The Blood Acorn glittered in Ashlynnâs hand like a jewel, drinking in the flickering candlelight of the small room in the Broken Blade Tavern and turning it green and blue and red. Colorful motes of light danced on the walls, like reflections off the surface of a stream, and the entire world seemed smaller in the presence of the strange acorn that was the result of Ashlynn and Nyrielleâs efforts.
"The process of making this was... difficult," she admitted. "More difficult than anything that Nyri and I have ever tried before," Ashlynn explained softly. Ollieâs eyes remained fixed on the acorn, and so did Ashlynnâs. It was an impossible thing. A thing that had likely never been made before, and that no other witch could possibly hope to make after Ashlynn.
It was unique and incredibly precious.
"I felt like Iâd become a vampire," Ashlynn continued as she finally looked up from the acorn to meet Ollieâs gaze. "I had to drink deeply from the forestâs energy while Nyri fed on me. It was like... she gained the ability to feed on the forest through me."
The amount of energy contained within the acorn was vast. Much like Nyrielle needed to gorge herself on several people, or one person with particularly potent blood, in order to create a Blood Vitality Crystal or a Blood Potency Crystal, Ashlynn had gorged herself on the energy of the forest. She then used that energy to fortify her own blood while Nyrielle drank as deeply from Ashlynn as they dared.
It would have been impossible without the help of Virve and the Ancient Oak. Virve supported Ashlynn the entire time, keeping her grounded, propping her up, warning her if it seemed like Nyrielle might be drinking too deeply, and a dozen other things to keep her safe while she and Nyrielle blended the potency of a vampireâs blood sorcery with the boundless energy of witchcraft.
And through it all, the Ancient Oak guided Ashlynn. Its roots stretched deeper and further than any tree in the Vale of Mists, and it helped her to spread her âharvestâ far and wide, ensuring that she had access to all of the energy she needed without taking more than any one tree could afford to give.
A few trees, those that were sickly, damaged, or already dying, succumbed despite her efforts, but the damage was far less than it would have been without the assistance of the Valeâs oldest guardian. Still, she would find a way to pay the forest back for everything it had given her.
"It wouldnât have been possible with an ordinary tree," she added solemnly. "Virve had to help us so that we could make these beneath the Ancient Oak, with its blessing. But you know by now, nothing is ever free. In order to receive its gift, we had to make a promise."
"A promise?" Ollie asked, swallowing heavily as he looked up to look into Ashlynnâs eyes. Ever since hearing Ignatiousâs explanation about the bargains struck by Oracles and those who followed their path, heâd become very wary of the âpricesâ paid for powerful magic, though somehow, he didnât think the same way when it came to the price heâd nearly paid to help Lady Cerys.
In Ollieâs mind, the risks he chose to take, and the prices he chose to pay, were one thing, but if Ashlynn had to pay a high price in order to make these Blood Acorns, then that was something else entirely!
"A promise to end Lothian rule," Ashlynn said, and her eyes flashed with emerald fire. "A promise to avenge the Ancient Oak that was butchered to make the Lothian throne and so many other trinkets. Virve had already promised to act as an avenger for the Ancient Oak, but if the tree was going to help us, it wanted my promise, as the Mother of Trees, to see justice done."
"But, you would have done that anyway," Ollie said, blinking in surprise. "So, does the price even matter?"
"It does," Ashlynn said as she reached out to gently hold Ollieâs hand. "This is the thing about alliances and promises that you need to learn," she said with a slight smile. "One of the many things you need to learn. When you form an alliance of mutual convenience because you both seem to want the same thing, youâre making a promise to feel the same way that your allies will, no matter what changes."
"If I hadnât promised the Ancient Oak," Ashlynn said. "Then I could always change my mind. I could forgive the Lothians. I could choose to return to Owian, or I could place Loman on the throne, or find one of their cousins to take up the march. I wonât do any of those things," she said when she saw the horrified look on Ollieâs face.
"But I could," she added. "So long as Iâve made no promises, Iâm free to change my mind if I learn something new that changes the way I think or feel. But now that I have made promises, if I wanted to forgive the Lothians, then I would have to betray the Ancient Oak to do it."
"Thatâs why the alliance that you and Liam obtained is so significant, Ollie," she said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "It can still fall apart, nothing has been signed yet, but the intention is there. The moment of alignment is there. We share the same goals now, and we can build on that."
"I know it was important," Ollie said, looking a little bit sheepish. "Thatâs why I pushed myself so hard to do the right things. To do what you would have done."
"Brat," Ashlynn said, tapping him lightly on the forehead with the tip of a finger. "I would never have risked so much. Not if there was another way. And there were plenty of other ways. Ways that werenât as dangerous as the way that you and Liam chose."
"But, arenât you doing the same thing now, with that?" Ollie asked, gesturing to the Blood Acorn. "You took such a huge risk to make it, and you bound yourself with a promise to the Ancient Oak to get its help. And for what? Is the power of that Acorn really that great?"
"Ollie," Ashlynn said, taking a deep breath and shaking her head at the young witch. "I didnât take the same kind of risk that you did in order to make this. I had Virve to watch over me, and we could have stopped at any time, after the first one, or the second one, or we could have given up without finishing any of them if it looked too dangerous."
"Each time, Nyrielle made sure that it was safe for us to continue," Ashlynn explained. "And we spent hours beforehand discussing it, planning the ritual, even practising in dreams. It was difficult, and itâs risky to try something new, but it isnât the same as what you did," she chided.
"As for what the Blood Acorn can be used for," she said as a proud smile blossomed on her lips. "What do you think would be worth putting in all that effort for?"