Koldis the Green (DRAGONWALL SERIES 4)

CHAPTER 2: LORD MARQUIN

"I...thank you, Your Majesty." Claire curtsied and watched her go before turning back to Lord Marquin. Sprites were overly formal. Even more formal than nobles in Kastali Dun. But she was not ill equipped nor ill prepared. Desaree had trained her well enough on court politics. She knew to tread carefully. Words were weapons in settings like these. So were smiles and jewels and anything else that made a statement. Thus, she'd worn a mask ever since entering the forest. Had cemented it into place with each feeling of unexpected unease that plagued her.

"Lord Marquin," she said, offering him a demure smile now that Jade was absent, "thank you again. I am eager to get started. I defer to your expertise regarding my training."

"Excellent." He eyed her up and down in a way that made her feel all too exposed. "Let us walk." He extended an arm. She took it, disguising her hesitance. Behind her, Koldis cleared his throat. "You may accompany us," Lord Marquin said over his shoulder, giving her Shield permission. She bristled but said nothing.

They left the garden in silence, but as soon as they began wandering the paths through the city, Lord Marquin spoke again. "Everything in our forest is connected. The lifeblood we call living water spreads through our kingdom like veins, sustaining us, feeding us, allowing us immortality."

"From the King Tree?"

"Yes. That is were it originates before flowing out into the world. Sprites, as you know, were not always this way. It is said our people were Spirit Singers once, who fled persecution and made a home here, beneath the shade of the Tree."

She listened in silence, eager to learn more. Lord Marquin began by recounting the history of the King Tree and the first Sprite in detail. Some of it she was already familiar with, but she listened nonetheless.

Ellia had wandered far and wide, alone, looking for a place to rest. A place she might call home. When she discovered a small oasis in the middle of a vast open grasslands, she took shade beneath its large tree and drank from the water.

Sated, she began to sing a sad, sorrowful song. A song of her nomadic people displaced by the cruel tyranny of the Asarlaí. The tree was pleased by her company but saddened by her song. When it asked her why she cried, she told it of her people's struggles. Eager for company, the tree bid her to return with them, to make the oasis their home.

She did this, brining the wandering tribes together. Beneath the tree's shade, they quenched their thirst and laughed, glad for the living water that now flowed through their veins. In joy for finding a new home, they linked hands and began to sing. As they sang, the lonely tree grew and grew and grew. Soon it was a king of a tree, stretching up to greet the heavens. But the tree was still alone, and the people who had settled beneath it did not wish for it to be lonely.

Together they sang again, and with the tree's help, companions sprouted from the ground, spreading across the land. Channels were cut deeply into the earth where living water extended to quench the thirst of the newly grown but hungry forest. And beneath the shade of its gables, the trees became home. But one tree would always rule supreme. The King Tree was pleased by its new family and the people who took shelter in its shade. It gave the Sprit Singers a new name and welcomed them for all eternity.

"And so we dwell," said Lord Marquin. "But eternity is a long time. When we are ready, so too is our King Tree, to welcome us with open arms into its bosom where we may at last find peace."

Claire's eyes widened. "So it really is real—the King Tree? It's not just as story?" She'd always believed it purely mythological.

"It is real. And when one is ready for death, one wanders into the forest and eats of its fruit, falling into a soundless but peaceful sleep, to become part of the forest. Reborn in the trees and animals. It is said that all new trees are reincarnates of our people. And the animals, flowers, bugs...We are everywhere."