My world-tree system-Chapter 63 - 62: Discussing

The council chamber was bathed in a heavy silence, disturbed only by the crackling of flames in the hearth. The faces around the table reflected the gravity of the situation. They were all waiting for Foster to speak.

He took a deep breath before placing his hands flat on the table.

- We’ve got a problem.

His tone was calm, but everyone sensed the underlying tension.

- In our attempt to connect with the ancient avatars, we briefly pierced the veil. Just enough to hear a message: Seek and find the shrine of Erzäe. Time is running out.

Glances were exchanged, worried. Kähn frowned.

- Erzäe... that name doesn’t ring a bell.

- Neither do I," added Lorie.

- Then we’ve got a serious problem," growled Köflik. How are we supposed to find a place we know nothing about?

- We know one thing for sure," replied Foster. This sanctuary exists. And we’ve got to find it before it’s too late.

Yähn thoughtfully tapped his fingertips on the table in front of him.

- If it’s a shrine, it must have been hidden on purpose. Maybe none of us have even heard of it...

Kassandra nodded.

- And if the ancient avatars felt it necessary to pass on this message, it’s because there’s something essential hidden there.

- A precious hiding place," added Köflik. Valuable enough that even they can talk about it...

Giovanni finally spoke, his voice measured.

- If we’re going to explore, we need an efficient method. Vollua is vast, but we know the sanctuary isn’t there. Which means one thing: we’re going to have to leave our territory.

A shiver ran through the assembly.

- Outside Vollua... we’ll be vulnerable," murmured Lorie.

Everyone knew what that meant. Vollua was their refuge, the only land where they had an advantage over the Obscurus. To leave it was to expose themselves.

- The Lords of the Apocalypse are still on the prowl," continued Yähn. The Obscurus are numerous. If we get out of here, we can expect confrontations.

- Hence the need to organize this expedition properly," Foster intervened.

He crossed his arms and stared seriously at the group.

- We need to put together a scouting party. A small force, able to move unobtrusively. We can’t take the entire elven population into hostile territory.

Kähn nodded.

- I’ll gather volunteers. Fighters, scouts. We’ll need to avoid direct confrontation as much as possible.

- But we’ll also need direction," added Köflik. How will we search?

Foster clenched his fists.

- We don’t have any clues at the moment. But... I intend to summon the other elves. Some of them may have heard the name Erzäe in ancient legends.

Lïanna nodded in agreement.

- The more of us who think about it, the more likely we are to find a way forward.

Kassandra took a deep breath before adding:

- This isn’t just a research mission. It’s a dangerous gamble. If the Lords of the Apocalypse get wind of this sanctuary, they’ll probably be looking for it too.

Silence settled in.

- It’s a race against time," concluded Yähn.

Foster put his hands on the table, his eyes shining with determination.

- Then we’ll win it.

Everyone nodded.

The decision had been made.

Erzäe’s sanctuary was to be found.

Whatever the cost.

- Well, let’s tell the others," Foster finally said.

A heavy silence fell over the assembly.

The remaining elves, no more than thirty, stood before Foster and the council. The night wind rustled through the leaves of the Mother Tree, casting moving shadows on tense faces. They were alive, but their future remained uncertain.

Eyes turned from Foster to Kassandra.

A cold tension settled over the assembly.

So far, few elves had had the opportunity to see her since her awakening. She had spent most of her time convalescing, and those at the bedside of the wounded had accepted her without question. But now, exposed for all to see, her appearance was striking.

An elf stepped back slightly, his gaze filled with dread.

- It’s..." whispered a voice.

- What’s this?" stammered another.

Kassandra didn’t even need to look for a mirror to understand. Her body was no longer the same. Her features remained those of an elf, but her essence, her nature, was different.

There was nothing natural about the fine dark marbling that intertwined along her neck and arms. Her pale skin, almost too smooth at certain angles, contrasted violently with the dark hue of these slowly pulsating marks, like a distant echo of the corruption she had suffered.

But it was her eyes that finally terrified the elves.

One was still golden, as before. But the other...

The other was black, abysmal black, pierced by a purplish glow, an indelible vestige of the mark of the Lords of the Apocalypse.

- This can’t be...

A young elf stepped back, breathless.

- She... she’s...

- Obscurus..." someone murmured in a shaky breath.

Kassandra stiffened. She’d expected it, of course. But to feel it, to see it in their eyes... It was an invisible dagger sinking into her flesh.

- I’m not an Obscurus," she said in a firm yet controlled voice.

No one replied.

Unease still hung in the air, palpable.

Foster stepped forward, breaking through the invisible wall that had formed around her.

- Kassandra is one of us," he asserted, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

He swept his gaze over the frozen faces of his fellows.

- You’ve all suffered. We’ve all lost loved ones. But so has she. She was scarred, broken... and she survived.

He turned to her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

- She fights for Vollua, as we all do. And it’s precisely because of what she’s endured that she can help us today.

Silence lingered.

Eyes met.

Kassandra clenched her fists.

She would not apologize for what she had become.

She wouldn’t ask them to accept it.

She would prove her worth, as she always had.

And if some saw her only as a threat... then she’d force them to see something else.

- It’s not to talk about what happened to Kassandra that I’ve called you here today.

Foster swept his eyes over them. They’d been through hell. Fear, anguish, the very certainty of their extinction. Yet today, a glimmer of hope had been rekindled.

- We have a lead," he began in a deep voice. Perhaps a key to securing our future and preventing the enemy from triumphing.

He explained everything. The strange message heard through the veil, the name of Erzäe’s sanctuary, the importance it could have. He didn’t embellish the situation. This sanctuary could be a myth, a dead end, or worse... a trap. But it was a chance, and they didn’t have the luxury of ignoring such a call.

- But that means getting out of here," Lorie blurted, arms folded.

A shiver ran through the assembly.

Leaving the Mother Tree? Leaving the safety of the Bois du Monde? It was madness.

- What if that’s exactly what they want?" intervened an elf with his hair tied in a tight bun. Push us out, expose us...

- Maybe," replied Foster. But staying here means waiting in silence for the end.

A murmur went through the group. He knew what they were thinking. Vollua had been destroyed. They had lost too many of their loved ones. To venture outside was to plunge back into the horror they’d barely left behind.

- We won’t all be leaving," he added, trying to calm tensions. An expedition will be formed. Those who volunteer will search for the sanctuary. The others will remain here, under the protection of the Mother Tree.

Silence stretched on, stifling.

Then Köflik spoke up, his gaze fixed on his comrades.

- You’re scared, and you’re right to be. But there are already so few of us. If this sanctuary can provide us with a weapon, protection, a solution... then we must find it.

- Otherwise, we’ll just wait for them to come and finish us off," Kähn breathed.

The hard truth.

Giovanni ran a hand over his tired face, then lifted his chin.

- Who’s volunteering?

There was silence for a moment.

Then a hand rose.

Kassandra.

- I’m coming," she said clearly.

Foster nodded. He’d been expecting it.

Another hand. Köflik.

- I’m coming too.

Kähn, after a moment’s hesitation, nodded.

- I’ll be there.

Lorie hesitated, then finally clenched her fists.

- Very well, then.

Lïanna laid a hand gently on Foster’s shoulder.

- I’d love to come, Foster, but the big moment is approaching and it’s better to be in Vollua than out.

Foster nodded.

Finally a dozen hands went up.

Foster took a deep breath. A team of fifteen. It wasn’t much. But it was already half of them.

He then turned his gaze to those who remained.

- For those who remain, you’ll have an equally important mission," he said. Watch over our home.

He saw some elves nodding. A cause, a goal. This was what they needed.

Foster straightened up and locked eyes with his people.

- Tomorrow we leave.

The World Woods, their last refuge, would soon be behind them.

And before them, the unknown.

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