[Kliss Eliza Cessna]

The alien city of Moscow wove itself into existence all around us. I recognized our arrival point right away, Slava had once again taken us to the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy.

As I looked about, I noted something that wasn’t there yesterday.

A giant violet-leafed tree was wrapped around the twisted spire of the Monument to Conquerors of Space. Its violet-orange leaves ruslted in the gentle summer breeze, casting intricate dancing shimmers on the surrounding manicured laws and pathways beneath.

“Is that...?” I breathed out.

“A data-replica of Leemy’s primary new tree,” Slava nodded as we walked towards the monument. “It represents the Chrysalis foundry currently holding the dryad’s soul. I’m connected to it and her entire tree network via a root underneath our bedroom.”

“Network?” I repeated.

“Leemy’s roots, connecting all of Skyisle like a giant spider web,” Slava explained. “Where each node is another tree, drawing Vitality power, ready to cast a single spell.”

“Oh, I saw it!” I nodded, recalling my dream. “I spotted it as Aradria from the sky, moments before her death. Just one word, repeated again and again, entwined into a gargantuan weave, a supermassive hexagram burned into the local Underside…”

“Rewind,” Slava affirmed. “A magical fractal engine, capable of bending time itself within the boundary of Skyisle. Like I told you before, Rewind is a natural element of the Mystic trees, the way they protect themselves from the magogenic fault by constantly rewinding and healing the damage.”

We got closer to the oversized tree and I looked up at the strands of shimmering violet flowers now directly above us.

In another few minutes, we reached the base of the massive tree.

Slava put his hand on the bark, humming something in what sounded like ancient Alanian being sung in slow motion.

A tremor of whispers echoed back from every leaf and flower overhead with the same, languid reply that I could not understand.

A pulse of radiant light suddenly flashed from Slava’s fingers, sparks dancing up the entire length of the tree. A hollow space unfolded from the bark, exposing the tree’s crystal-covered interior.

Violet light flashed within the hollow, forming a human figure in the air. It looked as if a thousand gradually unfolding flower petals expanded out from the core. The glow intensified and became blinding. I squinted. Tendrils of energy like luminous vines snaked from the crystals, intertwining and weaving bones and veins, creating flesh.

The scent of wild flowers filled my nostrils.

Slowly, a figure emerged from the heart of the tree. It was an approximation of a person sculpted from moss, bark, branches and tree roots. Her hair was a cascade of brown vines covered in violet blossoms. Something akin to blood-elk horns topped her head, covered in more violet flowers that opened and closed. A formation of violet crystals shimmered on her forehead like a third eye. Long ears made from brown bark twitched.

Her eyes suddenly shot open, unexpectedly brilliant-orange. Alien eyes with odd, three-petaled flower-shaped irises examined us.

“Leemy!” Slava grinned.

“Sentinel,” the dryad bowed. “My thanks for letting me experience an Astral-birth before Chrysalis finished growing my physical body.”

Delta simply stared, tears swelling in her eyes.

“Leemy,” she uttered. “You’ve finally bloomed... after all these years!”

She rushed forward and wrapped the dryad in a fierce embrace, silver-white hair flying behind her. Leemy looked momentarily surprised and then slowly returned the hug.

“Who…?” She uttered.

“I’m Kopusha, you dolt!” Delta shot back.

“Is it truly you?” Leemy blinked. “Why do you look so different?”

“Yes, it’s me! It’s been over a thousand years since Seditionists killed both of us and atomized Tricameron, but we’re finally… together!” Delta buried her face in her dryad. “I look different because it’s been so long. Only a fraction of me remained, just an imprint buried in the Astral Sea. It's been so long since then and I… I’ve become more, got a new family, and been reborn. This is just how I look in here, my new face! I even have a new name–Delta Alana Skyisle. We’re in our last Sentinel’s… in Slava’s lucid dream of another world and here I look as old as I feel, about twenty.”

“Time changes all,” Leemy nodded. “I am glad that you have adapted well to your new life. I have missed you, my Agromancer.”

Delta simply nodded in reply, clinging to Leemy harder.

Slava and I exchanged a look as the hug stretched on, Delta and her dryad rapidly whispering things to each other in ancient Alanian.

Slava stepped to my side.

“It took me thirteen years, plus an unknown amount of time in the Astral,” he said. “Their tragic deaths, their last moments had been hanging on my conscience for far too long. But I did it, I got them both back, just as they had been back when Tricameron still stood…”

I watched as Slava smiled softly. It was a genuine smile, one that could potentially belong to a grandfatherly figure or perhaps a tired, weary knight.

“Although they’re not exactly the same,” he admitted. “They’ve both changed, grew up, become so much more than they were back then. But that beautiful connection between a creator and their greatest project, between an Agromancer and her dryad, the story between them will continue… and that’s all that matters.”

“You cheeky bastard,” Delta shot her brother a look. “We ain’t no story!”

“And?” Dante asked, his glasses glinting in the sunlight. I noted a mischievous look in his eyes as if something unsaid passed between sister and brother.

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“I always told you... That your damn insatiable persistence at saving every girl you come across was hella dumb, but I was wrong, okay? You've somehow Don Quixoted my greatest treasure back,” Delta admitted with a begrudging, albeit incredibly happy look. “Good job. You did good… keep it up, you butt.”

Leemy, for her part, seemed mostly preoccupied with the strange, tall buildings all around us. Her orange-gold eyes darted from one architectural marvel to another, taking in the sights and sounds of Slava's lost world.

Then she focused on me. It took her a moment to recognize my human face.

“I know you… you are Overseer Kliss, a seedling of the Gregarius Empire,” she said.

“Technically, she’s our Baroness now,” Delta commented.

“Baroness... Kliss,” Leemy nodded. Her orange eyes paused on the park trees.

“I sense no magic in these,” she said. “No life. Are they poisoned?”

“This entire city is a simulation, a memory,” Slava explained. “An illusion woven by me, a place where all of us can discuss things.”

“I see,” Leemy said. “What about these metal trees?”

“Those are called lamp posts,” Slava said. “They’re sort of like Alanian soul-powered lanterns.”

“Ah,” Leemy said. “They do not sing. Nothing sings here. This place is static, lifeless, empty.”

“I’m not static though, right?” Delta grabbed Leemy’s hands.

“No, you are not,” Leemy looked at Delta for about thirty seconds, eyes flickering with orange light. “Although... I see that you are but a stump of your former tree, worn away by the Astral Ocean’s currents. Your new branches and roots are a patchwork of stolen saplings, some belonging to our Sentinel, others taken from random trees of the deep.”

Delta pursed her lips.

“Worst of all, there is a growing infection in you, my Agromancer. Many of your roots are cold, contaminated with the blight of ravenous darkness. Numerous vortices exist within, forcing you to consume other trees, to replace the ever-growing hollows within you. Your chorus is corrupted, thrumming with the wrongness of old pain and vengeance. It sings within you, a symphony of a thousand discordant voices.”

“Yeah,” Delta’s expression soured as she rubbed her hands with a look of worry. “You see me far too well, Leemy. I’m half human, half Astral Phantom now.”

The dryad’s orange eyes trailed to Slava.

“You too carry the blight of that abyss, Sentinel. But there is more to it compared to my Agromancer. I see... complexity upon complexity, a web like that of a spider, folding into itself and covered in writhing worms. A cold, orderly chorus, one that seeks answers. Beneath your human guise something unfathomably dangerous sings the chorus of the Wormwood Star.”

Slava opened and closed his mouth, not sure how to answer that comment.

I noted that the dryad was good at figuring us out via our Astral imprints. As her orange eyes struck me, they went wide and she stepped back.

“Beneath that shell of a human girl, there is no tree at all,” she said.

“No tree?” Delta arched a silver eyebrow.

“There is only fire. The Baroness is fire, a threat to all trees,” Leemy said, stepping further back as if she was afraid of me. “Permanent, ever-growing… inescapable destruction, one that already planted a spark within the Sentinel.”

Fire? Was that how Leemy saw me? The memories of Aradria’s life were quite vibrant in my mind and growing more solid with each day. I was fire, there was no denying it.

“Yes,” I stated, even as my chest ached with mild worry. “Slava gave me a dragon’s heart, brought me back as I was dying. So what? I don’t set trees alight with dragonfire, I use it keep my friends warm!”

As if to prove my point I forcefully grabbed Slava’s hand.

The dryad squinted at me.

"She’s not just fire, Leemy,” Delta insisted. “Lizzy’s my… our best friend! Give her a chance!"

“Friend?” Leemy whispered, her gaze lingering on my face. “How can fire be a friend to a tree? Can the all-destroyer be trusted to protect that which it devours without remorse?”

“Hey, um,” I said, trying to remain calm. “I’m not like that. I’m not a destroyer. Dragon Aradria might have been one, but I’m not.”

“Kliss is my knight,” Slava affirmed.

“I’ve sworn to protect Skyisle,” I said far too loudly. “I am Slava… our Sentinel’s sword and shield!”

“Don't worry, Leemy! Kliss is our resident dragon girl,” Delta added. “All of Skyisle is going to be her hoard!”

I nodded and frowned internally. Delta's words probably weren't very helpful to our current predicament of trying to explain my draconic nature to the dryad who seemed to see everything as trees or the enemy of trees.

The dryad’s orange eyes narrowed further, boring into my soul. “The very nature of fire is to consume. In the end, the spark within you will grow into an out of control inferno, devouring all in its path.”

I flinched at her words, more creeping doubt taking root in my heart. Could she be right? Was I destined to destroy everything I held dear, no matter how hard I tried to protect it? Was I too weak to tame the dragon in my heart? The memories of Aradria and her assertion of 'self' were definitely growing stronger in me as my hoard multiplied.

“You’re wrong, Leemy,” Slava declared. “Kliss is more than just fire. She’s courage, loyalty, and unwavering dedication. The dragon heart I gave her only amplifies her inherent strengths.”

Delta nodded vigorously. “She's not some mindless force of destruction. She’s our friend, our protector. Just because she has the power to burn all the things forever, doesn’t mean she will.”

I stood taller, bolstered by their faith in me. “Leemy, I get what you're saying. Fire can be terrifying in its raw, unchecked form. But like other magic, it’s a tool, neither good nor evil on its own. It’s the wielder that determines its purpose! And I choose to be a light in the darkness, a warm hearth to gather around, not dragonfire that razes the land.”

The dryad simply blinked at me.

“I’m not just a dragon,” I said. “I’m also a human. Humans build, they create, they nurture. I learned that from my parents, from my training as a legionnaire, from... Slava. He taught me to see the world in a new way through the lens of science and understanding, and is still teaching me so much!”

“I see you in the Astral. You’re losing control,” Leemy insisted. “The firestorm in your heart is winning, the desire for kindling drives all of your actions.”

“You’re right about that,” I said.

Delta and Slava looked at me.

“I can’t resist the taste of gold,” I revealed. “I greatly enjoyed biting the Violets, making humans into my kobolds. I couldn’t resist biting Slava’s neck, to claim him as mine. I can’t wait to claim more people and things as part of my hoard. I am probably going to lose control…”

“So you admit it?” Leemy asked.

“Yes,” I sighed. “I do. But… I… I am not alone anymore! I have friends, people I trust with my life and soul now!”

I looked back at Slava and his twin.

“Brother and sister who saved me from the Vows to Equality,” I said, spreading my arms wide. “And if they dared to stand up to a Goddess, killed two of her Archangels, then they sure as hell can help me control the dragon inside me, help me tame the firestorm as it inevitably grows within my heart. Slava’s science, his mathematics can do impossible things, push magic itself past all known limits!”

“You trust two trees infected with Astral blight to keep you under control?” Leemy asked.

“I do,” I affirmed. “I trust them with my entire heart and they trust me. They have my back and I have theirs!”

Leemy didn’t look convinced.

“Skyisle is dying, has been dying for a thousand years since the Seditionist Revolution brought down the Alanian cities. All of Novazem is permanently scarred with magogenic zones,” Slava said. “You were just a dying tree yourself when my sister and I found you and started to pour our souls into your roots to awaken you. The entire world is set against us, an Empire controlled by Vows is standing in our way.”

Leemy frowned.

“But,” Slava said. “That’s just part of the challenge. Contrary to what we are, we are making a difference–the three of us helped your tree bloom, we planted thousands of your seeds, made your saplings grow across Skyisle. Millions more will be carried by the wind across Novazem. You’re part of my equation of the future, Leemy–just like Kliss and Delta are.”