To make the most efficient use of his reserves, Kage often visited his little plot of land to raise more of the treants that his worker bees created. The problem was that it was getting to the point where the workers could produce more things than he could raise. This was a good problem to have, all things considered, but it meant that planning was annoying.
Presently they had stopped all construction on smaller treants and instead were focusing on the basic outline of Mordva’s future body – a massive dragon-shaped construct. It was 30% larger than a typical ancient dragon sized creation and for that reason Kage highly doubted it would be completed by the end of the season as he had initially expected. That was fine though – all he really needed was a rough outline completed. It could always be fleshed out later on.
To help bolster his reserves, he resorted to syphoning off most of Mordva’s reserves. He took enough to be significant, but not so much that it would allow Mordva to slip her leash. He figured 80% was a fair enough amount, and it greatly helped bolster the number of treants he could raise. He would syphon this amount once a week every week till the end of the season.
Kage’s thought was that he had around 900 bird fetches that were to be risen but they had no way of really comprehending anything except for saol if he rose them as they were. What Kage needed was for his treants to go out and hunt for bird bodies so that they could have eyes fixed into their eye sockets. Actually, now that he thought about it, he really ought to put a bird head into each of the treant heads.
Leading up to the 43rd Kage had his bird treants go around and attack other birds and to bring their bodies back to the unrisen bird fetch bodies. There, some treant workers dissected the birds and put their heads into the hollowed out fetch heads. They worked tirelessly to accomplish this task so that when Kage raised them, they wouldn't be so useless.
On the 43rd, he swung by to raise 350 bird fetches. On the 50th he rose 350 more and 200 more on the 50th to finish out the rest of the bird treants that had been crafted earlier in the season. Finally he had reached his seasonal goal for raising the damned things. Even with 1000 of them at his disposal, he still felt oddly lacking. His official plans were to have 10,000 of them which meant that he would likely spend years leading up to that goal. A pain for most mortal men, but he had all the time in the world. His only rush was that he wanted to have a large force in case he needed to clash against Angira. The birds would likely be able to help him search for her undead minions to make sure no more unexpected attacks occurred.
503 wc
Reserves:
Weekly - Syphoning via druidism at the master level for free (touch) – draining 0.8 / 1.0 master reserves from Mordva
Engill sat on the pedestal with her legs crossed and her hands together. There was a soft buzz in the air and the faint light from the whisper yew’s glowing tendrils covered her, wrapping her wrists, ankles and throat. She did not make any movement as the plant grew.
It was a month of quiet. The whisper yew became hungrier, taking in the electrical energy that sparked between her hands and her thoughts. It seemed to wrap around her, just like a living creature and its veins glowed in rhythm with her breathing. At the start, it was a vine, then a sapling and finally, it grew into a large, twisted mass of wood full of electricity, its bark splitting with blue-white flashes. She didn’t move, her mind drifting to other places than the pedestal, the grove and the one who had asked her to sit there.
Kage.
They were like two shining sparks that burst into flames and burned out quickly. But if fire is not controlled, it will burn itself out. So they had drifted apart not because they were angry or sad, but because they understood each other without words. Some relationships just weren’t meant to go so hard for so long. She believed them to be meant to be together even after he moved away. She blamed herself for his moving. Even so, she had agreed to Kage’s request when he first made it to her.
The world became clearer and the grove was filled with the light from the yew. She released her breath, letting it out slowly and the plant followed, its branches shrinking, as if not ready to let go of her. She built it and it did what she told it to do.
She slowly lifted herself from the pedestal, her limbs stiff after being still and her skin was marked by faint, shimmering lines from the yew. She ran her fingers, feeling the leftover energy move on her skin and then focused on what she was supposed to do.
She did not make sculptures. She did not form her sculptures with the use of blades or chisels. So, she directed her hands moving slightly above the wood as it curved and turned by itself, answering the dreams she had formed in her mind.
Shapes of eldritch origins began to appear. There are ten in total each a behemoth in size. Their bodies seemed unreal with too long limbs and sharp angles. They were lovely creations that represented the feelings in her heart.
It had taken her a month to make these colossal treant bodies. When they were done she sent a letter to Kage telling him that they were finished and that he should come retrieve them.
Finally having received word back from Engill, Kage headed to the portal network and then over to where she was staying, presumably in the section of the basin reserved for ascended druids. Then again, if she had completed her task she probably wouldn’t have the treants just sitting around in her neighborhood. There was hardly the space for things so massive. He would instead rely on the letter and see where he was supposed to meet up.
When he arrived he would ask around to see where she had created the treant bodies. When he found them, he would be amazed at their craftsmanship but a little perplexed by the design. Eldritch – he didn’t take Engill as someone who would like that sort of thing. It made him think that maybe he was the cause for her design choices.
If and when he saw her, he would try to give her a friendly hug. He knew that he was the reason they were going through their issues. The brightest flames typically burned out the fastest, after all.
“How have you been,” Kage asked her. “I must say that you’ve done an excellent job. I will probably linger in the area for a while to raise them all, and I have more work you can help me with if you have the time… By the way, have you thought about moving? Or are you still thinking that you’ll stay here for the forseeable future.”
When he did get a moment he would walk over to the first treant, that looked like some kind of bioluminescent electricity-crackling octopus. He focused his saol into it then rose it. This might be the strongest treant he had possession over, given the wood that was used in its construction.
