"The guardian? It has taken root already? In these very Winterwoods?" asked Ivo, shocked. "But there has been no tell of its descent. The Winterwoods are still cold, devoid of the warmth of guardianship."

"Not yet. I'm sure you can help me with that part. The entity in question isn't exactly working at full capacity," said Li. "And I personally don't think you would be able to handle it at its full strength. But I can give you a glimpse into a shade of it, something that will solidify your faith even more. After all, it's easier to believe in what your eyes can actually see."

"Hm, that is understandable," said Ivo. "Yet before that, I must discuss with you a few matters. And fear not, it is not that we have reservations – we do not even need to see the guardian to believe – but I wish to know how you will guide us."

Ivo was blunt. "How much of our ways will we truly keep? We recognize that you are not Morrigan, and so there will be new among the old."

Li nodded. "I will profess that though I know about your old ways, I'm not entirely an expert on them. At the end of the day, I am still a foreigner. However, you, you are different. You know the old ways through and through.

Do not consider me some far-off divinity like a Root that you fear but cannot truly talk to. Think of me as a friend. Lead your people as you always have, follow my will when you can, and if ever there is a clash, then you, as mediator for your people, and I, as mediator for divine will, can talk and reach a compromise."

Ivo nodded deeply, bowing. "Understood."

Li raised a hand, beckoning Ivo to rise. "Let's cut back on these shows of reverence. I appreciate them, but it is also strange to see a man who could be as old as my father bow in front of me like this – and I have always been taught to respect my elders.

Now come, bid your people to follow me."

================

This time, Black Securities' carriages were not used. Li decided it would be better to walk to the forest. He bid Old Thane farewell as the old man wanted to tend to the fields. This way, he would get time to talk to Ivo and the farmers while they walked. Li and Ivo took the head of the crowd to discuss much of what the old ways entailed. Tia looked curiously at Ivo every so often, probably wondering if the man was edible or not, and Ivo kept a fair distance.

Overall, after talking with Ivo, it did not seem like there would be many conflicts between Li and the farmers' ways. The old ways were a religion at its core, and so there were rituals and traditions involved that Li could understand and accept even if he had never been one for the flair of religious rites.

There were various small things the faith of Morrigan did that Li did not mind. For example, there was a tradition that involved sacrificing a portion of every harvest in a burning ritual as a show of thanks and self-sacrifice.

There were other, stranger ones such as ones involving taking a group of priests in training to the depths of the forest and feeding them mushrooms to take them to a tranced, spirit-sensitive state, but these too, Li saw as useful because they, like the training Azahr had went through to be a shaman, would likely cultivate necessary mindsets and skills to be a priest for a forest guardian.

The only rituals that Li would not keep were those involved in taking up Roots, especially not through Morrigan's method of taking in human concubines as roots.

Overall, the rituals involved were a means of bonding the community together. There were festivals for each of the four seasons that involved plenty of merrymaking, for example, and these, Li would keep for now he was no longer simply a farmer or even a leader of farmers, but of a responsible for the lives of an entire people.

Near the forest, where the main road became rougher and where envoys of patrolling knights curious about the large gathering of strange men and beastwomen stopped, Azhar took Li aside.

"What is it?" said Li as he read concern on the hunter's face.

"It's bout' what my role's gonna' be in all this," said Azhar. "I know I'm yer follower, yer first, after all, but what's gonna' mean for me?"

"I do wonder," said Li. "I may have to amend the doctrine I initially gave you. It looks like I'll be adopting quite a bit of the old ways."

"Does that mean…I gotta' stay here?" asked Azhar as his eyes flitted back to where Jeanne and Sylvie walked side by side, wondering at the group of farmers and the roving crowd of beastwomen following close behind.

"Don't worry. I won't force anyone to stay here or do anything they don't truly want to. And I know you're worried about your sisters, and I won't stop you from being with them to protect them. After all, they're under my care too."

"I'm grateful for that, really am," said Azhar. He put a hand to his hair, a little bashful. "I jus' dunno', feels like I ain't pullin' my weight as yer first follower."

"Hm." Li put a hand to his chin. "Well, you'll be traveling all around the duchy, right? Then do me a favor and if there's anyone that you feel has nowhere to go to, no purpose or direction in their lives, that they can always find a place of quiet and peace here. I don't want you spreading my name and proselytizing at the top of your lungs, but spreading the farm's name that way sits much better with me."

"Gotcha." Azhar nodded with the resolute firmness of a salute.

Azhar fell back to Jeanne and Sylvie, and then Iona was the one to take the spot beside Li.

"Are you certain about this?" whispered Iona. "To rally such a number of followers, the faith-,"

"I know that you think my training hasn't progressed far enough to regulate the divine parts of my powers," said Li as he stared at the approaching forest ahead. "I'm well aware of the risks. I understand I might lose my sense of self – that's why I'm not going to fully manifest my full form. Until I have a better grip of controlling the influences that come with my power, I'm not going to be a full-time deity."

"Human emotion and will and, consequently, their faith are powerful energies. All their faith must go somewhere, and even if it may be dampened because they do not truly believe you are the guardian at hand, you will still feel its effects, and judging by how fervent their faith still is, I am uncertain as to whether you are capable of regulating it, yes."

Li nodded. "And that's why I was hoping you would be my Root. That way, with someone I trust at the helm regulating all this faith, I'm sure there shouldn't be issues."

Iona paused, a wavering hand passing through her long locks of reddish hair. "Yes, yes, certainly," she said, her eyes flitting down. "After all, that is why I initially wished to be at your side."

Li saw that they had reached the forest. He said to Iona gently, "Take heart, you'll finally be able to restore your spirithood. You won't be pale like snow and tired all the time anymore."

Saying that, Li pressed further forwards while calling back. "Follow me, all you farmers! We will head to a grove that is quite special to me, one where you will be able to witness the guardian you hold steady now to devote your lives to!"

Li led them through the outskirts of the forest that neared the roads. He made way deeper, where the growths of trees grew thicker and wilder, though even in the midst of summer, they were largely leafless, standing tall with masses of branches like skeletons. And as the trees loomed larger, the chill of the Winterwoods grew more noticeable – a chill even more notable in contrast with the dry head of Rivieran summer.

There was a slight murmur of worry as the farmers thought that perhaps monsters would attack now that they were this deep into the forest, but Li was projecting his will outwards, intimidating all monsters to move away. And the fact that Triple Threat stood guard made sure the worries did not develop much at all.

Li reached the grove. The clearing he trained Tia and himself in when he had the time with Iona. Tia, recognizing it, leaped off his head in excitement, her body gliding around the grass with a feral agility, her dagger-like teeth bared and spittle flinging as she looked around for prey.

"Calm now," said Li. "There won't be a hunt today."

Tia grumbled but understood, deciding to settle down at the edge of the clearing and curl up, one eye closed to sleep but the other open to keep attention on Li.

Li turned around. The crowd of farmers and beastwomen did not all fit in, but he did not really mind so much. So long as a decent amount of them bore witness, they would believe.

"Ivo," said Li.

The old farmer came forwards, already standing at the head of the crowd of farmers.

"I am going now to call the guardian," said Li. "All I ask of you is that you and your people stay here, in this clearing, and do not pursue me. It is for your own good."

Ivo nodded. "I understand, seer."

"Seer, hm?" said Li. Ivo had said this was the word they used for a person in close, almost direct communion with a guardian or high spirit. It sounded old fashioned, shamanistic, but Li could get behind it. He walked away, bidding Tia to stay as he pressed outside the clearing and into the forest.

The twisting bodies of trunks and bushes quickly concealed his form, and when he was enough distance away that they could not even hear the rustling of his footsteps on the forest floor foliage, his skin began to crack like shattering porcelain. His hair wilted, falling off in leafy boughs. His eyes sunk in and shriveled before crumbling apart into dust.