Why don’t we all take this outside? Dross suggests. Not to complain, but it’s usually just me in here. And Lindon.
Report complete.
Back in reality, Lindon looked up at the sky, where he saw only blank white.
A voice drifted on the wind, a soft command from the Monarch of Everwood. “Show yourselves.”
Green light peeled away an invisible cloak, revealing the island of the Silent Servants and its tall white tree floating in the air overhead. Just as the Silent King had shown Lindon in the vision, the Dreadgod cult was indeed here. They had waited in hiding to provide backup at the critical moment.
Now, however, they had been forcefully exposed.
Clearly, something was wrong.
When Lindon had seen the white tree of the Silent Servants before, its branches were bare. This time, it sprouted that looked as though they had been painted on the world in green light. Like the leaves of a Remnant.
White bark shattered and the tree crumbled, its falling pieces destroying the buildings at its base. Something was emerging from within: a new tree taking its place. A giant ancestral tree with bright purple bark and vivid emerald leaves.
Emriss Silentborn.
Lindon didn’t know what had happened to the cultists, but he didn’t much care. His thoughts were still painful, and he had little room left to allow his mind to wander.
[Sorry I didn’t tell you Emriss was on her way. But it’s a nice surprise, right?]
“Where is the Dreadgod?” Lindon asked.
Dross drew his attention to a corner of the battlefield where a gust of wind blew flurries of Emriss’ leaves. Beyond them, Lindon saw a faintly veiled giant tiger.
So did Northstrider and Malice. Thanks to Emriss Silentborn’s guidance, they knew exactly where to aim.
They lit up that entire region of the countryside so that even the army’s coordinated techniques, with their focused will, crumbled like eggshells before a war hammer. The explosion annihilated half the army and most of the horizon, sending sand and grit whipping into Lindon’s face.
He pushed them away with aura and sent a cold thought to Dross.
Those people could have been freed.
[Yeeeaaaahhh…] Dross said uncertainly. [But I don’t see any way to beat the Dreadgod if we let him take hostages.]
Neither did Lindon, which frustrated him.
The Dreadgod was weakened. Lindon could feel its spirit, and it was on the verge of death. If the Monarchs pressed it further, it would call the other Dreadgods.
So they wouldn’t. They’d hold back.
Dross, we can’t leave it like this.
[We can,] Dross said. [But there is one possibility. A thin one. Tiny, spider-leg thin. And we’ll need help.]
Lindon heard the plan.
Then he drew Blackflame into his channels.
Do it, Lindon commanded.
Emriss Silentborn watched the entire battlefield at once, including multiple possible futures. She wasn’t caught off-guard when Dross popped into existence before her.
But she was a little surprised.
The spirit bowed awkwardly to her trunk, though he didn’t even have a waist. [Honored Monarch, Queen of the…trees…I come with a request. Gratitude. I should have said “Gratitude” in there somewhere. Maybe “apologies” too.]
“Your respect is appreciated, but unnecessary.” Emriss was wrestling with the will of the Silent King, which had always been a difficult endeavor. Now, even with the support of the two human Monarchs, she was having trouble keeping him at bay.
She didn’t have the time or attention for formalities.
“Make your request, Dross.”
[Oh, great! I’m attached to a human whose mind’s a little…shredded, right now. He’s missing some pieces. But if I can hold him together a little longer, he can hit the Dreadgod where it hurts.]
Emriss picked up on Dross’ deeper thoughts, which gave her an even bigger surprise.
“He’s trying to kill the Dreadgod!”
If Dross had sweat glands, he would be soaking wet. [Not if you don’t want us to! I mean no, not necessarily. Punching it hard, sure—]
“The Void Sage has my blessing.”
Emriss remembered everything perfectly except events from before the death of her original form. Those were inherited, left behind as a contingency measure, and as a result they were a jumbled patchwork.
But she had never forgotten her purpose.
To spread knowledge was to spread life and light. She had always intended to connect the world, to share the secrets of the sacred arts widely. It would have led to a new age of advancement, where techniques were no longer prized secrets and resources were distributed where they could do the most good.