“That sounds dangerously close to Einnashe, Broccoli.”
I assure you, Ms. Aozaki. While the concept is similar, a Sacred Grove has a different origin point than the Thinking Forest. It goes without saying that most Groves haven’t absorbed the blood of a Dead Apostle Ancestor. Nor are they capable of reproducing by feeding on blood.
Things would become quite complicated if that were the case.
The only similarity is that certain breeds of Mystic Tree may suddenly evolve into Sacred Trees if they are exposed to the remains of a Phantasmal Species of similar or greater rank. Though it is treated as a rarity and not the usual. Issues of compatibility can and will cause less than desirable effects.
It is but one possible manner in which a Sacred Tree may develop.
The most common method is the accumulation of time.
Mystic Trees could be considered familiars, branches of a greater whole without any ability beyond exchanging energy and information amongst themselves. When many Mystic Trees develop and link together, it is common for one amongst them, the Elder Tree, to develop a degree of autonomy.
It grows, its reach expands and it becomes capable of reflecting the desires and delusions of others into its surroundings.
When these groves are inhabited by the likes of Phantasmal Species and Magus, they may develop into small pockets where the reflection of the inhabitant’s desires causes the surroundings themselves to warp. In many beliefs, these pockets inhabited by beings of Mystery are called the ‘Encantaria’.
And they are the backbone of Traditional South American Magecraft.
‘But how do these relate to the Divine Trees?’
You might ask.
Putting it simply, the final method through which a Sacred Tree may be spawned relates to the Deterioration of the Age of Gods. When Mystery began to decay and the once vast number of Divine Trees slowly dwindled into a handful which survived into the Age of Beasts.
A period we don’t know much of.
The Age of Beasts, similar to the period in British history known as the Age of Fairies, was a time of transition between the Age of Gods and Age of Man where the vast territories of the New World was ruled not by Gods, or by Man, but by the Apex Predators which survived the Deterioration.
As mentioned at the start of our lecture, Phantasmal Species of the highest rank spawned by the Divine Trees as a safety mechanism to safeguard them against outside threats. You could think of these beasts as the epitome of biological life developed by the Divine Trees through the manipulation of data which was accumulate over the course of millions of years,
The timeline we have put together thus far read as thus.
14.000 B.C - Age of Gods
12.000 B.C - Deterioration
2.600 B.C - Separation
This has been established as the point where Divine Spirits and their influence on the world begins to fail. However, it should be noted that the decay of the Age of Gods took longer to occur in certain locations. One example we know of being the British Isles as a result of a multitude of factors.
The New World, or at the very least the areas which were inhabited by the few remaining Divine Trees left in the world, begin to wane and vanish. In their place giving birth to the Sacred Trees due to the accumulation of mystery and shared belief of the local population, the Sacred Trees could be seen as lesser copies.
Chief amongst them being the subcategory of Sacred Trees which have sprouted from the scattered remains of Divine Trees which were scattered during the beginning stages of Deterioration. While these pieces lacked the ability to sprout new Divine Trees, they became the blueprint off of which all Sacred Trees were patterned off. With Mystic Trees acting merely as the tools through which they expanded their range.
At this point it becomes a game.
What came first, the offshoot Sacred Trees which sprouted from the remains of Divine Trees?
Mystic Trees fueled by the belief and wonder of humans? Eventually blossoming into Sacred Trees of their own?
It is hard to tell and even now we don’t know everything there is to them.
700 B.C - Trigger
0 A.D - Age of Man
??? A.D - Age of Fairies*
??? A.D - Age of Beasts*
While we can’t point out the exact time where the Age of Man began its transition. We know for a fact that areas like the Amazon Forest, Great Britain, and the North and South Poles experienced a slower decay, creating small pockets of time where transitional Ages would take place.
With Britain, it was the Age of Fairies.
With South America, it was the Age of Beasts.
But as the Age of Man progressed, the Age of Beasts eventually came to an end when Mystery finally began its steep decay across the New World. Leaving behind only small pockets where the influence of Mystery yet persists. The explosive population growth of humanity eventually caused even the Apex Predators of the Age of Beasts to dwindle and eventually vanish from the world.
The few areas where these creatures may be found, alongside Sacred Trees and their respective Groves are what we have collected reffered to as the Encantaria.
And of course, there are those who still hold onto the remaining mysteries of the Age of Beasts.
In particular, those who possess the Beast Factor seek to regress past their humanity and achieve the apex existence which ruled the New World during the Age of Beasts. They are similar in part to the Mixed Bloods which have been recorded in Japan. The descendants of both humans and Oni. Though the cases we have in archive are much more similar to Therianthropy.
There are also those who hold onto the remains of Divine Trees.
Though we cannot be sure of how many there are left, most if not all Sacred Trees have long since vanished from the world. With only a few recorded examples left. Maintaining the area where they reside has proven to be one of the greatest challenges for modern practitioners.
Those like Mr. Nesthesia and Ms. Niemeyer are amongst the very few who still seek out ways to rekindle the relationship between humanity, the Divine Trees, and the Apex Predators. Even amongst the most traditional of their kind, you will always find a divide between the Conservationists and Regressionists.
“You guys seem to enjoy having all this internal drama.”
You’re the last person I will accept advice on ‘internal drama’ from, Ms. Aozaki.
“Heh. Touché. Broccoli."
“That still doesn’t explain why those two are researching the Primordial Human. Even in prime conditions, Humanity has already diverged too far in terms of genetics for any one to ever find the right combination of genes to recreate the ‘original’.”
You’d think so. But let’s say that they were indeed capable of obtaining and nurturing a Divine Tree into being. That very same Divine Tree would be connected to the original even if they were in the Reverse Side of the World. Originals which possess the data on every living organism which has developed over the course of hundreds of thousands if not millions of years.
Humanity chief amongst them.
“Ballsy. But finding the right conditions for ‘blossoming’ a Sacred Tree would be difficult if not near impossible in the Age of Man. If the offshoots are that difficult to develop, I can’t begin to think how much more trying it would be to recreate the environment in which the Divine Trees existed.”
A word in private, Ms. Aozaki.
|