A sea of leaves. Thousands of leaves appeared and bound together around me as the World Tree appeared once more... at least that's what I thought as a dark corridor of leaves manifested around me. The floor was solid - dark and rugged, I knew that it was bark. I was on a branch on the World Tree.
"Walk forward child." the ancient voiced boomed within my head.
I listened.
Streams of light cascaded through the passageway through the tiny spaces within the foliage as some sort of fungus lit the pathway ahead of me. The path was by no means straight. Similar to the Labyrinth of White, numerous rooms of and passageways branched out in front of my eyes.
"Left."
I continued to follow the ancient snail's instructions until I rounded a corner.
"What do you mean an incident?" a rough voice called out.
"An accident not incident." the familiar voice of the ancient snail replied as murmurs began to buzz through the room that I couldn't get to.
I tried moving forward, but I couldn't... it was like a forcefield had placed itself in front of me - like something was holding me back no matter how hard I tried.
'Weird.' I thought as a seed of doubt was planted in me. I had no doubt that the deceased ancient snail was indeed my ancestor, but still. Something was definitely on her agenda. Even in death, she tried to control the situation in some way. Her blessing... even her memories... something was definitely off.
...
"You all know that I like to get straight to the point so here it is. The brood this year is no more. We lost all of them." the ancient snail continued.
"That's impossible!" One of the voices shouted. "I just checked our nursing leaf this morning. You must be joking."
"No. I'm serious. I'm always serious. I don't 'joke'," the ancient snail replied.
Soon more murmurs echoed through the room as I heard the sounds of scuffling and movement.
"WAIT!" the ancient snail shouted. As if her shout stopped a being from checking up on her claims she, the noises disappeared as it got quiet once more. "I'm not finished yet."
"What else is there to say? We have sustained great losses. The other ancients... what will we do if they attack us and take over our branch. Yes, it won't affect us now, but what about in a hundred years? What will happen if the previous inhabitants of the ancient tree try to impeach us as well?" the voice asked quickly.
"Look. It's not just your clutches and broods, but mine as well."
"What are we going to do?" another voice asked. The tone in her voice was clear.
"WHOEVER DID IT WILL FEEL OUR WRATH FOR SURE!" a husky voice yelled as the sound of movement began to echo down the branch towards me.
"Wait!"
"WHAT IS IT NOW YOU SPOTTED SHELL! WE NEED TO INVESTIGATE. FIND THE ENEMY. KILL THEM. REMEMBER THE CREED. A LIFE FOR A LIFE. WE WILL SLAUGHTER THIER ENTIRE COLONY."
"I already know who the assailant is. But before I tell you all, let me ask you a few questions."
"Snail, why are you doing this?" another voice asked.
"Because I have to." the ancient snail replied. Without confirmation from any other being in the room, she continued.
"Who led all of us to victory that day, years ago?" the ancient snail asked. "Was it you? Or you? Maybe it was you?"
"It was all..."
"All of us? Don't make me laugh. I orchestrated it all. Without me, you'll..."
Slam. The sound of a creature panting ensued.
"Calm down Green. Hear what she has to say."
"THE FACT IS OUR OWN ARE DEAD. WHY DO I HAVE TO STAY HERE AND LISTEN TO HER?"
"Green!"
"As I was saying... we would all be stuck in the meadows still killing each other while those on the tree would have continued to kill our own without any repercussions... isn't that right?"
"Yes." the first voice replied. "But what does it mean for us?"
"Wouldn't you say that in a sense I saved more lives than you could count? All the lives that would have been lost if we continued our senseless wars and all the lives that wouldn't be able to survive on because they would have starved to death because we didn't have enough resources to go around. Now, look around us now. We have plenty of resources and our families are growing larger and larger each year. Still, we have plenty of room..."
"Get to the point snail."
"... I have never asked for anything... and I didn't lie to you. I didn't lie to you all when I said that all your eggs, hatchlings, whatever you want to call them are all dead. That is just the plain truth. I didn't lie when I said I suffered losses as well. But I didn't mention one thing. There was a single survivor from my colony. A grand-daughter of mine survived and she was the cause of all this mess."
Instantly the room filled with outrage as numerous beings began to shout in tyrannical rage at her statement.
"I'LL KILL YOU DEMON!" the one called Green seemed to shout as I felt the ground shake as another exchange seemed to take place within the room.
"I wouldn't attack me or try to kill me. You all know it. Without me... you all are as good as dead. Without my strategies, you won't be able to survive. So go and try. If you have to guts to kill me, then be prepared to be annihilated after the others get word that I'm gone." the ancient voice said with complete confidence.
"YOU!!!"
"You what? I'm your saviour and not your enemy. Besides, I haven't described to you what had transpired yet. Why didn't you think that I haven't conducted an investigation yet? Believe me, I would have killed her off myself if I hadn't checked the scene. I'm not dumb enough to risk the safety of my entire colony just for the sake of a single hatchling, you know. I'm smarter than that."
As if I could see her, an image of her yellow eyes flashing brightly appeared within my head.
The ancient snail paused as I continue to hear the heavy panting echo through the hallway as the outrage of the individuals seemed to die down.
"Good. You are all smart enough to at least listen."
...