Chapter 369: 369. The Dawn Dryad

There many things of wonder that Dallion had seen since arriving in the world. A city of minotaurs was definitely the most outlandish and magical that he had seen by far. The creatures were nothing like the minotaurs nomads that were caught during the first expedition. They were—for lack of a better word—civilized. Everything from clothes to tools, stalls and buildings were specifically crafted to suit the physiology of the species and nothing else.

Minotaur children ran around, curious to get a closer look at Dallion. It was just like each time a travelling merchant arrived in Dherma village. Back then, merchants and the occasional monk from the Order were the only contact with the outside world. Dallion remembered well the feelings of curiosity and excitement he felt in every such instance, before the limiting echo faded the memories away. The same emotions were glowing in everyone around.

“They don’t get many outsiders here, do they?” Dallion whispered as he walked on.

“Not humans,” the dryad replied.

In contrast to Dallion, Vihrogon was treated as something quite average. Even Nox received a lot more attention, which he was more than happy to ignore while pretending to snooze on Dallion’s shoulder.

“You’ve the first of your kind that has come here.”

That much was clear, as was the fact that Dallion was expected. It didn’t go unnoticed that no one tried to block his path, not to mention that there weren’t any guards. The only weapons and armor gear Dallion could see were better equipped for hunting than anything else.

“No guards?” Dallion turned to Vihrogon.

“Apparently they aren’t needed,” the dryad replied. “There’s nothing that could invade this place.”

“Is that speculation, or have you been reading the dryad scrolls a bit?”

“Observation. If this is the only functioning settlement and the land around it isn’t corrupted by cracklings, there wouldn't be anyone strong enough to attack. At worst, the guardian would send a few echoes to deal with the nuisance and call it a day.”

That made sense. Thinking back, Dallion remembered that the hilt of the sword was in pretty good condition compared to the blade. This part of the realm was built to last. That was why it had been so important for Dallion to help out protecting the vulnerable area in the middle. A sword ceases to be a blade when snapped in two, no matter the condition of the hilt. Possibly that was the reason Dallion was treated so well here.

Several stall sellers offered to share a treat with Dallion, but he chose to refuse; he could smell the contents just by passing by and they weren’t something that would agree with him. The dryad had no such qualms, sampling pretty much everything offered.

“You really like that?” Dallion asked.

“It’s food. The first I’ve had in a long time.”

“What about all the stuff in your tower?”

“Tricks of the mind. Just like you can’t fill you belly by eating things in a common item, neither can I. A world item makes me experience the sensation of eating same as I did before being banished.”

Given the smells, Dallion wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

“How many do you think there are?” Dallion asked as they moved on.

“About a million,” Vihrogon said between bites. “Maybe more. Enough to two-thirds of a city.”

“Why two-thirds?”

“Because the guardian wouldn’t allow anyone to go beyond the central ring.”

The city was divided in three rings and seven districts, similar to depictions of Atlantis Dallion had seen back on Earth. The outer ring was composed of four districts. Since long lost their purpose, they were now one vast residential and working area. Shops of all kinds were in between, along inns, taverns, and the occasional forge. Again, one thing was distinctly missing—the lack of barracks, guard towers, or anything of the sort. Even with a lack of enemies, there was no reason why the buildings should have been destroyed, and yet they were.

The second ring had two districts. According to Vihrogon, one of them was reserved for scholars, and the other for orchards. Given that in both cases the buildings were made of solid wood, Dallion had no idea what he was going through, especially with minotaurs living there, just like in the outer ring.

The central ring was the place that Dallion had to reach. By the looks of it was something like a royal district and had definitely kept its look. Structures rose twice or even three times taller than any other, shaming the surrounding buildings with their majesty. Wooden statues and reliefs covered the building walls, creating whole scenes. There were armies led by powerful leaders, Moon Clerics praying to a single moon, and many other things that Dallion knew nothing about.

Dallion’s first thought was to get Lux to fly him around the entire ring so he could get a glimpse of the big picture. However, even that wouldn’t have been enough. The decorations continued along the walls of the individual buildings, continuing further in.

“It’ll take you days to see everything,” a new voice said. A dryad had appeared several steps ahead. His clothes were simple, very much like the ones that Dallion used to have when he was back in his village.

“You’re an echo,” Dallion said.

“You can distinguish between them clearly now.” The dryad tilted his head. “And not just because of the rectangles. You can actually see the difference.”

For a moment, there was something different, as if the dryad was a reflection cut out from a mirror and stuck into reality. It only lasted for a few seconds. No sooner had the dryad made the comment, when the differences disappeared.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get better with practice.” The dryad turned around and walked along the street into the central ring. “Come on, he’s waiting.”

Dallion glanced at Vihrogon.

“Your familiars and guardians are welcome as well,” the echo said without looking back. “Even the crackling.”

“He won’t try anything,” the armadil shield said calmly.

“How can you be sure?”

“Because he’ll lose.”

The deeper they went into the center of the city, the more Dallion felt something was wrong. This wasn’t coming from his own feelings, however, but from everything around him. There was a deep sadness and regret in the buildings themselves—that last grain of hope one had despite knowing it wasn’t to be trusted. Dallion had seen a lot of devastation and decay caused by cracklings within the realms, but nothing compared to this.

“This place was at war,” he said. “Wasn’t it?”

“Nearly every part of this realm has been at war for thousands of years,” the echo replied, deliberately avoiding the actual question. “The materials were chosen specifically to delay the appearance of cracklings, but after so much time, it’s inevitable that the pests appear.”

Nox cracked an eye open, still on Dallion’s shoulder. He didn’t appreciate the tone, but knew better than to react.

“There’s shrapnel of emotions all over this district.” Dallion looked around, examining the nearby buildings. “You covered up the damage, but you couldn’t get rid of the fragments that drilled into the wood. That’s why no one lives here. It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s because they can’t.”

The echo stopped. Dallion saw a cluster of sadness form within him, then quickly wither away. The memory of the event undoubtedly caused strong feelings. Even so, the echo was skilled in suppressing them. That suggested that the actual guardian was even stronger.

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“A precision strike,” Vihrogon noted. “They didn’t want to destroy the city, just cripple its leadership. One could call it civilized.”

“There was nothing civilized, or merciful,” the echo said beneath its breath. “On either side. The future of a race buried, an entire realm destroyed, and all because of an argument so petty that it’s beyond belief. That was the reason the whole realm fell into ruin. Not some scheme of the Star, not some grand and important conflict, just rivalry to earn the title first among equals.”

“That was the reason for the war?”

“Probably one of them,” Vihrogon said. He seemed annoyingly carefree, considering the situation. “There always are dozens of reasons and dozens of pretexts. This is the one that hurt him the most. That’s who he’s—”

“Quite brave for a sword marshal to set foot in his own prison,” the echo interrupted. “There were times when that would have ended badly. The hatred towards them and the star were one of the main forces that united the nobles of the different cities all those years. Had you arrived while any of them were still around…” The second echo looked at Dallion. “It’s this way to the temple.”

It was unusual to see the armadil shield hated so much. In the current age, he was the most chill of all the guardians Dallion had seen. Clearly, the local guardian thought differently.

The feelings of sadness intensified, growing to dread. Dallion was forced to recite the names of the Moons non-stop in his mind in order to counter the effects. Walking became utter torture. The streets became smaller and windier, closer to a maze than roads. Dallion felt his ears were about to pop. Then, suddenly, all surrounding emotions disappeared.

“It’s just round the corner,” the echo replied, then vanished as well.

Dallion hesitated. If this was a show of force, it had succeeded in impressing him. If there was to be a fight for the twi-crown, it was going to be fierce. Regardless of what the armadil shield claimed, trying to convince the guardian to just hand over the gem stone was looking like the better option.

“Gleam?” Dallion whispered.

“Still here.” The shardfly had wrapped herself in illusion ever since they had approached the city. To everyone else, she appeared like an earring on Dallion’s right ear.

“I’ll need you soon.”

“I bet. This one’s strong.”

“Strong as the one who caught you?”

“Maybe. Your dryad is strong as well, so it should be okay.”

The road had become a twisting alley barely wide enough for a single person. After turning the corner, though, Dallion suddenly found himself in a wide-open space. It was as if someone had made a clearing among the buildings and placed the stone temple within it.

This was the final temple. Slightly larger than the previous ones, its roof was shaped similar to a cross, or a crude hilt.

“The palace was supposed to be there,” Vihrogon said. “The guardian just demolished and moved the temple here, visible above ground.”

“Maybe he didn’t have any choice.”

“Everyone has a choice,” a soft voice said, echoing throughout the air. “Sometimes there’s just one good option. In this case, cutting down the palace was a slow and painful process, but one that was necessary. It was the target of the bolts of emotion, and sadly, the city’s rulers and defenders failed to do anything about it. By the time I could react, the damage was done. I couldn’t even help in the counterattack, because that would be attacking another guardian, so I had to watch.”

Nox leapt off Dallion's shoulder. Even he sensed a fight at hand.

Uncertainty made Dallion put his right hand on the hilt of his harpsisword. A belief that he could talk his way out of this kept him from pulling it out.

The doors of the temple opened wide, revealing the actual guardian. He was a lot different from his echo. Dressed in ebony plate armor, the dryad looked more like an army officer than anything else. A wooden rapier was in his hand.

WORLD GUARDIAN - IZGREV

Species: DAWN DRYAD

Class: SHADOW

Stats: 100% HP

Skills:

- Attack

- Guard

- Athletics

- Entangle

- Acrobatics

- Carving

- Root Burst

- Leaf shield

Weak Spots: joints

“So you’re here to claim the twi-crown?” the dryad asked.

“Is it obvious?” Dallion asked, adding calm in his words.

“There’s no other reason for anyone to enter the world. It’s not fit for living, but it’s ideal for looting.”

“I just want the gems. I’m not here to claim to be a ruler or someone to lead.”

“The gems make the crown,” the guardian said. “And the crown can only be given to someone considered worthy. So,” the dryad drew his rapier. “Will you take this opportunity to show if you’re worthy?

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