Embers of Sun and Flame (Fuegoleon Vermillion x OC)

Chapter 42 The Tree of Binding Fates

Long ago, before recorded time, seeds were carried by the wind, by birds, by life. Three, small, insignificant little seeds. One was maple, one was oak, and one was pine. Maple for the balance and a promise. Oak for the strength and the knowledge. And pine for the virtue and longevity; some speaking of immortality.

These three landed on the same spot, same space, intended to compete against each other. But the strings of fate, ever twining around them, around everything that is and was, surrounding the living, the dead, and the existing, flowed, twisted together. The dark green string of pine, the crimson string of maple, and the orange string of oak, became intwined together, perhaps pulled by the Ley lines running underground, and wound around the seeds, joining them together.

There they laid, those three, forever bound to each other, pulsating and contemplating what to do. Which of them would be allowed to grow, which one of them would be granted the chance to reach for the heavens above, which one of them could keep their string intact? Would it be the Maple of Balance? Or would it be the Oak of Strength? Or would it be the Pine of Longevity? And they argued about it for centuries. Each of them cried out how they'd be the best choice. Until they realized: balance alone can be swayed, if there is no strength, balance can crumble. Strength alone can be conquered; it can be made to meet its end without longevity. And what is longevity without balance? Nothing but a roaring ocean of uncertainty.

So, they reached a conclusion. Instead of choosing which string to cut, they weaved those strings together. And as they began their task, they heard a cry from above. 'You cannot do this!' There was a crash and a roar around them. 'If you continue to weave, the threads will be seen! And you will not be allowed to reach the heavens!' The voices cried in unison.

'We don't need the heavens!' The seeds replied. 'We can weave, and we can climb with the threads alone! We'll be in them, and they'll be in us!' They replied as they bound themselves together, forming a braid of crimson, orange and dark green, right in the centre of the tree trunk that was formed. One single tree was now reaching up above. It was no longer just maple, or just oak, or just pine, it was all of them, and none of them. They were no longer the Maple of Balance, the Oak of Strength, or the Pine of Longevity. They were now the Tree of Binding Fates. And that braid, the colours of which had started to seep together, began collecting the other threads winding around them. The braid and the branches of the tree stretched out into the world, and started beckoning for the loose, lonely threads, asking them to join.

And they did. The threads became strings, and the strings became ropes. And those threads, strings and ropes formed a network, connecting everything together. The fickle threads of fate, were now connected, for better and for worse.

The tree, it doesn't weave anymore. But the threads, they do. The threads intwine and scatter around, combining with others. For better. And for worse. For those whose fates tangle together, because for the tree, no outcome is good or bad, it just is. It doesn't weave anymore, for it's not a Tree That Weaves. Oh no. The Tree of Binding Fates, is a tree that shows, a tree that observes, and a tree that simply... is.

Idalia smiled, finishing the story about the tree. Her eyes were fixed on the amber coloured liquid that was still left in her cup, the little residue that she swirled around, as if looking to paint the insides of her cup with the rich tone of the tea.

Fuegoleon quirked an eyebrow, waiting for her to elaborate further, but she stayed true to herself by keeping quiet. This time as well, she chose to wait for him to ask for what it was that he wanted to know.

"And how does that tree, and its lore, affect Thean society?"

Idalia let out a faint chuckle while tilting her head. "An excellent question," she gazed to him. "The Tree grows on Thean soil, and long ago they were able to compose a ritual to see whose strings of fates combine with whose. Well, of course there's limitations to it, since the ritual can be conducted only once, and it doesn't specify how the fates are connected."