For the Greater Good

SPOILER WARNING – The Tales from Divinia are companion stories best enjoyed after reading the main novel. The Shaping of Tomorrow takes place during chapter eight of The Trials of Divinia and therefore contains spoilers.

Blurb:

When Kael Greenbark arrives in Concordia as Verdantia's newest champion, he dreams of following in the footsteps of the legendary Darius Blackthorn and bringing glory to his homeland. Calm, capable and respected by his teammates, he believes Verdantia is ready to compete for another title.

But after the opening trial, Sylvanis summons him to a private meeting where the god reveals a truth that shatters everything Kael thought he knew. As the purpose of the Celestial Trials is called into question, Kael must decide whether his own dreams matter more than the fragile peace of an entire world.

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He could not quite believe that the moment was almost here.

Kael looked around at the space which had become his home these past few weeks – the walls intertwined with thick roots and flowering vines, the living trees growing through the centre of the main chamber, their branches supporting balconies and walkways, and the floors of smooth timber and polished stone, softened by patches of moss rather than elaborate rugs.

The gods had clearly spared no expense in preparing his team’s quarters and, what was more, the constant scent of damp earth, moss and fresh pine needles, coupled with the warm, dappled sunlight filtering through what looked like a living canopy overhead, was about as close to home as he could have imagined. Whilst he still missed Feybrook, where he had been raised, these rooms made his heart ache a little less.

He walked around slowly, admiring yet again the decoration, which was simple and tasteful in classic Verdantian style. Hand-carved wooden reliefs depicting forests, great beasts and the history of the region were mounted amongst the vines on the walls, alongside woven hangings crafted from branches, pressed leaves and dried flowers. There were shelves containing botanical journals, seed collections and carved animal figurines, and clay pots filled with herbs whose fragrances subtly mixed throughout the room.

There were practical touches too – simple but exceptionally well-crafted equipment racks for bows, axes and walking staffs, drying racks for cloaks and boots, workbenches for maintaining equipment and fletching arrows, and plenty of communal seating, arranged in circles to encourage conversation rather than hierarchy.

He had grown to love the place far more than he had expected.

It had also, in a way, acted as a shield from the very thing which was now fast approaching – the opening event of the Celestial Trials. The Evergreen Labyrinth.

As he prepared himself for bed, the opening ceremony complete, his choice of teammates made, and his final words of wisdom from Sylvanis received, he knew that this could be the last night he spent here without fear, trepidation or shame.

After all, he had a tough act to follow.

Last year, Verdantia had emerged as the winners of the trials, with Darius Blackthorn being crowned champion over the representatives of the other regions. The response back home had been one of triumph. Verdantia won the trials so rarely – in fact, this had been their first victory in his lifetime, the last coming twenty-four years earlier – that the pressure was on to deliver another strong performance.

Of course, Verdantia had never won the trials two years in a row. So it was the weight of nine hundred years of history, not just the other champions, that he would be battling against.

Nonetheless, he felt quietly confident.

As the oldest of five children, he was used to responsibility and, in the past two years since turning seventeen, had settled naturally into his working life as a forester. He was responsible for caring for the groves around Feybrook – monitoring the health of trees, plants and waterways, observing and protecting the creatures that lived there, and supporting the surrounding communities by harvesting resources sustainably.

His work had caught the eye of one of the city's Elders and, earlier that year, he had been put forward alongside six other candidates for the role of Verdantian champion – Darius' successor.

They had all been invited to journey to the very south of the region, close to the borders of Luminara, Nivalis and Concordia. It was comfortably the furthest he had ever travelled from his home in the north, so much so that the journey itself had felt like an adventure.

There, he had been astonished to meet not only Rowan Thistlebrook, a former Elder of Oakrest and now Verdantia's representative on the Celestial Council, but Sylvanis himself – the god of nature.

Together with the other candidates, he had been invited to attend a fireside meeting at a small encampment which had been set up especially for the occasion. There, they had each spoken in turn about their backgrounds, their livelihoods, and their hopes for the future. It had been relaxed and informal. Sylvanis and Rowan had mostly listened, Sylvanis asking only the occasional question, whilst Rowan shared the odd personal anecdote.

‘None of you are here because you are unworthy,’ the god had said to them all. ‘Today we simply choose the person best suited to this particular task.’

At the end of the evening, a vote had been held, with all nine of them nominating the person they believed would make the best champion. To his great surprise, Kael had received six of the votes. When Rowan announced the result, it was met with warm applause from the other candidates who, it was then revealed, would become his teammates for the trials ahead.

From there, they had returned to their respective homes with instructions to meet again at the same spot six weeks later. He had done as he was told and, upon his return, had found six well-prepared and enthusiastic teammates waiting for him.

Kieran Hawthorne from Thornwall was a woodland ranger and, at twenty-one, the second oldest member of their team. His job involved patrolling Verdantia's borders and guiding travellers through dangerous forests. He was a skilled tracker, an exceptional archer, and possessed a dry sense of humour that often caught the others off guard. Steady and dependable, he had received two of the remaining three votes.

The other vote had gone to Nessa Birchgrove, an apprentice healer and herbalist from the Verdantian capital of Greenhaven. She specialised in medicinal herbs, fungi and woodland remedies. A year younger than Kael, she was quiet, thoughtful and observant. Naturally empathetic, she had often been the one to mediate disagreements during the weeks they had spent preparing together.

Liora Fernbrook was a junior wildlife keeper from Oakrest. She assisted in the rehabilitation of injured woodland creatures before releasing them back into the wild. Aged just sixteen, she was the youngest member of the team, but her unwavering optimism was infectious and reminded Kael of one of his younger sisters.

The oldest member of their team was twenty-three-year-old Bennet Ashgrove, a carpenter and bridge builder from the city of Emerald. His years overseeing the construction of wooden bridges, watch platforms and forest walkways had made him broad-shouldered and practical. He spoke less than the others but had proven dependable, always being the first to volunteer whenever hard work needed doing.

Sylvie Hazelrun was a cartographer and natural historian based in Greenhaven. She loved maps, exploration and ancient woodland trails. Despite that, she also possessed a curiosity for the world beyond Verdantia and had been the most excited by the prospect of meeting the other champions and catching a glimpse of the other regions during the trials. Kael had quickly learned that Sylvie was the member of his team most likely to challenge his decisions, but those debates were always good natured, and he valued her strategic insights.

Finally, there was Tarin Elmwood, a cheerful, sociable and endlessly enthusiastic young man. He was an orchard keeper from the outskirts of Feybrook – although the two of them had never met before their selection – and was responsible for maintaining Verdantia's orchards and seasonal harvests. He was constantly offering people fruit or homemade snacks fashioned from ingredients gathered from the dining hall. He could always be trusted to keep morale high whenever spirits began to dip.

Kael had chosen Kieran and Nessa for tomorrow's trial, but with the promise that everyone would have an opportunity to participate before the week was out.

As he swung his legs onto his bed and pulled the blankets over himself, his overriding feeling was one of peace – a quiet certainty that he had done all he could. The team had prepared well, trained hard, and, with Sylvie's help, crafted a strong plan for navigating the labyrinth.

There was nothing more he could do.

He closed his eyes.

Then he felt it.

He acknowledged it reluctantly – the one nagging feeling at the back of his mind.

Sylvanis and Rowan had been... different since he had arrived in Concordia.

Rowan had mostly contented himself with watching their training, always standing slightly awkwardly to one side, his eyes still sharp above his long white beard despite his great age.

Sylvanis, meanwhile, had asked for regular meetings, so frequent that they had become almost a daily ritual. The god had used their time together to bombard Kael with information – about the trials, the regions, the other champions. Everything. And what was more, he had asked Kael to learn even more: to speak with his rivals, befriend them, even question them. Kael did not necessarily mind the first part, but Sylvanis' relentless insistence on gathering more and more information had become more than a little unsettling.

What had made it all the stranger was that Sylvanis already seemed to know a great deal about the other champions. So much so that he had given Kael specific threads to pull at.

With the Luminarian champion, Calista Dawnstar, it was the strained relationship she had with her family.

For Orion Iceheart, the Nivalian champion, it was his relatively junior role within the royal court and his distant relationship with his region's king.

The Solarian champion, Zara Lightbringer, supposedly felt trapped between her god and an influential figure back home, two people who had disliked one another for many years.

Elara Moonshadow, of Elysium, had been set some kind of challenge by her god, Morpheus, and was trying to complete it alongside her participation in the trials.

For the Tempestus champion, Cassian Stormrider, it was his difficult team, who already seemed reluctant to follow his lead.

Each conversation had been different. Some had been cautious, others curious, whilst Cassian had been openly hostile, but none had revealed very much.

Then there was Talon Drakeforge, the final champion to arrive. Kael had not yet had the chance to speak with him. It was a shame, as he had been intrigued by Sylvanis' story of the boy who had tamed a wyvern, one of Divinia's most feared and celebrated creatures, and by Sylvanis' suggestion that Talon was unlike the champions Ferroxia had traditionally chosen.

It wasn't the task itself that troubled him. Sylvanis had every reason to want his champion prepared. It was the intensity with which he pushed Kael to do more, as though understanding the other champions mattered more than understanding the trials themselves.

Their final meeting had taken place that morning, before the opening ceremony, where Sylvanis had insisted on discussing each champion individually and in great depth, asking for any insights Kael had gathered about their training methods, their feelings towards the first trial, and even their relationships with one another.

Kael felt his concerns begin to fade as sleep slowly took hold. At least Sylvanis clearly cared about him and wanted him to succeed. Even if his methods were a little unorthodox, Kael should be grateful to have a mentor as proactive as Sylvanis, not one who remained distant or, worse, saw every disagreement as a fight.

Once the trials began, everything would settle down. Sylvanis' attention would naturally turn to Kael and his team.

He was sure of it.

The hedgerows moved without warning, cutting off Kael, Kieran and Nessa from the other champions and their teams, and casting them into shadow. Just a single route forwards remained, leading deeper into the labyrinth.

"Let's go," Kael said quietly, though there was little reason to lower his voice. "Remember, there's no need to rush just because we're in a race. We just need to concentrate on ourselves and stick to the plan Sylvie gave us."

"That's right," smiled Nessa. "We need to look for signs that might indicate the direction of the centre. The angle of the light, the age of the surrounding growth, and the movement of water beneath the roots."

"Did you memorise all your notes?" Kieran asked with a laugh.

"Of course," Nessa shot back, poking her tongue out. "Otherwise, what would have been the point in making them?"

Following the only route available to them, they soon reached a three-way fork. Kael briefly studied the broadest path, which appeared to lead towards a golden light, only for Kieran to point out that the tracks along it repeated too regularly, as though they had been deliberately planted. Instead, they chose an older, narrower path where the growth appeared more natural.

Their chosen route opened onto what appeared to be a harmless bank of brightly coloured flowers, their scent warm and inviting.

At Nessa's reassuring nod, Kael stepped forward confidently.

No sooner had his foot landed between the first row of flowers than vines snapped around his ankle, whilst more tendrils lashed towards his opposite wrist.

Snareblossoms, he realised with a jolt.

The small but dangerous ambush predators disguised themselves as clusters of vibrant flowers, their petal-covered bodies and alluring aroma luring unsuspecting prey close before trapping them with hidden vine-like limbs.

As he looked down in horror, he saw more of the creatures beginning to rise from the flowerbed around them. He had been caught by the very first obstacle.

Kieran reacted first, pinning several vines to the ground with arrows, whilst Nessa, recognising that the flowers guided the creatures by scent, crushed a particularly bitter medicinal herb beneath her boot. The creature holding Kael momentarily released its grip, distracted by the overpowering odour.

Kael wrenched himself free and retreated as quickly as he could from the flowerbed. Then, with Kieran and Nessa close behind, the three of them cut a narrow path around the edge of the clearing and escaped.

"That was incredible," Kael said enthusiastically once they had entered the next narrow passage and he was sure they were clear of the creatures. "I've never seen a snareblossom so closely before."

"Lucky for you," Kieran chuckled.

Kael smiled.

"Thank you for saving me. You both dealt with that really well."

They smiled back.

"Come on," Nessa encouraged. "No time to lose."

After rounding several corners without encountering another challenge, Kieran paused.

"We should mark the route," he suggested. "At least then we'll know if we're going in circles."

He pulled an arrow from his quiver and used its tip to carve a small V into an exposed section of bark along one of the hedgerows.

He had only just withdrawn the arrow when the hedge shifted. Fresh vines crept across the mark, weaving themselves over the carved bark until it disappeared completely.

"Oh well," said Nessa, only slightly downcast. "They must have known we'd try something like that."

"Nice idea though," Kael said to Kieran, who simply shrugged before returning the arrow to the quiver on his back.

They continued onwards, beginning to wonder whether the first encounter had been the labyrinth's only surprise. Finally, after several more minutes hurrying along seemingly endless paths, they heard something.

"What was that?" Nessa asked, tilting her head as she listened.

"I hear... water," Kieran said slowly, "and..."

"The walls are moving," Kael shouted suddenly, realising that the light at the end of the path was fading as the gap ahead rapidly narrowed.

"Run!"

The three of them burst into motion.

As they quickened their pace, the hedgerows seemed to speed up with them. Soon Kael could feel thorny branches brushing against his shoulders on either side. He heard, rather than saw, Kieran driving arrows into the living walls as though hoping they might hold them back, but nothing seemed to slow their advance.

Nessa reached the end of the passage first.

Then she disappeared.

Had she fallen?

The answer became apparent seconds later as Kael ducked beneath the final outstretched vine and felt the ground vanish beneath his feet.

He landed, much to his relief, not in a pit or a bed of thorns, but on a large rock several feet below. More rocks stretched out before him, forming a narrow path across a wide, fast-flowing stream.

Kieran landed beside him with a heavy thump.

As Kael looked back, the opening through which they had fallen sealed itself. The path behind them vanished beneath a wall of thick hedge, as though it had never existed at all.

"I preferred the snareblossoms," Kieran said between heavy breaths.

"They're a bit dodgy," said Nessa, already two stones ahead and cautiously testing the next one with her foot, watching it bob up and down in the water. "You get less room with each step you take. It could be risky."

In the end, they crossed the stream safely but slowly. Rather than attempting to leap quickly between the unstable stones, Kieran tied a rope around one of his arrows and fired it into a sturdy tree on the opposite bank, allowing them to use it as a guide across the water.

There was one brief moment of panic when Nessa slipped on one of the sinking stones, but the rope stopped her from being swept away, and Kael quickly helped her regain her footing.

"I wish I could fire arrows like that," Kael said admiringly as they stepped onto the safety of the opposite bank.

Kieran smiled.

"I've seen you in training. You're good. But if you ever want a lesson, I'd be happy to help."

They briefly encountered Calista and her Luminarian teammates at a crossroads a short distance into the next section of the labyrinth. They exchanged polite nods but said nothing before choosing different routes.

The path they selected was filled with sleep-inducing fungal spores that turned the air hazy and caused Kieran to begin losing focus. Thankfully, Nessa recognised the fungus before they inhaled too much of it. She instructed them to soak strips of cloth in water and cover their mouths, quickly producing the necessary supplies from the satchel at her hip.

With Nessa's remedy in place, they crawled beneath the densest clouds, keeping close to the ground where the air was cleaner. She continued to guide them, identifying which patches of fungus were mature enough to release more spores if disturbed and leading them along the safest possible route.

"That's more than once your knowledge has saved us," Kael said gratefully as they finally emerged beyond the last of the spores.

"I wouldn't mind if it was the last," she grinned. "We must be almost there."

She pointed towards a golden light that grew stronger with every step.

"That looks like the most direct route," Kieran said, indicating a passage that curved invitingly away from their own. "But I think we'll have company."

Kael followed Kieran's gaze and immediately saw what he meant. The path dipped sharply before climbing again on the far side of a large thicket, one from which an unmistakable growling echoed.

"Thornfiends," Nessa whispered grimly.

"It's the quickest way," Kieran said. "But we can always go back if you don't fancy it."

Kael and Nessa exchanged a glance before both nodding.

"We can make it," Kael said.

Thornfiends were near-blind predators that dwelled within dense undergrowth, their bodies formed of knotted bark-like skin and root-shaped limbs. They sensed the world through vibrations in the soil, detecting approaching footsteps before striking from hiding places beneath leaves and moss.

The three of them approached cautiously, hoping to lure the creature towards them before slipping past unnoticed. Instead, it sensed them first.

Forced into a fight, they dispatched it efficiently enough, although their inexperience showed. Kieran expended more arrows than he would have liked, Nessa hesitated, unsure whether the creature had truly been incapacitated, whilst Kael's instructions lacked the confidence and authority they had shown elsewhere.

Once they had pulled themselves free, they advanced with growing excitement, certain they would find the centre of the labyrinth around the next corner. All the signs appeared correct. The path widened, the air grew warmer, and the golden light ahead became brighter with every step.

They followed it into a large circular grove.

Kael looked around, searching for the beacon the trial letter had promised, only for his eyes to settle instead on clusters of golden flowers reflecting the sunlight through the canopy.

"This isn't it," Nessa cried in disappointment.

As she spoke, the path behind them closed, sealing the route they had followed.

Kieran muttered a curse beneath his breath, searching desperately for another exit, but there was none.

"We're trapped," he said, sounding equal parts annoyed and bemused.

They searched the grove in confusion for several minutes before Nessa suddenly let out an excited squeal.

"Look," she said. "All the flowers are facing the same direction."

"So?" Kieran asked, bemused.

"So if we follow the angle of the petals instead of the false glow, we should find..."

She hurried across to a hedgerow on the opposite side of the flowerbeds. Crouching low, she reached carefully beneath the branches and, much to Kael's surprise, lifted part of the hedge aside to reveal a narrow opening, barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through.

"...a hidden passage," Kael finished, grinning. "Well done, Nessa."

As they rejoined the main route, Kael caught a glimpse of Cassian and his teammates on a neighbouring path, only a short distance ahead. The urge to quicken his pace flickered through his mind, but he resisted it, reminding himself of the plan they had agreed before entering the labyrinth. Stay calm. Don't panic.

They rounded another corner and, once again, a golden light appeared ahead of them.

"Do you think that's the real one?" Nessa asked.

"I think so," Kael replied. "Soon we can start..."

He had been about to say running, but Kieran interrupted him.

"We need to be extra careful here. I think there are lure pits built into the floor, designed to catch people just before the end. If we take it slowly, we can avoid them."

So they continued cautiously, checking every footstep before committing their weight and keeping close together to minimise the risk of triggering one of the hidden traps.

"Watch for movement in the ground," Kieran called from the back of the group. "If you look closely, you'll spot them."

They negotiated the path successfully, Kael's confidence growing with every lure pit they left behind. Then, just as the end came into sight, a wall of interlocking vines burst up across the path.

Kieran reacted instantly.

His arrows found the thick knots holding the barrier together, and with a series of sharp cracks the woven vines collapsed harmlessly to the ground.

"Look, the beacon!" Nessa shouted, giving Kael a gentle push forwards.

He stumbled into it with a relieved laugh.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the vines beyond the beacon slowly parted, revealing the exit.

Only one other champion stood waiting for them.

Cassian.

Kael let out the faintest sigh of disappointment. He had truly hoped to win the opening trial. It had been set in Verdantia, after all, and seemed perfectly suited to his team's strengths.

Even so, he couldn't stop himself smiling as Kieran and Nessa clapped him enthusiastically on the back, while all around the Arena of Trials the crowd rose to applaud their achievement.

Second place. Not victory, but a result any region would gladly have accepted.

Kael found his eyes drifting towards the stands.

He spotted the rest of his team – Liora, Bennet, Sylvie and Tarin – all cheering and whooping enthusiastically. Further along sat Rowan amongst the Verdantian officials, smiling politely, though somehow distantly, as though his thoughts were elsewhere.

Finally, Kael looked to the very top of the arena.

Sylvanis was watching him.

Kael squinted, trying to read the god's expression.

Pleased? Disappointed?

He couldn't tell.

His relief began to give way to apprehension.

The feeling only deepened when, before his eyes, Rowan rose from his seat and slowly made his way down through the stands towards him.

Kael glanced at Nessa and Kieran. They were still smiling, waving happily to the crowd, completely unaware of his growing unease.

He drew a slow breath.

Sylvanis had treated him well so far. He hoped the god wouldn't be disappointed. He had done everything he could.

But there was only one way to find out.

As Rowan reached the bottom of the steps and quietly approached him, Kael had the uneasy feeling he was about to learn the truth.

When Kael entered the room Rowan had led him to, he found Sylvanis already seated behind a large wooden desk, an empty chair waiting opposite.

The room itself was almost completely bare. Aside from the desk and two chairs, there was little to suggest it had any purpose at all. It looked less like a chamber prepared for a god than an unused storeroom that had simply been borrowed for a private conversation.

Sylvanis looked as he always did, as though he had been carved from one of Verdantia's oldest trees. His skin resembled aged bark, a faint green light glowing beneath its surface. Moss and ivy draped from his shoulders, whilst leafy tendrils and flowering vines crowned his head. His robes appeared to have been woven from layers of leaves, bark and blossoms that shifted gently with even the slightest movement.

"Thank you for coming," Sylvanis said calmly. "I'm sorry to pull you away from your teammates, but I knew we would not have long before the High Emissary begins the proceedings in the Hall of Gathering. This is important."

Rowan had already provided Kael with a fresh set of clothes and insisted he wash the dirt from his face and hands, an unexpected kindness that had left him feeling oddly unsettled. At least he no longer looked as though he had just emerged from the labyrinth.

"Of course," Kael replied with a respectful nod. "How may I help?"

"I will get straight to the point," said Sylvanis, his voice carrying a weariness Kael had never heard before.

Had he really done that badly?

"The balance of Divinia is, once again, under threat."

Kael looked up in surprise.

He had expected to be chastised for failing to win the first trial.

This was something else entirely.

"Thirty years ago," Sylvanis continued, seemingly unaware of Kael's confusion, "the Celestial Trials were suspended during a series of conflicts now known as the Border Wars. They were born from decades of rivalry between the regions. One too many times, victory was viewed not as an opportunity to unite Divinia, but to expand borders, settle old grievances and gain advantages over one’s neighbours.

"The conflict was driven primarily by Ferroxia and Tempestus. After so many years without victory, Ferroxia became increasingly determined to reshape the balance in its favour. Tempestus, meanwhile, embraced that confrontational spirit more readily than any other region. Their actions ultimately tipped Divinia into war."

Kael nodded slowly. He recognised the broad outline from the lessons he had received in Feybrook, but never had he heard about them in such detail.

Even so, he still could not understand what any of it had to do with him.

"Last year, I felt those same conflicts beginning to surface once more," he continued. "So I acted. By ensuring Darius’ victory, I was able to preserve the balance for another year."

Kael bit down on his lip, careful not to betray his reaction.

Was Sylvanis really suggesting he had influenced the outcome?

Divine intervention during the trials was forbidden.

"But I cannot take that risk again," Sylvanis murmured, almost to himself. "Eventually the Elders will begin asking why repeated victories have brought them so little. They'll question why Verdantia's influence has not grown. They'll expect more."

He fell silent for a moment, his eyes fixed not on Kael but on some distant point beyond him.

"No..." he said quietly. "No, this time we lean into it. Ferroxia and Tempestus must both succeed. Not one or the other – both. Let them compete through the trials instead of across Divinia. Let Thoros and Zephyros satisfy their rivalry here, where the damage can be contained.

"Luminara and Solaris should struggle. They must. Their victories only breed unrest within their own borders. Limited prosperity shared amongst many is better than great prosperity hoarded by a few."

His thoughts continued to gather pace.

"Nivalis and Elysium..." he muttered. "They are stable. Let them remain in the middle. Verdantia belongs there too. Steady. Reliable. Predictable."

Only then did he seem to remember Kael was sitting opposite him.

He blinked.

"Forgive me," he said, his expression softening. "I fear I began to ramble. Did any of that make sense?"

"Erm..." Kael managed, completely at a loss. "Not really."

Sylvanis sighed.

"Your role is actually very simple," he said. "Cassian requires no assistance. He is already a capable champion. The best thing you can do is stay out of his way and avoid presenting yourself as a rival worth worrying about. A poor result in the second trial should reinforce that."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"As for Talon... he is different. Unusual. I believe you should win him over. Earn his trust, so that when the time comes, you may help him. He does not belong amongst the other champions. He will need an ally he can depend on."

"You want me to... to... help the others win?" Kael asked, feeling as though he were drifting through a dream.

"Why, of course," Sylvanis replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "What did you think Rowan and I were preparing you for? All the information we gave you about the other champions. Every conversation we encouraged you to have. Every piece of additional knowledge we asked you to gather. Even the careful way we presented you, ensuring the other champions – and the other gods – saw exactly what we wanted them to see."

He spoke with complete conviction.

"It was all to place you in the best possible position to help engineer the outcome Divinia needed."

"But..." Kael's voice faltered. "What about me?"

Sylvanis raised a single ancient eyebrow.

"If victory had been my objective, Kael, I would not have chosen any of you."

The words hung in the air between them.

"Your role is to serve the greater good. The pursuit of balance. The preservation of peace throughout Divinia."

He paused.

"I trust you are still willing to fulfil that role?"

He thought of his team. Of Nessa and Kieran, fresh from their second-place finish in the Evergreen Labyrinth. Of Liora, Bennet, Sylvie and Tarin waiting outside, no doubt eager to celebrate together.

Then his thoughts drifted home.

Feybrook.

His parents. His brothers and sisters. The forests he had spent his life protecting.

They had all been so proud when he was chosen.

But this...

This was bigger than him.

"I am," Kael said quietly. "I am ready."

---

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