With a heavy exhale, Guinevere attempted to reel herself back in. She knew she needed to assert her dominance if she was going to get through to them.
"Listen to me," she started, her voice dripping with malice. "We need to unite if we are going to stand a chance against Redwood. We need the numbers and the manpower that we could only get by working together. Together, we can overthrow their leader and claim the lands for ourselves, after which, you can all carry on with your own agendas." She suggested, and the room is thrown into chaos again.
The rogues grunted in disagreement, their mistrust of each other and of Guinevere evident in their expressions. Guinevere felt her frustration bubbling to the surface. She had been trying to reason with them for far too long, and they were still unwilling to cooperate.
Enough was enough. If they weren't willing to work with her, then they weren't worthy of living at all. With a snap of her fingers, Guinevere unleashed a powerful blast of magic, striking each one of the rogues dead where they sat. Their lifeless bodies slumped against their chairs, eyes wide with shock.
Guinevere regarded them with a scowl, a mixture of satisfaction and disdain swirling in her eyes. She never needed them, anyway. All she wanted was the sheer force and power of their armies, and now she would have it without their interference. She wondered why she hadn't thought of this earlier instead of dealing with a bunch of feeble-minded, sloppy men.
As the echoes of her dark magic faded away, Guinevere began to plot her next move. With the rogue leaders out of the way, nothing stood in her path to claim Redwood for herself. She would stop at nothing to achieve her goal and anyone who tried to stop her would meet a fate worse than death.
With a wicked smile, Guinevere turned and left the meeting room, her mind already racing with schemes and plots. The battle for Redwood was about to begin, and she would emerge victorious, no matter the cost.
A few minutes later, Guinevere, draped in her cloak, ventured deep into the heart of the forest, the totem containing the essence of the rogue leaders' power dangling from her neck. With each step, the dense foliage seemed to close in around her, and the darkness of night melded with her cloak billowing behind her like a shadowy shroud. She clutched the totem, pulsating with the essence of power she had extracted, and strode away purposefully.
Her brother taught her that if she wanted something done perfectly, it was better to do it herself.
As she ventured deeper into the heart of the forest, Guinevere could feel the magic thrumming in the air, responding to her will. She had crossed her own boundary, stepping into the realm beyond her control, where the wildness of nature reigned supreme.
With the moon hanging high above, casting an ethereal glow upon the forest floor, Guinevere halted in a clearing. Here, surrounded by ancient trees and whispers of nature's power, she began to chant the incantation that would unleash the power contained within the totem.
Her voice, low and melodic, rose and fell with the rhythm of the forest, weaving a spell of dark enchantment that echoed through the night. The more she chanted, the totem in her hand began to respond, pulsating with sinister energy, emanating an eerie glow that cast eerie shadows upon the ground.
Suddenly, the totem began to emit a series of haunting howls, each one more chilling than the last. It was the voices of those trapped in it crying out in defiance and rage.
In response to the totem's call, the surrounding forest came alive with movement. From the shadows emerged a multitude of rogue wolves, drawn to the sound of their fallen brethren's cries. They converged upon the clearing, their eyes gleaming with feral hunger and obedience.
Guinevere stood at the center of the gathering horde, her cloak swirling around her like a whisperer of the darkness that she was. She raised the totem high above her head, the pulsating energy of the captured power radiating from within.
"Behold!" she cried, her shrill voice ringing with authority. "I am your Alpha, and you are my loyal follower. Together, we shall claim the lands of Redwood as our own, and no one shall stand in our way!"
The rogue wolves, sensing the power and dominance emanating from Guinevere, bowed their heads in submission. Like she'd commanded, she was now their leader, and they would follow her commands without question.
With the totem in her grasp and the rogue wolves at her command, Guinevere felt a surge of exhilaration course through her veins. With her newfound army by her side, she was going to be unstoppable.
The moon cast its silvery light upon the gathering and Guinevere's wicked smile stretched impossibly wider. The stage was set, and the battle for Redwood was about to begin.
Now all that remained was a sacrifice. She needed to offer up something earth-shattering, something that would make the spirits succumb to her will as the wolves had done.
She needed to go into hibernation and by the time she woke, the spirits' demand would be relayed to her. The beings that had once tormented Cedric were still hanging closely around her, eager to return to their rightful place in Cedric's mind.
He was her tool for world dominance. All she had to do was take his pesky mate away from him and watch him self-destruct.
The thought of it fills her with an immeasurable satisfaction. Taking away Cedric's mate also meant acquiring the hybrid witch's power for herself. Her powers had only just activated, and she had no business touching what was rightfully Guinevere's. It was why she was set to attack so urgently. She couldn't help but smile at herself. Redwood really was a treasure mine, wasn't it?
The earlier she took her out the better. 'A trick', she thought to herself, she would sow a seed of discord within them and take the hybrid witch while they were all distracted.
All she needed was a perfect vessel. She needed a disgruntled soul from within them. But first, she had to hibernate.