The day after was mundane. We sat, and we rode. There had been a small shower in the early morning, and I was pretty soaked by the time we got moving. Alexander stayed under the tarp the entire time and was dry as could be. By the time midday had come about, I was mostly dry, still a bit damp, however. We had yet to speak to each other for the entire day, and some of the previous urgency was starting to leave me. I never did get any chickens either. Would need to make another trip to town on my own, but it would probably be a good idea for some time to pass first. I am sure that Miss Hannah wouldn’t be too mad at me all things considered. I did dread the thought of having to go back and explain myself.

The next day saw us hunkering down through a thunderstorm. We weren’t too far out by the time it hit us, and there were still plenty of farmsteads about. I pulled into one just about as soon as it hit, and I was able to talk the family into letting us shelter in the barn until the storm passed at least. They were nice enough. We didn’t have all that much that required doing, so after doing a quick pass on checking on the horses, I sat in the bed of the cart and continued writing down what I could. I gave Alexander a journal as well, and he took to it like a fish to water. Bella mostly sat snuggled up to him, being used as a backrest more than anything. She didn’t seem to mind the contact though, as the thunderstorms riled her up pretty badly.

The storm took pretty much the whole rest of the day to pass, and I did go and pay the farmers a fair number of coppers for the use of the barn as well as some hot food. The journey between the barn and house made it a little soggy, but it was better than just eating barely cooked vegetables again. Alexander seemed to enjoy it a lot at least, and that was enough. Bella certainly got a lot of scraps from him, and I would need to keep an eye on that. Don’t want to overfeed her too much. I could tell that Alexander was relaxing as more time passed. He stopped looking over his shoulder every few minutes and was content to just lay there with Bella.

He was apparently relaxed enough to even start talking, saying “Thanks for helping me. It’s been a long time since anyone did.” His face had been relatively neutral when he said that, but his eyes were haunted in a way that I don’t think I will ever forget. It broke me a little, at just how depraved people could be.

I took a few minutes of thinking to get out my reply, “You don’t have to worry about anything now, Alexander. A few thugs aren’t going to be able to stop me, hopefully…” The hopefully had just slipped out, more mumbled than anything. I had confidence in facing a few people, especially with Bella at my side. I didn’t have confidence in more facing than two. Especially not when they weren’t untrained thugs, as they had seemed to be up till now. I wasn’t exactly trained either, no martial training of any kind, but I had enough confidence in my newly gained strength and the strength of my trusty axe to keep them away.

We lapsed back into silence for a while after that. The only sounds in the barn were the soft braying’s of the horses, as well as the scratching’s of a few of the farmer’s animals they kept penned up in here away from the storm. The scratching of a pair of pens joined them soon enough. The little light that filtered in from outside fled not long after, and we pretty much turned in with the night, resuming what was becoming our usual sleeping conditions, with Alexander and Bella in the bed of the cart, and myself laying on the driver’s shelf. It wasn’t exactly the most comfortable position, but it still beat out the ground, covered in straw and who knows what else in here.

The morning came swiftly, I nearly fell right off the sleeping shelf when the rooster started crowing. The bird didn’t shut up for a good fifteen minutes. I suppose that is the best alarm clock you can get out in these parts, but that didn’t stop me from fantasizing about roast bird. The day was looking to be a pleasant one, with not a cloud in sight now. After bidding our farewell to the family whose barn we had been hunkered down in, we got back on the road. It would still be a good journey until we managed to get back to my homestead.

Alexander talked a bit more today, mostly about the weather, and the changing of the seasons. Spring would be leaving us soon, and I would need to get my own plants into the ground soon enough, if I wanted anything out of them this year. He did manage to catch me off guard by asking, “What are the horses’ names?” A question which I hadn’t really thought about the answer to. It had been well over a month since I had first gotten them, and while I had seen and taken care of them pretty much every day since, I didn’t really feel like I was bonding with them all too much. Probably because of the wagon, it didn’t really give me a reason to get that close, such as riding one of them.

Eventually I said, “I don’t really have any names for them yet, how about we both come up with some names and we can each name one?” He looked a bit surprised, but I could tell that he was overjoyed at getting to help name them. He gave a fierce nod and we lapsed back into silence shortly after, each lost in our thoughts. I was racking my brains for a good name, and honestly, I wasn’t the best at coming up with them, so it was really cranking the old gears. Al would probably be a good name, maybe. I think one of them was a gelding, and the other a mare, so Al would be better for the gelding. It reminded me of a few stories I had read back home, so I suppose that was enough nostalgia for a name.

When we stopped for the night, and staked out the horses, I patted the gelding and said, “How about we name this one Al, unless you have a name for him?”

He thought for a moment and said, “I like Al, but we have to name the other one Promise.” Seemed like a fair enough trade off to me. The eagerness and determination had returned to his features at saying that, squaring his shoulders a bit and standing slightly taller.

I said, “Sounds good to me buddy. How did you come to it?” I wasn’t expecting that serious of an answer, mostly because I hadn’t put all that much effort into my own name choice, so his words rocked me a little.

He said, “It’s for the promise that you made me. She will be another Promise that we can both work on.” He was beaming at that, though a little bit of nerves seemed to have leaked into his confident posturing.

I nodded my head at that, some of my chagrin showing on my face. I know how hard it is to trust again after being abandoned, and I knew that if I ever broke that trust, I would never gain it again. My own small smile seemed to comfort him to a degree, and he was content with the name.

After that, we didn’t talk all that much. Setting up our small camp as usual, the horses staked off to the side in some grass, while Alexander and Bella sat in the bed of the wagon. I lit a small fire with some firewood we scrounged from nearby, and I got to making us some dinner. It wasn’t anything large, just a few cooked vegetables, as well as reheating some leftover jerky.

The next few days passed in a similar manner, one sliding in right after the next, with little variance to be had. We grew closer over the trip home, certainly bonding more over the shared experience than anything else we had done thus far. I think by now that he fully believed that I wasn’t someone sent by his uncle, that I wouldn’t hurt him like he had been.

To have to reassure a child that you won’t hurt them is a horrible thing, but I think he is finally starting to heal. Nothing will close the gap left in his heart, at least, almost nothing that I can provide, but I can help him grow around it. In time, we will face his demons, though I suspect that I will have to face my own before we get the chance.

Opening the front door after I parked the carriage under its shelter, and then put the horses in theirs, everything looked the way it had when I left. It took about half an hour to unload all the stuff from the wagon, and then dust everything off. Alexander helped of course, but I could tell that he was eager to explore his new surroundings.

All that I had time to say before he bolted off was, “Don’t go too far…” though I am sure that he only caught part of it. Bella ran off after him, even overtaking him as they sprinted across the open clearing.

I set to work inside, so that he could have his own bed to sleep in. I used the rope that I had gotten to string in between some leftover planks of wood, making a sort of hammock. I am sure we could put a mattress on top when we could get one, but until then, it would have to do. I moved a few furs over to his new bed, so that he would have something to cover up with. That was another thing that I had forgotten to get, blankets. Oh well. The furs will do for now.

By the time that was done, night had fallen, and I was exhausted. I had the forethought to have left some firewood, before I had gone into town. The fire was eventually roaring in the fireplace, and Alexander was swaying on his feet. I made up some food real quick for the both of us, nothing fancy, pretty much the same as we had been eating before, while on the road. After scarfing it down, he collapsed into his bed, ready for a long night of sleep.

I wasn’t too far behind him in that regard. Bella did deign to hop up and sleep with me tonight, settling in snugly against my chest.

With a great yawn and big stretch, I pull myself awake. I perform my morning routine of making breakfast for myself, setting out food for Bella and the horses. The smell of the food brings Alexander awake a few minutes after I set it on the table. Venison and porridge sprinkled with a few seasonings to liven up the flavour.

After breakfast, we set to work. Alexander didn’t have too tough of a job, and he was still mostly going to be playing with Bella, but the extra hands did help. We set about making a fence over a portion of the clearing, so we could let the horses roam. I knew a bit about making a fence, having helped my father build one back on Earth. The hardest part was sinking the posts in, and by lunch we had gone through about half of them. I would need to cut down some more trees to finish the job, so the project was going to take a while yet.

Lunch was leftovers from breakfast, reheated with some sliced fruit. Alexander was still gulping down all the food he could get, even over a week since he had started getting regular meals. He even went back for seconds! After lunch, he and Bella took off again, racing about the clearing, and dipping into the trees every now and again. I set about on my second project, which was setting up the garden.

It was tough going once I realized that I had forgotten one important tool, the hoe. The first thing I did was mark off some boundaries, north of the horse pen. Second, I attempted to fashion a makeshift hoe out of a piece of hardwood and a relatively strong branch that I had been planning to make into a broom.

When the time came to test it, I brought it out to where I had wanted the garden and struck out towards the ground. The whole thing came flying apart as soon as it hit. Thankfully, the branch still seemed whole, but the binding and piece of hardwood looked busted all to hell. Well, that was a complete failure…

After going back to the drawing board for a while, I concluded that I was going to have to turn over the soil with the shovel I had and hope for the best. I hadn’t really done much farming or gardening, aside from helping my mom with her flowers in front of our house. Alexander didn’t know anything about farming either, so we really did just have to hope for the best.

I was able to get a bit going with the shovel by sundown, mostly a section of potatoes, as they are pretty much a staple of our diet, and pretty easy to plant. Alexander and Bella had both come back by this point, and we all went over to the small lake, and jumped on in. I had shucked my shoes, but I kept the rest as it could do with a good rinse as well. Bella was making a fuss in the water near Alexander, probably because she hadn’t expected the water to be so cold. A quick scrub down later, and we were headed back inside.

I set to work on dinner, this time some potatoes, meat and other assorted vegetables, and it turned out alright. Alexander had once again fell right asleep after dinner, though Bella curled up with him tonight. I could tell that he was gaining a bit of weight, Ms. Hannah seemed to have accounted for that, as his clothes still fit him, which was good. I was still left with my own limited wardrobe, and I made a few repairs sitting by the fire before I turned in for the night. Even after being here for so long, I still wasn’t able to fall asleep as soon as it got dark. It wasn’t too much longer before I was at that point, however.

Morning came once more, with another breakfast. We seem to have settled into a routine here, which was probably good for the both of us. Alexander took the horses out for a bit of exercise that morning, using some lead ropes to walk them around the clearing. Bella had of course gone with him on this new adventure, but she was put on edge by something. Sticking close to Alexander, and reluctant to leave me off by myself. That was mildly concerning on its own, so I made sure to tell Alexander to watch out for anything unusual.

I continued about my day, I spent the morning looking for suitable trees to cut and drag back to finish the paddock, and I had found a good amount by the time I heard Alexander yelling from back near the house. I rushed back quick as I could, to see that he was astride Promise, without the saddle, and that Bella was facing towards the road I had cut with her hackles raised.

Alexander nudged Promise into walking to me, saying, “Has anyone ever come up here before? What if its people from my uncle? What’s going to happen, Davin?” The undercurrent of worry creeping up to a very definite overtone, and his anxiety was bleeding into Promise, who looked ready to spook at the slightest disturbance.

I immediately tried to calm them both by saying, “No one has come out this way that I know of, but I don’t think your uncle would have been able to follow us here. We never saw anyone on the road, I am sure it’s just some people looking for a place to rest.” I placed a steadying hand on Promise’s nose, and Alexander’s arm respectively, the steady grip making them both lose a bit of their edge. It would be a much bigger problem if Alexander went flying off Promise. “Where is Al, Alexander?” I asked, hoping to distract him a bit.

He replied pretty much instantly, saying, “I put him up in his stall. I was gonna saddle Promise, but I don’t really know how…” He was calming by the second as he narrated what had happened, which is better than nothing I suppose. I led them both over towards the house and helped him down. Once he was back on solid ground, he seemed to square up significantly.

I needed him out of the way when whoever was coming up the path made it into the clearing, so I said, “Why don’t you take Promise around to her stall, and then you keep her company for a bit. Bella and I will see who is here.” He nodded at that and walked Promise off, glancing back towards me with every step. I knew he was nervous, but he seemed to be settling. My own nerves hopefully weren’t showing as I calmly walked inside and strung my bow. I slung the quiver on as I walked back out

They emerged into the clearing as soon as I stepped out of my house. I relaxed a bit immediately, as I saw that it was a family, a mother, father, and two children. I don’t think Alexander’s uncle, who I still didn’t have a name for, would send a family after us. I was still a bit wary, but I did let the bow drop, carrying it at my side. The father seemed to recognize that I wanted to talk, and he stepped forward as well. Once we had closed to about ten feet, I said, “Greetings. What can we-, I, help you with?” Pretty much gave away that I wasn’t the only person here immediately, but oh well.

He replied, “My family and myself are looking for a new place to settle down. I had seen some people in the city that came from the east, or at least left that way, that weren’t from the farms around Lyion.” We both tensed as he said that, though his was probably in response to my own. He quickly continued, saying, “Please, sir, I know that it was you. If you and your son can make it out here, we can help! I was a farmer and know a good bit about raising animals as well. We just want a safe place to live…” Some of his tension left him, as he seemed resigned to his fate now that he had spoken his piece.

I didn’t really know what to do at this point. If these people could find me, then Alexander’s uncle probably could as well, which pretty much invalidates what I had said earlier. Which was a problem. If these people stayed here, however, they wouldn’t spread the news any further. They probably wouldn’t have told anyone about where they were going if they wanted to keep their own spot secure, but it did make me wonder just how much of a scene we had caused to get this much attention.

He was turning to leave, looking defeated, as I said, “We can work on it. It isn’t only my decision to make. Wait here a moment please.” Some hope returned to him, and he gave a firm nod. His family were basically bursting with anxiety at this point, and one of the children, a little girl, looked about ready to cry. I went back up to the stalls to talk with Alexander, and said, “There are a few people looking for a new home. Parents, and two kids. I know that we are just getting settled here, but your opinion matters, if you don’t want them here, we can turn them away.” It got the gears turning in his head.

It took a bit for him to fully think through the idea, but he said, “I want to meet them, please.” He was putting on a brave face again, still scared at the prospect of new people, but he seemed to be comfortable enough with Bella and I at his side to talk at the very least.

I nodded at that, and said, “Of course.” I helped him stand from where he had been sitting, and we walked around the house. He was taking the lead by a bit, my hand rested on his shoulder for support. Bella broke off from where she had been standing guard and stood on his other side. His steps evened out with the both of us there, believing in both of us to protect him from anything.

Alexander looked at them a bit, and the other child, a boy, waved at him. Alexander gave a bashful smile at that and waved back. It was probably his first positive interaction between him and someone his own age in a long time. The father stepped forward again, and said, “Is there anything we can do to help with your decision?” He was looking at me when he asked, hoping to secure his future here.

I gave a nudge to Alexander, and he looked up at me, he was a smart kid, from what I had seen, and he was empathetic. I knew that he would probably say yes once he saw them, and I wasn’t necessarily opposed to them living here either. I was becoming a bit of a hermit, and that probably wasn’t healthy for either of us.

Once Alexander gave me a nod, I said, “We can try it. My name is Davin, and this is Alexander.” The man seemed almost ready to melt, quickly waving his own family forward.

Once they were next to him, he said, “This is my wife, Mabel, my son, Lukas, and my daughter, Katherine. My name is Tanner, and it is good to meet you.”

He seemed a bit at a loss at what to say next, so I took back the reigns of the conversation a bit and said, “We can get you set up with your own place eventually, but we can get a couple more beds set up in our house for now, unless you want to sleep under the wagon shed.”

He seemed grateful for the offer and quickly said, “Thank you! Whatever you need me to do to help, we can. I know you don’t have to open up your home to us, but we are grateful that you are.” He stepped forward, and extended his arm for a handshake, which I returned. His son stepped forward to do the same with Alexander, which was much more gingerly accepted.

We got to work at that, settling them in. They didn’t have a full wagon, but rather a smaller cart, pulled by a single horse. I don’t think he had a name yet, but we posted him out by Promise and Al all the same. Assembling the bed went rather quickly, though we only had enough supplies to make one for now, so it would be a bit of a squeeze to get them all in there until we could get more supplies sorted. Tanner seemed fine at that, I suppose he was expecting a bench at the most, or even to be sleeping under the stars still. His wife Mabel didn’t speak all that much, mostly just minding all the children.

The children meshed pretty well together, with Alexander quickly wanting to show off the cool places he had found nearby, even though he had only been here for a handful of days before they had arrived. I think he was glad to finally have people his own age to talk to, though at this stage he seemed to be mostly walking and pointing at different things throughout the clearing. Bella was still sticking pretty close to Alexander, even more wary of getting close to anyone else.

After the bedding situation was fixed, it was a bit past when Alexander and I usually had lunch, and everyone was a bit hungry. Mabel was taking charge a bit of the cooking, and I let her get that sorted, telling her where everything was kept. Tanner took the time to talk, saying, “We should probably get a plan together for everything. I brought a good amount of seeds along, more than enough to feed this many with the harvest.”

I nodded at that saying, “I have been trying to get some stuff planted, haven’t had much success on that front. I forgot to buy a hoe when I was last in Lyion, had to leave a bit early due to some other matters. If you have some it would probably make the work go much faster.” Of course, the other matter was being chased out of our inn by a group of thugs, but now probably wasn’t the best time to mention that we were being hunted to a degree.

He gave a small laugh and said, “Yea, that would do it. We can do one better than a hoe though, I was able to get a plow for cheap, and we can hook it up to one of the horses. I have a hoe as well, but most of the land looked just fine for the plow.” He was nodding to himself as he said that, and his forethought was to my fortune.

“That would probably speed things up greatly, how about-“ I was cut off by the cry from Mabel that lunch was ready, and the kids all came racing back in. “As I was saying, how about we get that going after lunch?”

Tanner smiled at that and said, “Sure thing! Mabel is a great cook; I am sure you will like it. It’s the least we can do when we are taking up your home.” He was a pretty friendly guy once we started to get to know each other, and he was right that Mabel was a good cook, with her lunch being much better than anything that I would have been able to put together. It was a sort of potato mash that had been mixed with some sliced-up jerky, bell peppers, and a generous helping of cheese. Together with some of my spices, it was delicious, and that alone cemented the idea that this was the right decision in my head, I am sure by the look on Alexander’s face that it was doing the same for him.

After, we got the plow set up on the horse Tanner had brought, which did have a name, Kurt, and it was another gelding, a good bit older than Al, though. We plowed out a good section where I had previously planned and went a good bit beyond. We swapped out every once and a while, alternating between leading Kurt and tossing out rocks that we found in the soil. It wasn’t all that tough of work, and we chatted the whole time for the most part.

Apparently, he had been in the army before, I suppose that he had been levied or signed up when he was quite young, because I couldn’t see him being a day older than thirty. He was telling me a story from when he was there when we heard a giant splash. The kids had been playing tag but had stopped to look at something in the water, and by the next time we looked, Lukas was gone. Katherine had her arms outstretched like she had just pushed someone, and it seems to have been Lukas. He clambers out quickly enough, soaked head to toe in the cool mountain water, looking none too happy. Both Tanner and I were chuckling at the chain of events when Lukas lunged forward, to give his sister a taste of her own medicine.

The thing is that Alexander was right behind Katherine, and she dodged at the last moment. This sent Lucas straight into Alexander and both tumbling into the pond. This made us laugh all the more, and even sent Mabel into a fit of giggles from where she came out of the house after hearing the first splash. What was even funnier is that after the boys climbed out, is that they ganged up on Katherine, who was too busy laughing to notice. Alexander and Lukas both grabbed ahold of her and gave a shove, sending her sprawling into the pond with a squawk.

Everyone was laughing after that and even Katherine was when she eventually made her way back to shore. We all took a break to rest after that, sitting down on the grass next to the pond. Everyone talked and we all got to know each other more. Tanner talked again about his time in the army, as a common soldier that rose up to a low-level officer, which was quite impressive. He had been honorably discharged after taking a spear through the leg, leaving him unfit for military duty for a long time. He was back in his top conditions now, but he had taken to farming as his means of providing for his family after his service. I had noticed him walking with a slight limp, and I guess that would explain it.

He still had his sword and armour from his time, though. It was one of the things that he had kept through all of this, besides his family. Mabel had apparently been from a neighboring farm, and they had fallen in love before he joined the army. He was a third son, so he wasn’t going to inherit his family’s farm, and he went off to get enough money to start his own. The money he got after being discharged was enough to get a small parcel close to Lyion, but the land had turned bad on them. It was a fairly depressing tale, of people coming together, but the odds being stacked against them at every turn. They didn’t have it quite as bad as Alexander, but it must’ve been hard going through what they did. Everyone faces hardship, and I think that is part of why it is so important that we help those that we can, instead of turning them away.

Mabel was doing something with the children who were now dry and resting under the branches of one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, in the shade. Bella was lying next to Alexander, still cautious about new people, and they, in turn, looked a bit uncomfortable with having a wolf sit right next to them. I don’t blame them, but she is smart enough to not attack everyone around her without being given the order to. Alexander looked to be the only one that was fully relaxed. I guess having friends his age was more help than I could imagine. He probably didn’t have very many even before his descent into destitution.

With the way that Greyson presented itself to me, talking about geases and data and everything else, I can’t help but wonder if I was drawn to this place. I never did get to find the teacher that I was supposed to meet at Ms. Hannah’s shop, maybe it was her, maybe it was someone else. I found Alexander, and all I can hope was that that was enough. It clearly wants me to stay alive, even if it was to give it more data. Maybe the order is wrapped up with Greyson, but I don’t really see a connection, besides the name. Can I trust them? Can I afford not to? I can’t really say at this juncture. It’s possible that Greyson manipulated Tanner and his family into following us, giving us more means to survive.

On a slightly less depressing train of thought, Mabel had suggested making some basic pottery, she had done so in the past. There was certainly a good amount of clay down by the stream, and the worst that can happen is that they break, I think. Hopefully the soil in this place isn’t contaminated with uranium or something. Tanner went back to working on the fields, with Alexander and Lukas trailing behind to help. I was sent out on a mission to collect as much clay as possible, so that we could get going, and I would be helping them shape it into some plates, maybe a few cups as well. What little dinnerware that I had before they arrived was being overloaded by the amount of people it now had to support.

Over the course of the next hour, I dug and hauled a good amount of clay back and forth from the stream and the house, handing it off to be shaped by them. She didn’t talk all that much to me, and I seem to be sensing a pattern with the people that I am beginning to surround myself with, is it something that I do? How I stand, how I act? It was puzzling. They had made a good number of plates, and stacked them all to the side, well more than we would ever need, but of course a good number would break in the firing process, so it never hurts to have extra.

It was nearing dusk by now, with the sun setting just on the tree line. The firing would have to wait until tomorrow it seems. Most everyone goes back to the stream and the pond for another quick dunk to rinse the days’ exertions away, and Mabel once again takes charge of cooking, though I do my best to make myself useful, peeling vegetables, chopping what needs to be chopped. The meal this evening would be some toasted vegetable medley, with some wild greens on rolls of bread, and while it doesn’t sound all that great when described like that, it was pretty great.

I sit down in my swinging hammock and eat my food in silence. Everyone else was carrying on back and forth, preparing for bed. Alexander once again hit the hay pretty much immediately, getting all the rest that he could get. That and the food was certainly treating him well, filling in some of what living on the street had taken from him. It would be a while yet before he would be completely healthy, but he was on the road to recovery. I eventually got out of my hammock to write for a while, the dim candle not seeming to disturb anyone else, though we would have to get their home set up quickly, as there were now way too many people crowding mine. It didn’t help that there weren’t any internal walls, but we would make do for now. Bella had sat with me as I wrote for a while, resting her head on my feet, just to make sure I was still there. She eventually moved to sleep with Alexander, once I started to stand.

I then stepped out for a bit, to get away from everyone. The moon was peeking over the trees from the east, in its full glory. It was more than enough light to see by, perfectly pleasant to go and sit by the water, maybe dangle my feet in there for a while. Just to enjoy the peace. It certainly was quieter than inside, with the light snoring of at least two people rattling about the house, but the night had plenty of sounds on its own. Crickets chirped, and a frog or three croaked, they all stilled for a second as I passed, before resuming once more.

I sit down on the side of the stream with my feet dangling down into the water. I lay back with my head resting in my hands as I look up to the stars. What I don’t understand about this area is why this huge clearing was here in the first place. Greyson was probably the guiding hand in getting me here, I did kind of just take a turn straight into a random forest. I had in mind at the time that it would be good to settle at the base of the mountains, but this clearing certainly is larger than a random one you would find in the woods. I took in a deep breath, but it felt slightly different. It felt like I was breathing in mist, like the air feeling extra heavy on a humid day.

I closed my eyes for a bit, ignoring the feeling, too tired to care all that much. Just lying there in the soft grass under a starlit sky, was the most calming thing to happen to me since I had come here. It wasn’t until about five minutes later that I opened my eyes. It was quite a shock to see the floating lines that flowed throughout the clearing and came in from the forest, the mountain, and the water. They were multicolored in that the lines that came out of the forest were a dark green, the lines from the mountain were yellow with flecks of gold, silver, and dark orange. The lines that came from the water were blue, while there were faint, almost invisible lines coming in from up above. Even fainter than the lines from the sky, there were small pieces of red floating up from the ground.

They were all joining into a giant mass of something that floated just about right above my house, seemingly in the center of the clearing. It looked like some of the closer trees were also giving off faint lines of the dark green that were coming in from the rest of the forest. Something was compelling me to approach, so I did. Willingly moving towards the giant orb of, something… It had a very similar appearance to some of the wisps that had wafted off of some of those who I assumed were performing magic, but to a larger, much more dense degree. It was hanging probably fifteen feet in the air, but as I raised a hand towards it, I could feel something deep inside my chest, almost a tugging sensation. I instinctually, almost unconsciously, tugged back at it, and I could see the ball descend ever so slightly. I tugged once more, more forcefully, and with a conscious effort, and it started to fall towards my hand. Slowly at first but gaining momentum with each passing second. Eventually, after an unknown amount of time passed, it was hovering, barely above my palm. Its size had seemingly grown as it got closer to me, the lines flowing faster and faster as it roiled in on itself. With one final tug, and not a single thought to if this was a good idea, it touched my hand, and instantly I knew no more.