Edit by: Flubbykin,

In the very center of the woods, the group of six people was sitting around round, stone table, yet that very table had a huge hole within its edge, making it look like a crescent moon. In that gap, a single tree was growing. It was so wide, that even five men couldn’t embrace it.

- “Hey, old man, can we start already?” a young, cheerful kid asked in a friendly matter. One could easily tell that by he didn’t mean to offend anyone but merely state how close relations he had with the addressee of the question.

- “Show some respect! The ancient sage is not your regular grandpa, to address him so casually!” a female, one could say that in her late twenties, hissed angrily

- “Pff, strict and proper like always, Mayero, that’s why you don’t have a boyfriend!”

- “Each time I see and hear males like yourself opening their mouth I lose my whole interest in finding one!”

- “Really? That’s the reason? Good then! You see, for a moment there I simply thought that you are such an annoying old hag that no one even wishes to approach you in the first place!”

- “YOU LITTLE!”

- “… Calm down, younglings, you are embarrassing us in front of the Ancient one.”

Much older man, with a strict face, said with a calm, yet serious tone. It was more than enough to silence two troublemakers.

- “It is fine, it is just fine…” the tree called. After a moment of inspection, one could notice a man sitting on it. Yet part of his body was merged with it.

That man was the ancient – Arch’Hierophant. The official spiritual guide of everyone who followed the path of Aira. Equal for prophetess of the Sun's Church.

- “… they are young, youngness seek for adventurers, for quarrels, for noise. This is only a natural order of things, also, Mayero, I don’t mind being called , nor , actually, it cheers this old man’s heart.” His wrinkled face, partly covered in bark was twisted in a gentle smile

- “I could never disrespect you by uttering these…” the girl from before started, yet

- “Fret not, grandy! Will spoil you in place of all these insensitive brutes!”

- “Maykor!” the girl yelled as if someone offended her great ancestors.

Yet a pleased laugh of the ancient stopped her from taking any form of action against her brother.

- “Answering your question, young man, no, we can’t start just yet. Three spots are still empty, till at least one member of the Black clan shows up, we can’t start.”

- “Weren’t they wiped out millennia ago? Up to this point, I started considering that they were just a fairy tale to scare young, naughty druids.” Young man called Mayero snickered, turning his question into a joke

- “Wiped out? No. They self-sacrificed themselves so the rest of us could live. They faced an enemy they couldn’t defeat, none of us could, the first demon invasion. As they kept pushing further, deeper into the continent, they merged their lives with nature. They wished to grow the Tree of All-Life, yet, of course, failed. Still, their powers were just enough to create forest impenetrable by any army. The dreadful forest, the forest of dread. Have you ever wondered why these woods are so savage? It is an incarnation of their wrath against those who burned everything on their path. The spell they made was just enough to repel the demons and force them back, giving other races time to regroup and come up with a strategy to fight with these fearless warriors of the eastern continent.”

- “You know quite a lot about events that happened so long ago, that were rumored to be a myth…” yet another voice raised.

- “Maybe because I have been there.” Old man coughed and laughed at the same time.

- “You never said…” a quiet voice of another hierophant was raised.

- “For you never asked. Giving an answer before hearing a question could make children stop being curious about the world, without curiosity there is no learning, and without learning, there is stagnation. And stagnation, my young, is worse than death.” The sage lectured them with such a tone, as what he said was most obvious, a common thing in the world.

- “Yet, if I understand correctly, all Black Druids perished that day, yes?” the young troublemaker raised his voice again.

- “Correct.”

- “So there was no one left to spread the teachings.”

- “Indeed.”

- “So there is none, and most likely never be any Black druid.”

- “These assumptions may be correct.”

- “… THEN WHY THE HELL ARE WE WAITING?!”

- “WATCH YOUR TONE, MAYERO!” his sister yelled at him once again

- “Look at the table in front of you. It is also an altar, three seats, each represents a school, each of three main seats has yet two behind them, for sub-school. Here you are, School of Beasts, leaded by Wolf, followed by Eagle and Snake; School of plants, leaded by Oak, followed by Yew and Vines. Your two schools were meant to bring and sustain the life. Black druids, were meant to protect and avenge those who upset the balance, who defiled sacred groves. Back in my times, all nine seats around the Oak were taken… The black druids… Skinwalkers, avatars of change, called the face-stealers. They could sneak up on everyone, pretending to be the one they loved, before delivering their justice. Wendigos, mages that gave up on their humanity to live as ferocious beasts in body of man, tirelessly hunting those who stepped into their hunting grounds… and, the most cruel one, those which could bring the end to entire village from afar, those who…”

- “Elder…” a voice rang from the edge of the clearing.

A dryad came into the woods

- “Damn, I will never grow tired watching these…” Mayero didn’t even try pretending he wasn’t staring at the almost naked woman.

- “What is it, my dearest friend?”

- “I granted permission for two outsiders to partake in conclave observers. Also, I believe that last hierophant arrived.”

She said moving to the side, showing the passage via which three travelers approached.

Lanele decided to ignore for now the strange words of a dryad. Instead, she focuses on the matter much more dire – she double-, and even triple, -checked if Gisele remembered all the do’s and don'ts.

- “Gisele, what is this invitation to us?” she asked with a cheerful tone

- “An honorable privilege.” Dragoness responded in an exhausted tone.

- “What will you do?”

- “At first, I will greet the ancient one, then rest of the gathering, then I would sit somewhere and stay quiet.”

- “Good, and what you shall not do?!” she asked even merrier than before

- “I will not talk, provoke and definitely not fight with anyone within these woods.”

- “That’s just splendid!” priestess clasped her hands. “… you have to remember, that most of them are very wise and noble people full of dignity, they also treat their responsibilities very seriously just like elves! What we will witness is one of the most holy rituals that you can imagine, performed by a creature that lived longer than most of the elves! This is why you…”

They reached the edge of the woods stepping into the clearing, just when dryad was supposed to finish announcing them.

- “… I believe that last hierophant arrived.” She indeed finished, still, if she considers her to be hierophant, then that’s one huge misunderstanding that needs to be clarified as soon as possible!

Some extremely young looking man wearing a brown cape and bone necklace jumped off his seat and bolted toward them. He stopped few centimeters from Lanele’s face, in which he yelled with all the strength of his lungs.

- “WHICHONEOFYOUAREIT?!”

Yes, full of majesty and dignity indeed.

- “As I was just saying, the last group was known as Plague Spreaders, the name says it all, yet it does not reflect the respect and fear that they possessed. They were being called the harvesters or reapers, yet what they gather were no fruits, but lives. If one of the specimens would grow too high in number, they were the one who decimated it. And indeed, I do feel it, the same nostalgic, feeling.”

The ancient sitting on… in… within the tree turned his gaze toward us. One could say he was truly happy.

- “The circle of cycle can be finished now. Greetings my child.”

- “Ah, speaking about which…” Lana started “… I do know that I have quite a strong affinity with nature, but calling me a…”

- “Lanele.” I said from behind her back.

- “Not now Zari, it is important, if I won’t clear this misunderstanding…”

- “He is talking to me.”

- “What?... What?...” she blinked once, twice, thrice… Oh, I think she just got it “… WHAAAAT?!”

She definitely got it.

- “WHATDAYAMEANSAYIN’ITSOCASUALLY?!”

Elves. So full of pride and dignity.

- “Would you mind, if I would disturb you a little in your conversation? Forgive the old man his impudence, but I waited very long to talk with one of his kin.” The sage politely asked.

- “O-of course! He is all yours!” in a moment priestess got behind me and pushed me toward the table

- “Easy, Lanele, I can walk on my own.”

I pouted a little.

Then I took a few more steps onward, getting closer to the group surrounding the altar. They were staring at me as if I was some kind of exotic animal. I looked back at the man fused with oak. In silence, we gazed at each other for a minute or two.

- “He is young… looks almost like myself and Mayero” Girl on the side said

- “You are staying silent.” Sage stated the obvious “… I thought that a young man like yourself would be full of questions, that perhaps someone as senile as myself could answer.”

- “Where I come from, elders speak first, for they are wisest and most worthy being heard out. I do have questions, sage, yet I will not ask them. The answers I seek will be worth anything only if I would find them out by myself.”

- “Forget what I just said. There is no way he resembles Mayero in any way.” The same girl shook her head to the sides

- “Hey! If you want to say anything 'bout me. say it in my face!” boy which she just offended raised his voice

- “I would, but you are fucking ugly!”

- “I am your twin, you nitwit!”

- “Fraternal twin, we don’t even look alike!”

… these bunch… Are they all hierophants? Looks more like an asylum for mentally handicapped.

- “Please, everyone, calm down! Let the ancient speak!” middle-aged man yelled

- “Forgive us, brother in beliefs, for this commotion, but I think that the rest of us are just as excited as myself welcoming you within our ranks.” Elder smiled “… mind telling us, where do you hail from?”

- “I was born in the forest of dread. Last two years I spend in the Kingdom of Neira as adventurer and alchemist.”

- “So this is how teachings of Black school was passed down. You were living and developing in the place imbued with the essence of druids that became one with the forest.”

I… have no idea what he is talking about.

- “Hey-hey, which subschool do you represent, are there more of black druids out there, what do you…”

- “Mayero…” one again, middle-aged one called “… he is tired after the journey, let him rest before the ritual. You will have plenty opportunities to talk later.”

- “Indeed, no matter how joyful reunion with our new brother is, our duties as shepherds of Aira’s followers comes first. Please, save your strengths, we will need them tonight.”

Oak sage ended the discussion.

I sat by the table trying to clear my mind. Stone altar almost resonated with pure power. They needed quite a while to calm down and start doing what they were supposed to.

I used my time to appraise those individualities.

Their power differed, you could easily tell the power of the elders was incomparable, still, quite disappointing. Twins were around level 15, the rest was around 20-30.

Maybe because they weren’t the battlemages? At least most of them, that’s what their skill list told me.[ Nature Manipulation] spells and [Nature Healing] responsible for blessings were quite developed, yet any form of offensive abilities were barely touched.

What about Sage?

You are using [Appraisal]

Warning! Appraised individual is too powerful for current level of [Appraisal] attempt to be successfulName &@!)$#@ (#A)@*Class[Oak Sage]Job[Oak Sage]Title... Guess what, it's still [Oak Sage]LevelWay too highSkillsWay too manyDescriptionOk, had your fun? I have eyes up here, you know?

I shivered, the headache hit me like a train.

The man on the oak-throne chuckled

- “Curiosity, ha? Good, good.”

Maybe I should keep it low around this guy?