Warcraft: Shaladrassil

Year 25, Day 5

When Ysondre had called Shaladrassil a ‘world tree’, I thought I’d mostly know what to expect. A large tree, certainly. Perhaps even a very large tree. From my land bond with Twilight Grove, I knew the tree growing there to be somehow related to a world tree, if not one itself for some unclear reason. That was the biggest tree I’d ever seen or heard of, larger even than the enormous muggle buildings of Metropolis and Gotham.

To call Shaladrassil a very large tree would be like calling Ysondre’s dragon form a very large viviparous lizard. It dwarfed the great tree in Twilight Grove the way the great tree dwarfed a blade of grass. It was mind bogglingly huge, its branches lost amidst the clouds and its roots alone rising above the canopy of the forest that surrounded it.

I had never seen a place that I was more certain would make for a Green-mana producing land. If this titanic example of nature’s majesty did not produce Green, I didn’t know what would. It was one of the most magical sights I’d ever seen, without even considering the positively titanic quantities of magic I could see flowing through its trunks and the vast network of roots that extended deep beneath the earth.

I took a deep breath. The air up here was cool and fresh, but rather thin, forcing me to breathe much more than I usually would. The world opened up before me, a vast forest stretching off into the distance until it reached the sea. From so high up, the trees below looked like a carpet of green broken in places by streams, clearings, and the occasional titanic root extending out from beneath the rich soil.

It was breathtaking, and not just because of the altitude. I shifted my weight from foot to foot and the colossal limb I was standing on––big enough to hold a small castle with room to spare––did not shift in the slightest. The bark beneath my feet was as solid as stone and rough enough to give me solid footing despite the slight slope I was standing on.

“They say this forest is the closest the real world can get to reflecting the majesty of the Dreaming.” The draconic woman standing beside me giggle, her voice far too high pitched and…girly for a creature as old as she was, “I don’t know if I’d go so far myself, but it is certainly beautiful, is it not? I’ve spent many a year lounging in Shaladrassil’s branches, and the view never gets old.”

I nodded slowly. “It is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Thank you for sharing this spot with us, Lady Nythendra.”

She giggled again, waving her hand dismissively, but it was clear that she appreciated the praise and liked the title. She sidled closer to me until the hem of her red skirt was brushing against my robe. “That means you like it, right? Is this what you were looking for?”

“Indeed. It's perfect.” And it really was. When we’d first arrived here, I’d asked for a place from where I could properly appreciate the world tree and the forest of Val'sharah. The request had initially been aimed at some of the local druids who had come to welcome us––well, mostly Ysondre––but the moment Nythendra heard about the request, she’d decided to take over and dragged all of us, including our druid guide, up here.

I’d initially been slightly concerned––she was a dragon after all, and I wasn’t sure what someone like her would consider a perfect place to observe Shaladrassil from, but Nythendra had absolutely delivered. The branch we were standing on curved inwards slightly and from it I could see both the tree itself––thinner branches reaching up past me towards the clouds and its trunk rising from the forest floor like a column propping up the heavens––and the surrounding. I could even just barely make out the Dreamgrove, where we’d first emerged from the Emerald Dream, and in the other direction I could see the domed roofs of the local Temple of Elune.

She smiled brightly, her green eyes glowing like polished gemstones. “I’m glad. You and your friends did a great thing helping out aunty the way you did. I know she can come off as grouchy, but she’s really thankful too. I need to go check up on some things now, but I look forward to getting to know you better in the future. Maybe we’ll find somewhere even nicer that we can appreciate together.”

“Of course. It would be my pleasure.” I assumed she meant via her Blueprint, because otherwise I wasn’t sure what she was talking about. She’d happily agreed to let me make one of her after Ysondre had mentioned my request, barely pausing to listen to the details. Near as I could tell, the mere prospect of a chance to explore somewhere that wasn’t Shaladrassil and its surroundings was enough to get her to agree to almost anything. She’d been guarding this area for nearly ten-thousand years, only able to leave on rare occasions. As beautiful as it was, I imagined I’d get tired of it after a few weeks, much less millenia.

“Great!” she exclaimed. She wrapped her arms around my chest and squeezed me tightly enough that I felt my bones creak and my aura briefly flickered into view. “Oooh, sparkly!” she declared, thankfully releasing me before she could cause any actual damage. Though she looked like a slender young woman, her draconic nature meant she was considerably stronger than her size and shape would suggest. “Bye bye for now!”

She took two quick steps, then leapt into the air, her red skirt billowing around her. Before she could start to fall, her body rippled and the young woman was replaced by an enormous dragon, its scales a shimmering emerald-green and spots of bright red highlighting the base of its claws and horns. She flapped her wings and I took a half-step backwards as the wind from her takeoff buffeted me. Then she dove, spiraling around the trunk of the tree and swiftly vanishing from view.

I watched her go, then sighed and sat down. The branch beneath me was surprisingly warm, heated both by the bright sunlight trickling through the leaves far above and the magic flowing through it. It contrasted pleasantly with the chill of the breeze, and I imagined it would be perfectly comfortable to sit up here even without the numerous charms on my clothing.

Glancing around, I could see Ysondre, our druid guide, and the rest of my companions scattered across the branch. The druid––I’d never gotten a name out of him and the Blueprint I’d created during our trip up here was generic, not legendary––was meditating silently with his back leaned against a building-sized ‘knot’ in the branch, his eyes half-open as he watched Peach run around like an over-excited child. Ysondre was in her dragon form talking with a very excited-looking Zatanna. The others were either enjoying the view, talking, engaging in some light sparring, or, in Glynda’s case, walking towards me.

I turned to look up at the combat teacher and she stopped a few paces away from me. “Do you need something?” I asked.

Glynda smiled. She looked unusually upbeat and positive today, her shoulders missing some of their usual tension. She gestured around. “I thought I’d join you. It's a good spot.”

I considered the request, then shrugged. “It is. As long as you’re quiet.”

“Of course. I won’t bother you.”

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She settled down beside me, her legs folded to the side and her hands in her lap. I was momentarily distracted by the way her skirt rode up, revealing more of her sheer black tights as they stretched taut across her thighs.

I quickly looked away, shaking my head and closing my eyes. I wasn’t here to look at any of the sights. I was here to bind another Green land so I could summon powerful companions like Ysondre, Nythendra, and, to a much lesser extent, that villain Poison-Ivy.

I’d found that binding a second land on a plane took a lot more than binding the first. More than just a magical connection, it required a certain degree of appreciation and understanding. That was why I’d had Nythendra and the druid tell us all about this place and its history as we ascended up towards this branch. However, I was pretty sure a magical connection wouldn’t hurt, and I really didn’t have all that much time to spend here.

Ysondre had mentioned only staying here until early evening at the latest, with another destination in mind where we could spend the night. That was why I’d decided to head here as soon as possible, instead of traveling to the Temple of Elune or waiting to meet with some of the more senior, powerful druids. No time to waste and all that. If binding this place was taking too long, I could probably ask her to wait, but that would likely cut off other locations from our tour.

There was also always the option of simply apparating or taking a portkey back here later, but I was planning to leave Azeroth relatively soon and I really wanted a second reliable source of Green mana before I did so. And anyway, coming back to meet people would be easier if I could just planeswalk straight here instead of first traveling to the Grove and then needing to get here after. Though the trip through the Dream hadn’t taken long, we were half an ocean away from Stormwind.

And so I closed my eyes and let my awareness expand outwards. My wand was in my hand, its aura-hardened tip digging a fraction of an inch into the tree’s bark. I could feel the tree thrumming beneath me, magic flowing through it almost like blood. It was alive in a way ordinary trees weren’t, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it had some form of rudimentary awareness of the world around it.

Areas with large concentrations of magic back home, places like Hogwarts and the old meeting place of the Wizard Council, had a tendency to spontaneously gain varied and limited forms of consciousness, and it would make sense that the same was possible here. In fact, I believed it was possible that the effect was even more prevalent around here, based on the existence of local beings such as the Naru and ‘wild gods’.

My magic sank into the branch beneath me and I allowed the currents flowing through it to carry me along. The magic flowed down the branch, splitting off in places as smaller branches grew off the main limb. They became smaller and smaller the further I moved from the trunk, splitting and splitting until they were as thin in places as the branches of a regular tree. From these branches grew leaves, bright green and elongated like a cross between a chestnut and willow.

The wind blew and the branches creaked softly. As big and strong as it was, it still swayed gently, its massive size giving even a small breeze a colossal amount of surface area to act on. The motion was barely noticeable where I sat, but it was amplified by distance from the trunk.

Time passed. The sun shone down on my face and the breeze ruffled my hair. My magic extended out to the furthest reaches of this branch and I pulled it back towards me before deciding to follow the currents in the opposite direction. It was harder that way, moving along the edges of the rivers of magic rather than with them, but when I reached the trunk I found that the magic flowed both up and down. Nutrients rose from the earth to nourish the branches, and the warmth and energy of the sun descended from on high to feed the tree.

I sank down, down, down until my awareness reached the ground and then sank into the roots. The magic there felt slightly different. There were whorls and notes of other powers intermingled with the heady nature magic of the world tree. I ignored it for now, my magic flowing out and into the forest. Other, smaller roots touched the vast channels that dug deep into the earth, drawing strength from the rich soil that other trees could never reach themselves.

The branches of Shaladrassil were vast, but they were dwarfed by the size and span of its roots. The tree extended hundreds of meters down into the bowels of the earth and out for miles in every direction. Though I could not feel so far out, it seemed as though some of the roots even extended out towards the distant sea, the taste of salt water and the magics of the vast ocean trickling through the underground network.

Eventually, I felt everything snap into place, a new connection forming between my soul and the majestic tree on which I sat. I was glad I’d taken the precaution of fixing up my occlumency again after I’d created my second Blueprint of an ancient green dragon, because the momentary flash of awareness was almost as overwhelming as the first time I’d touched Ysondre’s Blueprint.

It was also deeply concerning. I could feel something gnawing at the roots far below. Something dark. Something familiar. It felt like that same corruption that Kent had helped Ysondre purge from herself, a rotting, ugly thing that brought to mind swarms of locusts descending upon a verdant field and the stench of death.

That taint even extended into the bond I’d formed with the land itself. This place was meant to be a source of pure Green mana, I could feel it, but under some conditions I was struggling to understand, it could also produce Black mana. I liked Black mana, and welcomed another source of it––I couldn’t wait to finally experiment with my many Grimm, particularly the Soul Leech––but it did not belong here.

I opened my eyes, intending to go talk to Ysondre as soon as I could, and found myself looking up at Glynda. At some point, I’d gone from sitting up to lying down, my head cushioned in her lap and one of her hands gently stroking my hair. Zatanna was sitting on Glynda’s other side, her head resting a scant few inches away from my own and her long hair tickling my ear with every breath.

It was starting to get dark. The sun was a bright disk hovering just above the horizon, and I estimated there was no more than an hour until sunset. Without the sun shining down directly above us, it was a little too chilly up here, the breeze cold and biting rather than pleasantly cool, but the warmth of the tree and my enchanted robe kept me pleasantly warm and comfortable.

Glynda quickly noticed that I was back, pulling her hand away from my head. “All done, then?” she asked lightly. Despite myself, I was slightly disappointed by that. Glynda’s lap was…very comfortable, and it had been a long, long time since someone had stroked my hair like that. I squeezed my eyes shut briefly, shoving aside the memory of lying beside my mother as she sat on the edge of my bed and read to me about the history of the House of Black.

I sat up quickly, stretching my arms out above my head, and nodded. “Yeah, I think so. How long was I out?”

“Oh, a number of hours I’d say,” Glynda told me softly. Zatanna’s head was still in her lap, and I suddenly realized that my darling’s copy was asleep, a peaceful smile on her lips and her hands resting on her slowly rising and falling chest. “Perhaps four or five? I’m afraid I rather lost track of time.”

I nodded, then pursed my lips and looked down at Zatanna. Even if it was just a copy, she looked so peaceful and relaxed, a far cry from the stressed and anxious girl I’d been living with since the whole mess with her father began. “Start waking her up, but slowly. I need to go talk to Ysondre, and it might take a bit.”

Glynda nodded. “Of course. I’ll make sure she’s ready to go by the time everyone else is. If there’s anything I can help you with, just let me know.”

“I appreciate it, Glynda. You’ve been very helpful so far.” I’d need to make sure to do something nice for her when we returned home. Of all my summons, she was by far the one I’d relied on most heavily since I’d acquired her, more so than even Raven. She did a lot of work taking care of and establishing our household, trained me in my use of Aura, comforted Zatanna when I couldn't, and so much more. Summon or not, unnaturally obedient or not, that sort of loyalty and hard work deserved praise and appreciation.

Now then, I needed to go talk to Ysondre about what I’d found. Hopefully it wouldn’t derail our plans too much. Raven’s copy back in Zatanna’s world still felt like it had plenty of energy, but I wasn’t sure how long she would actually last without my presence and didn’t want to stay away from Zatanna for too long. I’d already gotten a druid summon, if not an ideal one, and a second land. Now I just needed one of this world’s miraculous light-magic healers and everything beyond that would just be icing on the cake.