The original version of Chapter 4 was chaotic. In it, Kaelen suddenly acquires a magical axe from a character who had never been introduced—"The Wood-Wife." He charges into the Motherheart’s grove, cuts down the tree in two paragraphs, and watches as the village crumbles into dust. The ending was abrupt, devoid of emotional consequences, and featured a final line that fans derisively called "the Marvel quip": "Guess Mother didn't know best."