Chapter 340: Guardian

“I believe this may be a Guardian Soul Grub.”

Jadis blinked, somewhat taken aback by the grandiose-sounding name.

“And… what is that, exactly?”

“A great rarity, young Jay,” the old druid chuckled softly. “A great rarity, indeed.”

Jadis’ three selves watched curiously as the wizened old human man painstakingly got to his feet and tottered over to the bookshelves grown into the far wall of the room. He took his time to examine the books before pulling one particularly thick tome from the lowest shelf and checking the contents. Turning a few pages, he let out a hum of satisfaction and tapped the open page with one knobby finger.

“Yes, indeed, this matches the description well. A Guardian Soul Grub. Almost as rare as you are, my dear. Ha!”

“I think a more detailed explanation would be beneficial, Tom,” Rhyswynn gently chided as she smiled at the old man’s excitement. “May we see the book?”

“Of course, of course,” Tom replied, his grin hidden behind his thick white beard. “Have a look. I doubt any of you youths will be able to read ancient Lemurian, but there are illustrations!”

Jadis could not, in fact, read the words printed on the archaic vellum pages. The script was wholly alien to her, not even close to the imperial lettering system she’d been learning. However, the tome did have some beautiful illuminations and one page was dedicated to a collage-style mix of artistic depictions of various strange creatures that all seemed to be stemming from the figure in the center; a sparkling green grub.

“Ah, my father speaks Lemurian,” Tegwyn commented absently as he examined the pages. “I have only a passing familiarity, not enough for fluency.”

“Few do these days, young Tegwyn,” Tom smiled in a grandfatherly way as he eased back into his padded seat. “There is little use in learning the language of a dead people, except for old scholars like me to putter about with forgotten tomes. Ah! But it seems my hobbies still have a practical use! An excellent day this is, indeed.”

Syd smiled at the old druid as her other two selves studied the book. She liked Tom. He reminded her of her grandfather on her father’s side. Despite his obviously failing health, he was still sharp-witted and had high spirits. Thinking about Grandpa Mike sent a momentary pang of homesickness through Jadis, but she quickly pushed the unwelcome emotion away. She had come to Villthyrial’s temple to gain knowledge, not reminiscence about her past life.

Jadis, Alex, and Tegwyn were all gathered together in a large chamber somewhere on the second floor of the Nature God’s temple. The room had no ceiling and was more like a courtyard, except Jadis knew that they weren’t on the main floor of the building. Despite the fact that they had to be on at least the second floor, the ground was covered in grass, trees and bushes were growing all around them, and a small creek burbled from one side of the room across to the other where it disappeared through an opening in the wall. The décor greatly reminded Jadis of how the Dryads back in Weigrun had their grove set up. All of the furniture was made of a mix of living plants and carved wood and stone. The table they were sitting at was actually some kind of tree with carefully pruned branches that held up a large, flat stone surface for them to sit around. The chairs all had small vines and other plants growing from them, and even the bookshelves along the walls were basically just trees with long, straight boughs that had been cultivated for the purpose.

Rhyswynn, the green skinned and pink haired elf who had been part of the priestly delegation sent to meet Jadis back in Far Felsen, had of course welcomed her into the temple. What Jadis hadn’t expected was just how few other priests were present. While there had been hundreds of priests and priestesses in Lyssandria’s temple to greet her, there were only a few dozen of Villthyrial’s holy order waiting for her inside the plant-festooned halls. When asked, Rhyswynn had explained that Villthyrial’s followers tended to eschew cities since his primary domains involved the open wilds of the world, so most of the priests lived and worked out in the forests and countryside, only occasionally visiting the temples for important occasions. In fact, Rhyswynn herself usually spent her time travelling in a circuit through the farmlands surrounding the capital and was only staying in the city for so long because of Jadis’ presence.

When Jadis had asked the high priestess about the glowing green grub she’d “found” in Weigrun, Rhyswynn had taken Jadis and her companions to meet the only other High Priest of Villthyrial in the empire, Old Tom.

Tom was a human man that looked like he was at least ninety years old, but proudly announced he was almost one hundred and twenty. His wrinkled face was constantly crinkled in a broad smile and his thick, white beard made him look a bit like Santa Claus if he’d been left out in the sun for too long. A small blue and yellow finch sat on the old man’s shoulder and he would occasionally pass the little bird small seeds with an air of kind familiarity.

Despite looking like he was long past the age of retirement, Old Tom was apparently a powerful Druid and one of the highest-level people in the city.

Tom’s eyes shined as he spoke to Tegwyn and Jadis couldn’t help but feel like the man was probably more excited about speaking with a Dryad than he was about meeting her. Not that she minded, especially since he was still happily answering all of her questions. She just found it interesting how different the man’s focus was compared to most of the other priests Jadis had met.

“Now, Tom,” Tegwyn said with a charming grin as he motioned towards the illustration of the grub. “Two words I do recognize on that page are ‘Transformation’ and ‘Adaptation’ so long as I haven’t missed my mark. Tell me, friend, does this creature have a variable form?”

“Indeed it does!” Tom smiled happily as he motioned towards the actual grub that was nestled inside a jar filled with dirt on the table between them. “This magic beast may start out as an innocuous little worm, but its adult form can take a myriad of shapes. In fact, there is no end to the possibilities of what kind of form it may end up assuming! Ah, well, I may exaggerate the depth of variety. It cannot take the form of a man or simple beast. A Guardian Soul Grub will always transform into some manner of magic beast. Griffins, kraken, manticores, you understand.”

“Fascinating,” Tegwyn exclaimed as he admired the glowing creature. “It sounds similar to a Fetch in nature, or is that not the case?”

Tom shook his head, his long beard brushing back and forth across the table.

“No, no, not at all. A Fetch can change its shape on a whim. Once the grub grows into its adult form, it will not change further.”

“Kind of like a Demon.”

Tom glanced up at Syd, his attention stolen away from the Dryad by her comment. He leaned back in his seat, a considering look on his face.

“I suppose that’s true,” he allowed, his voice creaking with age. “To an extent. I am no expert on demons, but I do believe that once they have gained a particular form, they do not change.”

“Unless they become a greater Demon,” Dys pointed out. “Like Alex. I suppose that’s a product of her class, but there aren’t any other classes out there that radically change a person’s form, area there?”

“Demons everywhere seem to have variable forms depending on the class they have,” Jay mused. “You can’t change your class, so you can’t change your form. But, if you get a secondary or tertiary class that offers a new form, that would be how they change into greater demons or demon matriarchs.”

“At least, that’s what I’m guessing based off of Alex,” Syd finished by putting her hand on the Demon’s shoulder.

“That would make sense,” Tom said, his tone filled with the kind of curious contemplation that Jadis associated with a lifelong scholar. “Again, demons are not my area of expertise, indeed they are not. But your theory holds merit. I would suggest you discuss the idea with the priests of Metethys. Myron may have some insight, or possibly Fulton. Yes, actually, I would recommend Fulton. He is indeed quite the researcher when it comes to the esoteric and malign.”

The malign part bristled Jadis’ feelings somewhat, but she could tell Old Tom hadn’t meant to be rude by the comment. He’d actually been fairly sanguine when it came to Alex, approaching her as more of a strange curiosity than a fearsome threat. Still, she’d have to keep an eye out for those kinds of casual remarks. Alex was becoming more and more fluent with the language all the time and she didn’t want her to be hurt.

“We plan on visiting that temple next,” Jay nodded to the old druid. “For now, though, is there any way to know what kind of, uh, final form this grub will take?”

“Ah, well,” Tom cleared his throat, “according to the wisdom of the Sage Inuka, the writer of this tome, the Guardian Soul Grub will transform into whatever form bests suits its task of defending its home territory.”

“Home territory?”

“Yes, indeed,” he nodded his head while passing a few more seeds to his finch. “That is the ‘guardian’ part of the name. You see, these creatures will stake out a territory of their own and will become fiercely protective of it. Not to say they will attack any and all who attempt to move through that territory, indeed no! Instead, they will guard the land and even the creatures who dwell within it, protecting them from hostile entities. They are not sentient as you or I are, but they are intelligent enough that they can tell fair from foul.”

“They are like Tree Guardians?” Rhyswynn quietly asked, her head tilted to one side.

“No, my dear, they are Tree Guardians. Or rather, Tree Guardians are but one variation of the adult version of a Guardian Soul Grub.”

Rhyswynn made a little noise of understanding before folding her hands, seemingly satisfied with the answer. Jadis, however, felt completely unenlightened so she turned her questioning gaze onto the elf woman. The High Priestess caught on fast and offered a brief explanation.

“There is a place in the northern territories of the Verdant Sea where several large tree-like creatures defend a particular mountaintop. It is thought of as a holy place by many druids and I have been there myself on pilgrimage. The Tree Guardians are a magnificent sight.”

“Okay, so, I guess that means I should find a place that needs some protection and bring this little guy there?” Syd asked curiously.

“Not necessarily,” Tom raised one gnarled finger. “Guardian Soul Grubs will guard what they wish to protect, what they see as their home. There are recorded cases of that focus being a person! In fact, one of the great Heroes of the past, Eumelia the Tempest, had one such creature for a companion during her campaign against the demonic invasion. I believe the beast was called Anemos, the Emerald Wyvern.”

“That wyvern was a Guardian Spirit Grub?” Tegwyn perked up. “I have heard of Eumelia’s story, but I did not know that her Wyvern had such humble origins.”

“Alright then,” Jay gently picked up the jar holding the grub. “This little guy might one day turn into a cool magical companion of some sort. That’s interesting.”

“It might be hot,” Old Tom cautioned, having misunderstood Jadis’ slang word. “Or just a normal temperature. That will depend entirely on what magical beast it ends up mimicking.”

“…Right,” Syd nodded, choosing not to correct the elderly man. “Anyway, what do I have to do to care for it? Are there steps I should be taking to make sure it, I don’t know, bonds to me or something? Special food or some kind of ritual?”

Tom raised his hands palm upwards and shrugged his bony shoulders in a helpless gesture.

“There isn’t much I can tell you, unfortunately. Indeed, this book is one of the few I have that offers any advice on Guardian Soul Grubs and even then, it is mostly about how to interact with their adult forms. Your heart is what matters most, I would say.”

“My heart?”

“Yes,” Tom nodded with a smile. Since she was sitting closest to him, he reached over and took Syd’s hand in his and gently patted it. “Like most wild animals in nature, you cannot control what they will and will not do. You can predict. You can observe and learn how best to communicate with them, and you can build a relationship. Indeed, you may even gain a friend. But you cannot know with certainty what thoughts possess them, no more than you can know where the wind will blow next. This young beast may grow one day and choose a path that you do not follow. If that should come to pass, I advise you to wish the beast well and simply let it go. You cannot control the wild. You can only accept it for what it is.”

Jadis supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised that there was no surefire way to guarantee she ended up with some kind of ultra-awesome magical companion. There were never any guarantees in life. She still felt a little disappointed that Villthyrial’s gift to her might not end up being useful to her. But just because it wasn’t necessarily going to become a cool animal companion, didn’t mean the grub wouldn’t have a purpose. If the creature ended up becoming some kind of magically powerful guardian beast that protected an area that needed that protection, then Jadis would be satisfied. In fact, that very well could have been the nature god’s intention. Maybe she was expected to bring the grub somewhere that was in danger. Not so much a mission from a god, more like a side quest from an interested party. Who also happened to be a god.

She still kind of wanted a cool wyvern companion.

“Let’s study some of these other books you have,” Tegwyn suggested with a grin as he got up from his seat. “Any anything else you have on magical beasts that might have a similar nature. Perhaps we can come up with a good plan to keep our little green friend hale and hearty so that when it does mature, it will be in the best health possible.”

“That’s a good idea,” Jay grinned back at the Dryad as she too got up from her seat.

“Indeed!” Old Tom agreed.

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