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"It’s better that you get a normal seed," Heila added, rushing to reassure Ollie as she could see a trace of disappointment forming on his face when he heard he wouldn’t receive the seed that he wouldn’t be receiving a seed that would make him as mighty has Heila seemed to have become.

"The Ancient Trees have seeds that are powerful from the beginning but they come with all sorts of catches and challenges that make them dangerous," she explained.

"But your seed," Heila added. "Mother Ashlynn has been nurturing your seed for months so it will be just as powerful as mine, but it won’t be twisted by an ancient tree’s spirit. It’s harder for her to make your seed, but Mother Ashlynn cares so much, she..."

"Enough Heila," Ashlynn said, stretching out an hand to ruffle Heila’s soft brown curls.

"I think he understands now. The seeds from ancient trees have advantages, but they have disadvantages as well. The seed I’ve prepared for you is one that is free of entanglements so you can grow into the kind of knight you want to be, and the kind of witch as well. "

"I see," Ollie said, nodding as the shadow of disappointment cleared from his features. "But that doesn’t tell me what kind of tree the Cypress is or why you picked it for me. Is it strong the way an oak is strong? Or is it softer like the red cedar trees of the Vale of Mists?"

"The red cedar wouldn’t suit you at all," Ashlynn said with a laugh.

"That tree is suited to people who meld with the world, changing their shape and blending in with the earth. People who can show one face to the world while their heart holds something different entirely. That tree doesn’t describe you at all. "

"No, I guess it doesn’t," Ollie thought, though he wondered if it fit a little too well for someone else. "I don’t exactly blend in," he added, gesturing at his flame-red hair and tall figure.

"The Cypress tree is one that grows in adversity," Ashlynn explained. "They take root in the swamps of places like the Briar and the Endless Marsh, far beyond the High Pass. Some day, I’ll take you there, but I brought several seeds with me if there’s somewhere you’d like to have them planted. Maybe in this village of yours?"

"They grow in swamps?" Ollie said, raising a brow in confusion. "But wouldn’t the waters just wash them away?"

"That’s what makes them such powerful guardians," Ashlynn said with a smile. "They surround themselves with walls of... well, they’re called ’knees’ and they’re neither roots nor trunks but they help to shield the tree from storm surges, they anchor it in place and help it to breathe," she explained.

"More than that though," Ashlynn continued when she saw him struggling to visualize the strange trees. "They become anchors for all manner of creaturs to rely on and shelters that can withstand the worst of storms."

"So it’s a tree for protectors," Ollie said with a wide smile as he began to understand. "A tree that won’t break or yield while it guards it’s people."

"It’s the opposite of my tree," Heila chimed in. "The willow survives by bending and flexing, but the cypress stands tall and never breaks, no matter how fierce the winds blow."

"So, what do you think, Ollie?" Ashlynn asked. "Did I choose well for you?"

"Yes," the future witch said, nodding excitedly as visions of this strange guardian tree that surrounded itself with defensive walls began to fill his mind.

"This way, I can help to protect you the next time someone tries to hurt you," he said, shuddering as he thought about how extensive her wounds had been and how much pain she must have endured to have so much of her body covered by bandages.

"Not just me," Ashlynn said as she stood to return to the guest house, yearning for the warmth of its hearth.

Frost had begun to form on the stones where they sat, and the temperature was dropping rapidly as night deepened.

She held up a hand and conjured a pale golden flame that resembled the fires of a torch, casting long shadows of the three figures among the trees as it guided them back toward the village path.

"Now, you’ll be able to protect your villagers too.

No matter what comes," she said, making a promise that she hoped would hold true during the challenges they were certain to face in the coming conflict with the Lothians and behind them, a full fledged Crusade led by the Church of the Holy Lord of Light.

Of course, everything she had told Ollie was true.

But behind those reasons, another hid in the shadows deep within her mind.

The memory of the vision the Ancient Willow had given her of Ollie falling in battle with an arm torn from his body and wounds so horrific that it had required the sacrifice of the Ancient Oak to restore him to what he had been before a templar nearly cut him in two. ..

The Ollie in her vision hadn’t become a witch yet and she hadn’t known at the time what kind of path she would choose for him.

Now, she’d selfishly chosen to bestow a seed on him that she felt offered the best opportunities to safeguard his life.

She only hoped that he didn’t come to resent her for it one day when he outgrew the need for such heavy handed protection.

But without that protection now, when he was young and vulnerable, she was far too worried that he wouldn’t survive to outgrow her protective instincts and if the worst happened and she’d chosen something else like the Lacebark Tree with it’s powerful connection to flames that could rival those of the Church’s Exemplars, giving him the strength to fight in the fiercest of battles while putting his life on the line. ..

She’d never forgive herself for handing him something so dangerous when she’d already torn him away from the safety of the life he knew.

She owed him far too much for dragging him into her world of wars and vengeance and even put his parents at risk because she’d latched onto him at the Summer Villa.

She only hoped that this would help to tip the scales back toward even and give him the strength to protect the people he was coming to care for in his new life in the Vale of Mists.

And if it wasn’t, there was still one more gift waiting for him that could give him powers no other Cypress Witch had ever hoped to wield.