crown of self-interest

Deep within the ever-shifting forests of the Verdant Communion, the natural world pulsed with life—ancient, vibrant, and interconnected in ways that few outsiders could comprehend. Towering trees, older than any empire, stood as silent sentinels, their roots intertwined with the very essence of magic that flowed through this land. The Communion’s magic was symbiotic, a delicate balance between life and essence, between magic and nature. But on this day, that balance would be disturbed by something far more sinister.

Zaros had sent one of his most trusted subordinates to the Verdant Communion, a mission more delicate than the slaughter that had befallen the Aetherborn. This was not a mission of extermination, but of retrieval. The Heart of the Wild, an ancient relic bound to the very essence of the forest, was needed to further his plans. It held untold power, a key to controlling life itself, and Zaros would have it, no matter the cost.

Arikha, a tall figure cloaked in dark robes that seemed to absorb the very light around her, stepped through the dense foliage, her presence anathema to the natural beauty surrounding her. Unlike the brute force used by Vaedros in the Skyward Cities, Arikha moved with the subtlety of a shadow, her steps barely disturbing the ground beneath her feet. Her power was of a different kind—insidious, creeping, and precise. She wielded necromantic magic intertwined with the darker aspects of nature, capable of bending life to her will without leaving a trace.

Ahead of her, the forest opened into a glade, the heart of the Verdant Communion. Massive Elder Trees stood in a circle, their bark glowing faintly with the green light of magic that pulsed through them. At the center of the glade, resting on a pedestal of living wood, was the Heart of the Wild—a brilliant emerald stone that seemed to hum with the life force of the entire forest.

But this sacred place was not undefended.

A group of Communion warriors, their bodies covered in leaves and vines, emerged from the shadows of the trees. They moved with a grace and fluidity that only those truly bonded to the forest could possess. Their weapons, carved from the very wood of the Elder Trees, glowed with an ancient magic that had protected this place for millennia.

Arikha’s cold gaze swept over them as they took defensive stances. She did not speak, but her aura of death and decay spoke for her. The warriors felt it—a creeping dread that seeped into their bones, like a slow poison that numbed the senses. The air around them thickened, as if the forest itself recoiled from her presence.

“Leave this place, outsider,” the lead warrior spoke, his voice steady but tinged with the underlying fear they all felt. “The Heart of the Wild is not for the likes of you. We are bound to it, and it to us. You will not leave here with it.”

Arikha’s lips curled into a faint smile, her dark eyes gleaming with amusement. “You misunderstand,” she said softly, her voice barely more than a whisper. “I do not seek permission, nor do I require it. The Heart belongs to my master now, and nothing in this forsaken forest will stop me from taking it.”

Before the warriors could respond, the ground beneath them began to shift. Vines that once obeyed their will turned against them, wrapping around their legs and arms, pulling them to the ground. Arikha’s necromantic influence had seeped into the very roots of the forest, corrupting it, bending it to her will.

The warriors struggled, their magic faltering as they realized too late that the forest they had lived in harmony with for generations had turned on them. One by one, they were pulled into the earth, the very soil swallowing them alive as Arikha approached the Heart. Their muffled screams echoed briefly before being silenced, leaving only the rustle of leaves in the wind.

The Elder Trees groaned in protest as Arikha reached the pedestal. The Heart of the Wild pulsed brightly, as if aware of the danger it now faced. But there was no one left to protect it. With a single motion, Arikha extended her hand, dark tendrils of magic wrapping around the stone, pulling it from its resting place.

As her fingers closed around the relic, the forest around her shuddered. The trees bent inward, their branches cracking, leaves falling like tears from the canopy above. The bond between the Heart and the forest was breaking, and with it, the very soul of the Verdant Communion. The forest’s magic began to falter, its symbiotic balance disrupted by the severing of its most sacred artifact.

But Arikha did not care for the Communion’s fate. To her, this was simply another mission, another step toward the realization of Zaros’s grand plan. The Heart of the Wild throbbed with power in her hand, and she could feel the immense life force trapped within it. This was more than just an artifact—it was a living thing, a core of pure magic that had sustained this forest for untold centuries.

As she turned to leave the glade, a voice called out from behind her.

“You… you cannot take it…”

Arikha paused, glancing over her shoulder. An old woman, her face weathered and her body frail, stood at the edge of the clearing. She was one of the Elders of the Communion, her connection to the forest deeper than any other. Her eyes, though tired, burned with a fierce determination.

“If you take the Heart,” the Elder rasped, “you will doom this forest. The trees will die. The animals, the spirits—they will wither without it.”

Arikha regarded the woman for a long moment, her expression unreadable. “It is already too late,” she said quietly. “The moment you let it fall into your possession, it was doomed. Your Communion clings to an illusion of harmony, but your power was never yours to keep. It is ours now.”

The Elder staggered forward, her hands outstretched as if to reclaim the relic, but Arikha raised a hand, stopping her in her tracks. The old woman collapsed to the ground, her strength failing her as the life force of the forest continued to ebb away.

“Please…” the Elder whispered, her voice breaking. “Spare them. Spare the forest.”

Arikha looked down at the woman, her gaze as cold as the depths of winter. “Mercy is for those who have earned it,” she said softly, before turning and disappearing into the trees.

The Elder wept silently as she watched the dark figure vanish into the shadows, the Heart of the Wild now lost to the Communion. All around her, the forest began to wither—the leaves turning brown, the once vibrant plants wilting, their life force draining away.

The Verdant Communion, the proud guardians of nature’s magic, had been broken. Though their people still lived, the soul of their land was gone, stolen by a power far beyond their understanding. The Heart of the Wild, once the source of their strength, now belonged to Zaros.

And the world would never be the same.