Following her instincts, Marie took a step back. However, her curiosity quickly overcame her fear as she carefully observed him.

The skin of his hands was of a dark-brown colour that reminded her of a tree's bark. However, the rest of his complexion was pale, making him look like he was carved out of ivory. His handsome face was framed by brown hair that fell down his shoulder in a long braid, making his striking green eyes stand out even more. He was dressed in a dark brown tunic similar to the colour of his hands. It was embroidered with elaborate green designs and left open, leaving his torso bare. In his left hand he held a primitive looking spear, and on his left arm a dark snake was coiled. From his head, a pair of gigantic antlers were sprouting.

His hoarse voice seemed as though it hadn't used for a very long time.

"Greetings, Child."

"Greetings, Elder." Marie answered, smiling cheekily, knowing that she was perfectly safe as the Yn Sleih Veggey weren't authorized to walk through running water. The Elder rose from his resting place, unraveling his tall, thin frame and peering down at Marie with an amused smile adorning his lips.

"What is your name, Child?"

The absurdity of the question made Marie ponder on it, her eyes blinking owlishly as they bore into his.

"Do you really think that I would fall for such an obvious trick? Giving you my name? Why don't you give me yours, Elder?"

His eyes widened in surprise, before a small laugh escaped his mouth, his mirth apparent.

"I had assumed that traditions had been forgotten. Please, do forgive me, Child. False names will suffice then. You can call me Cairn, Child. What shall I call you?

-Marie. Marie will do. Nice to meet you, Cairn.

-Nice to meet you as well, Marie. Tell me, how old are you?"

She barked a laugh, and said: "As old as my tongue, and older than my teeth." Their banter continued for a few minutes, neither of them falling for any of the traps the other laid.

"Why don't you join my side, Marie? The water must feel awfully cold.

-I don't think so, Cairn. I can recognize a cage when I see one, and I'm not foolish enough to enter yours without protection."

Cairn's laugh echoed under the canopy for a long time as Marie made her way back home, her stone held tightly against her heart.

She often came back to him, trading tales, until one autumn day when a slip-up on her part led surprisingly, not to disaster, but to an incredible chance.

"...And as they spoke the word that never should have been said, the flying castle came tumbling down, burying the selfish prince with the castle's secrets he so desired. After bidding farewell to the pirates, the princess and her brave companion left never to come back aboard their flying ship." Marie ended her story, bowing down with a flourish. Cairn answered it by nodding his head slowly.

"Congratulations, Marie. This story is without a doubt, the best you have ever shared with me."

He paused, and after a few seconds, his content expression changed to one of disgust.

"However, their magic has left a sour taste in my mouth. Using words...I always favored druids and shamans, among all the magic-users. They never needed any words to call upon Magic."

The flow of the conversation made Marie forget her caution for a second, and she voiced her thoughts out loud.

"I wonder if the magic I will learn will use words...Learning Celtic magic sure would be nice…"

When she lifted her head, Cairn's large smile sent a shiver down her spine as she realised her carelessness, but before she could flee…

"Would you allow me to teach it to you?" Cairn said, as Marie looked at him fearfully.

"In exchange for what?" Marie answered, as she knew that a member of the Little People would never help a human being out of generosity.

"I would very much like to own a lock of your hair." Marie didn't take much time in making her decision, as her thirst for knowledge won in a heartbeat.

"In exchange for a lock of my hair, you will teach me how to talk to Magic without words."

"Yes."

"We have a deal then. I will bring it to you soon." She said, before going back home. She came back to him on the morrow, and as soon as she had given him her hair, he began teaching her.

"First, you need to call upon the attention of one of the Domains. To be a druid means to have the favour of Nature's Domain. There are others, but they are not to be trusted. To call Nature, you first need to listen, to feel with all your senses. Feel the earth under your feet, hear the rustling of the leaves in your ears, smell the rich aroma of the forest. Imbue your mind with all of them, and call for its attention."

Marie eagerly followed Cairn's instructions, and relished in the feeling of the forest around her, a sensation she was accustomed to since she had often sought peace in Brocéliande. Despite her excitement at practicing magic for the first time, a peaceful feeling overcame her and her mind cleared from thoughts. She stayed in this state for a great length of time, waiting for the sign that she had gained the attention of Nature. Eventually, a subtle change passed through the forest, leaving peculiarities in its wake. A bird chirping in a different tone, a fox daring to approach Marie despite its usual carefulness towards humans, water droplets falling despite the lack of rain for the past days. Despite the subtlety of these signs, Marie managed to pick up on them thanks to her knowledge of this forest that she considered a second home of sorts. The instant she focused on these changes, a great calm came down on the forest. All at once the wind died down, the fox returned to its burrow, the birds flew to their nests as quietly as they could. The silence hung in the air until Cairn's voice broke it.

"Well done. Well done indeed, Marie. You have already exceeded my expectations. Few manage to get to this point as swiftly as you. Now, did you bring the needle as I asked you to?

Rather than answering, she nodded and got it out of her bag, holding it carefully.

"Perfect. Now...Choose one of the oak saplings around you and kneel in front of it carefully."

Marie complied, and kneeled in the dirt with a knot in her throat because despite her excitement, she couldn't help but fear that this was a trick of Cairn's. She knew that the word of a member of the Yn Sleih Veggey was unbreakable lest they wish to call upon themselves great harm, but they were also known for their trickery. However, the opportunity of finally learning to master her gift was too great to pass up, so she gritted her teeth and tried to forget about all the terrifying fates that had befallen those that were tricked by the most powerful of the Little People. Cairn certainly was very powerful since he had been trapped in such a failproof cage.

"You are almost finished, Marie. You need but prick your finger with your needle, and let the blood flow on the young tree. However, you cannot close the wound immediately. You need to let it flow for Nature to acknowledge you."

Without looking at him, she followed his instructions and blood slowly began oozing from her wound. It was not fast enough nor in enough quantity for it to form a drop, leading to her needing to push the blood to the tip of her finger, finally forming a droplet that fell onto the sapling that she had chosen. At once, the sound came back to the forest, as if a switch had been flipped. However, Marie was too fascinated by what was happening to the sapling to notice. The very instant her blood came in contact with the small leaves, a swirl of red, blue and golden lights began to swirl around the oak, stretching upwards. It was soon followed by the tree itself that suddenly grew to tower over her, reaching a height of 4 meters and sprouting a foliage of a vibrant green that lost its colour and fell as quickly as it had appeared.

Marie stayed still in surprise for a time, but finally managed to gather enough courage to touch what she felt was her tree. She felt no warmth from its touch, but a certain...Kinship. An absolute certainty that loneliness was but an illusion, a shadow that darkened perceptions. Reassured, she sat down between two of its roots, as if in a pair of protective arms. The feeling of safety she received from it was the same as when her mother held her. She lost track of time, enjoying her link to what she now thought of as a long lost brother, until a (son sec) resounded. She turned towards the island from where the sound came, and had trouble believing what she was seeing. Cairn had embedded the tip of his spear in the earth, and was clutching at it, fury shining in his eyes. Marie had trouble believing what she saw to be the truth because for as long as she had known Cairn, not once had he seemed to feel anything but amusement or a light anger, barely more than annoyance. She devised that he would prefer that she wouldn't see him in this state, thus she decided to wrap up and head home rather than risk his ire.

That night, strange pained howlings could be heard coming from the heart of Brocéliande. Marie couldn't help but be worried about Cairn, who despite belonging to the Yn Sleih Veggey, she saw as a friend of sorts. Or at least, someone whom she would rather know wasn't in such a pain as he seemed to be suffering.

It had been a very long time since he had felt this angry. In fact, he couldn't remember feeling this bad since the first decade after his imprisonment on this island. For the first time in centuries, he howled, raved and growled like a caged beast, even trying twice to cross the river, achieving nothing but getting burned by the running water. His wrath receded as the night continued. However, what reassured him the most was the certainty that nothing was yet lost. He had time, and he prided himself in having quite the silver-tongue. He was certain that he would be able to convince her to join the Island. However, the realisation that Marie might never come back to him because of his outburst quickly crushed the faint hope he had managed to find in himself. His fear of never seeing the young girl was baseless however, as she came back to him the very next day, looking sheepish nonetheless. She sat down on the bank of the river, nervously shuffling her satchel, took a deep breath to gather her confidence, and spoke.

"So...What's my next lesson?"

She wasn't sure what his usual reaction would have been, but she was certain that it would have his usual exuberance. A full blown laugh, a terrifying rant or a mighty roar. However, her expectations were thwarted when all that changed was a small smile that adorned his lips, and a relaxation of his features. When he spoke, his voice was soft, almost tender, and it scared her how much this didn't sound like him. She listened nonetheless.

"Now that you have presented yourself to Nature, making Pacts with it will be significantly easier. Nature recognizes you as one of its own, and will always listen to what you have to say. In your hour of need, you need but promise to help Nature for it to help you in return.

"But...How can I help it? I mean, it's not like watering a plant will really help it that much, will it?"

This time, Cairn did laugh, but it wasn't his usual one. Where he used to laugh uproariously, he now laughed softly, more for himself than for others.

"Do not forget your Gift, Marie. I assure you that your power can be of great help to Nature. With it you will be able to protect and nourish all of its children in its name."

For the rest of Autumn and the first month of winter, Marie learned under Cairn's tutelage how to help Nature's children to grow firm and strong. With time, her teacher reverted to his usual behavior, trying his usual tricks, and asking her again and again to join the Island. She settled into this routine, until with February, came a letter. A letter brought by a teacher.