Chapter 284: Heila’s Fate
During Ashlynn’s trial with the Ancient Willow, the specter of Cecile had appeared to guide her in the Willow’s Way, teaching her the healing arts she needed to master in order to face the Ancient Willow’s trial.
Now, that very same specter had appeared before Heila, once again coming to guide her through the trial. This time, however, the specter took a much heavier hand with Heila than she could have with Ashlynn. After all, Ashlynn was the current Mother of Trees. There were limits to what a Willow Witch could do against the person who was born to lead all witches of the forest.
But Heila, Heila was supposed to be her successor as the next Willow Witch and Cecile refused to allow her to pass this trial if she wasn’t up to her standards.
"I’ve done shown it to you, now," the elderly witch said. "You’ve seen de good you can do, yeah? De power to snatch back y’r friends and loved ones from de very edge of death. To cure de sick and restore de lame, you can do dese tings, yeah?"
"I know I can," Heila said. She’d spent what felt like weeks following at the old witch’s side, learning to treat the wounded, and witnessing the joy and even worship that followed when she performed acts of healing that were beyond the capabilities of any sorcerer. Things that only a witch could do, and even among witches, not everyone would be so capable.
"I told you, Madame Cecile," Heila said in a voice that was thick with exhaustion. "Your coven may have granted you a peaceful life, but mine will not be so lucky. These people," Heila said, pointing one of her whips at the humans on the battlefield. "They will bring war to my home no matter what. My lady, my Mother of Trees, will fight them."
"She won’t ever run from that fight, even though she hates the idea of killing people who didn’t do anything wrong," Heila said, tears spilling from her eyes as she shouted at the old witch who had put her through this trial again and again and again. She’d lost count of how many times she faced this battlefield and every time it became worse.
According to Cecile, Ashlynn’s bond with Nyrielle would invite great jealousy and fear. That humans would attempt to destroy them was a given, but Cecile said that even Eldritch nations would turn against them in the days to come. A warrior fighting at Ashlynn’s side could never escape the ensuing chaos, but a skilled healer would be welcomed wherever she went.
In Cecile’s mind, there was no reason for Heila to die alongside a Mother of Trees who invited calamity. Heila, however, refused to accept Ashlynn’s fall as ’inevitable.’