A moment later, the ground started to shake and Kalen watched in awe as a new Dev rose from the Stone formation in a glowing green pond. He was now clearly a woman. She was…she was just utterly dazzling. Her face smooth. No scars on her skins and she was dressed in a long greenish white dress that covered her ankles. Her hair was dark drown but the lips of her hair was green. It hung down loose and she wore a simple headband of that liked to be carved out of wood. Her usual tattoos were gone replaced with new glowing reddish and green ones.
He thought this was just devastating. He was watching the birth of a new creature. And it terrified him for some reason. He looked down at the captain and was relived to see him alive.
When he looked back up, he saw that Dev was levitating a foot`s length above the water. She opened her eyes which were now glowing a faint green though he could see a tinge of red in there. Dev blinked once before scanning the place. Slowly, she took her first steps towards land.
The trees seemed to move with every step she took. Once she stepped on the land, fresh white flowers sprang up from where her feet step. Looking down, she smiled for the first time and kneeled down to touch the blossoms.
"Dev?" Kalen called out gently.
"Devika," She replied in most amazing voice he had heard. It sounded like the old Dev but now it had a certain twang to it. It made his heart beat fast. She stood and looked to him as Kalen gulped before asking, "What?"
"That is my name now," Devika said as she took one step towards him. Then another. And another. Until she was right in front of him.
"Leave, now. I will not hurt you as long as you promise to never return to this land," she told him as her hands began to glow green.
"Dev…I mean, Devika, "Kalen corrected himself hastily, "The war, I can`t just up and leave..."
Devika smiled at him, "You will…Because this war is no longer this land`s problem, "She kneeled reached out to touch his cheek, "This war will leave my land. And so will you, Ranger Holloway."
Kalen looked pained though her hands felt so soft. No longer rough and full of callouses from her years of handling pickaxes and ropes," I…"
"But I will never forget you. I will remember your name and your family in return. For the kindness you have shown me, one day if I do meet your descendants, I will aid them."
She stood and then walked past him," When I return, you must not be around. Ulsa will rise again and anyone not bearing Zelowalli blood will perish."
Kalen watched her before nodding and moved to helped the captain. He could probably him carry out and to a horse. As he began constructing his plan, he was taken aback by the sound of trees uprooting and being swirled around in greenish magic. The trees were coming to life.
Thinking fast, he pulled the captain by his arms and tried to leave as fast as he could.
Dev or rather, Devika was going to do something and he needed to be far away before that happened.
Devika raised her glowing hands as her pupils flashed green. In her minds eye, she constructed the perfect creature. A ferocious man made from the trees, with twin horns and a terrifying face. The eyes would flash red and green and they would carry spears. She needed at least a dozen of them.
The second creatures had to be huge, with big horns and carried rocks or boulders. They`re bodies would be made from Witchka, so they were the perfect bait and killing creatures. The were all fashioned from Ferdinand's image.
Finally, vines and roots that took the shape of serpents. Long and huge and equally terrifying.
The perfect monsters for her to command.
"Rise my monsters," Devika whispered as roars and thuds echoed throughout Ulsa," Rise and kill whomever I command you to."
***
Everyone ran and screams were head from outside of the Guard House. The guards rushed out along with the Warden who turned ashen when he saw what looked like a hurricane coming towards them. The sky had darkened and all around them, he could not only hear the people but the animals going crazy.
The hurricane was glowing green and had debris of all kind swirling around it. When the hurricane was a mere gallop away, Devika walked out from the hurricane as vine and roots tore apart the gates before tearing the walls. Her creatures went about smashing the Summoners and ripping the shapeshifters.
The Warden eye`s widened as he turned to the men, "Sound the alarm! We are under attack!"
It was no use.
Those who used their magic to summon weapons, she commanded the plants to rip their arms off. Destroy their diviners and they wouldn't dare to fight back. Screams started to go out simultaneously as the Other Lander`s fell one by one. Her creatures knew what she wanted. Death all the Other Landers.
Above all, they were not to harm her people.
As she entered the camp, she looked up to the guard house and saw the man that ordered the executions of her brother and her fader. He was standing and yelling at the soldiers to fight back. The prisoners that were chained had their chains broken by the vines and they were running.
Using her magic, she disappeared into a vine and urged it to crawl up to the man. When it was behind him, she emerged but dodged a sword that was being thrown in her general direction. Two of the guards saw her and were now aiding him.
The vines tore one limb from limb while the other was strangled to death. When the Warden tried to summon his weapon, the vine wrapped around his Diviner and ripped his arm off.
He screamed in agony and tried to break free the vines wrapped around his remaining limbs and neck.
"Please …," He coughed as the vines got tighter and tear fell from his eyes," Have- have mercy."
"I am all out of mercy," She told him before her plants ripped his arm and legs apart followed shortly by his head.
Grinning, she turned and urged her plants to the same to the remaining guards. There would be no prisoners. This camp was going to be an example.
"To the Other Landers! Hear me! I am Devika! Leave this land or die by my hands!" She shouted from the guard house as the vines lifted her high above them and the guards ran screaming. A few used their gifts to summon weapons but her tree-monsters tore their arms apart and spilled their blood on the ground. She turned to her monsters, "Kill them all! There will be no survivors!"
A chorus of roars and thumping was heard before real destruction rained down. To her people who were cowering, she shouted to them in their mother tongue, " Zelowalli! I am your Avenger. I am the new Goddess of the Land, and I will not fail you!"
She then turned to all the plants and commanded them," Break their chains!"
The people ran after her as their bonds were broken and removed. Some who were unable to walk were picked up by the monsters and carried. The other landers were being slaughter here and there. Their buildings destroyed. The mines and cooking houses destroyed. Her own people, though were terrified at the violence she displayed, cried tears of joy as they were freed.
The next few days, all around the land, Dev released her people, one prison at a time. The Other Landers grew to fear her and called her The Vine Queen. The Goddess of the Land. To Inka, she was the Avenger.
When she gathered her people around Ulsa, she used her magic to create a wall of thorns. They were as big as the mountains and very sharp. She ushered her people in and sealed the place. This would have to be their new temporary home.
The great lake was there for those of the water tribes and the rest were allowed to settle around. To show that she was never far from them, she created a tree-like fortress for her to reside in with the doorway always open.
When all was quiet, she retreated into her new fortress and moved around preparing six head stones. Her creatures helped her and she was grateful for that. She then put fresh flowers down before she began carving out their names. Though she could have used her magic, she decided to do it by hand. It just felt right to do it this way. They would have wanted it.
Her family deserved to be buried without magic.
Once she was done, she smoothed the edges before laying them out one by one. Their names were carved out in Zelowalli so there would be no mistaking them. Yoself. Yonda. Prika. Yang. Jayl. And the last one was carved little brother or sister.
She stood back and sighed.
They could now at least be peace. In a way.
She didn`t know where their bodies were now and it might take a while to find their remains but she would find them eventually.
When all the camps were liberated. All the towns and hostel burning. And all the Other Landers stopped coming to her shores. Then and only then will she take her time in finding her family`s remains.
For, she could only do one thing at that very moment.
She kneeled and was pleasantly surprised when her tree guards did the same. She smiled at them before turning back to the headstones. With a sigh, she spoke," We are finally together…I miss you all and I hope you will accept this place as your final home. We are safe now, my beloved family..."