The Cornflower Witch

She talked with that old man on the mountain for a long time. It was nearly dark when Sylutia finally said goodbye and descended the mountain.

Over the following days, she continued visiting the Qiaoya Tribe, questioning people and following the stories passed down by word of mouth, searching for traces of those historical events.

Three days later.

This should be the place Kuranqi led his people through back then. Sylutia slowly descended from the air, then, in a crevice on the cliff, found a small cluster of white fluff flowers.

White fluff flower is a special plant. In normal years it neither blooms nor produces seeds. It only flowers during the Gale Season and the Trade Wind Season, and in those seasons its fine downy petals acquire a faint Vaulted Sky aspect, allowing the flowers and seeds to drift on the wind and spread the seeds elsewhere.

However, this plant has unusual environmental requirements. In damp places it quickly rots and dies, and it can only grow slowly in relatively dry cracks in stone.

With the help of the wind, it can carry seeds very far, but suitable environments for those seeds to germinate are exceptionally rare, so once they leave the Western Mountain Range, it is hard to find them elsewhere.

Mapping out the distribution of white fluff flowers across regions, Sylutia marked red dots on paper. Considering that in the Western Mountain Range the winds during Gale Season and Trade Wind Season mostly blow from east to west, the drifting seeds would also spread westward.

Viewed this way, the red dots on the map clearly formed a faint conical pattern, with the cone’s tip located at a valley on the eastern side of the mountains.

The white fluff flowers on this cliff are on the easternmost side of the range. If the legend is true, then Kuranqi entered the Western Mountain Range through this valley.

Afterward Sylutia visited and investigated many places, gradually determining the origin and development of the story and the sequence in which the various tribes were formed.

Finally, before another summer vacation arrived, she finished writing the book.

Song of the Sun-Fluff Flower ~ Sights of the Western Mountain Range

"The book written by Mage Hedra" documents in detail the origins of the beastman tribes in the Western Mountain Range and the patterns of each tribe’s development and expansion.

Reading this book grants the following Secret History Knowledge:

Attached progression path: A small clue toward the Sixth Tier progression path "Earthshaker", the complete promotion process for Beastkin Warrior and Earthshaker War Beast

Attached abilities: Beaststride, Blood Boil, Fierce Hammer Strike, Earthshattering War Roar, Bird-Summoning Flute Tone

Attached knowledge: Divination Ritual - The Revelation of the White Fluff Flower, Beast-Blood Totem Engraving Techniques, Mountain Tribe Calendars, the slang and rules of the highlands

After finishing the last page, Sylutia organized and bound the contents into a volume, and left a note of thanks at the end of the book.

During her research and compilation, this book received strong support from Mr. Harlson, Grand Guildmaster of the City Alliance, and she also thanked the local residents who narrated histories and legends during her fieldwork; they include the chieftain of the Nine Spear Tribe, Che Lingzege, the shaman Huo Lan of the Bloodflame Tribe, Grandmother A zhelanqi of the Qiaoya Tribe, Mr. Chulis of the Pleasurebird Tribe..."

All of the above provided great help in writing this book. Without them, it would have been difficult for the author to single-handedly compile and summarize. Once again, thanks are recorded in the book."

After handing the prepared first edition to Grand Guildmaster Harlson for review, he expressed much admiration and satisfaction.

"With this, the historical blank of the Western Mountain Range has been filled. If all goes smoothly, Hedra, your book will be included in the Central Library in the future."

"Also, given that this book vividly records the history and origins of the mountain tribes, when the City Alliance spreads education locally, this book will be used as a primary teaching text. Its significance is considerable."

"That..." Sylutia suddenly realized the implications and that the book’s usage might be more extensive than she had imagined.

Originally, she only intended to practice what she had learned in the Secret Word path and to use the process of writing as her Secret Word path demotion ritual to step into the Seventh Tier. She never expected the book to be applied so widely.

Would many people read that kind of history book? She thought that before her demotion, only some history-minded scholars might curiously open it, but judging by Hedra’s meaning, it was extremely likely that the book would be used as a textbook for educating children in the Western region.

"Is it really okay? When you wrote it you never planned for it to be used in such an important place."

After hearing her worries, Hedra laughed heartily, then answered reassuringly.

"I know you might be writing and publishing for the first time, feeling a bit anxious and uncertain, but that's not a problem."

"I've read the book. Compared to other scholars’ stuffy, long-winded and obscure texts, your prose is vivid and detailed. Reading it is like watching a painting slowly unfold. Such content is very suitable for dissemination and perfect for sparking the imaginations and memories of young children. It's excellent popular science material."

"Moreover, in the process of completing this book you interviewed many elders and important figures from local tribes. Having them listed in the acknowledgments will greatly reduce local beastkin resistance and distrust when the book is promoted as a textbook, an advantage old books rarely have."

"By chance, I've been worrying about how to start basic education projects in the cities of the Western Mountain Range, and your book solves an urgent problem. Its importance cannot be overstated."

Since the Mage Alliance was bringing the Western Mountain Range under its governance, education needed to be gradually introduced. Otherwise the region would remain ignorant and wild, unable to integrate into the Alliance.

When the educated generation grew up with correct historical perspectives and an understanding of social rules and laws, adapted to that way of life, the various beastkin tribes would gradually enter the Alliance’s organizational framework under their influence, taking up work, studying, trading, and so on.

If this task failed, the Western Mountain Range would forever be a region requiring heavy military oversight and constant consumption of Alliance resources, which is not what they wanted to see.

After resolving Sylutia’s doubts, Harlson packaged the draft and handed it to staff members to send to the Mage Alliance’s central offices. There the book would pass through several departments for review. Once cleared, it would receive publishing permission and be printed.

Considering that this book was personally supervised and recommended by the Grand Guildmaster of the City Alliance and that the author is a student of Tetis College, it was unlikely to be blocked in review. After all, many senior committee members of the reviewing departments also graduated from Tetis College.

A week later, Sylutia returned to Tetis College. In tense yet expectant waiting, she received official responses from both the Alliance and the college.

"Congratulations, Hedra. Your book Song of the Sun-Fluff Flower ~ Sights of the Western Mountain Range has been granted publishing permission. It has been handed to the City Alliance of the West for printing. The first edition will print ten thousand copies and will be distributed to the major cities of the Western Mountain Range for use as teaching material."

Shortly after receiving this news, Sylutia felt the long-congealed Fourth Tier change begin within her Third Tier Secret Word. The Fate Card that glowed silver-blue began to evolve under invisible forces, and the Fate Plate that originally held only three Ability Card slots gradually cracked open and expanded by one new ability slot.

[The Girl Holding an Astronomical Clock] (Third Tier Secret Word) → [The Scribe Girl Among the Mountains] (Fourth Tier Secret Word)

In the illustration on the Fate Card, the girl who had been holding the astronomical clock transformed into the image of a young scholar in snow-white clerical robes. Her temperament was quiet and refined. Her long black hair fluttered in the wind. In front of her an opened book’s pages turned; the pages bore not only black script but also drawings of mountain herbs and beastman totems. Behind her rose rolling high peaks, and on the cliff tops small white flowers could be seen faintly blooming.

Looking more closely, the astronomical clock she had been holding had shrunk considerably and now hung from the girl's waist, swaying in the wind and reflecting silver light, faintly echoing the tiny starlight at the horizon.

At this moment, she formally advanced from Third Tier into Fourth Tier.