Primalcraft: Scourge of the Wolf (book 1)

Chapter 11

(I hope you like chapter 11. The Picture above  is how I imagine Elliott Price to look like.)

Blake had crossed Gareg du dam and went along the road to Elan Village but turned to walk to the Elan Valley Visitor Centre. He had decided to walk instead of taking the bus but it had been further away than he first thought. He had never been to the Visitor Centre even though it was a bit of a gathering spot for the students of Elan and Vale academy. It had a café and picnic area which was popular among the students.

He arrived later than he had expected, and Leon was already waiting.

"I'm sorry! I thought that it wouldn't take so long to walk here."

Leon gave him a surprised look when Blake mentioned him walking there.

"You walked? Why didn't you take the bus?"

"It didn't look so far away on the map," Blake said embarrassingly and Leon looked horrified.

"I should have mentioned it. I assumed that you would have already visited the Visitor Centre so it didn't even occur to me that I needed to come with you."

Blake looked around. It was a beautiful place with hills covered in forest and a river flowing along the forest.

"Why are we here, though? I asked you if you could take me to Elan coven's Library."

"We in the coven calls all libraries with arcane knowledge for Atheneum but to answer your question. The coven is located here."

Blake frowned as he looked around a second time.

"In the Visitor Centre?"

"Not quite. Follow me, please!"

They walked over to the Caban Cock dam and went over a narrow bridge. They went down a road away from the dam and into a thick forest. Blake was just about to ask where they are going when Leon stopped in front of an enormous oak. It might just be as big as the World Tree in Vale Academy.

It was very similar to the World Tree but unlike that tree, this one was not dying. Blake could feel magic emanating from this Oak. He went closer and froze as he looked upon a wooded face of an old man with a long beard in the trunk of the Oak. It looked eerie and so lifelike that it cannot be natural.

Leon stepped in front of it and the face opened its eyes, dark and empty,

"Focal faire?" a musky voice came from the head. It was neither male nor female and send shivers through Blake's body.

"Crann Eolais," Leon answered, and the head let out a groan as it transformed into a doorway decorated with carved mistletoes.

Leon opened the door for Blake who entered in a daze. He stared at the interior as he was awed by the sight.

"Bloody hell," he gasped, and Leon laughed at his outburst. "Welcome to Crann Eolais. The tree of knowledge."

"How? Why? What?" Blake was into much of shock to be able to formulate a question. Fortunately, Leon answer anyway.

"We created a haven between the two planes inside the Crann Eolais. We needed to as the human was not sympathetic to our kind. This is the home of the Elan Coven. Our council so to speak."

"I assumed the Elan coven were located in Elan village along with the Graycrests and Elan Academy," Blake admitted as the two started to walk to the gate with the Atheneum sign. Leon had said earlier that it was the coven's word for library.

"The Graycrest created the Elan Academy in order to get a foothold in the human world and not lose our roots. Elan Academy has become the ambassadors for the witches and fae. They teach us about the outside world."