Tree of Aeons

Year 130

Strange how information is often volunteered when one’s in a position of power. Across the world, many observed the Freshlands’ rise, and are eager to make ‘friends’. I would not have called them allies, given their fickle nature, but for now, friendly to the Freshlands. 

The temples are in conflict, of course. Political conflict, rather than actual war. Accusations appeared, perhaps from the kings and emperors, that the temples were dishonest. It’s brewing for some time but the in-tree-continental tree highway added fuel to the fire.

“Why do the temples demand our best forces, when the temples’ refuse to send their best templars?” 

I’ve seen templars. But in our first war and the string of battles, there were just a few hundred, at most, a thousand templars. Templars. The temple’s military arm. Quite similar to my Valthorns, and surely, their better suited for anti-demon activity than actually fighting me. Unless their god marked me as some kind of enemy of the religion, and they get a boost fighting me. That makes sense too. 

Again, free informants seemed to suggest that the temples had considered it, but their own intel suggested that their templars are ineffective against me. Simply put, the first few hundred templars were sent on a suicide mission. The temples too did not know whether the templars received any ‘blessing’ or ‘buff’ from fighting a non-demon enemy of the temple, their common understanding was that the blessings applied only against demons. 

A common complaint, and at this point I was rather happy to be left alone. I didn’t see the point in a war that proved nothing. There really was no ‘outcome’ that’s good as a whole. Like, so what if the temples won? Have they given up on their best chance of reclaiming the Rottedlands from the demonic corruption? The demonic corruption was weaker, after the demon king’s death. The last demon king had recalled some of the demonic energies in the Rottedlands to fight the heroes. 

The Rottedlands may very well undo itself if each demon king called on it’s residual demonic energy during the fight with the heroes. 

Perhaps that is how the world maintains it’s current state. It would take a string of rottedlands-type explosions all over the world to terraform the entire world into demonland. However, if the demon kings ‘recalled' the energies that power it, eventually the Rottedlands would shrink.

"There's really no daemolite left in the wreck?" The representative council asked Kavio, and Kavio asked me. “Both locations?”

“Aeon had only explored Sabnoc’s location, as it is older and the corruption was weaker.” 

The place of the demon king's corpse had been thoroughly destroyed. I made trees through the area last year, and even now, not a single daemolite left. The heroes had really destroyed the place. Of course, I am quite embarrassed that it took me so long to put 2 and 2 together, but then... who knew?

Daemolite isn't just a great store of mana. It's also a good prison for souls. The two heroes were likely trapped in some kind of unique daemolite. Is the demon king harvesting souls too? Or only certain kinds of souls?

"Our war potential would be greatly improved by having daemolite weaponly. After the great exhaustion of the daemolites in the last few decades ago, a new attainable source would be great." The heroes didn't like daemolite. I recalled a conversation between the heroes about the perils of daemolite mining...

The global daemolite supply, which powers a small fleet of high speed cruise ships, airships and so on, have been heavily affected by daemolite shortage. Partly because during the Sabnoc era, some of the daemolite was magically turned into greater demons. Then, the two subsequent demon king's corpses were unharvestable due to the overwhelming presence of hex. It's the equivalent of poisoning a productive oil well. 

It didn't help that the airships were unusable in the Rottedlands. Daemolite would interact with the demonic energies and behaved erratically, sometimes exploding. The terrain itself, hostile, meant if something went wrong, they would crash in demon hybrid infested territories. 

Darn. 

But wait, if the demonic influence is weakening, would we be able to use daemolite? 

I had the Valthorns send an exploratory delegation to the site of the demon king Sabnoc's fight. Other than the heroes, it's the first time someone's been here. 

“So this is it. Where the demon king fell and Emperor Harris made his mark on the world.” Faris said. Harris was naturally the most famous of the 5 who survived. Even if they all finally died. 

“I’m more interested in where he died.” Edna said. The landscape was apocalyptic. There were massive holes and gashes on the ground that 4 decades did not heal, only recently some of that damage was beginning to undo itself.

Still, it’s a place where the demon king and heroes fought, and so the air and ground is unsettled, disturbed by the pain that this land once saw. Though I managed to remove the demonic corruption from this location, and the ground is still poisoned from magic. Too much magic was used here. Here, magic itself is weak. Not a nice place for a [mage], as they would find their magic less potent. Maybe in a few decades, the residual ‘drain’ on magic will fade, and this place will return to normalcy. 

“Our briefing suggested that these places were always filled with daemolite.” 

“It’s been 4 decades. Maybe the heroes mined all of them already.” 

As I pushed more and more of the demonic sludge away, it revealed a battered terrain. There were huge underground holes, caves that were made out of magical blasts. We could tell from the round circular shape of the caves, the smooth edges that indicated something annihilated everything in it’s path. 

Faris was most affected by the devastation. The perils of a [aeonic great druid], their emotions are very much affected by the condition of the land. He would witness a massive crevice, and he’d pause, touch the ground briefly. 

“You alright?” Edna walked over. There were many other Valthorns, they checked the area thoroughly for any potential magical items. 

Faris had to pause. “Not really. This landscape... it weighs on me.” 

“Huh?”

“A druid in some ways can be considered 3 main branches to it’s power. Trees and animals, wind and water, and lastly earth.” Faris explained. “Our connection to these 3 branches can be said to be almost equal at first, depending on our class, though we are usually more known for our connection to trees and animals.” There are variations across classes and teaching schools, of course. Some druids are pure tree-only. I believe my [aeonic druids] are more tree focused, though Faris as an [aeonic great druid] should be similar. . 

Edna got it instantly. “Ah, so the earth’s pain speaks to you.”

“Something like that.” Faris said. “Not a nice feeling.” 

Edna smiled and teased her friend and compatriot. “It’s like being sensitive, I suppose.”

Faris hit her with his stick.

The next location I wanted to explore was where Guihwang, Harris and all died. I witnessed their death, of course, and the massive explosion left a large crater. That explosion destroyed the demon king, and any trees I had in the area. Since then, the area has been inaccessible due to a perpetual firestorm.

“Magic storm.” Edna and the Valthorns observed the terrain. Residual magic. It’ll calm down eventually. Maybe in a few years. It doesn’t happen all the time, though, which is strange. It’s as if the gods rolled a dice whether there will be a magic storm, or not.

“We’ll have to wait for it to calm down.” I mentally spoke. “There are days when the firestorm weakens a little.”

Maybe there’s daemolite in there. 

-

Multiple kingdoms submitted their bids, despite the protests from the temples and so on. Some did so secretly. They didn’t want to publicly declare to the temples that they were looking for alternatives. 

The offers were interesting. Our invitation to ‘bid’ went out quite generally, that the I was looking to create a transcontinental path across the Rottedlands.

Some kingdoms offered their princesses for marriage. Some offered a cut in taxes. Some outright offered control of their entire army. 

The representatives sat down and evaluated the offers.

“What’s the point of this?” One rather cynical representative asked. “In the end, Aeon’s the one that decides, right?”

Kavio nodded. “Aeon had agreed to three potential alliances, and he had said he would decide on two of them. The last one, will be for us to decide.”

The reason I did this was simple. Jasmine, from her observation of the people, and Patreeck’s mental ‘reading’ had indicated that the council was growing weary. They had great authority over the lesser matters, but I had sensed that they were feeling ‘left out’ of the greater direction of the Freshlands. Letting have a say in the big things would help, I guess? 

I watched their thought bubbles. They were all thinking whether I’m serious, or whether this is a test.

“Kavio, had you ever thought of marrying?” I telepathically spoke to the representatives present.

Kavio’s face paled instantly. “Aeon, you don’t mean...”

“Some of the kingdoms offered marriages. Certainly... our representatives should be more than worthy and deserving of the station.” 

Their minds spun, and I detected some horniness among the representatives present. Some of them are nobles, being the delegates of their parents who rule their cities or domain. Some are elected representatives from their home state. There’s some variation in how this station is perceived by the local rulers, some view this as a key training ground before they return home to take over from their families, some houses send their lesser children here, while their first sons are back home, actively training. 

I considered that this would make these representatives not-so-loyal, since now they would have the input and influence of these faraway kingdoms. Their wives, or husbands as it may, will use them as their door to communicate with me.

A reality of geopolitics. The Freshlands isn’t just the valley of Freeka any more. 

I must have wisdom, and accept that it is possible to manage competing priorities and influences. Just like how there are trees in the lush tropics, to the cold, snowy areas of the high mountains, to the dry, vast steppes. The world is not just one type of environment. Trees adapt and evolve too, even if it seemed ever so slowly. 

People too, are different. The Freshlands is a growing, vast space. The ways and means of a city-state, and that of an empire should be different.

The representatives had days of serious debate. There were about 72 representatives now, as the inner Freshlands had grown to twenty over segments, there’s also delegates from the Six Ports, and then the representatives of the surrendered or allied kingdoms. 

“Perhaps the hand should be offered to the High Representative of the Six Ports?” 

“Or the hand of the Kingdoms?” 

It was a mess, and I didn’t pay much attention to it. Each representative wanted something for their home state. After all, only one of the 3 spots would be chosen by the representatives.

-

“Glad you’re not Kavio’s place anymore?” Yvon smiled and tapped Jura’s shoulder. Yvon is almost level 70 as a [trainer-master]. 

“Totally.” Jura nodded. “I may be a [warlord], but dealing with squabbling nobles is really tiring. I’d rather be fighting greater hybrid champions.” 

My elite Valthorns were almost capping out too. Edna was at Level 78 as an [Aeonic Grand Knight], and Faris was Level 76. Many others were in their Level 60s. They still had regular expeditions into the Rottedlands, but these days, it’s harder to find champion-class demon hybrids to fight. So, their growth accordingly slowed. 

Instead, many started to moonlight as adventurers, fighting other monsters that spawn in the Freshlands. 

According to our constitution, I had mandated security for certain designated routes. Beetles would patrol those places, and so these areas are safe. Monsters, however, still frequently happen, and magical anomalies, lesser necromancers and nuisances were left to adventurers to deal with.

It was a concession for the adventurers’ lobby group. 

“Are you level 100 yet?” Yvon asked. 

“Nope. Still at Level 94.” Jura answered. “But honestly, it’s not a cap issue. It’s just a lack of suitable opponents at this level.” 

“Maybe you could just dive into a dungeon by yourself and destroy them single-handedly?”

“There are no dungeons in the Freshlands. Aeon’s presence had ensured that. All the dungeons are outside of the Freshlands.”

An unfortunate turn of events is that my overwhelming presence had prevented the growth of naturally spawning dungeons, so the Freshlands doesn’t have dungeons! This was a problem for adventurers, of course. Like, what proper fantasy empire doesn’t have adventurers? But if there are no dungeons, then the number of adventurers and their quality would naturally be lower. 

I was aware of this issue for some time... it’s just that, well, I could only focus on a few things at a time. Dungeons are natural events created from magical accumulation. The presence of trees, and my roots that extend everywhere, essentially ‘drains’ magic and prevents too much magical energies from accumulating. 

Instead, the magic is distributed, and accumulated in forests instead. So, the forests and jungles of the Freshlands have stronger monsters, on average. Wolves, birds and all that are generally larger, stronger, and more likely to have magical features. Some even have [aeonic] variants, and I can give these [aeonic] monsters ‘instructions’, though they may not always obey it. Most of these forest monsters are territorial so they stay within the forests, and coupled with the forests being protected territories, they are rarely encountered by the general populace or adventurers. 

I’m conflicted. If I want to strengthen adventurers, they’d have to fight stronger monsters. In the Freshlands, its’ either I find a way to create a dungeon where stronger monsters can spawn, or let these adventurers fight these aeonic monsters. But I don’t want to, I’m generally fond of these fellow forest creatures. 

“We can use the adventurers to ‘cull’ populations of monsters that have grown too large.” Currently, Trevor manages the population of the monsters in the forests. If they are too big, he would put them down, with an army of beetles.

I still feel conflicted. 

But really this is a short term solution. Population cullings of large packs will not be sustainable, nor will it give a lot of ‘quests’ for these adventurers. 

-

The representatives eventually settled on one of the kingdoms which offered three princesses, a large amount of trade, and a regular payment. I still had to decide on the other two. 

Which I soon regretted. I stared and contemplated all the choices, and decided I wasn’t very good at making decisions. 

“Patreeck, Trevor, Dimitree... Give me a hand? I mean, a thought?”

“Certainly.” 

There was some buzzing for a few weeks, and my artificial minds soon gave me a presentation. I felt like I was the CEO who was given a briefing on what’s the best decision to make.

“We have evaluated the following proposal bids and have shortlisted the following five kingdoms for your consideration, master.” Trevor started. He was the oldest of the artificial minds, so somehow he’s like ‘in charge’. 

“The combined bid by the Twin kingdoms of Illisar and Alenas are our first choice. They offered four children of the two kings as potential marriage partners, they also have access to four large precious gem mines that they’ve agreed to offer 15% to us, and their location is close to the northern rivers. They have had a history of war with their neighbours, and their two larger neighbours have always wanted to conquer them. They’ve failed in the past due to the two kings were of a high-level, and they have a small circle of strong generals. But their strongest king died of a demon wound a few years ago, and the new King is weaker.”

I mentally nodded. Alright, they’re weak and they have every reason to cooperate with us. They also have gem mines, which I need for upgrades. 

“They are also a landlocked nation, so they really need this alternative trade route. Their traders are frequently targeted by river-pirates, especially once the ships travel to the neighbouring countries’ land, and so the main river that runs through their kingdom is an unreliable source of trade.”

Alright, they are desperate.

“The second best bid, in our opinion, is from the Kingdom of Tiapesok. Again, they offered five children of the royal family of our choice.”

“Patreeck, Trevor, maybe cut out the part on the children. Really irrelevant to me.”

“I believe they are relevant for our Valthorns and politically, we may dangle them as rewards for the loyal nations.” Trevor said. “If we must maintain loyalty throughout the vast territory, it would be good to use these as rewards.”

“...really?” What? Is this like a game of Total War or EU4 or Crusader Kings where I matchmake royalties with deserving generals in order to maintain loyalty? Seriously.

“As such, the number is important.” Trevor continued. “Jasmine had also corroborated that many nobles frequently fight over good marriage candidates, as such, there is political and economic value from these marriage candidates.”

“But where do we come in?” 

“We control the trade routes, master. The wealth generated by the trade routes is a button we can turn on, or off.”

Jasmine, Trevor and Patreeck all paused. 

“Also, obtaining marriage candidates is also crucial, as they are worth it for the potential hereditary skills.”

“Hereditary skills?” Alright, what in the world is that. 

“From our analyses of nobility, a common trait that allowed nobles to retain their power and influence, despite the world’s constant change, is the ability to pass on certain skills and benefits to their progeny.”

“...what?” That sounded extremely familiar. Have I had this conversation before? Was it some nobles that spoke to me about inherited skills? 

“Master, our proposal required that we incorporate the skillsets of nobility, to produce stronger offspring. Nobles and various races have been seen demonstrating the effects of inherited skills, perhaps it slightly stronger physical strength, or just natural learning ability, or slightly faster levelling speed.”

“Why did I not know of it?”

“Not all nobles possess the ability to pass down abilities. Only some do, and those that never talk about it.” 

“And...”

“We can read minds.” Patreeck responded. “Some of the nobles have been hiding this hidden advantage. They don’t even tell their children, until their children gain a similar skill when they reach adulthood. Some of it is just the ability to evade negative traits or just generic healthiness.”

Go on.

“We’ve also discovered that some royal families have certain ‘dynasty’ abilities that bless their entire lineage.”

Damned. Even in the world of levels, the wealthy and powerful have a way to rig the game. Seriously. 

“As such, the children of the royals have incredible value.”

“Do you think it’s possible to spawn a super-noble, then?” I mean, if the inherited skills can be passed down, and the inherited skills can come from both father and mother, surely the nobles would have been accumulating advantages over time. Isn’t this like how one-for-all works?

“From our observation, yes, it’s already been done.” The nobles and royalties intermarrying suddenly makes a huge amount of sense now. “But from our observation, these gifted children mostly turn overconfident and usually die young before they ever fulfill their advantages and potential.”

“I see.” 

There’s a very Mendellian quality to this entire thing. Patreeck and Trevor’s proposal of mixing the royals with our elites reeks of geneticism. My soul forge alters an individual. This is altering successive generations via selective breeding. 

“I understand Master’s concerns, but the effects of skills are real. The advantages are clear. Creating super-soldiers via selective breeding is possible in the long run. It is fundamentally not much more different from selective alteration of beetles.” 

“In a world of magic and levels, we’re still unable to escape the powers of inheritance and inequality.”

“Magic and levels amplifies inequality. It gives legitimacy over one’s superior station over another.”

Dammit. Just fucking g’ddammit.

If I go down this path, eventually I would be selectively breeding my citizens to create supersoldiers. 

“Master?”

“I need a moment.”

I’ve already taken one step into that path, by training Valthorns from their very young age. This is an extension of that thought, by ensuring the quality and potential of the Valthorns are high, even before they are trained.

But there’s clearly a conflict here. Valthorns are mostly children who are without families. We’ve taken them in and trained them. Give them a family, and skills. Give them a purpose in life, if they didn’t have one, a cause and goal to fight for.

Is there a line I shouldn’t cross here? I’ve killed thousands. Tens of thousands?

“Master?”

I need more time to contemplate this. I can accept the fact that hereditary skills exist. In fact, it makes all the sense that it should. A parent’s love for their children may manifest itself as skills. 

“The Kings and nobles of the world have been doing this all this while, master.” Patreeck interjected. “We are just taking it a step further.”

It’s the difference between free range chicken and massive broiler farms, Patreeck. I need to think. 

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