While events in Lothian City continued to spiral out of control, a very different series of events was unfolding outside of the ancient fortress in the area that had recently been devastated by Ashlynn's training.
In a way, the ritual that would transform her from an ordinary person into the next Hemlock Witch was Isabell's first real encounter with witchcraft. Certainly, she'd experienced Ashlynn's power firsthand, and she'd seen other minor demonstrations of power since her arrival in the Vale of Mists, including Heila's healing salve, though Isabell had been too injured at the time to observe closely.
But this time, things felt very different. When she watched Ashlynn use her power to create a flat and level piece of ground amidst the churned earth, Isabell had only thought that it must be useful to be able to manipulate the earth so easily instead of needing a team of men with tools to spend a whole day leveling and smoothing the earth.
