The Elden Lion - The Erdtree Secrets and a Swallow's first song. (Patreon)

Queen Ranni, Leyndell War Room – Royal Palace.

"Do we have any news?" Ranni asked calmly, seated upon her throne and looking toward the central table with a frown, her finger tapping against the cold stone of the table, while her golden gaze rested upon the arcane projection of the Tree, shining radiantly at its center.

"Nothing yet, our husband and Marika are still within the Tree's Core," Melina said calmly, gently stroking the owl she had brought from England, caressing the soft white plumage with care.

The redhead rolled her eyes at her sister-wife's eccentricities, but chose to remain silent and once again focus on the repercussions this meeting would have for the Lands Between.

The situation was complicated. The incursion Harry and Malenia had stopped had been the largest the witch had ever witnessed. It had not been one of the small breaches she was accustomed to, but something far worse.

Her husband's memories had shown her an incursion of unprecedented proportions, an army, as well as foreign Gods. The message was more than clear.

It was an invasion of the Lands Between, a direct attack upon Leyndell and the Domains of the Golden Lion and his family.

And thinking about that... pitiful situation caused Ranni to focus her attention once more upon the curious and seemingly harmless object the foreign God had left within their domain.

"What did our beloved husband say the invader was called?" Melina asked curiously, observing the strange silver coin with a frown.

"The Hanging Lord. He possessed considerable power, but according to our husband, he was not a warrior, but a schemer," the brunette replied elegantly, causing Ranni to answer immediately.

"Those are the most dangerous ones," the redhead said with conviction, knowing perfectly well that the mind was often a thousand times more dangerous than the sword.

All of the Initiates remained asleep. The orgy had lasted for days, and all of them were still processing their first taste of Divine Magic, all asleep within the Ladies' Tower, as Marika had christened the future home of all of her husband's future lovers.

"The magic is strange, divine in nature yet subtle, far less powerful and explosive than our husband's, though no less dangerous. Harry was wise to isolate this artifact," Ranni said calmly, just as Malenia opened her mouth to reply, only to be interrupted by the sudden appearance of a golden radiance.

Both women straightened their backs and fell silent the moment they saw Harry emerge from the threshold with a frown, accompanied by Marika, whose face bore a serious and thoughtful expression.

Ranni and Melina exchanged glances. Whatever they had found within the Tree... it was clearly troubling.

"Is everything alright, my love?" the brunette asked, just as the owl flew toward Harry's shoulder, perching upon the Sovereign of Leyndell's shoulder with complete naturalness.

Harry did not answer immediately. Instead, he gently stroked the bird, much to its obvious delight, a gesture that, apparently, was soothing for her husband.

Marika took her rightful seat, at the King's right, before sighing and replying clearly.

"We have... good news and bad news," the Queen of Queens said calmly and completely in control of the situation, crossing her elegant legs and focusing upon the central table.

With an elegant wave of her hand, Marika manifested an exact projection of the Erdtree, beautiful and powerful, shining with that characteristic golden light.

Ranni was not truly an expert... but the Tree looked... different, far more alive and powerful than before.

"As both of you can see, the Life Force of the Erdtree is vastly greater than what we were accustomed to. Our husband's vitality and virility, together with the introduction of more magical blood into the Royal Family, and once the remaining Initiates arrive, it is highly likely that its power will increase even further, which, although beneficial to us, also places us in a rather... complicated situation," Marika said, looking toward Harry.

The Golden Lion had not spoken yet, lost within his thoughts, and none of the three had any intention whatsoever of interrupting him. All of them were perfectly content to give him the time he needed to think.

After several minutes, the Sovereign of Leyndell let out a heavy sigh before placing the owl upon the backrest of his throne and simply walking toward the table in silence, his eyes glowing, one a golden star and the other emerald green, betraying the fact that the Elden Lord was casting magic.

"The Tree grows stronger, just as we do, but that power, all of that Divine Magic attracts vermin, like those I had to deal with the day we arrived. Marika and I copulated within the Tree's Core and used our life essence to strengthen the barrier between worlds. It is not perfect, but now it will be impossible for an army to invade Leyndell," Harry said calmly, but it was evident that her husband was hiding something.

Ranni, with her usual cleverness, intervened.

"I assume that, in order to maintain that barrier and defend our home, we have a price to pay, do we not, my love?" the witch asked with amusement, her versatility in magic allowing her to anticipate the rhythm of the conversation.

Harry remained silent for a moment, telling Ranni everything she needed to know without a single word ever leaving the Golden Lion's mouth.

"The barrier has been strengthened, but it is not invincible. It requires constant nourishment, therefore the three of you will have to remain in Leyndell while I finish my affairs in England," Harry said firmly, causing both Ranni and Melina to frown.

"So... while you return to England... with your harem and continue making your pussy collection even larger... we shall remain trapped here, copulating within the Heart of the Tree in order to strengthen the barrier until your return," Ranni stated. There was neither doubt nor questioning in her voice, only a calm and cold statement. After all, everyone already knew the answer.

"Yes, but this time I shall be returning every few days. While I finish gathering beasts, plants, and women for our home, the three of you shall be carrying out an important mission."

"To create the Army of Leyndell," her husband said firmly, surprising not only Ranni and Melina, but Marika as well.

"An army? What are you planning, my love?" Melina asked with obvious curiosity, something Ranni also shared, an exciting premonition forming within her.

Harry remained silent for a long while, making a gesture with his hand and causing the Projection of the Erdtree to change.

Suddenly, the roots and branches began to grow to an utterly absurd degree. The golden color slowly shifted, creating a second tree of deep blue, familiar and yet... somehow different. But it did not end there. The blue tree also began to grow, this time changing into a blood-red color, which in turn began to grow once more, and with curiosity they noticed how, within the spaces between worlds, a sort of... White Frost lurked, waiting to invade each and every Tree.

Ranni had never seen magic like this before, but she was fascinated. The witch watched in disbelief as an infinite number of Trees appeared within the magical projection, replicating themselves over and over without end, though she was able to notice something rather strange. After a certain point, the colors began repeating themselves. After a blue tree, there was always a red one. After a green tree, there was always a purple one.

But... much to the surprise and intrigue of the King's Consort, there was only one Golden Tree.

The first.

The original.

The Tree of Leyndell.

The implications were... rather severe, to be honest, and left her with far more questions than answers.

"How many Trees are we speaking of, my love?" Melina asked with extreme curiosity, calculating as the number of Trees, copies of Leyndell's Erdtree, continued expanding without restraint.

Harry merely shrugged before replying.

"The number is... infinite, from what Marika and I were able to deduce. However, they are also destroyed with relative ease. Do you see this? This... magical Cold, relentless and unstoppable, consumes the Trees as quickly as they appear, maintaining a delicate balance," Harry said, while Ranni watched with interest as the Trees began to be consumed, while the Erdtree continued creating more, staying ahead of whatever it was that was destroying them.

Immediately afterward, Harry moved his hand, while beginning to draw runes in the air, Divine Magic reacting to the mysterious silver coin and causing it to glow softly.

"This coin, this magic... this... Lord of the Hanged... comes from this place. Yggdrasil, or at least one of the hundreds of thousands of copies scattered throughout the vast Multiversal Ocean. Pale copies of Leyndell, inferior remnants, echoes of the original World Tree, Ours" the King said, while Ranni watched with interest as one of the Trees, a cyan-blue one to be exact...

Ranni watched with fascination as nine spheres manifested themselves around the entire Tree, revealing to the witch exotic and unknown realms. Some were lush and filled with jungles and wildlife, while others... were endless wastelands of lava, magma, and fire.

But among the Nine Realms of this... Yggdrasil, one stood out above all the others, situated at the crown of the nine, displaying the image of an endless meadow, dominated by a gigantic Wall of Stone. It seemed... like a pleasant land, although honestly, nothing that could compare to Leyndell, Ranni thought with pride and superiority.

"Asgard... Home of the Aesir," Harry murmured to himself, gazing upon the beautiful expanse with a look Ranni knew all too well. It was the very same look she had seen while she had still been trapped within the doll's body, when Harry had still been fighting against the Greater Will.

The look of conquest.

Her beloved husband was preparing for war. Those calculating eyes studied the great wall, searching for a thousand and one ways to flank it or bring it down, undoubtedly already thinking about making the old man pay for daring to attack Leyndell.

Without taking his eyes off Asgard, Harry began issuing orders. His powerful and commanding gaze settled upon Ranni, who immediately fell silent and lowered her head, recognizing the gravity of the situation.

"Ranni, you will be in charge of designing and creating Arcane Siege War Machines. Those walls are formidable, and we shall find a way to bring them down. You have complete freedom. I do not care how destructive or bizarre your creations may be. Do it," the King ordered, causing the redhead to straighten her back before nodding elegantly.

"So it shall be, my love," the witch said with complete calm, already having a few ideas in mind. However, in order to design magical disruption weapons, she would need information regarding the nature of the magic of the World they intended to invade. Thus, the witch opened her mouth, preparing to raise the matter with her husband.

Alas, apparently it would not be necessary.

Harry was already looking toward Melina, issuing his next orders.

"We need information. Design spies and disguise them as wild animals. Send them throughout these Nine Realms and gather everything we can about Asgard and the Aesir. Every detail, no matter how insignificant it may seem, and share it with Ranni. She will adapt her siege weapons according to the information you obtain," the Monarch ordered.

The brunette nodded with her characteristic elegance, letting out a small laugh as she felt the impertinent owl fly from its perch and land upon her sister-wife's lap.

"I already have several ideas in mind, and you, dear Hedwig... shall be my beautiful model. Hundreds of spies throughout these Nine Realms... who knows what interesting things we may find," the brunette said with a smile, her privileged mind already planning her next course of action.

Ranni was certain that, sooner rather than later, she would have a constant flow of information regarding Asgard and its defenses.

Her beloved husband nodded gently before shifting his gaze toward Marika, who merely nodded in return. Words were unnecessary between them, after all, the bond between the King and Queen of Leyndell was extraordinarily deep.

"I shall get in contact with Malenia, and together we shall devise infantry troops for the bulk of the invasion, but I have no intention of sending any of my daughters to die. We shall design automatons or something of the sort, but rest assured, my beloved husband, we shall have an army ready by the time you return," the Queen of Queens said with complete calmness and naturalness, causing the Monarch to nod in satisfaction.

"You may use the magical creatures we saw at Hogwarts as inspiration. Dragons, Centaurs, Trolls... anything capable of slaughtering those Undead," Harry ordered with determination, causing Marika to nod gently, her face filled with resolve.

The first step had been taken. Leyndell was safe, for the moment, and the preparations for retribution had begun.

"Tomorrow morning I shall return to Potter Manor to finish my affairs there. I shall send more Initiates, magical beasts, and magical plants to populate our World. That is all for now. You have your orders, my loves," the King said, taking his seat upon his throne, causing Ranni, Melina, and Marika to nod with determination.

"As you command, my Lord," the three women said, looking with determination toward the projection of the Erdtree.

At the very same time that...

In one of the furthest corners of Leyndell...

A small emerald portal appeared, disturbing the peaceful and warm night.

And from it emerged a young woman, wounded and terrified, clutching her side and dragging herself forward with the last of her strength, her ash-blonde hair stained with blood, and her beautiful green eyes revealing only one thing.

Absolute terror.

Things in Leyndell will be...very different from now on.

That...was a promise.