Sentria: The War for Askeran (Book 3)

Chapter Twenty: The Great Tree

That night, in the phantom form of my ancestral home, I took Eldwyn took to my bed. I didn't have the intention of making love, I had assumed that he'd be too tired and consumed with worries about the acquiring the heartstone, but when I laid him down in our bed, he grabbed me by the collar and kissed me, pulling me onto him. Perhaps he needed some relief from all the rigors and I was more than happy to oblige. We made out for a time, kissing between undressing, and we touched each other as if we were discovering one another for the first time. He rolled on top of me and our hands intertwined. He grew louder with ever movement, with every circle of his hips and ever thrust I made. I looked up at him in the pale moonlight, his brown skin practically sparkling like bronze; never had I seen a being as beautiful as Eldwyn and I knew I never would for as long as I  had lived.

In the morning I woke up early with my hair a mess but otherwise feeling quite good. I looked out of the window and saw that the day had returned to normal, no violent winds and no flecks of dark energy to be found, just blue skies. I kissed Eldwyn on his forehead as he slept and let him remain there to rest after our late-night activity, and I went to check on Princess Ilya. I opened the door to the guest room she was staying in, but all I saw was a well-made bed. She must have gone off somewhere. I thought for a moment, then considered where she might have gone and went to the Sentrian library. I was correct in my assumption as I saw her standing next to the tall wall of books reading from an old manuscript.

"Oh," said Princess Ilya, looking up at me. "I hope you don't mind but I can't resist a well-stocked library."

"You're more than welcome," said I. "Besides, I'm not sure I can take ownership of anything in this phantom castle."

"You have more rights than I. It is essentially your memories made manifest."

"What are you reading?" I asked, coming closer.

"The History of Cordath, if that doesn't sound too vain. It's quite interesting."

"I apologize on behalf of the Sentrian historians. I'm sure they aren't favorable to the north."

"No apologies are necessary. Many of the events detailed are true—elements have been left out, but as a whole it doesn't roam too far from the truth. Cordath has been a plague upon the land for centuries, and now that plague is spreading. I do hope that we save Askeran in time. The corruption of nature was not a good sign." Princess Ilya looked out of the window as if at any second the scene would turn dark and spoil the day.

"As long as Askeran still draws breath, there is sill hope."

When Eldwyn woke up we grabbed our possessions and left the castle. We'd need to forage for food now that we had eaten our last rations, but as we left we were struck by yet another sight—the Great Tree. None of us spoke when we saw it at first, too awestruck to form sentences, then I turned to Eldwyn.

"Is this the Great Tree?" I asked the obvious question.

"It is, knight. It is."

The magical tree was as tall as the sky with branches with star-shaped green leaves with twinkling blue light. It wasn't moving and yet it felt alive, as if it was the true heartbeat of the land, giving it vitality and beauty. It presented itself to us as if to request our help in these dark times. The war was drawing near and time was running out.

All of us held hands and boldly left the castle steps for the Great Tree. Its roots rose out of the, back into the ground like they were fingers latching onto the green terrain, and as we stood up to it, a circle opening was revealed to us. I took a deep breath and we entered inside the depths of the Great Tree.

I didn't know what I was expecting when I walked into the Great Tree, but it wasn't this. It was a wide and open area—far exceeding what the outside looked like, and it was empty. Everything was cast a faint blue light, and above us was a rail ledge that swirled all the way up and seemed to go on forever. We walked to the center of the space where the light was brightest and looked up.