'I see, you probably didn't go through the trouble of saving me just out of the goodness of your heart, right?'
"True."
'So what do I have to do?'
"Have to? Nothing. Forcing people never works out in the long run and since all of us have an unlimited life span resentment has too much time to grow. I saved you in order to create an opportunity. If you take this opportunity or leave to pursue your own path is entirely your own choice to make."
'So I can choose to follow you or join another one of the great powers?'
"I regret to tell you but you probably won't be able to join another faction. You had contact with me in both this and your previous life, every other faction will think of you as a spy. If you do not wish to join us you'll be on your own. But you are more or less a deity so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Also, you should know, I'm recruiting you not for my team but for a friend's."
'So I'm not good enough for you?'
"I wouldn't say that your not good enough. You aren't suitable for me. You are a tree who specializes in life and nature stuff while my expertise lies otherwise. I'm recruiting you for the garden department of the gray empire. It's headed by Rose, like me she is a member of the six on high, additionally, she the guardian of life so you are perfect for her."
'The guardian of life?! How come I've never heard of her?'
"She's a bit more reclusive than the rest of us. Human interaction isn't her greatest forte, she prefers animals and plants."
'That sounds great! Sign me up.'
"No signing needed, I'll take you to meet her and we'll take things from there. Do you have any unfinished business to take care of? I can wait a few days while you go down and say your goodbyes."
'I fear that I don't want to leave anymore if I see them again but staying here might be a bad idea. There is only one thing I'd like to do. I'll create another heir to take my place for the people below. The mini trees should help them out until the sapling matured.'
Thankfully, I already knew how to create heirs by myself since the world's will had been too busy or lazy to do it. Having done all of this once already I went through the various steps with ease and let the sapling descend. It reached where I had stood before and found a snug little hole to fit into. With that done I turned back to lord Abel.
'I'm ready to go now.'
"You'll regret not saying goodbye to your friends here. But once you get some mastery in space magic you can always come back so it's not too bad. I'll open a gate now, it's a passage between two worlds with quite some distance so it may be a little volatile."
'Shouldn't I take my human form?'
"If you want to. Your total mass won't change and making the gate big enough for you to fit through isn't a problem. Though Rose might like you more if you look like a tree."
With that lord Abel stretched out his hand and made a cutting motion with his index finger. Space before us split like a curtain that is drawn to both sides.
The split extended upwards and downwards until I could comfortably float through. We both entered the gate and I felt a little shake before we exited on the other side. If I had organs I would probably be sick to my stomach but I'm a tree.
I found myself in a wide clearing surrounded by a veritable jungle of different kinds of trees. All around us I could make out the noises from animals living their daily lives. It looked like a paradise of nature. Before the gate closed behind me Rat charged out of it and up my trunk.
"Welcome to the garden department. I'm here to pick you up."
At some point, a little girl had walked out from shrubbery and approached us. Her angelic voice left me stunned for a moment.
"Good evening Crocus. Is Rose still attempting to heal the behemoth she picked up?"
"Yes, she is very frustrated by her inability to cure it and hasn't left its side since. However, she has instructed me to give the newcomer a tour of the area and then bring him to meet her."
"Very well, then I will leave him in your capable hands. Eldar, I will be leaving now but we will surely meet again in the near future."
'It was a pleasure meeting you, lord Abel!'
The End
This book is now available on Amazon as an e-book, paperback, and hardcover. If you want to support me as an author or get yourself a nifty physical copy then please check it out. The book is published under the name Djarcher Writes. If you see it published under any other name it's pirated.
Author's note:
This is where Eldar's story as the main character ends and he becomes a side character in Rose's story. (the next book won't be Rose's story)
I'd like to convey my deepest appreciation to all my readers. I don't think I could have written this story without the encouraging comments from all of you.
If you like my writing, please check out my new books, Counter Dungeon-Delving (has no story relation to this book) and Conquering the Lower Realms (set in the timeline before this happened focussing on the six on high- currently on hiatus).