Chapter 4 - The Last Druid

Miles away from Ryan, in a cave.

"Why did he surge? He is supposed to need a month or two more before he discovered Mana. Now it's a race against time" murmured Alaina shook from the clarion bell in the air.

She knew Ryan was in big trouble. She had to reach him within an hour if she wanted to save him. She ran towards the Badlands. It was the place where the last battle between good and evil occurred. The world settled into a fragile truce after the battle. It almost seemed like fate that Ryan was there.

One good thing about the place was all the evil cults were thousands of miles away from it. It would be sometime before they would reach there. It almost felt like the world was trying to find hope in the place where they lost it all.

She was running out of time. She ran faster trying to hold on a little longer, she had been travelling for about three years now in search of Ryan. The nearest village was 300 miles away from where she was. When she was at her peak of power, she could have made the journey in minutes and now it almost took her three years. She was the last of the proud druids and she was their queen. Almost all the druids were now lost in the war, she was only one surviving.

That was not right, there were others, but they had surrendered to the dark lord's legions in fear or for the want of power. She could create more druids but she could not use up all her magic. She needed to help Ryan and it was going to take all her magic.

It was three years ago when Lady Hope the Goddess of hope spoke with her to be the guardian of Ryan. She knew what Lady Hope expected of her. She was going to fulfil her destiny no matter what the price. She had to reach him before it was too late.

Almost an hour later, she could hear him on the wind. It spoke to something primal in her, the druid in her was rejoicing at an opportunity to meet a Divine Tree. She had so much to tell him, he would need to do so much to restore her world. She would be with him throughout the way. A druid could only bond with a tree once in their lifetime. She will live and die with him, that was her fate. Almost all her subordinates died when the cultists broke their bonds forever. This was her last chance.

She saw a small sapling with two leaves golden green, looking at it made the energies in her thrum. She was only going to get one shot at this.

"I am Alaina. Ryan, I need you to listen to me. I will supply you with the energy to push the barrier. When you receive the energy accept it. This will bond me to you and if you choose to accept my companionship, we will both live through this" urged Alaina.

"Okay, I am going to send in my mana. It is the same thing you absorbed to start the awakening. We don't have much time. You must trust me on this." Said Alaina. She touched the sapling and urged her energies into him as if pouring water into a glass.

"Ryan, imagine two more leaves sprouting out of you and hold that thought. Do it now. Ryan! Ryan!" she was starting to shout.

"What's happening, why do I have a headache without even a head? Who is that? Why are you shouting? Yes, I remember now. The energy, the tornado" Ryan slowly gained his senses back.

"Push out your leaves Ryan. We don't have much time" Alaina said.

Ryan felt energy pouring into him, he diverted it all into two new leaves. He felt an obstruction, the same one that was there before. It felt much weaker now with all the energy that Alaina was providing. But her energy felt so different from his. She had asked him to accept it.

It felt like the energy wanted to submit to him as if it was swearing loyalty to him. It was like an over ambitious puppy trying to gain your attention. He knew once he accepted it, the energy will be loyal to him for eternity waiting to do whatever he wanted it to do. He accepted its allegiance and it answered him with such force that he almost felt bowled over. He commanded it to break the obstruction.

The obstruction fell away like silk. Two new leaves sprouted out of him, golden green in color. In fact, almost all him was golden green in color. The energy did not stop there, it continued to create two more leaves. He looked like Oak sapling with six leaves, if there was an Oak sapling with golden green leaves.

"Ryan, the divine tree, the one true seed of power. I give my allegiance to you of free will. Will you accept me as your guardian?" Alaine suddenly spoke out in his mind as if she was connected to his very soul.

"Alaine, I accept your fealty" as if invoking an ancient tradition, he spoke out. Knowledge filled his mind. He was a special class of being in this world. He belonged to the race of divine tree. Each tree with a specific purpose. And each tree would have an army guarding it and the general of such an army was the guardian. When a divine tree dies, all its subordinates die. They would gladly perish in his service. He was their King.

Now all that he had to do was to find out what Alaina wanted for her service and what was he supposed to do? He was still unclear about what happened to him. One thing that was certain was he was starting to feel emotions again.

It felt like Alaina completed him somehow and a part of soul that he felt missing was now healed. He felt as if all the emotions that he was starting to lose as a tree were being restored. He was afraid that being a divine tree was messing with his mind. so much so that he did not even realize the changes until his emotions came back to him.

Alaina was standing up again. It was time to talk to her and figure out what was going on. He had a growing list of questions that needed immediate answers.