Aiko Goes West

Aiko and Mega set out west across the vast steppe of The Veld. It was a perilous journey for a young girl, but Mega was an old and ancient plant. Mega knew the ways of the world and how to keep Aiko safe. Mega could also parlay with other plants in the plant language, and she taught this to Aiko.

As for Aiko, well, she was having the time of her life. With every passing day, she felt closer to Mega and to the plant world. They rode across the land with the wind in their hair and vines whipping all around.

Mega told Aiko that they had to be careful, that this land wasn’t like Yureinochi. Here most people weren’t so open-minded. They kept as hidden as they could. Aiko rode on top of Mega, so the only track they left looked like something from a huge wurm, or maybe a dragon. Not anything that bandits wanted to follow.

At times they did encounter other travelers, who mostly ran in fear as soon as they saw the living plant that could grow to twice the height of a man and devour one like goblins plucking rat gizards off a skillet. Aiko tried to explain that Mega didn’t mean any harm, but it was no use. They were all afraid, and Mega began to grow sad again, but when Aiko fell asleep curled up in her vines she forgot about the other people and realized that it didn’t matter what they thought, Mega had Aiko now.

At last, they crossed the Veld and the land became green and humid. They arrived at a forest full of Banana trees which all seemed to sprout their special kind of Banana. Aiko spent all day trying the various types and trying to figure out why each tree grew the types of bananas it did. She tried to ask the trees, but it turns out that trees have their own form of plant language and it’s not always so easy to understand.

The two moved deeper into this forest and one day they came upon a dark-skinned man carrying a staff and wearing a tall green hat. He had green eyes that shone like foxfire, even during the day. But the thing that stood out to Aiko most was that, unlike all the others they had encountered on their journey, this man didn’t seem afraid, he seemed curious.

The man began to ask Aiko in depth about her plant. Aiko had never met anybody so interested in her plants. She gushed information and then began to ask the man about the banana trees. He became quite excited as well and spent all afternoon taking her among the banana trees and introducing her to his tree friends.

As the sun began to set the man told Aiko that fate had brought her to the right place and she would be welcome here in these forests. He told her that he was a wizard and could sense the powerful magic she shared with Mega. This was a place where people and plants lived in harmony, just as Aiko and Mega did.

Aiko and Mega looked at each other and decided to trust this man. Finally, they had found a place where they could be accepted.

The wizard with the green hat led Aiko and Mega through the forests, teaching them many things. He told them all about his friends, the Green Wizards, and how they had a sacred duty to ensure that magic and technology did not upset the balance of nature in the Runiverse. He told her that plants and animals had lives just as valuable, and sometimes more so than a human life.

Mega told Aiko that this man was right. Plants never tried to hurt anybody, all they wanted to do was grow in peace. It was the humans who went out of their way to trample them, chop them down, and poison their homes. Aiko felt that this was true. The other kids back in her village used to say mean things to her because they thought it was weird that she was so interested in plants. But a plant never said anything mean to her. Most plants only tried to make the world more beautiful, clean the air, or hold the soil together.

The trio arrived at the Green Wizard City and there Aiko and Mega were introduced to a circle of powerful green wizards. They immediately sensed the potential and the rarity of what Aiko had bonded with. There were only a handful of such magical plants with the ability to be such a potent defender of nature.

They offered Aiko guidance and tutelage. At first, she was unsure, she still wanted to go to the Secret Tower. She felt strangely pulled there. But, when the green wizards offered Aiko a large greenhouse to grow as many plants as she desired, she decided she would stay awhile.

So Aiko stayed and learned, and each day she and Mega grew closer and stronger. The other wizards taught her how to improve her spells and how to use her power and mana to make Mega even stronger. And Mega began to see that not all humans were so bad. These ones were nice, though some still seemed afraid. They respected and admired her.

There came a time when a group of aggressive corporate lumberjacks came to the edge of the green wizard territory to try and harvest some “magic wood”. A fierce battle was fought and many injured wizards were brought back to Green Wizard City.

Many of them were terribly burned by chemical projectiles and Aiko’s salves were having no effect. The injured wizards were growing closer to death with each day.

“I think I can help them,” Mega told Aiko, “But it’s going to hurt.”

Aiko told the green wizards her plan. Mega would eat away the corrupted tissue and replace it with her magical nectar, which would seal the wounds and leave a hard gelatin of sorts that would eventually allow healthy tissue to grow back. At first, the wizards were skeptical, they worried that Mega simply wanted an excuse to feast upon flesh.

But as the wizards continued to deteriorate, one of them decided to give it a try. Mega shaped her mouth and sunk her teeth around the edges of the wound. The wizard screamed in pain as Mega gobbled away the dead and dying tissue. But this part only lasted a few minutes and as Mega began to drip nectar back in its place, the man relaxed and his fever broke. Within a few weeks, he was good as new. But Mega needed just as much time to recover from the excisions and purge the toxicity from her cells.

The green wizards were thrilled and began to concoct a plan for a counter-attack. They had fought the intruders off but held back because they didn’t want any more of their ranks to fall to the chemical weapons, but now that they had a cure they felt emboldened to go on the offensive. Aiko was now a teenager and pleaded with them not to do this. She didn’t want Mega’s gifts to be used to cause more violence. But, it was clear that the Green Wizards weren’t going to listen. They were fanatics.

Just as Mega had protected her all these years, Aiko knew that she had to protect Mega from being used as a tool of war. So as hard as it was to leave her green house and her community of nature lovers, Aiko left, and took Mega with her.

They went north, finally, to the Secret Tower.

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