27 Fanaticism of the Forest

A couple of days have passed since Elizabeth's and Taurion's adventure through the Sea of Trees and the time of the investigation from the Kingdom of Virpal has come. Elizabeth left in the morning to meet up with the investigation team to assist them, but Astur has other ideas.

Astur is naturally aware of many of the conversations Elizabeth and Taurion had with the monsters. Since Elizabeth's survey of the forest, Astur has been thinking about taking up a leadership position over the monsters of the forest. Partially to prove Elizabeth's thoughts on her wrong and partially because she thinks it would provide a lot of benefits.

The thing that appeals to Astur the most is having the entire forest at her beck and call. There is also the chance that she might be able to use her position as a leader to attract players to her faction. She still needs to test out she can give out quests, but Astur doesn't think there's anything bad about keeping players around, other than her peace and quiet.

But such a position does have its responsibilities… but after thinking about it for a couple of days, Astur came to the conclusion to take a page from her Grandfathers book. Akkre consistently ignores all his responsibilities to do whatever he does. Both Akkre's responsibilities as a God and when he was once the Emperor of Spirit World, if someone isn't actively watching over him then he probably isn't doing his work. This is something people close to him, like Astur, know very well.

With a plan in mind, Astur decides to set off from the island for the first time in months. But as she reaches the sandy beach of the island, Astur remembers that Elizabeth took the dinghy to the mainland an hour ago.

Looking around, Astur sees the big bear swimming in the reservoir, "hey, bear! Come here!"

Swimming up to Astur, the big bear asks, "Goddess, is there something you need my assistance with?"

"Yeah, I need to cross to the other side, but I don't want to swim and get wet. Let me ride on your back."

"Of course, it would be my honour to lend my assistance," the bear says with a deep and regal voice.

With her hands held behind her, Astur steps onto the bear's back as the ferries her across the reservoir.

"What brings our Forest Goddess out from the holy land?" the bear asks.

Taking a second to think over her answer, Astur decides to bullshit her way through, "my friend went around the forest just recently so I could get a grasp of how the forest denizens are. Simply put, the forest is in a chaotic state. I've enlightened the denizens of the Sea of Trees and brought the forest to life, yet they fight each other instead of working together. As the source of their newfound knowledge and strength, it is my responsibility to lead and guide the forest to its brightest future. I will go around and bring the many tribes under my control. I would ask that you aid me in the endeavour."

Of course, Astur has no sense of responsibility, she is lying as naturally as she breathes. But the bear doesn't know this. In her attempt to make herself sound like a responsible leader, she successfully tricks the bear into thinking she has the best of the forest in mind with her actions.

"A wonderful idea, your holiness. The five of us Forest Guardians agree that you should be the one to lead the forest, while we haven't yet spoken out the idea to the tribes for varying reasons, the other four should support you in this matter. I shall spread the news of your intentions to them and any tribes I come across," the bear says as Astur steps off his back, having reached the mainland.

"Then I'll be counting on you. And don't call me your holiness, it feels weird, feel free to address me by name, Astur. If I recall you don't have a name for yourself, how about I give you one. What about Bearington, Sir Bearington."

"I am deeply honoured to be given such a fine name, Lady Astur."

"Alright then, I'll be going now. Make sure to spread my intentions," Astur says as she walks towards the dense forest.

"Understood," the bear says as it swims off in the opposite direction.

Sir Bearington goes off to go looking for the other solitary monsters, or as he calls them, the Forest Guardians to brag about his new name and enforce Astur's intent. Meanwhile, Astur need only take a few steps into the forest depths before the monster come out in droves to greet her. Forget searching, Astur can comfortably sit in one spot and the many monsters of the forest will go out of their way to catch a mere glimpse of her visage.

As many chieftains gather around Astur she says, "put an end to the infighting of the forest. Serve under me and I'll lead you to prosperity."

Astur wasn't entirely sure how to explain the matter, so she gave the simplest explanation since she didn't think too hard about it. But she doesn't know if they'll readily agree as they hold any grudges on each other after fighting, but to her surprise, almost all of the chieftains around her agreed without hesitation. She isn't sure if it's because they are a bit lacking in the head or if they had blind trust in Astur, but regardless of whatever the case may be, she doesn't care and is glad that things went smoothly.

Although it's hard to see changes in their expression, Astur can feel a sense of reverence and respect in their gaze as the monsters look at her.

"Yeah, probably blind trust," Astur thinks.

But there are still some who are discontent with putting an end to their fighting.

"But Goddess, what about the blood shed by our comrades?" asks a snake chieftain, chief of the Oulu tribe.

"You dare to question our great Goddess, you slithering fool!" yells a beaver chieftain.

This sparks an argument between the two sides for a few minutes. But after a few words from Astur, bullshitting that she doesn't want to see the people of the forest fight each other and that they should instead rise up together so they can stand against the seven other nations on Planet Vopal.

"Since you can't decide a leader amongst yourselves, as the one responsible for bringing strength and wisdom to the Sea of Trees, it's my duty to lead the forest," Astur says.

The various chiefs that have gathered around Astur remain silent for a moment, causing her to think they say through her bullshit. But then they all yell out in excitement as they agree to submit to their Goddess, with those who were slightly discontent choosing to put aside old grudges. While Astur is slightly worried about their fanaticism, she puts this into the back of her head as she basks in the praise of the chieftains.

As Astur is listening to the praises of her fanatic believers, she recognises the potential dangers of letting the investigation team from the Kingdom of Virpal in right now, so she comes up with a plan.

"Gather up the remaining tribes from the periphery of the forest and whoever couldn't make it here, then bring them to the reservoir. Once all the residents of the forest have been gathered I'll be giving a speech on what the agenda is moving forward. Now go forth my followers, for the forest!"