Amphilio, King of the Leafsung, has known only peace—until the Dragonkin arrive. Strangers from the sky, they claim an ancient right to his land, shaking the harmony his people have built. As rain falls over Elderglen, Amphilio prepares for a meeting that could change everything…
Amidst the trees, the King waited. His brown, wood-like body blended in well with the trunks of the trees around him. The foliage above only allowed a few rays of sun to pass through, and a soft patter sounded as a light rain fell. Amphilio raised his head to the sky after feeling a light drop land on him. He felt his body strengthen with the feel, smell, and sound of the rain.
The land has gifted us with a beautiful day.
Amphilio, the Leafsung King, sat alone near his wooden throne in the centre of Elderglen, the capital village of the Leafsung. It was early morning, hours before his meeting with the captain of the Dragonkin fleet. He had woken before any other villager, and expected to spend the first hours of light by himself in thought, since he had directed the rest of the village to stay away from his throne in the village centre.
So, on his throne he sat, with his legs crossed and his arms outstretched in a meditative pose.
Possible peace.
Possible communion.
Possible destruction.
This day was the first of intense worry during his time as King. The Leafsung have lived peacefully and independently since the time he was a kid. Amphilio had never seen his father worry as King, and until now he himself had no reason to worry. The rich, fruitful land of Ardenis belonged to them, and there was more than enough riches to supply every village of the Leafsung. They had established a beautiful capital in the most abundant area of land, Elderglen, which has stood as the capital for more than five generations of Kings. During that history, there had been no war, or civilizational decline. The Leafsung had prospered continuously, creating a peace and harmony that could hardly be found on other planets. A peace and harmony that abolished any internal conflict between the Leafsung.
That was until the Dragonkin first landed on Ardenis.
* * *
A week prior, the calm, routine morning within Elderglen was broken up by screams of terror from across the village. Citizens looked to the sky with fear as a mass of flying creatures appeared. The Leafsung, a people involved directly with the land around them, were terrified by the presence of these flying creatures. The leading creature flew down toward Elderglen, and a strange, pale looking individual accompanied it. Once the creature landed within Elderglen, the individual jumped off the back of the flying creature, and demanded something in an unknown language. It was then that Amphilio was notified that one of the unknown creatures had flown into the village.
Amphilio called upon the land and was carried to the outsider by the branches of the trees around him. He arrived floating above the ground, the tree branches slowly lowering him into position, directly across from the outsider.
“I am Amphilio, King of the Leafsung, leader of Elderglen.”
The outsider offered an admiring smile. “You still speak the Ancient Tongue?” she asked, changing into the same language. “I know this place has been forgotten, but I didn’t realize how long it has been.”
“I am not sure what you’re talking about,” Amphilio said.
“Do not worry, we will have more time to discuss. I am Meska, captain of the Dragonkin Wyrmwing. We came from Yezara on an expedition. Our ancestors left texts for us explorers, and many of them mention the abundance within this green land.” Meska looked around, satisfaction showing in her eyes.
“Dragonkin, you said? I have never heard of your kind. And I have never heard of your home. I have never seen your kind or the likes of these winged creatures.” Amphilio took a moment to look around at his citizens. Some cowered around corners, scared but curious for answers. “Everyone, go back to your homes and relax! I will talk to these outsiders. It is no longer your concern, so please take care!” After a moment of silence, the villagers began to return home, leaving Amphilio and Meska alone.
“What is your purpose here?” Amphilio asked abruptly.
“Our ancestors have been preparing us for these expeditions. I have been raised with them in mind, and I am finally fulfilling our people’s desires. I have brought a Wyrmwing of fifty, and I intend to send word for more eventually. And before you and I continue our conversation, I must settle the Wyrmwing somewhere on Ardenis.”
“Ardenis? How do you know the name of our land?”
Meska smirked once more, “Our ancestors wrote in the Ancient Tongue. Lucky for us, and for you, no?” She climbed onto the winged creature while relaying her words. “I will be back here in a week’s time for formal discussions. Be prepared.”
“Where will you settle?”
“Wherever we want!” Meska yelled back just before the winged creature released a roar and jumped into the air. Beating wings picked up speed and the creature floated in spot for a moment, before gaining upward momentum and taking off to the sky.
Confusion fed into the fear, and even Amphilio himself was not sure what he was witnessing. But as King, he quickly recovered and began to think about his people. He returned to his throne to prepare.
* * *
The week had passed. Amphilio’s mind returned to the present as the rain continued to fall. His meditation was interrupted by a shaking roar in the distance. A moment later, flapping wings rose above the treeline, and the creature began flying towards his throne.
Reaching within, Amphilio extended himself to the nature around him. The trees responded to his touch with comfort; a familiar feeling. He pulled back the branches on the trees that covered his throne, and produced a platform of hard roots on the ground. He then detached from his wooden throne, and stood on his new platform.
The creature flew in a moment later, using the cleared area to land. Meska carefully got off of the creature, fed it a treat and softly stroked its nose before she walked towards Amphilio.
Amphilio enticed the trees behind Meska to grow once again, leaving the two of them surrounded and alone. Meska looked up to see that the trees had blocked off any chance of a flying escape.
“Let us get this over with,” Amphilio started. “This past week has had a toll on my people, and they are eager to hear about your departure.”
“Departure?” Meska scoffed. “I know we have not had time to discuss yet, but clearly we are not planning on leaving. This land was once ours, and our ancestors have prepared us to come back.”
Amphilio dismissed Meska’s comment with a shake of the head and a wave of the hand. “That simply cannot happen. We do not know you and your people. We have been the only people here since the beginning of time. This world is our creator, not yours. You will need to return to your home.”
Meska started pacing back and forth, the tension rising in her voice. “You have no idea what we have come from. You live here, with an abundance of water and thick, green trees that tower into the sky. The sun does not scorch your land. You live everyday with a calm, temperate climate. We have read about this in the texts, but this last week has proven it fully. This world—our original world—was meant for the living. Our current world was just a temporary haven.”
“A haven? From what?”
Meska slowed her pace once Amphilio showed interest. “We aren’t sure. But you truly cannot know how bad it can be. You have been gifted with a life in a world full of resources specifically needed to provide a comfortable life. Yezara is different; the sun’s heat is too much for the surface, leaving most of the planet dry and bare. We rarely get rainfall, and when we do it’s only possible to savour a portion of the rain. Our clothing covers our entire bodies to escape the direct sunlight, and we build our cities underground. It is a harsh world, one that we were always meant to leave.”
Amphilio listened as Meska explained this strange planet to him. He was aware of other planets, but had no idea what they were like. A part of him assumed that they would be the same as Ardenis, but he now realized how foolish of a thought that was.
“I apologize that you have had to grow up on such a planet. Truly. It does not seem suitable for anyone, and I surely would not wish for my own people to inhabit such a harsh environment.
“However, the Leafsung have achieved complete harmony, something that has never been done before by our ancestors. From our knowledge, we have never read of any society that has been able to reach complete harmony, but somehow we have done it. You must know that your presence on Ardenis has potential to ruin everything the Leafsung have worked towards?”
“We will make sure to stay clear of the Leafsung if that is what you-”
“That will not work,” Amphilio interrupted. “Like I said before, I am a child of this planet. I can feel the land as if it were a piece of my own body, and my people can feel a very small fraction of what I feel. Your presence alone will be felt by us all… Has already been felt by us all.”
Amphilio called upon the trees, which reached out with their branches and began to lift Amphilio into the air. He stood atop the branches, staring down at Meska. Meska watched in awe, unaware of the branches slowly extending towards her feet.
“You told me to prepare, and that is what I have done,” Amphilio said, gesturing to the branches now wrapped firmly around Meska’s legs. “I do not know you, and therefore have no reason to hurt you and your kind. However, I can sense that you will not accept that you need to leave. You are ambitious and determined—traits I admire. But your ambition threatens the wrong people. And I don’t take threats lightly.”
Meska started pulling at the branches on her legs with no luck.
“You made a couple of mistakes, Meska. Generations of planning, years of experience, but still you made a couple of mistakes.
“I am not as knowledgeable about things as you are, but I have been King of the Leafsung for many years, and I watched my father as King many years before. Although different from any army us Leafsung would form, I would have to be blind to miss the small army that accompanied you to this planet. A conversation may be what you wanted, but I know that isn’t where you intended to stop.
“Secondly, you assumed that our peaceful nature would stop me from acting violently toward you in order to preserve my land and people.”
Meska looked up to protest. “That is not-”
Crack. Meska released a loud, short yelp as the branches on her right leg clenched and twisted, snapping her femur. Behind her the trees rustled as branches reached out to the creature’s wings, wrapping them tight to its own body.
“I know this all seems very abrupt,” Amphilio continued, “but pardon me, I am not a fan of dancing around what we truly want to say. Now, I know you are a very capable captain, or at least that is what I sense about you. What orders did you give your, what did you call it, Wyrmwing?”
“To stay put until I return,” Meska growled.
Amphilio nodded. “And if you didn’t return on time?”
Meska raised her head to look Amphilio in the eye. “My second in command will send word back to Yezara. We will commence relocation.”
Amphilio turned away, walking slowly back towards his throne. “An invasion?”
“Yes,” Meska answered. The branches on her legs loosened and returned to the bushes surrounding them.
Amphilio stretched his arms and yawned. “Well, we better start planning a defense, shouldn’t we?” He felt for the branches once more, enticing them to lift Meska from the ground.
“You are indeed wise, but there are many things you are clueless about. Many things,” Meska whispered under her breath.
Amphilio raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t we take care of that leg,” he said as he walked past his throne into the crowded jungle, the branches carrying Meska following behind.
Meska looked toward the sky with tears in her eyes. But the sky was gone. Instead she saw more leaves, bundled in such numbers that it blocked her view. She dropped her head in her hands as her situation became clearer. In new lands, with new faces, she no longer controlled her fate.
Amphilio sensed this change as he read her emotions through the tears that fell on the branches. He joined in shedding a tear, and the surrounding nature joined his sorrow for the violence he caused.
I am sorry, father. I shall feel double the pain that I cause.
With a hand on his heart and soreness in his leg, Amphilio limped further into the forest with Meska following behind.
The trees relaxed above, once again allowing small raindrops into the centre of Elderglen.
*This story takes place in the Mythic Path Universe*
Dramatis Personae
- Amphilio
- Meska
Mythic Path Productions 
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