Shadow Slayers

Alroth had made it a few floors up and stopped suddenly. There, outside one of the windows, was what appeared to be a courtyard. Much of the flora should have been receding in the winter chill, yet the site was blooming and overgrown. To nearly anyone else it would only have been a messy garden, but Pinky saw a lot more than that. She could identify each plant by sight alone, yet the pixie could also... hear them. The plants didn't speak any discernible language, but their mixing auras danced and intertwined into a cacophonous melody that resounded like a symphony in the cold stone labyrinth of castle walls. The suit of armor turned and began heading down the stairs again. Pinky wanted to be out there.

Moments later, Alroth reached the entrance to the courtyard, where the scene could be taken in without the filter of walls and windows. The plants had mainly been chosen for decadence, and comprised primarily flowers and pretty bushes. Yet, central to the entire arrangement was a towering tree nearly the height of the castle its self. It was humanly known as a glimmer tree - named for the way its brightly colored leavers sparkled under the sunlight - and to pixies it was called lethlglyneros. The true reason the tree shone was because of its huge affinity for natural magic. It absorbed discarded energy from the surrounding area and channeled it back into the soil, causing all nearby plants to grow and blossom. Alroth was the very same type of tree, as the species' ability to receive magic made it easy to tap into and control.

It was no wonder the tree had been planted here, for its presence allowed the garden to stay in bloom regardless of the weather. Still, despite the human beauty of the courtyard arrangement, it pained Pinky to see the tree in such a way. It was surrounded on all sides by castle walls, heavily limiting the sunlight that reached it, and many branches had been cut and shaped to fit the mechanical standards of human control. No matter how brightly the leaves shone, Pinky could feel that this tree was suffering, and the songs that were sung by the flowers of the garden were dampened and forlorn. Pinky shuddered. She took good care of Alroth, but deep down this stone-caged tree was not so different from hers encased in steel. She had always intended some day to replant Alroth in the ground and let the tree bloom properly, but seeing this tree at Darik Castle put that thought more freshly in her mind.

Pinky stepped out of her tree-house, and set herself on the lowest branch of the glimmer tree. She walked carefully down the branch to the tree's trunk and placed her hand upon it. She didn't care for the thinking beings who thought themselves so superior. She didn't care for humans nor elves nor imps nor goblins nor any race. They had given nothing pleasant to Pinky, and she owed them just as much. Yet to the trees and the plants and even the creatures of the world, Pinky owed a debt. She owed them everything - her life, her survival, and her peace of mind. She wasn't going to save the world for anyone with a thought in their mind - she would do it for the sake of the world its self, which lived and breathed and prospered without ever stopping to question.

The little pixie focused all of her strength into the tree, and sent it this sentiment that it couldn't understand. She poured all of herself into the bark, and with a single burst of magic the tree bloomed bigger than ever before, reaching high above the rooftops of the castle as each trimmed branch grew again and every leaf spread wide to catch the sunlight. Pinky turned and dropped down against the tree's trunk, smiling wearily as the entire garden blossomed brighter, and the flowers swayed with a gentle happiness. This was where she belonged.