My world-tree system-Chapter 64 - 63: Exploration

Dawn was just breaking when the exploration group gathered at the foot of the Mother Tree. The atmosphere was heavy, charged with contradictory emotions. The excitement of departure mingled with the anxiety of the unknown. For today, they were about to cross a frontier that none of them had dared to cross except for a very short time to gather food.

Foster looked slowly at his companions. Fifteen elves, half of their people. Half of them were venturing towards an uncertain goal, while the other half would stay behind to protect Vollua.

Köflik adjusted his sword in its scabbard, a serious expression on his face. Kassandra silently readjusted her reinforced gloves. Lorie and Giovanni exchanged a few words in hushed tones, but their tension was palpable. Yähn was tense, his bow firmly clutched to his back.

And finally, Lïanna, standing beside him, watched the edge of the Bois du Monde with apparent calm. Yet Foster felt his link with the World Tree vibrating with anxiety.

He took a deep breath.

Then he spoke.

- Today, we leave Vollua," he said in a strong, confident voice. Today, we face the unknown to discover what could be the key to our survival.

The elves who had stayed behind watched them with painful intensity. Some lowered their heads, others stared at their brothers and sisters with a mixture of pride and concern.

Foster turned his gaze to those who would remain.

- You have a mission just as important as ours," he continued. Watch over our home.

A heavy silence fell over the assembly. Then Lianna stepped forward and laid a firm hand on Foster’s shoulder.

- Take care of yourself," she murmured.

Foster nodded.

The time had finally come.

Foster stood at the head of the group, gazing up at the immensity of the Mother Tree that dominated the heart of the World Woods. Its thousand-year-old bark shone with an unearthly brilliance in the filtered light of the sky, and its gigantic branches extended like the arms of a titan protecting his people. As for the roots, they went deep into the ground, mingling with the sacred network that had nourished this land since time immemorial.

This was their cradle. Their last sanctuary.

And they were about to leave it.

Behind him, the fifteen elves who had answered the call stood ready, their faces grave but resolute. Those who remained behind formed a silent, heart-stopping row. Many had clenched jaws and clenched fists. Some still refused to believe that they were about to see half their people leave for the unknown.

Foster felt a pang in his heart.

He didn’t need words to understand their fear.

Since the destruction of Vollua, the very idea of leaving the protection of the Mother Tree had seemed inconceivable. Here, they were sure to be hidden, protected by the ancestral magic of the Bois du Monde.

But out there?

Out there, there was only uncertainty. Danger. The menacing shadow of the Obscurus.

The last rampart of Vollua was a work of nature shaped by the primordial magic of the Mother Tree. A living wall of entwined trunks, knotted branches and thick vines formed an impenetrable dome around the last survivors of the elven people.

Foster placed a hand on the gnarled bark.

It was warm, vibrating with a familiar energy.

Lïanna approached in turn, her green eyes slowly closing as she placed her delicate fingers on the vegetal surface.

A shiver ran through the wall.

A muffled beat, like a sleeping heart, echoed through the woods.

The branches trembled, the vines quivered, and little by little, a passage began to form. The trunks slowly parted, with the solemn grace of a guardian opening a sacred door. A breath of sap and wind escaped from the opening, brushing their faces with an almost maternal caress.

Foster felt a weight on his chest.

He knew that once they crossed this barrier, there would be no immediate return.

He glanced behind him.

Kassandra, standing back with her arms folded, watched the scene in silence.

Kähn placed a hand on the bark, a sad smile on his lips.

- Lïanna opened the way for us," he breathed.

- But I won’t be able to protect you once you’re out there," Lïanna murmured, opening her eyes again.

Foster took a deep breath.

He took the first step.

The passage opened up before him like a gaping maw, and he stepped into it.

The moment he crossed the border into Vollua, everything changed.

The air became heavier, rougher. The atmosphere lost the benevolent warmth of the Bois du Monde, replaced by a cold, harsh breeze. The familiar energy of the Mother Tree faded, like a gentle melody slowly fading away.

He turned his head slightly.

The others followed, one after the other, their steps hesitant but determined.

Then, as the last elf crossed the border...

The passage closed.

All at once, the vines tightened, the branches joined, and the wall reformed as if nothing had ever opened.

A final murmur of farewell floated through the air.

And then... silence.

Foster closed his eyes briefly.

- We’re alone," he breathed.

He reopened his eyelids and looked up at the horizon.

Foster gathered his group at the foot of a steep hill, where vegetation formed a natural screen. Silence reigned, disturbed only by the rustling of leaves in the wind. All faces were tense, aware of the importance of their mission.

He passed his gaze over each of them. Fifteen elves. A paltry force compared to the legions of Obscurus, but it was all they had.

They had to be efficient.

- We need to cover as much ground as possible in as little time as possible," he said, his voice deep and confident. If we stay together, we won’t go fast enough.

A heavy silence followed his words. Some already understood what he was getting at, but others hesitated, worried.

- We’ll divide up," he continued. In small groups of three or four.

A worried murmur arose among the elves.

- It’s dangerous," breathed one of them, a young scout with an anxious look on his face.

- Staying together is even more dangerous," replied Köflik. If we’re to have any chance of finding the sanctuary before they do, we can’t waste any time.

Foster nodded and pointed to the relief around them.

- Here’s how it’s going to work. Each group will take a different direction and follow a specific itinerary. We’re looking for ruins, ancient marks, anything that might resemble a forgotten place.

He quickly traces a plan on the ground with a stick, drawing a rudimentary map of the territory to be explored.

- The heights are our allies," he continues. We need to use the terrain to spot what might be lurking below.

He turns to Köflik, who is standing back with his arms folded.

- Köflik, you’ll lead a group to the east. Follow the valley up to the rock formations. If there’s anything hidden, it will be difficult to access, but potentially intact. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The scarred elf nodded soberly.

- I agree.

Foster continued.

- Kassandra, Köflik and I will head northwest. The trees are denser there.

He then turned to the others.

- Yähn, Lorie and Giovanni, you’ll take the southwest ridge. The ground there is softer and there may be traces or remains buried beneath the surface. Watch out for landslides.

Giovanni smiles.

- It’s not my first difficult terrain.

- Good," Foster replied, before moving on.

He pointed to three other elves, young scouts.

- You three are leaving with Kähn. Your role is crucial: you’ll stay on the move, always on high ground, to keep an eye on the surroundings and warn of any potential danger.

Kähn, one of Vollua’s best archers, nodded seriously.

- I won’t let anyone take you by surprise.

Foster took a breath and looked around the group one last time.

- If you find something, don’t approach it alone. You immediately send a signal and wait for the others. If you come across danger... you don’t play hero. You run away and send a signal through the link.

A heavy silence settled in. The atmosphere grew even heavier under the gravity of his words.

Everyone knew what was involved.

- Good luck to all," he concluded, clutching his sword.

Then, one by one, the groups parted, disappearing into the woods.

Exploration began. And with it, a race against time, the extent of which they were still unaware.

The wind carried with it a smell of damp earth and withered vegetation, a heavy silence stretching over the hills they had been exploring for hours. Foster and his group advanced cautiously, scanning every fold of the ground, every mark left by time and the elements, in the hope of finding a clue leading to Erzäe’s sanctuary.

They were no longer under the protection of the Bois du Monde. Here, everything was different. More hostile, more uncertain.

Kassandra walked a few steps behind Foster, her eyes alert, her body tense with a nervousness she struggled to hide. Her instincts told her something was wrong.

Köflik, to her left, glanced steadily up at the veiled sky. Worried about his people.

Foster was leading the advance, but his mind was elsewhere. He kept replaying in his mind the voice he had heard during his attempt to connect to the ancient avatars.

"Seek and find Erzäe’s sanctuary, time is running out."

This wasn’t a vague warning. It was an order. An urgent order.

He was about to speak when a shiver ran down his spine.

His whole body tensed, his senses on full alert.

A moment later, he stopped dead in his tracks.

He had seen nothing. He had heard nothing.

But he knew.

Something was wrong.

With a quick gesture, he raised his hand to warn the others to stop. Köflik and Kassandra looked at him uncomprehendingly, but he wasn’t looking at them. His gaze was fixed on the distant horizon.

- Foster?" whispered Köflik.

His silence was an answer in itself.

Then he slowly crouched behind a fallen log and squinted.

The blood instantly left his face.

- Oh, no!

Kassandra, alarmed, followed his gaze... and her heart clenched with dread.

In the distance, a torrent of moving shadows rippled between the hills.

A black tide.

They were not alone.

- What’s this...?" murmured Köflik, bending down in turn.

Foster didn’t answer immediately. He blinked, trying to assess the scale of the threat.

Dozens... No. Hundreds.

The Obscurus.

An entire legion.

He felt his breath quicken. His fist clenched on the hilt of his sword.

The enemy was here.

Köflik stifled an expletive at the sight.

Kassandra swallowed hard.

- Why now?

No one had the answer. But one thing was certain: if they had deployed such a force, they must have had a lead.

And that was a huge problem.

- By the Mother Tree... there are thousands of them," gasped Lïanna, horrified.

- And look," added Kassandra, pointing to a detail that sent a chill down Foster’s spine.

Among the horde of Obscurus, silhouettes stood out from the rest. Imposing. Different.

The generals of Hell.

Foster felt an icy chill run down his spine.

These beings had recently appeared in the enemy ranks. Each of them was a living calamity, more dangerous than any elite soldier, more powerful than the ordinary commanders of the dark armies.

And now... here they were.

Legion. Generals. Organization.

This was no mere patrol.

This was a hunt.

- They’re actively looking for something," whispered Kassandra.

- Do they know yet? Foster asked in a harsh voice.

Her stomach knotted with anxiety.

They weren’t the only ones exploring.

Other groups of elves were scattered throughout the region...

Perhaps already in the path of this legion.

Foster’s face paled.

His whole body tensed.

- They’re in danger," he murmured, his hoarse voice betraying a sudden urgency.

Köflik and Kassandra exchanged worried glances.

- What do we do?" asked Kassandra, her jaw clenching.

Foster took a deep breath, weighing up his options.

Then he saw a strange movement in the distance.

One of Hell’s generals stopped dead at the top of a hill.

He was perched on a shadowy steed, his glowing eyes staring at the horizon.

Foster felt his breath catch.

This creature wasn’t looking directly at them...

But it felt something.

He knew it.

Köflik moved slowly closer, his breath coming in short gasps.

- Foster...

- Now," he murmured. Let’s get moving.

They backed away slowly, as silently as possible, their breathing suspended, adrenalin pulsing through their veins.

Then, as soon as they were out of sight...

- Run!" said Foster.

They dashed through the forest, as fast as their legs would carry them.

Their hearts were pounding.

Anguish twisted their stomachs.

They didn’t know if they’d been spotted.

But they did know one thing.

If they didn’t warn the others...

It would be a massacre.