Oscar traversed through the forest, riding on Erden the entire way. The bright sun wrapped them in the warm embrace of its soothing light, making the storm from yesterday seem like a lie. If not for the dews dripping from the leaves and the wet mud underneath Erden's hooves, Oscar would have doubted his memories.
The wide and ancient trees started to dwindle, spread out more thinly and increasing in separation with each distance traveled until Oscar reached a sizable flat land. Fresh sprouts of light-green grass barely poked their heads out of the dirt. Only a few years had passed, but the changes in his actions began to show.
In total, including the one destroyed in Tectusen, Oscar had destroyed seventeen Forest Hearts, the essential parts which transformed Stonehaven into Ashen Grove. With them gone, the forests started dying away, leaving only a few patches in some extreme areas. Oscar welcomed the sight of open plains, reminding him of his home farm.
"The soil here would be great for raising crops," Oscar told Erden to slow down to appreciate the freedom from the overgrown trees.
"In time, Stonehaven will return to the wondrous realm it was before. Wide plains and perhaps great mountains. Though, mountains don't grow like grass." Gol-4 said, chortling in delight. His voice somewhat choked.
Oscar rubbed Gol-4's head and joked, "Wait a few hundred years when the realm opens again. I can ask some Elite Exalt to bring you inside for a look."
"That's quite a lot of ifs in that statement. Assuming you become a Knight Exalt, will you become a Marshal Exalt? And a King Exalt?" Gol-4 snorted. "It would be nice to see Stonehaven back to its former glory."
"Thanks for the confidence boost, you mere head. Erden, let's speed up. We wasted enough time here." Oscar poked Gol-4 in the blue glass eyes. Under his command, Erden stomped over the flat land, entering another forest shortly after.
According to his previous travels, the journey to the Great Tree, where many Grovekeepers gathered, should take three days. Oscar let the winds brush aside his hair which he kept short, as he stared up at the lonely sun in the blue sky with a longing expression. When would he finally see the familiar two suns of his world?
Despite training for so many years, six in the Greater Elite Exalt realm, Oscar hadn't reached the peak. The invasion of the four factions had already cut down the resources of Ashen Grove, and he cleaned out as much as possible. Irritated, Oscar bit his lip, cursing his slow progress.
He suddenly felt a knock on his head, and he released his lips from the tyrannical grasp of his teeth. He knew the culprit and turned to Gol-4, wondering what the chattering head wanted.
"I know that look of yours. Stop biting your lip; it's not a good habit. Your path as an Exalt is up to you. Besides, what if you take longer? It's about being the one with the last laugh. Doesn't seem very convincing when I'm the one saying it." Gol-4 shook his head.
"My master said something similar," Oscar sighed. He was glad for Gol-4's comforting words. However, everything happening seemed to want him to rush into it. Being stuck in this realm certainly didn't help.
Erden's hooves carried him far away from Tectusen, passing through the dwindling forests. As the sun's warm glow started to dim and the night blanketed the sky, Oscar lamented, raising his voice to the unique stars of Ashen Grove, not at all resembling those of his home. Erden splashed across a river, spraying some droplets on Oscar's face.
Oscar didn't know what was wrong with him.
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Recently, he had been distracted by constant thoughts of home. He shook his head and made camp for the night. Only two more days until his destination, and Oscar needed to hold himself together. He knew all too well what a lack of concentration in battle could do.
He laid down, using Erden as a comfortable pillow, and talked the night away with Gol-4 about his past until his eyes finally closed. The world of Ashen Grove faded away and was replaced by his home back in Moniht Village and Blue Ocean Pavilion. Only in his dreams could he see them now.
Two days later, Oscar ran around to a skinny Grovekeeper who darted around like a grasshopper. In a single swipe, Oscar cut off its head and claimed its core. His hand smelled foul and was covered in a slimy substance. Lately, the Grovekeepers showed the same signs of decay as the sick ones.
"This one would have become immobile from sickness soon. Look at its limbs and how withered they are." Gol-4 studied the Grovekeeper's remains.
Oscar crouched low, gazing around. Trees were basically stacked together from how close they were, and the leaves glistened with a healthy glow from the dew on their bodies, transforming the sunlight from above into a greenish hue. This part of Ashen Grove was still functioning as a proper forest.
"Here we are." Oscar hid behind some bushes, eyeing the Great Tree a few sprints away. It reached high into the sky, with the leaves acting as strange green clouds atop a towering trunk. The previous time he had visited this tree, he had no idea of a Forest Heart being here or any Grovekeepers settling here. But now, the tree had long ivory vines reaching from the lowest branches to the ground.
Halfway up, Grovekeepers were climbing and helping one another to enter the branch. If it was anything like the one with Oen Fortress, each branch had to be big enough for them to mount several defenses. Oscar took out some makeshift binoculars, a prototype of a large golem eye he had created.
"There's a large number of them on the lower branches, and they made bridges and ladders to connect to the higher branches." Oscar hated to admit it, but the Grovekeepers had shown their competency. He held the binoculars to Gol-4's eyes. "A surprise attack may not work because we have to take those vines up."
"They did some good jobs on those branches. Each one is as large as a village and well-fortified—walls of brambles and most likely traps to stop you. Trying to starve them out may not work either. They can farm or ration out the natural food on the branches as it replenishes." Gol-4 sighed. "It's a shame there's no winter in this realm. That would have helped a lot."
Oscar noticed several Grovekeepers descending from the vines. He put on his copper shield and whispered to Erden to move quietly. The only action available now was to hunt down all the Grovekeepers who left the Great Tree. From the vast migrations he observed, the number of Grovekeepers was too many and needed to be culled.
Crossing over the protruding roots, careful not to trip, Oscar and Erden found the small detachment of Grovekeepers. Some gripped colorful fruit with their gnarly hands, plucked them, and collected them into small baskets. Others kept watching their surroundings, darting their wooden faces at each tree and jumping at every sound.
"They're afraid. If we could understand them, I wonder what we would hear from them about you. Imagine them telling their children bedtime stories about the horrific monster, Oscar Terr." Gol-4 whispered.
"Can't you be serious for a moment?" Oscar felt Gol-4 had gotten far too loose in recent years. He signaled Erden with two fingers, and Erden jumped out onto the center of the Grovekeepers, quaking the earth beneath its hooves. The ensuing shockwave stunned the Grovekeepers except for a few who were too far away.
Before those Grovekeepers could escape, Oscar shot them with several Silver Stars, which exploded, reducing their bodies into shreds. Before long, Oscar and Erden slaughtered the rest of the Grovekeepers and collected their cores. As his teeth bit into the colorful fruit, a gush of sweet juice overwhelmed his taste buds.
"Delicious! The rainbow fruits are so good. I should take some seeds with me to grow outside." Oscar munched happily on his fruit along with Erden.
"Minus the insensitive comments about flavor to one who can't taste," Gol-4 clicked his tongue, "are you going to fight a guerilla war against the Grovekeepers?"
"If you can find a way up that tree without being spotted or a way to force all of them to come down, I don't see any other option." Oscar wiped his hands on his shoddy makeshift fur pants. He sighed as he grumbled his complaints, "It's going to take a while."
Glancing back to the Great Tree, Oscar gripped his shield and ran with Erden as more groups of Grovekeepers descended from the vines.
For so long, the Grovekeepers hunted the remnant humans for their disgusting purposes.
Now, they were scared and hiding atop their last bastion.
Oscar's hunt was not over.