Tree of Aeons

356-2

The ancient tunnels were the heretic’s lifeline. 

Old records about the layout and arrangement of these tunnels were military secrets that the ancient Erasians kept largely confidential and hidden within various groups of elite Erasian forces. Even if they got access to these records, over the centuries, some of the walls, ceilings and even the floor collapsed, and so a lot of the tunnels relied on their personal knowledge and experience.

Despite the Descendant's tremendous abilities, they were not able to gather everything they needed to know about the world. And after a few convenient accidents, some of these records were destroyed, and that was how the heretics had managed to evade capture while moving about. 

Despite this, the heretics had always felt tense exploring these tunnels. These tunnels were still home to things in these ancient tunnels that could easily kill the weaker fighters. There were still powerful monsters even in these ancient tunnels, spawned as a result of the gathering of ambient energies, though supposedly rare.

Today, the tunnels felt peaceful. 

The usual background chitter was absent. The human woman's presence was so profound that any monster knew they were in the presence of divinity and knowingly kept their distance. 

It was a welcome reprieve, as of the other heretics that fought with Seva and Gorkun, only three survived. They were injured to some degree, and thankfully Gorkun had sufficient healing potions and salves to suppress them. 

Once they managed their wounds, they hoped to reunite with the earlier group. The others must have gone further ahead, and Seva hoped that they too were safe. 

Seva had been prepared to never see them ever again. His fellow heretics, his fellow believers of the truth.

"Lady Edna, we have questions-" One of the survivors, Ruka, one of Seva's underlings when they had first glimpsed the Erasian Relic, asked. 

"No. For the moment, I will be the one asking questions, and you will answer."

Gorkun blinked, and complied. "Seva, Ruka, for now I suggest you do as she says."

"Why?"

"Because unlike the Descendants, she is the only one that can protect us. And I mean, protect us." Gorkun said.

"How strong do you think she is?" Seva tapped his question into a tool that linked Gorkun to Seva. It was one of their secret communication tools. 

"Very. You've seen how she slain Shu-Na."

Seva blinked at the sheer absurdity of this tall humanoid woman having more power than one of the High Lords of the Descendants.

The woman followed them from the back, while the rest of them ventured deeper into the tunnels. She waited while they healed. "Now that you're mostly patched up, first question, how are all of you immune to the effects of the mind-altering artifacts?"

Gorkun decided to lead the response and answered. "I am a [Sentinel of Eras], my mind and soul cannot be programmed by anyone else."

The woman expected that answer, because she turned to the rest of them. "Fair enough. But them?"

Seva answered. "I glimpsed a relic of Eras and obtained [The Memory of Eras]. Everyone saw the same relic, and so we are protected from the effects of any mind alteration." ṝΑ𝐍ộᛒЕṤ

"I see. Do you still have this relic?"

Seva immediately tensed in response. That relic was the only way they could have done something to reverse this world's lies. He paused, unable to answer immediately, and the woman noticed. 

"Never mind. I get it is sensitive. Next question, what do the Descendants want?" She asked Gorkun.

"I am uncertain, I was dormant until they reawakened me. But even before my reawakening, the Descendants have engaged in large-scale mind-alteration of the Erasian populace and made them believe in the Reviver-Erasian pact. A false pact. But they have constantly stated that they intend to revive the Reviver."

“Who is the Reviver? Or what is it?” Edna clarified.

“Beyond what is commonly stated, we do not know.” Gorkun answered. “Though it is often repeated, and the masses believe in an entity called the Reviver, we have neither seen a glimpse of it, nor know of its true form.”

"My next question is to you, Gorkun. What do these Descendants have to do with the Wadrans?" The woman continued the interrogation.

The golem stopped and thought about it. "The Wadrans were our friends. Most of them. But some of them were tainted during their nomadic travels, their hearts carried the seed of the Descendants within them. The Descendants today are descended from that group of Wadran traitors."

"Then, is Wadra dead?"

"I believe so."

"Is the Reviver trying to revive Wadra? Or is the Reviver Wadra, by some other name?"

"No." Gorkun answered, and then hesitated as the golem contemplated the possibility. "I don't think so. The historical text on the death of Wadra is still retained in some of the Wadran-focused libraries. His death happened somewhere during the chaos of the betrayal, when many of the Wadran loyalists were slain."

Edna blinked. "These records, why are they not stored in the Grand Library?"

"No. The Librarians duplicated many of the historical archives and spread them throughout the Library of Eras, some of them in secret literary bunkers, in order to ensure that they survived any cataclysm." Seva answered. "Us Erasians keep multiple copies of things." 

"Do you know where they are?"

"I do not, but maybe, the Librarian Golems would know." Gorkun answered. "If any of the old Librarin Golems survived."

The woman paused, before she asked for more information. “So, about these whole heretics thing, how did it start, and how long have you been running?"

Gorkun answered on Seva’s behalf. "In the earliest days, we tried peaceful methods to engage with these Descendants, but that only invited heavy retaliation from the DoDA and the Descendants. That first meeting a few years ago killed many of us, and since then we’ve been living in these tunnels and hiding away."

Edna paused. "What do you know of the demons?"

"Demons?" Seva asked. The woman then described the living monstrous beasts, and the demon kings that ruled them. They both looked at the woman, and Seva’s blank stare only seemed to confuse her.

Gorkun was also puzzled. "These creatures are often described in legends as the enemies of the Wadrans, and they have been around for years. It is these demons that chased the Wadrans away from their old nomadic worlds. But we have not seen any of these creatures in our world."

"I don't get it. How are these worlds safe from the demons?" She said, but it almost seemed like the question was for herself.

"I do not know." Gorkun answered, and the woman looked even more puzzled. "What are these demons?"

"You were never attacked by them." The woman stated as if thoughts formed in her mind. "Ah. I see now."

Seva and Gorkun looked at each other. 

"Am I right to say that you've not visited any other worlds? Do you visit any of the other worlds?"

"There are only five worlds we are connected to." Seva answered. "The Library, The Forge, The Crucible, The Bestiary, and The Store. The other four worlds are linked by our ancient rift gates, but access to them is heavily restricted by the Descendants. Only those permitted and approved would ever get a chance to see the other worlds."

The woman frowned. "The level of magic research we've seen is impressive, which is why I assumed that your people know a lot more. Instead, it seems to me that these Descendants have largely kept all of you unaware of what goes beyond your worlds."

Edna stopped and reached for her weapon.

"Tell me. Right now, the surface is filled with soldiers, and I even sense a few powerful beings, those similar to one I slain just now. How many descendants of Shu-Na’s strength are you aware of?"

Seva paused. "There's at least ten of them. But not all Descendants are of the same level of power. If we include the descendants outside that are weaker than Shu-na, there may be a few hundred thousand?"

"So ten domain-tier and hundreds of thousands of lesser Descendants? That name you mentioned earlier, Wa-Libra. He is the leader?"

"Yes." 

"Of all the Descendants, or he is only one of a few leaders?"

Gorkun and Seva shook their heads. "We don't know. But Wa-Libra is also the High Lord of the Reviver's Temple for the Library. There may be other high-lords for each of the Erasian Core Worlds."

The tunnels shook only slightly, and then, she stopped again. "Your friends are just ahead. They are preparing to fight. You should tell them to stop."

The dwarves’ attention turned, and Seva immediately shouted towards the tunnels ahead. "It's alright. It's us. We- we somehow survived."

One of them emerged and raised his weapon. The dwarf pointed his battleaxe at Edna, and Edna merely looked unamused. "Who's that woman, Gorkun?"

Gorkun nodded. "Stand down, Hunian. This woman is Edna, she is our rescuer."

"Rescuer?" 

Seva sighed. "Hunian, it's going to be hard to believe, but we were saved by a miracle."

"How do you prove that you are not under the influence of their mind-alteration?" Hunian still pointed his axe at them. There were a few others still in hiding, but they were all exceptionally tense. 

"I can't, you know that." Seva answered. "Only Gorkun can claim otherwise, and even then, we don't know for sure."

The woman ignored the conversation and sat down on an old flat rock. "They are gone."

Gorkun and Seva looked at each other. "Who?"

"The heretic hunters. They are on the surface, but they've moved on. I believe the descendants never had one of their own die. You and the rest of your team should relax, we're not fighting today."

Seva struggled to reconcile the two different conversations. He was trying to tell Hunian to stand down, and yet this woman just ignored them and spoke of hunters above them.

Hunian looked even more suspicious. "What?"

Gorkun just raised his metal arms. "She's right, Hunian. We'll explain everything, and if you don’t trust us, you can tie us up." 

"If you're with us, you'll surrender too." Hunian looked at Edna and insisted.

Edna merely gently shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't do that. I don't think you can restrain me, either. Restraints cannot bind us." 

Gorkun and Seva sighed. "Please drop it, Hunian. Let's not offend our rescuer?"

Hunian asked the rest of the hiding dwarves. Nervously, he posed the question back to the rest of his team who were still hiding behind one of the tunnel walls. "What do you think?"

There was some chatter between the survivors, and in the end they relented. They'd been through a rough day, and they were praying for a win. 

***

Edna allowed Seva and Gorkun to manage the rest of the heretics as they ventured through a labyrinth of tunnels. The path eventually led them to an old housing complex on a different section of the Library. It was closer to the surface, a deliberate choice, so that some of them could sneak out with a disguise and get some supplies. 

They were two districts away from the Southern Chambers, in an area known as Ridgestone.

Edna activated her own disguise and snuck out to the surface. 

Unlike everyone else, no one knew what she looked like. Unlike everyone else as well, her disguises were of a far, far higher quality.

The heretics moved to a section of the city that was clearly teeming with security personnel. Dwarven warriors, dressed in heavy armor and armed with weapons wandered the streets. 

A pair of security personnel approached her to stop her. "Milady, you should not be on the streets. Please return to your home and subject yourself to search."

Edna nodded and did her best act. "Okay- can I just get groceries?"

"Yes. You may. As emergency security measures are active, only essential activities can be conducted at this time. Please do not hang about more than your necessary medical and food related activities. All work activities are suspended."

"What happened?" Edna asked, and did her best to feign as if she was a clueless old dwarven lady.

The dwarven man looked young. "Heretics have been spotted in the Southern Chambers. You are permitted to visit the Town Square for more information, but understand that you will be searched."

"Okay, I'll go there, then." Edna nodded. Everything she had was hidden in magical space, so she wasn't afraid. "Thank you."

The two security personnel nodded. "Stay safe, milady. If you spot any heretics please shout for help."

The Town Square of Ridgestone was fairly crowded, and there were at least fifty security personnel. People, however, seemed to be happy to be there. 

The security personnel were fairly thorough, and they even had female security personnel to search through Edna's body. "You're good."

She wondered why they didn't use more [skill] based search methods, but it was likely that her disguise would be able to deceive them as well. One of the great inventions by spymasters and the craftsmens were disguises capable of misleading powerful [inspect] skills, though they still crumbled when a domain holder's energies were focused. 

At the center of the town square was a functional magical screen that was connected to the news network. It resembled a stage, with a large theatrical backdrop.

Edna knew back on Treehome, the human heroes would just call them projectors or television. Within the magical research and development community, they often theorized that even though the technological foundations, techniques and basis were different, the needs of the people were similar. People, both magical or non-magical, retained a need to communicate, to entertain, and to learn. 

Therefore, development eventually leads to similar inventions and goods.

"Today, the heretics' despicable methods reached new heights! They've attacked the Library's Security Force and also even dared to raise their weapons against the Descendants! Today, there will be no mercy for the heretics. The heretics will be hunted to the last man. If anyone spots any suspicious activity, please report them to the Library Security Force immediately!"

"They didn't mention Shu-Na's death." Edna thought to herself. "They must not know what to do with that fact. It also shatters their aura of invincibility. It is best that any failure is suppressed." 

After the transmission, which would loop itself every hour or so, there were security personnel reassuring the crowd that they would keep things safe, and that they needed everyone's cooperation to capture the heretics. 

Edna was genuinely pleased at how well the Erasian Security Force managed things, and she would've liked it if they were on her side. 

The local dwarves were also surprisingly friendly, and they gossiped about how the Descendants would eventually exact their anger on the heretics. "Every day these heretics test the Descendant's patience. Surely the Reviver will punish them once he returns."

Then, there was a prayer session after the security briefing. An Erasian Priest, an old dwarven man stepped up on the platform to lead a prayer to the Reviver and Eras. 

She parroted the actions of those around her and luckily none of them noticed her awkwardness. 

"When the Reviver returns, our fury will turn towards the foul corrupted spawn beyond the black wall!"

The Reviver faith preached that the void barrier was actually a shield that protected the Erasians from the corrupted people, and that once the Reviver returned, they would fight a war to destroy the others. 

***

"What took you so long?" Seva asked nervously. They hid in a hidden basement of an apartment building that was still populated. The ancient tunnels led to an old basement, which then led to another basement where an apartment building had been built on top of it. 

"Visited the town square, got some groceries. Here, eat up." Edna spread the food out. The heretics were not short of cash, it seemed that from many battles, they've stolen quite a bit of money from the various security personnel. 

"Did they follow you?"

"No." Edna said, and sat down. She then explained what she saw in the Town Square to the rest of them. 

For the next few days, they kept themselves hidden while Edna walked out to get supplies. There was a sense of tension in the air, and she could sense that the security personnel's leaders were increasingly stressed. 

So, she stalked some of them.

***

"Lord Wa-Libra's representative was unusually agitated this morning and demanded that the descendants check the area themselves. So we might be seeing some of the descendants in our area." The security leader sighed as he vented to his deputy. They were gathered for their morning breakfast and drinks. They had some kind of warm, mild mead that gave them that early morning kick.

"Really? For the Descendants to act?" The deputy looked surprised. "What happened?"

"I heard that the Heretic Hunters were missing."

"Eh, I thought they were deployed a few days ago. What happened in the Southern Chambers? So that news about the heretics turning their blades against us is about a fight against the Heretic Hunters?"

"No one knows. I hear everyone's dead." The security leader said. "Sounds strange, don't you think?" 

"Crazy." The deputy drank the warm morning mead. "Crazy times indeed."

"Yeah. Stay sharp. Never know if any of them are just nearby." 

"Got it, got it." 

***

"Stella, Stella, everything alright?" Edna asked, as she moved from building to building, and eventually stopped on the roof of one of those tall apartments. 

"We're coming back." A rift gate swirled open right in front of Edna, and both of them stepped out.

"Well, what did you find?"

"We know what they are using the large armies of strong demons for. At least, some of them." Stella said. "They send half of them to the Bestiary, where the Descendants battle and consume them."

Edna blinked. "They are trying to make the Descendants stronger? These true demons were just cattle?"

"Yes. Each world is home to about ten or fifteen domain holders, we felt a few of them are about our strength."

"Our as in us, or Aeon?" Edna clarified. She felt that was an important distinction.

"No. None of them felt as strong as Aeon. At least... not in this world." Lumoof then looked at the black sun, surrounded by the six barrier worlds. The three of them could feel that there was something there that was still beyond them. 

"What is their relationship with the demons? Did you find any clues?" Edna asked.

"Unfortunately no. Our best clues will be to access the historical record and see what is said about the Reviver and somehow spy on the Descendants themselves." Lumoof said. "However, they are domain holders. Their senses and abilities should be far more sensitive, so it's not that easy."

"Not impossible." Edna said. "If we can plant Aeon somewhere, Aeon's trees could sneak in and eavesdrop. I know I don’t notice Aeon’s smaller trees unless I am specifically looking. It could work." 

"It might work on the weaker ones.” Lumoof said. “But you are right, it is a risk worth taking.  better to have some information than none."