Jade’s eyes opened to a barely lit room. She groaned. Her head pounded.

“How are you doing?” Rezu said. He sat leaned up against a concrete wall with a small lamp beside him.

“Confused.”

Rezu nodded. “I think the worst is over. Hopefully we will be able to leave soon.”

Jade winced and held her side as she sat up.

“Easy there.” Rezu stood and helped her, “No sudden movements. You’re still in rough shape.”

“I’m never leaving the lab again.” She sighed.

Rezu laughed. “I have to admit that this went worse than expected. I had counted in a small show of force, but that was definitely not on the list.”

“How is Klaus?”

“She’s stable, but she will probably need a week in a healing tank to fully recover.”

Jade looked around. “Where is she?”

“Do you promise not to kill her?”

“Why would I kill her?”

“She did eat part of you.”

“Was Klaus trying to sacrifice herself to save me?”

“It looked that way.”

She nodded then rubbed her throbbing head and looked around. They were in a small area behind a tall vehicle that was battered and half disassembled. “What the hell happened?”

“The treefolk have been showing signs of weakening for over a millennium. We couldn’t figure out why. The climate in their forests has been favorable to growth. But seeing all the dryads absorbed into the roots makes it clear. They were spending a lot of lives trying to keep the Worldtree alive, until it could reproduce.”

“Reproduce?” Jade swallowed and looked at the fresh pink scar on her stomach.

Rezu nodded, “There used to be a Worldtree in every major forest. We think four or five Worldtrees survived the war. And we have heard of no word of new Worldtrees since. We thought the treefolk were just being secretive to protect there locations. But we had no idea things had gotten this bad. They need a new Worldmother to give birth to new Worldtrees.

“Worldmother?”

“If I understand the records correctly the treefolk select a male and female then have them breed in a cocoon. Then they give birth to a Worldmother. These Worldmothers are the ones who give birth to Worldtrees.”

“So they kidnap people and feed them to the tree to make a Worldmother?”

“No.” Klaus said as she walked up. She clutched her side and had a distinct limp.

“Lay back down.” Rezu ordered.

“I will be fine. The Worldtree’s energy will heal me. Jade as well.” Klaus said and took a seat on the cot Jade had been on. “To be chosen to bring a Worldmother into being has always been a great honor. But his Worldtree was weak. It needed extra nutrients to make a Worldmother. Luckily, the mecromancers had recently secured a source.”

“The bodies from Red Rock.” Rezu said.

Klaus nodded. “We needed biomass. Hunting people or swarms is dangerous and can often end up costing us more than we gain. But I knew the mecromancers, so I found somewhere I thought a purge would occur and waited.” Klaus winced and took a breath. “I thought you would show up and give the Worldtree a free meal.”

“So you let those people die to feed a tree?” Jade said.

“They made their choices. I was only there to collect the bodies. If it hadn’t been there to stop Rezu, Red Rock would have been cleansed, including your new friend Nova.”

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Jade scowled at him but held her tongue.

“My plan had been to offer the bodies, to prove that I could provide nutrients. I didn’t expect to be made part of the, festivities.”

Jade kept up her scowl.

Klaus shrugged. “Do you know what Karimere would say if I messaged her saying ‘The last Worldtree is dying I need bodies to feed it.’?”

“How many bodies and where do you want them?” Rezu said without hesitation.

Jade’s jaw dropped. But she knew it was true.

Rezu shrugged. “The treefolk are vital to the defense of civilization. If they die out, Endrala is doomed before we can get the Cradle.”

Jade knew what they spoke the truth but that didn’t make her feel better. Jade asked the looming question. Deep down she knew the answer, but she wanted someone to blame for telling her. “What did you do to me?”

“We made a Worldmother.” Klaus smiled. “You, me, and the Worldtree. My mother sacrificed herself to help form the cocoon, so I could survive.”

Rezu held Jade back as she screamed. “That’s what you did?! You stole my EGGS!”

“Calm down Jade.” Rezu said.

“It was that, or we both die.” Klaus sighed.

“You didn’t have to eat part of me.” Jade growled.

“You looked so yummy.” She said meekly then scrunched up her face. “One bite was a tiny price to pay for me saving your life.”

Jade growled at her, a shadowcat growl.

“I didn’t have to save you.” Klaus said, in his deep male voice. “I could have let both of you die and became the new Worldmother myself. I would have had control of the entire treefolk. I could have ruled this world. I let her have a bite because I thought this little dryad was going to die. Don’t hold it against her.”

Jade sighed. She had an insane thought that sounded even worse spoken aloud. “I will forgive you, if you promise you won’t eat any more of me.”

Klaus stood and bowed formally, “I promise.”

Jade nodded. She wanted to focus on anything else, so she examined the half dissected vehicle frame beside them. It was little more than scrap metal.

Rezu said to Klaus. “Can you tell me why the dryads are so damned flesh hungry? They used to be one of the most peaceful races out there.”

“They needed nutrients, to make more dryads, to sustain the Worldtree. Meat gives more nutrients.”

“So, things should get better now?”

“With new Worldtrees growing, I think the need for nutrients could increase. But I am guessing.”

Rezu rubbed his temples and groaned.

“Any idea when it will be safe to leave?” Rezu said.

“The feeding continues.” Klaus said.

“That tells me nothing.”

“You will get to witness the birth of a Worldmother.” Klaus said with cheer. “This is a glorious occasion for you. The treefolk are glad that you are here.”

“What does that make you, a World-grand-mother?” Rezu teased.

“I am NOT a grand-mother!” Jade snapped. “I am not a mother! This never happened! We were never here!” She stormed off.

Jade wandered around the room with no purpose. She found three-meter Mouse with a hand firmly pressed on a door. Traces of amber arcane faded into the wall. With a closer look she saw that Mouse had all the walls wrapped in a defensive ward that seemed designed to deflect energy. She was impressed. Titans were simple, brute force creations. Mouse was far beyond any of the others.

He nodded to her and waved with his free hand.

She smiled, waved then continued. She heard the muted echoes of Rezu and Klaus talking as she explored the vast room. It was some kind of hardened hanger. There were vehicles of all shapes and size scattered around. Many had battle damage and most were in some state of disassembly.

She saw various sized, medium speed, hovercraft. The smallest was a single seat, straddlerider. The largest was a troop transport. They would all be classed as skimmers. There was a twenty meter long defense platform, on its side. The turret and lift crystals were gone so it was little more than a frame.

Against the back wall she found a twenty meter long, thin craft with small vector wings, it had a two man cockpit and an axial mount for a small arc lance or similar sized weaponry. Jade climbed into the open cockpit and poked at the dusty controls. She knew them well from the simroom programs. “ArcFury.”

“You know fighter craft?” Klaus said.

“If I hadn’t sensed your presence, I would have thrown a despoiler at you for that.” Jade said without looking up.

“What’s a despoiler?” Klaus said.

“One of my special weapons. It melts flesh.” Rezu said.

“Like those damned immobilizers you made for Gessil. I would have killed her long ago if she didn’t have those things.”

“I wonder if they would work on a dryad, you have a different mineral content than most people.” Rezu smiled. “We found two charged immobilizers. How about we test it when we get back to the lab?”

“No.” Klaus huffed, crossed her arms and scowled.

“Can I have this?” Jade said and pulled on the frozen control stick. Something broke and it wobbled loosely in its mounting.

Rezu looked around. “They clearly took everything that could move when they abandoned the base. Even with this place being sealed, it’s been five millennia. I doubt any of it will ever fly again. But the metal and crystals could be processed into new stuff.”

“Can you make me an ArcFury?”

Rezu scratched his head. “I could build you a glorified hoverpad shaped like an ArcFury. But the requirements for the frame and crystals needed to build one are probably beyond me. Not to mention what it would take to arm the thing. Arc lances are complicated enough. The smaller ones that fit into fighter-craft are even more intricate.”

Jade growled and stood.

“Jade?” Rezu said.

“Yes?” Jade said as she hopped down from the cockpit.

“You’re glowing yellow.” Klaus said.

She turned to Klaus. “So are you.”

Jade noticed that all her pain was gone. She felt better than she had in many days. There was a clear call from outside with an overwhelming sense of joy. She smiled. “It is time.”

“The rebirth is at hand.” Klaus said.

“Come Rezu. We must witness.” Jade said.