As it turned out, the ceremony honoring the dead was set for that day, when evening just began to fall.

So by the time everyone had gathered, the last of the crimson light was leaving the world.

Emily watched the obsidian windows above as they cast a forgiving glow through the city. Torches were lit in preparation for night's arrival, but they weren't needed yet, and Emily turned to look out over the mass of people.

The Chieftains and Shamans had gathered together with those bodies that could be recovered. While anyone connected to the dead was ushered forward. The ceremony was open to everyone, and more people showed up than she would have expected. It was being held within the roots themselves, as it was the second-best place for people to gather en masse, other than the Chieftain's lodge. The docks were filled with people, and those who could not get closer packed into the passageways until it was almost impossible to find a space.

Emily was sitting cross-legged at the end of the pier with the Shamans, dressed in her full regalia and headdress, while looking out over the hundreds of faces before her. The Wandering Fangs were close, and for the first time since their fight with Hermes, Emily spotted Kael supporting an older woman by his side. She wasn't sure, but judging by the tears streaming down her face, she was related to Sol. Kael looked lost in thought, but when they passed Emily, he tore his eyes away long enough to nod in her direction.

Emily let a sigh escape through her nose as she watched the people gather, but when it was time, the Shamans began a low chant that sent a hush over the crowds.

As voices died down, she could hear the tones begin to resonate through the space.

And, at the center of everyone, seated amongst the bodies of the dead, was the Hearthspeaker. His words carried out, clear and powerful, reaching even those in the tunnels.

"My people, over the last few days, much has happened that should not have. Many of you have suffered undue pain, but I am here to tell you that tonight, that unrest will cease. Tonight we honor the dead and let them pass through to the father tree, and with them, all the wrongs that they held onto in life."

Emily's lips grew into a thin line. Many of the dead they were honoring today were lost in the power grab, but from what she could tell, not only were the innocent included. Those who had committed these acts against their people were also part of the dead. When Emily thought about the idea of being put to rest next to her murderer, she couldn't help the annoyance that surfaced.

Hermes' body was somewhere amongst these corpses. The only thing that stopped Emily from doing anything was that all the corpses were wrapped from head to toe in bundles of cloth. The family members went to say goodbye before the ceremony, and now they couldn't tell whose body was whose, all wrapped up like this.

The idea was that everyone was equal before the father tree, or at least that was what the Shaman she had asked had told her.

There were only two exceptions to this rule. If one were a Shaman, they would be buried with their headdress on the outside of the cloth. And were they a Cheiftan, they carried their spear.

Hermes was stripped of his honor to be buried with his weapon, but it still didn't sit right with Emily. Had she known it would turn out like this, she would have reduced his corpse to nothing.

Her feelings aside, Emily's eyes roamed the bodies until she found those with the headresses. There were a fair few here today, and Emily had only seen Teo's headress once, but she found it pretty quickly.

Emily's expression turned thoughtful at the sight of the young man. That same sickening sensation was pushing its way up from her gut, but she couldn't pinpoint what it meant, so she refocused on those around her.

The hum coming from around her had been rising as Zauren spoke about loss and acceptance. At some point, Emily had started to tune out his droning, but then he said something that seemed to bring them to the next phase of the ritual.

The Hearthspeak turned to the golden flame beside him and leaned down as though whispering to it before turning back and shouting.

"Let go of your fears and allow the flame to carry them to the father tree. He will hear your words and keep your loved ones safe for all time to come."

Zuaren paused to look up at the tree, but continued.

"Because of the great number of dead today, those who aren't picked know that there will be another ceremony held. All shall be embraced."

As far as Emily could tell, it took a tremendous amount of power to send the people off. With so many already lost, they would need time to rest. Which was why there was a possibility of two sermons—likely why Zauren had called on her for help.

The low hum in the room mingled with hushed whispers as everyone began voicing their desires. Some murmured in sorrow, mourning the friends and family they had lost. Others offered simple words of luck or quiet hopes that such a tragedy would never strike again. All the whispered prayers rose to mingle with the high ceilings of roots, filling the space with a solemn, reverent energy.

Emily didn't say a word, but her eyes fell on Teo and never left until Zauren spoke again.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"Shamans, join me in calling to the father tree."

That was Emily's queue.

When he said those words, Emily opened her bridge and began pulling in source. The Shamans were seated in rows behind the Hearthspeak and his flame. And one by one, they place a hand on the person in front of them's back.

Emily was seated right behind Zauren, so she was at the front and one of four people who touched the frail old man.

What was happening was very similar to how Mages were meant to fight together by joining their source.

Of course, because this was Emily's first time doing this, there were some surprises. When the Shaman behind her placed his hand on her back, she flinched and had to stop herself from removing it violently. Luckily, the Hearthspeaker had already explained what was going to happen. Even better was that she didn't need to do anything other than provide source. Zauren would do the rest.

The Shaman at the back would pass his Source into the one in front, and the next would pass both of theirs further, and so on.

So by the time Emily felt the wave of source, it was a colidoscope of colours washing over her. She hadn't checked to see how many people were behind her, but all six colours were here in varying amounts. They moved directly into Emily, and to say it was invasive was an understatement. However, she had a job to do, so she began using her stream method to gather and push the incoming mix of sources forward. At the same time, Emily began funneling her own grey source into the energies. The moment they mixed the disorderly arrangement of the power began to flow a bit better, so that by the time they moved up her arm and into Zauren, they were far more organized.

The humming through the room began to vibrate across the water, causing it to shimmer.

Zauren was ready for what came next as he took out the very same sapphire Kael had brought on their journey. Along with that, a small root bent and twisted into the shape of a rune. Emily would have liked to inspect it more, but the amount of source coming from behind her was increasing. To compensate, she drew more in through her bridge.

It was startling to realize that the more grey source she poured in, the less the friction the other colors created. From the beginning, she could see how each source did not like to share space with the others, but the moment her source mixed with the rest, it insulated them from each other. There was still so much she didn't understand about this world's power.

Unfortunately, Emily's attention was quickly brought back to the present as the energies moving through her took all of her attention to maintain.

All around, the humming grew stronger as did the golden flames ahead.

Then, to her surprise a bits of loose dirt and pebbles began to rain down on everyone. Emily glanced up in time to see the ceiling squirming. That alone almost caused her to lose control of the power, but she hung on when she realized it was the roots moving.

As though coiling serpents, they descended from the roof and surrounded Zauren, almost as though in greeting. The flames in the pyre had risen to twice their height before Emily recognized what was going on.

The roots that had descended into the chamber began gently taking hold of the surrounding corpses and lifting them back the way they came.

Emily watched with interest. She thought they would be burning the bodies, but it looked like she was wrong; they would be buried.

One by one, the roots became laden with bodies as they drifted up.

Emily could feel the power behind her beginning to wane.

Realizing the Shamans were running out of power, she saw the tree was only halfway through the corpses. Zauren's words now made sense. They only had a limited source to make this little display. Because there were so many bodies, they didn't have the energy needed to 'bury' them.

Teo's body remained untouched, which meant he might have to wait till the next ceremony.

Emily's eyes narrowed at this thought. She could not imagine desiring this type of burial, but to Teo and Sol, it was the way they wished to be honored.

Taking a deep breath, Emily closed her eyes, and ever so gently she began to hum, joining the surrounding cacophony

Increasing her power output was not hard, but by now, the source coming from her line was no more than a trickle. When a Shaman ran out of source they would fall silent.

She would need to make up for that if she wanted this to continue.

The roots were already slowing as the humming around her began to fade one by one.

Zauren kept the spell going, but she could feel it was starting to unravel; it wouldn't last much longer.

So Emily increased her intake of source to its limit.

She cracked an eye open and saw that, while the roots had already claimed some of the corpses, over two-thirds still hovered far below the ceiling. Teo's embalmed figure had only just left the floor—she would have to finish this.

By now, so few Shamans remained humming that even her soft resonance echoed across the silent chamber. The whispers had dwindled to almost nothing, leaving only Emily and Zauren to hum quietly to themselves.

Taking a steady breath, Emily drew from the reserves stored deep in her bones and poured that energy into the spell. Few times had she wielded so much source, and her bridge tingled with pain, but she refused to stop.

Slowly, she rose, keeping one hand firmly on Zauren's shoulder so the stream of power remained uninterrupted. Power thrummed through the air in thousands of interwoven strands. She called to them, tugging at each line until the energies fed into Zauren's spell, and she felt it begin to wind down.

When Emily finally opened her eyes, every dead individual had been lifted into the grasp of the roots. And when Teo's headdress vanished into the mass of roots above, she closed her bridge.

The hum fell silent, and stillness fell over the space once more.

Emily turned to look down at Zauren, who was panting. There was that familiar wariness there, but now it was tinged with something else, something warmer.

The hearth speaker turned to the people and spread his arms wide. No one said anything, there was no cheering, but people began to leave slowly. When Zauren caught his breath, he whispered that only the family of the deceased were able to stay, and that everyone would now make their way home.

By the time the ceremony was over, Emily was exhausted. When he had a moment, she simply extended her hand out, and Zauren passed over both the ruby and emerald.

Emily pocketed them without a word and headed for the exit, but she didn't get very far.

She had intended to head to the Cheiftains' lodge again, but a voice caught her attention.

"Emily… " it said, hesitating near the end.

Emily froze, she didn't need to look who called her, she already knew.

Ashes' voice got closer, and a hand wrapped around Emily's wrist.

"Please come back with us."

Emily finally willed herself to look at Ashe. The woman appeared as pale as she remembered, yet there was a confidence in her gaze that Emily had not expected. She didn't feel like resisting. Drained both physically and mentally, she offered no fight when the next words slipped from her mouth:

"Yeah, okay," she said, following the Wandering Fangs back to the camp.

Blood points: 718

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.