Supreme Magus novel Chapter 826

Chapter 826 World Tree Part 2

"I usually don’t appreciate duplicity, but in your shoes, I’d say that an honest rival is better than a treacherous friend. Also, I’m not done with the bad news."

Lith sighed and nodded for her to continue. His situation was bad, but it could still become much worse.

"What you’re facing in Laruel is a big threat, almost big enough to involve the Council. Unfortunately, this Erlik is a cunning bastard. As things are right now, almost isn’t enough.

"No one of the involved parties is an Awakened, so the Council is likely to sit on their hands until is too late." Faluel said.

"The Sapling isn’t an Awakened?" Lith was flabbergasted.

"Sadly, no. The World Tree, from which all the Saplings descend from, is probably the first, but surely the most ancient Awakened on Mogar. Legends say that its roots encompass our whole planet, allowing it to hold all the knowledge of the past, of the present, and even to catch a glimpse of the future.

"Many Awakened and Dragons have spent their lives looking for it, in the hope to find answers that no one else can provide them. Some seek the truth about the past, others look for redemption."

"I get that being Awakened expands your lifespan, so a tree that could live hundreds of years on its own would live millennia, yet isn’t this story farfetched? No one can live that long." Lith said.

"You’re right. We call it the World Tree, but it’s just an inherited title. When the original Tree felt its end approaching, it didn’t despair nor sought for a way to prolong its existence.

"The Tree’s only worry was that all the knowledge and secrets it had accumulated would be lost, so it found a way to preserve them. At the moment of its death, its consciousness would travel through its roots to meet all of its offspring.

"Once the World Tree finds a worthy candidate, their consciousnesses merge and a new World Tree is born from the Awakening of a Sapling."

"It takes over the body of one of its children? Isn’t that forbidden magic?" Lith asked.

"No. It would be forbidden magic if it consumed the Sapling’s life force, but it’s the other way around. The World Tree gives what life force it has left to the Sapling, just like you did with Protector, allowing the younger being to live longer and inherit all of the Tree’s memories but none of its emotions.

"This way, only information is passed on, whereas all the traumas and the prejudices due to bad experiences die with the old Tree. The new Tree can look at its newly acquired knowledge as if it’s just reading a book.

"Otherwise the emotional burden would drive each generation of World Trees insane with unpredictable consequences. It’s one of the reasons why the Saplings are referred to as plant Liches.

"Each one of them is like a living phylactery that will allow the Tree to live on. If Erlik gets his hands on a Sapling’s mind, he might barter the knowledge it holds in exchange for the secret of Awakening.

"At that point, he’ll simply have to ask his new master to help him to join the undead Council so that no Awakened can mess with his turf. The Sapling would provide him with all the knowledge he needs to buy himself not only a seat, but also several powerful allies." Faluel said.

"So, basically the Council will not intervene because there’s no Awakened involved, but once Erlik becomes a threat, they would not have the chance to intervene because he’d have become one of them?" Lith asked.