In the circular meeting room, there was silence at first. This was normal, the shuffling of papers indicated that the representatives were getting their topics ready. Despite this regional conference being about a seemingly trivial plot of land, a track of forest that although vast had no native villages or towns, it was the case that in almost every regional conference there was a lot that needed to be discussed.
Chlorus, the second delegate from Blackreed, the semi-autonomous region of plant lives, was first to speak about her concerns. She started speaking in a soothing voice while looking at her papers.
“We of Blackreed have recently become aware of increasing energy spikes from the central sections of the Trescult Woods. Is the Kingdom of Pytheonia aware of this?”
Question and answer formats were not usually how these conferences were held, but seeing as the delegation from Blackreed was fairly new to the Western Conference, the young representative of the Kingdom of Pytheonia cut them some slack and answered more casually.
“The Kingdom of Pytheonia has been pressed to concentrate their resources on war efforts. Although we have indeed noticed the AF signatures rising in that section of the forest, there was no cause for immediate action. Its investigation has since been relegated to low priority on the list of our internal department of affairs.”
“Low on the list? Can the official owner of that land say that? Even if the land is unsuitable for colonization, surely you have a vested interest in keeping its surroundings safe? What if it is a spectral plant that has been making these signatures?”
The woman with green skin spoke with gestures, seeming to be truly concerned. Meanwhile in the room, the rest of the representatives were looking through their own papers, seeing if their organizations had found the energy signature that was being discussed. Madam Domna from Mont Ryoux and Frankie Mandrake from Lakefur were those other two who were present. While the representative from Pytheonia was a young bureaucrat named Samantha Tosk.
Samantha folded her hands and leaned backwards into her chair.
“I may remind the present delegates that Pytheonian holdings are ours to do with as we see fit. Although as one of the organizations that borders the Trescult Woods, your worries about its safety are noted and appreciated, the situation is completely under control. As you all know…”
Samantha looked around the room at the three. While Frankie and Madam Domna were listening, it seemed only the green-skinned plant life woman from Blackreed was invested in the conversation.
“The Guardian Tree has been rooted in the central area of the Trescult Woods for generations now. The possibility of a plantlife not only developing intelligence, but becoming spectral is next to impossible. There is simply not enough Ambient Force in the area to go around.”
The Guardian Tree was indeed known to all who were present in the room. Having their nation’s/organization’s territories border the Trecult Woods had made them aware of the several hundred foot intelligent tree that lay at its heart. Although none of the representatives gathered had ever personally seen it, it was a matter of necessity to know about relevant local things. The imposing monster of a tree that was said to exude poisoned sap and could supposedly cut entire armored carriages apart with its bladed roots was something they all were made aware of at some point. It was too big of an outlier to not know of it.
“And that is why the Guardian Tree is so territorial? To the point that it hunts any intelligent life that it finds within its range?”
Madam Domna from Mont Ryoux spoke up. As was the custom with their country, most politicians either doubled as military leaders or were primarily military, and this was the case with herself as well. Her interest in the behavior of the Guardian Tree was born from more than mere curiosity, as she had lost more than a few scouting parties over the years in the central area of the Trescult Woods, seemingly having disappeared into thin air.
This occurrence was the main reason why Mont Ryoux hadn’t chosen to march their legions through the woods and then into the Pytheonian heartlands, and subsequently were forced to go through the desert of canyons and rock that separated their countries. It was a choice between what had proven to lead to certain death, and a very likely death without extensive planning.
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“Yes, the Guardian Tree is incredibly territorial over its dominion because it needs the Ambient Force to survive. Were another intelligent plant to rise up, the Guardian Tree would have to decide between either snuffing it out immediately or slowly dying.”
“So in other words…”
Chlorus from Blackreed came back into the conversation.
“You have no intention of addressing the possible issue. Then how do you explain the energy spikes?”
“It’s simply the movement and growth of the Guardian Tree. Such a thing has happened in the past. It’s very well documented. I can give you the files our nation has on it for free even, if you’d like?”
Chlorus shook her head, politely declining. She didn’t raise as much of a fuss as one would’ve expected her to, for being interested in the security of her bordering territory. Instead, she just sat back into her chair in a refined posture and let the rest of the meeting continue.
And with that, the rest of the meeting stretched into other topics. Things such as the logging of the outer reaches of the forest, and sanctions for developing land were discussed, which mostly came down to Frankie and Samantha hashing out contracts.
…
“They have no intention of making a move. They are too concentrated on their war. Plus, they believe the rising AF is simply because of the Guardian Tree.”
Chlorus stood upright alongside Nokken, as she reported the results of the meeting to the head representative of Blackreed. Tane, also being the leader of the semi-autonomous zone of plants, commanded respect from them, so they held their positions as he listened and pursued through the meeting’s written record.
Nokken, the crimson-veined collage of stones that stood next to her, was not even in Chlorus’s eyes. Her vision was entirely concentrated on her leader, the man she looked to for guidance and purpose.
She did not speak again until he looked up. Tane questioned her.
“So the Pytheonian’s will have nothing with this? That’s good…foolish, but good. If that representative had been any more experienced or educated with history, she would have known there was something off about the Guardian Tree being responsible for this. That old beast only knows how to kill things, it would never actively try to impact its environment.”
Chlorus shared her agreement.
Behind Tane lay a stack of papers with several circular inscriptions. Spectralysis Graphs. In a territory filled with a vast diversity of plant life forms, many abilities that didn’t rely on ambient force or being a spectral could be found in its populace. Out of the many species present, one race of fungoid was able to sense waves of air displacement over a large region and form a representation on the surface of their head, a mushroom-cap. With a little ink and a modest salary, Tane was able to make use of this species to record the air displacement caused by changes in AF levels over a wide area. This was how he knew something had happened within the Trescult Woods.
The papers showed multiple concentric lines of ink with various lines being pulled and bent outward. This pattern that displayed the air wrapping around trees was normal enough to see, but what was unusual was the placement of these gaps, indicating several concentric circles of trees just a few miles away from the Guardian Tree’s location.
“As we’ve seen, there is likely some kind of intelligent plant life that has just been born, and it’s likely a spectral. There has to be some reason for the Guardian Tree’s inaction. One that we will find shortly.”
Tane looked up, finishing his summary. His right-hand assistant Chlorus beamed at him, while the rocky exterior of Nokken gave no expression, but a nod indicated it was also satisfied. Tane considered his plan. The plant life that stood slumped next to Chlorus may look like a golem to most, but the actual being that was called Nokken was not the stone but the red veins in between the cracks of the rock. Its species was a rare and versatile parasitic plant called the Scarletvein Lake Parasite.
Tane spoke to Nokken.
“Nokken, you sent your kin out weeks ago, how close is it now?”
The amalgamation of rocks was silent, unmoving for a few moments as if the parasite inside it was sensing for something, connecting to another life form across a long distance.
A gravelly voice wafted over Tane and Chlorus, sounding like a parched man who hadn’t heard of water all his life.
“It’s close. In a few days, if not sooner, it will reach its destination. I’ve already briefed it on its orders.”
“Very good.”