Zane and Rommel entered his tent then started going through their spacial storages to find an appropriate offering, or at least an apology gift. Better to clean the air now than let the grievance fester. Nothing seemed adequate since for 400 years… they would offer up a young man and woman. Caius usually had the offerings tend to him as servants, but all the offered were willing to be bed mates or more.
Rommel sighed as he held up a dragon scale, "… what if we gave him the gifts from Young Song?"
Zane gave Rommel a droll stare, "In front of Young Song? While I don't know which is stronger physically… since Lord Caius is yielding to Young Song I would rather not offend him."
Rommel sighed, "Waters of the Sea… can't anything go right today?"
"One day at a time Uncle, I have jewels… maybe gold as well?" Zane offered looking over his bobbles… they could quickly melt them down… maybe add enchantments to the jewels.
Rommel rubbed his face, "Let's do it, something is better than nothing. I will also send word to see what mana cores we can have brought over. I think we have another guardian grade core but I'm not sure."
Zane borrowed two mages from Lucera to channel mana from crystals into the jewels, as well as melt the coins into gold bars. They were cutting it close as the sun started to sink behind the trees. As they left Zane's tent the Inago were escorting strangers into the clearing.
Ashton stretched as he sat up, rolling his shoulders and neck. Then he hopped off the tails to stand on his own feet. The lack of warmth was immediate, but Ashton was used to enduring.
Caius stretched as he pushed himself into upward dog, then downward dog as he shook his tails out. The gryphons were back, the giant white one even carrying something large.
Agapi had been casting several spells to keep the dome level. The giant metal base was twelve feet around, with metal bars connected at the top to create a twenty-five foot dome. Enchanted ropes held down tarps to protect the delicate contents from the rough winds or harsh sun the tribe had suffered these last several weeks. Metal chains had then been wrapped around the tarps and connected to the base so Agapi could carry the dome the last several miles.
Neolani had been looking forward to this for years, to finally return the name of her sister tribe. Today, today they not only would reclaim their status. They would officially gain recognition and possibly be the first to join the Coalition of Pride.
Neveu's heart was racing, he was the youngest tribe leader in their history at 23, and the only one to succeed his predecessor while they were still alive. Every year when the first flower of the Great Tree bloomed they would all gather around to renew their oaths of protection and dedication to preserving the Great Tree. It was also the only time the tree would communicate with the current chief unless something dire was happening. If the chief had died, the Great Tree would select a new one by offering the blooming flower.
But this year, the Great Tree had two flowers bloom. The first iridescent blue flower had opened its petals; many had tried to forcibly take the flowers in previous generations but only the marked could hear the answer upon eating it. There had also only ever been a single flower to bloom a year. So when Nerium had announced the Great Tree's will, they had prepared to finish the ceremony and celebrate when a second flower bloomed.
Chief Nerium was getting older, but many expected her to easily liv another twenty years. Her ceremonial staff contained a crystalized fruit from the Great Tree to help channel her power. Her black hair only had a few white strands. It's true her crows' feet were more pronounced but she was still hail and hearty. Her chief marking was of an unfurled vine on the left side of her face. It started around her eye spiraling out with dozens of tiny leaves. Each year she ate a flower more leaves would sprout, sometimes one leaf, others up to five.
Nerium had then attempted to pick the second flower, only to have the vine dodge. Before anyone could understand what was happening, the flower lowered itself before the still kneeling Neveu. After a brief hesitation he accepted and ate the flower. Then he heard. It wasn't a voice, but knowledge. For that moment… he felt like he'd known everything that was, or had been. Then he focused on an answer he wanted and it was there…
Then the chief markings appeared on his left arm. The green vine starting from his palm wrapped all the way up to his shoulder, the vine no thicker than his smallest finger with leaves of the Great Tree sporadically along the vine.
Nerium and Neveu had just shared a look. Nerium had been their chief for thirty years when her predecessor died of old age. After the first Smyrnaean raid 15 years ago more than 1,000 men, women, and children were slaughtered before they could mount a defense. Another 600 had died holding the invaders back long enough so they could move the Great Tree. Among the fallen had been her own brother and sister-in-law, the greatest warriors of their time. Nerium had then carried her eight-year-old nephew during their desperate escape as his parents held their defense.
Many children had been abandoned during the escape, any that couldn't be easily carried, or those who could not keep up. There were less than two dozen children between the ages of 3 and 15 to survive the first day. Neveu and one other had survived until the third day when aid had finally arrived.
Nerium watched her nephew's markings appear and teers started pouring silently down her face. Before the astonishment or trepidation could leave his face, she embraced him and wept. She knew of all the injustice he had suffered as a survivor, constantly ostracized by the older survivors. Forced to liv with her selfish desire to keep the last piece of her brother alive. She had let her nephew liv in her personal quarters rather than let him continue to suffer the cruelty of communal living. But that had been the only favor she had ever shown. Nerium could vow on her life, other than where Neveu slept, she had to be an impartial chief, the voice of the Great Tree.
But on this day, she was no longer his aunt, no longer his chief, he wasn't an orphan, he wasn't just another warrior of the tribe, he was not trying to liv up to his father's role as head warrior, nor was he trying to prove he was worthy of the previous head warriors, and previous second priestess's sacrifice. Today he was recognized by the Great Tree itself.
Shortly after the flower blooming ceremony they started their journey to meet the Beast of Pride, protector of the Inago. They had been under the Inago's protection since the Smyrnaean's had declared war on the tribes. While the other tribes were collateral damage for the Smyrnaean's true purpose… the Great Tree.
Neolani had only been Regina for a year at that time, regardless of the backlash of her own people she had come with their three hundred best laying waste to the Smyrnaean forces. The message had taken two days by hawk to reach Neolani, but she and the 300 had arrived within hours.
Unfortunately… the Dolquist tribe had known the attacks wouldn't stop. So long as they lived and the Great Tree remained unfound… all the surrounding tribes would suffer. Neolani and Nerium were distant relatives, in their great grandparents' time the tribes had separated the tribe when their numbers were too many to sustain themselves. So nearly half had become nomadic but would still visit every third year to trade, set up marriages, or if members of either tribe wished to be traded temporarily or even permanently.
Neolani had offered for the two sister tribes to become one, but the Great Tree could not endure nomad life… and they could not expect the Inago to protect them forever. Not to mention the dozens of other tribes that were also being attacked without understanding why. If the Inago took them in and the truth was revealed… It would be the Inago who would suffer the retaliation. There was no guarantee the other tribes would not work with the Smyrnaean's to surround and kill the Inago…
Nerium had decided to return to their destroyed home, allow the Smyrnaeans to make one more attack… so they could feign the destruction of the Great Tree and their deaths. Neolani had then drawn of their patron protector's power to cast an illusion for the wretched Smyrnaean's army.
Men, women, and children of mud were created for the false massacre. Nerium had also pretended to burn the Great Tree along with herself during their final stand. The mud men warriors had killed over two thousand of the seven thousand army that had surrounded the hidden valley, while not another life of the tribes had been lost.
Since then, the Dolquist had hidden away. Raising the less than one hundred surviving children, caring for the wounded, healing their broken hearts. From less than 700 survivors 15 years ago… now there were just over 1,400 members of their tribe, many of the Inago had married into the Dolquist and the children had been especially abundant these last several years.
While Nerium wished she could credit the Great Tree, she was aware that the patron protector of the Inago was the only reason not a single unnatural death had occurred in their tribe. While many had been wounded in hunts, or skirmishes not one had died of a result. Truly… the beast was one to be respected… and possibly feared.
Neveo stood at the head of the procession, his former chief, now elder at his right side, their new priestess and his soon to be wife on his left. Neveo took a deep breath, expanding his entire diaphragm as he calmed his racing heart. As their new chief he had recently had all the hair shaven from his head, and new tribal clothes fitting his station made.
As chief he was the only one to wear an iridescent blue shendyt with a metal belt that looked like vines, the claps in the image of the Great Tree's flower. His collar necklace was made with the first of last year's fallen leaves from the Great Tree, enchanted to stay soft and green. He was much darker than his distant cousins the Inago, in fact, he was one of the darkest skinned of his tribe after years hunting to prove his worth. So despite having just become chief, he walked up to the nest like the predator he was.
Ashton sat on the edge of his nest, hands placed on either side as he slowly crossed his right ankle over his left knee. Since Ashton had the birds make his new nest closer to the middle of the clearing the sun was slowly starting to set on his left. The giant covered dome slowly being pulled closer as the dozen Dolquist members stopped ten feet in front of him.
"Neveo MaHoney, Chief of the Dolquist comes to give thanks, and pay our deepest respects to Ashton, Beast of Pride, Protector of the Inago, and our benefactor." Neveo announced loud enough for the entire clearing to hear his every word. Then, Naveu removed his chieftain dagger, drew the blade over his left palm and over his Great Tree tattoo. His blood immediately poured but he didn't flinch as he raised his hand placing it over his heart.
"Neveo MaHoney, pride of the Dolquist, voice of the Great Tree, and kin to my Ember. Before we speak, reveal the Great Tree, there is a debt we must settle." Ashton informed as a feather flew out from his chest and melted into Neveo's hand to temporarily stop the bleeding.
Neveo hadn't expected the dismissal, nor had he been made aware of any debts but he nodded to the young beast signaling for the tarps to be removed.
Agapi flew up to lift the chains straight up so the Great Tree's branches wouldn't be damaged.
Then large animal hide tarps were pulled away to reveal the nearly five-meter-tall tree in a giant metal bowl. If one didn't consider the size, it almost looked like a potted plant in a bird cage. The "pot" itself was more than ten feet around and five feet tall with a budging rim. Agapi then flew back up to lift the metal bars careful not to touch a single leaf.
The entire clearing stared in rapt amazement, the lush vines with leaves that dropped almost to the soil, smooth white trunk, but that wasn't what had everyone's attention. Dozens of iridescent blue fruit hung from the vines, half a dozen looked ripe enough to fall. Mana fruit… dozens of mana fruit on a single tree…
Even in legends the trees only reached about ten feet tall and held less than half a dozen fruit. One fruit might take a hundred years to ripen… while they weren't as large as the ones Caius had shown earlier that day… this tree looked as if it might produce several fruit a year…
Ashton raised his right hand with a silver flame, what was special was this flame held no heat. It was just a representation of his soul flame. The tree slowly raised its longest vine as an equally iridescent flower bloomed. Ashton sent the palm sized silver flame up while the flower fell into his palm.
Ashton was able to eat the flower in a single mouthful, then closed his eyes. This would be their first dialogue.