Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Burdens of Blood and Destiny
As they watched Mousesack and Lann walk away, Eithné and the Lady of the Lake stood in silence for a while, without saying a word.
With the absence of injuries, Aglaïs greeted both before slowly retreating.
After a while, Eithné spoke first: "If you were determined to give him the sword, why did you say those unnecessary words?"
The Lady of the Lake fearfully remembered the figure that stared at her and calmly replied: "This is the arrangement of destiny..."
"You nymphs are really stupid for inventing all those kinds of games to achieve something, and you, who likes knight games, are the dumbest." Eithné chuckled.
The Lady of the Lake turned her head slightly and asked Eithné: "What about you? Let Brokilon Forest accept so many humans, and you plan to summon more of your kind in your own name to help him? Why?"
Eithné replied calmly: "Because it's destiny."
The Lady of the Lake glanced at her and after a moment she melted back into the hot springs.
Upon seeing this, the Dryad Queen ignored her and slowly returned to her own oak tree.
The huge tree trunk deftly stretched out its branches and laid them at the Queen's feet, sending her back to her palace.
There was already someone inside, it was Ellie, her sister.
The dryads of Brokilon sent people to contact their companions across the continent, but that person was not Ellie.
In front of Ellie, the wooden house sunk downwards at a smooth angle into the shape of a pool, which was filled with the water of Brokilon. Three small, golden-haired dryads slept peacefully inside, magical water floating around them in sync with their breathing.
The water did not soak their bodies, but instead held them up like a substance, like a bed made of water.
Seeing the strangeness of Brokilon's water, Eithné seemed very surprised. She stepped forward and asked: "Have they reached this level of control over the water of Brokilon?"
When she heard her sister's movements, Ellie did not look back. She looked at the children lovingly: "More than saying that they have control over the water of Brokilon, it is as if the water is caressing them. Eithné, this is a miracle."
"Of course." Eithné stepped forward and gently stroked the children. "They are miracles."
Sensing Eithné's movements, the three babies opened their eyes at the same time. They were green eyes like a forest, full of vitality, deep and quiet.
Eithné played with the three babies. Although they were not her blood children, each dryad of Brokilon called the Queen 'mother', and she gave them all equal love.
These three babies were destined to receive even more love from Eithné.
...
On the outskirts of Brokilon Forest, Lann held the Lady of the Lake's sword and looked at the glowing runes on it. His followers looked at him with envy, knowing the renown of that sword among knights.
Lann felt that he would never need to change his sword in the future. This was a weapon that could last a lifetime.
"Mousesack, why did you ask me to reject this sword at first, and then let me accept it?"
After hearing Lann's question, Mousesack pondered for a moment and responded. "Perhaps you have heard many ballads about lake nymphs, but I must tell you, Lann, that these creatures are different from legends, and relating to them can be problematic."
"So when they look for you with a request or assignment, don't pay attention to them."
Lann nodded, he still remembered some information from his past life about the lake nymphs and knew something about it.
"Then why did you let me accept this sword later?"
Mousesack replied: "You can accept the sword as long as you don't promise them anything. Furthermore, although it appears to be in perfect condition, I can tell that it is seriously injured."
"Her body can no longer handle the power of this famous sword. She just wanted to make one last effort to gain something before abandoning the sword, and our friendship is enough."
After finishing speaking, the old druid smiled again. "And I saw that you kept looking at the sword, if you like it so much, why not accept it? Don't underestimate this sword, it appears in almost all major literary works."
"And taking it out can easily earn you the loyalty of any errant knight. Isn't this useful for today's Cintra?"
Lann sighed and nodded.
Suddenly, Mousesack asked: "Speaking of which...Lann, why do you care so much about the dryad named 'Ellie'?"
Lann stopped, he had spoken briefly with Eithné, but had not detailed the conversation. How could he explain it to the old druid?
Yes, we have a daughter? And she seems to have inherited the Elder Blood, so Eithné promised the future throne of the Queen of the Dryads, and now plans to gather all the dryads on the continent to create some kind of kingdom...
After Lann confirmed his suspicions about Ellie, he preferred that his daughter stay with the dryads. Considering what Ciri suffered for possessing the Elder Blood, it is better to leave his daughter with the dryads. Lann does not consider that he was wrong to do this, even though he may seem like a bad father.
...
One day later.
At this moment, everyone has returned to the lord's mansion in Brokilon Town.
Lann gathered Ciri, Geralt, and Mousesack into the study room of the Lord's Mansion. He moved the chairs behind the desk, and everyone sat in a circle with serious expressions.
"Ciri, Geralt, and Uncle Mousesack, I have brought you all together today because I have something to discuss with you - or in other words, I need your help."
Geralt opened his mouth to say something but hesitated and fell silent again.
Lann noticed this and smiled: "You think I want you to help Cintra, right?"
Geralt nodded: "I am a witcher of the Wolf School, Lann. Our tradition is to remain neutral and not get involved in politics."
Geralt said sincerely: "I am helping you fight against Nilfgaard during this period just because you are friends, and I will not ask you for money as a commission."
"But now that your situation has stabilized, I must leave. Otherwise, I might cause trouble to other witchers in my school."
Upon hearing this, Ciri hurriedly grabbed Geralt's clothes. Her emerald green eyes blinked, looking like she was about to cry. After such a long time together, or perhaps it was due to the power of fate, Ciri had become dependent on Geralt.
Geralt looked at his surprise child with a headache: "You look at me like this every time I say I want to leave. I know you are acting..."
Lann smiled and comforted Geralt. "That is precisely the first thing I want to discuss with you, Geralt."
"I will not ask you to stay here to help us. On the contrary, I hope you can take Ciri back to Kaer Morhen, and embrace your destiny, Geralt."
When Ciri heard this, she grabbed Lan's hand like crazy, her green eyes widened in disbelief, and this time she burst into tears. "Lann, what are you saying...? You don't love me anymore?"
With an amused expression on his face, Lann hugged Ciri and stroked her head to comfort her.
Mousesack sighed: "Destiny, huh? Well..."
The Druid glanced at Ciri, but in order to take care of the little girl's emotions, he did not say the second half of the sentence: If you continue to defy fate, who knows what will happen?
In the eyes of the old druid, a large part of the reason for the demise of Cintra - or even the entire reason - was Calanthe blocking the fate between Geralt and Ciri. Disobeying the law of surprises will lead to disaster. This is a lesson learned countless times in history.
But Mousesack continued: "However, Lann, you are a witcher now. If Ciri..."
"I don't want to leave." Ciri raised her teary eyes and shouted.
Lann quickly hugged Ciri a little tighter, and at the same time motioned to Mousesack not to rush.
"Listen, Ciri, I don't want to send you away because I dislike you. On the contrary, I need your help to do this."
Lann said seriously: "You are very important, Ciri. You have no idea what our blood carries. It was nothing when Cintra was still there, but now, this blood will cause us trouble."
"Without enough strength, our existence can extinguish the last flame of Cintra."
Ciri was stunned for a moment and said: "Then...I want to go with you."
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