Page 513

"That’s enough," Ashlynn said, her voice rippling with power and echoing from every tree surrounding the village square. Branches shook as though caught in a mighty wind, and the tender trunks of recently planted saplings bowed in the presence of the Mother of Trees.

One misunderstanding had already cost the lives of dozens of people in the High Pass and resulted in tragedies that she was still working to help people recover from.

In the High Pass, standing on a barren mountainside amidst the ice and snow, she could do very little to keep the situation from spiralling out of control.

But here, in the forest of the Vale of Mists, there was no way that she would let another tragedy like the one in the High Pass unfold again when she had the power to suppress anyone who might fight.

Ashlynn’s exercise of power went beyond a simple demonstration of force.

While she wasn’t willing to draw deeply on the strength of the forest to apply a powerful binding, she had more than enough strength to infuse the stiffness of wood and a feeling of being deeply rooted to the ground into everyone present.

The magic was weak, and if anyone was determined to commit violence, it would only slow them for a moment or two before they broke free of her suppression, but those moments would be all she and people like Thane would need to take additional actions.

Right now, she wasn’t trying to trap anyone, she just wanted to hold everyone back from making a hasty move before they had a chance to sort matters out.

Moving quickly while Ashlynn drew everyone else’s attention, Heila darted to stand between Ignatious and Milo, drawing Snow Fang to match the Heartwood archer’s own wickedly curved blade and giving him a look that said she was willing to use the frosty weapon if someone forced her hand.

"Your Dominion," Old Nan began as she struggled to pull herself up to her full height under the stiffening pressure of Ashlynn’s witchcraft. Before she could say more than two words, however, she was silenced by Ashlynn’s next words.

"Sir Ignatious isn’t just someone that Sir Thane brought along for tonight’s rituals," Ashlynn explained, her emerald eyes flashing with power that flowed from every tree within a dozen paces of the place she stood. "He’s one of Mistress Nyrielle’s progeny, recently returned from exile."

"I know you’ve suffered at the hands of the Church," Ashlynn said, walking calmly to Heila’s side and placing a hand on her shoulder before shaking her head slightly at the drawn blade. "But Sir Ignatious had nothing to do with those tragedies."

"It’s fine if they resent me, my Lady," Ignatious offered, stepping out from behind the women who had moved to shield him and facing the angry and fearful villagers directly.

"I have wronged the Eldritch people in the past and I do not blame them for mistrusting me on the basis of my faith. Some of these people may even be the descendants of people I killed during the Brother’s War. "

"Little Brother," Thane said, placing a comforting hand on the younger vampire’s shoulder. "You’ve suffered greatly during your exile and the crimes you comitted then have been atoned for several times over. You don’t need to..."

"I do, though," Ignatious said, casting Thane a brief glance over his shoulder before he walked forward to face Old Nan at the head of the villagers.

"I cannot take responsibility for the things my misguided brethren have done in the name of the Holy Lord of Light," he said, dropping to both knees before the aging woman.

"But I can accept the hatred and fear these people hold toward me and my order," he said, lowering his head to Old Nan.

"Mistress Nyrielle will not permit you to strike me down," he said with slow, deliberate words.

"But if you wish to turn your torches against me to burn my flesh, then I will stand on behalf of the ones who hurt you and I will suffer in their stead.

"Dislikeable," Old Nan muttered as she looked at the kneeling priest. "You come here dressed like this but we dare not kill one of Lady Nyrielle’s progeny.

You say we can wound you but what satisfaction is there in wounding someone like you who did nothing to us?

" Old Nan said, turning around and thumping her tail on the ground in front of him as if she had just made some form of declaration.

"It’s dislikeable for such a man to come among us," she said, her whiskers trembling as she fought to suppress the memories of her village in flames while men wearing robes like these called down balls of flame from the skies to reduce her precious memories to little more than ash.

"But I refuse to harm him in place of the ones who harmed us! "

"You cannot suffer in their stead," Old Nan said, turnign around to face the kneeling priest. "But if you wish us to withdraw our hatred for the robes you wear and the god you serve, then bring the men who burned our village to the ground before us.

Let us avenge ourselves on the men who robbed us of our kin and the legacies of our families and then you will be welcome among us. "

"Mother," Milo said, lowering his knife and looking anxiously at his mother. Her tail was stiff and straight with determination that extended all the way to the tips of her whiskers but the ghosts of his fallen brother lurked behind the moisture in her eyes and the flames that consumed the carvings left behind by her parents still hadn’t faded from her heart. And yet...

"Those who have been led astray by the corrupt leaders of the Church have failed to meet their struggle," Ignatious said simply.

"If I can capture them, I will bring them before you to atone, and if they will not atone, then I will send them on to their next lives myself," he said, standing to offer the villagers a deep bow.

"The Holy Lord of Light entreats us to shine the light of truth into places filled with darkness and deceit," the former Inquisitor explained.

"He also demands that we cleanse the world of wickedness wherever we find it.

For too long, my brethren have believed that the Eldritch are creatures of darkness, filled with cunning wickedness and deserving only of death.

But saying this is denying truth, and the only ones steeped in wickedness were the ones who brought violence to your homes," he said.