It took Jessie around 6 hours by horse to traverse the forests that made up the area of the marquess de Veronts territory to reach the emerald creek. Jessie had decided to head south east first to gather the green opal and the green mahogany before making his way north towards whitewater lake to gather the yellow water lilies, then heading into the dead peaks last and maybe stopping to get some information from the dragon sanctuary. dead peaks to look for the dragon blood roses and the tulips of life and death. Jessie had assumed that there would be an obvious border between the regular forest and the emerald creek, and while that may be the case on a map, hence why he didn’t notice he was in the region of the creek till he was surrounded by a group of fully armed dryads. who didn't seem all that pleased to see him.
“And what would a man as young and inexperienced as you be doing in these parts?” one of the dryads said.
“I uh, was looking for some materials.” Jessie replied with some hesitation
“Another adventurer here to steal our resources.” another dryad said hostility was clear in her voice.
“Now now sister.” the dryad behind Jessie said, “this man couldn't do shit against us.”
“Oh I see.” another one burst out laughing. “Don’t sneeze on him then, he might disintegrate.”
“I’m surprised he actually made it here.”
“Should we humour him?” a dryad on Jessie's left said
“Of course we should, let's take him to the matriarch.” another said
“We should carry him.” Another said. “Wouldn’t want a branch to scratch him.”
And so Jessie was entangled in a cocoon of vines and transported across the emerald creek. Of course, he couldn’t see where he was going due to being inside a cocoon, he also couldn’t feel where he was going, it seemed the dryads had made true on their threat? Promise? And were transporting him as delicately as possible. It was kind of humiliating if he thought about it, but at the same time it did make the journey through the emerald creek safer, he just hoped he wouldn’t be killed by this matriarch.
He didn’t know how much time had passed since he was cocooned inside the vines, he didn’t even know if they had moved and they were just playing a prank on him. Eventually however, the vines began to peel back to reveal where he was and, despite what he had thought, they hadn’t played a prank on him. The place where he had been taken was along the shore of a massive lake which had the same colour as a pure emerald with small islands dotting the lake for miles. Bridges of wood criss crossed the lake between the islands, looking like the roots of a great tree as they made chaotic paths that led everywhere. Oak trees big and small dotted the shoreline and the islands as thousands of Dryads went about their day tending to the forest and lake. As the cocoon finally dispersed Jessie was surrounded by more armoured dryads who began to escort him across the winding criss crossing paths between islands.
Arriving before the bridge to the final island the procession, which had grown as more and more dryads had started following the warriors and their charge, halted as a group of dryads dressed in gold or wearing gold armour approached.
‘The Matriarch is ready to see him.” the dryad in the front said as the gold armoured dyads stopped in front of the group.
With a salute to the dryads in front of them, the guards who had escorted Jessie through the settlement turned around and returned to their scouting posts around the perimeter of the emerald creek. Once the guards had walked off the dryads in gold surrounded Jessie and began to escort him over the bridge, this bridge was more intricate than the other he had crossed and looked almost like it was grown from a massive tree and transported to this location. It was at the halfway point that something Jessie hadn’t expected happened, with a ripple like a rock hitting a pond the space in front of him split and revealed more than he could have thought. The lake, which had been unusually massive before, turned into what could only be described as an ocean. Thousands more islands and bridges appeared as he passed through an invisible wall, a thriving civilisation of spirits and elementals existed in this place. As the procession rounded a corner Jessie couldn't help but fall into shock. A massive port city lay before him bustling with activity as satyrs, nymphs, drus’s and many other spirits wandered around and went about their business. Oak trees filled the area making the city look like a forest of light and shadows as light elementals floated in patterns that gave light to the places of great population. As the procession walked through the city of trees and houses that seemed to all but match what he had learnt about the spirits and other mythological creatures, the citizens gave them looks of pure curiosity which made it clear that they very rarely, if ever, saw a human. But the main thing that took Jessie breath away was the port itself, a multi kilometre wide walkway of tangled spruce and acacia trees created a flat surface with sturdy railings that prevented people from falling into the water, this same pattern and design extended out from 50 to 200 metres into the water with quays spaced 50 to 100 metres apart from each other. Many of the quays were occupied, either with small fishing boats or traders that were loading supplies to be brought to other ports that were undoubtedly on one of the many islands that dotted this hidden location. There was one boat that stood out though, a ship 6 decks high and 150 metres long, it was made of a silver wood that was accentuated with gold, though the closer he got on this ship the more he realised the gold was actually a wood as well, the sails and rigging were a mild blue that seemed to almost glow. It was a ship that belonged to someone important and he figured out that it belonged to the same people as he was being escorted by. As the procession arrived at the ship more gold clad people appeared on the bulwarks and not just dryads either, there were some drus, and satyrs in the mix as well.
“Welcome human to the battleship Seristhana, i am high captain Amodeus, member of the fleet council and commander of the 12th fleet of her majesty the matriarch Alessia’s navy.” a man said as soon as he saw Jessie, the captain didn’t look like a dryad, drus, satyr or other mythological creature. In fact he looked like a human, apart from the slitted eyes that seemed to absorb light and hair that looked like it had been made from powdered bone, he was dressed in the same gold armour that the rest of the soldiers around him wore, however he seemed slightly uncomfortable wearing it and the colours did clash violently with his look. Before Jessie had a chance to respond he was pushed up the ramp onto the ship and led to a room below the deck where the ship's wheel was located. It wasn't a bad room to be thrown into, it had a comfy bed and cosy furnishings as though it was meant for more important people than him. There was also a balcony which led outside which he immediately went to. As he stepped out onto the balcony he heard the captain shouting orders and getting ready to set sail, from what he could hear the crew move with practised movements, movements more skilled than sailors he saw in movies, and they were setting sail within minutes of Jessie boarding the ship. As he stepped back into his room he heard the bolt which had been slid closed on the outside of the door, slide open and a soldier stuck his head into the room.
“You are free to wander the deck as long as you stay out of everyone's way.”
Jessie didn't even have time to respond, which was becoming a strange trend, before the guard withdrew his head and walked away. After waiting for about a minute Jessie decided to take a walk around the ship to see what it was like, the door to the room was heavier than he thought, though that may have been because his 1 in strength, though this was the first time he had experienced not being able to move anything and he began to wonder why he had managed to carry 15 wolf pelts several kilometres from the cave the the village, because if he struggled to open a simple wooden door how could he have lifted about 68 kilos of wolf pelts let alone carry it far. Deciding to just ignore this issue for now, Jessie forced the door open and stumbled out onto the main deck of the ship, the first thing he noticed was that the soldiers were leaning against the bulwarks or sitting on crates that were stacked along the middle of the deck, none of them seemed to be at attention, almost as if there was not going to be anything happening, though that was probably true as this place seemed like it had existed for aeons, soldiers and sailors moved from deck to deck and all looked care free. Some of the crew noticed Jessie but only gave him a glance as he walked around the top deck, he was stopped from heading down to the lower decks but that didn't bother him as the surroundings gave him more entertainment as he tried to make out what was happening and where he was. Early evening found Jessie sitting at the bow of the ship as he watched a pod of dolphins swim alongside the ship, he was so engrossed in watching them that he didn't notice the person walk up beside him.
“It is very rare we get a human in the emerald creek, rarer still that one gets let this far into our lands.”
Jessie spun around and looked at the captain who was watching the waters ahead of them. Jessie turned to look out in front of the ship and saw that they were sailing into an area where there were no islands and only a clear way to the other side of the mini ocean. It was then that something occurred to him.
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“We aren't about to sail through another illusion are we?” he asked
“You’ll see.” was all the captain said while smiling faintly, before turning around and heading back to the wheel
“PREPARE TO DOCK” the captain called out to the crew as the ship continued to sail into open waters. As Jessie watched the dolphins swim he noticed a ripple in front of them as the dolphins began to disappear, a moment later a wall began to shimmer in front of the ship as they passed through yet another illusion.
The world seemed to flicker for a moment as the ship passed through the illusion spell, it wasn't the realisation at the amount of mana needed to fuel three large scale illusions that awed Jessie, it was what lay beyond this final illusion. A tree that seemed to scrape the heavens themselves stood proudly on an island the size of Fiji, with a trunk of pure white and silver that covered an area larger than a football stadium. It held up a canopy of pure gold that covered the entire island on which it lived. The closer they got to the island the more detail Jessie could make out, from nigh uncountable number of military vessels, both larger and smaller than the one he was currently on, to the trees that lined every street and occupied nearly every space where no one lived. Trees of pure white occupied everywhere they could, ranging from trees that resembled oaks and maples to tall pines and firs it made the island look like it had perpetual snow fall even though it was covered by the canopy. The docking procedure was swift and within a minute of the ship going stationary Jessie was disembarked with the same escort that brought him onboard, the only difference this time was that the captain of the vessel accompanied them. The city that surrounded the great tree was surprisingly similar in both building style and population variety toi the port town in which he boarded that Jessie might have wondered if he had gotten off at the same port, well, apart from a tree that was a dead give away. Jessie was walked through the city and towards the great tree, the trip to the great tree was quite a distance and so jessie was loaded into a wagon and driven to what jessie could make out as a house at the base of it, though as he got closer he realised it would be a better idea to call it a mansion, though even that word struggled to encapsulate what exactly the building was. As the only building that did not directly resemble a plant but was instead made out of one, it had the architecture of a Heian period palace while still somehow fitting the all nature style which appeared to be the standard building style of this place. The doors that were tall enough to fit a 20 metre giant bore imagery of a tree holding aloft an uncountable number of planets swung open with barely a sound as the procession made their way into the building.
The entrance hall to the building consisted not of a large room with many doorways and a staircase, but of a garden with fountains and ponds that stretched as far as Jessie could see, ahead of him lay a gazebo, built of white stone covered with flowers and vines it stood in the middle of a pond, with four bridges allowing access from the cardinal directions, it stood tall enough to comfortably hold four floors and still looked like a standard gazebo. Inside the gazebo resembled the dining rooms of palaces, except for the throne that sat at one end against the only wall the gazebo had.
“So you’re the one who got that old bastard’s blessing.” Said the woman on the throne. She resembled the usual form a dryad held in the mythology Jessie had learnt about if a bit different, she wore plants as clothes that barely covered her modesty, which wouldn’t have been an issue if they weren’t the size of one and half basketballs which the plants she wore to cover them barely even covered the front. Instead of being drawn in like most men would have, Jessie just sighed.
“What of it?” he asked in a resigned voice. “And why do all powerful women seem to dress so scantily?” The second question was followed by some gasps from people whom Jessie guessed were advisors and nobles in the domain of the matriarch.
“YOU WILL RESPECT HER MAJESTY THE MATRIARCH.” one of the nobles furthest from the throne shouted at Jessie who was standing before the throne.
“Calm down, dears.” the Matriarch said as she waved her hand for silence before turning to Jessie. “Powerful women, mainly goddesses but occasionally demigods as well, will dress scantily to see the reaction from mortals, but looking at your reaction it is clear that either you don’t care for women or I'm just the wrong type. A pity, but it does happen.” As she said this the plants began to grow, and soon she was wearing a dress in the same plant style as her other outfit that flowed down from her shoulders to the floor.
“On to the main matter at hand.” she said after she had changed her outfit. “You ask what of it, so I shall give you some information. Blessings, especially those handed out by higher gods, are detectable, the higher the blessing the more detectable it is due to the presence of the gods divinity. Now, this wouldn't be an issue if you had received a regular blessing, you however received a true blessing, a blessing that evolves as you level up and give you access to the powers of the god who blessed you. This is likely the reason Neovecrianth didnt turn you to ash when you met him.” the matriarch paused for a moment. “I’m talking too much, it matters because there are many people who, while they don’t know the name of the god who blessed you, will be able to detect the power of the divinity in your blessing. This wouldn't normally be an issue, but your unfortunate run in with Velthoth the cursed is an issue. Nature's servant has given me an item which will solve this problem for you, however you must prove your worth to receive it. If you pass the test I will give you the item and the green opal and mahogany you originally came here for. What is your answer?”
“Do i get to know what your test is before answering?” Jessie asked
“No.”
“Oh, um, sure, I guess.” jessie mumbled
“Sorry, I didn't hear that.”
“I’ll take your blasted trial.” Jessie said in a loud voice.
“Very well.” the matriarch said with a small smirk on her face. “To pass my test, you must prove your resolve.”
“Huh!?”
With a wave of her hand Jessie disappeared from the gazebo in a blinding flash of light, when the light receded Jessie found himself in a cell the only thing he could see was the interior of the cell which was lit by a soft green light, everything outside the cell was pitch black. As Jessie wondered where he was, a voice sounded from all around him.
“All you must do dear mortal, is show your resolve to never relinquish your blessing to those who would take it from you.”
“What do you mean?” Jessie cried out
“How strong is your resolve mortal?” the matriarch's voice said. “To pass this test you must endure a month without breaking. By the end of the month you must still retain your blessing. Good luck.” With that the voice of the matriarch faded away and the darkness outside the cell began to lift. What Jessie saw turned his blood cold. In Front of the cell stood a mage, behind him stood a hooded executioner and a middle aged man who had a manic look in his eye.
“So, you're finally awake.” the mage said as he unlocked the door to the cell. As the cell door opened Jessie was about to try make a run for it through the mage, but before he could do anything he suddenly found himself suspended from the roof by ropes of lightning
“No, you won't be running.” the mage said, a deranged look in his eyes. “With the blessing you hold, I will be able to take the throne and conquer this world, now I shall ask once, relinquish the blessing and this won't have to get messy.”
“No.” was all Jessie managed to say before the ropes of lightning began to electrocute him, the lightning pumped volt after volt through Jessie’s body wracking it with pain and leaving burns where it touched his wrists and ankles. The mage simply looked on while Jessie writhed in pain from the lightning, after what felt like hours the pain resided and Jessie hung limp from the ropes. The mage lifted Jessie's chin up with a finger and looked him in the eye.
“Will you give me the blessing, or will you continue to resist?”
Jessie’s response to the mage was to simply spit in his face. This seemed to enrage the mage as he grabbed Jessie by the throat and began to squeeze.
“You will relinquish the blessing and I will rule the world” the mage said, his voice low and dangerous. “I don’t care how long it takes, you will be broken.'' With that the mage walked out of the cell and muttered something to the executioner and the other man whose manic eyes and sadistic smile seemed to turn even more predatory. As the mage and the executioner left Jessie's view, the other man walked into the cell.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been let free on a prisoner.” he said cackling in glee and walking around the suspended Jessie. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”
Before Jessie could wrap his head around what was happening, he cried out in pain as something was driven into his left arm. The man walked back around to Jessie's front with a predatory smile on his face while holding a bloodied knife in his right hand. The man slowly placed the knife on Jessie's collarbone and applied enough pressure to draw blood before slowly dragging the knife diagonally down Jessie's front drawing both blood and a cry of pain which only seemed to make his predatory smile more intense as he soaked up the cries of pain. This continued for hours as the man made long and slow cuts all across Jessie's body applying more pressure to the cust as Jessie’s body became accustomed to the pain. By the time the mage returned with a cup of water and a stale loaf of bread, Jessie had been turned from a clean looking human into a blood soaked body that hung limply from ropes of lighting. His clothes had been torn to shreds, barely hanging onto his body, but his wounds had all been healed, which the man had been doing periodically to prevent Jessie from dying.
“Are you ready to relinquish the blessing?” the mage asked as he placed the meal on the floor.
“No.” Jessie muttered
“Very well.” the mage said as he left the cell and locked it behind him before releasing Jessie from the ropes. “We’ll see if you change your mind tomorrow.” he said before walking off.