ASKELADDEN: The Tale Of The Golden Quill

6. The Guardian of Yggdrasil

“Is this the afterlife?" Orion asked, squinting as he woke up in an extremely unfamiliar location.

He looked around in utter bewilderment. This place he was seeing did not even look like any part of Dumnonia; at least not anywhere known to him.

It was an astral plane, sporting lush vast green fields, a crisp warm breeze, and fluffy clouds floating around the ethereal blue sky that kissed the endless horizon. This sight was too surreal to be true. It looked like the perfect destination in the afterlife, and his first instinct was to search for his mother.

"Don't bother, she's not here”, a gentle voice spoke from behind, startling Orion and jerking his head 180 degrees almost immediately.

"And you're not dead, lad. This is not the afterlife.”

"Th–then, where am I? What have you done with me? And who are you?!" Orion questioned, gathering himself and blinking rapidly to adjust his eyes to this unknown glowing figure.

“One question at a time, lad. You're quite the hot-blooded young man, aren't you?” the figure chuckled softly as she hovered, moving towards where he stood.

"Okay, I apologize. First, where are we?” Orion asked again, as he finally got to see who the figure was.

It was a spirit-like being, almost translucent. Taking on the form of a lady, with a floating glowing forest green garment with constantly moving vines growing from within and around it, that hid her feet which didn't even touch the ground. Her hair looked like a thunderstorm with streaks of lightning flashing from it at uneven intervals, and her eyes sparkled like the North Star.

Nothing about this looked normal, she had to be a god; he thought to himself.

"Alright, good start. This is my dwelling place, I call it Acardia. It's a dimension I created, away from the real world, that can only be accessed through the World Tree. With my permission, of course. So think of it as your consciousness existing in my world."

“Y–you created a dimension?? Who in the world are you?” Orion asked wide-eyed, expressing great surprise.

“Ha! Don't lose your composure too much, lad. You most definitely are in for a whole lot of shocking details. I'm Astrid, the Guardian Spirit of the World Tree. You humans may know me as Yggdrasil”, she responded with a soft smile.

"Wow! I am indeed surprised”, Orion said while pondering, his mouth still agape.

“So why exactly am I here? In the presence of such a revered being?"

“You do remember what you did last before you woke up here, right? You touched a part of me and thought up an earnest prayer of need. That's usually all it takes to reach my audience.

“Humans have created a false notion about the Sacred Tree: Yggdrasil, making you all believe the World Tree shouldn't be touched. Your predecessors have turned me into a monument and pray to me or the fragments of my fruits. But that's all wrong. My conditions are pretty simple; say an earnest prayer of need and touch a part of me, and your request shall be granted. But don't go around spreading this though. I can be picky with granting requests based on the asker's emotional state.

“Anyways, you prayed to me and here I am. Seems like you acted on instinct, without even having the slightest idea of what could've happened.”

"That does make more sense. Our kingdom was in deep trouble and I just needed your help to do something. But it's probably all over now, the whole Dumnonia has been wiped out", he said with a hint of dejection in his tone.

“And I am indeed sorry for what befell your homeland. I saw everything unfold, and I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to help. You see, I can only act through a vessel I possess or through someone who bears the power of one of the fragments of my fruits”, Astrid apologised.

"Now speaking about Fragments, I believe I should enlighten you on what really happened in your kingdom and what caused it.

“There is a cult called the Black Disciples, a name I expect you to have heard.”

"Yes, I have. What's their deal?” Orion interjected, in a bid to concur with her drop of information.

This cult called the Black Disciples is a band of dark magic wielders that carry out diabolical and obscene rituals, searching for and gaining power through the most atrocious means. They are devout followers of the Goddess of Chaos and Strife, Eris, and their main goal is to free her from the seals caging her in the Underworld, unleashing havoc and pandemonium on the entire Earth. That is why they came to Dumnonia. To obtain one of the fragments of the fruit of Yggdrasil.

“I produce a fruit once every century and when it drops, it's split into nine different fragments, each given to one of the 9 Provinces; Dumnonia, Helicon, Florentia, Jotunheim, Tir Tairngire, Lyonesse, Scyros, Emain Macha and the Isles of the Blest. The Leaders of these nations decide how best to safeguard the fragments and use them for the betterment of their respective nations to avoid inequality, power tussles, and greed-induced strife.

“These fragments hold enough magic energy to resurrect the dead, and together, they can produce an insanely immense magical power that can rival that of a god. That is why the Black Disciples are on a hunt for these fragments. Unluckily, Dumnonia has fallen prey to their forces, and if they've grown so strong as to wipe out the entire forces of Dumnonia, then the other nations had better gear up and get ready to withstand and defend their lands against these gremlins. Because if they lay their hands on four more fragments, they'll have successfully gotten enough magic energy to open the gates of the Underworld and free Eris.”

"And that would spell doom for the rest of the world”, Orion completed, digesting all the intense information he had just received.

"Correct, lad. But that is why I have bestowed a part of me in you”, Astrid said with a sly grin on her face.

“What do you mean?" the suddenly puzzled Orion asked.

"Do you remember a leaf of mine falling upon you and the next thing you saw was waking up here?”

"Yes, I do. The pointy stalk stabbed me in the chest.”

"Perfect! My leaves are more a part of me than my fruits. Think of my leaves as strands of my hair, my branches and roots as my limbs, and my fruits as a by-product formed by the egestion of excess magic energy", Astrid explained.

“In normal situations, my leaves and branches are indestructible. They can neither be burnt, nor broken off. They only fall off when I will it. So I sent one of my leaves to dwell inside of you, making you a partial vessel of mine."

“Wa–wait, what? You mean your leaves contain more magical power than your fruits? And now, you're practically connected to me or something of that sort?" Orion frantically questioned, struggling to grasp the situation.

“Yes, that's it! You're catching on, quite the smart lad you are", Astrid teased. Making small jokes was a habit of hers.

“As proof of that, when you wake up, you'll realize your entire body has been healed and you'll feel a certain level of rejuvenation. What this means is that a portion of my magical power, even greater than that in the Yggdrasil Fruit Fragments, rests within you.”

"This is too much for me to take in. Are you sure of this? Why such a heavy responsibility?”

"As I said earlier, I witnessed everything unfold, and I saw how desperately you tried to save your mother, even knowing how powerless you are. I admired that, and thought to myself; “If he tries this hard with zero level of power, how much more when he wields a great amount of power that can enable him to save a whole lot more people". Simply put, your chivalrous spirit moved me, Orion”, Astrid responded, with an even softer tone and deep sincerity within her gaze.

"As much as I appreciate the honour, I can't accept such a heavy responsibility. What if I stray from my path?" Orion asked, burying himself in self-doubt and deep uncertainty.

"With great power comes great responsibility, and therefore, great expectations. I believe in you, Orion. You're the son of a god. I believe you'll use that for a just cause. And besides, I'll be watching over you at all times. You're a partial vessel of mine, remember? So a part of my consciousness is always with you. I can speak to you in visions and also telepathically, so you don't need to worry about straying away from your path. Think of me as a little guardian angel.”

"Alright, Lady Astrid. I'm indeed honoured and I humbly accept the privilege to be a vessel of yours. I promise to follow the right path and use your power for good”, Orion swore, bowing his head in reverence.

"Now that's better. Never think less of yourself, because you've got a whole lot of potential. You've got the blood of a god, flowing through your veins. So my magical power within you pretty much just unlocked abilities that have always been within you. You just lacked the magical power to manifest them.

“And adding to that, the curse in your Adalric blood has been tweaked by me a little bit. In due time, you'll be able to willingly siphon mana from nearby entities containing magic energy. But you'll have to train and build yourself up in terms of strength, knowledge, agility, and stamina to further unlock more of your abilities and the full extent of my magical power. ‘Cause if you unleash more magic energy than your current body can handle, you'll self-destruct. So keep that in mind, lad", Astrid instructed with a different shade of seriousness in her tone.

"Got it, Lady Astrid. I'll work hard towards making myself worthy of your benevolence.”

"Attaboy! That's more like it. I also look forward to seeing the mighty and spectacular things you shall accomplish."

“I shan't fail you, my Lady."

“You’d better not. I guess I'll see you when you master enough control to summon me in your subconscious", Astrid smirked, giving him a playful wink.

“Wait, Lady Astr–”

***

Orion abruptly jerked out of his trance, bumping his head against a hard surface that felt like a human head.

“Ouchhhh! Such a hard-headed young lad", a white-haired stranger with a monocle yelped, wincing in pain with his palm soothing his forehead.

"It's your fault for leaning in so close above me. And who in the hell are you?” Orion grimaced, visible annoyance written across the wrinkles between his eyebrows.

The stranger obnoxiously carried on with his recovery whilst wiping his monocle with the hem of his coat, leaving Orion more impatient and increasingly infuriated.