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The emerald green aura surrounding Ashlynn faded away while a brilliant, jade-green light began to spill from cracks forming in Ollie’s bark-like skin.

At first, the cracks were small, but they quickly spread across his entire body until he glowed with the light of a dozen lamps, shining brilliantly in the night.

"Lady Ashlynn," he said as his eyes fluttered open to find his head resting on her thighs while she looked down at him with puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "I’ve made you worry," he said weakly. "I’m sorry I was so... stubborn."

"It’s fine," Ashlynn said as she lifted him up into her arms, giving him a fierce hug that was quickly joined by Heila from the other side. "You’re back now and everyone’s here to welcome you home."

"Welcome home, Ollie," Heila said as she waved for Virve to join them in giving the young man a crushing hug from his coven-family.

"Ow, ow, that’s enough, too much, too much," Ollie yelped as Virve gathered the entire coven into her powerful, furry arms, delivering a bear hug that lifted everyone momentarily off the ground."

-CRACK!-

For a moment, the entire coven froze, fearing that Virve had cracked Ollie’s ribs in a moment of exuberance. A heartbeat later, more bark-like skin sloughed away and the jade-green glow that had emanated from Ollie’s skin began to condense toward his left side.

"Ollie?" Virve asked, setting everyone down gently and looking at the pale skinned human with genuine concern. "I didn’t hurt you, did I? I, I’m still adjusting to my new strength and..."

"No, no, not hurt," Ollie said quickly as he pulled the plain, undyed tunic over his head, removing it for the first time since his vigil began.

Several gasps rippled through the crowd of onlookers as they watched the jade-green energy gather just above Ollie’s left hip, sinking into his skin before flowing upward over his ribs.

The energy darkened as it grew and spread, taking on the shape of a mighty cypress tree, spreading its branches across his chest and around his back to cover one shoulder blade.

The energy also swept low across his waist, giving rise to two distinct cypress knees across his toned, sculpted waist, while two more emerged on his lower back.

The energy didn’t seem like it was done, however, as the ’branches’ of the growing mark trembled, dropping needles that vanished when they reached his waist, leaving a series of watery ripples around the trunk and each of the cypress knees.

"Is this... is this my mark?" Ollie asked as his fingers lightly traced across the mark left on his skin.

In some light, the pale greenish hue of the mark might be mistaken for a bruise, but given its size and shape, it was difficult to imagine that it was anything other than a mark bestowed by powerful magic.

"It is," Ashlynn said, lightly tracing her fingers across the firm, sculpted muscles that Ollie had earned through countless hours of labor and hard training under Thane and Marcel’s guidance.

Beneath his physical strength, she felt a deep, resonant power that reminded her of Jacques, Ignatious, and the powerful cult leader of the Flaming Cauldron.

"This isn’t just your mark of the witch, Ollie," Ashlynn said, looking up into his eyes with a wide grin on her lips. "It’s the mark of a very powerful witch. With this, as long as you work hard, I’m sure you’ll be among the greatest Cypress Witches to ever live."

"Raise your arm up high, ’Big Brother Ollie," Virve said, taking his left hand in her large paw and lifting it high over his head to reveal his mark to the crowd watching from the edge of the village.

"You’ve won a great victory today," she said.

"So let your people come celebrate the newest Cypress Witch! "

"Milo!" Ollie shouted, spotting the cloaked archer hovering outside the circle where the coven gathered. Waving with his free hand, he beckoned to his hesitant friend, wanting nothing more than to reassure himself that the people he’d watched die in the last round of the nightmarish trial were still alive, safe, and unharmed.

"Get over here," Ollie said. "I haven’t said it, but you’re just as much a part of my family as Lady Ashlynn and the rest of the coven are," he said, wrapping an arm around the older man and pulling him into an awkward, sideways hug.

"You and Old Nan both. And where’s Harrod? He should be here too."

"Once you woke," Milo said, his whiskers twitching with joy while his tail thumped the soft ground excitedly. "I saw Harrod taking people to stoke the cook fires. We, we didn’t know if you would wake today or not, but Lady Ashlynn said that we should believe in you. So if you don’t mind, let us cook for you for once. "

"We’ll help," Ashlynn said, rolling up the loose, billowing sleeves of her dress.

"Witches have a tradition of cooking for each other," she said, surprising the Heartwood archer, who didn’t know what to say to the idea of the sacred Mother of Trees helping to cook a meal in their village.

"And I still remember a thing or two from when Ollie and I slaved away in the Lothian kitchens together," she added with a wink at the flame-haired youth.

"I don’t cook," Virve said, folding her muscular arms over her chest. "I’ll learn," she quickly promised when she saw a dark look from the diminutive Willow Witch. "But for now, how about I help by carrying Ollie up the hill and fetching him a drink?"

"I can walk," Ollie protested, looking indignant at the notion of being carried like an invalid in front of so many of the villagers who admired him.

"No, you can’t," Virve said firmly. "You’ve been leaning on me ever since I stood you upright," she added quietly. "Don’t worry, no one will notice," she added with a wink before scooping him up and placing him on her shoulder, holding him as if he were a hero coming home to his people.

"Everyone," Virve shouted. "Sir Ollie hasn’t had a meal in days, but more importantly, he hasn’t had a drink! Who has strong wine for my big brother Ollie? Who wants to toast to the Cypress Witch!"

Instantly, a cheer resounded from among the villagers as the last of the tension finally broke.

The crowd rushed forward, eagerly swarming around Virve as she carried Ollie up the hill and into the village.

Several young children reached out, hoping to touch the newly awakened witch, even if all they could reach was one of his feet as he rode on Virve’s shoulder.

Looking out over the crowd, Ollie couldn’t help but grin as the shadow hanging over his heart from his last round of the trial began to fade.

There were still ghosts that lurked deep within him, and he didn’t think he would ever forget the things he’d witnessed in the trial.

But instead of nightmares that haunted him, those images blended with the living, vibrant crowd around him to become a vision of something far more important.

He knew now what he was fighting for. No longer was he chasing a nebulous desire to become Lady Ashlynn’s knight and protector.

Now, he had a whole host of people who mattered to him even more than his own life.

He’d heard stories of knights making noble sacrifices, and he’d always admired them, but now, surrounded by people who cheered just because he’d achieved a personal victory, he finally understood what it meant to be that kind of knight. ..