Tree of Aeons

Year 273 (part 2) - 

Landas, The Peripheral Worlds I

Novorosk

The six strangers were foreign. Everything about them was foreign. Visitors from beyond the stars. Their weapons were made of wood Novorosk did not recognise, the carvings on their armor and the texture of their steel unknown to them. The way their magic seemed like an endlessly deep lake made the entire army tense up. 

Everyone knew they were different. The way their ears looked. The scent of their hair. 

“Hello.” The woman in armor said first. “I’m Edna, and these are my fellow warriors. We are the envoys of Aeon, and we’ve come to help. ”

Novorosk looked at the rest of his team. Traditionally, communication would be made in the receiving rooms of the elven cities, but most of the receiving rooms have been repurposed. As accommodation, as a warehouse, as a place for healers. Novorosk cursed and immediately whispered to his second-in-command. “Do we still have a receiving room?”

The second-in-command shook his head, he naturally paled at the question. “No, warleader.”

“Quickly, get some men and go clean one of the rooms up. I’ll hold them here. Move quickly.”

The second-in-command nodded, and ran for it. He hauled at least ten of his soldiers. Novorosk hobbled closer. “My apologies, visitor Edna. I am Novorosk, Warleader of Roskor, I will have my warriors prepare a receiving room. May we know what you need from us?”

The visitor Edna paused, and looked around. The Fortress of Roskor was battered, its’ shields weakened from the assault. There were about two thousand elves living in this place, about half of them working the farms within the fortress walls, there were about a quarter that looked to be children, and a smaller group, about two hundred or so that looked to be much older. 

Their farms were unique, the plants and vegetables were on stacked platforms. Novorosk’s eyes noticed how the visitors seemed to look at the stacked platforms.

Did they want food? Novorosk quickly did mental calculations. Their druid-farmers produced enough food, but their supply would normally be enough for a week. If they asked for too much, they wouldn’t have enough-

Edna turned to another woman with jet black hair and a scent of the night. Novorosk wondered whether she was a night elf, but she didn’t share any of their features. “You’ve seen something like this, Stella?”

The woman nodded. “It reminds me of vertical farms back on earth. It’s interesting that they resorted to this, because of land constraints.”

Novorosk immediately cut in. “Visitors, our food condition isn’t great, but once the receiving room is ready we can arrange for some food-”

Novorosk felt the visitor Edna’s stare, as if she was judging him. She answered. “Very well, Warleader Novorosk.”

***

The receiving room was ready, it was hastily cleaned, and still had the faint scent of dried blood in some of the old, ancient carpets. Novorosk wished they kept a single receiving room proper, but centuries of war meant all space had to be reused. 

The six didn’t seem hostile, but the way they looked at things was intense, and made the entire force feel tense.  

“Are you the ultimate leader of this Fortress?” Edna asked. 

Warleader Novorosk shook his head, as the second-in-command brought three old elves to the receiving room. Each of the three wore a set of robes that looked like they were never worn in hundreds of years. The dust on the robes were hastily cleaned. 

Novorosk nodded, as he bowed. He struggled to remember the words, “Presenting the Elder Council of Roskor, Elder Ruzus, Elder Muzur and Elder Noroskor.”

The three elders nodded, the elder in the center, an old man, took the lead. “Greetings, visitors. I am Elder Muzur, and welcome to Roskor. It- it’s been ages since we used the Receiving Rooms, so we apologise for the poor condition.”

Edna looked around, and Novorosk wondered what she’ll say. But she shrugged. “We’ve seen worse. So, we are new to this world, so we want to know everything. Do you have a map?”

Novorosk thought he misheard that. What did she mean by ‘new-to-this-world’?

But the elders were more composed. “Bring the latest maps. All of them.”

Two of the elven crafters that doubled as assistants hurried out. The Fortress of Roskor had few administrative workers left, most of their populace were warriors and the military supporters like shamans and druids, farmers, healers or crafters. 

The maps they brought were old and stained, but they depicted a set of cities and ‘areas’ that were still occupied by elves. 

The six stared at it intently, then one of them took out a large piece of paper. At first, Novorosk thought he’d start to make a copy. But he didn’t take out a pen.

“[Map Replication].” 

The map was then immediately copied over to the paper. The elders stared, unable to believe the spell that just happened. Novorosk paused, and didn’t know there was such a spell. 

“Alright.” The woman, Edna, said. “Thanks for that. Of these cities, how many survive?” 

The elders looked at each other. It’s been months since they received letters from the other towns. Novorosk watched as the elder pointed to a set of neighboring cities, and then a set of outer cities. “We spoke to some of these neighboring cities about four to five months ago. We have not communicated with these other cities in the last few years.”

Edna, the woman, looked at one of her team. Novorosk wondered whether they are the woman’s subordinates, because they seemed deferential. 

“What do you know about the greater world?”

There wasn’t much to share. Roskor’s focus has been to survive day by day, week by week. For most part, the city mostly managed to remain stagnant. There were periods of time in Roskor’s history when they had multiple level 80 individuals, and they were able to expand a bit. They even sent out expeditions, but they never came back. 

“Don’t you have [message] networks?” The woman asked.

One of the elders paused, as if surprised that the woman knew of such a thing. “It- it’s not reliable. There are demonic energy storms that frequently interrupt those [message] networks.”

“I see.” The woman in front of them said. 

Novorosk watched as the woman began to interrogate them on the history of the world, as if they knew absolutely nothing. They asked about the gods of the world of Landas, and about the different gods, then its history, and its heroes.

It really was as if they knew nothing.

Eventually, the two women, the one that felt like a soldier, and the other one that felt like the night, looked at each other. “Well, thank you for your hospitality. We will be leaving now.”

“Leaving?” One of the elders, Elder Noroskor, said. “It’s- it’s dangerous out there, with all the demons.”

But the two other elders immediately looked at Elder Noroskor, and he immediately shut up.

“My apologies, distinguished visitors, we do not mean offense. We doubt the demons would pose a threat.”

Edna grinned. “It is fine. On behalf of our leader, Aeon, this world will be under our protection. You will be hearing of us soon enough.” 

Novorosk’s eyes couldn’t leave the woman, and in that small, cramped room, felt as if the world shifted around him. There was something about that supreme confidence, a swagger and weight that truly gave that ridiculous sentence credibility. 

He had long believed that their life in this world was one of endless struggle for survival. 

But his heart pounded. 

The world was going to change. 

He could feel it in his soul.

***

Treehome

Lausanne

Lausanne was in the crowd when Roon and Johann stood before them. There were about five hundred Valthorns present, many recalled from a recent tour of service in Threeworlds. With the human kingdoms largely stable, the number of active personnel was reduced and reshuffled.

There were many newer, recently ‘promoted’ Valthorns. Those previously in the lower level 80s to 100s, and now that they reached Level 100, they were ready to join the higher tier of the Valthorns. 

There were more from Mountainworld, too. What was once a really small group of soldiers now grew, thanks to the large recruitment process over at Branchhold over the past few decades. It’s been almost 70 years since Branchhold was established, and now the force from Branchhold was a respectable quarter of the total present. 

In time, Lausanne believed that Threeworld’s human and centaur recruits, and also the new Tropicsworld soldiers would join the ranks. 

They would have to prepare for another tour of service.

The Valthorns were expected to support multiple locations. Delvegard, and up to fifteen peripheral worlds, as identified by Hawa. 

“So, ready for a trip to faraway worlds?” Kei smiled. The briefing was over, and what came next was for each of the Valthorns to sign up, or abstain. Kei once said that this process was a little like how companies would ask for volunteers to go on faraway outstation assignments, and how it was a common thing in the merchant guilds of Earth. 

Lausanne found the concept amusing, and nodded. “Sounds like there’s a lot to do there. If we can make a difference to the lives of the locals, yeah, I’m up for it.”

The golem nodded. “Ever the hero at heart.”

Lausanne immediately glared at the female golem. She smiled. 

“I’m joking.”

Lausanne poked her playfully. “You’re not.” 

At that point, Kei looked at the counter. They were allowed to sign up immediately, or go back and think about it. Most of the Valthorns would mull on it for a few days. 

“Which world looks good to you?”

“We don’t know yet, do we?” Lausanne laughed. “But the peripheral worlds would be a place where I think I can contribute. At least there should be more demons to destroy. Delvegard doesn’t seem particularly interesting to me.”

“It’s the safer option, and more suitable for those fond of more subtle types of moves.” Another Valthorn spoke, and Lausanne nodded. Not all Valthorns were the warrior types, some were spies, like Spymaster Intip, and many others were diplomats. Each of them had worlds and situations that best made use of their talents.

For Lausanne, she felt she belonged in the battlefields. She longed to fight against demons, an experience now mostly missing from Treehome. 

Roon and Johann also spoke of the void worlds, but the void worlds would remain off limits for non-domain holders. The presence of unusual creatures and strange rules meant the void worlds were a significantly higher risk to the elite Valthorns, while the peripheral worlds, as unloved, soon-to-be-godless worlds, are likely to be free of more obstructive and invasive divine meddling. 

Lausanne listened as Roon and Johann narrated that the meeting was more to assess the level of interest amongst the Valthorns. The exploration team of Stella, Edna and Ezar was still surveying the faraway worlds, and the Valthorn presence would come in once they’ve established the general details. 

The initial reports were not encouraging. The earliest departure to the peripheral worlds would happen within days, because the peripheral worlds were all under heavy attack. 

The elven warrior listened, and wondered whether she’d be able to join the exploration team like Edna. That sounded interesting, and she remembered how she used to explore the other continents of Treehome. 

She would like to be there. Exploration was one of her other interests. She heard tales of how Valthorns were involved in exploring the various tunnels and caves of Mountainworld, and her heart wished she was a part of it. 

“You look like you have unanswered questions, milady. Something on your mind?” At that point, Johann was the one that approached Kei and Lausanne. 

Lausanne smiled back, and spoke her mind. “I was thinking about the explorers, and wonder what it’ll be like to be one.”

Johann nodded. “If you are interested, I believe Aeon would be happy to rotate you to the exploration team.” 

Lausanne agreed. “Ah, I will raise it the next time I speak to him.” 

Johann grinned. Few people could answer that way. “We look forward to having you with us on the field, Lausanne. From what I know, we’ll need almost all our people.”

Lausanne nodded. 

It was horrifying. 

The peripheral worlds were pretty much demon-infested, at different stages of destruction. 

Yet, she found herself excited at the prospects. 

***

Treehome

Aeon.

“Are we involved in the peripheral worlds?” Colette and Prabu asked. They were briefed, naturally, as were Adrian and Khefri. The presence of heroes in these worlds rekindled the idea of a League of Heroes, one that would be managed by Kei.

“Yes. The number of worlds involved would require all of you to be deployed, at least to help remove the threat of the demon kings.” I responded directly. “The Valthorns would then come in to sweep up the rest and help rebuild these worlds. I will need you all to step in, if there are any heroes surviving.” 

“You will be doing this in your own name?” Colette wondered. “Or on behalf of Hawa?”

“My own. If Hawa wishes to spread his presence, he can send some of his forces over, we’d be happy to facilitate, but since it’s our lives on the line, I’ve got no intention of letting him get the credit.” 

Colette paused before answering. “I see.”

I’d like to minimize the role of the heroes, simply because their strength is inconsistent. My domain holders all appear much more stable and centered, while the heroes feel like they could snap. Well, maybe except for Colette.

Colette’s [liberated hero] gave her a sense of calm and assuredness that the rest of them didn’t have. Even her partner had strange outbursts, like when he interacted with Chung. 

It was a strange thing to feel, even though I personally like talking to Prabu more than the rest. The heroes all have a switch in them that could trigger without notice and suddenly alter their reactions and behavior. It is for this reason that they are unreliable, even if interacting with them on a day to day basis can be pleasant and friendly. 

They were trustworthy, until they suddenly were not. 

I didn’t want to work with these sorts of requirements. Not in the peripheral worlds, and not when we took the battle to the demon sun. 

So, I intended that the peripheral worlds become a farming location for my Valthorns, and hoped we could elevate a few more of my Valthorns.

Once we stabilized the demon situation, I intended to deploy at least two clones, in the largest, most populous worlds, and use that presence to transform those worlds. I would like these peripheral worlds as future ‘core’ worlds, just like Treehome, Branchhold, and what I was doing with the world of Delvegard. 

The data that came back from Edna and Stella was rather depressing.

The first world they were in, Landas, was almost conquered by the demon king. 

The demon king that attacked Landas was some kind of flying demon king, and Landas itself faced demons with high regularity, apparently records, whatever little that they have left, claimed that the demon kings attacked almost every ten years. 

They also used to have heroes, but the amount of heroes shrunk quite quickly, and so the condition in their world deteriorated rapidly. It only held on due to the many, many historical relics left behind by all the different heroes, and the high leveled warriors that protected their cities.

In short, they were perfect as our first base. 

From Stella's surveys, they really needed help. 

***

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