287 - THe elven hero on treehome

Novorosk, in Freshka, Treehome

Everything about the place was surreal. Novorosk looked around, and had never seen a city like it. It was massive and filled with creatures. Talking lizards and horse-people!

But more importantly, were the people that came along with him. People he didn’t think he’d ever see. Novorosk of Roskor couldn’t believe the people he met. “You- you’re the [hero]?”

The elf man was gorgeous. He had features of the High elves, long light blonde hair that was till his waist, elvish ears, and handsome features that made the females present stare. He sighed, and somehow he managed to look good while sighing. “Yes. Not a good one. I am Samuel, or since I’ve come here, I go by the name Samahiro.”

“This way.” There were chauffeurs, attendants that led the group of twenty or so leaders of Landas to a large tunnel. The city was overwhelming to them, and all of them were dazed. Novorosk looked at the mass of people and immediately wondered how they were fed and housed.

Except Samuel, who looked at the city wistfully, as if remembering a life before his current one. 

Novorosk was next to a lady with pale gray skin and equally gray hair. Among the elves, they were sometimes referred to as the Drow, but they referred to themselves as the elves of the night. 

The woman and Novorosk exchanged glances, as if sizing each other up. Commander Argo, the leader of the White Elves of Nunarnusk greeted the rest of them. The fact that so many senior members of the various elven cities could gather made the Commander look as if he wanted to cry. 

“Are you alright, Commander Argo?” Novorosk asked out of concern. 

He rubbed his eyes. “I, I just cannot help but feel a little teary, that the leaders of the various elven cities are allowed to meet under much gentler circumstances. This moment should be recorded. The first gathering of the elven leaders after a period of darkness.”

The woman was surprised. “I believe it is too hasty to consider it the end of darkness.”

That statement made the rest of them freeze. It was true that they now have hope, but they were not out of the darkness yet.

Samuel, the elven hero, laughed. “Look around us, lady. We are in an entirely different world, and we face a force clearly geared for war. If this is not the end of the darkness, then what evidence do you need?”

At that moment, a woman in a dark green uniform stepped out of a gigantic door. “Greetings. Aeon is ready to see you now. Hero Samuel, you will have an additional, separate session after the meeting.” 

***

The beetle led them underground, through tunnels and vines, but strangely, it felt as if the earth’s pulse gained strength. The blood elves of Roskor were particularly sensitive to energy flows, particularly spiritual energy. It is spiritual energies that powered their blood-runes and blood-marks, and so the overwhelming presence of spiritual energy in the tunnels was a strange surprise. 

“What’s going to happen?” The night elven woman asked the uniformed lady.

“You will meet our God, the leader of the Aeonic Pantheon.”

The night elf frowned, as if there was disbelief. They then saw the valley, with the pulsing trees and the flowing energies. The place pulsed, as if each of the trees possessed a heartbeat. There were streaks of light, as if the stars and meteors were trapped in the trees themselves. 

“We are here.” 

The beetle stopped in a gigantic courtyard, and in front of them was the biggest tree they have ever seen-

Then he felt it.

His attempts to look at the tree was met with a sensation as if a million eyes were upon him. His mind was immediately sucked into a maze of trees, and he felt lost. Novorosk didn’t know how long he was in there, but then-

“You alright?” Samuel asked. 

Novorosk suddenly felt himself pulled out of the maze, but what replaced it was immediately a sense of scale. He looked at the tree, and thought for a moment like he was looking at trees in other places, and the more he tried to look at it, the more he felt like his mind was being pulled apart.

His knees buckled, and quickly, he averted his gaze. The rest of them stared at the tree, and only to all kneel, their heads unable to look at the tree anymore. 

“Greetings.” The voice was in their head, and Novorosk felt his skin tremble. His hair stood on it’s end, as if that voice whispered right next to him, from both his ears at the same time. No, it was as if a choir spoke to him all at once. 

Samuel the hero heard the voice too, and looked around, as if searching. “Greetings? Who- who are we speaking to?”

“I am Aeon, the gigantic tree right in front of you. Welcome to my Valley. I have asked my people to bring you here for many reasons. Mainly, I ask for your cooperation.” 

Samuel was the only one who could look back at the Tree. Novorosk’s attempts to even glance at its roots immediately awakened that feeling from before. How? Why? The lady mentioned that the Tree was everywhere, and yet in this valley, why was the sensation so intense?

“Anything you command.” Novorosk answered, as if his soul compelled himself to answer. Just being here imprinted the Tree’s presence in his soul. He would never forget. 

“What is it?” Samuel asked. 

“I will establish the Valtrian Order, on your world of Landas. We will help you rebuild, if you let us. But, we will also ask some among you to fight for us, and we will choose those willing and talented among you, to take this fight beyond your world, and further into the stars.” 

Novorosk realized then that this was a conscription. Aeon intended to turn their world into one that supplied soldiers-

“Who are we fighting?” Samuel asked. 

“The demons, of course.”

The night elven woman asked. “Are- are you sent by the gods?”

There was a moment of silence, before the Tree answered into their minds. “Your old gods are drifting away. I am here to take their place.” 

Samuel was the only one standing. “Why?”

“Time, and expansion of the multiverse.” 

Novorosk didn’t understand it, but Samuel did. He looked at the Tree and sighed. “Can you send me back home?”

“No. I am not the one that brought you here, and so, I cannot send you back.”

“Then who did?” Samuel asked. 

“Hero Samuel. You will have another session later to speak to me privately, and with some other individuals that you will work with, if you choose to cooperate with us. To the rest of you, do you agree to assist my people as we settle in your world?”

The night elven lady answered. “I cannot decide on the behalf of the rest of my people but I will try my best to convince them to agree.”

Commander Argo answered with a firmness he never exhibited back in Nunarnusk. “Yes. We will support your people with all our might.”

The rest of them nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”

Novorosk wondered how much of their answer was fear. They were ants, and the tree in front of them was the finger of god and could crush them if it so wished. It was a sensation he couldn’t shake. A savior has come to their world, but their world will be reshaped in their savior’s image. 

The guide helped the rest of them out, and they were all relieved to be brought far, far away from the gigantic tree. 

Novorosk sat, and thought. His world will change. It will change into a world made to support this God’s war. For once, they were no longer helpless victims of war. 

This will be a better life for his people. For most of them, as the beetle brought them out of the valley and into the larger city, he realized that they now have a hope to live a life like they once did, and better. The various elven empires would be remade from what was left behind. 

For most of them, this will lead them to prosperity.

But, he also noticed the soldiers of Tree. The short eared men and women, lizard-people and horse-people, all draped in weapons. They were strong, but he saw in their eyes a look he recognised.

These were people who lived a life of war. Never ending war. 

Some of his own people will have to make the sacrifice for the rest of them. They will be transformed into pawns, to be deployed where the Tree saw fit. Some of them will be expendable pieces. 

It is a sacrifice. 

The few will have to bear the burdens of the many. 

Novorosk looked at the prosperity outside of the beetle-carriage’s windows, and felt the imprint in his soul. 

If asked, he will be the first to raise his hand.

***

Aeon

The elven hero fidgeted quietly. He was nervous, and he had a lot of questions. But I decided to ask mine first. I wanted to hear from him directly.

“How did your first battle with the demon king go?”

Samuel paused, and shook his head. “Bad. The demon king was some kind of Flying Demon, while I’m an Archer. It should’ve been a decent matchup, but the demon king’s armor was so strong, and he possessed so many poisoned axes.”

“All demon king’s attacks are poisoned to some degree. It is the nature of their energy. The Demonic Curse infects all that survive their attacks.” I briefly remembered that I was even poisoned by the demon’s curse in the first few decades in this world, and it took years to remove it. The second time I was cursed, it was from the demonic mana, and that required my [domain] to free myself from its effects. 

Samuel didn’t know that. “Really?”

“Are there no surviving records in Landas?” 

Samuel shook his head. “I’m not sure, and I also didn’t think about it. There were no one left to man their stores or archives. The elven nation was battered when I came, and the demon king struck when I was only around level 90. I was not ready.”

That was plausible. If the gods summoned teenagers, they might lack life experience. If they summoned teenagers who didn’t have much agency and mostly went along with the flow, they likely would not think too much about their strategy, and would not seek out information. 

At that point, I introduced the four heroes. I teleported them in via my ability. 

“Samuel, let me introduce the four that will now assist you. Adrian, from Mountainworld, Khefri, from Threeworld, and Colette and Prabu. They are fellow heroes.”

Samuel’s eyes brightened, and his own senses immediately detected that they were like him. 

Colette stared at Samuel, and immediately said. “Wow you’re so pretty! You’re even more pretty than all the other elves I’ve seen. You- you’re like what I imagine an elf should look like.”

Khefri nodded furiously. “You look like a doll.”

Samuel blushed. “I- I’m sorry. This is the look they gave me. I- I didn’t look like this originally, but-”

Khefri cursed. Her annoyance at her appearance never faded. “You lucky bastard. They made you a beautiful elf. They made me into this scorpion shit.”

Samuel sighed. “Milady, I wish we could’ve traded places. This form did nothing but harm to me. The unwanted attention from the native elves just made life hard.” 

“I know we just met, but to me, suffering from this ugly ass shit form, that sounds like ughh!” Khefri countered. 

“These four are heroes, just like you, and they will help you with the battle against the demon king in Landas. I will have one of my domain holders support you.”

“One?” At that point, Khefri asked. 

“The rest of them are exploring.”

“Can they come back after they’ve done the initial exploring? I think this pretty boy still needs to gain some levels. He feels kinda low level.” Khefri countered.

“Acceptable. We may choose to liberate Landas once the rest of my domain holders visit all the fifteen worlds.”

At that point, Samuel interjected. “Sorry, what- what is this about fifteen worlds?”

Colette answered. “The gods intend to abandon fifteen worlds, so Aeon’s tasked with taking over. In short, there’s been a big ass mess that’s got out of control, and these guys are the professional cleaning crew sent in to take over.”

“Shit, how can they do that?”

“Apparently, not much of a choice.” Colette said. “Gods have a limited range.”

Samuel sat there and looked at the other four. “If the four of you are here, it means there’s no way back, isn’t it?”

Colette shook her head. “Death. The spirits of the dead heroes tell us death leads us back home.”

The elf hero stared. “How?” 

At that point, a Valthorn centaur guide appeared. The centaur spoke. “The Journal Room awaits.”

The elf hero touched the journal as expected, and for a moment, all was well once more.

***

Lausanne, Landas 

 

“Found them.” Lausanne spoke over [message]. She was high up on a tree that she made, and she saw the flying demons in the distance. 

The operatives, spread all over the world of Landas, reached most of the known cities over the past two months. Death in demon form came to two thirds of them, and only one third of the known cities remain as actual, habited locations. The rest were ruins. Dead. Destroyed. 

It was sobering, but it steeled her determination.

No, it steeled everyone’s determination.

Sights of thoroughly ruined cities, cities where survivors died because no one came to help them, reminded them of a state possible if they fell. The devastation brought back memories of all her earlier campaigns. 

The Order is ruthless. The Order is sometimes cruel. The Order can be callous. There were sacrifices made for power, but all this merely reminded them that their cause is true.

This was an enemy they must defeat.

Team Leader Ebon landed next to her, then a mage followed. The mage created spears of ice that flew towards the flying demons, and they died instantly. 

“Alright. Let’s move. The desert’s not going to clean them up themselves.” Ebon answered, as the Valthorn force landed closer. 

The Valthorns’ extensive counterattack brought a moment of quiet to the cities, while Valthorn druids and operatives constructed new defensive formations. The now-destroyed city of Chursky, and home of the Sacred Cherry, became the new home of Aeon’s node. 

There was already a small force of builders constructing fortifications. An army of beetles and spiders marched behind them. Beetles outfitted with projectile weapons, fired from the abdomen. They have quite a few deserts to clear, before the heroes attempted to battle the demon king, now hidden deep within the tunnel to the core. 

The demon king’s journey to the Core would take a few years. 

***

 

Edna, and Stella, The Second Peripheral World of Sarlpi

Edna and Stella arrived in a world of Fire and Ice. Plumes of smoke from volcanoes poured into the sky above. Demons were everywhere. The first habitation they found was a group of Lavapeople. They were humanoids, but with skin resembling fresh lava, they built their homes in a cave where rivers of lava flowed. 

The demons were of the traditional kind. Fiery, with horns of flame, wings of flame, and axes of flames, accompanied their fire breathing cerberus and hellhounds. They were a terrible matchup for the Lavapeople. The Lavapeople’s fire weapons were resisted by the demons, while the demons overpowered the Lavapeople with sheer brute force.

From the Lavapeople, or as they called themselves, the Arpik. 

Edna and Stella then learned of the Snowpeople, the Sarljuk. 

The people who were once the Lavapeople’s mortal enemies, but they’ve found peace with each other after a while. It significantly helped that the two races of the world of Sarlpi did not really contest the same territories. The Snowpeople live in the cold poles of the world, while the Lavapeople live in the warm central bands, and the areas where they intersected were populated by the Mixed Bloods,  known as the Cham.

The Cham were sort of pariahs to the two sides, who preferred the purity of their own race. The Cham were people that resembled humans, and unlike the Snowpeople who retained some innate control over the powers of ice, or the Lavapeople who had innate control over fire, the Cham had none.

Still, as Edna and Stella surveyed the land, they eventually visited the Snowpeople, and found that many of the Snowpeople’s great cities and nations remain unscathed. 

The fire demons that so easily overpowered the Lavapeople were weakened by the hail storms and blizzards of the coldlands, and were easy pickings for the Sarljuk defenders. Even the demon champions were battered by the strong blizzards, and the strong natural coldness severely hampered their ability to expand into the cold north and south. 

The demon king didn’t care. There were no heroes in the world of Sarlpi. The last two heroes died about four years ago. The last two heroes were born to the Chams, and sadly, due to their pariah status, did not receive much support from the Sarljuk. Even their death did not affect the Sarljuk or the remnant Arpiks.

Instead, after the victory, the demon king dug into the depths. It had not succeeded in claiming the world, yet, but it would happen eventually. 

Prosperous Sarljuks, and a battered, impoverished Arpiks. The Sarljuks saw no reason to help the Arpiks in their warm, volcano filled lands. It was also a land that was disadvantageous, they were weakened by the heat of the central lands. 

“Life is unfair.” Stella said at the end of their visits. 

“It always is.” Edna said. “Let’s help the Lavapeople and the Cham, and we’ll end it there. The Sarljuks don’t need us.”

Stella nodded. 

“Selfishness.” Stella said. “It seems it is a common thing throughout society everywhere.”

Edna nodded, but the Sarljuk had their own reasons. The warm lands of the Apriks were not friendly to the Sarljuk. 

“It won’t be the last we see.” Edna said. “But let us keep moving to the others.” They didn’t have much time to spend here. Not yet, anyway. They needed to complete a quick reconnaissance of the remaining worlds. Only then, the Order can form a coherent strategy on how and where to place the rest of Aeon’s nodes, clones, and the rest of the Valtrian forces.