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Description

Gelsem was the shaman chief of a forgotten savage tribe in the great forest of Mesha. A benevolent and dedicated healer in his life, he used his power to communicate with plants to study herbal medicines and saved numerous people. But even with his vast knowledge and experience, there were still ailments he could do nothing about. What if one day he isn’t around anymore, who will save his people? What if there is an epidemic he could not cure and he too would fall while helplessly watching his people suffer? Such were his thought.
Sensing the weight on his heart, the elders told him: “Gelsem, death is nothing but a part of the natural cycle. Just as we carry the blood and the will of our ancestors, we will continue to live on through our children and children’s children too. Have faith in them and don’t seek to defy death anymore.”
“I’m not defying death. I understand his Highness the Blind Dragon does not approve such arrogance. I merely seek to cure the livings.”
“What I’m saying is don’t let it become an obsession that make you lose sight of limits that must not be crossed.”
“I will remember your word, dear Elder.”
The elders’ teaching, perhaps, manifested itself most physically right in front of him. His tribe had, for a long time, built an altar to worship a carnivorous plant that in exchange for being fed a live being, condense its prey’s life force into a bloody fruit that could then be used to save another life of equal value. Only the sacrifice of a healthy person could save another one on the verge of death. One for one. Sometimes people would give up their life for a loved one, and the tree can grant such a wish. But Gelsem, who could hear the voice of trees, knew it better than anyone else that the sacred tree is in fact, tainted with evil and must not be fed too frequently.
One day, strange men with pale skins arrive at the coast on their gigantic iron ships and soon they found Gelsem’s tribe. The strangers were benevolent at first – they offered Gelsem’s tribe with delicious food stuffs, beautiful clothes and most importantly, miraculous medicines and magic that could treat diseases and injuries even Gelsem, the most talented shaman of his tribe could not. Quickly befriended with the strangers, Gelsem shared with them the secrets of the trees. The strangers was overjoyed with Gelsem’s local knowledge and asked him to help them cultivate plants of value in exchange for food, clothes and modern medicines. Gelsem agreed. His tribe cooperated with the pale men to clear vast swathes of forest to grow medicinal plants. Without the forest, the soil dried up and became barren after a few crops, but they would just clear more forest. Gelsem heard the crying of the forest and had been reluctant at times, but he prioritized his people’s welfare.
More and more strangers arrived. They build their own houses, towns, ports, farms and have their own children on Gelsem’s ancestral land. Quickly, they have learned about the land enough and have sufficient number to work the land on their own. Gelsem’s people no longer had the forest to rely on, and must labor at the pale men’s farms for a starving wage. But Gelsem himself was well treated, thus he was drunken with the strangers’ food, wine and luxury. He could no longer hear the voice of the forest or his people.
One day, a battle ship arrived. On board was a high ranking general of the pale men. He had just return from a fierce battle with a grievous injury that even the pale men’s medicines were useless against. Eager to score the favor with the general, Gelsem revealed the final secret of the forest – the sacred man-eating tree and cured the general in the pale men’s awe with the sacrifice of a criminal.
Apparently, the pale men were having a massive war somewhere far away and had high demand for such a cure. Armed pale men arrived at the forest in droves, hunted Gelsem’s people and fed them to the sacred tree to harvest the fruits. Gelsem woke up in terror but it was too late.
Filled with guilt and anger, he returned to the forest, and cried days and nights for forgiveness. The forest spirits are scornful but they know the man is repentant. However there is only one single spirit in the forest powerful enough to aid him in his revenge – the sacred evil tree. Having eaten thousands of souls in a short time since the pale men’s arrival, it had grown so powerful and malevolent and hunger for more sacrifices. Terrified by how much darkness now dwell within his once blessed ancestral land, Gelsem was reluctant to use its power.
Eventually, the pale men captured Gelsem after months of hiding all tattered and withered, and fed him to the tree. But just that one time, it didn’t bear a fruit in return. The pale men didn’t think much of it and concurred that Gelsem was probably on the verge of dying. Now they have hunted Gelsem’s tribe to the last man, they just have to bring in war prisoners, slaves and criminals from elsewhere to sacrifice.
On a faithful night, while the pale men were celebrating their victory in battle thanks to the miraculous fruits, thousands of roots burst out of the ground, strangled and mutilated the pale men to the last one and throw the corpses into gaping maws. Not even newborns were spared. The evil tree which has grown massive rise from underground. Its vile roots had spread throughout the pale men’s towns and farms. From among the wriggling mass of plant matter, a skeleton wrapped in vines emerged, gazing at the ravaged land.
Gelsem offered the tree something better. The spirit of a forest shaman, especially one as talented as Gelsem is highly compatible and if he willingly give up his own to the tree, it would not just grow vastly more powerful than from eating thousands of souls forcibly taken, but at last, truly sapient and no longer bound to the land.
“Death… is… natural cycle… through our children… live on… But… where are our children? Am I the last one? Must I …live on?”
All shamans know that defying death, through whatever means, is to violate the rules of heaven that separate gods and mortals. That is to incite the wrath of the Blind Dragon, the overseer of the afterlife. The being that is neither completely Gelsem, nor completely the sacred tree pondered.
“My sin… against my people… my land… and heaven… is great. Is it really my sin? Have I always been… this human? Sin… is of humans… Still, I could not be forgiven.”
“On the contrary, I’m highly pleased” - A skeletal silhouette, like a colossal dragon of death spoke to Gelsem.

Description

Gelsem was the shaman chief of a forgotten savage tribe in the great forest of Mesha. A benevolent and dedicated healer in his life, he used his power to communicate with plants to study herbal medicines and saved numerous people. But even with his vast knowledge and experience, there were still ailments he could do nothing about. What if one day he isn’t around anymore, who will save his people? What if there is an epidemic he could not cure and he too would fall while helplessly watching his people suffer? Such were his thought.
Sensing the weight on his heart, the elders told him: “Gelsem, death is nothing but a part of the natural cycle. Just as we carry the blood and the will of our ancestors, we will continue to live on through our children and children’s children too. Have faith in them and don’t seek to defy death anymore.”
“I’m not defying death. I understand his Highness the Blind Dragon does not approve such arrogance. I merely seek to cure the livings.”
“What I’m saying is don’t let it become an obsession that make you lose sight of limits that must not be crossed.”
“I will remember your word, dear Elder.”
The elders’ teaching, perhaps, manifested itself most physically right in front of him. His tribe had, for a long time, built an altar to worship a carnivorous plant that in exchange for being fed a live being, condense its prey’s life force into a bloody fruit that could then be used to save another life of equal value. Only the sacrifice of a healthy person could save another one on the verge of death. One for one. Sometimes people would give up their life for a loved one, and the tree can grant such a wish. But Gelsem, who could hear the voice of trees, knew it better than anyone else that the sacred tree is in fact, tainted with evil and must not be fed too frequently.
One day, strange men with pale skins arrive at the coast on their gigantic iron ships and soon they found Gelsem’s tribe. The strangers were benevolent at first – they offered Gelsem’s tribe with delicious food stuffs, beautiful clothes and most importantly, miraculous medicines and magic that could treat diseases and injuries even Gelsem, the most talented shaman of his tribe could not. Quickly befriended with the strangers, Gelsem shared with them the secrets of the trees. The strangers was overjoyed with Gelsem’s local knowledge and asked him to help them cultivate plants of value in exchange for food, clothes and modern medicines. Gelsem agreed. His tribe cooperated with the pale men to clear vast swathes of forest to grow medicinal plants. Without the forest, the soil dried up and became barren after a few crops, but they would just clear more forest. Gelsem heard the crying of the forest and had been reluctant at times, but he prioritized his people’s welfare.
More and more strangers arrived. They build their own houses, towns, ports, farms and have their own children on Gelsem’s ancestral land. Quickly, they have learned about the land enough and have sufficient number to work the land on their own. Gelsem’s people no longer had the forest to rely on, and must labor at the pale men’s farms for a starving wage. But Gelsem himself was well treated, thus he was drunken with the strangers’ food, wine and luxury. He could no longer hear the voice of the forest or his people.
One day, a battle ship arrived. On board was a high ranking general of the pale men. He had just return from a fierce battle with a grievous injury that even the pale men’s medicines were useless against. Eager to score the favor with the general, Gelsem revealed the final secret of the forest – the sacred man-eating tree and cured the general in the pale men’s awe with the sacrifice of a criminal.
Apparently, the pale men were having a massive war somewhere far away and had high demand for such a cure. Armed pale men arrived at the forest in droves, hunted Gelsem’s people and fed them to the sacred tree to harvest the fruits. Gelsem woke up in terror but it was too late.
Filled with guilt and anger, he returned to the forest, and cried days and nights for forgiveness. The forest spirits are scornful but they know the man is repentant. However there is only one single spirit in the forest powerful enough to aid him in his revenge – the sacred evil tree. Having eaten thousands of souls in a short time since the pale men’s arrival, it had grown so powerful and malevolent and hunger for more sacrifices. Terrified by how much darkness now dwell within his once blessed ancestral land, Gelsem was reluctant to use its power.
Eventually, the pale men captured Gelsem after months of hiding all tattered and withered, and fed him to the tree. But just that one time, it didn’t bear a fruit in return. The pale men didn’t think much of it and concurred that Gelsem was probably on the verge of dying. Now they have hunted Gelsem’s tribe to the last man, they just have to bring in war prisoners, slaves and criminals from elsewhere to sacrifice.
On a faithful night, while the pale men were celebrating their victory in battle thanks to the miraculous fruits, thousands of roots burst out of the ground, strangled and mutilated the pale men to the last one and throw the corpses into gaping maws. Not even newborns were spared. The evil tree which has grown massive rise from underground. Its vile roots had spread throughout the pale men’s towns and farms. From among the wriggling mass of plant matter, a skeleton wrapped in vines emerged, gazing at the ravaged land.
Gelsem offered the tree something better. The spirit of a forest shaman, especially one as talented as Gelsem is highly compatible and if he willingly give up his own to the tree, it would not just grow vastly more powerful than from eating thousands of souls forcibly taken, but at last, truly sapient and no longer bound to the land.
“Death… is… natural cycle… through our children… live on… But… where are our children? Am I the last one? Must I …live on?”
All shamans know that defying death, through whatever means, is to violate the rules of heaven that separate gods and mortals. That is to incite the wrath of the Blind Dragon, the overseer of the afterlife. The being that is neither completely Gelsem, nor completely the sacred tree pondered.
“My sin… against my people… my land… and heaven… is great. Is it really my sin? Have I always been… this human? Sin… is of humans… Still, I could not be forgiven.”
“On the contrary, I’m highly pleased” - A skeletal silhouette, like a colossal dragon of death spoke to Gelsem.