Chapter 140: Book 3 chapter 12: Expectations meet reality.

Jemini

I apologize for the long gap between chapters. I have been somewhat distracted lately with a number of things, most of which actually involve this story and my future plans with it. (Reading the works of other authors far above my current skill and writing level was fun and distracting for other reasons, but it was also highly informative and taught me a lot I can apply here.) I have been talking periodically about my plans for a re-write of the entire series, and I have been debating how exactly to do it. In the past couple months, and especially in the past few weeks, I have been gaining insights onto what I want to do with the re-write at an exponential rate, and it has reached a point where I am growing rather exited for it, but unfortunately that has also meant taking away a lot of enthusiasm for the current version.

I have made the decision to finish out the current arc. I always meant for this series to function in trillogy cycles, and this 3rd arc was always meant to wrap up a lot of things that were set up in the earlier books. As such, it will serve the next version far better if I finish up this arc and have a far better idea of what I will be working with at that time.

There will also be several things in the writing that change from this point forward. The next few chapters will be some of the pivotal plot scenes of the arc, and after that we will have the time-skip at which time I will be using that as a device for some major changes to the way things are presented to become more in line with what I am going to want the rebooted version to look like, and thus might feel a bit different from the story thus far. Unfortunately, one of the bigger changes I am going to make will be the elimination of the young-mind Aerien. For now, we will just say she fully integrated into the adult mind. I never really meant for her to last much longer than the 1st book, and only really kept her because so many people liked her too much. I felt the pain of that mistake pretty severely as I continued to write and found myself struggling to find a place for her.

Aerien's advanced magic is another thing that's getting the can, that magic will be repurposed, redesigned, and it will go to Rolwen the nerd brain. It's far better suited to him anyway.

The good news in all of this is that this solves all the things that had been making writing a drag for me. So, it has greatly restored my excitement for the story and you can expect much more frequent updates for a while here until I go crazy and decide to start digging in and designing my own custom version of the elven language. (I will need to do that eventually anyway, this borrowing of Tolkein's words with my own syntax being the only major change is simply not an acceptable long-term model.)

Thank you all for your patience and for continuing to read and enjoy the series until now, and please enjoy the chapter.

Aerien’s POV

Ok, focus. They are clearly indicating they do not know about mother and Eirlathion being abducted. I cannot tell whether it’s real or just an act. The first thing I have to do is determine that. So, the only question is whether to start with an aggressive stance or a friendly stance. With an aggressive stance, I’m likely to get more information quickly. But, using this kind of tactic is not a good way to build long term negotiation relationships. I suppose I can always switch to an aggressive stance later if they are not very forthcoming.

“That’s exactly what I came here to talk about, I take it you are saying you don’t know from the copy of the primary dryad sent to the capital then?” I asked.

Dryad’s face immediately turned serious. “What do you mean?” they ask.

“Another one of you, you copy dryads, abducted them.” I informed them.

“What!? Hold on.” They immediately got a focused look on their face and began looking off at nothing in particular. “No, none of them know.” They said. “None of the others know.” Dryad sighed and looked over to me with a very grim look on their face. “We have actually been out of contact with our leader for more than a week now.” They said.

Of course you are. I fixed Dryad with a skeptical look. “Was that before or after they moved the entire village of Cundo somewhere else?” I asked.

“That…” Dryad hesitated. “Our leader actually moved very shortly after you left there. Almost immediately after the last of the elves left, Cundo was attacked. It was all our leader could do just to keep the humans still living there safe in their own main body.”

“Attacked?” I asked “By demons I assume? I admit, I don’t know a lot about demons, but from what I heard the main Dryad of Cundo ought to be strong enough to fend off most demons that may have attacked. Why did they have to run away?”

“We were in communication until a week or so ago, I can tell you what I know.” Dryad said. “It just happened all at once, a small force of around 10 to 13 gnomes dressed from head to toe in blood-red clothing simply popped up out of the ground and began warping the earth. Our leader had no choice but to expend all their energy to float the trees up from the ground to keep out of the way of their attacks, and they all didn’t even seem the slightest bit phased by our echo of spirit-collapse attack.”

“So that’s what you’re calling that thing where you share the memory of my near-death experience now?” I asked.

“Yes, and it is one of our strongest weapons.” Dryad said.

“Well, the one who infiltrated the great tree couldn’t affect the queen with that attack either.” I said. “Would that mean these red gnomes are on the same level of strength?”

Dryad shook their head. “Strength really doesn’t matter against this attack.” They said. “Well, not in terms of mana or spirit energy anyway. The only way to resist it is with strength of mind. The only way to survive is if you are simply able to receive and be unbothered by the pain that echos the experience of your own spirit collapsing and the fear attached to it. I can believe a single individual like the queen having such experiences and strength of mind. But, to have around a dozen individuals in a group who all possess that kind of strength of mind, it is very unusual. Gnomes DO have more presence to their physical bodies than even elves which would allow them to keep their lives against the attack, but they ought to have lost consciousness from the pain at the very least. They didn’t even do that.”

“So, you are saying every single one of them are the type who has gone through some kind of training where they are just used to the most intense pain?” I asked. “Sounds a little like they’ve been through this world’s equivalent of the Marine’s Hell Week from back on Earth.”

“From the shared experience I got from our leader, I would say they did seem like some form of special forces for the demons.” Dryad responded.

“So, you are saying this is why Cundo’s Dryad fled? But what does this have to do with you being unable to contact them?” I asked.

“Only that they are likely still being pursued.” Dryad responded. “I cannot tell you beyond that.”

“In other words, my coming here was just a waste of time for me in terms of trying to get my mother and Eirlathion back.” I stated with an angry edge to my voice. Dryad gave me a very sympathetic look.

“Well, what I can tell you is that our leader is no longer in the forest. They have left for human territories, the last they said was that they were pursuing an area with a lot of water in order to disrupt those gnomes.” Dryad said.

Is that right? Well, that’s pretty handy to know. However, as soon as I began to contemplate where to go from here, I had a very unpleasant feeling come over me. I tried my best to ignore it.

“Well, thank you very much Dryad. I guess I should… argh!” Suddenly, my body was racked with pain.

“Aerien!” Dryad’s projection lept up with concern.

“Damn it!” I cursed as I pulled myself upright in my chair. “I suppose that’s what I get when I try to ignore my oath.”

“Your oath?” Dryad asks, and then their eyes bulge with realization. “You’ve already taken the oath of nobility!?”

“Yeah, it seems the fey court was pretty impressed with me.” I ruefully commented.

“So, how was it that you were violating the oath just now?” Dryad asked.

“I just had a thought.” I told them. “I should probably ask you what your intentions are. Here in the forest, you and the other new dryads have appeared in almost every elven village. What do you wish to do with this wide spread?”

“Hmm… why would you not want to ask a question like that?” Dryad asks.

“I can’t answer that.” I told them. “At least, not until you’ve given your answer.”

Dryad gave me an appraising look, like they were trying to figure out what answer would avoid whatever inconvenience I had anticipated that possessed me to attempt to leave without asking that question.

“Well, our primary reason for taking this wide a spread over every village is likely the same reason our leader got attacked.” Dryad said. “We are trying to cover as much land above ground as possible, and then together we have all been slowly sinking our roots deep into the earth to enable us to attack the demons. The reason you and your sister were persecuted in Cudo was due to the fear of the dark elves. We are trying to eliminate that threat completely.”

I heaved a very heavy sigh when I heard that answer. “Well, I am certain there will be a lot of people happy to hear that answer.” I told them.

“But it is not the answer you wanted to hear?” Dryad asks.

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I felt the creeping hand of the oath’s power pulling against my spirit as I considered telling them my true feelings on the matter. It’s pretty clear what this is about. The most strict and uncompromising tenant of the oath is to not agitate harmful action from dryads, and to calm any such action if it’s already started.

“Oh no, it’s fine.” I told them. “It’s just that… you’re still hiding something.” Or rather, I hope they are. “Your previous answer was fine, but I was upset that I still have to keep pushing. What exactly ARE you hiding?” Damn it! Why do I have to be so good at word games!? It’s seriously working against me right now!

“Hmm… is that right?” Dryad comments. “Well, if it’s bothering you so much, I suppose I will do you a favor and not tell you. I will tell you this though, it’s something else we’re doing for you.”

“Does it have to do with why you’re not allowing the elves to take in any new humans, and you’re encouraging the shunning of spell singers?” I asked.

Dryad sighs. “I suppose it was dumb to think I could hide anything from you, huh? That’s right, I even told you that much out there.”

“You want to put an end to the elves kidnapping humans and keeping them as pets.” I commented.

“Eh, guilty as charged.” Dryad commented.

Great. Well, I’ve got something now. I’m not really certain I can spin it in a way that will allow me to keep pursuing the main Dryad though. That’s the real problem, and I knew it was a problem as soon as I heard Dryad was so far out in human lands, and in an unspecified location at that. There’s no way the queen will dedicate a risky search like that unless the dryads are really doing something to threaten the kingdom in a big way.

“Well, is there anything else you can tell me?” I asked.

“Hmm…” Dryad tilted their head in a thoughtful posture. “Well, I COULD tell you this. Our leader has chosen a name for herself. It was another former person from Earth who suggested it. Apparently it was the name of the second most well known named tree in Earth lore.”

“The second most?” I responded. I knew the first most well known tree for certain, there wouldn’t be a single westerner who didn’t know that name. The second most though… the gap between the first and second must be pretty large, because I’m struggling to come up with any other named tree on Earth, unless…

“Our leader has taken the name Sefirot as her own.” Dryad said proudly, looking at me for approval.

I just stared blankly. “Are you serious!?” I said, and shook my head. She seriously named herself after the tree of virtue from the Jewish Kabbalah.

“You don’t like it?” Dryad asked.

“Well, at minimum it’s a name that could not possibly be full of more hubris.” I said. “Well, at least it was suggested by someone else and not something she came up with for herself. I suppose it’s possible she may be safe from the greatest failings that would be associated with taking a name that means virtue itself so long as she doesn’t let that name’s meaning go to her head.”

I sighed and shook my head. “Well, it was certainly a pleasure getting to know you better. I am very sure this will not be the last time we meet.” That little performance when they invited me into their main body made that all but a foregone conclusion. “By the way, if you ever manage to get in contact with… Sefirot again, tell her not to allow the person who gave her that name to influence her too much. I don’t know much about them, but anything that would possess a person to name her something like that will make it certain they are not going to be a good influence.

“I see.” Dryad responded, sounding rather disappointed. “Well, I will make sure to pass that along if I ever get the chance. I will tell all of my sisters the same.”

“So, you do all consider yourselves female after all, huh?” I asked. Well, if that’s the case then it certainly makes referring to them a lot easier. I am forced to wonder though. The dragons are all telling me that all these new intelligent dryads are influenced by me. That being the case, I wonder just how much of this is from me as well.

-

‘So, the dryads intend to fight the demons, and also end the capture of humans.’ The queen said. I had just given my report about what I had found out. ‘Well, this makes things complicated.’

“What will we do in regards to the main Dryad, Sefirot?” I asked. In response, the queen fixed me with a long silent gaze.

‘You are anxious to find them, I can understand that.’ She said. ‘However, I am afraid we cannot dedicate the manpower to the search at this time. Negotiations with the villagers are about to get very complicated. I will request that the changelings in the Iman Bora region keep an eye out, that is the best we can do.’

Yes, this is exactly what I was afraid of when the dryad of Rima told me their intentions. In a way, I’d gotten closer to my goal. At the same time though, it also showed me exactly how far I was from it, and the gap was truly daunting. The fey were not going to offer me any more help than the queen just offered, I did not know enough about this world to search on my own, and the one source I had to find out more was likely to just side with the queen on this subject.

“I understand.” I said somewhat bitterly.

The queen silently assessed me once again. ‘Well, I am glad you can show such a degree of self restraint. I can tell that retrieving the individuals the dryad Sefirot has taken means a great deal to you. For the time being though, I must ask you to fulfill your duty as a princess.’

With those words, the queen’s posture took on a more formal air as she lifted her head to be above me. ‘My daughter. I am hereby appointing you as an apprentice negotiator to lord Baltair in his Arbor Committee. Your unique connection and rapport that you have with these new dryads renders you invaluable to our efforts moving forward.’

Yes, the dryad of Rima had just completely trapped me here in the fey forest. I’m fairly certain this is going to be keeping me quite busy for some time to come. “Yes your majesty.” I said with a bow. As her daughter, I had the option of calling her mother instead. However, the formal way was also considered an entirely appropriate thing for me to call her after she’d just given a royal decree like that.

It seems now I am entirely at the mercy of those changelings in the human territories for whether or not Dryad is found.

-

Terlu’s POV

Soon after his whole ordeal in that grotesque execution room, that Úrdes lady finally dragged him back up to the prison area where his mother was. Unlike before though, it was only him and his mother. Sam and the other children were nowhere to be found. [Don’t worry. Since you’re back, they’ll bring your slaves back soon as well.] Úrdes taunted before closing the door.

[Terlu?] His mother looked up from her spot chained to the wall. Having learned what he had about the conditions of his birth, Terlu did not know how to look at his mother now. She seemed worried upon seeing him. No, it was pretty clear it was his behavior that was worrying her.

[Uhh… how are you moth…] Terlu’s words were cut off mid sentence when he saw how weak and sickly she suddenly looked. She’d become thin in the few days since he’d been here, she looked like a hollow shell of her former self. [Mother!? What’s going on!?] He asked and ran up to her. He was so small compared to her that he didn’t even have to kneel down in order to look her in the eyes even though she was looking slightly down.

Terlu was very confused at the sight of his mother. How had she grown so thin? She never seemed to have to eat at all before, not even a bite, but it never seemed to affect her in any way. He had assumed elves like her simply didn’t need to eat period. But, how is it then that someone who doesn’t need to eat looks like they’re starving!? [Are you Ok?] He asked, reaching up in order to put a hand on her shoulder.

His mother simply raised her head and smiled. [I will be fine now that you are back.] She said.

[No! Mother, how’d this happen!?] He asked. She just looked up and smiled weakly.

[I guess you were never told.] She said. [Elves like me are fed by the extra energy that comes from a person’s “fea.” I never had to eat before because you and your slaves were here.]

She smiled gently for a moment, and then laid herself down on her little blanket on the floor. [Just give me a little while Terlu. I will be well in a few hours now that you are here. I just need to sleep.]

Her eyes drifted closed, and Terlu looked down at his sleeping mother with a twist of turbulent emotions in his heart. His uneasy thoughts eventually settled on a new anger. So, it wasn’t that his mother didn’t need food, it was that her food was some kind of energy and all this time it was him that was feeding her. In other words, by keeping him away from his mother for so long, they’d nearly starved her to death.

His balled up fists shook with anger as he thought about what had happened here, but eventually he let out a breath and relaxed. There was very little anger could do to help his mother in this moment. If she was nourished just by him being there, he could provide her as much of this energy of his “fea” as she needed.

Terlu nestled up to his mother’s side and draped her arm over his body, and then snuggled in to sleep beside her, ignoring the hard stone ground they were on top of.

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