She glanced across the chamber and saw Lug also standing with his parents. The three of them were dressed in robes of earthy brown and Lug’s father had some kind of hat on his head. It looked like a giant worm, coiled round and round into a cone shape. Lug’s mother was licking a handkerchief and using it to wipe a tiny speck of dirt from his face. He caught Liska’s eye and grimaced.

The great hall was slowly filling up with important-looking people. They all had very long, very ornate robes on. Liska spotted the different colours of the mages: black, grey, silver, amber and green. There were many beards of extreme length and lots of staffs covered with runes and crystals. The air sparkled with the scent of magic.

At the front of the hall were three enormous chairs. Each one was big enough for a small family to live under. As Liska submitted to more of her mother’s fussing, three treekeepers strode in through the arched doorway. The mages parted as they creaked their way to their seats. Edda was first. The second looked like the one she had crashed into and the third was a woman with hair of purple-leaved ivy that spilled down her wooden back. Twiga perhaps. Or maybe Liche.

They took their seats and a hush spread throughout the room.

‘Greetings,’ said Edda, his voice slow and booming. ‘Thank you all for coming to this council.’

‘As you know,’ said the long-haired treekeeper, ‘there has been an attack on Arborven. One of our own has turned against us.’ Her voice was softer than Edda’s. It reminded Liska of the wind sighing through the forest leaves.

‘We are here to discuss what needs to be done,’ Edda continued. ‘The time of peace we have enjoyed is now over. Bitterblight and its rot have come to our door and we must fight for our survival.

‘Before the planning begins, however, we should like to hear from the two youngsters who raised the alarm and saved us all. Would you please step forward?’

Edda gestured with an oaken arm, his twiggy fingers beckoning, his eyes glowing soft and kind. Liska felt her mother give her a gentle shove and she began the long walk up to the treekeepers, feeling her heart begin to rattle against her ribcage as she went.

This could be it, she thought. I didn’t get a stripe before because Edda wanted to do it in person. In front of all the mages, too!

She puffed out her chest and tried to look as brave as possible. At some point Lug appeared beside her. Was he going to get a stripe as well? Or perhaps the vermispex version of one. A new pet worm maybe?

He blinked at her in terror, his large eyes bulging even more than usual. Liska could see his jaw trembling.