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The following day, pale sunlight filtered into the Vale of Mists through a thick fog that clung to the river valley, shrouding everything in a gray haze that made it difficult to see more than a few dozen feet ahead.

The towering cedars of the Vale poked out of the fog as if they were stretching for a glimpse of the sun above the fog.

Sitting comfortably on her terrace overlooking the Vale, Ashlynn turned away from the sight of the Vale’s natural beauty to focus on the small circle of people who had gathered to join her for a late lunch.

Her face momentarily flushed as she recalled the way Nyrielle had kept her up late into the night when Ashlynn answered her lover’s proposal with hot kisses and torn clothing.

Originally, the Mother of Trees had planned to host this gathering as a late breakfast, but even she couldn’t pretend that it was still morning by the time Heila roused her with a hearty meal.

Thankfully, the bite marks Nyrielle had left on her thigh weren’t visible to her other guests, or her face would have turned red enough to match the wine in her goblet as she looked at her closest friends.

"I’m sorry for turning this into something that feels formal," Ashlynn told the group as she gestured to the artful arrangements of sweet and savory pastries, delicate sandwiches, and sliced cheeses that Georg had sent for their gathering.

"I feel like we should have started in the kitchens today, cooking together the way a coven should, but since I slept so late. .."

"It’s fine, it’s fine," Talauia said, fluttering her wings lightly in the misty air and reveling in the feeling of a cool mist against her delicate wings.

The Briar was cloaked in its own fog but the fog of the Briar was thick, cloying and always left her feeling slightly sticky and sweaty.

Here, the fog was both familiar and comforting after the harsh, frigid air of the High Pass, and at the same time, it was delightful and novel for someone who had spent most of her adult life in the oppressively humid swamp.

"Even Mother refused to cook whenever we visited other places," Talauia said, displaying her wickedly sharp teeth as she devoured a pastry stuffed with wilted spinach and soft cheese. "And you only just got home. Take some time, some time to settle in, before you start building your traditions."

"Besides," Heila added as she popped a dainty fruit tart into her mouth. "I missed the things that Georg can make with his whole kitchen. So this is a treat for us."

"I don’t know," Virve said as she eyed the pile of sandwiches suspiciously and debated about how many of them she could take without feeling like she was depriving the others at the table.

"I miss the stews and roasts he made in Orava village.

Maybe I should just abstain for now and I can bother him later for something more substantial," she said, ultimately deciding to take only a handful of the small sandwiches and a few savory pastries.

"Just come to the kitchens with me afterward," Ollie said as he selected a handful of pastries for himself. The delicate, flaky layers that the bearish chef accomplished with practiced ease continued to amaze the former kitchen boy who already saw delicate pie crusts as an exacting skill. Perhaps one day he’d match Georg’s delicate touch with food that resembled works of art, but that day was still far in the future.

"I’m preparing for my vigil tonight, and Sir Thane said that I should prepare myself with a hearty meal before my first watch begins," the future knight explained.

"And you’re doing it, right? You’re starting your trial of witchcraft tonight, aren’t you?" Talauia asked directly.

"I am," Ollie said firmly, looking at Ashlynn with a smile that he couldn’t contain despite the serious topic. "Knight and Witch. I’ll be become both at the end of my vigil."

"Congratulations, Sir Ollie," Virve said, giving him a heartfelt bow from her seat across the table from him. She hadn’t heard much since returning to the Vale of Mists, but Ollie’s name resounded from the halls of the ancient fortress, and even Commander Bassinger praised him for his ability to inspire the loyalty of those who decided to follow the human youth.

"The Vale is welcoming two new witches into its ranks during the festival," Virve continued, looking at the witch she had sworn to protect. "Would you like me to arrange for a dedicated guard for Lady Heila and Sir Ollie as well?"

"Perhaps," Ashlynn said with a gleam in her emerald eyes.

"But before that, Virve, I want you to consider whether we should present two new witches at the festival, or three. I’ve been considering this ever since you agreed to become the leader of my guard," she said, reaching into a pouch at her waist and pulling out an oversized acorn that pulsed with the faintest trace of timeless energy.

"I told Ollie that the seed of an Ancient tree is not an easy thing for anyone to face," Ashlynn explained as all eyes around the table fell on the acorn resting on her palm. "Heila nearly failed in her trial against the Ancient Willow’s seed, and I’ve made different arrangements for Ollie’s seed."

"But Virve," she said, looking directly into the bearish woman’s dark brown eyes. "You aren’t like Ollie or Heila, or even me, for that matter. I think you stand a better chance of mastering this seed and it’s power than anyone else I know, or at least, anyone else who might be eligible to join my coven," she added as she recalled the decision that Lennart had made as soon as Nyrielle’s army set foot within the Vale of Mists.

"Me? A Witch?" Virve said, blinking several times and nearly dropping the delicate sandwich pinched between her claws. "Why?" the aging soldier asked in confusion as she tried to understand how she had suddenly received such an unbelievable offer.

"I don’t mean any disrespect," she said quickly. "It’s just that, other than the time we fought together against the Tuscans, I’ve never done anything for you to be worthy of this... this kind of honor. Lady Heila has dedicated her life to your service and Sir Ollie has..."

"This isn’t a contest that someone can win with great deeds, Virve," Ashlynn said, interrupting the veteran soldier. "But if it was, then the lifetime of dedication you’ve shown Mistress Nyrielle is already enough, even if you hadn’t helped protect Heila and I from the Tuscans or anything else that you did when you accompanied Mistress Nyrielle through the Eldritch nations. "

"But Virve," Ashlynn said, setting the acorn on the table close enough that Virve could reach out and touch it if she wanted to.

"The seeds of Ancient trees test a person in more ways than one.

If you were a young person without a wealth of experience to draw on, the trial could quickly become overwhelming," she said with an apologetic look at Heila.

"But you have decades of experience," Ashlynn concluded. "You know who you are and you’ve honed your principles over long years of service. You’re grounded in a way that others aren’t, but you’re also unguarded among the people you take responsibility for protecting."

"Even Captain Lennart can’t just relax and have a meal with us," Heila pointed out. "But you do, and you always have. Even our first time in High Fen City, you could just relax and join us for a meal. That means more than you know," she said, her grass green eyes glittering with sincerity.

"A coven is family," the diminutive witch said. "I’m sure Mother Ashlynn would say it, but I’ll say it for her. Even if someone was stronger or had more achievements, the thing that makes you worthy is the way you fit in as part of our little family. So you should accept this," she concluded.

"Exactly as Heila said," Ashlynn said. "So, what do you think, Virve? Will you make it official and join our little family? I can’t think of a more worthy person to become my Oak Witch, but the choice is up to you."

"My Lady," Virve said with a voice that lacked all of its usual lightness and casual familiarity. "I still don’t know that I’m worthy of this much of an honor," she said as one hand reached out, trembling slightly as she brushed the tip of a claw against the oversized Ancient acorn.

"But I promise, I’ll do my best to prove myself worthy in the years and battles to come. "

"So long as you wish it," Virve said formally. "I’d be honored to be your Oak Witch."