Tristan shook his head, "I did not want to impact the Realm in such a way. But we didn't have much of a choice." He looked to The Matriarch, who had a look of devastation on her face. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

She shook her head as a few tears escaped the corners of her eyes. "It…was necessary. I just cannot believe, a whole species…lost." She looked at Tristan and dipped her head, "Excuse me. I need to grieve." The Matriarch's body shifted to that of the huge fairy dragon, and she flew off.

Tristan looked to the other arrayed forces; struck with mixes of expressions ranging from awe at what he had wrought, to disgust at the burning of the forest, to sorrow mimicking that of The Matriarch's. "Everyone can go home," he said as he looked to the tree in the center of the grove, still unmarred. "I'm going to make this right."

Bertram raised a quizzical eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Tristan touched the tree, and whispered just loud enough for Zeltana to hear him. "Teach me how to make a species as you did."

I will, Zeltana replied in his mind with her voice full of pride.

Tristan glanced back to Rory and Bertram, "Thanks for helping."

Rory nodded and waved as she patted the white unicorn's shoulder that she was mounted upon. Turning, she and Bertram rode off after the rest of the fairy dragons and unicorns, leaving Tristan, Felicity, and the ever-faithful Onyx.

Onyx nudged Tristan's right shoulder, "I will remain to convey you back."

Felicity poked his cheek, "And I'm here, too!"

Tristan nodded, "I trust you both. Just how I trust The Matriarch. I spoke to Zeltana."

Felicity's jaw dropped, "What?! When were you going to tell me?"

Well, you are technically speaking to me all the time when you're here.

Tristan tapped his temple, "When I am connected to the Fey Realm, I can hear Zeltana and speak to her. She can hear what I say aloud."

Felicity frowned, "How long has it been going on?"

"Just since I gained enough capacity for Fourth Order spells," Tristan replied as he turned to Onyx. "I don't want this information getting out – but I'm going to be standing here and talking to her, and I don't want you to think I am insane."

Onyx shook his head, "I will keep silent on this matter. Felicity, do you mind helping me take off the armor? It chafes slightly and needs alteration for my regal mane."

Felicity nodded and flew off Tristan's shoulder, shifting to her elfanoid form as she set about doffing the Unicorn's armor.

Tristan whispered, "Okay. How do we do this?"

It is straightforward, but easier if you're in your Inner World, Zeltana said matter-of-factly.

Tristan sat down, back against the tree. "I'm going to be meditating. You two might want to back up in case things get frosty." He shut his eyes, steadied his breathing, and focused his attention on the essence crucible in his chest. Being pulled inside, he was standing on the icy expanse.

To his left, he saw that Zeltana had made some alterations to the base of the tree. There were sumptuous reclining couches, and she was holding a wooden mug that held some frothy liquid. "Welcome back," she said as she took a sip of the liquid.

"You…how'd you change my crucible and inner world?" he asked.

"I didn't," she replied as she sat up straighter and smiled. "When you are both-direction spinning your crucible as you are now, it "blends" our two crucibles together. This is just a little something from my crucible, still tethered to my consciousness inside the Queen's Wood." She patted the couch next to her, "Come on. Sit. Let's make a species."

Tristan walked over and sat next to her. "What's the first step."

"Number one is what it looks like," Zeltana said as she snapped her fingers and the ice in front of them shifted, the ground rising up as a wooden painting easel appeared. "This should be familiar enough, yes?"

Tristan felt a flutter of joy in his chest. The pastime he had chosen to pursue in the arts, as was expected of every noble child. "I need more supplies," he said.

"Your inner world," she replied as she leaned back into the couch further and sipped her drink. "Just think of what you want and it should appear in here."

"No special supplies needed?" Tristan asked as he did just that, and a canvas appeared on the easel along with a series of paints, brushes, palettes, paint knives, and brush cleaners.

"This is just visualizing the species," she stated. "You could do it in reality instead of your inner world, but this is a lot faster. Now…what do you want to make?"

Tristan gripped a brush and began preparing it with the proper oil, and establishing a base layer for a wet-on-wet painting. "The Spriggan need to be brought back. They were war leaders and forest tenders?"

"Indeed. Prominent warriors and masters of woodcraft; including bowyers, fletchers, and the best at shaping Adamant Wood to a design. And, they kept the forest well-tended. Think of them…like city planners, in a way." Zeltana crossed her long, pale legs.

"This is just the physical design then?" Tristan asked. "How they will look?"

"Correct. They are the male counterpart to Dryads; so you're thinking of humanoid tree-people. We will move on to the other steps of designing a species later. But," she gently grabbed his wrist, "You need to tether them to the Fey Realm. This means a permanent essence cost to the maximum capacity. Not much, especially compared to what a Winterbloom requires in terms of amount of ambient essence utilized. But, part of that tethering is giving them a region that will then spread."

"The Fallthorn Forest can remain as it was," Tristan replied. "I'm just making things right."

Zeltana nodded and let his wrist go, "Then create your design."

Tristan turned back to the canvas and began. "Do I need a background?"

"No. Just white or black is fine."

He set to work with gusto; starting with a faint, almost white-grey that barely stood out against the white background. Tracing out the shape of a human, once he had the basics he refined the design, spending gods-knows how long in his inner world. Every single detail had to be perfect, and the vision in his mind slowly came to fruition on the canvas. Zeltana even sat up straighter at one point as the design became more and more apparent.

"Very…brutal," she stated as Tristan began adding the plates.

"They are warriors," Tristan replied as he began layering bark and wood onto the thighs, shins, forearms, shoulders, and the top of the head. Natural armor. "And just like a tree in the forest, I think the evergreen coloration is a nice touch."

"Making them more similar as well," Zeltana observed. "But why so heavily armored?"

Tristan began darkening certain parts of the painting, making the overall image representative of a heavily armored warrior; with wooden plates instead of metal. "They are protectors in my Realm first and foremost. We will not be conquering as you once did. My Realm is going to explore others; but we will only Graft Lost Realms. If we open up an Active Realm, I'll just close the Incursion and we'll try again."

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Zeltana laughed softly, "You are definitely not doing things how I would have done them. This is good." She pointed to the head, "You should add two angular branches, like horns. Get a bit of synchronization with the fairy dragon antlers."

"Good idea," Tristan said as he immediately pictured what she was describing and made the additions. He also made sure to have the more brutal, juggernaut appearance graced with tiny lines of scrollwork; intricate vines and icy-blue flowers. A hidden bit of elegance inside the harshness of the figure. "I think I'm done," he said as he put the paintbrush down.

Zeltana let out a light whistle, "Impressive," she said. "Now that you have the vision of what they look like, it is time to create them. Stand up."

Tristan did as she said. "Next?"

"Make sure you turn that thing so you can see it," She said. He did as he was instructed, moving further from the tree at the center of his inner world. "Now, you are going to pour your essence into the painting, and then firmly trace the exterior of the design with your fingertips. After that, you will walk directly backward, keeping your hands gripping the figure which will come off of the canvas."

Tristan made sure to push his essence into his fingertips and moved them deftly around the edges of the figure. To his astonishment, the painting seemed to lift itself from the canvas; a spectral figure like a doll, with the fine detail of what he had designed. It floated scant inches above the surface, and as he finished outlining it, he grabbed the corner and stepped directly backward – the small-sized figure coming with him and leaving an empty painting. "Now what?"

"You're going to stretch it to the size you want. You can set it down if you need to – I recommend using a toe to pin the bottom end."

"Will it distort?" he asked as he leaned over and put the foot of the spectral shape under his foot.

"Nope. Just pull up!" Zeltana said with a raised glass.

Tristan began pulling up, straightening his back. He could feel the tension of the shape trapped underneath his foot, and as he stretched, the figure grew in size and stature. Willing a footstool to appear, he called out, "Mind coming over here and holding the feet?"

Zeltana sighed and got up, walking over and placing her foot where his was. He then got onto the footstool and kept pulling – until the figure was nine feet tall. "Done?" she asked.

"Yeah," Tristan replied. "Now what?"

"Let go," Zeltana replied as she stepped away and the figure stood there; a spectral painting in two-dimensions; like a window pane. As Tristan stepped off the stool, he walked to the side as Zeltana stood opposite him. "Now, you are going to work on the width. You grab the back and front, and pull or push as you need to. This is fleshing out the dimensions."

A thought occurred to Tristan, "Umm…did Spriggan…reproduce in the conventional way?"

Zeltana burst out laughing, doubling over and grabbing her stomach. "No! Nothing in the Fey Realm reproduces like that except for Elves. Spriggan will grow their siblings. Dryads and Spriggan generally get along with each other quite well, but don't let their different genders throw you off."

"Even Nymphs-"

Zeltana cut him off, "Nymphs are just promiscuous."

Tristan knelt and grabbed the foot of the Spriggan, pulling out the toes until it was the shape of a booted foot. Moving up the body, he shaped the Spriggan into one of the most intimidating warriors he could. Huge legs and arms, a massive chest, and a physique that if cleft in flesh would make the most esteemed of noble ladies swoon from the sheer musculature alone. Replicating the feat on the other side, he took a few steps back and began making tweaks.

Zeltana groaned, "Why do so much work on that part? They're fine."

"Because," Tristan said as he tried to get perfect symmetry, "I am not as chaotic as Fey Realm residents. I like a bit of orderliness."

He spent some time refining and shaping until he had the perfect design to his mind. Stepping away once more, he took in his work. Zeltana clapped a hand on his pauldron, "Good. It's done?"

"It is. What now?" Tristan asked as he felt the excitement that had bubbled within him continue to rise.

"Now, you make them. Breathe life into them." She got onto the footstool and stood in front of it. "You'll spin your crucible as you are, push the essence through your mouth, into theirs. And as you do, you envision exactly what you want them to do. I can help with making them do all their past tasks. Want me to?"

"Go ahead," Tristan replied as he crossed his arms and watched intently. "What spell types will they be able to use?"

"Limited," she replied as she glanced over to him. "Elves I could squeeze in more, but heritages are far more complex and can reproduce – trust me, you don't want an overpopulation problem like what I made. Learn from my mistakes."

"Spell types?" Tristan asked.

"Wood elementalism, flora, communication." Zeltana looked to the new Spriggan design, standing on the icy ground, and exhaled. A stream of prismatic essence surged out from her lips and into the Spriggan's face. She stepped away and down the stool. "There. I have instilled it with everything I did when I first created them. Now, you can add on. When you are satisfied, that is when you state the phrase, "Ota tämä olemus ja tule eloon. Herää Fey Realmissa ja kasva."" (Take this essence and come to life. Awaken in the Fey Realm and grow).

Tristan took the spot atop the footstool and stared slightly up to the face of the Spriggan. A wooden visage that had eyes, mouth, a pair of slits for a nose, and a section of bark that could be pulled across for a quick face-mask that would let them blend into the trees. As he breathed out, pushing the essence to his mouth, he saw the silver mist flow from his mouth and into the Spriggan. I want you to be the best protectors and defenders of the Fey Realm as possible. You will only take orders from myself or my progeny, or the Realm Protector, and the Spriggan designated as the Fey Court representative. Most importantly, I want you to be your own people…as long as it does not harm me, my progeny, or the Realm's interests.

"Ota tämä olemus ja tule eloon. Herää Fey Realmissa ja kasva," Tristan said as he finished exhaling.

The Spriggan straightened its posture slightly, and the entire body glowed with a bright, silver light that then flared into a whole rainbow of colors. The wood began to grow a deeper, more alive color of brown mixed with dark green tones. The small lines of icy-blue vines and multi-colored flowers began to illuminate and blossomed from the armored hulk. And finally, the eyes opened – and Tristan found himself standing face to face with a new, living being.

And then fear rushed through him. I just made a person, he thought. Their thoughts, their dreams, they are my responsibility now. What have I done? I'm not a god.

He looked to Zeltana who he knew could read his mind, and she calmly said, "Face it. In the Fey Realm, you are the closest thing to a god aside from The Matriarch."

Tristan gulped and wanted to respond, but knew the truth of her words. He had just created life, and he would have to live with the consequences of that. I won't make species just because I can, he thought. I only did this to bring back a genocided and lost species. That's all. He spoke softly, "What now?"

"Leave your inner world. You have the…template, stored in your mind. When you return to your body, place your hands on the ground, and state your will." She tapped him on the head, "Proud of you, kiddo."

The way she said it, like a proud mother applauding her child's accomplishments, caused Tristan's resolve to fracture, and he embraced her. "Thank you," he said, his voice cracking slightly as the sorrow of his mother's loss was brought back by the motherly gesture.

She did not return the hug, but just stood there for a few moments until Tristan let go. "Look, Tristan. I'm not your mom. If anything, I'm a distant, distant grandmother. If you haven't grieved yet, make sure you do that."

"I did grieve," Tristan replied with sorrow. "But the way you said what you said and did what you did…it just threw me back into memories, is all."

"I understand," she replied. Waving dismissively, she walked back to her couch. "Go on, Fey Lord. Go awaken the Spriggan species."

Tristan looked at the edge of his crucible from the inner world and pushed his consciousness up and through it. He blinked his eyes open to see Onyx and Felicity nearby – the fairy dragon braiding his mane while he sat on the ground in that weird way horses can.

"Oh, you're back!" Felicity said as her tail waved back and forth. "It's only been thirty minutes."

Onyx dipped his head, "Felicity gave me a rub-down and is stylizing my mane. What do you think?"

"It looks nice," Tristan replied as he looked back to the tree behind him.

One thing I forgot to mention in all the emotion, Zeltana said in his mind. You need to tether them to the Realm by bringing them into being from a focal point. Wherever you make this new species of Spriggan, that is where they will be tethered to. It is important in case you need to seal off portions of the Realm in emergency situations.

Tristan nodded and put his hands on the ground at the base of the large evergreen tree. Feeling the power of the Realm all through his body, he pushed it through his palms and into the ground. "Haluan, että Spriggan herätetään henkiin. Muodostetaan, ajatellaan ja liitetään Fey Realmiin." (I want the Spriggan to be brought to life. Given form, thought, and joined to the Fey Realm).

His essence vanished into the ground and the world began trembling around him. He could feel a suction under his hands; a desire for more essence, and so he both-direction spun his crucible faster and faster as the world beneath his hands continued to quake and rumble, slurping down the essence he fed it. He could feel his arms going numb, but pushed on.

Felicity and Onyx had gotten up behind him and come over; Onyx on shaky feet, Felicity flapping in the air without a care. "What's going on?"

"Focusing!" Tristan shouted back as he kept pouring the Realm's power through his palms.

The shaking ceased, and the essence vented from his hands, pooling on the ground before vanishing. He stopped feeding the ground Essence.

All around him, the earth cracked open. Large, wood-gauntlet hands reached up and gripped the burnt soil. Grass grew around each exit point, and trees began to sprout in the devastated forest clearing. The large evergreen next to Tristan expanded in width and looked healthy and vibrant – a bright, cheery green as the limbs shook themselves, and a spiral just like the seal appeared on the tree.

The first of the Spriggan fully emerged – a perfect recreation of Tristan's painting. It's eyes met his, and a low, guttural voice came out. Like two pieces of wood on a stack of firewood scraping along each other. "Father?"

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.