Arrogance kills kings.

~Cernunnos, Lord of the Wild Things

Father Oak, Mugna’s main body, absorbed the vitality drained from the Teonet clan. The formation powered on, and a rush of nearly origin-level energy fused with him. Roots that normally took a monumental effort to push forward expanded at an alarming rate. He breached the last continent out of his reach, but every location was the same—Corpse Blood had already contaminated it.

“So it didn’t start in the tower…” Mugna muttered but then was pulled away as hundreds of tiny roots penetrated the planet’s hollow core. It was a world within the world, and the fiery core was their sun. The concaved lands overflowing with vitality and jungle-like growth hid dangers he couldn’t comprehend. There was something present that frightened him, which meant it wasn’t weak. Withdrawing from the hollow core, he decided to dedicate a portion of his mental power to resolving that danger.

After he used up the massive influx of energy, he set about using the steady stream of vitality toward strengthening his roots to prevent any mishaps. Technically, he’d broken through the final barrier remaining for him to reach Yggdrasil. Still, he hesitated to take that final step until he resolved the Druid Order and talked to Mother Danu once more.

He shifted his focus back to the northern continent because all his planning was about to bear fruit. It was a shame that he had to sacrifice so many talents to unify the Draoidh, and even more would die before it was all over. Not just to the Hex magic of the Witch Doctors either, while they were vile people, the Draoidh’s true enemies were much more terrifying. These actions had to be taken before the Druid Order became too weak to overcome the third calamity to befall the Draoidh. It was the final stand, so to speak.

Duncan clan’s ancestral grounds and manors had sealed up but otherwise remained peaceful and untouched. It was a sad truth that Mugna needed their power, or they too would have suffered. Teonet would have taken the brunt of that war, but the death toll was too high, and it once more resulted in the annihilation of the Druids. Once he verified that Kenneth Duncan had gone to the Rulaney clan to fight, he moved on.

Mugna lingered on Crow for a time. The boy was like his own grandson, and his innocent nature had been a source of delight for the gnarled old treant. While he didn’t regret his actions, he did feel guilty. It was made worse because he knew Crow wouldn’t harbor resentment or ill will toward him. Tough choices had to be made. And because Mugna accepted Danu’s proposal to protect the Draoidh bloodlines, that duty took precedent over the boy. It didn’t make him feel better for making Crow suffer.

Everything would have been within his expectations, except for Soul Burn. That curse nearly ruined all his plans and effort, but Crow still managed to anger Kenneth to the point he wouldn’t let it go. Better still, Conall’s actions made sure the Rulaney clan would target his offspring. The boy unified their plots and put them all into bed together.

Mugna didn’t even care about Teonet’s dark secrets, and in some ways, applauded their efforts to activate the bloodlines. This fit within his duty to protect the Draoidh bloodlines.

Crow couldn’t know any of this, now or then. These lies, deceit, and flat-out murders would have impacted his karma, and none of them wanted that. Dealing with an unfated was already frightening, and Mugna didn’t want to even imagine how out of control things would get if the boy’s karma was unbalanced.

Sighing, he turned his focus outward toward the Rulaney clan to ensure everything went to plan. The extermination had just started.

***

Barnes had placed himself in his nest for a few months now. Hiding his presence while remaining watchful at all times. Every movement, visitor, and lover’s tryst couldn’t escape his perfect memory and watchful eyes. With his talent for the bow and eyes that could still spot a beetle in the grass a kilometer away, a bard like him was practically built for reconnaissance.

This was his life for the last few years, and during this time, he’d also been writing a book. Recording all his knowledge for the protégé that existed in his heart. He only wished he’d found Crow sooner so that he had more time to work with the boy. It upset him that he had to leave the boy behind, but he knew this was something he had to do.

Hearing Mugna’s proclamation, he nearly rejoiced. His mission was almost complete, but he had one last task. A mission nearly impossible for a mortal, and yet Mugna was convinced he could pull it off. He could see Ness Rulaney standing on a slight rise in the distance, looking over her clan. Dismay, shock, and regret were written on her face.

Wholesale slaughter was something everyone in the tower experienced, including Barnes, so that look of hers wasn’t foreign to him. He knew that there were some out there that couldn’t do it. They couldn’t kill those people who submitted, but crippling them and sending them to the mines wasn’t a bad option.

He’d visited the mines quite a few times, and it was more like living in a military camp than a slave one. The mines were real, but they were also a front for having an outpost that far north. In case the Kings decided to move south, the Druid Order planned methods to stall them. The mines were hard work, but the Druid people were fair. They wouldn’t be worked to death and provided they did their share, they could live a comfortable yet plain life of a mortal.

Kenneth Duncan approached Ness Rulaney. Barnes powered on the listening device powered by a mana crystal. Not because he cared about what was said, but because his impossible task would need to grasp the timing perfectly to even have a chance.

“Is this real?” She asked, staring at her fallen clan.

“It is.”

“And our method of dealing with Mugna?” Ness asked, looking over.

“Even if it was real, does it matter? It’s over. If it makes you feel better, I believe it was a red herring, slipped to us by our enemies to give us a false sense of complacency.” Kenneth told her, hiding nothing. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Ness said, and she seemed to visibly age at that moment. Kenneth placed his hand on her chest and sent a pulse of energy into her body, destroying both Shield and Source. He was gentle, but it was like losing a lung or heart, especially to someone that had cultivated as long as them. He prevented her from falling and held her gently, refusing to let her quickly aging body fall to the ground.

“Ca-can I ask why they didn’t harm your clan?” Ness’s voice came out as a whisper. She sounded like an old grandmother, and that beauty that seduced many men was nowhere to be seen. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she still felt the pull to end Crow’s life. Funny, she was dying and reached an answer that had always bothered her. Their enemies used Crow’s unfated status, but the real weapon was the heavens themselves. Evil bastards!

While Kenneth held her, she saw a man rise up in a tree not far from them, bow drawn. A sinister smile adorned her face as she saw the arrow release.

“Do you know why?” She asked, distracting him. The sense of danger that would come from the arrow came from mana sense. Kenneth never felt that danger until the arrow pierced his back, and by then, it was far too late. Once it penetrated his skin, the vial inside the hollow-tipped arrow broke, which contained condensed origin energy. It blasted through his Source, and the shaft of the arrow shattered his weakened Shield.

“It’s because they need your clan, but not you,” she laughed weakly. Satisfied that she was dying, but she’d still outlive Kenneth, at least for a few seconds more. The dumbfounded look on his face as he stared at the arrowhead poking through his chest caused her to giggled even harder.

Finally, he looked up to see Barnes approaching them. He still had his bow in hand, but no arrows were drawn. As a mortal, he could not sense mana but was sensitive to danger. These two posed no threat and were on the verge of death.

“Endless Rain,” Kenneth Duncan finally spat out while breaking off the arrowhead sticking out of his chest. “A fucking mortal killed me? What a joke! A ruby-tiered Shield killed by a damned mortal. If this got out, my clan would suffer no end of humiliation.”

Kenneth kept coughing up blood, and he tried to will himself to move, to attack his killer.

“Relax,” Barnes said. “I achieved the greatest success in my mastery of the bow, and yet I can never tell another soul. You asked why the Duncan clan was spared. I’ll give you that answer. It is a simple one and maybe the oldest reason in existence besides a woman. War.”

“Bullshit—” Cough. “How does war have anything to do with me?”

“Did you know the Witch Doctors have broken the restrictions on their Hex magic? Even now, armies of undead puppets march across the bottom floor of the tower. Should they succeed, this entire planet is dead. After that, they can systematically take over every floor of the tower. It means that our people need to be unified.”

“What would you know about it, mortal?”

“These are Mugna’s words. Not mine. He wanted you to know. The Duncan clan will be spared because we can’t risk an internal war, but the man whose ambitions won’t allow him to be led cannot remain as a source of discontent among us. On all fronts, Druids must be unified, or we all die. Your little rebellion has forced us onto a very narrow path with few options to succeed. Because of you, the Druid Order still might be uprooted for good this time. The Draoidh Bloodlines may fall.”

Kenneth’s breath was wheezing now as blood filled his lungs. “Is this true?”

“Every word. Mugna said, if you had left and started your own clan within the tower, he wouldn’t have interfered, but you wanted to subdue the Druid clans. That was your sin.”

“I… understand,” Kenneth wheezed, knowing his time was short. “Tell that old bastard that I even agree with his methods. Had he shown this type of leadership in the past, I might have even followed him. I have one request, and I’ll leave this world without enmity. Protect my clan. Despite my folly, we still respect the Druid ways.”

*Granted.* Mugna’s voice was heard in all three of their minds.

“Consider these my last… words—bear witness, Father Oak. A mortal has slain me, and I now respect two mortals in my life, my mother and Barnes. I think my irrationality toward Crow is made clear in my last moments in life. Tell him—no. Thank him. Because of him, my son’s path has changed course from a waste into a true cultivator. I think that was why I was angry. Crow did what I couldn’t. He, too, has my respect, and I hope he rises to be the hero our people need. Tell him if he doesn’t, I’ll come back as a ghost and rip his fucking throat out.”

Those were the last words Kenneth Duncan uttered.

Barnes placed his fist over his chest and bowed towards Kenneth in those final moments. Only after the light went out of his eyes and Ness could no longer hold him did the man fall. Despite his role in the man’s death, he too respected the former head of the Duncan clan.

“And me? Did that wooden bastard leave me any final words?” Ness asked, and up to now, she’d continued aging. She now was stooped, and her frail body shook.

“The warning he gave during the Hunt was toward you. He never believed you were consulting with the Blood Ember Sect, but your clan had rotted from the inside out. The warning was toward you, and in his subtle way, he was asking you to clean house. Your sin was that you knew, and even after being warned, you did nothing.”

“I found out after it was too late. It was Cameron Belgae that targeted the boy during the Hunt. After it started, there was nothing that could be done,” Ness sighed. It was true what they said—losers always lament. “The seers weren’t wrong because the boy was really my clan’s calamity.”

“Why still lie?” Barnes snorted. “Even I know what the seer said. He told you that Crow was either your clan’s savior or destroyer. The moment your clan targeted him, you tipped the scales. Even leaving the boy alone would have been a better option. Or I should say your late husband tipped that scale. You inherited that mess, but you could have still fixed it.”

Ness collapsed to the ground. In her final breaths, Barnes stood over her. “It is foolish to think anyone can understand fate. Remember that in your next life.” Moments later, the clan head of the Rulaney died. The first clan of the original nine had fallen.

“Mugna, consider my obligations to the Druid Order complete,” Barnes said lightly, knowing the old man was listening. “In my final days, I will seek out my successor and impart as much of my knowledge onto him. Do not call on me.”

*As we agreed, so it shall be. Your history will be recorded, even if it must remain hidden for now. One day, there will be those that praise you as the greatest archer that ever lived. More impressively, you never awakened your Source.*

“Placating me is beneath you. Keep your word. I’m too old to participate in this war,” Barnes snorted, but his eyes did turn north toward the Belgae clan. Then put it out of his mind as he walked back to Oiche. It was time to find Crow and pass on his remaining knowledge in the way of the bow. Bard to bard was more reliable, but the book was always a worst-case scenario.