The Land: Forging (Chaos Seeds Book 2) (12 page)

Congratulations! You have won +3,000 fame points! You have brought back the lost race of Royal Pixies!

CHIME!

Congratulations! You have advanced to Reputation Level 3! “You seem like someone I should listen to” New quests and opportunities will become available to you!

You have completed the Quest: Resurgence of Light I. Reward: 6,250 (base 5,000) experience

You have unlocked the Quest: Resurgence of Light II. Witness the following interaction between Hisako and the pixie queen
to learn more.

Hisako was the only
one in the glade that had stayed on her feet. She looked at the small pixie in her hands and said, “Your mother’s sacrifice was not in vain. Hope still exists while you are here. Sprites still exist in many places in The Land, and we will all fight and die for you. You are home my queen!”

The pixie opened her eyes and looked at Hisako. Each sclera was cornflower blue, but her irises were an intense violent, that glowed in the night. With a flap of her
wings
she flew up and hovered in front of the Hearth Mother’s face. Her voice was the piping notes of a piccolo, “But I am all alone! I have no one!” The sorrow in those two short sentences was heart wrenching.

“You are not alone, little one,” Hisako said. Her voice was full
with
sympathy and comfort. “Though you and your people have been absent from the land for long centuries, you have not been forgotten. We have kept your memory alive through the old stories. Every sprite living has grown hearing the stories of your people’s beauty and goodness. The deeds of great pixies live on in our stories. We well remember the valor of Petanu, the pixie general who held back the gremlin army. We laughed at the stories Eniola, the pixie trickster. And we will remember your mother, little
one, if you would only tell us her name.”

The pixie hovered in the air looking at Hisako. When she spoke, she did so softly, “Her name was Alexandrella.”

“Ahhh,” Hisako said, “and so we shall remember Queen Alexandrella the Loving. We will revere her for eternity, and share the story of how her sacrifice brought light back into the world. The only question now little one, is will you honor her sacrifice? Will you bring the beauty and wonder of the pixie race back into The Land?”

Again, the pixie hovered silently before replying. After a few
moments,
though, her slouched posture straightened. When she spoke, the self-pity was gone from her voice. Though her voice still quavered with sadness, it also had the practiced tones of royalty, “I will. I give thanks to the Wood Sprites for their faith and love through the long years.” She then turned to Richter, “I also give thanks to you. I feel in my heart that you played a large part in releasing me from my chrysalis.”

Your relationship with Royal Pixie Queen has improved from neutral to friendly.

“I will happily do my duty and honor my queen’s sacrifice,” she continued. “Will you help me, Hearth Mother? I need protection and a suitable tree to foster my children. It will be several months before my first children are born. Is there a Steelborn Oak or a Silver Elm that you know of?”

Hisako simply looked at Richter.

Know this! The life cycle of pixies is intrinsically tied to nature. Male and female pixies exist, but that is not how they reproduce. Male pixie
are larger and stronger than their female counterparts,
but are sterile. Any female pixie can create more pixies, by binding their spirit to a tree. A cocoon is created that adheres to the tree and after a time, two pixies are born of this union. The offspring
have
unique attributes that are determined by the type of tree they are born from. Pixie females can only bind their spirit to a tree once per year. A queen pixie is special in that she can generate a great deal more mana, and so each binding will create one hundred pixies. She can also bind her spirit to a tree twice per year. Be aware, the binding between pixie and tree is unto death. Both benefit from the binding, but if one dies the other may as well.

Update on Quest: Resurgence of Light II. The Royal Pixie queen needs a tree to “foster” her progeny. Will you accept responsibility for this task? Reward: Increased regard of Royal Pixie queen. Yes or no?

Richter had to read the first prompt three times to make sure he understood. When he dismissed it and minimized the second, he looked back at Hisako. The pixie queen was still hovering in the same place. He thought he understood what the Hearth Mother was trying to
silently communicate. Would he allow the pixie to bind to his new celestial tree?
On the one hand,
if the pixies would truly gain properties of the tree they bound to, it would mean a great boon for the queen. Her progeny might be powerful,
and therefore
better able to protect themselves. It could also mean another ally for his village. Pixies could even be considered caretakers, couldn’t they?

The other argument,
though, was that if the queen died, the Quickening could be destroyed with her. He hadn’t
known
what tree would grow out of the Seed Core, but now that he did, could he risk it? The Quickening would make his people, and the very land his village was built on more powerful! Was it right to risk the future of his people on a very small new life, basically alone in this large and dangerous world?

More thoughts for and against went through Richter’s mind quick as lightning. He felt like he was drowning in calculations and moral obligations, both to his people and his conscience. Ultimately, he based this decision on a decision he had made early in his life. Many years ago he had decided that when all things were equal, he would act on what he hoped to be true, rather than on what he feared to be true. His hope was that his village would grow to be a force
of
positive change in The Land. Bringing a peaceful species back from the brink of extinction… well that was exactly the type of change he imagined.

“What is your name, my queen,” Richter asked.

“I am Elora, my Lord,” she said with a bow of her tiny head and a midair curtsy.

Richter consciously accessed his Gift of Tongues ability, rather than passively let it translate for him. In the pixie language, Elora meant ‘hope.’ Well if ever there was a sign you’d made the right choice, he thought. He pulled up his minimized prompt and selected ‘Yes.’

“Elora, I would like to make a deal with you. I will protect you and help you in whatever way I can to further the rebirth of your race, and in return…”

“Yes,” she asked in her small voice.

“You have to call me Richter,” he said with a small smirk.

She flew from her position near Hisako to hover before his face. He was able to make out the small details of her tiny expressions. She ranged from confusion to curiosity as she searched his face, then she gave a small smile and said, “I accept your terms.” She held out her small hand to shake.

Richter gave a laugh that was echoed by everyone present. Elora was speaking in the pixie tongue, so his people most likely had no idea what she was saying. The sight of a tiny flying woman shaking hands with the Master of their village was amusing all by itself, though. He raised his hand and extended his pinky to touch her hand. He bent his finger once slightly up and down, and everyone cheered.

“Thank you, Richter!
Oh,
thank you! What tree do you have for me? I promise that I will make it grow tall and strong.”

“I believe you,
Elora. And to answer your question, look up.”

A confused expression on her face, the pixie looked up as requested. She looked around for a second,
searching. Then
she faced him, her eyes round and wide with comprehension. “But I can’t, my Lord! This is a celestial tree! I could not be so bold as to bind myself to such a wonderful and vast spirit! I am not worthy of this!”

Richter held up a finger, “Now we just shook on the agreement, so I don’t want to hear ‘my Lord’ coming from you again!” Elora’s distress was so cute he was struggling not to laugh.
“Now
more importantly, you are unique in The Land, just the way this tree is. If even half of what I hear from the wood sprites is true, your return is a great boon to all of us. Not only are you worthy, but I believe this tree has grown for the purpose of being your home.”

Hisako had walked closer while he was talking. “Elora, I understand your hesitance. I am in awe of seeing a Quickening in The Land as well, but it is not our place to question the will of the forest. You belong here. Will you stay?”

The pixie looked back and forth between the two Masters. She settled on Richter, “Are you sure?” He could see the excitement on her face.

“Of course,” he said. “Welcome home.”

“Thank youuu
!” Elora leaned in and placed a kiss on his nose, and then disappeared.

You have gifted with the Kiss of the Royal Pixie Queen. +3 Charisma.

You have completed the Quest: Resurgence of Light II. Binding to a celestial tree will accelerate the pixie life cycle. Because of the choice of tree, you have gone far beyond the requirements of the quest. You will be rewarded proportionally. Reward: Elora has increased regard for you.
Bonus Reward: A new Companion. Reward: 1,250 (base 1,000) experience. Bonus Reward: 5,000 (base 4,000) experience.

Your relationship with Elora, the Royal Pixie Queen, has improved from friendly to loyal.

Elora, the Royal Pixie, has become you Companion. Companions will stay with you only as long your goals align.

You have completed the Quest: Tree of Power II. You have found the perfect caretakers of your Quickening. Pixies are the bound to the fabric of The Land. All trees thrive under a pixie’s care. Reward: 5,000 (base 4,000) experience.

TRING!

You have reached level 14! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed, you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!

You have either characteristic points or skill percentage points to allocate from the previous level. Now that you have progressed again, you must allocate your points within the next week or they will randomly be assigned for you.

You have unlocked the Quest: Resurgence of Light III. It will take one month for her first children to be born. Will you protect the Royal Pixie Queen until new pixies are brought into the world? Reward: Unknown. Yes or No?

You have unlocked the Quest: Tree of Power III. Grow the Quickening to Level 3. The Quickening is a force of good in this world. Help it to thrive and protect it as it grows. Reward: Unknown. Yes or No?

Accepting both quests, Richter smiled broadly. He almost broke his arm patting himself on the back. His thoughts ran something like, ‘I love it when a plans come together! Now where’s my cigar! I’m the man! I piss excellence BEFORE I wake up!’

Narcissism aside, he now saw exactly why Potions of Clarity were so prized. If you could coincide it with a boss fight or quest completion, you could shave years off of the time it would take to level.

After he finished
stroking his ego, he tried to figure out where his newest Companion had gotten off to. Richter looked at Hisako, “She can turn invisible?”

The Hearth Mother just laughed, “Not that I know of, but there is one common theme to all of the stories about pixies. They are FAST!” Then she did something unexpected. She embraced him. “Thank you for this. You found the evil weapon that imprisoned the chrysalis. You provided the magic to finally release her. Now you have given her a home, and risked the most powerful object in your realm to do it.”

Richter tensed, feeling a bit of shame that she had deduced his thought process and hesitance to allow the pixie to bind to the Quickening. She released him from the hug, but didn’t fully let go, keeping her hands on his forearms and holding him at arm’s length.

“Do not feel shame,” she said. “You are a Master of a Place of Power, and the Lord of a village. Your decisions carry great
weight,
and deserve to be considered from all angles. I might like an innocent saint, but I would not trust him with the wellbeing of the only pixie in existence. A man who has the ability to think selfish
thoughts,
however, but then chooses a finer path... That is a man who I would fight side by side with. That is a man I would trust.

Your relationship with Hisako has improved to Ally.

The relationship of the Wood Sprites of Nadria to the Mist Village has improved to Ally.

Richter looked at her with surprise. She simply nodded and said, “May our two peoples rise together, and if necessary, fall together.” Richter had no words and so simply embraced her again.

When they broke apart, Richter saw all of the villagers and the sprites staring at the two of them. Raising his
voice, he said, “The people of the Mist Village and the wood sprites of the Forest of Nadria
are allies! May we rise together!”

First one person took up the shout, then another, then everyone present was repeating the same phrase with passion
.

Under the canopy of a heavenly tree, in the wake of the rebirth of an ancient race, two groups celebrated their friendship and hope for the future,
“May we rise together! May we rise together!”