Eirlathion had a lot to think about since the visit from Asaren. For the first time, he was beginning to see a real way out of the untenable position this village had been presented with.
On the one hand, they had a nymph(sikitii) of the nursery tree who cared deeply for a pair of grey elf girls. On the other hand, they had the dark elves who would come back to massacre this village if they so much as had a whiff that the village was harboring and raising those girls.
With the dark elves having come on the attack and causing so much death, the villagers would likely come to feel it was the correct choice to give the demons what was demanded. However, if they wanted to do this, it would mean making an enemy of the ‘sikitii’ of the nursery tree. If Eirlathion had come to understand the thoughts of >Nymph< correctly, he was certain that it… or rather she as he had been instructed to call her, would not forgive this.
And so, the village was in a position where they would either be targeted by repeated attacks by dark elves or have to turn a nymph(sikitii) who was on the cusps of becoming a dryad(lukis) into an enemy. Either option spelled death for the entire village.
He had some hope when he discovered how the girls had enough power to recall the memories of the past lives they lived. Even if it was the spotty memory of a normal fairy, Asaren had surprised him the night after the attack by showing a great degree of maturity and intelligence. She had even told him that she possessed training in information warfare in the previous life she lived.
He had spent that conversation feeling rather confident about what this meant for the chances they had to manage the current situation, but those hopes were quickly dashed when Asaren brought up the prospect of leaving the village. Or rather, it was the reaction from >Nymph< to the words of Asaren that had made him feel suddenly hopeless all over again.
He could hope for things to work out all he wanted, but the reactions of one unreasonable person with power could throw everything off. >Nymph<, it seemed, was of such a mind to be unreasonable. She was already declaring her position, to protect these girls to the death, killing any who would dare be a threat to those girls. This also meant not allowing them to leave the area where she could protect them.
Despite how Asaren had shouted down >Nymph< earlier in the night, Eirlathion somehow did not expect her to go directly against the nymph(sikitii) after stating she would go with the nymph’s plan of confining all members of the village within the grove. As such, he was very surprised the next day as he came home from the funeral ceremony that Asaren had somehow snuck away from >Nymph< and was waiting for him at the place he called home.
Not only did she reveal a magic every single bit as peculiar as the blood vitality transferring magic of Tiaren, but she also revealed herself as every single bit as stubborn as that nymph(sikitii).
She had effectively revealed the words she spoke the previous night to be no more than a momentary placation of the unreasonable tree spirit. She still planned to leave the village regardless of what she had said, and she was also clearly the dominant party between herself and Tiaren. This abnormally quickly developing two year old infant even treated a nymph(sikitii) like a disobedient child. If she were born a fairy instead of a grey elf, Eirlathion was certain the queen would have her on the Arbor committee in an instant.
What’s more, during the time Asaren was out, it seemed someone had decided to test the warning he had given them about the nymph not wanting anyone to leave the grove of the Lakira trees. It seemed while Tiaren certainly had to have a lot of power, it was Asaren who had the ability with the green word that allowed >Nymph< to have the power a dryad would to reach across the entire grove.
The man insisted he needed to hunt in order to feed the humans who belonged to the children. He reasoned that after all that death, they should be taking extra good care of the humans so they could give the village more spirit energy.
This idea certainly did make sense. Humans could get by on the same fruits and vegetables an adult elf could, but it seemed they did even better if they were given some meat as well. Humans did not do well on a purely carnivore diet, but having some meat made them more energetic. Especially the younger ones. This would also translate to them producing more spirit energy, allowing the children to grow strong and even strengthening some adults of the village.
The problem was the fact that this man had been directly testing the vicious nymph of the nursery tree in order to do this. As much sense as this idea made, it was rather clear it was only a rationalization to justify this act of defiance.
But, he got lucky and he escaped the enforcement from >Nymph<. Not only that, but afterward a few of the young men opposed to the idea of keeping the girls alive left for the capital the next day. This was exactly the worst case circumstances both Asaren and >Nymph< were trying to stop, but for some reason they were allowed to leave as well.
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This was when Eirlathion had come to believe something must have been wrong. He went to check on the girls in the nursery tree. When he got there, he was truly shocked by what he saw. The floor was covered in splintered wood. To a mage of the green word, the sight of all the fragmented wood and sawdust was every bit as gruesome a sight as seeing a person with a broken bone that had pierced through the skin.
He had immediately panicked. He recalled even yelling out, but could not remember what he had said. He was almost certain someone must have attacked and gotten to the girls unnoticed.
He didn’t even have the presence of mind to notice the hole in the celling was smoothed out on the edges. He just summoned some stairs and rushed up to see the nursery level and was confused and relieved to see that not only were the girls doing fine but they seemed to be happily playing with Levin and Rolwen.
He hid the fear he had felt quickly and put on a serious face as he demanded to know what had happened to >Nymph< and why they had not been enforcing her edict on not letting anyone out of the grove. Once again, he was stunned by how much more stubborn and domineering Asaren could be and the ability she had to completely subjugate >Nymph.<
It seemed she and >Nymph< had gotten into a fight the moment she came back from talking with him, and somewhere in the fight >Nymph< had the rather insane idea to destroy a large part of the wood she was made of in order to scare Asaren with the noise it would make. >Nymph< immediately regretted this decision for the pain it had caused her, and Asaren had stated she would punish >Nymph< further for this act of self-harm in order to make certain she would never do it again.
Since this fight, she refused to talk to >Nymph< or give her any mana. Tia would at least talk to her, but she was also refusing her mana. Asaren had also used this as an excuse to veto the plan of closing the villagers in the lakira grove.
Asaren must have noticed he was apprehensive about the way she was clashing with >Nymph,< because while they were explaining what was going on she looked directly into the eyes of Eirlathion and said [I know this concerns you Eirlathion. I need you to trust me though. I know what I am doing.]
This child. He did not know how to respond to this. All he could think of doing was to mumble something back to them and then help >Nymph< to clean up the damage she had caused to the body she inhabited. He left rather quickly afterward. He did not want to come between those girls and this nymph in this power struggle.
Perhaps he should re-evaluate her a little. The queen very well may consider ignoring the fact Asaren is a grey elf and invite her onto the arbor committee anyway. That is, assuming she lives long enough to prove she can oppose the demon forces.
Eirlathion shook his head. Those two girls were responsible for killing the entirety of the assassin squad from the invading force of the other night. They might have even gotten the mages if they had not attracted so much attention with the fire spells they cast. If they were not seen as the reason the attack happened in the first place, those girls would be seen as the saviors of this village.
He was certain he could prove the case for these girls. He would need time though. Time he had just discovered was running impossibly short.
This extreme shortening of the time he had came in the form of three small fairies appearing in the middle of the village, yelling about a message for the elder and the magus.
“We are on important business, we are court messengers!” One of them said in the childish manner all too common to your standard fairies. He would normally be skeptical of such a claim. Fairies love pranks after all. However, one of them was holding a seal of a bluish green dragon. This was the seal of the queen herself, and the pendant that held the seal was large enough that the little pixie had to stretch both hands just shy of as far as they would go in order to hold it.
If those fairies had stolen this item, it would be impossible for them to hide the fact. They had to believe what the fairies were saying.
“I see.” The elder, Calnor, said. “Then, what is the message that you have been trusted to deliver to this village?”
At the words of the elder, the middle fairy showed a smug smile and flew slightly higher with chest thrust out and chin tilted up. “Hehe!” She giggled. “Well, this is the message! You will be really surprised! At the time of the middle season, the queen shall use the great power she possesses to lift the ENTIIIIIIRE great tree as well as the capital! It is to be moved to the scar of the heaven fall, where it will guard the pit to the underworld and the demons that come from there! Also, there will be a lord of the defense committee coming here too! This village will be part of the perimeter to guard the kingdom!”
“Yeah! Isn’t that amazing!” One of the other fairies in the entourage said. “The entire city is going to move!”
Calnor looked back at Eirlathion. He could tell exactly what the man was thinking. A lord of the defense committee. This lord would definitely discover the girls. This was going to be trouble.
“What! Do you not believe us?” The messenger fairy demanded. “It’s real! It’s true! The city really is going to move! This was the message we were given by lady Faranti! It is really going to happen!” She seemed to be getting really upset.
“Uhh… no, it is not that we do not believe you.” Eirlathion placated the fairy. Dealing with these creatures was always irritating. “It… it is just, why this village?”
“You have a nymph close to being a dryad!” The leader of the group said. “All the villages with strong tree spirits are being used as a base! It is not a dryad yet, but lady Faranti said it was fine! They just had to be close!”
Just then, another one piped up. “I heard that they are going to use those great fairies from the other world who came! They have spirits that never get tired. I bet they are going to raise the nymph into a dryad!”
“Alright! Now can we get some snacks? We have to get something to eat then go back to report this village has a strong enough nymph!”
The three fairies all danced around in excitement. Meanwhile, the two elves had looks as though doom had just fallen upon them.
What’s more, the fairy had said this would happen “at the time of the middle season.” The middle season had already passed. That was several days before even the attack by the dark elves. This would mean that the capital has already begun moving. It could come right over this region any day.