(From Chief Woer's Perspective)
I've never seen such large ears of wheat in my life. If we were to be rationed, this wheat would be enough to feed us for a year, and then Lord Stark would be able to send us aid.
"Thank you, Lord Emre. Thanks to you, my people will not starve this year."
"You're welcome. It's all the will of the Old Gods. Don't call me 'sir.' You can call me Emre the Druid, or just Emre."
"Now that everything is done, it's time to say goodbye to the House Wull."
" Emre the Druid, please don't leave so soon, let us thank you properly."
"If you fulfill my requirements, you will be the ones who thank me the most."
We began to slowly leave the settlement.
"Emre the Druid, if I may not offend you, may I ask you a question?"
"You can ask, I won't be easily offended."
"In the stories we've heard since childhood, human sacrifice has always been seen as Blood Magic; we've been taught it's a bad kind of magic. To ensure the survival of my people, I've had to make a difficult decision, and if possible, I would make the same decision again, but I wonder... what did we do?"
He sat on a bench by the roadside and gestured for me to sit down.
"We can divide magic into two main categories: Order Magic and Dark Magic. Yes, Blood Magic is usually Dark Magic, but it can also be Order Magic; however, it's not suitable for Order Magic. For example, summoning Leviathan can kill ten people, but it can't even heal a single fatal wound—this is why it's not suitable for Order Magic."
Blood Magic can Sacrifice either a life Sacrifice a soul, but the difference in power is vast. Darkness Magic only works on the soul. Blood Magic can even Sacrifice an infant, but for Druid Magic, attempting such a thing would at best result in death from the backlash, and at worst, permanent disability from the neck down.
Hearing this, my eyes widened even more.
"Knowingly murdering innocent people is an unforgivable crime. In nature's view, when someone does this, that person has already given up their right to live, so we reclaim that life energy for spells, as I explained to you before. Now it depends on whether you believe me or not; otherwise, you can claim I am an evil sorcerer."
(Male protagonist's perspective)
After leaving the Woer Tribe, I also visited five other mountain tribes. Like here, each tribe was struggling with the flu, and I helped them. However, there was one tribe where the summer weather was harsh and food was scarce, so I had to hold a growth ceremony there as well. This journey lasted about four months, and then we entered the new year. I was 11 years old that year, the 285th year of Aegon's Conquest.
After visiting the Mountain Clans, I decided to head east to Last Hearth rather than south to Deepwood Motte. With the winter wind blowing, I decided to spend the night in a small town near Last Hearth. My backside hadn't seen a bed in a month, and after arranging accommodations for my familiars, I returned to the town.
I've also become bound to Lika. Lika bond granted me an exceptional sense of smell, 1 point of speed, and 15 points of magic. I now have 6 points of speed. The bond with Berus gave me an even better sense of smell, but not like it is now. If before I could only smell things within a few dozen meters, now I can smell things hundreds of meters away. Lika and Sith have grown into young beasts and have started to speak, though their speech is still fragmented.
When I entered the inn in the small town, there were about 20 people inside. It was almost full. I approached the innkeeper and said.
"Everything seems to be going well."
He wiped the cup while glancing at me out of the corner of his eye and said this.
"I have nothing to complain about, but son, I've never seen you in this town before. How come you're all alone?"
I tossed a few coins onto the bar and said.
"What, are you the mayor? This is none of your business. Do you even have a room?"
"Give me ten more coins, because you're a little rascal."
"This is robbery."
"Then go sleep in the stable."
I tossed in ten more copper coins and said.
"Then you have to give me food too."
A few minutes later, he returned to the kitchen with a bowl of stew and half a loaf of bread. As he ate his meal, a bard on stage was singing a story of a Druid who sacrificed a villain, bringing a bountiful harvest and eradicating disease.
The people around me were talking about this Druid, or what they called Emre the Druid. Some believed it, some didn't. Just then, a man rushed into the room excitedly and started shouting.
" Emre the Druid is here!"
I spat out the water I was drinking. How did he know?!
"He was in the town square outside."
I knew this would happen; we humans are always opportunistic dogs. I knew some clown would impersonate me. But this is a perfect opportunity to see if my warnings in every place I've helped will be effective.
When I left the inn and came to the town square, I saw a man whose robe was covered with bushes and moss, and who wore a deer skull on his head. He wore a poorly carved old man's mask on his face.
"A salute to all the townspeople. I, Emre the Druid, have come to your side in your time of need to help you escape the clutches of this wicked disease."
Like other con artists, he used riddles and circles to confuse them, and people in the town square volunteered to participate in the healing ritual. After some incoherent rambling and throwing things into the fire, he began, astonishing everyone. The volunteers miraculously recovered, but this was not the end, but the real beginning, the volunteers said.
"Great Druid, whatever I have done for you is not enough to repay your help. But please accept this small reward."
At first, he pushed the money away several times, seemingly refusing to accept it, but finally took it. I waited a while, waiting for someone in the crowd to say that he had accepted the money; he couldn't possibly be true. I couldn't stand it any longer and shouted loudly.
"I've heard that Druid never accept rewards, not even a bowl of rice. I've heard that if someone accepts a reward, they're definitely a fake. You're absolutely a fake!"