Chapter 56: The Art of Enlightenment

When Joann mentioned Leiden Academy, Conti suddenly remembered something important. She pulled him over to her mother and, with a mysterious air, asked, “Mom, how much money did you bring with you this time?”

Martoka guardedly covered the purse at her waist and shot back, “You little rascal, are you planning to waste money again?”

“No, it’s not that!” Conti protested, feeling wronged. “This time what I want to buy is absolutely worth the price!”

“That’s exactly what you said last time when you spent fifty gold coins on a pile of colored glass beads,” Martoka teased her daughter with a smile.

Conti’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment and irritation as she pleaded, “Mom! I was young and foolish then, I won’t make the same mistake again!”

“Oh, indeed, Lady Conti at thirteen is more than qualified to criticize her twelve-year-old self for being young and naive. My, my, how quickly my daughter has matured.”

“Mom, you’re being so mean! If you keep this up, I won’t come home anymore!” Conti pouted, tears welling in her eyes, ready to unleash her most effective tactic.

Seeing her daughter was about to burst into tears in public, Martoka quickly restrained her teasing, hugged her darling girl, and gently comforted her, though with a touch of resignation, asking what she really wanted.

“There’s a black oak tree in Joann’s family orchard, and it has a symbiotic sapling spirit named Mira, who’s my good friend. I want to bring both the tree and Mira home.” Conti sniffled, gazing at her mother with pleading eyes. “Of course, we can’t just take their tree for nothing. That black oak is very valuable—at least two thousand gold ducats! If we don’t buy it, the two brothers from the Tyndall family will cut it down and haul it to the sawmill. Not only will the great tree be cut to pieces, but poor Mira will lose her symbiotic plant, and before long, she’ll also die.”

As Conti spoke, she couldn’t help but sob.

Martoka gently stroked her daughter’s braid, soothing her softly, telling her not to be sad.

“To pay two thousand gold ducats for a black oak and get a sapling spirit thrown in for free… Well, Conti, you’ve actually struck quite a good bargain this time.”

“Really?” Conti’s tears turned to a bright smile. “Mom, you’re willing to spend two thousand gold ducats to buy the black oak?”

Martoka nodded with a smile, taking her daughter’s hand. “But before that, you’ll have to take me to inspect the goods. And bring your father along—if he’s not willing to get involved, even if we buy the tree, you’ll have no way to move it home.”

Conti immediately turned and pounced on her father. For her, persuading Mr. Garinin, who doted on her unconditionally, was far easier than convincing her shrewd and sharp-tongued mother; a little bit of wheedling and her father agreed at once.

Without further delay, Conti insisted they visit the wooded hillside to inspect the goods right away. Old Tyrell had already considered selling the black oak to help his grandson with tuition, and since Conti’s family was offering double the Tyndalls’ price, he naturally wouldn’t refuse such a good deal and gladly led the way.

Joann accompanied Conti’s family into the woods, inwardly worried that his grandfather and Conti’s parents might discover Gray, who was hiding nearby in the cabin. Fortunately, everyone’s attention was focused on the black oak, and no one suggested stopping by the cabin.

Conti was the first to run to the tree and called to the sapling spirit Mira in the “woodland tongue.” At first, the little spirit shrank back into the tree at the sight of so many unfamiliar faces, but soon sensed the aura of natural magic from Conti’s parents. Her fear lessened, and she shyly peered out from behind the tree, observing the scene with cautious curiosity.

Conti circled behind the great tree, took the sapling spirit’s hand, and whispered her intentions. She explained everything honestly to Mira. When Mira learned that Conti’s parents intended to buy the black oak where she lived and take her along to the distant, deep forest village of Powhatan, her expression grew conflicted. On one hand, she was happy to go with Conti; on the other, she was reluctant to leave her home and the kind people who cared for her—Joann, Tyrell, Jamie, and Gray. Only after much gentle persuasion did Mira finally agree to move.

Conti relayed Mira’s decision to her father. Victor Garinin smiled and nodded, pacing around the black oak to carefully examine the towering tree. The trunk was even thicker than a grown man’s waist, and the distance from roots to crown was about twenty feet. Digging up such a giant tree intact would be challenging enough; transporting it all the way to Powhatan village, more than two hundred miles from Derlin Town, would be an even more daunting task. The road was rough and winding, crossing dense forests and raging streams. In Joann’s eyes, it seemed an impossible feat.

“Mr. Garinin, how do you plan to transport this tree?” Joann couldn’t help but ask, curiosity getting the better of him.

“There’s no need for laborious transport. I’ll cast a spell to awaken the tree and let it walk to Powhatan village on its own,” Garinin replied with a smile.

Joann was bewildered. After all, a tree didn’t have legs—how could it walk on its own?

As Joann watched in confusion, Garinin reached into his pouch, producing a scroll and a piece of orange agate. He sat cross-legged at the base of the tree, unrolled the scroll with his left hand, and softly intoned praises to the primal source of life. With his right hand, he pressed the agate against the trunk. As the ritual continued, golden magical light shimmered from the scroll, channeling through Garinin’s body and into the agate at his fingertips. The agate radiated a golden brilliance, illuminating the entire tree. Bathed in this light, which contained the ultimate mysteries of life and wisdom, the black oak’s branches quivered as if truly about to awaken.

“My father is casting the ‘Enlightenment Spell,’” Conti explained softly, seeing the confusion in Joann’s eyes. “It’s a fifth-tier spell of natural magic, which, when cast on an ordinary animal or plant, permanently grants intelligence equal to a human. For example, after the black oak is enlightened, it will become an animate plant, able to speak and communicate, its branches and roots turning into fully functional limbs, so it can uproot itself and walk just like a person.”

Joann was stunned by this revelation, and his understanding of magic’s breadth and profundity was forever changed.

“The ‘Enlightenment Spell’ takes a long time to cast—usually eight hours without interruption. My father is using a scroll to save time, but it will still take at least an hour to fully animate the black oak. Rather than wait here in boredom, why don’t we take the opportunity to pack our things?” Conti suggested.

Joann agreed at once. They left the woods and returned home, each preparing their luggage for the journey that lay ahead.