It was Kaelor's turn for his eyes to widen.
A mercenary? Of all things he had expected… that wasn't one of them.
"I was once a noble," Vi began, her voice steady but touched with distant bitterness. "My father held the title of Count. But he owed too much, and when the Duke came to collect his debt… everything crumbled."
Kaelor said nothing, simply listened.
"The others were sold off. I was the only one who escaped." A small, ironic smile touched her lips. "I became a mercenary. Started from nothing, scraps, odd jobs, dangerous missions no one else wanted. Slowly, I built a party. Then a company. Eventually, it grew into a guild, five thousand strong. Men and women who followed my command without question."
There was pride in her voice now. Real, earned pride.
"My skills became highly sought after," she continued, her eyes briefly flicking to the window, as though seeing another world. "Not just in my birth kingdom, but as far as the Dukedom of Merlin… even beyond. No one cared for what I offered when it was small, when it was just a girl trying to survive. But once I stood among Counts, Viscounts, even shared ballrooms with Dukes… they noticed."
Her tone shifted, darkened.
"And then, what I built was taken from me. By the very people I trained. Those arrows your apothecary pulled from my flesh? They were fired by men I brought out of filth and gave purpose to."
Kaelor crossed his arms. "So they'll be hunting you."
Vi nodded slowly. "Always."
There was a pause, then Kaelor stepped forward slightly, lowering his voice. "Swear allegiance to me."
Vi raised a brow.
"You know about my gift," he said. "You know what I'm becoming. I may not have power yet, but I will. One day, I'll stand toe-to-toe with kings."
"And I know," she replied slowly, "that you and your brother, the Duke of Merlin, are at odds. Your step-sister may even become the bridge that unites the Dukedom and the Winter Kingdom. The odds… are not in your favor."
"They'd be a little less stacked if I had you," Kaelor said.. "You and I, we're already in the same boat."
Vi stared at him, eyes narrowed, and then gave a soft, knowing smile. "Even if I wanted to leave… I couldn't. The moment a big wolf like you laid eyes on me, I lost my freedom."
Kaelor exhaled, chuckling softly as he shook his head. Her way of putting things always caught him off guard.
Then her expression turned serious. "But I'm not leaving," she said. "I've lost everything out there. If you're serious about growing, about truly building something, you'll need people. And to get people, you'll need slaves."
His eyes sharpened. "Slaves?"
Vi nodded. "Skilled and unskilled. Fighters, builders, cooks, smiths, scribes. The world sells talent. You'll need slaves for population growth.."
Kaelor's mind raced. "I… hadn't thought of that."
"You're Kaelor Dravion," Vi said, sitting up straighter. "Even if the world hasn't recognized you yet, you are a noble. Act like it. A lord without people is a farmer with a title."
Kaelor folded his arms again, absorbing her words. Slaves… It felt cold, brutal, but this world was already both. If there was a way to save them, strengthen them, and give them new purpose, like he had with the fusion…Then maybe it wouldn't be slavery for long.
He glanced at Vi. "I guess we need to go to the Baron's estate?"
Vi smiled faintly. "You know exactly where to start."
….
After two days of rest and preparation, Kaelor set out with Hound, Vi, and ten of his Guardsmen. They moved through the Devil Forest with practiced caution, navigating its twisted roots and thick undergrowth. Hours passed, sunlight filtered through the leaves above, and the air was heavy with the scent of moss and damp bark.
Eventually, the trees parted, revealing the edge of the Oasis Basin.
Kaelor paused, standing tall beneath the wide, bright blue sky. The sunlight poured down, illuminating the vast bowl of land before them. Not a single direwolf remained. The place that once echoed with snarls and bloodshed was now quiet, serene even.
Wild grass swayed gently in the breeze, and the basin's natural beauty finally revealed itself in full.
"This is where you want to build?" Vi asked beside him, her voice laced with awe as her eyes scanned the horizon. "Away from the reach of the nobles, hidden from the world?"
Kaelor nodded. "Exactly. Once we begin selling rice, merchants will want to trace it to the source. They may find our town… but this place will stay hidden. The city we build here, our city, will remain a secret sanctuary."
Hound grunted approvingly. "We'll just need to clear the trees first."
Together, they descended into the basin, their boots sinking into the rich soil. The air here was cooler, cleaner. A place untouched.
Kaelor raised a hand. "System, fuse the trees."
[Fusing all fifty trees. Cost: 20 FP.]
He hadn't expected much, just a way to clear space and maybe gain something useful in return. Perhaps a towering tree to act as a landmark for travelers lost in the forest. His real focus was on building, bringing in laborers, turning this vision into stone, wood, and reality.
But then, the ground trembled slightly.
Before their eyes, the trees began to glow. Their trunks folded, twisted, and merged, roots wrapping together, limbs spiraling skyward like a divine sculpture. Leaves shimmered emerald-green as a massive tree emerged, fifty feet tall with wide, sprawling branches and bark the color of old ironwood.
Then, something impossible happened.
A ghostly figure materialized.
She appeared high up among the branches, faint and ethereal, like smoke given form. A woman's silhouette, flowing and elegant, leapt from branch to branch with graceful ease. Her long hair danced like mist behind her, and her eyes, glowing faintly, met Kaelor's for a fleeting moment.
[You have successfully created a Spirit Tree. A hundred-year-old tree of ancient origins that has given birth to a guardian spirit.]
Everyone froze.
Even Hound took a cautious step back, hand brushing the hilt of his saber. Vi's lips parted.
Kaelor stared at the spirit, his heart beating steadily.
A faint breeze carried the scent of the tree's leaves, sweet and sharp, unlike anything in the forest. Birds circled overhead but dared not come close.