Chapter 276: Planting the Seed (Part Two)
Once they stepped onto the island, Heila and Ashlynn quickly noticed a circle of stones nearly five paces across at one edge of the island. Within the circle, five smaller circles had been positioned around the edges, forming the points of a star or pentagon within the circle.
"These are for offerings, darlin’," Amahle said as Jacques and Talauia began to retrieve items from the boat. "The feather of a hawk stands for Air, an oil lamp will burn for Fire, an agate for Earth, a bottle of water taken from near the Ancient Willow for water, and a willow branch for Wood," she explained as the two witches set out items in the appropriate places.
"Little Heila, never forget, while a Willow Witch is strongest in Wood and Water, you are a conduit for the energy of the world. Your desires give it shape. Don’t deny yourself a useful tool just because it isn’t the one that you’re most suited to," Amahle advised.
"I’ll remember," Heila said, nervously standing at the edge of the circle.
"Big sister Amahle told me how hard you’ve been studying for this Heila," Ashlynn said, kneeling down next to her diminutive friend. "Just remember one thing about the willow tree and I’m sure you’ll do fine."
"You can bend," Ashlynn advised. "It’s okay to yield, but when something presses against your bottom line, you don’t have to keep yielding. If you always yield, you’ll bend too far and you’ll break. Hold to what’s important and don’t let anything make you believe that you’ve chosen wrongly."
"I won’t let it take me away from you," Heila promised. "I won’t let it take me away from Lady Nyrielle, Madame Zedya, or any of the others either."
"Hopefully it doesn’t test you the way it tested me," Ashlynn said. "But if it does, I know you’ll pass."
"Are we ready?" Amahle said, taking her place at the center of the circle. Several complex-looking glyphs had been drawn in the soft soil of the island and the offerings had been placed around the edges of the circle. Among them, Ashlynn recognized the Eldritch glyphs for ’Witch’, ’Nature’, and one that resembled ’Family’ that she assumed represented the coven, but many of them were still a mystery to her.
Now, the only things that were missing were Heila and her seed of witchcraft.
"I’m ready," Heila said. She held her head up high as she walked into the circle with Ashlynn following behind her. Today, her life would change. When she stepped out of the circle, she would be the Willow Witch.