Kael Cor: A Vampire's Awakening

The forests got darker and thicker the deeper I went, but then again I don't think it mattered as I shredded it all down, leaving behind massive piles of logs, this forest was dangerous, maybe a little too dangerous, of course I can try to use it to my advantage. As a god of souls it only seemed normal that I try to grow trees capable of poisoning the souls of every being, even a god. I kept on moving until all of a sudden there were no more trees around me, just one in front of me. One massive humongous tree that reminded of me of the world tree back at home, however it wasn't as big, but a tree this size wasn't normal either.

"Are you here to destroy me, just like you did my children?" a deep rumbling and ancient voice called out to me.

I looked at the tree not at all surprised, the amount of soul energy currently wafting of it was ridiculous, it was almost comparable to mine in this current from with all of my divine abilities sealed. But nevertheless I was talking to a tree, nothing new about that, I've talked to a tree before, and it ended up being the gateman/gateway to my capital and the hundreds of small pocket dimensions that used to be my dungeon.

"I need to use you to build a house that moves, or rather a hotel. And I know you would probably think that it's unfair, to become prey for someone you never did anything wrong to, but that's just life. And while that felt really disgusting coming out of my mouth, your unique composition makes you a threat to not just me, but gods everywhere, and in the wrong hands you can cause no small amount of chaos and death. Plus your body is a great material and would give my mobile hotel quite a few options, though to be honest I'm probably going to add a few more things to make you more...….sturdy I think." Having a lighthearted conversation with a sentient soul tree I'm about to kill might seem weird, but I felt it would be nice having a conversation first, just to get the feel of what I'm about to kill.

"What if I offer myself willingly, would you please rethink the killing. Especially of my children as we're the only soul catcher trees in existence, not on this planet or in this new universe we've suddenly found ourselves." His particular choice of words raised an alarm in my head.

"You actually know that you're in another universe, how?" the massive tree was all too willing to tell me what's up.

"Soul catcher oak trees have an intrinsic connection to the sea of souls, it's not easy but we can actually fetch souls from it to eat, and for me the Soul Catcher Prime Oak, I can find specific souls and draw them into me to either eat or have them communicate with the people or creatures who make deals with me to find them." The tree said to me.

"So there are people powerful enough to walk through your grove of soul sucking and soul poisoning trees?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There's no one that powerful or at least not until you. Please permit to ask, but what are you? I feel a great and unfathomable power of souls and soul energy from you, it's like you're the River of souls itself, carrying each soul to it's next point in the circle of reincarnation."

"Well isn't that quite perceptive of you. My name is God King Kael Cor of Spero. And I am the god of souls and runes. Safe to say everything about souls fall under my jurisdiction, not even the gods and goddesses of death can compare." Maybe I was bragging a bit by now, but this pride in who and what I am has sunk soon deeply into my bones, that being less than awesome didn't feel right.

"A god of souls, and I take it those glowing disks are the runes. Though I don't understand why you feel so mortal, I believe you're telling the truth. I offer myself in servitude to you and your cause, I only ask that you spare me and my children, I believe we can be quite valuable to you, especially our ability to fish souls out of the soul river, even to the point of being very specific."

He does makes a good point, powerful as I was now, I'm incapable of singling out a single soul from the expansive and endless soul river. But if they really can fish for souls then there's a possibility that...…no! I can't put all my eggs in one basket, but if it is so, then I can probably change the way everything works, I could actually hold back death for my soldiers, and also bring back the people I've lost, Nisi and Varsessa...my earth father. But that would be me jumping the gun, I needed to be sure and the only way to do so was to try.

"I can spare your children and take them into my employ as vassals, given how familiar you are with necromancy and the fact that all your leaves are grey and seem dead, I take it you guys are like undead trees or something?" I asked.

"That is quite accurate Master Kael." The tree replied.

"I can spare your children and they will work for me till the day my immortality ends, however so will you only you're still going to become a house, or rather a hotel. I can make you stronger, but in return you will become a domicile of a god!" not that I need any more domiciles, I have a beautiful palace back on Ethernalia Leonis, however a god always has a god realm, I've not discovered mine yet, but a hotel would be quite grand.

"If that is what you wish I doubt that I would be able to resist, however I willingly submit myself to your rule. Allow me to withdraw my children back into myself and prepare myself for travel."

As soon as it finished speaking, what was left of the soul catcher oak grove began to vibrate and shake, the intensity seemed to increase with each second that passed as the entire air became saturated with soul energy. Then I felt a suction force coming from the Prime Oak, and I turn all of the soul energy for hundreds of kilometers was drawn towards it.

The other soul catcher oak trees turned even more grey, before suddenly their forms turned illusory a became motes of lights as the physical forms of the trees turned to dust as the lights that were left behind flew towards the prime Oak. When something like this happens, you would expect the tree to grow bigger since it was actually absorbing soul energy and souls in ridiculously large amounts, however it became smaller and smaller until all that was standing in front of me was a weed four inches tall.

The tiny oak tree floated until it was on my shoulder and then making it's perch there. I just nodded my head almost as if all of these was normal and turned heading back the way I came. Since I've gotten wood, I guess what I need next is stone, and I'm sure the sentient soul of the Soul Catcher Prime Oak would be more than enough to serve as a sentient soul for whatever the wood sprites might be able to make. Also there was more to this oak trees than normal, they weren't alive in the normal sense, I could feel the same feeling of death that sometimes exudes from vampires and is always around undead creatures.

They would serve nicely as the half that embodies the death aspect of a soul, a balance of life and death between tree hugging pygmies (they're shorter than dwarves after all), and soul sucking dead trees. For me this was a very good development, but for my enemies.....what could possibly go wrong.