blacksmithoftheapocalypse
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1249. I can close down your Gates
🕑 Added 2025-01-13 18:19:03 +0000 UTC---Chrona---
Seated in his big ostentatious office, Ponze Leon Chrona was reading various papers. They were a culmination of reports and newspapers from across not just Chrona, but also other empires and other independent words under the influence of the System God.
“Well played, Leana... well played,” he mumbled with a wry smile. Minas Mar had used the connection they created during their Great Tournament well and took the opportunity to publicly call out Spatia and their deeds.
Leana and her little friends had truly grown far past his expectations, to think they were able to push back not just one, but two royals of Spatia. others may have doubted the contents of the paper, but Ponze knew enough about Urth to not doubt them. According to Merkraut Sar's estimations of Minas Mar, this was not as impossible as it seemed.
Of course, Ponze would have preferred if they weren't more powerful than expected. Now, Leana was alive and well and Urth had even reached a stage to declare their independence from the various empires and individual realms in the System Worlds.
Despite his plan failing, he couldn't be angry this time around. he had worked with Spatia on this occasion, but they were not allies. Even if he didn't like that Leana survived, he enjoyed Spatia receiving such public criticism and blame a lot more.
“Your Highness, should we-?” his guard and advisor tried to suggest something but the prince cut him off with a raise of his hand. “No, we will leave Urth alone, for now. Whatever Leana might plan, it does not matter anymore. Even if Hardwig returned at this point, he can't beat me,” he said confidently.
At this point over half of his siblings supported him and he had a majority of Chrona's Councilmen on his side. There was no need to care anymore but a bunch of beaten dogs did in some hillbilly world. Especially since they were as good as dead.
They had picked a fight with Spatia, sooner or later the enemy empire would strike them down to make an example out of them.
“No matter what they are hiding, they will soon find their end,” he gave his prediction sinisterly.
....
---Delta---
“That makes 4 closed,” Seth exclaimed with a sigh after the fourth hell gate closed behind them. In the past two worlds, they had refined their technique. With the golem eyes scouting the landscape beforehand they actually managed to close the last hell world in under three hours.
In World 3 they had stopped playing along with whatever caretakers were at the birthing pools and outright demanded the closure of the gate in exchange for the demons' lives. It still turned into a battle, but Al easily soloed the group that appeared. She was finished before Seth even got a turn. Quite uncharacteristic for her.
“Let's stop here for today,” Seth said, stretching his arms. They had been traveling non-stop for almost 24 hours to close the hellscape hell gates that kept sapping the Guardian Tree's energy.
Although they had been talking about the possible relations they could have with the demon, Seth had largely ignored those possibilities in the past four worlds. They couldn't imagine the barren, burning wastelands offering anything but more unnecessary danger to Urth.
This was a little different when talking about the remaining three. These gates led into worlds of darkness and twilight, one seemingly into a forest of lush vegetation even. If Delta's subterranean granaries had not suffered so much from the attacks, mismanagement, and the last battle, trade with demons of the abyss wouldn't have been a consideration.
However, it was an uncomfortable truth that Minas Mar was hardly scraping by after Chrona left and cut most of the trade agreements in Delta, too. Although Seth had little interest in getting involved in governing Minas Mar seriously, they couldn't just do nothing as the landlords. People who starved couldn't pay rent.
Despite their food production across the Tree Stations improving, it would still need time to repair the granaries and cultivate other means of farming to the point of proper self-sufficiency. Since the hell gates were already here and pacified, there was no reason not to see whether they had some use.
Maybe they could make up for the lost connections to Chrona's leadership and help them get through this phase? At least the three remaining ones had the potential for that. At least the upkeep of the trees in those worlds was much less than in the burning wasteland, so they would have more options for the captured legends.
“Sure. I will return home then. Tower?” Al agreed readily and used the tower's teleport function to leave, having the blacksmith sigh in relief. Had she come home with him, he doubted he, Mina, or Fin could have had a restful night. Now it was up to her boy toys. Seth didn't worship any particular gods but he prayed for them.
“Tower, to my quarters,” Seth followed her example and ported back to his quarters. Since they entered the gates around noon, it was now early morning when the blacksmith appeared in the Tower Master's quarters.
The two girls were still asleep, so Seth used the chance to clean himself using lifestyle magic before taking a shower for his own comfort. Feeling clean and somewhat refreshed, the blacksmith decided to start his day by making breakfast for the three of them.
The day went by quicker than expected with the three doing literally nothing but hanging out and enjoying the day. It was important to enjoy the calm days like this. This was important for everyone.
Apart from the people with important missions, like Mary, him, or the expeditions, everyone else was on vacation right now.
There wasn't much to do for most of them, as the menial tasks that came along with dealing with Delta's aftermath fell to other people. After the celebration, groups of Oathguards and locals began securing what was left of the city outside of the tower's shield.
In the next few weeks, they would be cleaning up the ruins and finding out the lay of the land. Much of Delta's original buildings were destroyed or suffered irreparable damages. But cleaning up and rebuilding Delta was not in Seth's ballpark. Mary, Jane, Leana, and Luf were in charge of these topics and he trusted they would do a good job.
...
While Seth was having a short break before he had to leave again, someone else was getting ready to leave Minas Mar, based on their decision during the previous emergency meeting. Karina was standing in the now dark room of roots beyond Minas Mar's herb garden.
This was where the main body of the Guardian Tree had hidden for the longest time, before it finally rose to the surface, to majestically bloom in Delta above. but this didn't mean that this room was now empty.
Although it did not longer shelter a massive tree, it was still filled with roots and the center was now filled with a root as big as the tree previously was. This was the main root, the true core of the Guardian Tree, still sheltered in the bowels of the magic tower.
The dryad's hands were gently brushing across the surface of the giant tree and under her touch, a burl was slowly forming.
