Cornflower Witch

Chapter 78 Multiple Histories
The world in the shadows, the surface, an unnamed hill.

When Hilti woke up from her restful sleep, she felt much better and her energy had recovered somewhat. Although she wasn't at 100% energy, she was probably around 80%.

Standing before the weathered iron sword once more, Hiltiah recalled the scene from her dream.

At the end of that battle, the knight wielding the longsword slowly fell, but the blade he plunged into the stone became a beacon in this shadowy world, briefly parting the thick fog in the sky.

In this brief moment, another figure crossed the boundary of the reflection, coming from the continent above the sea of ​​clouds to the shadowy world below.

The other party is a practitioner of the lunar element and has a graceful figure. Such people are often referred to as 'witches' in many stories.

A witch wearing a wide, pointed headdress descends upon this shadowy world to confront the witch.

"You shameful traitors, how dare you mingle with those stone dogs!" The witch exclaimed with hatred and rage as she saw the witch who had descended upon this world.

“Betrayal? I wouldn’t say that. We were just barely hanging on together anyway.” The witch’s voice was ethereal as she pressed down on the brim of her hat, revealing her silver eyes.

"The 'Moon Council' has long been defunct, and the 'Golden Honey Dynasty' that supported the organization's establishment has also collapsed. There are no alliance agreements left."

"For the sake of this continent, we fought the Silver Glow Church for hundreds of years, and in the end, neither of us won. Instead, that black rabbit obtained the legacy of the 'Radiant Moon' and became the new Chief of the Moon. Now, even when we borrow the power of the moon, we have to be mindful of 'His' mood. It's no longer the powerful era we once were."

“You old folks, hiding in the forest all day, it’s time to come out and see the world.”

"You don't need to laugh at me!" The witch gritted her teeth and pointed her finger at the witch floating in mid-air.

The giant black snake that had been slithering around the witch lunged out again, rushing towards the witch in the air. Its huge, gaping maw was big enough to swallow all three witches whole.

"Ah, you're still playing that thousand-year-old trick of 'Teria's Black Serpent'?" the witch waved her hand dismissively.

She raised her wooden moon staff and waved it simply. An invisible silver moonlight appeared behind her, illuminating the black snake that attacked.

The black snake, which had been baring its fangs and claws, suddenly froze, changed color as if petrified, and finally dispersed, turning into countless crystalline powders that fell from the sky.

Enraged at losing her key weapon, the old hag ripped off the bone necklace from her neck, muttered incantations, and kept banging on the small drum hanging from her waist with her other hand.

Soon, the bone necklace exploded in the air, then transformed into a series of skeletal, malevolent birds that flew towards the witch in the sky.

"'Soul-devouring evil birds,' these guys are troublesome, but only a little troublesome." The witch shook her head again.

She lightly touched her lips with her finger, spitting out a blood-red bead. Then she held the bead in her palm, and an invisible ripple instantly trembled and spread, shattering the attacking white bone bird into fragments.

"What other tricks do you have up your sleeve, old man?" The witch put the blood-red bead back into her mouth, then looked down at the hag below.

"Dragon Blood Pearl, how could you obtain something like that..." The old hag was filled with jealousy and gritted her teeth.

After that, the witch used several strange and mysterious methods, but they were all easily neutralized by the sorceress. Just as the two had said before, they came from the same faction a thousand years ago and were very familiar with each other's methods.

“I don’t have time to waste with you, old man.” The witch waved her wooden moon staff again, scattering invisible powder that fell onto the grass below.

At this time, the grass grew wildly all over the mountains and plains, and the tips of the grass stretched out like snakes and earthworms, writhing on the ground and rushing towards the witch at the end of the hillside.

During this time, the witch tried every means to burn, poison, and resist, but all of them were overwhelmed by the twisted sea of ​​grass. Then, the tips of the grass burrowed into her body, like sucking blood, devouring her body and flesh.

"You traitors, how dare you touch the taboo and wield the power of 'Twisted'..." the hag screamed. "I curse you, I curse your descendants to die in this despairing, twisted sea!"

Finally, the witch was swallowed up by countless seas of grass, leaving no trace or remains.

"Phew, that takes care of this guy." The witch descended and strolled leisurely across the clearing, picking through the old hag's treasures.

“There’s nothing of value or usefulness here.” She kicked the skull on the ground with her toe, her fingers pinching the old, tattered leather, searching for what was covering it.

"Forget it, that's it."

After giving up the search, she went to the side of the dead knight and looked again at the longsword he had been clutching when he died.

"What unwavering willpower!" she sighed softly.

"No wonder only fools like you can expand territory, while we clever people can only play a supporting role."

"Sir Hollin, I'll remember your name. Don't worry, I'll tell Regard Bouvier about your deeds. I'm sure that to honor your achievements and appease the people, he'll bestow a title upon your descendants."

"As for you, rest in peace here." She placed one hand on the dead knight's armor, causing his body to slowly turn into dust and dissipate, leaving only his sword stuck in the rocky ground.

After dealing with the matter here, the witch once again waved her moon staff, and invisible moonlight spread out, turning into ripples in the sky like a veil, like the surface of a tranquil lake.

The witch leaped up and found herself beneath the rippling lake, bathed in moonlight, like the moon reflected in the water.

Soon, her figure faded, and then, in the distant sky, on that real continent, the witch's figure reappeared.

The moon in the water, the moon in the sky

Flawless fantasy, transformed in an instant

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After recalling the scene from her dream, Hilti gazed at the sword hilt again, this time able to make out the emblems and inscriptions on it.

'Hollin, Knights of the Fir'

If she guessed correctly, the lord of Linden Village, Baron Hollin's ancestor, was this fallen knight.

Time truly is long and memorable.

Therefore, when King Regard fought the tribal witches in the mountains, he must have relied on the witches' power. According to what Thalys said earlier, the witches probably had an agreement with the maesters of Candlekeep not to write their deeds into the books.

However, the author of the book "The Rings of the Cedar Tree ~ Past Events in the Mountain Country" clearly knew the true history, and he took a shortcut by subtly mentioning this point in the book.

The reason why Regard made the other maesters leave the tent that night and face the birdcage covered by the black cloth alone was probably to imply that the king was using the strange bird to convey some kind of letter and find his last ally.

The truth of the past was shrouded in layers of black cloth. What she sees and knows now is history that has been filtered through multiple layers of corruption. The inner workings of this world are also deeper than she imagined.

(End of this chapter)