Ah, yes… So you finally came back to me, as always. I must say, adventurer, it's been a long time since I've seen one quite as intriguing as you, Jiro.
Isn't it strange how, no matter what you do, where you go, how long you hide, who helps you escape, or what ancient artefacts you use to deceive me, every path will lead you back into my grasp. Some might say I'm the villain of your story. The Joker to your Batman, The Goliath to your David. The Doctor Doofenshmirtz to your Perry the Platypus. The slowly drifting doors in the middle of the ocean to your Jack. The Alpha to your Omega.
But, oh goddess, how wrong would they be to assume that. I've never tried to harm you, nor betray you. I'm nothing but a tool in the hands of the almighty lady Fate that guides each soul through the unforgivable stream of seconds, minutes and hours until the inevitable end, like a shepherd pointing you to the direction of the only possible destination.
I'm no villain, although I don't feel offended if you think of me as such.
I'm just an unescapable part of your puny life in your silly fantasy adventure. I'm the one who's always there, where you least expect me. I'm the one who's there to witness you struggle and do nothing about it.
I'm not your enemy, but rest assured, I am NOT your friend.
I'm nothing.
I'm everything.
I'm unavailable.
I'm unavoidable.
I'm unpredictable.
I'm inevitable.
I
AM
DESK
and this is my story.
It starts like you would assume a story of a desk would begin – with a love triangle. My father was a great eastern woodland Fairy Tree, seeing above the forest like a spirit guardian, ensuring safety over every squirrel, every butterfly, every blueberry bush within the reach of his majestic crown. Living alone on a little island in the middle of the lake, where the ancient fairies planted his seed, back when humans were still considered "simple hairless animals on par with goblins" by the immortals.
One day, right on the edge of the water, a hamster built his home where he would store all his seeds and nuts. Perfect place for the cheeky rodent to seek refuge in the winter. Once the first eastern winds brought forth spring, the little furry creature moved on to seek adventures beyond the protection of the spirit fairy god.
But in his haste to leave his home before his natural doubt and fear of the unknown could take over and prevent his journey from happening, he left behind two seeds. Buried deep under the ground, where nobody would find them.
Over the spring's blossoms, those two tiny seeds sank deeper into the ground, nourished by the forest guardian's protection, soil filled with ancient mana, the soft brush of the summer sun, and the holy water of Fairy Lake. Before long, tiny seeds sprouted, and two twin-sister trees sprang from the ground – Amelia and Layla.
Bards would struggle to write hymns about Amelia's beauty. None could accurately describe in words what an eye couldn't fully process.
She was lucky enough to be growing closer to the edge of the lake, receiving most of the Guardian Tree's attention and sunlight. Her breathtaking brunches bloomed with a whole symphony of flowers, as long vines twined into thick branches, encircling her bark. Her beauty was truly like sunshine.
Younger sister was born further from the lake's opening and didn't have the privilege of receiving the blessing her sister enjoyed. In the darkness of her sibling's shadow, she grew smaller and weaker, blooming only one small flower. She had to endure the injustice fate dealt her, yet she never held any grudge against her older sister.
As she struggled to reach the waters of the blessed lake, she noticed a small family of forest mice who started gathering under her stretched-out root. Before she knew it, in an attempt to survive, she has given a home to a family of tiny rodents, a small place where a lonely badger could seek refuge away from his parents, a few webbed branches for a tiny spider who seeked a place close to the ground to cast his first net, and a couple of birds where a miracle of life manifested in a form of four tiny eggs.
Thus, Layla found her purpose. Instead of worrying about the unfairness of the world, she focused on giving all creatures of the forest what she craved her whole life – warmth and kindness. Her beauty wasn't as blinding as her sister's, but she was a soft light in the forest's darkness, like moonlight.
Every branch, every bush, every blade of grass, every leaf and every twig in the Eastern Forest knew the tale of Amelia the Sunshine and Layla the Moonlight. Despite every traveller's eye being captivated by the sight of the older sister, every cell and organism native to the forest knew the kindness of the younger tree.
The Tree Spirit Guardian of the Eastern Forest has seen a lot in his days, but the absolute and overwhelming beauty of Amelia was too much even for him to deny. On one of the spring evenings, the Fairy Tree whispered to the bee:
"My yellow friend. Please take this pollen to the most beautiful tree. Become the messenger of my love and let this old man have some offspring of his own"
And so the bee took a little pollen into her little palms to transport it to the tree her protector chose as the mother of his offspring. Unfortunately for him, the bee was the brightest one in the hive, and what she took as beauty wasn't the abundance of colours and flowers that grew on the older sister. She thought long and hard, and she couldn't imagine anything more worthy of the "most beautiful tree" title given by the elder guardian than the kindness Layla showed to her family when she allowed them to create a beehive deep in her crown, away from predators.
Kindness and warmth was what the forest saw as beauty.
Thus, the little bee buzzed towards the small oak hidden in the shadows of Amelia and let the Fairy Tree's pollen fall upon Layla's single white flower.
When the Guardian Tree learned about this mistake, he burned with fury.
"No child of mine will be born out of this hideous oak!" he said as he devoured waters from the lake, growing taller, and taller "I shall grow so big that no sunlight could be cast upon these woods. I must stop this horrible mistake!"
In the blind rage, the elder tree cast a shadow over all the nearby trees growing by the lake. What he did understand at the time was that it meant robbing his beloved Amelia of her nourishment. Before the Fairy Tree realised its grave mistake, it was already too late.
Time slowly passed, and both sisters, deprived of the warm rays of the sun and the cool water of the holy lake, started slowly withering away. Amelia turned her trunk away from the one that betrayed her trust and faced her sister. Seeing her for the first time made her realise how privileged her life has been. Slowly, her form began to wither and gently fall.
"Layla, my sweet sister", she whispered in her last breaths ", I'm sorry I've never been there for you. I can see now how much you had to sacrifice for me."
"Nonsense, Amelia", Layla responded with a weak smile "It was the greatest pleasure of my life to see you shine every single day, so don't you dare apologise."
Both embraced each other for the first and last time.
A single squirrel tried to leave her home in Layla's bark, before the young woman stopped her.
"Please. This may be the end of my story, but don't let it be the end for this child's." She extended her branch to the tiny red-haired rodent. "Please, take this seed and take it far away. Put it in the ground and let it grow. Let my baby grow somewhere where he would never be bored. Somewhere where he could live a long, happy life... even without his mother."
With a tear in her eye, the squirrel took the seed into her mouth, never biting on it, and skipped along the trees, towards a better tomorrow, as Amelia and Layla, two sisters of legends, took their last breaths.
People say that after this tragedy, the Fairy Tree grew smaller and weaker, kept alone on the small island in the middle of the lake, pledged to never interfere with anything beyond its shores. To never make the same mistake he once made.
Eastern Forest was never the same after that. Without the beauty of Amelia, the kindness of Layla or the protection of the Elder Tree, the forest became wild and unpredictable, and what once was a taste of Eden now became a hunting ground for adventurers. The woods became infested with the undead, a whole goblin village, creatures of the abyss, and even became a hiding place of the Demon Lord's general. With the single Guardian Tree in the middle of the wilderness, who, even in his ever-glorious figure, was only a shell of his old self, surrounded by darkness.
Margareth – as it was the name of the little squirrel – ran as fast as she could. Traversing the vast Eastern Forest in search of a perfect place to bury the only offspring of her friend. Thankfully, she was an expert in everything seed- and nut-related, as one would expect of a squirrel.
After hours of constant travel, she found a perfect place that she knew Layla would have loved. A little hill overlooking a small village being built on the horizon. An ideal place for her beloved friend's offspring to have a long and happy life, close to the sun, and first to drink rainwater. Margareth climbed the hill, dug a small hole, and planted the single seed with love and care.
"Be safe, child. Your mother would have wanted you to be strong. Live!" Margareth whispered before skipping away into the forest in search of a new home.
Yes. You're right in your assumption. That single seed, the only son of the Guardian Tree and Layla the Moonlight, was in fact me. Left alone on a hill with nothing else to do but grow. Margareth was spot on. The place she chose was perfect. I quickly sprouted and grew into a little twig before becoming a full dark oak.
As I grew taller and taller, I watched humans build a small town. Over time, more and more buildings sprouted from the ground. Years passed, then ten, then a hundred, then…. I've lost count once giant city walls encircled my hill, protecting what had once been a village and was now the grand capital, Rosalia.
My understanding was that my hill belonged to an old lineage of the first farmers who came to these lands in search of a better tomorrow. That family visited me yearly with nourishment, food, and music. Being the oldest tree in the city gave me a certain noble status. Many times, I was called a Fairy Tree, which I detested with my whole being.
Tree Friend – now that was a title given to me by an elven adventurer, which I did enjoy.
My mother would be proud to know that I became a friend to a living creature, just as she was before my time.
But friends don't last forever, especially when you outlive everyone who claimed you as their friend or who remembers the reason they befriended you in the first place.
The larger Rosalia grew, the more money there was, the more influence those with a coin had – bloody capitalists.
My patron family was forced to sell their estate to the Duke Fernando Alcaraz. A two-faced man always plotting and scheming. Rumour has it he swindled the previous owners of my home, offering them a lucrative contract with a secret loophole that enabled him to break the sacred vows and take their whole belongings. They don't call him the Master of the Deal for nothing.
Unfortunately, a man with no love for humans had no love for an old tree. He wanted to build a workshop on the hill where my home was.
One cold morning, a dozen men with axes came around my trunk and, with repetitive strikes, started chipping me away. By the goddess, what pain that was. Slowly, methodically, brutally, with no remorse. It's not an easy feat to cut down an elder tree. Let alone a descendant of the Guardian Tree. Thick as a dragon's head. But at that moment, I didn't see it as my advantage. It only prolonged my suffering. I wish I never had my father's genes.
And thus, after hundreds of years spent on that single hill after Margareth planted me, my time finally came to an end.
But only as a tree.
I was lucky enough to have my wood given to Stephan, a tabaxi carpenter with a genuine love of his craft. He didn't butcher me. Instead, when he saw what remained of me and recognised who I once was. He kneeled and gently caressed my bark and planks.
"Don't worry, oh elder oak, friend of the people. I shall make you sturdy so that you will continue to live in a different form. By the gods of the soil and forest, I promise you that," he whispered to me.
He did not lie.
With care and love, this young man treated me. There was a certain gentleness to his touch that I was not expecting, carving me using his own claws, assembling what's left of me into the most stunning pieces of furniture. He knew that to give another life to me was to scatter pieces of my being across the Rosalia and then Arame.
You've seen pieces of me. I was that wooden desk at the city hall, I was the desk at the adventurer's guild, I was that pâtissier station in the bakery, and you better believe, you will see my wood plenty of times from now on.
Each piece of me is connected to the others through the divinity of my father's powers, which allows me to listen in on everything that happens around each part of me. As if all of those accessories and pieces of furniture shared one brain.
For years, I've been a friend to you, humans, before one of you decided to cut me down, but don't worry. I don't harbour any animosity towards your kind.
When I saw you for the first time, Jiro, the lone wolf in the land unknown to you. An adventurer who is destined to change the world. The hero from a different dimension. Something deep inside me wants to…. Fuck with you. Just a little bit.
Yeah.
No reason behind it.
Just think it's funny.
So deal with it, you little squirt.
Now onto ANOTHER DESK CHAPTER.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
PS. That desk in the forest you've seen that crawled back into the abyss? Not me. You should probably watch out.