Althea looked at the tree, trying to get a feel of whether she should trust the tree. What it was saying was worrying, but only if it was true.

"I can hear it as long as I am touching it." she mentioned, looking at the tree. Oh, she hadn't done that for a while. Not since that horse so long ago. But she could. There was no visible reaction from the tree, but she wasn't exactly an expert on tree body language.

"Is that so?" the tree continued looking at her. "Just touching is it?"

A branch headed towards her. "Can I?" the tree asked.

Althea looked towards the branch with trepidation. This was…dangerous. The tree could easily kill her, and do who knew what when touching her.

But it had asked for permission.

The powerful people that she had met till now did not ask for her permission for anything, really. The tree had. That made her want to say yes. And she somehow doubted that touching her would help it that much.

"Of course." she replied, extending her hand towards the tree.

Althea sensed out towards the tree, trying to use her powers. The powers got…rebuffed. Mana pooled into her, gentle yet powerful enough to roll through her defenses. The mana entered through a path she did not know, making her eyes narrow as she memorized it.

The path did not intersect with any of the others she knew, so it had to be a new meridian. Of course. The tree was fifteen thousand years old, it had to know lost knowledge. The mana reached her core, touching it, and then reflecting the same way it came. This time it passed through so quickly she could not keep up. How curious.

"I see." the tree said. "I see why the tree sent you to me."

"Why?" Althea asked, curious to know what the tree had learned.

"The Path." the tree asked. "The Path of Druids is not yours to walk. Even though you are a Druid, your birthright is too weak. Like the edge of the leaf that cannot bear the weight of cultivating."

"Why would she-" Althea stopped, realizing that this Great Mother could only have sent her here for one reason.

"To give you another Path to walk on." the tree said, its voice morose. "Yes, you can walk my Path. That is sure."

Althea wasn't sure how she should reply. Did she want to walk the tree's path? What was a path? How important was it?

"What is a Path? " she asked, deciding that was what she wanted to ask. There was more, but this came first.

The tree circled her. Fire gathered wherever it went, spreading as the tree flashed with mana.

Was it...burning? How could someone so powerful still burn? Why would it let itself burn? Was it being forced? What could force it?

"The Path is one of the requirements to reach the stage you call Grandmaster. The Path, the Mastery, and a Truth. That is what you really need. The stages of Journeyman, Master, and Adept are to allow it. But because you are not suited for the path of Druids, you cannot become a Grandmaster. And if you cannot…" the tree shook its…head? Althea didn't know what to call the part of its trunk that had its head.

The tree had just stopped itself from revealing something. What was it? Althea wanted to know. The eyes on the tree blinked for the first time since she had met it, and then the tree sighed.

"I am sorry, girl, but no. The Great Mother will have to make do without my help. I have no wish to interfere in this war of giants. Not after what I suffered to escape it." the tree said.

Althea opened her mouth, not sure what she wanted to say. Ask it what it meant by war of giants? Or what exactly did it do to escape it? There was so much she wanted to ask, so many questions, and yet none seemed likely to get an answer.

"Leave. I do not like what you bring out in me." the tree said, mana churning around it again. Althea stumbled as mana swept towards her. Even without trying, she knew that she did not have the power to fight back. And this creature was too afraid in this war of giants that she was apparently involved in.

"Walk where the First Empire did not extend, child of two worlds. Perhaps you will find yourself. And when you do, remember, a queen on the board is still a chess piece. That is the only thing I will give you. And only because I feel sorry for you, descendant of my enemy."

The mana turned purple as Althea experienced a teleportation unlike any other she had before. The space around her curled and churned before depositing her in another place. That was the same.

The difference was that the tree's control was so great that there was not a hint of turbulence, the force that not even the greatest of space mages could not stop.

sc

The Princess.

Princess Elusia Newen did not feel very princess-like. Not that she let that show. Keeping a facade was a part of her duties here. Even if that was hard on days like this.

Deadre palace made it hard for her to do anything. The feeling of danger forcing her senses on alert even when she tried to sleep. The palace was a death trap for people like her. A hostile abode. The mana itself told her she did not belong, that she was a foreigner.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

That she was too inhuman for this ancient stronghold of humanity. The denizens of this place did not remember, but she did. Thousands of Elves had died at these walls. And thousands more had lost their lives at the hands of its builders.

The Druids of Soleria. An old, lost family on the verge of fading into the annals of history. But even when its only representative was a fifty-year-old Journeyman, not a single power dared ignore them. There was no power that did not fear the return of Druids. That hadn't seen the destruction the so-called protectors of nature left in their wake.

Elfasia still hadn't recovered from when the Druids had attacked it five thousand years ago. The vines they left behind kept tearing through their walls, so powerful that even her father had difficulty destroying them. And this place…was something. So many layers of formation that the palace seemed to be made of it. Perhaps it was. Perhaps the wood was really just condensed mana.

The wizened old doors of the palace's inner sanctum opened, mana trembling as she took a deep breath, and stepped through. The Druid's glade lay just beyond. So weak. The mana gathered here was impressive for something that drew its power from a Master rank, but it did not threaten her.

But it still terrified her. For some reason, she felt like the little girl, staring at a vine that was tearing down her home. This was a place of history. There was no decent history book that did not mention it. This was where history had been written. A place older than even the oldest Elven bloodlines.

"How can I help you?" she asked the half-Fae sitting under the Druid's familiar, probably discussing something. What? Elusia had an instinctual fear of anything discussed here. How many people had lost their lives because of a decision taken here?

"I was wondering if you would accept the post of Guild master." he asked, not looking at her. Elusia paused, looking at him.

"I apologize, I am not familiar with the position." she asked.

The boy finally looked up, staring at her with his golden eyes. Elusia averted her eyes, trying not to stare. To feel the power of ages staring at her. The Countess hadn't told her, but she knew his legacy anyway.

The bloodline of the Butcher of Continents was not something so easily hidden. Even if her path was crooked, she had both Truth and Mastery. The trinket could hide him from many eyes, but not hers.

The mere thought of this child’s grandfather terrified her. The War of Continents had produced many monsters, and a few were still around. The Crown Prince of the Fae was often considered first among them.

A half-step Grandmaster that had once controlled dozens of Grandmasters. A person that did not seem to be limited by his cultivation at all. And he had only grown more powerful since five thousand years ago.

If he got his hands on a mind-type Fae tree…who in this world could even stop him? Elusia shuddered, shaking the thoughts from her mind.

"The Countess has started the Adventurers Guild. An organization that should allow hybrids such as us to have as many rights as a normal citizen of the county. " he said. Elusia looked at him, wondering if he knew what he was talking about.

"I thought it would be reassuring if the leader was an Adept hybrid. A sign that things are different here." he continued.

"Why me?" she asked.

"Well, you will be here for a few years. And as far as I know, you are the only Adept that is currently doing something replaceable. Not to mention, you have administrative experience."

Elusia nodded. That was reasonable. But it still left a hole the half-Fae clearly hadn't considered. The half-Elves had no intention of changing the world to suit them. The council back in the Eastern Isles considered it impossible. There was too much enmity.

And yet, here she was, not refusing. Allying themselves with the Druids was not an easy task. The Druids did not do things quietly, and if things went badly…it would ricochet.

The Countess had given them quite a bit, and they had no intention of betraying her, but there was a difference between betraying and asking her to reconsider certain projects. The county was relying on them to throw its weight around after all.

Elusia would have done that if the Countess were around. Or if she had known about this Guild beforehand. But they hadn't been informed. Now, the Countess had gone missing. That complicated things quite a bit.

The Eastern Isles might have to make a stand, something they did not want to make. The Countess could consider it as treachery. Or they could acquiesce, and cooperate. There would be problems if they did that, a lot of danger. The humans might not stand around and let them gather non-humans from around the world. There were sure to be spies and traitors among their midst. The Empires were already nervous about the Countess’ growing power, this might force them to attack.

Elusia still did not refuse. Not just because a part of her wanted it to succeed. To become someone that people across continents looked up to. But also because she was afraid. Refusing would mean opposing the person before her, and the person before her had golden eyes.

The Eyes of Law were more than legend, they were the kind of thing her father, the Mad King, feared. And he was what came in her nightmares.

Coupled with the Fae royal bloodline, the bloodline of Law was terrifying. The Fae were the slowest species to grow, but the Law manual made them grow faster. That was what the Law manual did. The Law clan had a reputation for being the fastest at growth.

The ancestors of Law had forbidden anyone of their bloodline to have a half-Fae child for precisely that reason. There was too great a risk. The person born from such a coupling…could easily become too powerful.

The effect was clear. Now it was up to her to decide if she wanted to defy such a monster.

Elusia chose no.

"Perhaps. That can be discussed later." she said as Nathan raised an eyebrow. "What I want to know is how powerful the palace's defenses are."

"Why?" he asked.

"I have reason to believe that we will be attacked soon." That was the truth. Just yesterday, she had recognized nearly a dozen suspiciously powerful people in Deadre. Why would Eleven Adepts come here in secret if not to attack them? The other Empires were clearly making a move.

"The defenses are…complicated. If we have advance notice, then we may be able to pose a threat. The crux lies in how powerful the attackers are." he said.

Elusia nodded. "Then I suggest you take at least some control over the people in the palace, that will allow us to get an early warning and-"

"No."

"What?" she asked, looking at the golden orbs staring at her, flaring with golden light like they wanted to outshine the sun. Why was he hesitating. This was just a normal safety precaution-

"I said no. I do not want to control anyone, let alone the entire palace. That will not end well. Perhaps you do not know what it feels like to be happy that it was your free day, only to realize hours later that you had worked anyway. That someone had forgotten that it was your day off and put you to work because they did not care.

That you do not have a choice at all. That you are just a puppet to be used as they wish, whether you want it or not. I will not subject the staff to this. I do not want to subject anyone to this. So please, find another way."

Elusia stared at the boy before her, not sure if she wanted to believe what she was hearing. That lecture had come out of seemingly nowhere, and sounded horribly specific. The boy was…afraid? Of his own power? What? How was this even possible?

If he was so terrified of his own power, then…this would be difficult. Yes, she had to plan. And to do that, she needed to know exactly what the defenses could do.

Come tonight, eleven Adepts would come to take their lives. And they had to be ready.

Or they would die. The boy before had to use his power, one way or another.