Takrok shuffled through papers, chewing his lip a bit. His nerves were getting to him for the first time in a long time. It had been a long time since he spoke to the Allmother, and he was sure to be chastised again for not talking to her unless something was wrong.

But it was hardly his fault that dragons were made with an aversion to spending too much time around higher powers. Especially ones that could erase the dragon in question with a thought.

He shook his head sharply, trying to build up the courage to pray like he knew he needed to. He read the reports twice already despite having a perfect memory, organized them repeatedly, and had all the information verified thrice to the best of his ability. He was just wasting time at this point.

The dragon just huffed. Enough of the cowardly bullshit. She was the only one who could possibly provide more information than they already had. It was time. Closing his eyes, Takrok took a deep breath and began muttering a complex prayer. He didn’t need to go through such formalities to contact the Allmother, strictly speaking, but it would set the tone of the encounter well.

The reaction was nearly instant. He could feel Her reaching out, could feel an overwhelming amount of power grasping around him. As his soul was gently taken from his body, he could see a great rosebud growing out of the ground around him, consuming his form. It would keep him safe during his brief period of vulnerability.

Ah… the Allmother was considerate, as always. His immense soul shot into the sky, briefly whiting out any mana sight or spirit vision of any within twelve miles of his resting body. Such was the vastness of his power unrestrained. But this passed quickly as he was taken, his immense territory a dot on the globe in no time at all.

Humbling, as always. Only moreso when he left the atmosphere, then the stratosphere, then the moon… before taking off once more towards the ground, the currents of energy growing more and more intense as he approached a tree so massive that it put every castle he’d ever been in to shame… put together.

It bore leaves of every kind and color, even a few in hues that existed nowhere else, some as small as a bud, others so vast that they had whole towns built upon them.

The World Tree.

As he approached the great plant, he felt more and more spirits on his level, and a few even greater. The Ancient Dryads. Each of them were on par with higher gods and the most ancient of Greater Races. And all of them were but children before the energy signature that sat at the summit of the tree.

It would be incorrect to say that the energy at the summit of the tree was foreign, or strange in any way. To the contrary, it was the most familiar thing anyone would know; it emanated all around the world, filled the lungs of every being with every breath. But this close… it was within the limits of what he could handle, but barely. She toned it down to match just what he could deal with. How considerate.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The moment Takrok’s massive soul touched down, it was clear how dwarfed he was in power by the being in front of him.

Though her appearance varies from person to person, to him, she appeared to be a dragon of mountainous size, every scale a magnificent array of colors, each one glowing softly.

Her majesty was awe inducing, even to him. Every cell in his body screamed at him to bow. Show reverence in the greatest way dragons could… but with this aura of loving dominance, it also brought fear. To be before a being so much mightier than him for longer than necessary was tantamount to suicide… at least in every other case than the Allmother. Dragons were too abrasive to be subservient for long. Dragons were mostly solitary creatures for a reason. But even the mountain that was a dragon’s ego was suppressed in her company.

"Allmother," Takrok said, eyes closing as he kneeled, "I come bearing ill tidings. A lich seems to be getting perilously close to mastering the mixing of souls." Over the next few minutes, he detailed the event up to the present, including everything from the continued interrogation. He left no detail out.

The Allmother listened quietly, before reaching out and licking the back of his head with a massive tongue. "I see, little one. Very good work coming to me," she said, her tone speaking of pride, making Takrok's heart skip a beat. "I cannot step in here… but I would be happy as ever to help guide your hand. One of the answers you seek is in the mountains to the northwest of Kitharn. There you will find a door marked with a symbol from an old children's book, a version of the tale lost to time. That would be one good starting point for this issue."

"Another place to begin would be handling the situation with Dusau. How you do this is up to you, of course… but be aware that few in Dusau have the information you ask, only a privileged, necessary few. If you kill the wrong person, you may well be out of luck."

Takrok nodded, listening closely, "I understand. Thank you, Mother."

The greater dragon gave off a warm, happy comfort, licking him again, "You know it brings me great joy to help my little ones, even if I can only show so much favor."

The warm streak where she licked him tingled with energy, sending a shiver down his spine. "Of course. You are magnanimous as ever," he said, looking up at her, "But as much I enjoy your company…"

"Yes yes," she said sadly as she gave him a soft bunt, "I know your kind are so busy, constantly running to and fro… go, little Takrok. Though… first…" she said, leaving forward and giving a big draconic cheshire grin, "Just remember, when hunting a slime, one must go straight for the core to get any progress."

This puzzled Takrok for a moment. Of course one went for the core when hunting slime, why would she…? That grin only expanded when Takrok's eyes widened in realization, "Oh. You mean Ma-"

With that, he immediately was launched back into his body through the beautiful flower, which shortly began to wilt.

He jolted upright, dizzy. "Go right for the core, hmm…?" He said, heart fluttering a bit. He had always made his interest in Maple clear, but she always had strange expectations and deflections, for every flirt there was a barbed retort. It was a fun game, but he wasn't sure how seriously to take it… at least, he wasn't before now.

His grin grew. Very well. If even the Allmother was giving him a sign to act, it was time to do just that!

Opening the door to his study, he had a realization. Oh yeah. The door and Dusau things first. Then Maple.