to them from Fiana. As well as what they knew of the Cult’s movements. The messenger was still unconscious, so they were missing several details. But they knew they couldn’t take any risks, even if they didn’t have confirmation of the claims just yet.

“You made the right decision. I have little to no doubt that this is the Cult that has been making moves to take over the various pirate groups for the past few years. It doesn’t surprise me that they’re making a move to take whatever spoils they can from the Ruins on this island. Taking a bite out of the Church almost certainly helps them as well.” Scarlet said with a heavy sigh, shifting as her chest twinges in pain.

“Grand Scholar, please stop moving.” One of the healers said softly. By now, the Death Mages had finished up. Apparently, they had been working on her for the majority of the day. At this point, the Life Mages just had to finish closing Scarlet’s wounds and then let her rest for a day or so before regrowing her arm. Scarlet just grunted in reply but did her best not to move.

“For now, continue to set up fortifications around the camp. Expand it as best you can. But stay at least a couple hundred meters away from the city walls. The Death Worms don’t seem to care about leaving their nesting zones. So, we should be safe here near the Spiral. Also, have some Scholars set up traps and defenses in the Spiral leading upwards. I doubt they’ll know how, but we don’t want to risk the Cult figuring out how to get into the path.” Scarlet instructed.

“Other than that, do not send out any scouting teams. We might’ve been able to map out the general layout of the city and surrounding caverns, but that doesn’t mean we know where all the nests are. We know that there’s at least one Legendary Death Worm.” Scarlet nodded to her missing arm. “Let’s not find out if there’s more without anyone strong enough to fight it being nearby. Understood?”

Ginny and the other Adept nodded in unison. Neither of them wanted to face a Legendary Spirit in general. Let alone a Death Worm Spirit. With that said, the two current Guild leaders left to begin giving orders to their respective Hunters. Outside the tent, several Scholars were waiting patiently for their chance to speak with their leader.

Scarlet could only sigh as she realized that she wouldn’t be getting any rest before Carrian and Kari returned. She hoped that the other expedition teams weren’t having as many difficulties as her expedition was. If they couldn’t find a way to regroup and work together. Between the Wild Spirits, the Cruor, and now the Cult, she wasn’t sure if this expedition was something they would survive.

She really hoped that Ezekiel and his team managed to work something out with the Forest Spirit. For all she knew, it may be their only hope right now.