Lith took the Suneater’s hand and triggered the mind link.
Everyone understood the severity of the information when color drained from Lith’s face and his eyes turned from cold to shocked as if he was about to face his own execution.
A wave of Lith’s hand conjured a new set of holographic arrays that overlapped with Aalejah’s scaled model, adding small but unsettling details to it.
The magical formations did more than just overlap. The runes comprising them interacted with each other like the teeth of neighboring cogs. Arrays were static by nature but those Lith was showing were capable of rotating on their respective axis.
“As you can see, this is the main issue when dealing with a World Tree.” Tezka explained since Lith was too focused on studying the hologram to speak. “By changing the runes in the various contact points, each array can produce many different effects.
“It increases the versatility of the Yggdrasill’s defense system, making it unpredictable. Even worse, the junction runes also allow adjacent arrays to combine their effects. Lith, if you please.”
With a series of rotations, the center array assumed a gravity enchantment while each of those nearby took on offensive properties. The final result was a gravitational cage that made all spells converge on its target with no hope of avoiding them.
The main array would place its center of gravity inside its victim, making them collapse under their own weight. Everything thrown inside the gravity cage would fall toward the prisoner like a homing missile.
“If one attack doesn’t work, the World Tree learns from their failure and alters the configuration of the other arrays accordingly. On top of that, know that once you are inside the Fringe, you are bound to be inside at least one array.
“There’s not a single unprotected centimeter in there, I assure you. To make things even spicier, the connection between the arrays works as a mana conduit. If you try to dismantle one magical formation, the others back it up. What’s inside protects what’s outside and vice versa.”
“Great Mother almighty!” Baba Yaga recognized the design and felt her knees buckle. Luckily for her, she was already sitting. “That’s the Odi multi-layer array project. My people invented that thing millennia ago.”
Those words gave Lith hope. He had faced the ancient Odi civilization and was familiar with their arrays. They were powerful but had a fatal flaw that made them collapse in a domino effect when exploited.
“How did the Yggdrasill perfect it? There is no flaw to exploit. No way to beat them but dismantle them all at the same time!” As the Maiden spoke, Lith’s hopes crumbled.
“My guess is lots of time, research, and integrating the Odi project with the many Warden bloodline legacies that the World Tree acquired through the millennia.” Tezka shrugged.
“He is right.” Aalejah nodded. “Librarians don’t just keep accounts of the Yggdrasill’s knowledge. They also work full-time to improve and combine it with other suitable forms of magic.
“The greatest weakness of the Awakened community is that they don’t share and don’t collaborate. Seemingly impossible problems often have a solution in another bloodline legacy but the two never make contact until they both fall into the Tree’s roots.”
“Still, how is it that possible?” Baba Yaga was flabbergasted. “So many arrays and Golems would need a mage tower to work, minimum.”
“In a way, you are right.” The elf replied. “During their life, the Yggdrasill grows on top of the mana geyser and extends their roots through the most abundant world energy veins.
“It’s what gives the World Tree’s wood its properties and powers. It allows them not only to constantly refine their body beyond what any Awakened, even a Divine Beast, can do, but also grants them complete authority over the Fringe.
“Like a mage tower, the Yggdrasill can absorb and control most of the world energy. On top of that, since their vines are everywhere, they can make a Wood Golem sprout from any position they want, giving them a tactical advantage.
“To make matters worse, since the Golems are still part of the Tree and linked to them, their power cores are constantly recharged. Unlike regular constructs, they have no downtime and can keep fighting until completely destroyed.”
She took a short pause to let the concept sink.
“What about Origin Flames?” Valtak asked. “Can’t we just burn the arrays closer to our entrance point and establish a safe area from which to deal with the other magical formations before moving forward?”
“No can do.” Tezka shook his head. “I’ve shown you a single multi-array formation to make it easier for you to grasp the concept but when I said that the junction runes work as mana conduits, I meant all of them. Lith.”
On the Suneater’s cue, Lith’s hologram covered the entire array network that enveloped the Fringe, forming a shiny clockwork formation with thousands of possible combinations.
“I’m no Origin Flames user, but from my experience, I can guess that if you attack one array, the rest of the magical formations will just pour their mana into it making your attack moot.
“The only way you have to destroy the arrays with Origin Flames would be by attacking them all at the same time.”
“Do you still believe that you can face a monster like that?” Aalejah conjured a hologram depicting Tezka’s latest raid.
The legendary Suneater had fought every centimeter of his way just to grab a single piece of wood from the most external branch of the Tree and then had managed to escape by the skin of his teeth.
“The Yggdrasill can’t move, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The World Tree can just watch from afar and focus solely on their spells and controlling the arrays while the Wood Golems deal with the physical aspect of the fight.”
Each image confirmed her words, showing how Tezka had never stopped running for his life. It hadn’t been a fight, more like a deadly game of tag that the Suneater had managed to win thanks to his overwhelming individual prowess.
Had he made a mistake or chosen the wrong path and been stuck in one place for more than a second, the Golems would have surrounded him and the arrays would have smitten him like a divine punishment.
To add insult to injury, Aalejah’s description matched the technique Lith and Solus used to fight. She delivered magic and intelligence and he would take care of the brawl. The irony of the situation sickened him.
“I know that this is hopeless.” Lith replied without hesitation. “Unlike Tezka, I don’t need to just grab a trinket and run. I might need to get inside the Tree, find Solus, and then bring her to safety.
“Yet for her, I’d face all of that one hundred times if necessary. Even if I have to go there alone.”
“But you are not alone.” Tezka patted his back. “Also, the projection that the young lady just showed us actually plays in our favor.”
Everyone but the Eldritchs and the babies looked at the Suneater as if he had gone insane and that only because the babies were napping.
