Chapter 289: The Severing Knife
"It’s important that every witch equip themselves with a Severing Knife," Amahle said in a tone that was much sharper than what she’d use to describe cauldrons and wands.
At her waist, Amahle wore a bone-handled knife that Ashlynn and Heila had assumed was a simple utility knife. After all, despite her vaunted status, within the Briar Amahle presented herself as a very mundane and ordinary woman who just happened to have a few extraordinary abilities.
Now, however, when the older witch pulled the bone-hilted knife from its sheath, the entire room dimmed as if the light itself had been frightened away by the fearsome blade. The blade itself was also made of bone, as though the entire knife had been carved from a single piece of a large beast’s arm or leg. Along the blade, sharp, angular Eldritch Glyphs emitted a lurid red glow that filled both Ashlynn and Heila with an ominous sense of dread.
Ashlynn’s heartbeat quickened and in the presence of the bone knife, both her bond with Heila and the far stronger bond tying her to Nyrielle trembled like a rabbit in the presence of a pack of starving wolves.
"This is a Severing Knife," Amahle said, placing the terrifying weapon on the table. "The edge is not sharp. This knife isn’t meant to cut physical things. Rather, it severs the ties of magic that bind things together."
"You could destroy my bond with Nyrielle with that knife," Ashlynn whispered in horror. Her heart trembled and it took all of the strength of will she had to stay seated at the table within striking distance of the bone blade. "Or my bond with Heila. Why? Why would you carry such a thing?"
"This is a tool, no different than a wand or a cauldron," Amahle said, retrieving the knife and returning it to its sheath before it caused further distress. "Everything that can be made with sorcery or witchcraft can be unmade with the right tools and skills," she explained.
"Something interfered with Heila’s trial," the Mother of Thorns continued. "Something seeped into the bond between the two of you and the Ancient Willow and formed a barrier that prevented her from completing the trial."
"It was Cecile," Heila said, her grass-green eyes narrowing as she thought about the remnant spirit of her predecessor. "She was another Willow Witch. She wanted me to dedicate myself to a path of peace and selfless healing as she had," Heila said, looking up to meet Ashlynn’s eyes with a gaze that was firm and filled with resolve.