Negary pov :
"I am here in accordance with the pact you made with the Three Eyed Raven. You can call me Leaf."
As I looked at the unholy mix between a child and a tree that Leaf's soul represented , I couldn't help but frown inside my mind.
The only reason I was able to sense something amiss was because I was in the middle of training to focus completely on two tasks at the same time.
My mana was pouring out of me like a damn faucet , increasing my soul sensing capabilities, and when she arrived in my perception range , I noticed the disturbance.
But if I wasn't doing that , I would have been oblivious to her arrival.
Coupled with the fact that she was content to observe me for a few minutes without giving away that she was here made me doubt her good intentions.
Then again , maybe she just saw that I was focused on something and decided to wait for me out of politeness.
I was trying to be cautious, not paranoid after all.
"Greetings, Leaf, guardian of the ancient woods. I am Negary, a demon with a curiosity for the hidden truths of this world.
Our paths have converged through the threads of fate, and I am eager to learn from the wisdom you hold"
There , nice and polite , the perfect introduction.
Now let's make her squeal....about magic of course...
"I am but a humble guardian of the forests, entrusted with the wisdom of the ancient woods and the echoes of time.
It is an honor to stand before you, Negary, as a servant of the pact that unites us." Leaf said with a completely expressionless face.
Good poker face . I guess she's been alive for hundreds of years and is part tree.
Yeah... let's not attempt to understand the emotions of unkept Pinocchio .
"Leaf, if I may inquire, is it a common ability among the Children of the Forest to separate their spectral essence from their physical form, as you have done? This seems to be a remarkable and intriguing capability."
And it was indeed.
Soul manipulation was hard and I only got mildly proficient in it because of my circumstances...but I guess they are nature spirits , maybe souls of humans who got absorbed by trees and gave birth to something new?
"Indeed, Negary. What you see now is our true form, the essence that we are.
The physical bodies we inhabit are more like vessels, husks that we use to interact with the material world.
It is in this spectral state that we are most attuned to the energies of the forests and the mysteries of the land." She answered, still seemingly bored with our interaction.
Well , you better get used to it , Woody , cause I'm just getting started.
"I hope my curiosity doesn't come across as tactless, but I'm genuinely curious. With your ability to separate your spectral form from your physical body, how were your kind defeated so thoroughly by the Andals, especially when you could have potentially avoided them by simply withdrawing into the forests? My apologies if my question is too direct."
Maybe they used Valyrian steel?
I wasn't sure , but all clues pointed to the fact that it affected the soul somehow.
Suffice to say , I was quite wary of it .
And speaking of which, what happened to the Abyssal Ice Sword I got from the Fat Demon?
I remember I had it in my hand when Pennywise kidnapped me...
"It was the influence of the Seven-Pointed Star that led to our downfall. Their zealous beliefs and desire to convert or conquer left us with no choice but to fight. It's a chapter in our history that we mourn, and I carry the weight of it even now." The wood woman said , a frown now deeply etched on her face.
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Damn , that must bring back bad memories.
Though, the Seven Pointed Star....it was still around , even now.
It was even the dominant religion in Westeros
It was said to be one entity with seven faces, and those were :
The Father -for judgment and justice
The Mother -representing motherhood and nurturing
The Warrior - embodying strength and courage
The Maiden - personifying purity and innocence
The Smith - encompass craftsmanship and labor
The Crone - the epitome of wisdom and age
The Stranger - Death and the unknown
And Leaf said they killed off the Children of the Forest for some reason.
That meant I need info on them , and I need it yesterday, because compared to the Children at their peak , I am but a bug .
And the Seven had surely become stronger over the hundreds of years that passed...
"Leaf, provide me with a thorough lesson in the history of the Children of the Forest.
I want to know every detail, from their origins to their interactions with other races and the events that led to their current state.
Hold nothing back."
I said , with a friendly smile on my face and a dangerous glint in my eye.
.
.
.
.
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N̸̨̎͋͒͗̿̔̒̿̊͒͆̈́͋̉͆̓̀̉͒͘͜͝͝͠͝e̶̢̡̨̡̨̨̩̝̪̗̹͈̪͇̣̮͚̹͈͔̙͖͍͈͙̱̙̮͉̗̠͕̳̬̤̥͔̠͍͉̹̐̓̂̓̾̉̓̒̓̓̈́́́̽̒͘̚͜͜͝ļ̶̛̞̤̻̖̻̥͓̻̰͍̩̖̠̰͙̺̮̹̺̹̺͉̦̘͇̱̲̯̩̯̞͍̻̼̖̠̺͂̒̒̆̐̎͜ͅư̴͚̔̓͂̎̒̌̑ͅm̵̨̧̨̛̛̛̰̗͍̟̯̘̠̟͔͉̬̤̖͎̘͉̙͙̘̺͉͉͙͈͈̭̣̫̩̺̘̱͚͈̠̺̖̅̈́̂̌̆͗͆̀͊͑̆͒̏̏̍̃͑̔́̈̀̏́̉́̉̒̃̓̆̿̈̌́̊̕̚̕͜͝͝b̸̨̛̛̞͔̝̠̦͇͔͕͙̤͍͉̯̫̼͚͉̫̻̞̤̪͎̦̳̭͖̪̲̣̫͈͈͛̄̂̑̀͒̈́͛͑͑̿́̏͐̈́̃́̓̑͌̒̑̆́͋͛̏̿̐̐̀͒̓̏̏̂͜͝͝ͅo̶̧̢̨̗̱̩̗̦̳͍̼̞͖͔̳̦̱͓͉͚͈̩̯͎̲̹̙͇̝̔́̊̇̂͗̓̈́̊̄̑̑͛̿͐̂̇̂̇̕̚͘̕̕͝͝͝ ̴̢̛̖̺͎̮̪̰͈͙̣͙̀͒͌͋̓̊̅̽̈́̅̎͊̎̋̃͐͒́̅͗̇́͒̉̿͒͘͝͝͝͝ņ̵̛̛̛̥̹̤̣̝̮̺̪͖̗̙̣̻̮͈̺͓̱̙͎̞̘͚͔̗̮̖͔̲̳̰͙̓̋̑̎̀̈́̇̒̈́̑̆͒͂͊́̔̆̂̐̉̓́͐̓͋͆̓̈́̌̽͌͌͘͜͝͠͝ų̵̳̻̲̝̞̩̞͈̻̣͔̠͙̟̆̇̂̈͛̀͒͊͒̿̐͝ͅͅc̸̛͈̤͈̲͔͇̝̰̣͖̦̝̓̏͌̐̾̌̈́̍͐͐͂͗͒̏̆̉̇͋́̋̾͌͒̿̎̉͑̋̈̿́̀̈͘͘͝͠͝͝ͅi̷̢̨͙̭̣̰̟̤̖̩̠͕̯̖̪͚̭̼̯͔̼̳̣̪̼̻̼̤̭̪̟̗̤͓͎̞̣̺̜͖̮̠͗̀͆̎̇̓͐f̷̛̟͍̥̮̲̩̤̝͌̓ͅé̵̛͍̞̍̋̀̉͗͋̀̂̍̃̓̃́̊͑̀̋̀́̎͘̕͘͝͠r̴̢̧̨̢͓̗̲̺̭͎̩̖̲̗̩͔̦̺̮̼̬̼̥͖̲͕̘͇̱̬̊̉͑̓͗̒̈̓̌̀̍͗̀̾̽͛̓͗͒̉̈́́̊̿̂̾̚̚̕̕͝͠͠ȧ̷̢̧̨͈̣̱̠̫͙̘̦̞͚̳̘͇̘̫̠̝̼͓̖͓̩̳̒̅͊̊̎̀͒́̑̎́͊͒̈́̀̈́̓͛͐̈́̈́̆̑̈́̂̇̂̑͆̉̉̓̕̕̚͠͠͝ / Leaf pov :
.
.
.
.
As I watched the Demon playing play pretend, being all polite and seemingly respectful, I couldn't help but but frown inside my mind.
Did the humans really have such an impact on the world that even creatures from the void beyond had come to accept their customs as their own?
Well , it doesn't matter after all .
I was here to secure the help of this creature against the Night King , a being much more dangerous and frightening.
I should know , after all , I was the one that plunged the dagger blessed by the Dark God into his chest , making him into what he is today...
The weight of regret lies heavy upon my heart, a burden that stretches across the ages like the roots of the ancient trees.
It was I who wove the spells and bound the magic that gave birth to the Night King, a being of darkness and death.
In that moment, I thought only of our survival, of creating a weapon against the First Men, unaware of the monstrous force I would unleash upon the world.
The guilt of my actions lingers like a shadow, a constant reminder of the unintended consequences of my desperate choices.
The land we cherished was forever changed, and the pain it brought to both our kind and others is something I can never undo.
"Leaf, provide me with a thorough lesson in the history of the Children of the Forest.
I want to know every detail, from their origins to their interactions with other races and the events that led to their current state.
Hold nothing back."
The demon in front of me said with a commanding tone , one that left no room for arguments.
I obeyed, not because I was afraid. No , my life has long ago turned from a blessing into a burden , one I carried for the sole reason that there were still mistakes I had yet to atone for.
"Long before the world knew of men, our people, the children of the forest, emerged from the heart of the forests themselves. Born from the trees and the spirits that resided within them, we became stewards of the land, living in harmony with nature's rhythm.
But peace was fleeting, as the First Men arrived with their axes and their greed. Conflict arose, and we found ourselves in a war against these newcomers. In our desperation, we turned to our ancient magic, becoming the greenseers and skinchangers, wielding the power of the land against our foes.
Our sorcery was powerful, and we fought fiercely against the First Men. Yet, our victories were not without consequences. In a desperate bid to turn the tide, we created the Night King, using a blade of dragonglass that was blessed by the God of Darkness. But the creation turned against us, and the Long Night descended upon the world.
In the face of this peril, the children of the forest and the First Men forged an unlikely alliance. Together, we pushed back the Night King's advance, and in the end, it was a hero of the First Men who drove a blade of dragonglass into the Night King's heart, weakening him greatly and ending his reign of terror as he fled into the far north.
With the threat of the Night King vanquished, we found common ground with the First Men. A pact was forged on the Isle of Faces, an agreement that allowed us to live alongside each other in peace. The truce marked the beginning of a time of peace.
As time unfurled its tapestry further, a new chapter was written in the annals of our history. From the distant lands of Essos came the Andals, herded by their faith in the Seven, a deity who called them forth to conquer and cleanse the world.
With the Seven guiding their path, the Andals waged a campaign of destruction and conversion, sweeping across the land and changing its very fabric.
The Andals bore a bitter enmity toward the old ways, viewing our magical practices as abominations.
They were tasked with eradicating our physical forms from the earth, while their gods hunted our spectral bodies, a cruel irony bestowed upon them by the deities.
These beings, originally only five, sought to consume us whole, to quell the last remnants of our existence.
As the Andals advanced, our people were pushed to the brink of extinction.
Our homes were razed, our gods desecrated, and our magic driven into the shadows.
The followers of the Seven saw our kind as a threat to their faith, and with zealous fervor, they sought to obliterate every trace of our ancient heritage.
Yet, even in the face of annihilation, some among us learned to evade the relentless gaze of the Five, mastering the art of concealment and survival.
These few persisted, finding refuge in the deepest, most remote corners of the world.
And it was there, in those hidden sanctuaries, that our stories were passed down from generation to generation, our ancient traditions kept alive through whispers and secrecy.
The Andals and their mad God had inflicted deep wounds upon our people, but they did not succeed in erasing us entirely.
The veil of history might have shrouded our existence, but the roots of our culture remained, undying and unbroken.
And now, as you stand here before me, the last vestiges of a time long past, our stories converge once more, as our destinies intertwine in ways unforeseen."
As Leaf recounted the tale of her people's struggles and the dark days of their near-extinction, a mixture of sorrow and determination painted her features.
Her eyes, which had held a distant gaze, now seemed to shimmer with the weight of memory. It was as if the weight of generations bore down upon her, a burden shared by all children of the forest who had witnessed the trials of their kind.
In her words, there was a melancholic acceptance of the past, but also a fierce resolve to ensure that the stories and lessons learned would not fade into oblivion.
She understood the fragility of their existence, the delicate thread that connected their past to their present.
And though the horrors of history had scarred her people deeply, they had also ignited an unyielding spirit within her—a spirit that refused to let the legacy of the children of the forest be erased.
And the demon, who had been completely silent until now , listening with rapt attention, finally opened his mouth and spoke.
"Do you mean to say that....Five deities turned into Seven in the last three hundred years?"
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A.N :
""I believe that the human spirit is indomitable,"
He said at last.
"That if you endeavor to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve.
It may not be immediate and sometimes it may be something you will not achieve within your own lifetime.
But the effort you put forth into something transcends yourself, so there is no futility even in death.""
-The Games We Play by Ryugi