The next week went by in a blur.

It might have been Rowena’s Ball coming up, whatever the Coins of Unity would point to next, Sparrow’s diplomatic mission, or all of them together, but regardless, Theo had a lot on his mind.

Rowena had let everyone else in on the plan, so half the class (minus Edgar, Everett, and all the other nobles who would probably be in attendance anyway) was signed up to perform on the night.

As for security, that’s where their friends from the Colleges of Prayer and War came in. It wouldn’t do to have such a large event without adequate security that could ensure the safety of all attendees. And in the case that fighting did in fact break out, or if someone was injured, it would be best to have some medical help on hand.

In other words, a very prestigious Ball was about to become a party for all students of the Colleges to mingle and socialise – and while the warrior and priest students wouldn’t be allowed to get absolutely drunk out of their minds, what kinds of hosts would the House of Flake be if those in their employ weren’t fed?

They had extended the offer to students from all Colleges, and while they weren’t the most enthusiastic at first, once Rowena made it clear that they would be paid, most were more than happy to take part.

And those that still weren’t interested were the type who didn’t like parties in the first place, Theo mused. In fact, he was meeting one of them today.

It was once again Fesday, and Theo had just left the city and was on his way to The Woods. He whistled as he meandered, lost in thoughts about balls and parties.

Which is why it took him some time to realise something was wrong.

The Woods were unsettled, and while he was partially used to that given their behaviour last week, it felt worse today. Last week felt like hairs were standing on end, today felt like the moment before a bar fight broke out.

“Come, quickly.” Theo almost jumped out of his skin as Eva appeared in front of him. Theo wasn’t sure if it was possible for a dryad to look tired, haggard, and stressed, but if it was, that’s exactly how Theo would describe how Eva looked in this moment.

Rolling her eyes at his lack of motion, she grabbed his arm and started dragging him. Theo let out a yelp of surprise as he picked up the pace.

---

They arrived in the clearing to see Francis there, sitting and meditating.

“Hey Francis.” Theo greeted.

Francis didn’t move, nor open his eyes to acknowledge their presence. “I’m still not coming to the ball.” Theo tried to resist rolling his eyes (and while he was mostly sure Francis wouldn’t be able to tell, he didn’t want to get in a bad habit).

“I know, but I’m still allowed to say hi and chat to you. And it’s okay that you don’t want to come! You don’t have to. Just thought it would be nice.”

Francis didn’t respond. While he wasn’t the most talkative person, he normally wasn’t this rude. Theo didn’t dwell on it. There were bigger things to worry about (although, Theo did roll his eyes).

Observing the herbs, he realised that they had grown quite fast. Even taking into account that these were magic plants (and thus understanding that normal expectations could not be applied in the slightest), Theo still couldn’t believe how much they’d grown (then again, the first time he’d seen a proper plant that wasn’t in a shop was the first time he’d gone into The Woods, so his knowledge was rather lacking).

What were just buds last week, were properly growing plants. They had stems now, turning the grass into a taller field of leaves. They weren’t all green either – some had changed colour, turning it into a carpet of jade, scintillating with all the ambient mana.

That was another thing that had changed. While last week Theo had been the source of a lot of the ambient mana in the clearing, now mana flowed around, cycling into and through the plants. In fact, looking carefully, he could almost see the whorls and eddies of mana as it gently travelled.

Theo was glad he was coming back to this. He sat down, getting comfortable and ready to cultivate. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath…and felt like something was wrong. Frowning, he sniffed the air, activating Dog’s Nose to try and pinpoint what it was.

He stood up, eyes closed as he followed the smell, traversing The Woods, weaving his way through the winds, until finally, he arrived at the border between The Woods and Etol.

Fire and death. That was what he’d smelled. The bitter ash of charcoal and the metal tang of blood. He opened his eyes to see blackened trees and a number of bodies, all impaled on vines and branches.

They looked to Theo less like bodies, and more like ragdolls, tossed around, bodies resting in unnatural positions. Here, one’s legs were bent the wrong way at the knee. There, one’s arm articulated at too many points.

Their blood dripped down, disappearing into the rich earth. The woods were moving, agitated, and yet the blackened trees nor the ground around them seemed to be in their control.

“Come back to the clearing.” Eva was curt, and Theo was still too shocked to react to her sudden present. He just slowly nodded, and started to turn back (well, his feet turned back, then his waist, but his eyes were glued to the scene for as long as he could manage).

Eventually, he managed to look away, and they walked back to the clearing in silence.

Theo sat down again, hoping to meditate to distract him.

Even with Tome of Memories, he had a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to forget that scene.

Even now, it was still replaying in his head, to the point that he couldn’t focus. The cultivation didn’t come, the network of roots, all seemed far away (and frankly, he preferred that in this moment).

Theo opened his eyes, and looked at the form of Eva, sullen and crossing her arms. “What happened.” It was technically a question, but also a demand to desperately know not only why this happened, but how it could happen, how it could be allowed to happen, how it could happen here.

“Politics collided with reality.” And that answered all his questions, as much as he wished it didn’t. Eva sat down amongst the herbs, idly playing with the leaves. “Something happened. I don’t know what.” She rubbed one, and it almost nuzzled her fingers.

“Etol was a lot more aggressive than they usually were, and they even declared that they were from Etol, which is rare. They usually try to hide that. They even wore some special armour.” Theo racked his brain, but Thelonious hadn’t covered anything much about Etol just yet. “They tried to set the woods on fire, and managed to get through the front line before we killed them.”

Eva sighed. “The nutrients from their bodies won’t make up for the losses to the trees and roots, so if they’re willing to throw more bodies at us, or worse bring siege weaponry or fire wizards, we might be in trouble.”

She looked at Theo. “So the faster we can grow these herbs and improve our defences, the better.”

He nodded, closing his eyes and forcing himself to focus.

Theo had a feeling he knew why Francis had been on edge.