Demon Hunter: School of the Wolf.

Chapter 651 The Sword of Destiny Has Two Edges
"Druids do not reject others from venturing into the Way of Nature; they are welcome to learn directly from them. Any druid in the Maidald Ring of Druids is happy to accept new members."

"As for Jerome Moru's mother, Lydia..."

Vera asked with some doubt, "Jeron Morlu's mother was a druid of the Ring of Maidalui? What was so special about her?"

As Erin recalled, he carefully chose his words, saying, "I don't know if Jerón Morú's mother was a druid, but she was certainly very special."

"She was a priestess of Gwendolyn, the goddess of spring who once ruled over the four seasons among the mountain people."

“Gwendolyn, the Daughter of Spring…” Vera murmured, frowning. “I think I’ve heard that name before…”

Jerón Morú's half-elf features are quite obvious, and it is not surprising that his mother was a mountain dweller.

The gods of the mountain people have been dead for a long time.

That's a story from long before Vera was born.

In fact, in fields such as archaeology, history, and the history of magic, the dividing line between elves and ancient elves is the large-scale fall of the elven gods.

Even so, many mountain people still worship the names of gods who have long been buried in the clouds of history, in an attempt to call back the gods and the ancient glory of the mountain people.

What puzzled Vera was that she had an impression of a deity who had long since fallen.

Erin said softly, "Wiggeferts said that the great prophet Islinne was also a priestess of Gwendolyn, the Daughter of Spring."

“Islinne…” Vera paused, looked at Erin, and seemed a little dazed.

"Dingling~Dingling~"

In the cool autumn breeze of the morning in the Ring of Maidalui, the wind chimes hanging from the roof gently sway. The ancient wooden house, brown like an old tree with gnarled roots, makes one feel as if they have been transported back to a long time ago.

If there were any elf in this world, who would have the most profound influence on the two people in the room?

It wouldn't be Francesca Fantaby, or even Ada Emin, who witnessed Vera and Zoe's union and sent the lovebird during the Witcher Order era...

It's Islini!
Islinne Agri Epp Evinion, the female elf who prophesied the appearance of the Child of Miracles thousands of years ago, directly changing the fate of Vera, Soy, and Erin.

Vera has dreamt countless times in the dead of night how fate would have unfolded if that prophecy hadn't happened.

She would witness his first words in the grapevine-covered manor in Toussaint, witness him learning swordsmanship from his father, falling down and getting up again and again, witnessing him fall for the girl from the neighboring noble family, and teaching him not to flirt with the maids in the manor...

Instead of standing on the cold castle terrace, looking down at the tiny figures being trained on wooden stakes, beaten and bruised all over by the ruthless Wolf School witchers...

At this moment, Erin changed the subject: "Do you remember the song stone I gave Mary a while ago, and the song 'The Breath of the Daughter of Spring'?"

When Vera snapped back to reality, she saw that he was no longer the mischievous boy frolicking under the grape trellis, nor the timid apprentice being scolded.

The small figure lying in the bed, once held in someone's arms, has now become a demon hunter with azure beast eyes and covered in scars.

Like his father, he embarked on the most difficult path at the youngest age, yet he was different from his father, completely different.

At least at that age, Zoe was still a boy full of fantasies and recklessness, while Erin was already too mature to be a child...

"Vera?" Erin called out.

Vera pulled herself out of her reverie about things that could never happen again, and after recalling Erin's question, she forced a smile.
"The Spirit of the Daughter of Spring, you mean that strange magic that calmed the chaotic magic within Yennefer..."

"Wait! The Daughter of Spring?"

Pulling herself back to reality, Vera, still shaken, then realized something was wrong.

“That’s right.” Erin nodded gently. “The Spring Maiden’s spiritual breath is divine magic, a divine magic bestowed upon the priests by the Spring Maiden, Gwendolyn…”

“But…” Vera paused, then said incredulously, “But the divine magic of the priests depends on the existence of the gods. The gods have all fallen, how could the divine magic still work?”

"Could it be that Gwendolyn, the Daughter of Spring, didn't actually perish but merely faked her death?"

"No, Mary, a human sorceress, couldn't possibly be a priestess of an elven deity. She's not even a novice believer, so how could she cast divine spells?"

Vera was completely baffled by Erin.

She wanted to refute Erin's idea from a professional standpoint, but in reality, Mary did use the Spring Maiden's Song of the Soul, and it worked very well.

It was so good that if it were taken out, either Mary or Erin could instantly become famous in the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, or even achieve academic fame.

"Wait! Is it because of that rock?"

Vera had a keen sense of things and immediately thought of the stone Mary had been holding when she cast the spell.

“That’s right, it’s called the Song Stone,” Erin said without keeping her in suspense, “The Spring Maiden’s Song of the Soul can only be released through the Song Stone…”

Vera's shock puzzled Erin, who remembered explaining the principles of the Spring Maiden's Song of Understanding to Mary in its entirety.

Was Vera busy with her second mutation, or was Mary deliberately concealing it?

Erin didn't dwell on this for long.

“But you’re not wrong,” he said softly, “Gwendolyn, the Daughter of Spring, is indeed very likely not completely dead; there’s at least a possibility of resurrection…”

Vera's shock was written all over her face, and it took her a while to recover from the shocking news.

Erin waited until she had digested the information before briefly explaining that the Clear Song Stone and the Song of the Spirit originated from the soul of Lydia, the devout believer on the colossus that oversaw Jerón Morlu.

Vera, as always, did not ask how Erin obtained the complete Song Stone and divine magic from the fragmented soul, nor did she ask how he knew that a long-fallen god still had hope of resurrection.

She sighed for Lydia's fate, and after praising the Songstone a few times, she lowered her head and pondered: "If I remember correctly, Jerón Morl was forced to undergo a second mutation by Thomas Morl seventy or eighty years ago?"

“Thomas Morlu began planning in 1102,” Erin nodded, “and the ‘experiment failed’ around 1110, by which time Lydia should have already met with misfortune.”

Vera thought for a moment and said, "Although the Druid Circle has never been as hostile to elves as the outside world, sixty or seventy years ago, for some reason, it was the era when the kingdoms of the Northern Continent were most hostile to non-human species, especially elves..."

"Even if Lydia hides in the Ring of Maidalui, she must remain concealed..."

"The Grand Master certainly knows everything within the Circle of Druids, but he is rarely lucid..."

"Perhaps you could ask Zebi Ortega, who is an Archdruid who took the form of a raven and sought the form ninety years ago to advance to Archdruid, so he is close in time."

“Importantly, he is the only half-elf archdruid in the Ring of Maidaldo.”

“If Lydia has ever lived in Maina, there’s no way she could have kept it from him.”

“Ada gets along well with him. I’ll go see her in a bit and ask Ada to introduce you. Didn’t you want to learn Druidic meditation?”

"Then let's use the excuse of asking about meditation techniques..."

"The Archdruids of the Ring of Maidal are all elders of very good character, and they especially appreciate eager apprentices. Once you've gotten to know them, you can find an opportunity to bring up Lydia..."

In just a few words, Erin was clearly arranged.

The Witcher, who had just gone through a tough battle, almost craved the feeling of not having to think about anything and having everything arranged for him.

"Thank you, Vera." Erin gave a genuine smile.

Vera smiled and shook her head gently, though it was unclear what she meant.

After discussing Zebi Ortega's likes, temperament, and habits for a while, Vera suddenly stopped talking, looking worried and hesitant to speak. "What's wrong, Vera?" Erin noticed the sorceress's unusual behavior.

“Even though Gwendolia, the Daughter of Spring, has fallen, she was once a deity of another race,” Vera lowered her eyes and sighed softly, “Whatever you want to get from her, you must be extremely careful…”

“I will.” Erin could only nod in response.

Vera said nothing more, opened the ancient, heavy parchment book in her hands, and began her lecture:
"Yesterday, I taught you the last part of the basic vocabulary of the ancient language. Today, we will learn the rhythm of the ancient language..."

……

Vera's teaching style remained as patient and insightful as ever.

Because the ancient language is related to the crystallized memories of the immortals and the path after their attributes have reached their peak, Erin listened with extra care.

But as she listened, Vera's face gradually blurred into a mass of flesh and blood.

The eyeballs were fused together with bone fragments and flesh, a scene both tragic and gruesome.

This is a consequence of the prophecy made a few days ago before I woke up.

Whenever the prophesied figure comes into contact with him for a considerable period of time, the horrific death foretold in the prophecy will, at some point without his knowledge, replace the person before him.

Difficult to control oneself.

This is a demon in my heart. Erin thought to himself as he looked at the scene that was filled with blood and gore, accompanied by a clear and gentle voice.

【Name: Unstable Prophecy Power】

……

[Passive Effect: In a relaxed state, you may occasionally catch glimpses of the future, or suddenly encounter crises related to yourself.]

[Note: Be aware! Prophecy is both a gift and a curse!]

Prophecy is both a gift and a curse!
curse……

Yes! It really is a curse!

After gaining unstable prophetic powers, Arryn found all the occult knowledge related to prophecy in Kaer Morhen's library, and they all shared the same definition—

Prophecy is a glimpse of the future, a glimpse of something that is destined to happen without any deviation.

In other words, when a prophet "dreams" of a certain prophecy, the scene depicted in that prophecy will always happen at some point in the future, no matter how much effort or revision is made.

It wasn't a future that Arlin speculated about based on his past life memories—a memory in which the Wolf School would suffer heavy losses and fall apart during the defense of Kaer Morhen.

That wasn't a real prophecy, nor was it from any prophet, nor was it a fragment that Erin had snatched from the river of fate.

But the moment Erin awoke from that long and terrifying prophecy and saw the "Unstable Prophecy Power" flashing on the panel, a strong premonition was awakening him, telling him...

The King of the Wild Hunt will surely lead a massive army into one of the cities on the northern continent...

Erin will surely appear with the silver-white knight...

Vera, Vesemir, Marie, Francesca Fantaby… will also surely die in the tragic way foretold, at some point in the future, right before his eyes…

This intense premonition nearly drove Erin mad.

Even though Erin's approach to the prophecy, which was typical of the Northern Continent—trying to change the outcome outside the prophecy while leaving room for the prophetic scene—was successful, and after Erin Brik Glass stabbed him with a longsword, he did not die but instead turned the tables and won.

Vera, Vesemir, Mary, Francesca Fantaby... they will all die.

Such a gruesome death would make it impossible to fake death.

The recurring nightmares and the hallucinations I'm having are both aftereffects, or perhaps, as the "unstable prophetic power" note suggests...

It's a curse.

Of course, Erin was never one to sit idly by and wait for his doom.

After a night of despondency, he quickly began to consider ways to deal with the situation. One option was naturally to increase his own strength, and the other was to weaken Eredin Brick Glass...

The study of ancient languages ​​and Druidic meditation are two aspects. The former, needless to say, relates to the correct path the Alder People have explored for transcending the level of life. The latter, Druidic meditation, stems from that strange "dream" after absorbing the "elephant's essence."

He had a premonition that he had gained a lot of power in that mysterious forest, but he had not "taken" it out.

The Druid's meditation method may be the key to that power.

The second reason was to gather information about Jeron Moru's mother, Lydia, in order to weaken Eredin Brick Glass.

Gwendolyn, the Daughter of Spring, is a deity of the ancient elves—the ancient mountain people. The alder people, whom the mountain people do not know, may well be unfamiliar to Gwendolyn.

No, the separation of Ain-Shidi and Ain-El is a major event, and Gwendolia, the Spring Daughter of the main god of the Ain-Shidi clan, could not possibly be unaware of it.

Arryn hoped to learn the weaknesses of Eredin Brick Glass, and even the Alder People, from Gwendolyn, the Daughter of Spring…

It's difficult, but given Gwendolyn's condition as the Daughter of Spring, it's not impossible.

"Ancient language is not only the language of elves, but also the language of magic. After mastering the vocabulary of basic magic, one can guess the original meaning of short phrases with order, hierarchy, and rhythmic fluctuations by relying on perception..."

"This is also the basic method for archaeological research on artifacts unearthed from ancient elven tombs, given that the ancient elf classification in Old English is very different from that in modern Old English."

"If you're interested, you can ask Wigford..."

While pondering, Vera's gruesome, mangled appearance, in a moment of daze, transformed back into the beautiful red-haired sorceress.

"Now try to translate this sentence..."

"Duettaeánn aef cirrán Cáerme Gláeddyv. Yná esseáth."

Erin frowned, recalling what he had learned in the past few days, and encouraged his senses:

"Sword...destiny...you..."

"The sword of destiny has two blades, and you are one of them..."

“That’s right.” Vera Vivi nodded in agreement with Erin’s answer, then looked out the window.

Before I knew it, a long time had passed, and the sky outside the window was full of stars.

"That's all for today. Get some rest." Vera snapped her fingers and put away the heavy parchment book. After Erin's habitual thanks, she changed Erin's dressing as usual, then turned and left.

However, Vera suddenly stopped when she reached the door.

"You will definitely attend the Sorcerer Brotherhood's summons on behalf of the Wolf School." This was a statement, not a question. The cool voice was firm in its tone.

Erin paused for a moment, quickly thinking of what to say.

Vera sighed at this moment, and left the room, leaving behind only a murmur that seemed to be a soliloquy or a question, which slowly faded away as the wind chimes swayed.

"Erin, what are you in such a hurry for..."

(End of this chapter)