Now that he could remember who he was, the sense of wildness in the air began to concern Jeb. He hurried down the path, hopeful that he would be able to make it to a settlement before something bad happened. A few minutes later, he found himself in a clearing.
The tension bled out of Jeb as he stood in the clearing. A sense of peace pervaded the entire area, and he took a moment to catch his breath. As he did, Jeb noticed that his robe was different than the one he had left the Capital in.
At first glance, it looked the same. A shapeless mass of blue so deep it bordered on black covered him from head to toe, at least when he had the hood up. Looking more carefully, however, Jeb saw new threading and inlays in the robe. They looked like nothing so much as stars.
His memories of the time journeying from the Capital was still somewhat hazy, but he did not remember ever needing to mend the robe. The fact that he had never needed to mend his Academy robes either led Jeb down the mental rabbit hole of considering what, exactly, the robes were made of. When he realized that the Academy could very easily have replaced his robe as he slept, he refocused on the question at hand. What, exactly, had happened to his robe?
Jeb was startled out of his considerations by a tapping on his shoulder. Eyes refocusing, he saw a tall woman standing in front of him. It took him a few moments to understand what she was saying, which Jeb attributed mostly to the fact that he hadn’t spoken aloud since a few days out of the Capital. She kept repeating the same phrase, however, and Jeb was eventually able to understand what she was saying.
“Who are you and how did you break into this clearing?” she asked.
“My name is Jeb,” he replied quickly, noticing a rising Magic in her hands. “I apologize if I am trespassing, I just walked to here. I don’t recall breaking any protections.”
Apparently that had been the right thing to say. The tension bled out of the woman immediately, and she tossed back her hood.
“I do not recognize you,” she said, looking at Jeb more closely. “Nor do I recognize the robes you wear. What” she said something that Jeb couldn’t parse, “claims you?”
“I’m sorry?”
Her gaze focused. She repeated herself. “What Circle claims you?”
This time Jeb was able to understand the central noun. “I don’t know what a Circle is,” he replied honestly.
An elk rushed into the clearing and stood beside the woman. It leaned its head forward to sniff at Jeb. It quickly turned its head away and sneezed.
“Interesting,” the woman said, observing the beast. “Where did you learn Druidic if you are not a Druid yourself?”
“What do you mean?” Jeb asked, finding himself more lost with each exchange in the conversation.
She waved the question aside. “Come with me,” she said, turning and walking out of the clearing.
Jeb followed, unable to think of a reason not to. Out of the clearing, the feeling of unfettered freedom returned. Walking beside the Druid, however, Jeb found the feeling far less aggressive. Birds still swooped around him, but the sense that they might attack was gone.
The woman did not attempt to speak as they walked, and Jeb found his mind returning to the question of his robe. It felt more comfortable than he remembered. Lost in his thoughts, he hardly noticed as they entered another space.
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Rather than a field surrounded by trees, this space appeared to be the inside of a tree. Despite being hollow, the room still seemed suffused with vitality. Somehow the tree was still alive.
Sounds of murmuring broke Jeb out of his gawking. With a start, he realized that the tree was filled with creatures. Many appeared human, but others were clearly not. Most of them were staring at Jeb, and he was aware of another change that had occurred within him since donning the robe of a Doctor: the weight of their stares did not press down on him.
The Magic in the space was slower to react. Even as the crowd’s conversations died, the press of Magic continued to increase. Just as it became uncomfortable, a single voice rang out.
“Silence,” he called, and the room fell still. Every being in the room halted, and even the Magic fell back, as docile as a well trained dog before the commanding presence. Jeb found himself equally unable to move, though he had the distinct feeling that he could break the compulsion if he needed to. Not wanting to cause a stir, however, he resisted the urge.
“Anne, who have you brought before the Enclave?” the voice continued, addressing the woman who had led Jeb into the space.
“I have brought an Outsider who claims the name of Jeb. He speaks as one of the Chosen, and he carries with him Bindings to the living.”
Whatever hold the unknown speaker had on the room broke at that pronouncement. Countless Magics refocused on Jeb, and his soul was battered by countless sensations. Water and flames crashed against him, even as stars tried to surround him. Jeb felt his robe push them away, and he realized that the robe was somehow connected to his soul. Before he could probe that feeling, the voice spoke again. It said something that Jeb did not register, and he watched the Magics twist into a cyclone, each Essence dissolving into wind.
“Jeb,” the voice continued, “by what right do you present yourself before the Enclave?”
Jeb knew on a primal level that there was an expected ritual answer to the voice. It had the cadence of a question that had been used for countless centuries. Whatever part of him recognized the expectation, however, was unable to provide him with the correct response. Lacking a better option, he attempted honesty.
“My name is Jeb, and I am a Doctor of the Academy of the Republic. I wrote my thesis on the connections between Schools of Magic. Druidic Magic is banned in the Republic, however, and so I have come to learn.”
The whirlwind above him disappeared, and the voice grew far more friendly. “Ah, you would be Aquam’s boy then. You took far longer to arrive than he predicted.”
Regaining much of its grandeur, though still lacking the initial hostility, it continued, “be welcome traveler. The Enclave is open to you, though each Circle may choose whether or not to grant you access.”
Tables rose from the floor, and the crowd took seats. Jeb saw an open chair in front of him and, seeing that no one was attempting to claim the seat, took it himself. A few of his bees came to rest on his shoulder, and their familiar weight helped to ease a few of his lingering concerns. If they were not worried, there was no reason that he should be.
Creatures of living wood stepped out of the walls of the tree carrying platters of food and drink. They moved around the room, setting them down on each table. Jeb followed the example of the room, refraining from taking any of the provisions.
“A new seeker has come to find Truth,” the voice said. “Let us rejoice that he has found his way through the darkness and entered the light.”
That seemed to be the signal the room was waiting for. Trays of food were quickly emptied and the pitchers of wine were poured. As each was depleted, one of the tree people came to replenish the offerings.
Jeb took a small sampling of the food in front of him. It was an unseasoned piece of meat. He could not tell what animal had given its life for the meal, but after the first bite, he found that he did not care. Despite the lack of external flavorings, the meat was tender and full of flavor.
The wine was cold and sweet, and Jeb drank deeply. A desert somewhere inside of him saw rain, and he lost himself to the celebrations. When everyone had eaten their fill, the tables fell away and music began playing. Druids started to dance, and Jeb was drawn into the celebration.
Magic swirled around the dancers, and Jeb could feel its inherent similarity to a Ritual. Unlike the Rituals Jeb had learned, however, the Magic was not being bent towards any specific end. Instead, it acted as one more participant. As day turned to night, stars shone inside of the tree. When the music finally ended, Jeb collapsed, exhausted.