Forn walked me through the forest, off footpaths, and into ravines and many other places.

  “Do the realms within the trees contain life?” I asked her.

  “Yes, but only plant life.”

  “So they are trees that contain realms that contain more trees?”

  “They used to be more diverse. We used to have a green world filled with all types of species within the leaves, but the Holy Druids considered that distasteful.”

  “The ones in charge of the Holy Grove?”

  “Yes, they went about and culled or moved any tree that contained sentient life, moving it all towards their own groves. They said it would be cruel for these plants, which are eaten by beasts, insects, and men, to contain so much thinking life. So they guard any world tree they find. They even have rewards for anyone who finds them. The Fey hated that of course, well most of them. The Kind King’s Court supported the idea and there was a major conflict over the whole thing.”

  “But it seems like they’ve succeeded nonetheless,” I stated.

  “Yes,” She nodded. “Trees capable of bearing realms with sentient life have since become a currency. Everyone has them and some even trade with them, but no one leaves them out and unprotected anymore. They can at the very least rely on the Holy Grove to give them something for it.”

  “Trees as currency,” I chuckled. “Couldn’t someone grow them?”

  “Only if they want to face the wrath of the Holy Grove and all who side with them. The Forest is wild but it has rules and rulers. The Fey, The Groves, The Beast Kings, and a few other powers stand at the top.”

  We lept across a small stream. Within a drop of that stream’s water was enough liquid to fill an endless space and make it burst. It wasn’t just the quantity of water but also its quality. Everything here existed on a higher level. The water wasn’t just water, it was relief, it was flowing, it was overwhelming strength, and at the same the very cradle of life.

  Soon we got to an even bigger river, one that ran so deep and so through that even we couldn’t hope to cross it.

  “Take a cup,” Forn said to me. “It is of our land and as a druid I allow you a piece of it.”

  I nodded and took out a container and filled it with the water.

  I had a feeling, an almost certainty that if I took the water without permission something bad would have happened.

  “Is this your grove?” I asked.

  “Yes, from this river forward is the land of my people, The Druids of Life. You cannot enter but wait and I will return with a farewell gift.”

  “A gift?”

  “Yes,” she nodded. “If it weren’t for you that dragon might have eaten me.”

  “Nah, you were close enough to escape. And if I hadn’t helped you, that dragon would have come after me once it had gotten you.”

  “No. It was gaining on me, and while I could have escaped to my grove it would have lived to hunt another day.”

  I didn’t bother to argue.

  Forn turned to the river and walked. For her, it was a small stream of water, barely a foot wide. The river and the land submitted to her, and for a moment I felt I could do the same.

  But with one step, Forn was on the other side and without her here, the river reminded me of what it was.

  It was a thing, an amalgamation of water. And while the land knew Forn, it did not know me.

  I waited.

  The Forest was a thing of its own, more like the Realm of Imperium than just a simple forest. Things existed relative to one another here, instead of interacting on the same fabric of reality, things just were.

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  The river relative to me was immense. It did not know me and I wasn’t a druid, so it allowed me to perceive it in all of its strength. It wasn’t sentient and it didn’t have a soul.

  But a door would let someone with the right key open it and it was the same for this river. The dragon she had slain was large relative to me, something that appeared to be the size of a house, but to Forn, it was small enough to sling across her shoulder.

  Though size wasn’t an accurate representation for it. It was metaphysical weight. Power, presence, soul, value.

  Qi.

  Someone leaped back over the river. It wasn’t Forn.

  It was a man, no a giant. A fifteenth-rank being. His skin was black and his hair was dreaded and bark-like. Vines grew from his hair and wrapped around him as if they were rooted in his skin and his eyes were a deep and vibrant green.

  His form was well-built and though he chose to limit his presence, possibly as a courtesy to me. I could still feel the denseness of his power. He walked towards me and with every step, the earth bloomed green and vibrant.

  A trail of grass and bushes budded behind him and whatever plant he stepped on seemed to come back with more life and vigor.

  I was becoming more and more aware of the differences between powerful beings. This guy didn’t compare to a God-Imperium, but I could still feel his weight. It was like a mountain being compared to a sun. He wasn’t a God-Imperium, but he was still large.

  “So you are the one who helped Forn?” The man asked me.

  “Yes, honored master.”

  He didn’t bother studying me, only giving me a mere glance then nodded.

  “I thank you,” he replied.

  “I’m certain she could have escaped on her own. Moreover, I’m certain her abilities were enough to defeat the beast with proper timing.”

  “No,” the man mumbled. “She could have escaped back here, but she wouldn’t have done that. It is not her nature. For her to even come to you speaks of her desperateness in the moment. You helped her evade death.”

  “Surely you would’ve intervened if it came to that, no?”

  The man turned and looked at me.

  “No. Cubs must learn to hunt, chicks must learn to fly, to live with the wild is to be wild, with its dangers and its freedom.”

  “You would have let her die?” I asked.

  “She would have let herself die. If she wanted my protection, she could have come and called me. But she didn’t ask and so I did not give it.”

  “I see. ”

  I didn’t openly state my confusion but I didn’t need to. The World King seemed to sense it. The vines on his chest grew and withered and died and grew again as he adjusted himself to sit on the ground.

  “It is our nature, to be wild and to grow like the plants. To live is to be both prey and predator. We druids do not give up our humanity to be in the wild. We still have bonds and families. But to be wild is to be free from all rules and limitations, even the ones that limit you. You understand this yes?”

  “Yes, honored master. But…”

  I held my tongue. I shouldn’t be asking questions, not now. Not to this giant being in front of me. It was the exact opposite of what Dane would have done. He probably wouldn’t have followed Forn all the way here either, though the girl could have attacked me at any point in our journey here or she could have thrown me into danger on purpose.

  Well, maybe Dane would have risked following Forn here. Her grove was the reason I was here after all.

  But he would have never asked this man questions. He would have stayed quiet and bowed silently.

  “Drean was a good name for you,” the man suddenly spoke. “But I think prey would have been a better word.”

  “Apologies, honored master.”

  “Do not apologize, for you act as you are. But all your shivering and worry will not fix your soul. Oh yes, I see it. What a strange thing you have, is that why you seek the Soulsween? Yes, yes, I suppose it would help. Two natures mixed together yet neither make you whole, how strange indeed.”

  I held my breath. Of course, he could see that part of me. Even he wouldn’t be able to pierce past a God-Imperium’s power. Hell, I doubted if other God-Imperiums would know or even care about me. The Tome had implied that whatever bits of qi the Tome or Wukong had applied to me, it only marked me as their follower and nothing more.

  It was like a political badge that protected me from the influence of other God-Imperiums. Protected in the lightest sense of the word. It was more like political immunity. It prevented divination and if I ran into a God-Imperium, which should be a statical impossibility for a being of my rank, they would ignore me to not offend Wukong.

  “Yes, I seek alignment for my condition.”

  “Soulsween will help,” the druid said with a nod. “Though you pick at your wound now that you see it, like a boy playing with his scab.”

  “Pardon?”

  “Your indicisiveness and fear works against you. You seek to be whole but value one part more than the other. You seek to not worry but you stink of the behavior of prey. Oh yes, I know not what hunts you but you scurry and shiver like a rat in the dark.”

  “I… have enemies.”

  “We all have enemies.”

  “Great enemies. Enemies so powerful-”

  “It doesn’t matter how powerful they are. We are all prey to those above us.”

  The the man leaned in and looked me in the eyes.

  “But to live like prey is to become one. You are prey, all prey no predator. You run and run and run like a scared mouse. You do not rest, grow, or eat. You do not seek strength or power, and you act with the will of two people hoping to become one. If you want to fix your soul, fix your mind. Settle yourself and do not become torn in two.”

  Then the man leaped off into the distance, deeper into the Hills of Life. I couldn’t perceive that area. It was dangerous, even looking in that direction brought perils to my mind.

  And so his form disappeared into the dangerous distance, and I stood there in wonder.

  is 30 chapters ahead.

  Also, check out my other fiction. It's a superhero fic, inspired by Super Minion and various other superhero stories. Also, you can worldbuild in a superhero story and it can be cool and fun. Its sci fi with superheros and space roaches and mars colonies and horribly addictive drugs. Give it a spin if you want to.