“I’m sorry…” Crying, I hear Jenn softly say.

Lilly, composing herself. “I, am Sorry, my daughter.” Not letting Jenn out of the embrace. “It is my fears, that overcame me. You are nothing but Loved. And are so pure that you receive twice the blessings that anyone else can.”

They continue to embrace in silence. I can hear the noise from the battlefield dying down some.

“Can we tell father?” I overhear Jenn ask.

“No.” Lilly doesn’t even look up.

Some time passes. Lilly raises her head and starts to let Jenn out of the embrace, still each hand holding the other. With a flat statement, eyes never leaving her daughter’s, “Doug, you’re going to help Jenn train.”

“Jenn, daughter, you’re going to keep Truth in its scabbard.” Looking up to the sky. Taking a breath and letting out a sigh. “Unless there are Undead.” Holding Jenn out at arm's length, just below the shoulders. “Jenn, daughter, if there are Undead, You Draw Truth, and Run. Do you understand? Run. No thinking. No planning. Run. Do you understand?” Jenn shakes her head yes as Lilly embraces her again.

Looking up again and speaking to herself as much to either of us. “First Stag, now Truth. Your mother is going to have a talk, with your Grandpas.”

I’m starting to feel lightheaded and sick.

As if hit with an epiphany, Lilly draws back and asks, “There is no issue between Stag and Truth?” She asks as Jenn shakes her head no. “Show me.”

Unslinging Stag from around her neck and shoulder, then drawing Truth, one in each hand, Jenn looks up at her mother with a shrug of her shoulders. I don’t see anything special in the way Stag or Truth looks. No light, no glow, nothing. A couple of moments and Jenn sheaths Truth while keeping Stag in hand.

Lilly catches and steadies my shoulder as I start to feel woozy and unsteady. Dizzy, I’m about to fall over with motion sickness. Grasping at Lilly and Jenn for support, my legs weakening, my feet unsteady. My eyes blur trying to focus on my surroundings.

I focus on Jenn as she is looking around in amazement, squealing like a little girl in glee. “Grandpa?” she says in amazement.

“We must fall further back,” Lilly says as she is half pushing, half supporting me in the direction she wants to go. I struggle, every step feeling like three.

“I want to see.” Jenn keeps saying. “I want to see,” Jenn says in wonder as she supports my other side.

As if we are moving far faster than my footwork would suggest, my head clears as we exit this sanctuary into clearer grounds. Strength returning to my legs, my footing more stable, we stop.

I watch the forest continuing to pass us by.

Jenn is doing the little happy dance on her toes, asking her mother, “Is it Grandpa? Is it Grandpa?”.

“Yes! That is why we need to keep moving!” Lilly’s voice is starting now to sound stressed.

“I’ve never seen anything like this!” Jenn letting my arm go. Turning to look in the direction we came.

“No!” Her mother says. “We must go! Now!” Grabbing, turning, and pushing her daughter in the direction we were going.

I stand stunned, amazed, watching in the direction Jenn is looking. Watching the forest, the larger trees, move, walk.

“We must Go! Now!” Lilly commands. “Anything giving your grandfather this much trouble! We must Run!”

Jenn and I watch in amazement as her mother has grabbed us both and is dragging us along. Who knew she was so strong.

Like in one of those old films, watching a nuclear explosion cloud slowly expand in the distance, there is a small black dome that continues to grow.

“Void magic!” I hear Lilly exclaim as she pauses for a moment before grabbing her daughter and dragging her to run. Leaving me behind.

I watch. I see blurs. Reyansh is standing before me with others from the Raid party.

‘WHEN ENDS MEET!’ “GO!” All but Reyansh is already gone as my mind is trying to process what is happening.

“MOVE!” Reyansh commands!

Hands clenched in fists at his sides. Like some Marvel character curling an unimaginable invisible weight. Reyansh lets out this primal scream that stuns and locks me up, unable to move. “EARTH!!!” He Roars, throwing his fists forward.

Fear! Amazement! Unbelief! I watch this earthen tsunami rise up to encompass and blot out everything I can see. It overwhelms me. I tumble and spin. There is no light. There is no air. There is no thought. Only Blackness. I am smashed to the ground. I bounce only to fly and impact the ground again. Skidding to a stop with a roll. Pain. ‘Heal…’ I choke out.

The darkness of my vision clears. I hear the commotion and disorder of many voices. I am half crumpled on the ground. Rolling my head to the side, I see people.

‘Lay of the Land’ a voice casts a transparent image over the ground. I can see the dome in that image continuing to expand. A holographic map of sorts.

“Set yourselves! Be Ready!” Another voice commands.

“Ramos! Lightbringer! You are needed!” Someone calls out.

“Lightbringer Held Position!” Bishop Ramos Replies as he runs past.

“How you doing there?” I see Jack looking down at me from my other side. “You can help Ramos, can’t you.” More a statement than a question. I’m shaking my head no.

Pushing back the sleeve on one arm, Jack shows me a thumb-size cut on his already scarred-up forearm. “See, it’s small. You can do this.” He encourages.

Without a word, I still keep shaking my head no.

Have Faith

“You can do this.” Jack continues his encouragement. “You wanted to help. I saw you with the children. You can do this!”

Jack’s words resonate with something inside me. I reach out my hand. He moves his forearm into my hand. I focus for a moment. I feel the faith rising inside my gut. Spreading out into my mind until I know that it is true. I embrace the conviction of my heart. ‘Heal’ I command his forearm.

There is no light. No soft green glow. But when Jack pulls his forearm back, his skin is clear.

Grinning all the more. “I knew you could do it. Let me help you up.” Grunting with pain, I wave him off.

“I’ll be back,” Jack says with inspiration, sprinting away. I’ve seen this movie. I don’t think I want him to come back.

“It’s Peaking. Form up!” The voice of the man overlooking the holographic map. The dome looks, from what I can see, to be coving most of the map.

Jack has returned carrying Gretta in his arms, kneeling down. “Doug, you remember Gretta, with the stones?” Gretta making that old lady, leave me alone grunting noises that Jack is ignoring. “Her leg Doug, her leg. You can do this!”

Again moving my hand out, Jack kneeling closer and turning to get Gretta’s leg into my hand. I wait on it. Waiting for the faith to rise up. The conviction in my heart, to use my faith on purpose. ‘Heal’ I croak out.

Waiting a couple of moments, we’re just silently looking at each other. Jack pulls back and gently sets her feet down helping her to stand. Jack and Gretta are looking at each other as she slowly takes a small testing step, then a second, putting her full weight on it.

The two, looking at each other, Jack’s grin continues to grow until “Ha!”. And in her face again “Ha! Ha! Ha!” Overly enunciating each word as Gretta starts to march off without saying anything.

🙂

“I’ll be back.” Jack sprints off and we do this twice more before I hear everyone go silence.

Looking through those gathered around the map, I see the dome fade away.

‘When Ends Meet’ I hear Raynash. Then watch as the Raid party thins out as they file back through the portal.

“Ramos! Now!” I hear as someone steps back through for a second, then disappears back into the portal again.

Pushing myself to move my limbs through the pain, they seem to be functional. Sitting up, I have a fairly clear view of the portal and what lies beyond. The portal has opened right onto the battlefield, a massive door maybe 50 feet distance. Bodies are lying about. A tower shield near where many people have gathered.

“GRANDPA! GRANDPA!” I hear Jenn screaming, running at what looks like a full sprint through the portal. Her mother is on her heels, grabbing at and trying to stop her.

Seconds later, Ramos is charging through as a blinding light is obscuring everything on the other side. The Raid party falls back to make room. Inquisitor Lightbringer is lying on the ground, bathed in the blinding light.

Jenn has latched on to her Grandfathers body, obscuring the light enough for me to get glimpses. Too bright for me to see much else, but as the light dims and fades, I can see Lightbringer trying to sit up.

Lying back down, I periodically look over at the portal. I note that there is no sound coming through. I hadn’t noticed that at first. From what I can see, the fighting has stopped. Inquisitor Lightbringer has moved from where I could see him. His granddaughter helping him walk, but it looks more like he is just letting her help.

Doctor Rowan Lightbringer passes by, walking like he’s on a mission. A determination in his walk followed closely by his wife going off about something with her hands all waving in the air.

I sit recovering my mental state more than anything else. I find myself mesmerized watching The Officer swinging his hammer at that massive door. The impacts roll like a wave throughout the door and into the walls, yet the door holds.

“Can you walk?” An Elven man asks me. One of Daylor’s friends maybe. “The pass is being closed down. Do you want to cross over or remain here?”

I give a slight smirk at the double entendre I’m sure he didn’t mean, I reach out my hand for him to help me up. “I’ll go back,” I tell him. I have no clue where I am and my ride back is with Raynash and his family.

The Officer has broken through before I crossed back. The raiding party charging through the massive doors.

I sit down by a tree. Raynash and the elves are collecting the Grut’s look-alike swords. Doctor Rowan is walking around tending to different people. He definitely has some healing skills because when he’s done with the person, they’re up and following the raiding party.

Lilly is bouncing between arguing with her husband and father, Jenn in tow. No clue what that’s about.

Looking around, the devastation is not what I expected it to be. There are bodies. I guess I was expecting an explosion of some kind. People are dead, but I’m not seeing blood, hacked-up bodies, or anything like I would expect from a fight with weapons. The trees don’t even look to have any of their branches broken from a fire or blast of any kind.

I get up and move to a clear location where there are no trees near me.