18 Treants Vs Gnome Riders IV (1/2)

”Those damn parasites! Causing problems until the very end.”

Sylvan was very frustrated. The gnomes we're damaging his forest more than expected.

Nevertheless, the dryad understood the necessity to keep fighting.

”By eliminating these veteran warriors, even if I have to sacrifice dozens of treants and several acres worth of forest, it will still be worth it.”

After all, with his magic, plants would grow faster and even new treants could be cultivated. But to produce powerful individuals like those again, the gnomes would need luck, hundreds of years and ample resources.

Catching this group alone in the woods was a great opportunity he couldn't afford to lose.

As such, even though his heart ached, even though he shared the pain of his fellow kinsman, from the humble treants to the most elevated fey, this was still a price worth paying.

Why?

Because there was no alternative.

Two hundred and Nineteen years ago the first intelligent creatures, also known as the First Generation awoke on this place. Be it gnomes, humans, elves, orcs or even the fey folk. For all of those races, this moment in time was their birth.

It was also the beginning of the common calendar because time was measured since ”The Awakening”. For instance, this was the year 219 a.t.a., which means 219 after the awakening.

Different races awoke in different places. For instance, the orcs awoke on the Great Steppes and dragons we're born on high mountain peaks.

Those locations were no coincidence. Wherever a race was created, this was the biome in which they had better chances of thriving.

At those times, two races were born in the same place, gnomes, and the fey folk.

On the beginning, those two kinds discovered the world together, experiencing Agatha's wonders after first opening their eyes in bewilderment and curiosity.

A beautiful forest awaited for them, full of life and color. Azov was their childhood home.

But those golden days of peace did not last.

When those peoples discovered themselves, they uncovered a powerful and mysterious skill. That is the ability to reproduce.

From the first generation, came a second and a third. Soon the wise leaders of both sides realized the forest would eventually become too small for both of them.

Attempts were made to establish agreements and guarantee peaceful coexistence and exploration of the territory.

But it was all for naught.

No one knows who fired the first shoot. But one thing is for certain. It wasn't the last.

The two races never knew peace again.

Both, the fey queen and the gnome king from the first generation eventually died, leaving behind several successors, none of which could claim complete dominance over their respective races.

The only thing they could agree amongst themselves was the necessity to crush the rival race.

Willowtown, this group's home, was one of those independent villages which arose to prominence after King Alfred, ruler of all gnomes, passed away.

Sylvan's colony was another such autonomous group.

But even in this state, even without united leadership, they kept fighting. Maybe because there was no one in a position to make peace, maybe because they still truly believed in the cause or maybe because the fight had become a reason of its own.

After two hundred years of war, hatred and resentment gained life and sprouted mighty wings. If they stopped now, would all the deaths be for nothing?

Sylvan couldn't even bare to entertain this thought. It was just too painful.

.....