"What I'm about to do," Ollie said, glancing back at his companions, "might look a bit strange, but I promise it won't harm the trees. I'm only taking a little bit from each one, just enough to restore my strength. In winter, they're dormant, so I have to be extra careful not to take too much."
Ollie only waited long enough for Sir Gavin and Lady Isolde to move a few paces away before he closed his eyes, allowing his focus to sink deep into the roots of the tree that he leaned against and spreading from there to every other tree in the copse.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, a pale jade-green light began to emanate from his hands where they touched the tree's gnarled roots. The glow spread upward along the trunk, seeping into the branches above, and soon the entire tree was bathed in the gentle, ethereal luminescence.
