Bonded Summoner

Book 4. Chapter 16: Sacrifice and Awakening

The Hart family had welcomed Nadessa into their home, her now sitting on their couch. She looked around in wonderment at the furnishings and even the plants.

Nadessa smiled as she took in the feel of the room. “This place feels amazing! The mana is so thick, and the vitality… I feel like I’m back at home in the World Tree!”josei

Ophelia said, “Welcome to our home, Nadessa. Did you need something to eat?”

Nadessa shook her head. “Us dryads are much like plants. Sunlight, water, and plant nutrients through our feet is what we absorb. Just standing in your home, I feel more than full!”

Her smile was beaming and infectious, like that of a child. Berri looked on with an especially warm smile.

Nadessa’s expression then turned serious. “I guess I might as well be out with why I wanted to talk with you in secret. The truth is, we have a World Tree seed that is coming, and it requires the utmost protection and secrecy.”

It was Blood who asked, “How is that possible? I have read about your world, and the World Tree is something that is meant to be only one per world, having a special connection to the Yggdrasil itself. Often, they don’t seed until their branches reach space, for that seed to be whipped through it and travel the multiverse, to find its new home. To have one…”

Nadessa’s face scrunched up in pain. “We… did something that shouldn’t be done. When we knew our World Tree and thus the world was dying, we had to do something. We had hundreds of hamadryads, dryads, and treants all working their magic on it. It took a sacrifice of the Treant King and many of his wives’ life force to create the seedling and control where it would go: into our possession.”

Jake thought he understood. This type of sacrifice was not something the Framework would protect them against. Some part of their mind and spirit was expended to accomplish this, rather than it being attacked by Tartarus. Being that their action was not allowed on some level unlike Fhesiah attempting ascension, they would not be restored.

Nadessa continued, “We have a descendant of the Treant King to go along with it, a hamadryad to pair with the World Tree seed. It is a rare opportunity, to make a powerful pairing such as this. Normally, wherever the seed lands and plants, it is too late to pair a hamadryad with it.”

Jake had to agree that it sounded powerful to match up a creature with something such as that, but there was something not quite right in his mind about this, and using it here on Highlands.

Tanda asked, “But what about the balance? Our world is one in which the large amount of life force is at balance with that of death. While our jungles and oceans are teeming with life, there are deserts, swamps, and parts of the ocean filled with death. For such a massive addition of life force, there must be a counterbalance in death, to balance and continue the cycle of rebirth. To counter something at the level of the World Tree, we would need a similar entity to be its opposite.”

Jake did remember seeing a few swamps as they flew in the distance, but had a hard time imagining that the world was balanced. The life force was simply too much already, and those appeared to be a much smaller percentage of area. Perhaps they were located on the other side of the world, as they had only seen a small percentage of it up to now.

Nadessa frowned in thought, looking a little worried. “Is it no good? We really are out of options here! We really need your help, and this world seemed like it would be perfect. Are you sure it can’t be done?”

Fhesiah said, “I think we have time, but it feels questionable to kick the can down the road. The World Tree won’t grow up in a day, throwing the entire world off balance, right? This could be a problem that we solve in the future. Our family progresses rapidly, we could be the peak of the next Tier in less than a hundred years easily.”

Nadessa nodded. “I doubt that it could be at the level of throwing the entire world off balance for many years. It can depend, though. Our original world’s levels of life and vitality were far lower than here, I’d wager this world is close to the peak of this Tier in that aspect. Then, we should have a hamadryad bonding with it from the beginning. If that’s the case, we could delay or accelerate things.”

Ophelia hummed. “Isn’t there one more problem too? Something like the World Tree must be somewhat similar to the Heart of the World, no? Can both of these things really exist on the same world?”

Jake nodded. “This world is tiny, too. Even if they can work together, can such a small one really have both?”

Tanda said, “The world wasn’t always small, though. It shrunk when it became cursed.”

Everyone looked at Tanda with a frown of disbelief.

Fhesiah voiced everyone’s thoughts. “What?”

Tanda blushed. “I-It’s true! Why don’t you believe me? The mountains growing to make the valleys deeper and the plateaus higher is a part of it growing, the curse being removed! If you guys remove the curse, then it should grow and become bigger once again.”

Nadessa was a bit distressed. “This is very concerning. If we’re unable to find a place for the World Seed, I’m afraid we don’t have many options. I’d hate to have to do it, but we’d have to give it over to Gaia. Our sacrifice would have been for nothing.”

Jake asked, “Why Gaia? Can’t we talk to Brigid–”

Nadessa interrupted, “We cannot bring this to other Gods! This seed has a portion of Gaia’s divinity in it, and to claim ownership of it by another God or Goddess would be seen as an attack on her. She would be allowed to challenge them with a [War Trial] at worst, or a [War Games] at the least.”

Jake understood that [War Games] were sort of like enabling PVP mode on non-contested worlds. A guild or guilds could engage in these games, making it a challenge for the other God or Goddess to accomplish anything, their people often being slaughtered or assassinated to spend time awaiting resurrection. It persisted on Contested Worlds, and Jake thought it was absolutely crazy. Beating Tartarus was challenging enough without infighting.

A [War Trial] was even worse. Ownership of worlds could change hands, and to Jake, it was hard to imagine how the uninitiated wouldn’t end up in the crosshairs. It was seen as a sort of contest, where the loser would pay immensely in damages.

The only reason the Framework allowed such contests was twofold. One, was because the gods had wanted this mechanism when they created it, in order to give up portions of their authority and power to create it in the first place.

The second was because of the loser’s payment and the empowerment from the act of the competition. Frequently, the end result was more powerful warriors, having gained both experience and rewards from the Trial, allowing them to be more successful in facing Tartarus.

One could understand that anyone in Jake’s party was worth much more than several people individually. The idea that after the Trial, more people near Jake’s level would be created was certainly worthwhile.

From what Jake understood, the [War Trial] was also an event that could be triggered by Tartarus. In a similar contest across many worlds and even Tiers, it could bet worlds and other treasures of value, that had to be matched by the Alliance to begin the Trial itself.

They would then battle it out similar to the conquest progress of a single world, but the goals could be different, similar to how [Battlegrounds] varied each time.

Blood said, “But planting it here would be fine, why? We still serve as representatives of our Gods and Goddess.”

Nadessa smirked. “But it’s not your world yet. You can’t be blamed for what’s there when you save it, can you? She gave up ownership of our world when she abandoned it, and that included everything on it. While one could say that this seed will include a small amount of her divinity in it, it’s just that: a small amount. It can be overridden over time, perhaps by this Heart of the World as you put it. The Heart may gain something from it as a result, in truth. It depends.”

Tanda looked over to Jake, and he could tell she had some thoughts or interest in this. He sent his sentiment that he would hear about it later.

Ophelia said, “But she could still be petty about it? Surely she’ll know once the world changes hands, the jig’ll be up?”

Nadessa shrugged. “We have time. While the seed is growing, I doubt its divinity will be much above that of a paladin or priestess, do you really think they pay attention to every single one? It’s only once it becomes large enough to cradle an entire civilization that one might compare it to something like a Champion or more, and she might notice. That could be more than a hundred years from now, and by then, she won’t be able to do anything about it. I already know her focus has moved to other Sectors, otherwise she might have sent some of us there to help. My people are not weak! We won the war and the Raid, it should have been a major accomplishment to be rewarded!”

Jake nodded as he understood. Winning the Raid should have meant hundreds of people had completed a Trial, enhancing their capability forever. Of course, many of them wouldn’t get their full benefit until they Tiered up at an Alliance Node. They could postpone this for a time, maximizing all their skills, pooling up a portion of their experience as they prepared themselves. Within the Guild menu, Jake did see that Nadessa was level 24.

Fhesiah said, “What’s in it for us now? You are putting us on the spot to accept this time bomb of a seed. It looks like a major problem that is only going to make our war harder, what with having to protect it.”

Tanda nodded. “This nascent divinity will surely make our battle more challenging, it was already mentioned by Cernunnos that this is the case.”

Jake could sense from the feelings Tanda was sending, that this was what she wanted to tell him about, but didn’t include all the details to Nadessa here.

Nadessa frowned, but looked at everyone pleadingly. “As to what’s in it for you, is the World Tree will protect and enhance the life of the world drastically! It pulls in life energy from the cosmos itself through its connection to the Yggdrasil, increasing the total energy of the world. This world is already nearing Tier 2, I can feel it! With the world tree, it should surpass that.”

She got a little more excited. “Then, as to what it does for you now, my people will fight twice as more fervently knowing that they have a chance for having the World Tree once more. It’s like we have a second chance to save our world, this place becoming our home in truth! It may even attract more life-aspected adventurers to join this world alone. Thanks to how high the density is already, we can bring them here under that guise alone. When the World Tree appears, they will be that much more likely to make it their home, just like us!”

Berri said, “That means the little wild children will be happier here? I like that!”

Jake somewhat understood what Nadessa was getting at. The World Tree itself was venerated on a certain level, similar to how auril was, or the Heart of the World was. Their people had faith and worshiped it, like that of a god or goddess. This faith and conviction provided a power of its own. He wasn’t sure how it worked, but that veneration could pass on to the God or Goddess in some way.

Jake and the girls mostly reached consensus on the matter in just a few moments over their bond. “How long do we have before the seed would arrive?”

Nadessa replied, “It should really be brought over next week, but we can postpone up to two.”

Jake said, “If that’s the case, we really need to get that other HQ setup in Harmony Peaks. Our plan was to assault Nature’s Crossroads soon. We were going to visit the Heart of the World soon too. This doesn’t really change our actions much, but now it makes it even more vital that we get this done and quickly. After we recapture this HQ, we’ll be on our fast flight to get there as rapidly as possible.”

Ophelia groaned. “At least we’ll be even faster this time. No doubt, just a little more preparation and we’d have been much faster. We were nearly a quarter of the way there when you realized to strap yourself to me like that anyway, to fly like a rocket.”

Nadessa looked over at them in confusion. “W-What?” She looked at Ophelia’s wings. “You flew strapped to one another, like a rocket?”

Jake chuckled. “We had to travel like a thousand miles in as short a time as possible. Carrying me in her arms was slower. I don’t have reverse summon yet.”

Nadessa frowned. “You’re a summoner? I suppose I can feel your Presence is quite high. I have only met a small number in my lifetime, and I have never met a human one. My people often don’t have affinity with the void, having high affinity with nature instead.”

She paused in thought for a moment, then continued, “I suppose our business for now is at a close. Will you help us with the World Tree seed?”

Jake nodded. “We’ll have to figure something out. Once we complete the HQ recapture, we’ll do our best to give you the tentative timeframe. We’ll need to get the new HQ ready, and there were already plans to visit the Heart of the World, where we might learn something. We may be able to do it next week, but things will be tight. The assault will need to be two days from now.”

Nadessa nodded. “Thank you so much, Clan Hart. Help my people, and you will have the most loyal of followers. I know we can already be happy here, but with a World Tree my people will truly feel at home and fight to their last, like we’ve already done.”

They walked her to the door and said their goodbyes.

Jake asked, “What was that detail about the divinity in the World Tree seed, Tanda?”

Tanda replied, “Cernunnos had said that the nascent divinity in the Heart of the World, along with the beast avatars, was what allowed Tartarus to send the Dreadbeast Champion in the first place. If there is something in this seed, then it could have similar repercussions.”

Fhesiah shrugged, “Still, it’s hard to imagine it to be all that significant as it's growing. When comparing it to five champions as we will be, it’s probably small potatoes.”

Tanda perked up, as she looked over her new clan. “So what now? That arrival really screwed our schedule up.”

Fhesiah snorted. “Tell me about it. I had the most wonderful of plans–”

Jake sighed as he looked at the clock. “It’s time to clear Rifts again. I’ll let Valtor know we’ve decided on the day after tomorrow for the HQ assault.”

He started his messaging to Valtor in his menu, but Fhesiah said, “How about us girls give you a bit of a break, husband? We’ll fly you near our destination Rifts, and you can go on your hunting date with Tanda for a while. Then, we’ll meet up. We three should be able to handle most without your help.”

Jake frowned. Of course, with Fhesiah he had no fear of an ambush near enemy territory, but on his and Tanda’s side, Ira was still–

There was a cracking sound from their fireplace, causing everyone to look. Fhesiah smiled.

“Looks like your concern won’t be a problem, our little friend has returned.”

The void crystal broke open, and a dark snout for a creature too large to fit in the tiny crystal appeared. Its nostrils flared, as the crack spread even further. The top of the crystal shattered, allowing a draconic face with horns to come out. It turned in on itself, and it bit into the crystal, shattering the rest of it.

As the crystal shattered, it was like the creature’s body just appeared or phased into existence. Ira roared in triumph, Jake feeling its excitement and pride.

Jake saw that Ira was now a [Juvenile Voidwyrm] over the familiar information sheet. Its body was now extremely black, making it hard to tell if the creature was substantial. However, it was just a trick of the eye, as the creature’s body was so black it was hard to gauge the distance. Ira did not need to enter the material, or three-dimensional plane that Jake’s and everyone else’s bodies resided.

The creature was now about the size of a small boa with the head of a dragon, complete with horns. Small flames like smoke came off the creature’s body, like that of Jake’s hearth. Flecks of white, black, and red were wafting off the creature, likely as a result of the many energies from Jake’s hearth and the refuge’s hearth it consumed. Jake thought the creature almost looked like a Chinese dragon.

“Welcome back, Ira. Congratulations on your growth.”

Berri said, “Yay, Ira! A snake and a dragon, that’s a great combination! Gimme a hug!”

Ira and Berri wrapped themselves around each other in a hug, Ira wrapping around her chest and Berri hugging the creature with her arms.

Tanda’s tail was wagging, as she joined each of the girls, taking turns giving the creature a hug.

Ophelia said, “We missed you, Ira. Glad to have you back.”

Jake asked, “Feeling stronger now, Ira? Do you need some more rest, or?”

Ira smirked, sending Jake a feeling of confidence and pride. While the creature still couldn’t send words, Jake understood the creature’s desires much clearer now. He kept his magic calm, and didn’t resist the creature’s action against him.

Jake was swallowed with darkness, before being transitioned into the air right above Berri. He fell through the air, Ira, and the other girls moving out of the way. Berri caught him with her chest and arms like catching a stuffed animal, giggling.

“Yay! That was cool, Ira. You can deliver Jake to me anytime!”

Tanda was all smiles. “Yeah! That looks fun. Can you teleport me?”

Jake got Ira’s feelings, and shook his head. “It looks like no. It’s because of my affinity with the void, and our connection as my familiar. In a pinch, Ira may be able to shift you a little, but Berri is way too big. Ira is better off moving whatever might be attacking you instead, or, doing this.”

He took out one of Berri’s ammunition from his storage bracelet, and threw it at the wall. Ira surrounded it in darkness, and the momentum was removed, causing the object to fall from gravity straight to the ground instead.

Then, a thin tear in space cut through the bowling ball-sized object, slicing it in half.

Ira then shifted between physical reality and the void, becoming visible or invisible, ruffling each of the girl’s hair or feathers as it rapidly moved around the refuge, snaking around and nudging the girls. It moved rapidly, and if it wrapped its body around something, showed off a powerful constriction.

Ira teleported back in front of them. It raised its chin, proud and filled with triumph.

Tanda and Ophelia clapped. Tanda said, “Wow, Ira, you’re so cool! I could hardly follow how fast you moved, and I can’t even feel where you are!”

Blood nodded. “Even with my senses, I have a hard time following you, Ira. I guess only Fhesiah can follow it?”

Fhesiah said, “I can have some trouble with it, too. I had never encountered such a creature, so this is a good experience for me in detecting such a thing.”

Jake nodded. He had already learned from Davonius that he needed to improve his magical senses, and did get some time the other day with him. He had helped Dave by trying to improve the lab in Kenwodi, enchanting various cauldrons and tools.

Jake said, “The tear in space and teleport moves, it cannot do those frequently in combat. This should be very useful. In that final battle in the HQ, Ira could have just got me out of there, rather than Ophelia having to block the knight with her body.”

Tanda was all smiles, her wings pulsing and her tail wagging as she looked at Jake. “That means we can do our hunting date then, right? Ira will watch over us?”

Ira grinned with a nod, and then entered Jake’s chest once more, wrapping itself around his hearth in a coil. He smiled at the creature’s presence, having missed it this past week.

“Welcome back, my friend. Thanks for always watching over us.”

Ira sent a contented smile, and Jake got the impression it was like a cat taking a nap in front of a fireplace. Despite resting, the creature’s mind simply worked differently. It would be resting and getting used to its new body, but it would be vigilant.

Jake looked over at Tanda with a smile. He was looking forward to their first date.