Chapter 8 The Child of the Forest is actually myself.
“But…that doesn’t make sense,” Lucas asked. “Why would the moon goddess give a believer a spell to lift a curse?”
“Because the moon goddess herself was once cursed,” Sanova replied. “Of course, we all know she is not cursed now. But in the past, it was said that Heliana and Celeste, though twins of the sun and moon, did not have a very good relationship and often played pranks on each other.”
"On one occasion, Heliana, in retaliation for Celesti's prank, locked him in the secret basement of her altar and cursed him to never see the light of day for four months."
His tone was somewhat strange when he said this, perhaps because he had just regained his senses.
Lucas shuddered, his face suddenly turning pale.
Ashlin understood what Sanova meant.
But ultimately, they are different from divine-blooded mages.
A person with extraordinary talent can overturn the world with their immense power, without any medium or runes.
Many scholars believe that all magic is actually a gift from four gods, and those with strong magical talent are in fact descendants of the gods.
Those gifted magical children had long since been taken in as apprentices by court mages and sent to the palace to study, while Ashlin continued to attend regular classes at the parish school in Foxtail Bend, possessing no special magical abilities other than making plants grow taller. Her magic was simply learned from Sanova.
"So that believer was mistaken? He thought your blood could bring revelation, but it didn't," Ashlin guessed. "What about him? Doesn't he have any magical talent either?"
“I can’t be sure about his talent,” Sanova said cautiously. “The only thing I know is that he’s a young man named Knox, not much older than you.”
Lucas swayed again. "Knox?" His voice sounded as if he had breathed a sigh of relief.
"An ordinary name. At first, I didn't think much of it, only that the child had ventured alone into the Edoro labyrinth where Cynthia was sealed, attempting to unseal her."
Prince Lucas's eyes lit up again, as if he had triggered some key word. What a strange person; he seemed so frightened just a second ago.
“However, the magic of the Edoro Labyrinth was created by the greatest sorcerer in history, and its mechanisms were crafted by dwarven mechanics. No one can break its spells, let alone unseal the bound witch,” he said.
“That’s right. But somehow, he seems to have discovered a way to navigate through the maze.”
“How could that be?” Lucas frowned. “There is only one map to the Edoro Labyrinth, and that map is currently lying safely in the royal basement of Helian City. As far as I know, there are no signs of trespassing in the basement.”
“Knox is a dark magician,” Sanova said. “I think he has some tricks up his sleeve.”
“I should have informed my father,” Lucas muttered. “This is a national-level theft… a map of the maze…”
"You will have plenty of time to inform the King later, Your Highness, but please let me finish speaking first, and perhaps you will change your mind."
"Excuse me, sir, please continue."
"But before they could arrive, I ran into Knox on the Windwhisper Plains. He had already completed the blood sacrifice but failed to gain any revelation, so he used dark magic to bind me, attempting to use my blood. But my blood still did not work as he wished."
“During that time, he tried many times without success... He started muttering to himself, saying that he had tried all three, none of them worked, and he repeatedly mentioned the ‘Children of the Forest,’ saying that only the blood of the ‘Children of the Forest’ could complete the ritual.”
"You mean, the descendants of the forest goddess?" Lucas glanced at Ashlin.
Sanova nodded.
Then he paused, his expression as if in a dream.
Sanova gave an approving smile. "You understand."
Ashlyn felt that the two people were having a party, but she wasn't invited.
"What's going on?" she asked, sounding a little impatient.
Theories of gods and magic were not within her area of interest; she had thought she was there to lift a curse, but unexpectedly, she was starting a theology class. This reminded her of her subpar thesis on the gods of the sun and moon, which Father Horton had even read aloud from class, reciting her nonsensical and rambling statements.
"Reveal the magic?" Lucas asked. "Hopefully you didn't just give him a love kiss."
The Truth-Revealing Magic is one of the three major forms of mind magic, Ashlin remembered; she had once taken notes and labeled them specifically for it. However, she couldn't recall a single word of the more detailed information.
Sanova was amused.
"There are many kinds of magic that reveal one's true feelings, not just the kiss in fairy tales. Of course, I used the least romantic kind."
“That’s wonderful,” Ashley said. “So where is this child of the forest?”
Sanova and Lucas both looked at her with the exact same look of disdain for an idiot. How in sync; they were more like father and son.
She heard a loud explosion in her ears, as if tiny people had crawled into her ears and set off a spectacular firework display for her.
“Yes,” Sanova said.
Ashlin staggered backward, and suddenly she felt as if she had drifted out of the world.
Perhaps this was all a dream, she thought, pinching her thigh. Wasn't she still in Foxtail Bend? An ordinary herbalist witch with little magic, only good at letting plants grow wildly and getting her dress all muddy. She had nothing to do with the divine offspring.
"Isn't it obvious?" Lucas's voice was gentle. "Look at your performance in the tavern, Miss Bailey. Without the blood of the Forest Goddess, how could you possibly unleash such powerful earth elemental magic in such a short time?"
“That’s normal. The blood of a divine descendant usually doesn’t manifest until the age of sixteen or seventeen,” Sanova said. “I think I’ve always had some doubts, and I was planning to tell you after I’d thoroughly verified it…”
Ashlin wanted to say that her and Sanova's understanding of "normal" was vastly different. However, considering her adoptive father's procrastination problem, it was understandable that he hadn't told her yet. This wasn't the first time he had given her the runaround; it was better than the time he kept it from her when her pet sparrow died.
“You should have told me,” Ashlin said curtly. “You should…you should have hinted at it before!”
“Yes. It was entirely my fault,” Sanova said magnanimously. “But Ashlin, if you help us see the revelation today, you can not only lift the prince’s curse, but also thwart Knox’s plans.”
Then he and Lucas stared at her with the same intense gaze they shared, as if they were looking at an angel.
Compared to the fairy tales Ashlin read as a child, this handling is far too hasty. Shouldn't a goddess personally descend and claim her now?
“Wait a minute,” Ashlin raised her hand, “this is the part where I should be alone, thinking things through slowly, and making a decision. I mean, what if I’m so shocked by the failure that I faint?”
Prince Lucas was very empathetic: "I understand, please think about it, Miss."
Sanova was clearly also afraid she would faint: "We have plenty of time, Ashley."
Of course, they didn't actually have much time, since a dark wizard was on the run.
Ashley tried to regain her breath.
She wasn't just a country herbalist's apprentice. A child of the forest, she was a child of the forest. She was a true sorceress, a descendant of the gods. And if she hadn't cursed the prince into a cat, perhaps she would still be in the dark. Could the farce have turned into a turning point?
Will the blood of a god make her the protagonist of some story?
Her heart was pounding, and she suddenly felt a kind of surprise that was more exciting than any birthday gift.
Hey, this is what she's been hoping for, isn't it? She's a child of the forest, and she's finally leaving this boring river bend!
If it were a different occasion, she would be dancing and singing right now.
"Then what are we waiting for?" she shrugged. "The moonlight is just right now."
“Wait a minute,” Lucas hurriedly asked, seeing her pick up the dagger, “Mr. Bailey, why didn’t you reply to Ashlin’s letter explaining the situation in the past month or so, but instead had her treat me?”
He looked extremely pained.
Now is not the time to dwell on how Sanova ignored her before.
"It's alright. The worst outcome of the sacrifice is that I'll just have a scar on my hand, right? Besides, you're here, you can heal me anytime," Ashlin said casually.
In fact, she couldn't wait to start.
However, making an incision herself was still a considerable challenge. She mustered her courage, a flash of silver light, and a sharp pain.
Blood shimmered faintly in the moonlight as it flowed down the steps from the altar.
"Are you alright?" Lucas asked, but was quickly drawn to the blood as well.
The blood seemed to be summoned by magic, eagerly swirling around the altar, almost ready to dance.
The silvery moonlight suddenly became even brighter, enveloping them like a thin veil.
On the altar, a line of beautiful, intricate text and simple, strange graphics appeared.
Each letter glowed silver when illuminated by the moonlight, as if it had taken the moon for itself.
Sanova healed Ashlin's injuries, and the three of them excitedly rushed forward.
It reads:
The blind fly south on fire.
Those who have not been exposed to the plum blossoms went north to search for them.
Those who had no ears went east to sing a long song.
Those who have lost their sense of taste linger in the west, drinking their tears.
Next to each line of riddles is a small symbol: the first line is a three-sided triangle, the middle one being larger than the two sides; the second line is a simple hollow circle; the third line has a vertical line, which looks more like a scratch than a symbol; and the fourth line is a drop of water.
Lucas jumped up, his blue eyes sparkling as if he had just discovered the most beautiful gem in the world.
“My God, Celeste’s riddle!” he said, trembling. “I’ve been dreaming of seeing this.”
“I wholeheartedly agree,” Sanova agreed.
Ashlin was just as excited.
Isn't this the kind of hint that heroes receive before embarking on adventures in the stories she's read about? A prophecy, a map; all legends, all epics, begin in this way.
The last time she felt this excited was several years ago when she and her best friend Mia found a treasure map in the ash forest. Unfortunately, when they finally reached the bottom of the abandoned well marked on the map after overcoming countless hardships, all they found was the mocking face of Hugo, the mischievous boy. If it weren't for a few villagers passing by the well that day, they would probably be bones at the bottom by now.
Now, a truly interesting mystery has befallen her, and it's not a prank.
Ashlin was overjoyed; the moss on the altar seemed thicker, and the weeds in front of the door had grown taller.
"You're saying this is a spell that can break a curse?" she asked.
Lucas squinted, getting very close to the riddle, almost kissing it.
“Sight and the South, touch and the North, hearing and the East, taste and the West… this is definitely not what it seems on the surface.” He tucked his hair behind his ear to see better. “They represent four related things… Ah, that’s it!”
“That’s what I think too,” Sanova said like a child.
Ashlin wasn't interested in playing riddles with them. Riddles were fun, but speaking in suspense wasn't.
"Four kinds of what?"
“Of course, it’s four elements,” Lucas said in an obvious tone. “You are wizards, you should know more about this than I do.”
"Oh!" Ashlind exclaimed as if waking from a dream. "Indeed, sight and the south are fire, and touch and the north are earth..."
“The remaining two are air and water,” Sanova continued. “To complete this spell, you need to find four items, each representing one of the four elements.”
“What is it…” Lucas touched the riddle and the symbols next to it with fascination, as if they were his long-lost lovers.
Ashlyn felt that she wouldn't be surprised if he folded them up and slept with them.
“I think the first one is dragonfire,” Ashlin said confidently.
A note from the author:
Let me explain: Don't be scared off by the sudden appearance of a bunch of gods, divine descendants, and legends in this chapter. The gods are just here for a cameo (?). It's okay if you don't remember them; they'll be explained when they reappear. (Yes)
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