Sabrina didn't sleep well that night, waking every hour or so and straining to hear if the castle was being attacked by the Waldkonig.

While she was genuinely worried he might demand she be handed over for punishment, that worry was nothing compared to the sheer terror that shot through her every time she imagined what her mother would say about her actions and how she'd endangered the coven, the one thing a leader should never do.

Thankfully, she never heard anything beyond the usual sounds of the castle at night, and since her bedroom window didn't face the Schwarzwald, there was nothing she could do except fall back into a restless sleep that left her tired and cranky the following morning.

As the day progressed, she eventually became less concerned about a reprisal from the Waldkonig—given what she'd witnessed at the Zurasammen coven, it seemed he acted swiftly when it came to protecting his land, and while retribution for her actions was certainly still possible, it seemed increasingly less likely with each passing hour.

As her worry ebbed away, it was quickly replaced by questions, each one related to the Waldkonig's powers.

Sabrina knew from experience the best place to find answers to her questions was in the library, so after a quick dinner where she allowed Maedra and Gerta to do most of the talking, she made her way to the cavernous underground hall and walked directly up to the Leiten Stone.

Placing her hand against the cool black orb and admiring the purple ink-like substance swirling inside, she closed her eyes.

I want to know about the Waldkonig, she thought. Where did he come from? How long has he lived? What are his powers?

The sound of a pencil moving across parchment made Sabrina smile; the sound was so familiar, it immediately set her at ease, promising answers and assuring her there was no question too odd, obscure, or impossible for the library.

Picking up the piece of the paper detailing book locations, Sabrina followed the combinations of letters and numbers placed at the end of each row of books until she'd located five volumes of varying shapes and size.

This wasn't to say the library only had five books about the Waldkonig...she'd learned a long time ago the Leiten Stone was very particular about where it directed you, always starting with the volumes you needed even if the selections didn't initially make sense.

Once, when she'd been very young, Sabrina had sought the Leiten Stone's recommendations, then felt frustrated because the books it had suggested were so thin. Rather than reading them, she'd put them back on the shelves and returned to the Stone, asking the same question and ready to browse through different, more useful, results.

To her surprise, the Leiten Stone had sent her to the same books, and no matter how many times she requested different volumes, it continued to recommend the same ones. Eventually, she'd given in and read the books, then felt embarrassed to discover she hadn't known as much about what she'd been researching as she'd originally believed.

The next time she'd gone to the Leiten Stone, it had immediately recommended other books, which proved to be exactly what she needed to answer the new questions she'd developed while reading the original volumes.

Ever since then, she always read anything the Leiten Stone recommended, from the front cover to the very last word. Unfortunately, she'd never found an answer to her own question of whether the Stone was enchanted with incredibly complex spells or had some semblance of intelligence. She'd asked Tante Winola about it once, but to her profound disappointed, the librarian had given her a sad smile and said such knowledge was only shared among those with an affinity for working in the library.

Regardless, Sabrina's respect for the Leiten Stone had only grown over the years, and she knew herself to be in good hands as she placed her books on a small table and settled onto the comfortable green velvet cushion of a high-backed chair.

While she occasionally wished she could place her hand on top of a book and instantly absorb all the knowledge contained inside, Sabrina also didn't expect magic to do everything for her. It was enough to know what to read and where to begin...she couldn't expect to enjoy the knowledge without having worked for it.

Considering the books before her, Sabrina decided to start with one bound with a thick wooden cover featuring a tree etched into it. Detailed branches reached upwards and outwards, and she traced a finger along a root that wound down until it disappeared over the edge of the intricate cover. The pages inside were so thin, they were almost transparent and as fragile as the peel of an onion. Great Forests of the World, the title page proudly displayed.

While Sabrina was tempted to skip forward to the first mention of the Schwarzwald, she forced herself to start at the beginning, which ultimately proved far more enlightening than she'd expected.

In the beginning, the Great Forests were little more than seeds buried far beneath the ground, a promise that would one day become a haven. Following the planting of these seeds, it was decided that a forest entity was needed for each of the fledgling woods, a caretaker whose job it would be to guard and protect the plants and animals living within the designated boundaries.

This task was not appointed lightly, and each magical being who sought the position underwent rigorous testing to ensure they were the right guardian for that particular forest.

Some forests required tenderness and patience, coaxing anxious flowers and plants into bloom. Other forests required a strong hand to curb voracious growth, pruning and cutting back, enforcing boundaries. Certain forests were intended to be a home only to particular plants and animals, while others were designed to be shared with both magical and non-magical beings.

Countless ancient and powerful entities amassed for the opportunity to be bonded with a particular forest and, after the completion of die Prüfung, or the Trials, a suitable caretaker was determined for each of the Great Forests.

The words raised questions Sabrina had never even considered, or known to consider: Who were these ancient magical beings putting themselves forward to be forest guardians? Where had they come from? Had they always existed? Would they always exist, impervious to age, injury, or disease? She didn't know, and so she kept reading.

At the conclusion of the Trials, the Seeders offered their blessing to each of the Great Forests and named the one who would be in charge of them:

the Białowieża would be overseen by the Krolowa Lasu or Forest Queen;

the Hallerbos would be cared for by the Box Heerser, or Forest Ruler;

the Plitvicka Jezera would be guarded by the Sumski Cuvar, or Forest Guardian;

the Triglav would be governed by the Gozdni Cesar, or Forest Emperor;

the Cansiglio would be tended by the Pastorella della Foresta, or Forest Shepherdess;

the Forest of Orleans would be cared for by the Protecteur de la Foret, or Forest Protector;

and the Schwarzwald would be ruled by the Waldkonig, or Forest King.

Sabrina quickly sifted through her school geography lessons, trying to place each forest's location with respect to the Hexen castle. It felt like a small explosion had gone off inside her head, learning that other forests on the continent had magical overseers...would it be possible to visit them and speak with their ruler or guardian?   

She'd never heard of other forests being forbidden to witches, but then again, her knowledge of the outside world was limited, as evidenced by how little she knew of the other covens no more than a day's ride from her home. Perhaps the other forests mentioned in the book had their own rules regarding witches...or perhaps the one outside her window was the only one to outlaw them.

She read on.

While certainly prestigious, accepting the position of guardian or caretaker was not without sacrifice...each and every magical being left behind all they had previously known, some moving across enormous distances to take on the duties of their new position.

Each guardian arrived at their post with their own magic intact; in addition to this, they were gifted additional abilities that would help them connect with the flora and fauna in their care. They would be able to heal disease, ensure plentiful nutrients and fresh water, influence the weather to ensure the best climate for their particular charges, as well as communicate with the plants, animals, trees, rocks, metals, soil, and any other objects, creatures, or ephemera in their domain.

Sabrina hungrily read the words again, letting them burrow deep into her brain. It sounded as if each Forest Guardian was given abilities, like affinities, to help them connect with the things in their care.

She did a quick tally—healing disease, ensuring an abundance of food and water, controlling the elements of water and air associated with the weather, as well as the element of fire she'd witnessed the Waldkonig use, plus communicating with every single living creature or inanimate object in the woods—that made for a minimum of seven or eight affinities.

And most likely the forest overseers possessed even more abilities than those that had managed to remain recorded for over two hundred years, given when the book had been written.

Sabrina gazed enviously at the black-inked text...she would have given quite a lot to have two affinities, much less multiples of that. Why were witches only allowed to have one gift? It wasn't fair!

While she regularly wished she'd been born into a different family and lived in different circumstances, for the first time in her life, Sabrina wished she'd been an ancient entity chosen to care for a forest, as there was no telling what she could accomplish with so many abilities.

Setting down the book, she allowed herself the rare indulgence of daydreaming, imagining the things she could create with truly limitless power.

Picture by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels