Hain furrowed his brows as he looked at the gloomy glade that appeared at the end of the narrow pathway covered in moss and dirt.

The passage to Sawoldor, he repeated in his head, unable to hide the confusion in his muddled mind. What did the druid mean?

There was nothing here besides some huge trees. Figuring that the druid meant that Sawoldor lay further down the pathway, he followed the druid without uttering a single word.

Something bugged his mind ever since Gwydion told him they were headed to Sawoldor – something that both excited him and frightened him at the same time.

Yet he was not brave enough to speak his mind and ask that the druid. Not because he was afraid of him, but because he felt that the druid kept his distance from him on purpose.

Even though they spent several weeks on the road together, seeing the seasons come and go, he still didn’t know a single thing about the druid.

Perhaps that was why it was so difficult to ask a question this private. However, before he could take it back or think twice, the words slipped his tongue in a jiffy.

“Are you a deity, sir?”

Gwydion glanced over his shoulder without saying anything at first upon hearing this. It looked as if he was considering something before he finally spoke up and quenched his curiosity.

“What makes you think I am?”

“My grandma—someone once told me only deities were allowed to enter Sawoldor.”

“That’s why you think I am a deity, huh?”

“You… are not?”

Gwydion shook his head. A subtle smile played on his lips.

“I’m not. I told you, I’m a druid.”

“But how come you—I mean, we can enter Sawoldor, then? And it doesn’t look like you’re a professor, either…”

“Professor?” the druid repeated with a hearty chuckle. “I sure am not. God forbid! But, you see, I’m not a mere druid, either.”

Hain blinked. “What… does that mean?”

The druid came to a sudden stop and gently pushed him towards one of the tallest trees in the glade. It was as big as ten ramshackle huts on top of each other or more!

He peeked over his shoulder as the druid let go of him and said the following without meeting his curious eyes.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“Here it is. Salwodor.”

Hain couldn’t help but knit his brows and was genuinely confused.

“Where, exactly, sir?”

The druid pointed at the massive tree.

“Over there.”

Hain gulped hard and took a step forwards. The large tree was so big it covered the sky above with its naked crown that reached all the way up to the dense clouds.

The smaller trees around the giant one backed up as he drew closer, even the snow slid away to expose the enormous hollow on the tree’s trunk.

Hain ambled towards it without being aware of it – bewitched – his hands reaching out, now only a few steps away from touching the rough bark.

Before he knew it, however, Gwydion snatched his outstretched arms and pulled him to the side.

“Keep your hands to yourself unless you want to die, lad!”

“I… I don’t understand.”

“You’ll soon enough. Now back off! It shouldn’t see you.”

Hain followed the druid’s intelligent eyes as he looked around them for something before they landed on one of the smaller trees to the right of the massive tree.

“Do you see that tree there? The one to the right. That’s it! Now go and hide behind it! Hurry!”

“Why?” stuttered Hain.

“So you can jump into the tree, of course!”

“J- jump!?”

“How else will you enter Sawoldor but through a tree, child? Now, zip it and go! It’s about to wake up!”

The second he dashed behind the small tree and hid from immediate view, the earth beneath him shook so furiously that he shot open his eyes wide in surprise and fright, clutching to the trunk as if his life depended on it.

When he looked around to find the druid amidst the chaos, his eyes drifted to the massive tree, which awakened from its slumber.

The druid was right in front of it, unfazed by the tremors around them, although the sudden earthquake caused several smaller trees and the ground to crack open in several spots.

Hain squinted, taken aback, as he noticed that the druid was saying something to the massive tree, something that stopped the earthquake within a heartbeat.

“So, so… Take it easy now, old friend.”

Hain lost his footing as the huge tree came alive and flew its glowing eyes wide open, stretching its branches high up in the sky and penetrating it.

It then gaped so loud that Hain covered his ears from the deafening noise from where he lay in the dirt.

But the druid was unbothered by the booming din as if he was immune to anything the tree did, perhaps accustomed to seeing and hearing much more peculiar things than the earth under him shaking or his ears bleeding from the pain.

“Who are you calling old friend, huh? Do you even remember the last time you paid me a visit, druid? Now buzz off! I’m trying to sleep!”

“You’ve slept enough, Gryft. The Council is waiting for me.”

The tree pouted and crossed its huge arms over its trunk, twisting its wooden face towards the small tree where Hain hid.

This happened so suddenly that Hain didn’t even have time to rise to his feet, so he simply ducked his head and crawled behind the tree instead.

“It’s always about them, isn’t it? Have you ever come here for the sake of our friendship, huh? Just to have a chat and—”

“You know why, old friend. Must I really go over these things with you?”

“Aye aye, I hear you, druid. Why make such a long face? You look your age like this.”

“Will you let me pass? For the sake of our friendship? I’m not keen on taking a detour through Forsburth.”

The massive tree chuckled so loud that the earth quivered once more.

“You sure don’t! You might as well freeze to death here and now, rather than go through that wicked place!”

The druid joined the tree before his expression turned grave again, as if he just recalled something that chilled him to the bone.

“Things aren’t what they used to be, Gryft. You must’ve seen it yourself. I must talk to the Council as soon as possible.”

“Those ogres, ye? I haven’t seen such carnage since the Alfen Wars! I know your heart more than anyone, and I shall let you pass. But only this one time. You’d better get proper permission the next time…”