Tales of the red willow

Tears of the earth, birth of the elders.

The core is everything.
It is older than the beginning, and it will last long after the end.

As soon as the core became aware of itself, there was time. The first time the core first expressed itself, there was the beginning of all Creation.
In the beginning, was the forest. Each plant, each tree, was a living extension of the core, its will, and a vessel to its whole awareness. In its safety dwelt the animad, the offspring of the core. For reasons unknown to them, they were numerous, wild and came in different, incompatible kinds ; Thus, before a single spruce would grow old, many would have been killed or died without having experienced the full length of their lives. And so the forest gave them a common speech, to avoid the rise of disharmony amongst itself.

For disharmony was the enemy of the core, and the only thing capable of destroying it. In those early days, the animad, although spawn of the core, was frail ; Among each species, no matter how resilient, none was found outliving a shortleaf pine. Despite the difficulty to transmit customs and history, all among animad were aware of their origins, and in permanent communion with the core.
And so harmony was preserved in the forest. At that time there were eight suns, not seven, revolving around the luscious forests of the core. Those stars were lesser consciousnesses, or spirits, born from the radiance of the core, in order to keep its opposite, disharmony, at bay. They poured it themselves in the constant battle, swirling away from the core as they fought, their burning will shinning as they meddled with their enemy.

One of those sun was Moh'a.
He was the inspired one, the further away from the core, beaming with a wrathful faith against disharmony, the father of chaos, which is the most primal form of harmony. Perhaps was he already lost, none knows for sure. But with time, Moh'a became .. infected, corrupted by disharmony, and finally one dreadful day, an unbearable shriek was heard everywhere throughout the forest. When it happened, the animad didn't know the whole story about their suns ; They were taken aback from that horrid complain resonating through their ears, and many among the oldest started to pray the forest, and the core, in hope that this terrifying caterwaul wasn't a bad omen.

And the beast arrived.

The beast was ancient. And the beast was dark. Born from the ashes of a murdered sun, the essence of chaos, destroyer of the gods, master of disharmony, whose skin was as dark as the emptiness of space ; for he was the dokkendad, bound by madness and anger, end of nature, bringer of disaster.
The Beast was ancient. And the Beast had a name. And ITS name was ELTHMETHS, the Primal, whose rage was a firing flash of desolation, breezing upon the forest, ravaging the trees and killing countless of innocent beings. A large portion of the forest, destroyed by his senseless fury, was now dry, empty and disfigured, to the point where the very topography of the ground was modified. A sinister shrine, memory of the defilement of the core, was now standing among an ocean of dried, whitened soil, and ravaged by violent winds.

In those troubled times, seeking council and advises, a few animad went on to the most ancient part of the forest, a pond circled by an old congregation of cypresses who were almost as old as the forest itself.
Near the pond stood one single tree. It was a red willow, whose kind was evanescent, yet this one was not ; For He was the First one, and He who would be the last of all the trees of the forest. Very lonely was his fate, almost as lonely as his life, or so it would have appeared to the distant observer. For He was the elder, father of all trees, and guide of every life form. The portion of the forest where he lives, although very old, was and is always swarming with life. It was in this haven that troubled members of the animad arrived to seek the guidance and wisdom of the red willow.
A bear, an elk, an raven, an eagle, a wolf, and a snake, all rulers over their own kind, bowed down before their elder tree, asking with palpitating concern in their voice, "father tree, what is this creature terrorizing our land ? why is it destroying our home, killing our sons and daughters?; As they were asking those questions, and many more, a soft, warm wind arose to shatter on the tree's leaves. Each and every contact was like a tiny whisper echoing through the forest, resonating in the hearts of all. Gone is the Star shinning with grace wilt in darkness, cold and lonely, consumed by rage, full of hatred, the herald of Disharmony, the last battle has now started, a certain fate they all must face, tears of youth, tears of the elders, to the dead mountain arise, or fall alongside the living, the end shall be for few or many beings. For to the hero Death is the only prize. If no one ends all is over.

And suddenly the wind grew strong, and all the trees bent.
And a path cleared for all to see, right up to this dead rock that was once part of the forest. A hideous patch of ashes, sum of all the trees and animad who had perish, was covering what could have been a gigantic forest of its own, now a sight of desolation, prone to cause instantaneous despair to any heart whose eyes might see it.
But the real horror stood at the centre of this nightmarish vision, a complete violation to nature's rules ; A tremendous portion of the grounds, shattered by the beast's fury, had eructed to the sky, now a massive mountain gazing with cruelty to the world, symbol of the cursed day when the brightest star let his hatred flow down to the world. The six companions, watching this frightening scene, knew that this was only the beginning. For the beast still roaming the air had stopped, but it would return to smite mercilessly the entire forest, and all the animad dwelling through it. There was, in the end, only one choice to make ; To die with their own kind, or to die protecting them.

What would they choose ? They were all near their ends, they lives had been full, and their offspring were abundant. The only true usefulness they could see for themselves, was a necessary sacrifice, to secure their legacy, their kind, their world. This choice was theirs to make, and they made it without a thought, without a word, without a gesture. They simply set themselves in march, towards their death, amidst this ocean of despair, running, flying, or sliding through the ashes of the dead, fateful silhouettes of fallen heroes, marching to meet their doom, and enter history. The ascension was tedious, even for the winged ones, and as soon as it began, they all knew all hope was gone.

For their rise was the definitive sign that they would choose to battle, and the Beast was eager to fight.

And ITS terrifying shriek resonated as soon as the six comrades started to climb the mountain, a dreadful declaration of war. For it was a war that they would be fighting, not a mere battle.
And the fate of all that is living was the prize.

Upon their arrival on top of the mountain, doubt had filled their hearts. They started to wonder if they should not have stayed with their loved ones, to face the end with their own, in peace, one last time.
Then they saw it.
Throughout the mist and despite the winds blowing in their faces, the forest lied down to their feet, beautiful, ancient, serene. The sum of all they were, all they had, all they wanted, was in this very vision of peace and majesty. Seeing this, the ruler of the bears, Azhr'e , whose heart was the most wavering, went from fear to despair to anger to resolve in a blink. He started to growl, irritated, and suddenly he went to the edge of the peak, and let the mightiest roar out, a battle cry every tree, every spruce present that day remembers. Far from the beast's shriek, this roar brought courage and determination in the heart of the six elders, and when a formidable blast swept the air above them, and when the beast, ELTHMETHS, towered down to end all things, they soared towards him, fearless, decided.
Thus began the great battle, which would forever shape the forest. In a swift clap of wings, the beast made it yet clear that the battle would be over soon. Throwing them all down, the only two who were able to withstand the merciless blow were the raven and the eagle, but their resilience too was proven futile by the beast. Using its head as a hammer, a quick, brutal shock soon reunited the two animad with their fellow fighters. His roar resonating once again, in an attempt to end this pointless fight, Azhr'e gathered all his strength and jumped an impossible distance, at an impossible speed, to land one last impossible strike against the beast, the only one that mattered, the only real attempt at hurting their foe.
The sound of the shock was heard by all, a sharp, loud thunder like echo in the air. For a moment, every being in the forest held their breath, stunned by the loudness of the shock. But there was something else that was stunned. Indeed, the mighty charge had even stunned the beast, which was cast down towards the base of the mountain... while brutally mowing Azhr'e in the process. trapped in the powerful jaws of the beast, the bear lost himself in a shriek of pain, calling for the forest to help him out, half eaten by a titanic death monger which was toying with him. ELTHMETHS began to climb the mountain, shaping its very sides with angry claws while keeping a hold of Azhr'e with his jaw. Its head slowly towering over the defeated fighters, still holding Azhr'e in his mouth, the Beast let out a sinister laughter which froze their hearts and filled them with dread. Throwing down the mutilated bear alongside his companions, which such violence that the ground besides them cracked open, the beast, while slowly laughing at them, turned its head towards the forest, and the red willow. Its eyes glowing with hatred and fury, a voice like no other voice began to purr out of its mouth "KEND'RR...ALTT MINTTANOTT..."

There was a heavy silence... no birds, no insects, not even a breeze to whisper through the trees. All was but defeated and speechless ... The fight was lost ... And everything.... Would die.

But as the Dokkendad was relishing its victory, a quake spread through the world, shaking every being, including the beast. And for all to hear, a furious voice towered with serenity. ... al'n...ekkasu'us... And for all was to behold, the passive force of the core set in motion. The vibrations caused by the voice shook all, ELTHMETHS more than the others. Its body started to convulse, and as it was fighting the tremors, a fierce shriek of rage and pain escaped its jaws as the beast fell down.
The mountain from which it fell was trembling too.
As the grounds beneath them was shaking, Azhr'e and the others, barely alive, were lying there. Each breath was a struggle. Keeping their eyes open was a struggle. At the same time, each one of them was feeling at rest, peaceful. They were looking at each other, their fight was brief, but the bond born out of it was strong. No matter what its outcome would be, they were comrades, until the end. The trembling of the mountain top making his vision blurred (though this was also due to the blood loss), Fyth'inn, the boldest of all the ravens, saw something move, emerging from the crack in the ground result of Azhr'e's fall. He first thought it was an animad, maybe a worm, or a slime... crawling feebly with his wings, fuelled by instinct, he reached to this creature and beaked at it, surprised by its bitter and unusual taste... before realizing it was a plant. creaking weakly, he apologized to the spruce, oblivious to the fact that it was growing unusually fast, when he heard a whisper in the wind, one that he recognized instantly. feed, lord crow... and spread my gift to your brothers...

With these words, the spruce finished to grow into a small sized branch... a red willow branch. beneath its leaves seven flowers bloomed, crimson red of the tree's branches spreading within them, giving them a soothing, yet disturbing glow. Gathering all of his forces, Fyth'inn opened his beak and grabbed the flower nearest to him, eating it. As he swallowed the flower, he felt a surge of energy flowing through his, body ; but there was more. It seemed that besides of the raw power running through hi body, a feeling arose through him, one that he couldn't explain... for the first time of his life, he felt connected. But it was not just a connection to the core, like every animad felt all the time (though some more than others). At this very moment, Fyth'inn felt connected to everything}. Every breeze was his breath. Every leaf on every tree was his feather... every pain felt by his fellow animad was his. A sharp sting hit him, deep in his heart. As his screams torn the skies apart, all the suffering and grief, all the tourments and the pain, all the doubts and the fear ever felt by any creature, by any being in the forest, all of this poured down his soul, all at the same time. while suffering, he realized that this was the core's lot to feel this, and that the price to pay was cheap in comparison to the feeling it granted. As every bribe of feeling and emotion ran through him, every fragment of strength, courage and determination became his to feel, and the very power of the forest spread among his body, healing his wounds, mending his mind, and toughening his resolve. Soaring high up in the sky, he suddenly remembered the red willow's words, and looked upon his fellow comrades, lying on the mountain top. Seeing them as they were, the raven noticed a change slowly happened in the way they looked to him. As if present, past and future were entangled, he saw what they were, but also what they were meant to be. A powerful light blinded his sight, forcing him to cover himself with his wing. Through the feathers, he realized that this was no light, rather an aura emanating from one of fallen fighters. Azhr'e , the bear, but he was more than that, Fyth'inn could tell. He was the bear king, and all his life, all his trials and all his struggles led him to this place only to reach this mountain top, only to fall to this foe... only to reborn a king. For he was chosen by the forest to lead the animad kingdom. "take, my lord, rise and embrace your destiny" Fyth'inn thought, giving a flower to azhr'e. For the third time since the beginning of this dreadful battle, Azhr'e's mighty roar echoed through the forest. But it was different. When it was heard, it filled the hearts of all with courage, and all fears were calmed down, as a warm feeling of safety and peace was spreading in concert with the powerful roar of the newborn king. Once again, there was hope, once again, strength and resolve rose in the soul of every living being.Once again, victory was a possibility. Upon hearing Azhr'e's call, the rest of the fighters regained consciousness. One after the other, they took a flower from the red willow, each of them feeling power flow through their veins, each of them becoming what they were meant to be. halaupa the elk, the noblest among all creatures, Su'sih, the wolf, master of hunters, Kothkaa, the eagle, who was to watch all skies with her predatory eyes. And the snake finally took a bit of the flower, and he knew what to expect from it... for he was WSDM, king of the venoms, and keeper of all the secrets of all the plants and hidden places, the crafty lord of the darkness, master of the snakes and ruler of the underworld. While shunned and feared by most, it was Him that was consulted whenever an illness was to be cured, and all that was to know about the secret properties of every plant, root or rock was His to know ; For He alone had already tasted the essence of the core, and he alone was granted communion with the essence of the forest. He was indeed mischievous and secretive, but it was him who asked Azh're to gather the others to go query the red willow ... and to lead them to their fate. Their fate. This daunting encounter, this formidable battle now unfolding before their eyes...Thrilled by their newly found strength, the companions went on to pursue and face the beast, fallen but not defeated, at the bottom of the mountain.

Now their teeth were sharper, their claws were deadlier, their skin was tougher and their resolve was stronger.
This was it. The final onset, to end this threat, and restore peace.
Fyth'inn led the charge, bolting down to ELTHMETHS, followed closely by Kothkaa the eagle, as the beast was recovering from the core's shout. Imbued with rage, despair and hatred, IT shrieked fiercely and stood up just as the two birds arrived to face IT. circling around the beast, they attacked, laying one blow after another without interruption. It was unclear whether or not they were dealing any damage to the beast, but IT surely did struck the raven with one mighty swing of its wing, before violently headbumping the valiant Kothkaa, casting her down to the ground. More erratic and agitated than before, ELTHMETHS seemed indeed affected by the assault of the avian fighters, and was not granted any rest ; for as he was disposing of his foes, new ones arrived to continue the charge, the mighty Halaupa came through, eager to fight, and bearing gift. For nested around his antlers, stood the crafty WSDM, his eyes glowing with determination, his fangs glistering with venom. With one powerful blow, Halaupa struck the beast's leg with his antlers, now strong and durable like stone. Upon impact, WSDM jumped and went to land on ELTHMETHS thigh, striking him with his fangs. The monstrosity, howling in pain, spread its wings with unseen brutality, creating a stormwind which cast the elk, the snake and even the two birds flat on the ground. Its terror inspiring howl yet ended soon, replaced by a gasp of shock, as a dark shadowy form planted itself in its shoulder. It was Su'sih, the feral wolf, whose enhanced claws actually managed to pierce through the beast's scales, and whose paws were now slashing its upper torso, trying to inflict all the damage they could. Still, ELTHMETHS showed no traces of real pain or fear, more anger and surprise. With a swift maw, it threw Su'sih down to the ground, and managed to fly over towards the top of the mountain. And still, the fight was not over ; The last of the fighters was yet to have appeared. As the beast was skyrocketing, a whirlwind of despair in the cold evening air, it realized that someone was missing. The King bear, roaring more fiercely than ever, falling like a comet in ELTHMETHS' direction, confirmed the beast's suspicion. This time, imbued with the power of the forest, the wrathful bear smashed the dragon down back to the base of the mountain, just as his fellow animad were regrouping to continue the fight, creating a sphere of dust that seemed to cover the whole mountain.

A short moment of silence went on, and a sinister aura, white and crimson like ember, began to glow through the dust. Howling, shrieking and grunting, ELTHMETHS flew away in a now desperate attempt to escape death ; for death was now a possibility, as his very essence was oozing out of his physical shell, a liquid fire melting everything that made contact with it. Followed closely by his enemies, the beast, which heart was set on destroying everything, and which mind was clouded by pain, fear and hatred, landed upon the blue stream, one of the core's most majestic river, and with a shriek of despair, struck the stream's bottom with its head using all of its strength. the ground started to quake, and with repeated blows, the beast actually opened the river in halves, seemingly trying to reach the actual core of the planet. With devastating blows, shattering the ground and creating a maelstrom of destruction, ELTHMETHS was sinking down to the depths of the planet. As IT was making ITS way to the core, ELTHMETHS noticed a rumbling sound growing, like a thousand tigers roaring at the same time. Suddenly, the skies went dark, as countless black clouds were gathering, turning day into night. Gazing upon this somber gathering, the beast hatefully spat another desperate howl at the coming storm...

And the storm howled back.

Never upon the lands did thunder strike strongly as it did ; Never did a bolt fall as mercilessly on a being as it fell upon ELTHMETHS' head, cracking it open. Flows of red, burning goo spurted out of the Beast's head, recovering the ground ; And as ITS other wounds kept on bleeding, rain started to fall. Two other bolt hit ELTHMETHS, and IT began to howl in pain and erratically shouting at the storm. More of ITS burning essence was spilled on the soil, scorching the earth and the air. IT was stomping the hole in the ground IT was standing in, unaware of the burns ITS legs were suffering for standing in ITS own blood. But slowly a thick smoke rose from the ground, result of ELTHMETHS' blood being cooled down by the rain.By the time Azhr'e and the others arrived, the beast was standing still, and the bear prepared to charge, when he noticed the dokkendad was not about to attack ; his blood was drying, and turning solid, preventing the beast from moving. Azhr'e saw that ELTHMETHS' head, covered in blood, was now paralyzed, as if the beast was wearing a mask, one made in the most peculiar kind of stone. The eyes of the beast were alone left moving, a sinister growl emanating from within, as IT saw ITS foes witnessing ITS downfall. They were all standing there, wounded, tired, but in the end, victorious. This vision of ITS enemies surrounding IT, this humiliating scene, ELTHMETHS couldn't tolerate any longer. In a final effort to take ITS foes down, the beast released a torrent of molten blood in the air, flooding ITS surrounding with it. The scorching liquid spread in a devastating waltz of death and destruction, filling every crevasse, obliterating every living thing it touched. It spread rapidly, and it seemed like the torrent of ELTHMETHS blood would never end to flow, soon penetrating the cracks made by the beast, creating a river of liquid fire, stopped only by the sea of rain left by the ongoing tempest. When finally, the skies cleared themselves, and the storm was no more, the land was changed for ever.

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-Why did you let us go through all that ? What was the point of us risking our life when you could have stopped it ? Why were all those deaths necessary ?!

I needed to see if you were worthy of being saved.}

-what?! Growled the angry Bear.

This is not yet the time for hubris and delusions of grandeur. In many winters, other will surely come, unlike IT, but nor like you. you must prepare to rule your kind, to preserve your way, in order to safeguard these land and achieve peace, so that all will be ready for the last wars.

Since that day, the elders rule over the animad kingdom. And it was said that their rule would last until such times would come, that would require the rise of other heroes.

This is a tale of creation Of suffering, death and of rebirth, The dawn of the age of heroes. Born are the elders From the tears of the earth, This is a tale of creation. The sun came down a destroyer, And, with its fury began The dawn of the age of heroes. The red willow, of all the father, Led them to face this omen ; This is a tale of creation Now its fury lies forever within the core, and finally can begin the age of heroes. From the tears of the earth, the birth of the elders ended the fury of the sun This is a tale of creation, The dawn of the age of heroes.