Sherah and the Saplings: Meeting

The time had come at last. Sherah, Hamdani, and 3 other guards have gone deeper into the forests of the Saplings. Visus brought them to a powerful shaman by the name of Sycamore. To Sherah, this was the moment of truth that would change Risu forever.

Sycamore looked at them with curiousity. He had never personally seen the Risuners before but like many other Saplings, had heard rumors and stories about those who resembled Hoomen but had squirrel tails. He would make eye contact with Sherah and prepare himself for whatever would transpire.

"Ah Visus. That was quicker than expected. I thought the Risuners would take a bit more time before showing up"

Visus had only a simple response before he stepped back and leaned on the wall near the door to the outside forest.

"They were quite insistent on getting to you as fast as possible. Sherah here has been extremely passionate about this moment ever since she left home".

It was true. Sherahs eyes were nearly glowing at how excited she was. Words could not express her visible happiness as her body shook a bit from being in the presence of this Sapling shaman. Hamdani had to calm her down before approaching him and the 3 risuner guards joined Visus in the back of the room along the other Sapling guards.

Sycamore turned his eyes to Sherah now with a bit of amusement. While she did her best to remain professional it was clear that she was eager to begin negotiating "You can relax now my dear, I understand you went through many hardships just to make it here and invested a lot in your safety".

Hamdani was right along Sherah, trying her best to calm her down. After a few seconds she was able to fully compose herself and begin speaking.

"Yes you are correct. I'm sure you already know some of this but it is my mission to exchange magical knowledge with you. It is the belief of all the witches in my land as well as the entire crew and many risuners back home that you can save our people from horrible invaders. You have a magical field covering everything that would be perfect if we could somehow have a similar system. The trees that are sentient that fight for as well would ensure peace and prosperity for the rest of time. I have heard everything about your magics and it is far more powerful than ours. And we have much to offer you of course"

Sycamore looked at the girl with both amazement and a bit of pity. "Well I am sorry but even if I wanted to, I have no idea how we would grant you the entirety of Fauna's blessing. And those living trees you see are also saplings once they grow up. While your people run when the process happens we embrace it. But I am interested in what you have to offer and I do believe that there is something we can do."

Sherah was still optimal. She had a feeling that being granted all the magic they had was a wild quest but she would be happy to accept whatever she could get. "Well then, shall we begin? My risuners have already befriended your people and are helping them out as we speak."

"Not so fast my dear." Sycamore was amused by this girl but was taken aback by her impatience. "I do believe we should do some things before rushing into the magic training you seek. Let us first discuss your whole mission in detail".

The two conversed for a while while all the details were laid out. Sherah made sure to include absolutely every detail possible when Sycamore asked a question. This exchange went on for some time before a decision was made.

"Now my dear I think I have my conclusion. I will help you. But I want you to first learn what it is like to be a sapling. I understand your crew are already doing this and this makes me very happy. The hoomans only care for logging our trees and sometimes killing the animals for food. You are the first outsiders to take a genuine interest in our culture and how we operate and for that I am grateful. Now since you are going to be here for well over a year I will ask that you take at least one month to study our ways. If you can prove to me that you are patient enough and truly want this to be mutually beneficial then we can discuss magic. Is that ok with you?"

"I understand. We are pretty similar so it should not be a problem. Thank you so much for seeing me."

With the initial meeting done, Sherah headed out. Hamdani was with her and was feeling less optimistic.

"A whole month? How do we know that they are not just using us?"

Sherah looked right at her with a determined look on her face "Because I trust him. And he is right, we literally ran right into their homeland. We should show them that we are not colonizers or invaders and do what he says. That and I remember what you told me about their magic, they use rituals instead of gems and staffs. They have a completely different magic system with different ways of using it and it would be in our best interest to learn. To have the powers of a sapling, we should learn to act like a sapling. Now I want you to supervise the crew and ensure nothing funny goes on as well as tend to the hoomans if they ask any questions. I will also ensure that everything goes well here."