Reliance on written laws to punish others provides a shield to those who would do wrong. It allows them to argue the word of the law. Whereas laws from an ultimate power, like a god, are more reliable. Who would dare quibble about the word and the letter of the law to an existence like that?

~Dagda, the All-Father, Chief of the Gods

Slipping through a space tunnel required Source energy for protection. Crow knew this and knew that it couldn’t be helped. As the black flames consumed him, he screamed for what felt like an eternity and was still screaming when his body bounced off the hard ground of the henge.

Mara appeared moments later and rushed to Crow but couldn’t touch him. His body was so hot it practically burned. Using the water in her pack, she poured it over his head, trying to cool him down as the elders came rushing over.

“Elder Gavin!” Mara shouted loud enough to reach the heavens.

“What is the meaning of this?” One of the elders stomped over. Mara had her sword out and stood over Crow, protecting him despite knowing she lacked the strength to hold them off.

“Stay back. The only elder I trust right now is Gavin of the Maddox clan. Where is he?”

“Mara,” Elder Varo of the Teonet clan said. “Are you pointing a sword at an elder of your own clan?”

“Fucking right I am. You used to me to scheme against Crow, and if this mommy could, I’d cut your goddamned throat.”

A crowd had gathered, and several people were gasping in shock.

“You slander your own clan?” The elder’s face practically exploded.

“You recognize this?” Mara held up the half of the pendant that Crow had given her. “Tell me, elder, do you deny you gave me the other half? So why is it that a strange red-robed man had it? The same man that attacked us and cursed Crow? Slander, my ass! If a word I said is untrue, then Mugna can strike me down.”

Elder Varo looked around the crowd nervously. Some stepped away from him, and already dozens had arrived and were whispering among themselves. They knew something big was about to happen.

“Child, where are the others of your group? Can any of them verify this?” Another elder asked, stepping forward, but he held his hands out to show he meant no harm. It was a valid question, and others were trying to understand what was happening.

“Lonny Belgae was in on it. He had some kind of beacon on him too, but it was more accurate than this pendant. Beyond that, I don’t know. The last time I saw him, he was blubbering incoherently in our camp.”

“What about Ryan, Aleg, and Boot? Where are they?”

“Aleg and Boot we left behind at the very beginning. Aleg tried to kill me, and Crow saved my life—multiple times. As far as I know, those two are still alive. Ryan…” Mara looked down at Crow, who had recovered some.

“Ryan. Dead.” Crow choked out. “Killed him.”

This time the crowd buzzed like a hornet’s nest.

“What do you mean you killed him?” Elder Orla of the Druid Council stepped forward.

“Tell them,” Crow managed before rolling over and dry heaving.

“After the red-robed man cursed Crow, he left. Crow tried to leave, and Ryan ambushed him, saying he couldn’t let Crow leave alive. During their fight, I stunned him, and at that moment, Crow… killed him with an arrow.”

“I. Killed. Not Mara,” Crow said, and Mara saw him point toward a man. “Gavin.”

“I heard everything… Mara?” Gavin said and stepped up next to the girl to check on Crow’s condition. The boy was mostly fine, but curses came in various forms. While the boy’s body was mostly u harmed, and the curse wasn’t outright killing him, it didn’t mean he wasn’t suffering. Gavin felt confident that this was a type of soul curse, which didn’t bode well. He could sense the heat and the terrifying hold it had on the boy’s Source, but that was about it. “You said a red-robed man?”

“Yes, elder.”

Gavin stood up and faced the Teonet. “Elder Varo, if I find out that you’ve been conspiring with the Blood Ember Sect, I’ll kill you myself. Using outsiders to harm a member of my clan… how bold of you!”

Elder Varo sneered, but his face froze seconds later. Everyone turned and saw an old man with a gnarled staff rise from the ground next to Crow. His staff tapped Crow gently, and the boy could feel Mugna’s power soothing the pain.

“Hear me!” Mugna said after standing up, and his voice carried across the entire henge. “Elder Varo, you are guilty of all charges laid against you. Putting aside young Crow’s matter, you invited an outsider into Foghar, the sacred lands of the Druid Order. I witnessed you handing that pendent to a stranger. Your name will be deleted from our history. Your achievements will be expunged. I strip you of your status as an elder and a Druid. Your cultivation will be crippled. You will live out the remaining years of your mortal life as a prisoner in the northern mining camps.”

“Y-you can’t do—”

“SILENCE! You dare question what I can do? I see that I have been far too lax in recent years. That ends now. From this day forward, death is the punishment for anyone that colluded with outsiders to do harm. Their history expunged as if they never existed—shunned. This is my judgment and the law. Pruning is natural and necessary to keep a tree healthy and strong. Belgae elders, step forward.”

The crowd immediately parted around two men. No one wanted to stand close to them.

“By limb and root, we serve,” both said at the same time. Bowing with fists over their Shields.

“Puppet clan, doing the bidding of Rulaney, you lack honor worthy of a Druid.” Old man Mugna spat vehemently. “Until I’ve finished investigating this matter, the Belgae clan elders shall have no power or authority, including on the council. You shall retain the title of elder, but it lacks status until I rule further.

“Twice outsiders were used to harm this boy—first, the Rootless and now a tyrannical sect that has the power to destroy all of your clans, even if you teamed up together. Worse, they’ve dishonored Druids and disrespected our ways. There won’t be a third time. Next time there is collusion with outsiders, I will enact the Battle Law. The guilty clans will be destroyed, and history will forever know them as Rootless. None of you better think of backing out either, or you will become the next target.

“Rulaney, Belgae, and Teonet clans, you’ve been warned.” Mugna slammed his staff onto the ground, and a ripple of power spread out, disrupting everyone’s mental state. “Elder Orla, you’ve heard my ruling, take these commands to the council and carry out my will.”

“By limb and root, I have heard and obey.” Elder Orla also placed her fist over her Shield and bowed.

The area around the two Belgae elders was devoid of other people. No one wanted to be associated with them. For a lot of clans, this was the first time they’d heard any of this, and eyes drifted over to the boy trembling on the ground, moaning in pain. If Mugna, really issued the Battle Law, the clans wouldn’t have a choice but to obey and destroy the clans at fault.

“Belgae elders, part of your penitence begins now. Cripple that Teonet bastard and send him to the mines. You will personally escort and make sure he arrives; if you let anyone interfere with your task, you two will join him. After that, you will go to his clan and inform their elders that all his possessions, wealth, and land will now belong to Crow Maddox as compensation for their wrongdoing.” Mugna stared at the two, but neither of them moved and remained with their heads bowed.

“Idiots. Lord Mugna has commanded you into action. Why haven’t you crippled Elder Varo?” Orla growled angrily.

The two elders looked up, fear gripping their hearts. and ran towards Varo, standing there as if struck by lightning. His face pale, and his eyes listless. It was as if someone had already stolen his soul away. He didn’t even realize that the two elders had already attacked him, sending in enough power to shatter his Shield and Source without killing him. Varo’s stupefied look ended in time for him to scream out in pain and his body visibly aged as the Source wilted.

“Now go, take that trash where he belongs. I’m shamed by the weakness the clans have shown this day.” Mugna said and stopped broadcasting to everyone. The crowd was deathly silent at this point, and Mugna walked over to Mara and Gavin.

“Child, may I take him?” Mugna quietly asked Mara, who still hovered over Crow like a mother hen.

“Y-yes. Please… save him.” Mara’s eyes turned wet once more.

“It’s been hard on you, but he has done well to gain a friend like you. Do not be so hard on yourself for your role in this. It is your elder’s shame to bear.” Mugna told her, and his gnarled staff touched her shoulder, filling her with healing energy. “I’ve given you my mark for your bravery and courage. Come visit me anytime. The Druid Council won’t stop you, and the boy may be with me for a while, so you can come to visit him in the Eastern Sacred Grove. Or if you just want to visit this old man, I wouldn’t mind that either.”

Mara wiped her tears and then wrapped her arms around the old man and hugged him.

“Oh ho ho.” Mugna smiled after she released him and then bent down to pick Crow up. “Tsk tsk, those who plot against a child really have no place among the Druids. You know who you are and should be ashamed.”

Mugna sunk into the ground with the boy in his arms, and seconds later, he was gone. Gavin tapped Mara’s shoulder and guided her towards the tents outside the three rings of portals. While they sat in front of a fire, Mara told him everything that happened. Even mentioning Gideon and the choice Crow was given.

“That boy can’t ever keep a low profile…” Gavin sighed.