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The holy power of the mother's earth surrounded him and surged through his veins. He felt alive and wonderful. He could feel the essence in him of the Mother, the feel of life in the tiniest plant, and the power in the tiniest grain of dirt. The holy power of the earth was his at last.

He grinned at his companion Mithou, a Sanguian. Mithou never liked his name, so he told Raef to call him Mit, which he did. Mit was a wise person, though in his early twenties, as were all Sanguians. He was also one of those clever tricksters, rare in Mit's tribe. Mit was always getting himself into trouble, whether he did the deed or not. That was how bad he was in his village. With shoulder length brown hair, dark green eyes, and a wispy beard on his chin, Mit would have been called handsome if it wasn't for that nasty hooked scar. It went across his upper lip and up his cheek to his ear.

At that moment they were in a tiny clearing, no more than six feet in diameter, in a forest. Not just any forest- the holy Mother's forest. They were there to receive the Mother's blessing and earth essence. The earth essence was for Raef really, since this was his quest. So long and so much work to get here, and they were finally here.

The ground vibrated and the sound of leather boots marching and cracking twigs filled the air. The High Evil had found them. They must have felt the power of the Blessing and the earth essence. This was not good, but Raef believed he could handle them with his newly acquired ability, an ability he had been practicing for a long time, but could never be fully realized without the essence.

The High Power appeared and disappeared in between the thick forest trees, but as long as Raef knew they were there he could harm them. Vines that were wrapped around a tree a second before came whipping down among the creatures, whipping and thrashing about, knocking them to the ground. Trees uprooted and fell upon the columns of the slimy blue creatures, smashing them into the ground. Those pounded in had legs sticking out, twitching, but those were of no importance. It was Mit's turn.

Mit collected the rich soil's water and turned towards the remaining Smolls that were charging and gestured as if spitting. The water shot towards them in a thin stream, with a sharp-like end to it. The water spear went straight through the first Smoll's heart, leaving a trail of slime. The water came back to Mit and this time he made as if building a wall. The water formed a clear, smooth wall, and then it froze. Mit had taught himself that.

"I can't handle all of them," Mit said. "You need to do something now! This wall won't hold long. Let's go!"

"Just a minute. I think I can do this," Raef replied. He was sweating, but looked confident and slightly crazy.

"Well, hurry up then!" Mit used another gesture, this time acting as if taking out a needle and a sliver of sharp ice came out. He threw it curve-like and it went around the wall. The scream of a Smoll sounded throughout the forest. He did this repeatedly, waiting for Raef to do something.




Raef let the essence of the earth fill him, concentrating on nothing but the essence and the where of his enemies. He tracked them down one by one, feeling out the vibrations of the soft leather boots pounding on the ground. Then the vibrations ceased as a new, more powerful vibration took over.

Mit withdrew himself and let the hole-filled ice wall melt and flow back into the soil. It seems I'm not the only one surprised, he thought to himself, noticing the startled looks on the Smolls' faces. He ran back behind a tree, peeked around and watched as his friend tore them apart.




The vine that sprung forth was as thick as two good sized horses. It ripped right through the first Smoll and came crashing down on three more. They all panicked and tried to run, but it was pointless. Tracking their vibrations, thinner, sharper vines erupted everywhere, ripping through arms, legs, hearts, and thighs, anything they could nail.

Raef stopped fooling around with vines and decided to try something else. He changed the way he was feeling the essence, in a way twisting it. The dirt, grass, fallen leaves, anything residing in the dirt but trees and plants, started twisting around in a whirlwind. Little, miniature whirlwinds. Raef laughed to himself and sent his toys to rip the Smolls into pieces. He turned around to find Mit hiding behind a tree.

"Well, come on now. Let's go!" He followed his own advice and started to run north as hard as he could in case there were more Smolls lying around.

"Right, then," Mit said to himself and followed after. As he caught up, he noticed that Raef was very pale. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I"m fine." Raef couldn't quite keep the breathiness out of his reply. "Just a little tired from th..." And then everything went black for him.





"Oh, the water be damned," Mit cursed. He picked Raef up awkwardly and did his best to put him across his shoulder. "Damn, you're heavy when you're unconscious. Why'd I have to get dragged into this? 'Think of the adventures, Mit,' he says. 'Come on, you know you want to,' he says. 'There'll be plenty of women and drink.' Damn adventures."

He continued carrying Raef through the forest, looking for a place to stop and camp for the night. From what light showed in between the trees, he could tell the sun was setting. Mit kept on walking for hours, grumbling to himself setting Raef down every now and then to rest. Oaks, pines, and blueleaf trees filled his vision every which way he looked.

It was well after nightfall when a creek finally showed itself. Setting Raef down near a blueleaf, Mit ran into the creek, splashing everywhere. How he loved the water.