58 Introductions And Questions (1/2)
”Raiz, I want to make you look like a true high-priestess. And that means that you walk around, protected.” I explained to my newest creation, while I inspected the bizarre beings I had given new life too in order to protect her.
The creatures were reshaped, shambling trees. Two of them vaguely resembled humans or at least humanoids, and one of them was a massive, wolf-like thing made of wood. They all possessed eerie, ethereal eyes, roughly eye-shaped orbs of light that illuminated other empty spaces where their eye sockets would have been on the creatures they modeled after.
The two human-shaped ones loosely held weapons of light, one of them holding a spear of light and the other holding a light-blade. They were both outfitted with one extra piece of gear as well. In the case of the spear-holder, it was gripping an imitation of a leash, tied to the neck of the wolf-tree. I studied all three of my creations before I turned my attention fully to Raiz.
”These creatures are your bodyguards. They have one order: to protect you.” I told Raiz over our mental connection. I saw her turn to the arboreal playthings that stood beside her and look at them. She wasn't enthused about the situation, but when she replied to me her tone wasn't as negative as it could have been.
”Alright, master... I trust you.” She told me, speaking sincerely albeit somewhat unhappily. I chuckled but kept that hidden from her as to not worsen her mood.
”Thank you, Raiz. Your trust is not misplaced and in time I shall give you protectors that more match your particular aesthetic tastes. Whatever those happen to be.” I told her, aware that her concern with her current retinue might well be one of optics rather than something immaterial.
If it was true that her concern was one of optics and aesthetics I could understand that and didn't begrudge her for it. A part of me, perhaps either due to the influence of the domain of faith or the subdomain of corruption, had an intuitive understanding of the importance of optics and aesthetics.
I understood that to mortals, aesthetics carried weight and could shape impressions and opinions. And I wanted mortal worshipers.
Her bodyguards were an odd-looking group. That was only partially my fault, as it was true that I didn't give them especially impressive looking gear, or craft them to be works of art, but it was also partially because trees aren't the kind to give the aesthetic opinions of elves much, if any consideration. That said, every second brought us closer to them.
But in time, we got close enough to my party of servants that the time came for me to cease studying my creations and for me to meet them, in the flesh. Within a few minutes, Farrane and Calorron drew close enough to Raiz and her bodyguards that the elves could see the dryad and her unusual honor-guard.
Our encounter began with my elvish allies verbally greeting the strangers they could finally see.
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”Hello! We are visitors to this forest. May we approach and converse with you?” Calorron asked when we stood about sixty or so meters away from the wooded warriors I had created. I used this time to truly study Raiz for the first time.
She stood under a meter and a half tall. She had a curvy body, one that I had bestowed upon her consciously as a manner to lure lust-driven mortals to her more easily. She had long, wavy, red hair inspired by one of the more common colors of apples that was made all the more lovely by contrasting it with her snow-like pale skin.
She had bright green eyes and the sharp-pointed ears of elven kind. She radiated a faint aura of magic, a dimly visible green one, but at a glance, I had difficulty discerning what kind of magic she was radiating. It was magic, unlike any kind I had seen so far, which was annoyingly limited. While studying the aura I heard the voice of the domain of knowledge whisper into my mind.
”That aura... it's possible she's radiating evocation magic, which tends to be magic that druids excel at manipulating. Not that you would know...” Said my free-loading companion, before making a snarky and unnecessary remark. An accurate one, but still an unnecessary one.
”Hey, all I'm saying is that you should focus on building your influence over all of the subdomains of magic, and not just the ones your soul is attuned to.” Complained the domain, which made me roll my eyes. Once again, it wasn't wrong, but it was still annoying.
”Hey, that's the other domains say about me too!” Whispered the obnoxious entity. I heard a faint giggle come from it before I refocused and continued studying Raiz.
Loose piles of multicolored leaves covered Raiz's naked body, keeping the parts of her that mortals tended to find the most pleasurable to look at just out of view. Aside from that she immodestly showed my allies and myself her body, which was quite pleasing to look at.
I would have focused more on her companions, but I had already studied them extensively. I wasn't about to pay them anymore mind just yet. Raiz turned and began to reply to Calorron.
”Hello friends, welcome to the Rodan forest. I am Raiz, the high priestess of the Cosechian faith. Please come and introduce yourselves. Do not be afraid of me or of my... relatives. They are blessings bestowed upon me by the god I serve. They do not seek to harm anyone, only to protect me while I enact my master's will.” Raiz declared, her voice carried to us on the winds themselves.
Farrane looked to me, and I shrugged. She then looked to Calorron and he nodded at her. And so we closed what little distance separated us from Raiz and my other creations, with a few swift moments of motion.
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When we stood just 10 or so meters away from Raiz, we found ourselves on one end of a path and found them on the other end. The four of them together soundly blocked us from advancing forward, as although none of them were particularly bulky when they stood shoulder to shoulder they were just tall and wide enough to keep us from advancing unless we went around them.