👑 Chapter Thirty Three 👑
Summit meeting
[Deamonia]
The summit meeting took place at the summit of the main sage tree. The calming beauty of the elven forest was portrayed from all angles. This beauty, however, was contradicted by the ugly debate happening within.
“Our sage trees are dwindling while the frost energies are increasing!” The elven Queen started the discussion right out the gate with anger-filled accusations.
“That is an incorrect assessment of the situation, Lourissa.” Deamonia simply replied.
Lourissa stomping her feet like a child was understandable but still beneath someone of her stature. Deamonia simply examined this behaviour, analysing both Lourissa and her words. Lourissa responded to the cold gaze by growing even angrier.
“Then what is the reason? Without the sage trees, we can’t survive! Our trees are dwindling while your frost magic is increasing. All due to your warden’s meddling with our sage trees! You must remove her.”
Deamonia nearly laughed, “Warden Geneve sabotaging a sage tree? She is practically a full-fledged pacifist and possibly the greatest healer in the world. For what purpose would she sabotage any sage tree. That would go against everything she stands for. A foolish accusation and a most reckless suggestion considering the instability of your succession.”
“How dare you. My family has ruled the great forest for generations. I am the rightful heir to the elven crown, and all the keepers know that!”
“Children.” Angel Micheal said plainly, bringing the table to silence, “Can we get back to the topic at hand? It is also the topic that has the utmost urgency. The winter climate phenomenon, because as it stands now, this climate has proven to be the biggest of our problems; cattle, farms, and livelihoods can not sustain it forever, whether the High Queen admits to it or not.
“The angel rep-click-is right. What’s the point of fighting over-click-this when our very survival is at risk.” The insect chief said.
“I agree with Chieftan Ulthaz’d. We should be working in unity, not arguing.” King Raden was in agreement with the insect chieftain. “Angel Micheal, do you know the cause of this growing winter climate?”
Angel Micheal crossed his fingers on the table before giving his ‘assessment.’ “This is what we Angels know: First, The climate is preventing animal population growth which will directly affect everyone’s population growth. Second, The weather is slowly killing the vegetation of the land. Third, We have confirmed the decline of usable soil in mass areas of said land. Last and most importantly, the phenomenon is linked with a massive decrease of magicka in various ley lines. This directly affects us Angels and the Great Forest alike. The High Queen is clearly hiding something, and we Angels believe a united effort to research this phenomenon would be most beneficial to everyone here.
“Can you elaborate on this, your majesty?.” King Raden questioned, being the young voice of reason.
Deamonia rose an eyebrow at Micheal. The absolute audacity of this flying rat. She had thought the plan was to get Lourissa to reveal her scheme, but Micheal went ahead and turned the heat on her. What game is he playing? Winter phenomenon? Micheal knew full well the reasoning behind it, considering his people were the reason for the portal’s existence in the first place. She eyed Micheal, and he returned a subtle smirk. An unfunny joke.
“I see you’ve done much research on all accounts, Micheal. You have all justified points.” She said, still looking at the angel. An ominous spell took over the table before it was dispelled by Deamonia’s following words, “But I must say, you are wrong on just about all accounts. First, the majority of wildlife has receded into the Great Forest. Second, the seasons have returned in the past years. Third, the issue with soil deprivation is due to mage land tapping during the great war. The mage guild agrees with this theory as well. It will take more time to recover, but it will recover. Now, the final issue, which you’re correct in assuming is the most important, is the magic disruption. There is no connection between that and the winter climate. They are just two bad things mixed together.
Angel Micheal nodded, “Could you explain your last point? What makes you so sure that the magic disruption is from a separate source?”
The frost queen looked around the table, all the leaders giving her a close ear.
“I believe somebody is purposely disrupting the magic, probably stealing it for years now. Only me and my wardens know of this, as we are the only ones who can sense the pure frost energies that are embedded in the earth. You see, frost energy and arcane magic are two separate resources and have coexisted without issue. Nothing has changed in the frost energy, but the magic has been dwindling. I had first thought the frost energy was consuming the magic, but that isn’t the case. If anything, the frost energy has lessened, not increased. The Arcane energy, in turn, has been plummeting sporadically in specific pockets of land near the outer borders of the great forest. My warden was investigating this and strangely ‘found nothing.’”
“That’s deeply troubling.” The insect chieftain buzzed.
“Someone is stealing our magic?” The mountaineer king worriedly aired. “That can disrupt our ore since we border the elven forest. It is in our best interest to find and stop this person.”
The table grew paranoid, Lourissa stood up with an interjection.
“Magic is dwindling while your frost power stays the same. I won’t have you take me for a fool Daemonia. Soon, only you and your wardens will have power, while all other magic users lose theirs. Us elves who will die without magic, the mountaineer kingdom who has made an economy off the use of magic, and the insects who rely on the land’s vegetation, all while your kingdom will be unaffected. On top of all of that, you are trying to get us to point fingers at each other.” Lourissa’s accusations were pointed like daggers at the High Queen.
“Lourissa, I understand your hatred for me, but even you know I would never do something like that. How long are you going to hold that grudge?” Deamonia tried to spare her a glance of sympathy even past the clear disrespect.
“I don’t hold a grudge against you, I just want to protect my people from your actions, something you don’t know how to do, it seems.”
“Elf queen, that’s-click-enough! I thought this was a leadership meeting, not a-click-pub, you-click-click-disrespect the guests you invite to your home. That’s unfitting for a person of your-click-stature!”
The elf queen’s banter was brought back into rein by the anger of the insect chief. Respect is critical within any royal hierarchy, but for the insects, it was paramount. The insect chief’s wings started to change colour. Those who know about insects know that when their wings transform, talking would no longer be an option.
Lourissa sat back in her seat, crossing her arms.
“I believe the warden is the cause for our magical decline. She is siphoning and disrupting our sage trees. I guess everyone at this table would prefer us elves to lay down and die. If our forest is in danger of extinction, all oaths and allegiances are no longer applicable and I would enact my power as Queen of the great tree to defend our lands.”
“Your kingdom is on the verge of a civil outbreak without even considering the magic disruption, and you want me to remove my warden? That is very questionable judgement.”
“My judgement? Wow, Daemonia. I heard what happened to your entourage, attacked by giants, and even lost a few knights. Truly a terrible thing. Do you know the giants were peaceful until YOUR warden interacted with them? If anybody is planting the seeds of this civil outbreak, I would say it’s you.”
King Raden held his hand up again, “I find these accusations pretty unlikely but, If the elf queen suspects the warden of corruption, I believe it fair to question Warden Geneve directly. Would that be okay, your majesty?”
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“I have no issue. Summon her.”
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Warden Geneve stood before the leaders of Lucredia. She stood maid-like, hands put together and standing straight up, her face was a mixture of shyness and nervousness.
The young mountaineer king mediated the questioning.
“Warden Geneve, thank you for answering our hasty summon.”
“No-no problem, King Raden.” The shy warden greeted Raden.
King Raden began the questioning.
“Warden Geneve, Did you interact with the giants prior to Her Majesty's arrival?”
Geneva looked scared to answer. She couldn't keep her eyes off the ground.
“Yes.”
“What did you do with them or to them?”
“I tried to h-, I sabotage their exposed ley line.” Geneve uttered.
Half the table leaned forward.
“Why?” Raden immediately asked.
“Because.. Because…”
Geneve’s answer was interrupted by an earthquake. Birds took to the sky as all guards and people on the summit looked out to the source of the noise. The tree tops shook with each pounding stomp. Something big was coming from the south. A giant soon appeared in the grove.
The giant had someone on its shoulder. A human voice was heard yelling towards the summit.
“The elf queen is siphoning the magic from all the sage trees! Do not believe anything she says!” The voice was Arthur’s.
Considering the fact that a clearly battle-worn giant was carrying Arthur after the ambush they suffered to arrive here, nobody had any doubts of the legitimacy of the declaration. The table turned to Lourissa to immediately get answers. Lourissa was gone.
The doors of the room were cracked open.
The scheme was exposed now.
“Dea…” Geneva was hyperventilating, a fat rune appeared on the side of her face, “Please… help.. me.” Geneve was fearfully frozen as the rune began burning her face. The veins on her body were turning black.
“A witchcraft rune, that's what it was.” Deamonia began to approach the same time as Raden.
“Warden Geneve are you okay?!” Raden reached out to help her.
“Stay away from her!” Deamonia yelled.
“I’m sorry…” Geneva raised her hand towards the young king against her will. Sharp roots erupted from the ground and began to swirl around him.
“Ulthaz’d!” Deamonia commanded the insect, who was already on the move.
“Understood!” The insect chief flew over the table and grabbed King Raden, flying him up, directly into the air, out of the swirl of vines. Both vines and roots gave chase as Geneve puppeteered them with her hands, against her own will while the chief buzzed around like a fly dodging the attacks, with the young king in his arms.
The attack stopped when Deamonia grabbed Geneve from behind, holding her arms back. Geneve struggled against the hold. Small enclosed flowers began to grow around them that Deamonia gasped at. The innocent looking flowers that came from her most anti combative warden was actually one of the most dangerous spells she’s ever witnessed.
“Micheal, touch her already dammit!” Dea yelled..
“Already on it…” Micheal appeared right in front of Geneve. “Shush now.” Micheal thrusted his palm against Geneve’s chest. Geneve gasped as gold lines formed on Micheal’s hand. The rune on Geneve's face cracked and fizzled. The angel turned his attention to Deamonia. “That elven child is running to the lowest level. Stop her before she makes further mess.”
“Okay, make sure Geneve is okay!” Deamonia let go of Geneve and ran towards the doors. Geneve collapsed into Micheal’s arms.
“This rune is incredibly strong, but nothing I can't deconstruct.”
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Underground, underneath the base of the tree, Lourissa stood behind a flowing wall of magic. Within, a portal was fizzling into existence that gave a distorted image of blackened knights with glowing red eyes.
“Lourissa this is not the way, you will not get what you want!”
“What I want is to rid this world of frostblood. With the power of my people I will unleash the eaters of your kind!”
“And how would you know that? You are being used, Lourissa!”
“I don't care. As long as you were made to suffer, as I have!”
“I suffer everyday. All you are doing is bringing suffering to everyone else.”
Micheal appeared next to Deamonia.
“What is the issue? Go in there and pull her out.”
“I can't. Why don't you pass the wall with deconstruction, or the dimension?”
“I can't deconstruct raw magic, and entering that dimension for something this trivial is beneath me.”
“Trivial? Are you joking?”
“Absolutely not. Go shed some skin, I refuse to correct your mistake.”
“My mistake? Are we forgetting how the hell these portals came to exist in the first place! I’ll throw your rat ass in there myself!”
Deamonia grabbed Micheal’s arm.
“Do not touch me, I’ve granted you that blessing once past.”
“Blessing? The horrors of war accumulate up to a spec compared to what you and Uriel did to me.”
“Step aside, please.” The high queen and the angel representative’s bickering came to a halt. They both turned to see a dozen elves in strange masks and body paint.
“Keepers?”
“We have found the source of the disturbance, and came together. Allow us to fix our own problems. Queen of Frost, Angel of light, please step back.”
“That's not our.. Whatever.” Deamonia and Micheal took a step back as the keepers took over.
All the keepers channeled a green mist into the tree, before the tree returned a stream of magic towards them. Roots connected to their legs as the magic was being redirected into the earth. Soon the wall of magic began dissipating.
“Keepers, what are you doing! This is for our own good!” Lourissa shouted.
“You are harming the forest more than any frostblood ever did. This will cease, the keepers have spoken. You have broken your oath, the forest is no longer yours to protect.”
Each keeper had a mini tree behind them, each tree represented their respective sage tree. The magic wall soon died down revealing Lourissa. Lourissa’ clothes were in tatters and her body was chilled with frost. Lourissa looked like a keeper herself, wooden antlers had begun growing from her head. Despite her desperate freezing appearance, her blood boiled in rage as her body was overflowing with nature magic.
“No! You ruined it! You ruined years of accumulation!” Lourissa snapped.
“No, we saved generations of life. You will be made to pay back what you've stolen. Lourissa.”
The keepers began channeling a new spell, roots from the great tree began sprawling down, surrounding the chamber, and began to seal the entrance. Lourissa was about to be trapped inside. Lourissa fought back and tried to manipulate the roots that the keepers were manipulating.
“The great tree bends to my will! I am more attuned than anyone else here!”
The twirling and weaving roots ripped and reformed over and over again, until finally the keepers pushed in unison and the roots thickened into bars.
“You can not contest the might of twelve keepers. No matter how attuned you are to the great tree.” The speaker of the keepers said. Lourissa’s control over the roots was broken.
Lourissa’s boiling rage quickly switched to tearful pleads. Lourrissa ran up and clutched onto the wooden bars of the room that were closing inch by inch.
“No, no, no, no! Don’t lock me in here again! I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK! Don’t leave me in the dark again!” She frantically scanned over the keepers until her eyes met Deamonia’s, who was standing just behind them. “Deamonia, help me. You're the high queen right! We swore fealty to you! If you really want me to forgive you then tell the keepers to stop!” The bars closed further, “DON'T LOCK ME IN HERE AGAIN!” Lourissa cried and screamed like a child as if she was no different than fifteen years ago.
Deamonia looked at Micheal. Micheal only shrugged and walked away.
Deamonia sighed.
“Stop.” She said to the keepers.
“With all due respect, these are elven affairs. Not even the high queen of Lucredia has a say here. Lourissa has committed the highest sin against our way of life. She will be kept in the tree until the debt is paid.”
“If you do not listen to her majesty, I will be forced to burn the roots of your great tree to ashes.”
All twelve keepers turned to the male voice that was heard. Arthur was standing just beside the frost queen, a dancing flame in his hand. The flames reflected the serious look Deamonia inflicted upon them.
“I will not ask again.” Deamonia said.
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Deamonia and Micheal were standing on the edge of the grove.
“If the choice was mine, I would have kept her in there.”
“Of course you would, you and your disgusting people are cruel and cowardly. She was locked in the tree for over a decade because her family thought I would slaughter them all. Putting her back in there was wrong. Ironic, Angels not knowing the difference between right and wrong.”
“Think what you will, but we do what is best for us. It is how we survive.”
“By helping no one but yourselves. Makes complete sense.” Deamonia grilled him.
Micheal gave a smug laugh.
“You're exactly correct. However, there is an issue we will be happy to assist you with. The one that placed that witch seal onto your warden. They are a threat that we will help track.”
“That magic must be strong, to merit fear from you.”
“Use your dogs to sniff the ground, we will search the skies. Whoever this caster is, is a threat to both of our civilizations. They must be eliminated.”