Hex returned swiftly to the farm.
The parents of the girl hurried to take her inside where a Dryad was already waiting. The grandfather hadn’t lost hope and had foreseen the need for a professional healer. Leaving the parents and the siblings inside, he pulled the old man outside.
"Something weird happened when I found her," Hex started without beating around the bush. The old man panicked and wanted to rush back inside the house but Hex stopped him. "I don’t think it will threaten her. It might even be good for her."
Seeing the confused look on the old man’s face, Hex started from the point he had left the farm. He observed the old man’s expression as he spoke. It changed from panic to confusion, before he appeared to be in shock.
"A true bonding of Hearts," he stammered. "A-Are you certain?"
Hex nodded in affirmation.
"The Oldest One’s grace knows no bounds," the old man whispered as a smile blossomed on his wrinkled face. Tears rolled down his cheeks the longer he laughed. Hex didn’t interfere. The joy on the old man’s face was genuine.
"You remember me telling you about the Bond of Hearts, right?" The old man asked, after a while. It had taken him quite a few minutes to regain his bearing.
"It’s not been so long, so yeah, I remember," Hex replied. "It’s a concept based on familiarity between the two creatures bound by a contract, right?"
"Correct, though, I rarely hear a Druid lump humans in with every other being out there. But nothing wrong with it, to be honest," the old man chuckled. He radiated more strength and appeared less burdened by life. Apparently, having a worthy heir – Hex believed Erina could even surpass the old man seeing her feat – put him at ease. "Anyway, most of the time, the bond strengthens over time. The Druid forges the bond after gaining the blessing of the Old One and continues to foster his or her abilities over time."
It did make sense. Even Hex needed to gain the Blessing before unlocking all the abilities of his heart. If he had remained unBlessed, his heart would function slightly better than normal ones, but he wouldn’t be able to do all the things he could do with it currently.
"The bond the Druid has is one out of necessity. The feelings are genuine after some time but some purists believe that it is just a connection born out of need rather than want. Compared to them, many believe that a genuine bond will always triumph after gaining the Blessing. Especially, because the bond born out of want is often initiated by the ’weaker’ party, giving it more meaning. Historically, in the rare instances this happened, the Druids indeed surpassed their peers, giving the purists more cause to believe in their theory."
"This sounds a bit political to me," Hex said, once the old man had finished explaining what he had witnessed. "Am I right to summarize it by saying, she has unlocked her potential now, and will soar higher and higher, surpassing you, and take your family out of the predicament it’s in right now?"
"Basically." The old man nodded after some thought. Hex could see on his face that the old man preferred a more nuanced version but had agreed to keep it simple.
"There is still one thing I don’t understand," Hex said. "Why the wolf? I understand her relationship and the mutually shared feelings between her and Bluey, but why Wolfey?"
"I-I don’t know for certain," the old man said, hesitatingly. "I presume it has to do with the wolf’s age. It has barely reached adulthood. It had yet to live on its own. I think the death of his pack might have scared it and it bonded with the first person he received a safe feeling from. It’s all conjecture right now."
Hex mulled over the words. It made sense. ’I found them close to where I had been. Was this wolf part of the Alpha’s pack that I intercepted?’
It seemed to be the case.
"Mister, there are two people waiting at the gate. They said they are the judges."
Hex was still busy sorting his thoughts and trying to understand all the things he had learned about being a Druid when one of the boys rushed in.
Hearing the judges had arrived, he went to meet them. The old man accompanied him. It was a rare chance for him to meet the people in power inside Wrixia. From what he knew, all the judges were chosen from the groups belonging to the Elders.
Hex recognized one of the judges. The elderly man with a balding head and thin figure was the one who had rewarded him a point for healing Bluey. The other was also thin and old but had a full head of hair.
"Mister Mike, I presume," the bald one greeted. "I hope you still remember me. I sure didn’t forget you. Your performance as Dryad has been exemplary but I was shocked when I learned about your feats as a Druid."
"My feats as a Druid?" Hex feigned ignorance. His sharp senses hadn’t missed the concealed spies around the farm. He had expected them to monitor their behavior during the week. Or how else would they award points?
"Don’t be so modest," the other judge chuckled. "You took out an entire swarm of wolves, captured the perpetrators, and...helped us find a True Druid. I take it that this respectable gentleman has already revealed what it means, right?"
’Fast. Information spreads out rapidly here. And they reacted within a few minutes of learning all these things?’ Hex was genuinely impressed by the way the judges acted. Aside from the fact that they would allow the wolves to destroy the farm if he hadn’t acted, of course.
’They treat them as problems to be dealt with by the people themselves. They only act when it becomes a threat on a larger scale, I believe.’ Such behavior was normal in most places. Even his master, the Baron, didn’t sweep in to solve everything inside Grindeston. ’Perhaps, he should have,’ a small voice in his head whispered. With an inaudible sigh, he suppressed the voice.
"What’s next?" he asked.