Garvon stared at his old apprentice, Travis, with shock. The appearance of his apprentice, following behind the succubus Vex was clearly a change in allegiance.

“Travis?” Garvon asked, as the trio of two demons and his apprentice approached.

“He belongs to me now, old man.” Vex interrupted, smiling with devastating grace.

Garvon grimaced before pushing his emotions away. The demoness had promised answers in exchange for an extra set of ‘meals’ to be delivered at a later date.

“Take a seat then, demon.” Garvon said, before seating himself at the head of the oval Farsight table. In the center of the table, hovering above all the Elder’s surrounding it, was a massive orb formed from the combination of alchemy and magic.

Currently the orb was focused on the Dryad, as she was the one the Elder’s desired information on the most. Demons were known problems, dryads were something no one knew anything about. Her obvious skill with plants aside, the Elders were intensely curious about the white tree.

Taking a seat, as if sitting on a throne, Vex crossed both her legs before spreading her hands wide to each side, “Ask away.” The succubus then rested her elbows on the table before interlocking her hands and flashing a grin.

Garvon rubbed his forehead in annoyance before asking, “Can you explain, what significance the White Tree has?”

Vex relaxed back in her seat before saying, “Yes.”

A vein pulsed in Garvon’s forhead as he asked again, “Could you be more specific, and don’t use monosyllabic answers.”

Vex smirked before saying, “Yes, of course.”

“This is getting us nowhere!” the Elder of Water said, her face disgusted.

“Can’t a demon have some fun around here?” Vex said, pretending to be the injured party. Snix, the Librarian was holding in evident laughter as he stood behind her seat.

Garvon took a deep breath before asking, “Tell us everything you know about the parties, not present at this discussion, who arrived at the same time as you, with as many details as possible, with the most accurate information you have available, and without attempting trickery.”

Vex listened intently before sighing, “Are you sure you want to know? This information will only cause extreme distress.”

Garvon glanced up at the Dryad who was standing with the strange wooden guard, as she held one hand on the white tree.

“Yes.” Garvon said.

Grimacing, the succubus said, “In the beginning, there were two powers. The Void, an absolute abyss, and Life. Both are descended from the Chaos that exists as the ink of eternity. In the First Age, before the Divines existed, the lesser races served their ultimate masters.”

Vex placed her arms on the seat’s armrests, “The most powerful of those who controlled Life, the Dryads were unstoppable. Even my race gave way, choosing to stay out of their path and hide ourselves in the Void between worlds. If the elves had not betrayed their masters, siding with the newly risen Divines, your world, and countless others would still be beneath their roots.”

Garvon shivered briefly as he glanced up at the beautiful figure, turning away from the white tree. For a moment he thought their eyes met, but the magic of Farsight was completely undetectable to all except the most diligent of detection spells.

“Is she a danger to us? Greater than you?” Garvon asked, his voice taunt.

“Define danger. Does she have the power to wipe your race, nay, all races on this world from existence? Absolutely.” Vex leaned forward, her face joyful. “You are witness to the birth of a Blood Dryad. A war machine capable of obliterating an entire world, a creature that cannot be stopped, an engine that does not run dry.”

Vex stared at each of the Elders, her eyes dark. “She does not tire, she does not sleep, rarely eats, and in my opinion has no weaknesses. If by some miracle you were able to pierce her skinwood, it would be the last act of a dying race.”

The succubus pointed up at the Dryad, “Her race fought entire galaxies with three, count it, three main abilities!”

Dryad vanished from the Farsight orb as Vex continued holding up three fingers as she counted off, “Plant manipulation, Flora. Plant enhancement, Flora Augmentio. Each of these two is devastating enough, yet not horrific. However, a Blood Dryad has a single addition that causes an absolute synergy, Sanguis germinare facit gramen, or in simple terms…”

“…Blood Makes the Grass Grow.” Snix said into the silent room.

***

Dryad stared out at the forests below from atop the mountain that held Tree inside. Closing her eyes she reached out through the primal woods searching and prioritizing targets.

Nightshade, do not allow anyone to enter Tree’s cavern while I am away. Dryad sent through the mental link she shared with the Grove Guardian. After receiving a positive reply, she flared her Aura and rushed into the woods under her command.

Moving rapidly like a shadow within the shade of the surrounding trees, Dryad approached her first target.

It was a group of Giants surrounding a single set of elderly Goblins. The giants had enormous clubs, patchy leather armor, and tough boots. Their steps caused small shudders in a nearby pool of water. Contrary to them, the goblins were dressed in all manner of strange things, everything from bones, to bits of colorful string. The only common denominator among the goblins was an enormous staff almost twice as tall as them, and a loincloth around their waist.

Dryad melted into the shade of the nearby trees soundlessly, waiting for her prey to approach. While the primal woods could deal with normal intruders, ones such as these that reeked of magic required a more…direct…touch.

When one of the group’s giants walked by her tree, she reached out and ripped off his leg at the knee.

There was almost a full second of silence at her appearance before the giant screamed as he tumbled down. Each of the goblins started shouting in their language while waving the staffs in her direction, while at the same time the remaining giants moved to swing their clubs at her.

Dryad grinned as the red plant tattoos on her body began to glow with twisted eerie light. In a flash, her blonde hair gained blood red highlights, her nails turned into rusty red talons, and her body shimmered with a faint red outline.

A fraction of a second later the first goblin died under her claws, his bloody heart ripped out before being consumed.

Within moments, the slaughter was finished, as giant legs were strewn about like so many discarded clubs. Most goblins were missing their hearts, while others were decapitated, their faces filled with horror.

As the blood soaked into the ground around her, Dryad started to grin with sickening delight. The light of rationality in her eyes fought with the berserk aura of insanity that slowly began to shine. Focusing inwards, she drew on the mental strength of her soul partner, Tree, to resist the madness.

Gathering up the blood around her, Dryad allowed it to soak into her skinwood, feeding the tattoos. The changes that were minor before became even more pronounced. Her hair grew longer, her nails sharper, and the red light around her body was even thicker.

With every kill, and every bit of blood from a creature, a Blood Dryad would grow in strength.

Dryad closed her eyes searching for the next target, before she flared her Aura once more fading into the shade of the trees.

***

Garvon watched an entire group of elite Goblin Shamans turn into cold, bloodless, corpses. His mind reeled from the speed, power, and destructive beauty the dryad embodied.

“Can she be stopped? Killed? Controlled?” Garvon said, his throat parched. He accepted a small orb of water from the Elder next to him. While drinking it down, he stared challengingly at Vex.

“No, no, and, were you even listening before? Are you an idiot?” Vex sneered. “By the time the millions strong army is slaughtered, not even I would be a match for her. You could of course try to kill her tree, after all that would be instant death for any dryad. If you choose that route, you might as well let me Kiss you now. It would be a much better alternative.”

“Are you saying the white tree has some sort of defense against us?” Garvon asked, after finishing his refreshment.

Vex paused, drew herself up straight, and stared directly at them all, “Tree is an Abberation. In the simplest terms possible, he is a creature of absolute disorder. Before arriving at this world, he most recently killed multiple Divines, ate the Worldheart of that planet, and reformed it from scratch before placing all the races he chose to save back on it. Then he put said world within one of his leaves.”

Garvon blanched.

“If you choose to wake such a creature up, please don’t expect things to go…well for you.” Vex said as she rose.

Garvon watched the succubus, and her two subordinates leave the room. It was clear she had come to give them a warning, a clear, easily understood threat, and a promise. Now it fell on his shoulders to make sure his associates did not choose to commit to something that everyone would regret.