Six months prior to Gum’s capture, on the other side of the world...
The Council of the Arboreal Guard met for the first time in ten thousand years.
Steam steeped jungles swept across the Dheathainian landscape like a coat of living armour. It was from this tropical forest that the council grew. Floating over the tops of the tallest trees was a pinnacle of clouds, this was their grand meeting hall.
The intangible palace of clouds housed ten old spirits—women, men, animals, and arborescent beings of a scientifically disprovable nature. Their meeting was ordained by the Dheathain Pantheon and necessitated by the assault on the natural world. In short, the Council of the Arboreal Guard was tasked with fighting back.
“The leaders of the humans, elves, drakari, and the rest of those men-like races—they’re raising armies and fighting wars and our woods are paying the price. Whether it’s the grand old mahogany in the Xangu Basin or the ancient oaks of Concordia… We’re paying the price for their wars.â€
The council’s chief spoke like thunder in the sky, rumbling with anger.
“Call up those indebted to our gods and task them with the destruction of any malevolent, destructive, murderous institutions. Kill their leaders and put an end to our suffering.â€