Days had passed since Faerie ventured out past the Thornwall only to witness the devastation being wrought upon her defenders, and her mood had been somewhat sombre and downcast ever since. With melancholy hanging in the air, internally both Arachne and Queen were deeply concerned for Faerie’s wellbeing, as they had an intrinsic understanding of her nature.
Faeries could be considered forces of nature, they would shape the world around themselves, and would be shaped by it in turn. This very nature would leave them with a fairly shallow sense of individuality, and would instead view their ‘domain’, or area of influence as their ‘self’. Because of this lack of self identity, it was extremely difficult for Faeries to internalise concepts or ideas, and their perception was mostly limited to the ‘here’ and ‘now’.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) this in and of itself acted as a sort limiter on the vast powers they held sway over, simply because they lacked an understanding of power to begin with, let alone the will or desire to use it. Instead, Faeries were creatures driven by whim and it would be extraordinary for one to ever venture to think outside of the present, or consider anything beyond their own respective habitats.
Regardless, Faerie’s usual demeanor had been disturbed, which could have drastic consequences for the glade. With both the plants and other inhabitants being shaped and molded according to Faerie’s desires, Arachne and Queen could find themselves transformed into twisted monsters, not to mention it could mean the end of the garden paradise the residents had come to enjoy. Even now, the effects of Faerie’s mood could be seen throughout the garden. The colours of blossoms were less vibrant, and while Faerie’s ever-present singing hadn’t stopped, her melodies were tinged with hints of fear.
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The morning air was cool as Faerie awoke on her lotus, and she opened her eyes to see Arachne snugly held in her embrace. She looked over her doll-like companion, noticing a change in her features. Recently, as Arachne had taken to being by Faerie’s side as an emotional support, her features had rapidly matured, and she had grown to become slightly taller than Faerie.
Arachne’s every feature remained porcelain white, from her hair to her skin, to the translucent, claw-like nails that adorned her delicate hands. Only her eyes remained an inky black abyss, no colour to be seen within their depths. In addition to her physically maturing, her face had become much more expressive, and when she was with Faerie she would shift between subtle signs of care and concern and a mask of warmth, meant to soothe her companion despite her worries.
It seemed, as if by coincidence, that Arachne also stirred from her sleep soon after Faerie opened her eyes. Rather than rising from the bed, she shifted Faerie’s body so that she could tuck her head just beneath Arachne’s chin, and began to gently stroke Faerie’s lustrous hair and hum a mild tune reminiscent of a lullaby. Under her companion’s encouragement, Faerie buried her face into Arachne’s chest and her eyelids soon fell, drifting off to sleep again with her anxieties eased for what seemed the first time in days. Arachne’s face bore a small smile as she felt her companion’s heart ease, and she continued humming her tune.
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Over the days while Arachne was supporting Faerie emotionally, Queen and her swarm were putting forth their fullest efforts towards supporting the defenses of the glade. Both she and her soldiers fought through many waves of beasts over the coming days, as they seemed to be coming more frequently, driven by some indeterminate need.
Regardless of reason, the savage creatures could not be allowed to rampage through the garden, and Queen remained vigilant. Over the past week she had gotten very little rest while she split her time between personally engaging in combat in an effort to limit casualties among her soldiers, and spawning new soldiers for the hive. If not for the fountain drawing from Faerie’s spring that Silver had formed in Queen’s chambers, it would be impossible for Queen to maintain this degree of exertion.
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Presently, Queen was feeling some complex emotions. She was not overly discouraged by the need for her to continue birthing more soldiers or fight on the front lines, but she recently had sent her soldiers to scout further out to identify any potential source of the incursions and had discovered what could possibly be the origin of their troubles.
Several of her bees had ranged far to the north, in the direction they were most often attacked from and had seen disconcerting black clouds blanketing the horizon for hundreds of kilometers to the east and west, and it appeared that these black clouds were moving south towards them, and driving a wave of beasts forward as they sought to escape whatever gave rise to the phenomenon.
Unfortunately, knowing this raised more questions than it answered, and didn’t particularly offer any solutions to alleviate the continuous surge of beast attacks the glade was suffering from. For now it seemed all that the residents could do is shore up their defenses and look for ways to divert the incoming tide of beasts around or away from the glade, while trying to come up with ideas to deal with the dark clouds making their way towards their home.
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With Faerie’s mood having greatly recovered, she made her way up from her lotus towards the bees’ village situated in Silver’s branches above the glade. It would have seemed to the casual observer that Silver’s changes and growth had stopped over the past several days, but contrary to appearances, Silver was undergoing significant and extraordinary changes beneath the surface.
On her way to visit Queen and the bees, Faerie sang to Silver to encourage it, of her wish for it to be the ultimate protector of her garden and the foremost pillar of her strength. She poured forth all the turbulent feelings she had undergone over the past few days, along with the sense of relief and security brought by her companions, and most of all, her desire for a home safe for all of them.
Within her song, Faerie’s magic did its work and helped to guide Silver towards her desire. As the song came to an end, and her will was fully conveyed, the glade underwent a massive upheaval. For a moment, to any land-bound residents of the garden, it would seem as though the earth shook. The shaking continued and grew in intensity while around the outer fringes of the garden, past the Thornwal, massive silver roots were burrowing through the ground rapidly, spreading out in all directions.
After the roots had sprawled hundreds of meters in all directions, the earth beneath the garden began to shake more vigorously before it began to rise. No longer did the Thornwall mark the boundary of the glade, as the garden rose high above the forest canopy on the nonsensically wide trunk of a tree that continued to grow skyward.
The garden now rested in a basin at the top of the trunk, surrounded by silver branches and leaves reaching further still into the sky, and as Silver’s growth came to an end, it was now truly massive. From the base of its trunk to the highest branches, the tree stretched more than 150 meters tall. Interestingly, within the glade things still looked more or less the same, with Silver’s original location and form being maintained, it appeared that rather than just growing up, Silver first expanded under the glade before lifting it, soil and all, out of harm’s way.
Faerie had alighted in the bee’s village in Silver’s original branches when things began to shift, and now as it was quite impossible for the residents not to have noticed the monumental change that their home had undergone, both Queen and Arachne made their way over to Faerie’s side, next to whom stood an androgynous figure with silver hair and eyes that seemed that it wasn’t entirely solid, a projection rather than a physical presence.
The figure wore no apparent clothes and had a slim humanoid body that looked exactly like the real thing, except lacking any sexual organs or characteristics. The face could only be described as beautiful, and the body appeared to be that of a young adolescent.
Although Faerie was typically one to express her affection physically, be it through a hug, or whatever mischief she might imagine in the moment, she merely gazed at this newly formed projection with her radiant smile. Without a doubt in her heart she knew, this would be her protector, her home; Silver.