Realm of Noah

Chapter 31

7th December 2019

NOAH

While Renee had been floating off the ground, the Arbor Vitae had decided to unsheath its darkness, giving me a glimpse of the world we'd been stumbling through.

The first thing that hit me was the colour scheme of the place. The grass we'd stepped on hadn't been green, but rather a fiery orange, with red-tinged tips that moved with the breeze, almost like fire. The stone slabs that had led us up here were bright gold, gleaming in the white light of the Tree. They'd been embedded uniformly in the ground, arranged in a spiral fashion around the hill.

I turned my attention back to the Arbor Vitae, now swaying in the wind. The tree extended for miles above, almost neverending, making it impossible for me to see the top. The trunk was smooth and white, shimmering with a rare glow, reminding me of the liquid light that it had injected into Ren. While the roots shared nearly the same shade, the small leaves were an electric teal, shining beautifully in their light.

I stared, open-mouthed. There was so much beauty, but most of it was hidden from the external world.

"Why?" I asked softly, to no one in particular.

"Seek, and you shall know," Sang an ancient voice.

Hesitantly, my palm reached forwards, touching the bark of the tree, and realised that it was much rougher than what it had appeared to be. I closed my eyes, wondering if I was actually talking to the Arbor Vitae itself, or some other Spirit guardian of the tree.

Slow music filled my ears, the melody vibrating from highs to lows, as the memory came into focus. The tree was smaller here, surrounded by Spirit Guides, waiting to take the liquid light from it.

"It is my power that created the Enlightened," The Arbor Vitae explained. "Spirits learnt to harness it, and I let them, provided that they expressed adequate wisdom to handle it."

As I watched, Spirits who'd reached the tree turned into light sabres like Augustus, gleaming more powerfully than ever.

"They'd promised me that my power would only reach the ones who were worthy. They were bound by an oath, to protect this power from moving into the wrong hands." Arbor Vitae continued its tale.

"Then Augustus came," I heaved a sigh. He'd been the first person to misuse his power and keep it all for himself.

The Arbor Vitae seemed to pause at my words, before speaking.

"Lord Augustus has only done good to me," It said. "No, Noah Stark, I'm speaking about the countless other Spirits before their time, who'd grown greedy over my power. They used it for wrong, reanimated the dead, killed the living and destroyed the balance of the Realms."

I stared, speechless. I didn't know what was more unbelievable, Augustus being good to the Arbor Vitae, or that there were people worse than him.

"How exactly was Lord Augustus good to you?" I raised an eyebrow.

"He protected me. He hid my existence from the next generation of Spirits. He imposed restrictions on being a part of the Enlightened, making it almost impossible for my power to be misused. Making sure that only the worthy reached me." Arbor Vitae answered.

"So he hid the Enlightened and you because you wanted him to?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes," The tree sounded happy. "You see, Augustus isn't a part of the Enlightened. He didn't ascend Realms like Spirits usually did. He received his powers directly from me. And I named him as the Head of the Spirit Realm, Lord Augustus."