The wooden army charged into battle.

Flesh stretched and bones snapped as the predators' bodies changed. One slammed its tendril-heads into the krummholz squad, scattering the puppets like bowling pins. The other creature charged at the lead krummholz, which it pinned to the ground and then battered and bashed it with its ichor-slicked limbs.

Two krummholz grabbed a single spear and rammed into the monster's side, knocking it off their comrade. The creature shrieked, and its companion dashed away, but the victory was short-lived.

"By the time we understood what was happening," Night said, "it was too late for us. We couldn't save ourselves. Protecting the others was the least we could do."

Still more roars broke out in the distance, far deeper and alien.

"It never ends!" one of the gray-skins said. He turned to face Stone. "Treefather Stone, please, help us! Father—"

A woman covered her mouth and screamed.

"No! No!"

The man staggered back in shock.

A wisp fluttered down from the tree's branches. It flickered mid-air, pulsing erratically, like a dying heartbeat.

"Forgive me, Enken," Stone said. "There is nothing more we can do."

Stone's wisp passed through a second forcefield wisp as it approached the refugees. This barrier surrounded the trees themselves. By the wisp's light, we—and they—could see the Treefathers were infected. Their leaves were long gone, and their bark was sloughing off, in preparation for &alon's emergences. Spores fell like snow within the inner forcefield's confines.

"We held out as long as we could," Night said. His voice was weak, as was his light.

High above, a wyrm streaked across the sky, silhouetted by the moon and the bare canopy.

"Say your goodbyes," Silence said. "It won't be much longer now."

"No!" Enken yelled. He pounded his fist on the barrier, sending light rippling through the grove. "It can't end like this! It isn't right!"

"I'm sorry," Night said. "All things must come to an end."

"Enken, what is that!?" The woman pointed up at the starry sky.

Vyx spaceships settled into place high, high overhead with a shudder and a blur, pouring out swarms of the flower-shaped ships. Wyrms swam every which way, dodging the death rays the Vyxit swept across the sky.

Then there was a bright flash, and the next thing we knew, the horrific vision was gone, and it was day again in Night's Glade, just as serene as before.

"We would not have survived without the Vyx's intervention," Stone said.

"Sure," Silence quipped, "if you can call our current existence survival."

If the Treefather had had fingers, he would have been making air-quotes with them.

"From our guests' lack of surprise," Night said, "I think it safe to assume they already know about the Blight."

"I agree," Stone said.

Night's wisp floated over me. "Then," the Treefather continued, "it is likely you are already aware that the Blight attacks the soul in addition to the body, stealing it away. Though the three of us managed to fend off the Blight's assault on our souls, our bodies were too far damaged to be salvaged, let alone saved. But, what the Blight failed to destroy, the Vyx were able to save. That is how we are here."

"We were Archived," Stone said, "and Archived we remain."

"What is Archiving?" Ileene asked.

"First," the elder Treefather replied, "tell us how you came to be here."

I glanced at Ileene. "Well, we were wandering around some kind of maze when we were attacked by a bunch of dodecahedrons; very loud, very angry. They called themselves anti-virus units, and deemed us to be interlopers."

"They had strong opinions about eradicating us," Mr. Himichi said.

"Yes," Silence said, "the Vyx have never been very subtle."

"A maze, you say?" Stone asked. "Describe it to me."

Mr. Himichi stepped forward. "That counts as a question, you know."

Treefather Stone harrumphed. His branches quivered, rustling his leaves. "Fine. As I suspect that you were in the Vyx Network, in return for your description of it, I will explain the Network to you to the best of my understanding."

"Agreed," I said. I then gave them a detailed description of the maze.

"Night," Stone said, "it's just as I thought. That sounds like the Network."

"So, what is this Network?" I asked.

"From your description," Stone said, "I believe you entered the Vyx Network. The Network links the Vyx together. Though I do not remember the exact specifics, I know that it houses both the Archives and the Vyx's collective memories."

"And before you ask about them," Night said, "please finish explaining how you arrived here."

I nodded. "There were portals in the maze. We jumped into one of them, hoping it would lead us someplace safe, and once we did, the next thing we knew, we were here, and had been turned into krummholz."

"How odd," Stone said.

Silence's light flew up to me and buzzed around me. "You could have elaborated a little more, you know," he said. "I mean, look at the light show Night put on."

I felt like I was being judged.

"Genneth gave plenty of information, Silence," Night said. "Remember that not everyone has our capabilities. That was true before we were Archived and remains true to this day."

"And Archiving would be…?" Suisei asked, sidling forward.

"This place and everything within it is little more than a dream made by the Vyx," Stone said. "Here, we exist only as thought; as souls, plucked from the bodies that failed us. "

"Archival is the destruction of the body so as to preserve the mind," Night said. "It is irreversible, and—outside of certain exigent circumstances—the procedure is generally only performed on the most exemplary souls: the great thinkers, the great leaders. The Vyxit choose them for preservation, so that they can guide future generations."

Holy fudge.

What they were describing was not unlike what &alon did with the souls she stored in wyrms. Granted, Archiving was only done to a select few instead of literally everyone, but still, the parallels were uncanny.

"The Vyx's capacities are not unlimited." Night said, "and they have only become more and more strained with the passage of time, which has meant that Archiving has become rarer and rarer over the eons. Indeed, I can't recall the last time someone was chosen to be Archived."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"It might just be that it happened, but they never told us about it," Silence said.

"Doubtful," Stone said. "We are integrated with the fleet and the Network. We would know."

"Why?" I asked, interrupting the interruption.

"We were Archived because there was no other way to save us," Night explained.

"We were something of a special case," Silence said. "Something about the nature of our bodies and souls made us strongly compatible with the Archiving process. The D'zd were another case," he added, "as were the Protops. Though there are still some of them living in the physical world, the majority of their species exists inside their respective corners of the Archives."

"I believe the D'zd are the only Archived species capable of returning to a physical body after being Archived," Stone said.

"Eh," Silence said, "any of us could use one of the Vyx's drones, if we wanted to."

"That's hardly the same as returning to a living body of your species' own kind," Stone said.

"May I continue, please?" Night asked. The Treefather's wisp bobbed in quiet exasperation.

There was a pause.

"Fine," Silence said.

"Carry on," Stone said.

"As Silence said," Night continued, "we were Archived because we were compatible with the process, and because there was no other way to save us. Ever since, we have devoted our thoughts and energies to helping the Vyx manage themselves and the Vyxit. It is our way of paying off our debt to them."

Now, I had to know what they knew about the fungus and the wyrms.

"What do you know about the Blight?" I asked.

"It is evil incarnate," Stone said, "and a plague unlike any other. It destroys worlds without hesitation or mercy, steals the souls from its victims' bodies while breeding monsters from their corpses—the vile serpents, worst of all."

"The Vyxit are those who have survived," Night said. "That survival binds us together and gives us our purpose."

"What is your purpose?" Ileene asked.

"That's an extra question, you know," Silence said.

Ileene turned to me. I nodded. "That's fine by me."

"The Long Hunt is our purpose," Stone said.

"The name is pretty self-explanatory," Silence said.

"Quite right," Stone replied. "The Vyxit will not rest until this evil is vanquished and its victims are avenged."

Hopelessness crushed my bright krummholz eyes.

Just like I'd concluded from the troop rally, the aliens really did want to see &alon exterminated, down to the last, wyrms and all.

But then Silence said something which was music to my ears (not that I currently had any).

"I know you believe in the Long Hunt, Stone," the young Treefather said, "but I, for one, am sick of it."

"Not everyone is cut from noble stock," Stone replied.

"It's got nothing to do with that," Silence said. His wisp waggled at Treefather Stone. "I'm not saying we shouldn't fight. Anyone who wants to keep chasing after the Blight ought to be free to do so. I'm fully on board with that. However, some of us would like to do something more with our lives. I doubt I'm the only Vyxit who wants to get off this crazy train. I want to start living again."

"Yes," Stone said, "and that is why I support the Hunt. I'm not like the twEfE; revenge isn't enough of an end to be worth chasing in its own right, nor am I so foolish as to entertain the possibility of us regaining what we have lost. But… as hUen-dE says, as long as the Blight exists, it is a threat, and, until that threat is ended, none of us will be safe."

"Enough about our opinions," Night said. "I'm well acquainted with those. I'd rather hear what our guests have to say."

His wisp flew over to me.

"Tell me, Dr. Howle," he said, "how did you manage to enter the Vyx's network? That isn't easy to do."

"We found one of the Vyx starships," I said. "I… have the ability to tap into other beings' minds. When I did that with the ship, my companions and I found ourselves in a kind of maze. You know the rest."

"I feel you're keeping something from us," Stone said.

I nodded. "You're right, I am. But, before I tell you, I have a question. This one isn't about what you know, but about how you feel."

"Yes?" Night asked.

Mr. Himichi's eyes widened in alarm. He skittered up behind me and whispered.

"Genneth, what are you doing?"

I could tell he knew what I was about to do, and that he was clearly concerned about the consequences.

"Yes, they're trees," he said, "but if you tell them that, then… they'll want you dead. They might want us all dead!"

I looked him in the eyes. "Simply because of what I am?" I muttered. "It's not like I was given a choice, you know."

He nodded. "I absolutely do know. That's why I don't understand this."

"I'm seeing if we really can trust them," I explained.

"But what if they can't be trusted?"

I took a single step back. "I'm not going to lie to them. I'm done with lies and omissions and misrepresentations. I've had it with them. I'm moving forward."

I turned to the Treefathers. "Night, Stone, Silence… what if I told you the Blight was willing to make peace with the Vyxit?"

"Peace?" Stone asked.

"You're joking, right?" Silence asked.

"No," I said. "Please, let me finish."

"Go on," Night said.

"What if, for whatever reason," I cut my hands through the air, "there was a way to make peace with the Blight and end this whole conflict?"

"The Blight isn't causing a conflict, Genneth," Stone said. "Its existence is the problem. As long as it exists, it will destroy."

"Yes, but what if it stopped? What if there was a way to get all this to just stop? No more plague. No more killing. No more hunting. If such a path forward existed, would it be one that you could support?" I looked at the other two Treefathers. "Would any of you support it?"

The three lights hovered in the air.

"I think you're living in a fantasy," Stone said, "ungrounded from cold, hard reality."

"That's not a 'no'," I said.

"I'm not going to dignify your question with any more of a response."

"He's right, though, Stone," Silence said. "You didn't say no."

"What about you, Treefather Silence?" I asked.

"I don't think it would ever happen, but if it did, I'd be the first to support it."

At this point, I realized that I was foolish to have had any worries about the Treefathers or their intentions. Whatever resentment they may have had, they weren't consumed with it like the hummingbird had been. They might hate me for what I was, but they wouldn't strike me dead where I stood; otherwise, considering the question I'd asked, they'd have already done that.

"How could you support such a proposal, Silence?" Stone asked. "It's an insult to the victims."

Night's branches shivered.

"If we can dream of a world where our enemy has been vanquished," he said, "then we can dream of a world where our enemy chooses to acquiesce. Until a solution becomes reality, we should keep an open mind."

"But it's complete fantasy," Stone said, "utterly divorced from reality!"

"Yes, Stone, and that's why I feel safe to consider it. What cannot happen cannot harm us. Besides," Night added, "aren't you the least bit curious as to why our guests would ask us such an audacious question?"

Night's wisp flew close to me.

"I think something very exciting is about to happen," he said, "and I, for one, would like to be a part of it."

Standing up tall, I clenched my fists and braced them on my hips.

"Well then, Treefathers, do I have a story for you!"

— — —

The sun had sunk below the horizon by the time we finished, turning the sky into pyrite and porphyry.

I'd told them everything. About me. About &alon. About Kléothag, and the Sword.

Treefather Stone's wisp buzzed among Silence's branches.

"I can't believe it," he said. "For once, the sapling is true to his name."

"What… what do you expect me to say?" Silence replied.

"So… you believe him?" Mr. Himichi asked.

"Begrudgingly," Stone replied. "It has to be true, if only because not even Silence would have the imagination to fabricate it."

"I, for one, believe you, Dr. Howle," Night said. "It seems you've met with a terrible fate."

"Why did you tell us this?" Stone asked. "You asked how we would react if the Blight wanted to make peace with us. Yet, from what you have told us, the mind at the heart of Blight is more intransigent than ever before."

"I know." I let my head hang down. "That's why I was hoping there'd be some way to get the Vyxit to agree to a truce, and perhaps even assist wyrms like me in a revolt against our taskmaster."

"What makes you think the Vyxit can do anything to advance your cause?" Night asked.

"I don't know if overthrowing &alon is even possible to begin with," I said, "but, if it is possible, I know for sure it will be easier to do it with help than without it."

"Fair enough," Night said.

"Is there anything you can do for us?" Ileene asked. "Please?"

"I believe I once knew information that you would now find useful," Stone said.

"Once?" Mr. Himichi asked. "How can that be?"

"I lent those memories to Day many seasons ago," Stone replied.

"What?" Ileene asked. She blinked in confusion and shook her head, flicking her petal queues behind her. "How? Why?"

"Yes," Silence explained. "Our memories are a moveable feast. We can store or copy them into our fruit. The krummholz shuttle fruit back and forth between our glade's and Night's. It keeps us connected, despite the distance."

Silence's light floated over to the krummholz, who shivered in its presence. The vibrations rattled through their wooden bodies. The living dolls had been looking upon our conversation with the treefathers in awe the entire time.

"As to why," Stone said, "well… I needed the extra room."

"So, what is it that you used to know?" I asked.

"I don't know," Stone replied, "and that's part of the reason why I brought it up. It's also worth mentioning that if any of us would know about the Lodestars, it would be Treefather Day."

"Why?" I asked.

"Of the six of us," Night said, "Day is, by far, the most acquainted with the Vyx and the Vyxit."

"I… I see," I said.

Suisei stepped forward again. "Since we've told you our story," he said, "I don't suppose you'd mind if we asked you questions at will?"

"Think nothing of it," Stone said, beginning his answer, only to stop and yawn. His light swelled with the sound.

"Are you tired?" Ileene asked.

"My namesake is coming," Night said, "and Stone is as old as his. You should stay for the evening. We'd appreciate the company. We can resume our conversation in the morning, before you depart."

"Depart?" I asked.

"Yes, you will need to make the journey to Day's grove," Night said. "He must hear your tale. The Archives have lain silent in separation for too long. Perhaps you will be the ones to restore what was broken. Now, come, it has been an age and a day since I last had visitors, and my noggin could use a good cleaning."

I wasn't quite sure I liked the sound of that.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.