Death of a Guardian

Chapter 6

Several meryx observed from a distance, their gazes fixed on the scene. Emerging from the shadows, a solitary meryx approached at a casual pace. This meryx stood taller than its companions by a few inches.

Her mane was white while the others were brown. Standing with the others, she observed as the boys rose to their feet and headed toward the fort she crafted for them long ago. Each of the trees making the fort were Leshy.

They would flow and move with the wind or, as otherwise needed, to keep the boys out of sight. Once they snuck in, she shifted into her human form. Terrianis looked the same as she did all those years ago when the boys were being born.

Her blonde, medium pixie cut hair looked the same length with the same brown streaks in them. This time, however, her eyes glowed brown. It was the only difference at all in her appearance. She patted the meryx before one transformed into a giant humanoid tree.

"Tell me?" She asked. While it was a command, she loved the Leshy and would never treat them as if she didn't.

They aren't as intelligent as Life's creatures, but they know what they need to know, and they are loyal to her and her domain. Her only worry is their forgetfulness and secrecy issues. They are connected to all the trees that are part of the combined organism and cannot keep secrets from the other trees.

As far as she knew, none of her siblings or cousins bother to connect to her organisms on that level, but it wasn't worth risking her true plans to them. While the humans and their magicians couldn't connect, she still had to worry the other gods might not go along.

Because Life did not create the Leshy, they have no souls. As such, her cousin doesn't consider them as part of her domain. However, even without souls, they still have emotions and feelings. While the King may have ordered the Magicians to grow the forest, her magic brought them to life and they all see her as their mother.

"Boys play. KorzenRodzen follows. They talk. Emryk cry. Run. You interfere, call Aleks. Emryk jump. Aleks save," the Leshy said.

She smiled and patted the tree form. "Yes, I interfered. It isn't time. I worry we just had a setback. His love must remain pure."

She thought about it for several minutes. The Leshy remained completely still, waiting for her to speak again. They longed to turn back into their natural forms and reconnect with their brothers and sisters. Being disconnected so long was making them sad. They love their mother, but they feel lost in this form.

"Find Amorius," their mother said.

One of the Leshy transformed in place back into a tree. Its roots pressed down into the ground and wrapped themselves around its brothers and sisters. In an instant, it shared the knowledge of the trees for over a hundred miles around. It could see every insect or animal crawling on its siblings.

All the trees can share nutrients with each other so they all grow healthy. If one is attacked, they all see. In cases of poison, the trees collaborate, pooling their defenses to combat the threat. This collective support not only aids the affected tree but also grants all trees with the knowledge to fight the same threats in the future.

Looking around, the Leshy searched for Amorius. Finding her, it transformed back to inform their mother of the love goddess's location. Terrianis instructed them to return to their watch. Where she stood, her form mimicked the Leshy when they turn back into a tree.

But she grew far taller than any of the other trees near her. She allowed her soul to flow out through her roots and moved from root to root, tree to tree. As fast as thought, she was rising out of the ground in a dirt pile beside Amorius.