SACRIFICING THE CONJURERS TO THE SUN TREE
The conjurers were mysterious, and they spoke little after they arrived. They merely communicated with the villagers by their gestures.
"Perhaps the holy ones do not understand our local dialect", one of the villagers said to the others as they were treated coolly by the holy beings.
"Please try our wine, oh, holy ones. This is the best of our wine", the shaman of the village offered to the conjurers, pouring out cups of wines for them.
"Ah, wine", one of the conjurers finally spoke and he took a cup from the shaman and drank it.
The other conjurers quickly followed suit and drank from their offered cups. Soon, the conjurers fell asleep.
-----
When the conjurers awoke from their sleep, they found themselves tied to the tree in the middle of the village.
"What you do me", one of the conjurers asked the villagers.
"He is awake? So fast? Maybe the drug has gone bad", one of the villagers said to themselves.
"What you do me?" the conjurer asked the villagers again.
"You foolish conjurers keep coming here to get yourself slaughtered and sacrificed to our Sun Tree. What else do you think we are going to do to you, we are taking your life, and the Sun Tree shall take your blood", the shaman of the village told the conjurers.
"Where Lich King?" another conjurer asked.
"The King is in the village of course but you will never see him. He is resting under the ground, hahaha", the shaman replied to him and laughed.
The shaman performed a ritual as his clansmen chanted before the Sun Tree.
Suddenly, vines from the Sun Tree emerged from its branches that quickly curled around the conjurers who were tied up.
"It is strange. These conjurers are not resisting at all", a villager told the shaman.
"Why do we care. They will be killed by the Sun Tree either way whether they resisted or not", the shaman told them.
The vines of the tree struck the bodies of the conjurers.
Strangely, the conjurers did not scream or yell for help like the victims of the Sun Tree usually do.
"Something is not right about these conjurers", the shaman admitted to the villagers finally.
"What is wrong, learned shaman?" the villagers asked him.
"The vines are not taking blood from the conjurers", the shaman replied to them.
"Did we cast the ritual wrongly?" the villagers asked.
But that wasn't the case.
Soon, the bodies of the conjurers shrunk and disappeared into the veins of the Sun Tree.
"Where did the conjurers go?" the villagers asked as all the conjurers that were brought to the Sun Tree for sacrifice all disappeared.
-----
The villagers of Sun Tree Village were left dumbfounded by the fate of their offerings—conjurers they lured and subdued for their rituals. Confusion shrouded them as they witnessed an ominous transformation overtaking their revered Sun Tree.
Out of nowhere, dark blemishes marred the once vibrant trunk and branches, spreading like an insidious disease. Leaves withered and plummeted to the ground, unveiling the tree's desperate struggle. Its once graceful branches contorted into grotesque shapes, some snapping under the strain. It was as though the essence of life itself was draining from the ancient tree.
Then, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air, seemingly erupting from the very bowels of the earth. Villagers exchanged fearful glances as the ground trembled beneath their feet.
Suddenly, a colossal, clawed hand tore through the soil, heralding the emergence of a monstrous entity.
It possessed the decaying semblance of a corpse, with a multitude of appendages protruding unnaturally from its back. With a determined stride, the abomination made a beeline towards the ailing Sun Tree.
But before the grotesque creature could ascertain the cause of the tree's demise—its source of power, a blinding radiance descended from the heavens.
The searing light engulfed the monster, igniting furious screams of agony and fury as it recoiled from the celestial assault.
----
"The Lantern of Regret"
While the Lich King finally emerged from the ground after the Sun Tree's demise, a blinding and scorching illumination emitted to the ground where the Lich King was.
Soon, creatures crawled out from the ground like the Lich King, their bodies being hurt by the magic of the Lantern of Regret.
"Die to you, unclean things", Iras screamed to the liches as he held the Lantern of Regret.
"You don't have to talk like the apostles to use the Lantern of Regret", Ratatouille reminded Iras.
"I'm getting used to the feeling of casting from a holy artifact. I've never had this experience", Iras told us.
"The bloody Apostles cheated us of the Chalice of Blessings, otherwise you can feel it all you want", Iviar told him.
"How did you get this holy artifact from the apostles?" Eless asked us.
"It is a reward. My reward. I am only lending the lantern to you. You must return it to me after use", Ratatouille told the conjurers.
"Of course, we don't want to be seen holding this stolen property in Tarah city", Epius replied to him.
"Why is the Lich King being affected by the Lantern of Regret? He wasn't so affected last time", Illiwyn asked us.
"The Control Freak were part of the conjurers who killed the Lich King Bulhane last time?" Cassandra asked them.
"Yes, we were part of that expedition although we were only playing support", Illiwyn told her.
"After destroying the magic of the Sun Tree, we disconnected the Lich King's source of magic. He is especially vulnerable now, that is the reason the Lantern of Regret affects him", I explained to them.
"But how do we kill the Lich King, even if he is weakened?" Epius asked me.
"With a powerful sword beam through his heart", I replied to him.
"We, Control Freaks do not have that kind of firepower", Eless told us.
"Don't worry, let me try if my magic can harm the monster", Chash told us as he swooped down to meet the Lich King.