Chapter 29

“Using magical spells and incantations, the Guardian fought Ignis in a mighty battle that spanned days. With a powerful blow, the Guardian smote Ignis, causing the fiery demon to flee. Peace reigned across the land once again, and vegetation grew through the ashes.”

Origins by Grand Arboler Parley, year 1989

Treespeak

A light snow fell on the Capital Grove. The morning was windy and bleak.

Kimberly got out of her hover car where the road was blocked off, tightened up her coat, pulled the hood over her head, and walked slowly toward the southern wall. That was where the damage was. She rubbed her forehead where her stitches were. They didn't hurt as much now, and the throbbing had dulled to an occasional headache, but whenever she raised her eyebrows, the injury would sting.

Her spirits felt low as her pace was slow. Eland had convinced Riker and even Norman to give up the fight. The Arbolers had lost. The Seculars were free to cut trees now. They probably already were. The thought of it was disgusting.

And it was all her fault.

No, she told herself. Don't place all the blame on yourself. That's ridiculous. It made sense. But at the moment, sense had no effect on the way she felt. Her heart was heavy, and her mind seemed powerless to lift it.

She could hear chanting up ahead. "No more trees! No more trees!"

A group of protesters in heavy coats marched on the slushy sidewalk around the Capital Grove, signs in their hands, and drones with banners in the air above them. A few of them walked by Kimberly, and she lowered her hood. If any of them saw her, the Arboler Branch Leader, what would they do to her? She didn't want to know.

Through the fog and the snow, she saw up ahead the damage done to the southern wall. Bricks and metal poles lay strewn across the sidewalk and along parts of the street. A couple small tractors were parked in the middle of the street, collecting snow. No one was inside, but they were obviously the machines that were used to break a twenty-foot gap in the wall just the day before.

That gap was now filled with Enforcers in their crowd control getup. They wore black helmets that matched their black uniforms. They held long shields in their left hands and metal rods in their right. They watched the marching protesters with calm and caution. The protesters were walking by, not attacking.

Security guards inside the Capital Grove were placing slabs of metal on one side of the gap to make a temporary filling. The snow and the frozen ground made their efforts slow going. It would probably take a couple days to finish. Rebuilding the actual wall could take a few weeks or a month.

The sight pained Kimberly. It was yet another evidence of the escalating war between Seculars and Arbolers. Her goal was to bring peace between the two groups. She had failed.

Looking at the destruction before her, she struggled to blame the Seculars for their actions. The shooting in the courtroom was by an Arboler. The bombing at the Justice was by an Arboler. This was the first time the Seculars had retaliated. In a strange sense, they seemed justified in their actions. And they will get the results they’re looking for, she thought. This morning, the three main sects will tell their members to abide by the new law.

Kimberly walked up to one of the Enforcers who raised a hand to stop her. She raised her hood a bit, so the officer could see her face. Looking surprised, the Enforcer recognized her and let her pass; no words necessary.

She meandered through the Grove, taking in the wintry look of the small forest. Being close to the trees had a calming effect on her soul. They were living organisms just like her. She touched each tree she passed by with a gentle hand. There was a surreal sense of magic to this place.

She'd never seen the Capital Grove so empty before. Even on a frigid day like this, small groups of Arbolers—usually families—could be seen walking along the pathways, enjoying the scenery and the refuge from technology. Today, the Grove was closed.

Eventually, the Tree of Life loomed before her. Its bark was as white as the snow that covered its evergreen needles. It was the light in the midst of darkness Kimberly needed to hold onto. The large area under the Tree remained untouched by snow. As Kimberly drew closer to her god, her emotions welled up to her throat, and then surged out as warm tears from her eyes.

She flung herself onto the trunk, resting her body against it with her arms outstretched, the same way a crying child would jump into the comforting arms of her mother. A mother was what Kimberly lacked. It was what she needed.

"Oh, Life," she treespoke, her cheek against the bark. "Please help me. What did I do wrong? I have failed you and your Guardian. I was supposed to win the debate, but I didn't. I failed miserably. And now... there have been shootings and bombings and mobs and... it's been terrible. Is this how it's supposed to be? Are we supposed to follow the new law and let people cut down trees? That doesn't seem right. The Guardian told us to protect the trees and never cut them until his Appearance. But he hasn't come. Not when he was supposed to. When will he come? Will he come at all? Are we doomed to endure this on our own? For how long? Are you even there?"

That last question rang in the air for a moment, and then faded to silence. The cool wind blew through the grove, causing Life to sway in a gentle rhythm. It almost felt like the Tree were rocking Kimberly to sleep. Her treespeech over, she remained in place, rubbing her hands along Life's bark.

It wasn't rare for a person to treespeak like Kimberly just did. When the Grove was open, usually five to twenty people would touch Life's trunk and offer a personal treespeech. The trunk could fit about 35 adults around its trunk at one time. It wasn't necessary to touch Life to treespeak. Since every tree was a limb of Life, they could touch any tree in the grove or in the world and do it, but there was still something special and unique about treespeaking to the Tree of Life herself. Some claimed She spoke back. Norman claimed to hear Her occasionally.

Kimberly had heard her in the past. At least she thought she did. Now she heard nothing.

Her right hand felt a rough indentation in the bark. She raised her head to inspect it and recognized it right away. Veloral's Gouge. It was famously known as the only blemish in Life's flawless trunk. The legend goes that during the Age of Greed, the evil Veloral sought to cut down all the trees, and even went as far as to attempt to cut down the Tree of Life herself. Some stories say he dropped dead after three strikes of the ax. Others say the Guardian of Magic Appeared and used a spell that killed him on the spot. Kimberly believed more in the third story: Life spoke to Veloral, and he was filled with so much guilt, he was dumb and deaf for three days until his own men killed him. It was a peculiar legend that the Holy Instructions never gave much detail on.

A voice whispered.

Kimberly jumped back from the trunk, her heart thumping, looking around. "Who's there?" she asked. "Who said that?"

The snow fell, and the wind blew. She was completely alone.

But she'd heard a voice! It sounded like a person speaking next to her, whispering into her ear. It was a woman's voice. A motherly voice. A loving voice.

Kimberly stared at the Tree. "Life?" She placed a hand on the trunk and waited for a response. None came.

A thrilling energy pulsed in Kimberly's veins. Life spoke to me! she thought. I heard her! It had to be Her!

With that realization, she thought about what the voice had said. A short message, but full of meaning. Even with a warm coat on, a chill surged down her back, freezing her stiff. Her eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped, as she reflected on the four words she’d heard.

“I have to tell everyone.”