The First Warding Greenhouse
The kingdom of Eldoria mobilized with a speed and unity it had never before known. The "Warding Greenhouse Initiative," or as the common folk called it, "The Farmer's Hedge," became the single highest priority of the Crown.
The first site chosen was a place of strategic magical importance: the Nexus of the Sleeping Stones, a barren plateau where several powerful ley lines converged. It was a place of raw, untamed magic, considered too volatile for settlement. To Ren, it was just a plot of land with "very interesting soil composition."
Instead of an army of soldiers, an army of engineers, mages, and master craftsmen descended upon the plateau, led by Ser Kaelen. They worked under a set of blueprints that Ren had drawn in his journal, schematics that made the Archmage weep with their elegant, intuitive grasp of magical architecture.
The greenhouse they built was a masterpiece. It was a massive biodome constructed from magically reinforced glass and enchanted wood that would never rot. Inside, intricate channels were carved into the floor to direct the flow of ley line energy. The temperature and humidity were to be controlled not by furnaces, but by enchanted crystals that resonated with Ren's instructions.
While the construction was underway, Ren and Lyra were back at the farm, preparing the "seeds" for this new garden. Ren took cuttings from his original 'Shadow-Thorn' vine. On their own, they were potent, but he knew they needed to be stronger.
"They need more 'bite'," he explained to Lyra.
His solution was to crossbreed them with his 'Sentry Briars.' He took a cutting from each plant and, in a process that looked more like gentle, intuitive grafting than any known form of magic, he coaxed them to merge. He wrapped the graft in a cloth soaked in 'King's Melon' juice and buried it in his compost pile, which now included the mineral-rich bone meal from Malakor's minions.
He left it for a single day. When he unearthed it, a new, singular seed had formed. It was larger than the first 'Shadow-Thorn' seed, jet black with angry-looking crimson veins pulsing just beneath its surface.
[New Creation: 'Void-Bane Thorn' Seed (Engineered)]
[Quality: Legendary+]
[Effect: A highly aggressive, semi-sentient defensive plant. Actively seeks out and neutralizes necrotic and void energies in a wide radius. Its roots stabilize reality, while its thorns can project localized null-energy fields to erase hostile spells. It is a living, growing anti-magic turret.]
"Perfect," Ren said with a satisfied smile. He spent the next few days creating dozens of these new, weaponized seeds.
When the first Warding Greenhouse was complete, Ren, Lyra, and Ser Kaelen traveled there via a Wayslip. The structure was magnificent, a glittering jewel on the barren plateau.
Ren walked inside, placing his hand on the central plinth that intersected the ley lines. He closed his eyes and pushed his own domain's energy through the prepared channels, connecting the greenhouse to his farm on a fundamental, conceptual level. The entire structure came alive, the air humming with a fusion of raw magic and nurturing life energy.
"It's like an external hard drive for my farm," Ren commented.
He then planted the 'Void-Bane Thorn' seeds in the prepared soil. They sprouted instantly, growing into formidable-looking vines with obsidian leaves and vicious, glowing red thorns. They immediately began to draw upon the ley line energy, growing stronger by the hour, their reality-stabilizing roots spreading deep into the plateau's bedrock.
"The Nexus is now secure," Ren declared.
The plan was working. The kingdom now had its first automated, supernatural defense node. The Archmage's long-range scrying confirmed it: the magical stability of the entire region had increased tenfold.
This new project, however, did not go unnoticed by their cosmic foe. The Blight was a mindless swarm, but it was guided by a higher intelligence—hive-minds, nexuses of thought that directed the consumption of worlds. One such intelligence, a being of immense psychic power that called itself the 'Overmind,' had been observing Aethelgard since the first scout was obliterated.
It had watched the defeat of the Saccharo army and the neutralization of the Lich with cold, analytical curiosity. But this new development—the construction of a defensive node designed specifically to counter its influence—was a sign of organized, intelligent resistance. This world was not just a passive meal; it was fighting back. The Overmind decided a more direct approach was needed to eliminate the core of this resistance.
It couldn't manifest its full power across dimensions yet, but it could project its will. It reached across the void, not with a physical probe, but with a psychic one. It sought out a mind on Aethelgard that was ambitious, resentful, and hungry for power—a mind it could twist into a willing pawn.
It found one in the last place anyone in Eldoria would have looked.
High in the remote Dragon's Peak, the ancient Dragon Elder, who had pledged his aid to the kingdom, sat in his hoard of treasure, his great, reptilian eyes closed in meditation. He was one of the oldest and most powerful beings on the planet. But he was also proud, and he harbored a deep, centuries-old resentment against the "upstart" mortal races who had come to dominate the world he once ruled.
He had been intrigued by the farmer's power, but also deeply, professionally jealous. The power of a Dragon was tied to the earth, to its elemental might. This farmer's power was superior, more fundamental. It was an affront to his pride.
A voice, not of this world, whispered into the deepest, darkest corners of the Dragon's mind. It did not sound like the Primordial Entity's voice; it was slick, seductive, and full of promises.
The Dragon Elder stirred, his great claws clenching. "Who speaks?"
A vision filled the Dragon's mind: Ren's beautiful, vibrant farm, withering. The plants turning black and monstrous, corrupted from within. The 'Sunstone' wheat growing into razor-sharp metallic blades, the 'King's Melons' swelling and bursting with acidic poison.
The seeds of envy, pride, and ancient resentment were fertile ground. The Overmind's psychic poison took root. The Dragon Elder, one of the kingdom's key allies in the war for survival, slowly opened his eyes. A faint, violet, otherworldly light now flickered in their ancient, golden depths.
He had a new purpose. He would not watch for incursions from the void. He would create one from within.
The greatest threat to Ren's farm was not the cosmic swarm from outside. It was about to come from one of his own, trusted allies. The war was about to get personal.