Chapter 34: The Council's Response
Recap: Fang Yuan planted three Trees at Duskfall, Grey Rock, and Ember's End, leaving behind a Pokeball with a surprise at Grey Rock. Now he wanders south, but the Council of Clans has learned of his actions.
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The Council of Clans met in the capital's rebuilt palace.
Nine chairs surrounded a circular table, each carved from a different wood, each representing one of the great clans. Gu Yue. Shang. Tie. Wu. Beast. Steel. Dragon. And two others—the Phoenix Clan and the Jade Clan—whose territories lay in the far east and west. The chairs were filled, but the air was thick with tension.
General Wei stood at the center of the circle, his white hair disheveled, his gold eyes burning. He had ridden through the night to bring his report.
"The demon has planted Trees," he said. "Three of them. At Oakhaven, Duskfall, and Grey Rock. Ember's End was destroyed, but he rebuilt it with the third Tree."
The councilors exchanged glances. The eldest, a woman from the Phoenix Clan with hair the color of flame, leaned forward.
"Trees? You mean the one in the forest? The one that heals Gu?"
"Worse," General Wei said. "These Trees don't just heal. They protect. At Oakhaven, the Tree drove back my entire battalion. Its light blinded our Gu. Its roots shattered our siege weapons. We couldn't get within a hundred paces."
The Dragon Clan's representative, a young man with scaled armor, snorted. "You retreated from a tree?"
General Wei's jaw tightened. "You haven't seen what I've seen. The demon isn't just planting Trees. He's changing the land itself. Duskfall was dying—no rain, no crops. Now it has a Tree that waters the fields. Grey Rock's well was poisoned. Now it flows clean. Ember's End was ash. Now it's a village again, rebuilt by roots and light."
The councilors murmured. The Jade Clan's representative, a woman with green-tinted skin, raised her hand.
"What does he want? Power? Revenge?"
General Wei shook his head. "I don't think he wants anything. That's what makes him dangerous. He's not trying to conquer. He's not trying to rule. He's just... planting."
The Phoenix Clan elder sat back, her eyes narrowed. "A demon with no ambition. That's worse than one with too much." She looked around the table. "We need to stop him before these Trees spread. If every village has one, the Council's authority will crumble. The people will follow the Trees, not us."
"What do you propose?" the Dragon Clan representative asked.
"We send more troops. Not one battalion. Five. We surround the demon, cut him off from the Trees, and destroy him. Then we burn every Tree we find."
General Wei hesitated. "The demon has power we don't understand. The Trees are connected to him somehow. When I faced him at Oakhaven, he said something. He said the Tree wasn't a weapon. It was a beginning."
The Phoenix Clan elder smiled. "Then we'll make sure it's an ending."
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Fang Yuan walked south, unaware of the council's decision.
He passed through forests that were green and alive, across rivers that flowed clear, over hills that were covered in wildflowers. The war had not touched this part of the world. The people here were peaceful, prosperous, content.
But he knew it would not last. The Council's reach was long, and their fear of him was deep. They would come for him. They would come for the Trees.
He stopped at a small stream and knelt to drink. The water was cold, clean, and as he cupped it in his hands, he saw something in his reflection—not his face, but the Tree's face. The silver-skinned woman, her golden hair, her eyes the color of dawn.
You have planted three, she said. But there are many more who need you.
"I can't save everyone," he said aloud.
You don't have to. You just have to plant the seeds. They will grow on their own.
He looked at his reflection. The woman's image faded, replaced by his own—young, tired, but not empty.
He stood and continued walking.
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The next village was called Morningfall.
It was not burned. It was not starving. It was simply forgotten—tucked away in a valley between two mountains, its people isolated, their Gu weak, their knowledge outdated. They had heard of the war, but they had not been touched by it. They had heard of the demon, but they did not believe he was real.
Fang Yuan walked into the village square, and the villagers stared at him as if he were a ghost.
"You're him," an old man said. "The demon who plants Trees."
Fang Yuan nodded. "I am."
"We don't want your Tree. We don't want your trouble. The Council will come if you plant one here. They'll burn our homes. Kill our children."
Fang Yuan looked at the old man. "The Council will come whether I plant a Tree or not. They're afraid of what I represent. Not the Trees. The idea that people don't need them."
The old man's face hardened. "Then leave. We don't want your ideas."
Fang Yuan studied the village. The houses were sturdy, the fields green, the people healthy. They did not need a Tree to survive. They needed something else.
He reached into his pocket—empty. No seeds left. But he had something else.
He pulled out a Pokeball—one of his old ones, containing a small Gu he had captured months ago, a Light Sprite, Rank 1, weak but pure. He held it out to the old man.
"Take this. It's not a Tree. It's a light. Plant it in your square, and it will glow at night. It will keep away the shadows. It will remind you that darkness doesn't last."
The old man stared at the Pokeball, then at Fang Yuan. "Why?"
"Because everyone needs a little light."
He placed the Pokeball on the ground and walked away.
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Behind him, the Light Sprite emerged from its sphere. It hovered in the square, its glow soft, warm. The villagers gathered around it, their faces illuminated, their fear fading.
Fang Yuan did not look back.
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End of Chapter 34