Weylhall was in chaos. Smoke billowed from the smoldering remains of the warehouse, casting a haze over the city’s steel-laden streets. The Fey had struck without warning, slipping through security with unearthly silence, leaving only destruction in their wake. The Techies had quickly mobilized to assess the damage, but as the fires waned, they had detected something far more alarming than the aftermath of a simple raid. Reports poured in from scouts stationed near the Transitional Plains: a Life Tree had awakened in the Northern Enchanted Forest.

The Techie leaders gathered in Bethany, their expressions grim as they analyzed the map projections on the wide glass screens. Their technological prowess had advanced in recent years, pushing them into a position of dominance—but the mere presence of an awakened Life Tree in enemy-adjacent territory threw all of that into uncertainty. The Life Trees, powerful ancient beings tied to the very essence of Aer, were rare. Their influence on magic could be monumental, and any faction with control over such a tree could tip the balance in the ongoing war.

Enero sat down at the head of the table and ran his hands over his face. Looking back up at the gathered group, he said "Grand Marshal," gesturing with his hand to indicate that he would like them to speak.

“It’s beyond our borders,” said Grand Marshal Elroy Jett, the faintest hesitation breaking his usual unwavering tone. “Directly targeting the Transitional Plains risks stirring conflict with the Plains People. They’ve been neutral, if not amicable.”

Silence weighed over the council chamber, then Commander Regan Tannor leaned forward, his gaze hard. “We can’t allow the Fey, Mages, or the Lodi to gain control of this power. If they do, they’ll have the advantage. That’s a risk we cannot afford, especially not after the recent Fey raid in Weylhall. We must act.”

Some shifted uncomfortably, but the tension was broken by Director Darius Voss, who said sharply, “The Plains may be neutral, but if the Fey have already infiltrated our storage warehouses, they could be working with the Lodi to secure this tree. They’re not stopping at their borders.”

Elroy exchanged a glance with Darius, his reservations stilled. Elroy gave a nod. It was true; this wasn’t an isolated incident. The Fey and Lodi, both deeply invested in magic’s survival and the ancient trees that gave magic life, would see the awakening as an opportunity to reclaim power they felt the Techies had stolen.

Enero nodded, making the decision. “Then we escalate. Mobilize the airships. We’ll launch an incursion to the Transitional Plains and take control of the Life Tree before anyone else can. This mission is critical.”

The meeting was over as quickly as it began. The Guntai left, each bearing the heavy knowledge that they had just chosen to expand the war beyond their own borders. Bethany’s hangars roared to life as the mighty airships were prepared, steel gleaming under spotlights as engineers ran final checks. Armed Techie soldiers loaded onto the vessels, their faces expressionless but hands clenching their weapons as they mentally braced for the coming assault.

The airships cut through the sky like predators, sleek and formidable, their massive engines humming with an ominous vibration. The people of the Northern Enchanted Forest noticed the encroaching shadows first, spotting the glint of metal through breaks in the forest canopy. They watched the Techie vessels’ approach with growing unease, sensing the silent threat that accompanied them. The Transitional Plains, while not part of the Techie Kingdom, had long been a neutral zone—a region that both respected and feared the Techie might. Now that boundary was under direct threat.

As the airships entered the enchanted forest, mist clung to the trees in thick, silvery layers, illuminated by the faint glow of the lesser Life Tree. The newly awakened tree stood tall at the forest’s heart, its massive trunk radiating a gentle, pulsing light that seeped into the surrounding flora. Its awakening had summoned creatures of all shapes and sizes from the depths of the forest, lesser Fey and native beasts gathering around it in reverent awe. The Techie airships, hovering above this congregation, looked like intruders on sacred ground.

At the head of the formation was Captain Derik Vale, a battle-hardened Techie with little tolerance for diplomacy. He watched the glowing tree from the airship’s observation deck, a mix of awe and frustration evident on his face.

“We’re close to the target,” a navigator reported, her voice steady despite the tension that crackled in the air. “Awaiting orders, sir.”

Captain Vale straightened, his jaw clenched as he observed the creatures gathering around the Life Tree. Most were peaceful-looking, curious, but among them, his gaze caught sight of figures that looked more purposeful, their eyes narrowed, their postures defensive. Fey. They weren’t here just to marvel—they were here to protect.

“All units, prepare for descent,” Vale ordered, gripping the rail tightly. “Engage only if provoked. Our mission is to contain the area and prevent any entity from reaching the Life Tree.”

Captain Vale’s soldiers moved quickly, their heavy boots trampling ferns and snapping branches as they encircled the Life Tree, pushing aside the lesser Fey creatures that had gathered.

A low growl emanated from the base of the Life Tree, and Vale looked up, his gaze meeting that of a Fey woman whose skin glowed with an ethereal light. Her pale robes floated around her, shifting like mist, and she held two silver blades in her hands, light gleaming off the metal.

“You dare desecrate this place?” she said, her voice soft but filled with palpable menace. “Leave now, or face the wrath of the forest.”

Vale gave her a cold, assessing look, then signaled his men to stand ready. “We’re not here to start a war with the Fey. We’re here to secure this area for the protection of our kingdom.”

The Fey woman’s eyes narrowed. “Your kingdom’s greed will be your undoing. The Lesser Tree does not belong to any kingdom. It belongs to Aer.”

Suddenly, the forest around them erupted in movement. Fey warriors, wielding bows and staffs with magic crackling at their fingertips, stepped out from behind trees and stones. Vale’s soldiers raised their weapons, tension thickening with every heartbeat.

“Captain!” shouted one of his officers, pointing skyward. “Lodi gliders—from the west!”

Vale’s gaze shot to the sky, where a dozen or so Lodi gliders approached, their enchanted hulls glinting. He clenched his fists, realizing they were now facing two enemies in unfamiliar territory.

“Hold the perimeter!” he shouted. “Do not fire unless fired upon!”

The Lodi gliders descended, each landing with a graceful sweep on the forest floor. The Lodi warriors, clad in green and bronze armor that blended seamlessly with the environment, moved with purpose, their eyes hard as they took in the sight of the Techie soldiers surrounding the Lesser Tree.

One of the Lodi, a tall woman with golden skin and emerald eyes, stepped forward. Her gaze bore into Captain Vale’s with a mixture of disdain and fury.

“This tree is sacred,” she said, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade. “If you wish to avoid open conflict, you will leave this forest at once.”

Vale squared his shoulders. “We’re here to ensure this tree’s power does not fall into the wrong hands. We will not leave until our mission is complete.”

The Lodi’s eyes flashed with anger, and she raised her hand, signaling her warriors to ready their weapons. At the same time, the Fey woman in white robes took a defensive stance, her blades raised as the Fey warriors tightened their ranks.

The standoff crackled with unspoken violence, the air thick with the scent of ozone as the magical energy from the Lesser Tree pulsed around them. For a moment, everything was still—a fragile, tense silence stretching like a thread about to snap.

Then, a Techie soldier, perhaps nervous or too eager, shifted his grip on his weapon, causing it to click audibly. The noise was small but unmistakable, and in an instant, it broke the delicate balance.

A spell shot from a Lodi warrior’s staff, green energy streaking through the air towards the Techie line. In response, a Techie soldier raised his rifle, firing a burst into the trees. With that, the forest erupted into chaos.

Spells and bullets flew as Fey, Lodi, and Techies clashed in a violent swirl of magic and metal. The Lesser Tree’s glow intensified, its roots shifting and pulsing as if sensing the turmoil around it. Creatures of the forest scattered in fear, fleeing the sudden eruption of violence.

Vale fought with calculated precision, fending off spells and Fey warriors alike, but the onslaught was relentless. For every Fey warrior felled, another took their place, their loyalty to the Lesser Tree fueling their unyielding resolve. The Lodi fought with a fury borne of deep conviction, their every strike aimed at pushing the Techies back.

As the battle raged, the Lesser Tree shuddered, its roots lifting from the ground as it responded to the assault. The air grew heavy with magic, and for a moment, everyone halted, looking up as the tree unleashed a powerful, blinding light. The combatants shielded their eyes, and for a brief moment, all were forced to cease fighting, as if in silent reverence.

In that shared moment of awe, the three factions stood transfixed, a single unspoken question hovering between them: was any victory worth the price of angering the very forces they sought to control for fear of it destroying them?

As the blinding light receded, a deep rumble echoed from within the earth, spreading out from the roots of the Life Tree. It was a warning, an ancient force speaking to all who had disturbed it. The air vibrated with power, thickening with the scent of damp earth and a whisper of old magic. Each side, Fey, Techie, and Lodi, hesitated, glancing uneasily at one another, unsure of what this awakening might mean.

Commander Vale took a cautious step back, momentarily lowering his weapon. He knew well the stories about Life Trees—that they weren’t merely passive keepers of magic but ancient beings capable of defense. If they pushed further, they risked inciting the wrath of the Life Tree itself, a force that could make their technology and magic alike seem fragile and impotent.

“We need to fall back,” he muttered to his second-in-command, his resolve wavering for the first time.

But before his order could be relayed, the Life Tree’s roots began to stretch and twist, breaking free from the earth with a slow, menacing creak. Tendrils of magic radiated from it, shimmering like golden threads as they moved toward the warring factions, separating the Techies from the Fey and Lodi. The forest responded in kind—trees shifted, vines grew wildly, and the earth itself seemed to rise, building natural barriers between the groups.

One of the Lodi warriors, a young mage with silver hair, held her staff tightly, her eyes wide with fear and wonder as she watched the Life Tree’s response. “It’s protecting itself,” she whispered. The recognition of this, that the Life Tree was awake and aware, swept through each group, a quiet warning that the lines of battle might soon be dwarfed by an even greater power.

Still, Vale’s resolve hardened. He hadn’t risked this mission only to turn back now. “Bring out the disruptors!” he barked, his voice slicing through the tension.

Several Techie soldiers scrambled to their gear, producing cylindrical devices that pulsed with an eerie, red energy. These disruptors were new technology, designed to counteract magic by disorienting it, breaking its flow, and rendering spells ineffectual. It was the Techie Kingdom’s attempt to tame the untamable forces of Aer.

The sight of the disruptors sent ripples of alarm through the Lodi ranks. “You would bring those abominations here?” the Lodi woman spat, fury flashing in her emerald eyes. “Do you have no respect for the sanctity of life and magic?”

Vale didn’t respond; his focus was fixed on the Lesser Tree, which was now glowing with a fiercer intensity, its branches reaching outward like the arms of a colossus, as though readying itself to strike. The Fey warriors, caught between protecting the tree and confronting the Techies, gripped their weapons tighter, poised to defend at any cost.

Suddenly, a familiar face stepped forward from among the Fey ranks—a figure draped in pale, translucent robes, her skin glowing with a faint radiance that illuminated the forest around her. She was the pale woman Vale had seen before, the one with the light that could blind or dazzle, her ethereal gaze fixed on him with a mixture of anger and sorrow.

“Do you truly believe,” she asked, her voice carrying a resonance that seemed to echo within the trees themselves, “that machines can conquer the ancient magic of Aer?”

Vale gritted his teeth, refusing to be cowed. “We’ll do what’s necessary to protect our people.”

With a wave of her hand, the pale woman summoned an orb of light that hovered above the disruptors. In an instant, the orb burst, sending waves of shimmering light cascading over the devices. Sparks erupted from each disruptor, and one by one, they fizzled out, rendered useless under the enchantment she’d cast.

At that moment, the ground beneath the Techie soldiers trembled as vines and roots snaked toward their feet, grasping at their legs and equipment, forcing them to stumble. The Lesser Tree’s roots surged forward, reclaiming the earth, separating Techie from Fey, Fey from Lodi, and surrounding each group in an impassable wall of greenery.

Vale’s gaze flickered over the faces of his men, their fear and frustration mounting as they struggled against the relentless plant life. He knew this was a battle that couldn’t be won with brute force alone.

“Captain, we need to retreat,” his Lieutenant urged, panic creeping into his voice. “The disruptors are gone, and we’re surrounded.”

Vale clenched his fists, his pride and purpose warring within him. He had been sent here to take control, to show the Techie Kingdom’s strength. But the Lesser Tree’s raw power dwarfed even his most advanced weaponry, and he couldn’t risk his men’s lives in a battle they couldn’t possibly win.

Just as he was about to give the order to fall back, the Lodi woman stepped forward. She looked at him, her expression a complicated blend of triumph and pity. “You have overstepped, Techie. Your machines will not dominate this place. This forest has defended itself for millennia and will continue to do so long after we’re all dust.”

In a rare moment of vulnerability, Vale held her gaze and then looked toward the Lesser Tree, towering and formidable, as if it were silently judging them all. “This isn’t over,” he said quietly, signaling his men to begin their retreat. “We will not forget this.”

As the Techies slowly withdrew, the tension remained thick in the air. The Lodi and Fey watched them go, their expressions unyielding, but there was a sense of relief as the disruptive machines were carried away. The Lesser Tree’s glow softened, and its roots withdrew slightly, settling back into the ground as if the ancient being were breathing a sigh of relief.

Once the Techie soldiers were gone, the pale woman turned to the Lodi leader and the assembled Fey. “The Lesser Tree has awoken, but it won’t stay untouched for long. They will return, perhaps with greater force.”

The Lodi woman nodded grimly. “Then we must be ready. The Techie Kingdom won’t stop until they find a way to exploit this power for themselves. This alliance, however uneasy, is our best hope to protect what remains of magic.”

The pale woman tipped her head up to the sky and stretched out her arms, arching her back. A gentle rumbling rose from her throat and her body stretched out. The long form rose up over the gathered group and unfolded great wings. White pulsating light surged along its body. The great wings fluttered as if a light wind stirred them. Tiny points of sparkling light swirled across the surface of the wings. It took flight and dove itself into the trunk of the tree, merging into the wood as if diving into water.

Silence fell over the forest, each faction understanding the fragile alliance they now shared. The Fey and Lodi, united by their reverence for the ancient magic of Aer, had protected the Lesser Tree for now, but they all knew this peace was temporary. The Techie Kingdom’s hunger for control would drive them back, with even more powerful weapons and resolve. As they dispersed, the Lesser Tree continued to glow softly, a reminder of the unyielding magic that connected them all—even those who sought to subdue it. 

Each side left with a quiet realization: this battle was only the beginning.