The White Ghost of Hart's Cove

25

.^^ Project Dryad ^^

— Teilin —

The Brain of the Elder Ent was as old as the mountains and streams, it seemed like. When I dated it, to find out when it had come to be in its current form, it was told to me to be almost 6,000 years old. He was a little over 2,000 years old, in his adult phase of growth, when the Corruption was sealed away, then subsequently released for the final time, in the Otherland.

The scientist in me was shaken at the possibility that I could go there, to the Otherland. I had the power, the knowledge, the materials... everything I needed.

An entire magical realm, full of unknown secrets, languages that had never been heard here, Science that had never been explored, a world that hadn't been ravaged by Destruction, like this one. Unfortunately, my accumulated knowledge of the Otherland, vast as it was, was from legends over 4,000 years old, fraught with inconsistencies, paradoxes, and contradictions.

The land was abandoned by almost everyone who could escape, when the corruption escaped the South Forest. The people left behind, from every race, were presumed dead.

Joanne rested a hip against my desk. "So you've been quiet... should I be worried?"

"I'm contemplating opening a Portal to the Otherland." I replied casually.

She froze, and then frowned. "That's not a good idea."

"I'm contemplating curing the Corruption on the entire planet that was left behind. Learning the secrets lost to time. I'll be careful, of course, opening the portal in a secured location, just in case, and covering it with the type of spells that guarantee I will be the only one able to operate it. Say what you want about me, but I'm not stupid." I shrugged.

She pursed her lips thoughtfully, and then tugged on one of my ears gently. "It's still a bad idea, but if you'll promise to be careful... I can't see a reason to stop you."

I smirked and patted her butt, making her hop off my documents. "You couldn't stop me with an army, my dear. I'm half Dwarf."

She laughed and kissed my cheek, and sat at her own desk, across from mine. She started her backed up paperwork, sighing at the amount that had built up, with new requests for guides and cartographers for the new forests I'd created.

I hummed, thinking about the situation. "You know, I could give you a rather competent and astutely accurate map of my lands, if you'd like."

She looked up. "Your Lands?"

"Quite. I created them, after all. I am the one and only Lord Teilin, owner and founder of them." I said easily, and paused. "Yes, I think I'll allow the Red City to use a portion for research, and the rest will become rather good private hunting grounds, with a few months' work on my part. Wouldn't require much, if people wanted to hunt there with my permission." I nodded.

She sighed. "I hope you haven't gone mad with power. You can't hold the entirety of Europe as your Domain!"

"History says otherwise, my dear. And for your calm of mind, I choose to inform you that I am not trying to make myself out to be some sort of an Almighty King, only a properly accredited and supported Lord, and one who answers somewhat indirectly to the Elder Council." I assured her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Alright, then what's your plan? Control an entire continent with your mind alone?"

"Oh of course not! It's Simple! Hunters and the Council will pay me a tithe, then they can hunt my lands, within certain parameters, such as amount they're allowed to hunt, disposal methods, killing methods, stuff like that." I nodded.