Chapter 2: Actions

Chapter 2: Actions

Within a form of wood a consciousness stirred, it had done so several times now. Each spark of thought was greater than the one before it, more focused and slightly faster. With every thought it became more and more aware, aware of its surroundings, the taste of dirt, the warmth of the sun, the feeling of small legs climbing its branches.

Small pinpricks of light shone in its mind's eye. Each corresponding to the small animals scampering around.

The instincts of its species screamed at the tree to attack, to consume and grow. But another, slightly stronger instinct held it back, telling it that something was wrong, that something was unnatural.

There was more, the tree could sense that the second instinct was correct, somewhere deep inside knew. And though neither the origin nor veracity of this feeling could be detected the tree clutched onto it with all its focus and will.

Then, as its burgeoning identity was being pieced together, different sensations filtered through the fog of its consciousness. Small pricks of emotions and intent; Safety, hunger, nest, hide. Where were they coming from? And why could it sense them? Could it be the same presences climbing on its body?

These thoughts were quite complex, and thus the tree pondered them. A year passed.

===

Fear!

The emotion was sharp and sudden, like a knife against skin. But it wasn’t the tree’s emotion, no, it was external. Something was panicking nearby!

Hunger.

Another emotion but this time from a distinctly different source, the intent of this second source of emotion was directed towards the first. It could feel the location of both, a small flicker of presence.

At first the tree had used this faint sense to strike out against prey, and a part of it felt the intense desire to lash out. To send forth a sharp root from the soil and end both presences. But it hadn’t acted on such instincts in over a year.

But something had changed. The fact the tree could not only feel these emotions and sense both presences with such clarity... Something had definitely changed. But what?

Fear again! The smaller presence moved quickly as the larger bounded forwards. The fearful presence darted up the tree’s trunk and its closeness stirred something within the trunk. It remembered! The small presence was familiar, it had nested within the tree’s branches.

This realisation stirred something else, a dull protective instinct. The small thing was in danger.

Don’t lose them!

A crack resounded through the forest as a [Juvenile Blight Tree] protected the life of something else. A historic first!

Level up! Class [Noble] is now level 6!

For fighting to protect another under your watch and within your territory you earned a level!

+1 to [Willpower] +2 free points!

New class skills available! [Grand Action] or [Bloodline Insight]!

...

Uhhh...?

It knew that if it had one skill, it had others. And knowing that let the system pick up some of the slack. And by some I mean a whole lot.

===

Name: Leif Vin

Race: Blight Tree

Age: 8

Attributes:

Free: 22

Might: 7

Alacrity: 3

Intelligence: 1

Willpower: 2

Spirit: 6

Charisma: 14

Total Level: 10

Monster Classes: 1/1

Juvenile Blight Tree: 4/10

Skills: Savage Roots / Predators Sense

Classes: 0/2

Auxiliary Classes: 1

Noble: 6/10

Skills: Aura of Nobility I / Court Empath / Grand Action

===

Seeing the full status screen stunlocked the tree for five months straight.