Bloom

The aftermath of the Void War affected countless worlds, cultures, and Divinities. On some worlds, the [System] became more relaxed in an effort to raise up new force faster. The races of such worlds could gain skills for the slightest action, learn new knowledge faster, and even expand power at an accelerated rate.

However, there were also worlds where the Divines chose to make the [System] more draconian. Power was given out sparingly, and every possible new Divine was closely watched for the slightest sign of rebellion.

Such divisions were largely due to the split between Divinities in the wake of the Void War. On one hand, many of the survivors claimed they needed to rapidly gain more members for the Divine Host. They argued that their numbers were the only thing that made fighting the Tree of Chaos possible. The other side claimed that all those who rose to power after the war needed to be vetted. What good would more numbers do if they gave rise to another Green Lady!

Both sides believed their arguments were sound. As such, the High Realm Council chose to let both operate as they wished. Immortal beings had nothing if not time, and in time one side would be proven right, or wrong. Thus there were worlds that sparkled like jewels in the ocean of darkness, and those that did not.

Sven’s world was one that chose the path of tightening [System] controls. If the Divinity had been awake, perhaps he would have been able to sway his fellow Divines.

Unfortunately, the wounded Divine Sven wouldn’t be able to influence the fate of his world anymore. Anyone who looked at the vast forest that he once called his home would easily be able to understand why.

Mere centuries after the Void War, the Forest of Death, as Sven’s residence was now called, gave ample proof he was no longer alive. The few remaining Divines on the planet didn’t attempt to figure out the problem. Only one person had attempted to find out the truth, and that Divinity was never heard from again.

As such, the Forest of Death became home to those less savory types who fled there when all other options were extinguished.

Over the centuries the territory of the former Divine became a bandit ridden plague on the common trade routes that moved through the area. Kingdoms rose and fell around the forest, yet none attempted to push through it. The numbers of bandits, along with the strange disappearances that still occurred, made it a land of death.

Perhaps the only creatures that were willing to move through the forest were those for whom profit was the only measure of danger. Slavers, with caravans that stretched from one visible section of the road in the forest to the next moved with impunity through the sickly growth. Due to several reasons, the Forest of Death was a slavers perfect route.

The bandits could be bought off, and if not, they could be killed.

King’s Guard, or Queen’s Champions did not patrol the Forest routes.

Best of all, any slaves that attempted to escape were simply allowed to feed the Forest. It was a well-known method of ‘tribute’ that the slavers learned to use. Those who made such payment to the Forest inevitably managed to get through with minimal losses.

Slavery itself was a strange practice that had both good and bad. Good slavers took care of their merchandise, they provided hot food, medical treatment, and even assistance learning Skills or Spells. Such slavers were the best of the best reaping the highest profit out of their slaves.

Of course, like every coin that has two sides, there were slavers who were not ‘good’ at all. These types drove their slaves into the ground, profit was made off of quantity instead of quality. As such, their caravans were almost always a collection of young women, strong young men, and trained beasts. Slavers of this variety didn’t bother with training their humanoid cargo, and instead moved them from point A to point B.

At the Slave Markets which were legal, cargo would be offloaded, and those who purchased it would train it. While many found slavery distasteful, there was no one who could stop the practice. Emperors had fallen attempting to stamp out slavery, and not to outside forces either. The greed of all races for a cheap, loyal, and productive workforce ensured that slavery remained in existence.

Many who were against slavery blamed the inventor of the slave collar for the entire problem. Since enchanting was a heavily profitable endeavor, there were always enchanters who attempted to push the limits. One enchanter, well into his hundredth level in Enchanting, accidentally made a slave collar one day. He had actually been trying to make something that allowed his servants to work more effectively. Everyone agreed that the proto-slave collar was effective at motivation.

From that single simple collar the entire slaving industry was born. There were collars that boosted strength, boosted speed, boosted intellect, and so forth. Then as the invention spread there were collars that inflicted pain, or pleasure as rewards to motivate workers. After that came collars that restricted access to the [System] as long as the slave was below the slaver in levels.

At that point, the enslaving of young children skyrocketed. It was easy to capture younger children, faster to train them, and easier to enslave them. Since kingdoms and empires couldn’t stop slavery, they limited the practice.

Slavers had to pay the highest taxes, follow the strictest guidelines, and were the most rigorously inspected of all trades. A single mark on a slaver’s record was enough to end their entire career. As such where there is repression, there is smuggling.

That was why Coin found herself sitting in a creaking caged wagon trundling through the Forest of Death. When the slaver had visited her village, her parents were quick to sell off their youngest daughter for silver. Silver would tide them through the coming winter, while another hungry female mouth would not. Her name was replaced by the slaver, and she didn’t argue because names were meaningless at the age of five. She’d had one, now she had another, and those who fed her used this one, so it must be right. Such logic was very practical, and served her well. Since she hadn’t really understood what was going on, she didn’t know to run away. Besides, after long discussions with her pretty two big sisters in the caged wagon, she understood her situation better. The other two occupants of the wagon were two noble daughters of a local baron who’d failed in his bid to rise above his station. They explained what was going on to here, and gave her lessons in history from the ancient past.

That’s how Coin knew the forest they were traveling through had such a scary name. The Forest of Death was both scary and safe, according to her big sisters. Apparently it was inhabited by creatures that fed on the flesh of cute young girls, which meant she had no intention of trying to escape.

The slaver’s caravan she was attached to had warm food, blankets, and candy. Escape was not an option that made any sense, especially to a five year old. Instead of escape, Coin was intensely interested in where they were going. Both of her big sisters fell to her cuteness attacks, and were willing to explain many things.

Coin learned of the city that they were heading too, and the fact that cities had tastier food than villages. She learned that it was best to be bought by a female, instead of a man. There was no logical reason except for a few that a man would want such a small child, and thus women should be the target buyers. She learned how to increase her cuteness level to the maximum for the best impact on a buyer.

Coin was certain as the caravan trundled into town that she could ensure a bright future filled with the legendary candy known as chocolate!