“What planet?” Maylia repeated the question in a whisper. It was so quiet around us that everyone heard her anyway. “I thought he was just joking.” She said normally. “He really doesn't know the name of the world.”

“In our language, this world is called Relique.” The woman in the center of the five elders said. “Roughly translated into the common tongue it is called Sacrament.” She said. “It is the center of the universe and all other things revolve around it.”

I stood there and looked at her like she was crazy. Next she's going to tell me the planet is flat. I thought, then smiled. “I don't see any technology, besides your grown buildings. Of course, I haven't had a lot of time to look around at everything, either.”

“Tech-knowledge-y? What's that?” One of the other five elders asked.

Well, damn. I thought. No chance to place a com call on the galactic net if they don't even know what technology is. I looked at my wrist com and saw that it wasn't working. Now that I thought about it, the shackles had covered it completely. Since they drained my energy, I had to assume that they drained the energy from my wrist com as well. Maybe this is some kind of nature preserve. I thought with hope.

“I have your requested things.” A woman said as she came over to us.

I picked through what she had brought and saw that the cloak, the backpack, and the bedroll were covered in a thin layer of green energy. “Did it take long to alter them to make me easy to track?”

She gasped and froze for a second. “I... I'll get you new ones.”

“That's okay. I'll take them like they are.” I said, to everyone's surprise. I looked through the backpack and dug out a small loaf of bread. “Can you take a bite of this for me?”

Princess Sylvana regained her composure and stood up. “You can't expect a woman that doesn't know you to share your food!”

“Hm?” I turned to look at her. “Oh, is that a custom or something?”

“Yes.” Sylvana said, slightly angry.

“Sorry.” I said and turned to the guard that had been my hostage. “Maylia, can you bite this for me and check if it's been poisoned?”

“Wh-wh-what?!?” Maylia exclaimed.

“It's not that I don't trust you...” I started to say and saw several sets of eyes twitch. “Well, okay, I don't trust you. How do I know I won't get sick from eating food that I haven't prepared myself?”

Maylia walked over to me and took the loaf of bread, then she brought it to her mouth to take a bite.

“Stop.” The woman that had passed me the items said with tears in her eyes. “Barkara root isn't poison; but, it will make you sick for a week.”

“It's not poison for you.” I said, and she looked at me. “If you haven't noticed, I'm not one of you. I could die as soon as that touched my lips for all you know.”

The woman's eyes closed and the tears flowed faster.

“Can someone get me some actual food, unaltered and poisonless, please.” I said and held the pack out. “Oh, and probably another pack, in case that Barkara root is soaked into the fabric or something.”

Another woman came over and took the loaf of bread, put it in the pack, and walked away.

“Just in case, I'll pick out a random item and have Maylia try it.” I said. We all stood there and waited for her to return and after a minute, Sylvana spoke.

“I won't forgive you for corrupting my family's sword.” Sylvana spat at me.

“What? This thing?” I asked as I held the sword out, and she nodded. “Does that mean you don't want it back?”

“It's my family's sword.” Sylvana said through gritted teeth.

“Then ask for it nicely.” I said with a smile.

Sylvana fumed for several moments, then took a breath and let it out. “May I have the sword back?”

“That must have been difficult.” I said and absorbed my energy from it. I tossed it in the air and caught it by the blade, then held it out to her hilt first. “Here you go.”

Sylvana slowly reached out and put her hand on the hilt. I was tempted to jerk it out of her grip and laugh or give her a little shock of lightning, then decided that it wasn't a good idea to tease her with so many retaliatory witnesses around me. I let the blade go and she stared at me, as if she couldn't believe that I would give up a weapon so easily. I gave her a crooked smile and her face flushed slightly red before it turned angry.

Okay, did I just do something wrong? I asked myself and looked around; but, I didn't see disapproval or anyone else angry. I shrugged mentally and picked up the large green cloak. I checked it over and found that it had a hidden hood. I unfolded it and put the cloak on and tied the string around my neck, then flipped the hood up to cover my head. Most of my face fell into shadow and it left just my mouth and chin visible. The other woman came back with a new pack that wasn't glowing green with mana, and the food inside was fine.

Maylia reached in randomly and pulled out something that looked like beef jerky and took a bite. She chewed it for a minute and then swallowed.

“You feel okay?” I asked, and she nodded. “Thanks.” I said and took the piece of jerky back and took a bite myself. I heard several sharp intakes of breath and ignored them. I chewed it for a minute and it was pretty good. “I really should ask what you made this from; but, ignorance really is bliss.”

No one said anything in response, so I shrugged and put the jerky back into the pack and quickly tied the bedroll to it and slung it over my shoulder.

“Maylia, do you want your hair tie back?” I asked, and she shook her head. Her hair flipped around behind her like a curtain and it spread out. “Do you feel like pointing me towards the border of your lands?”

Maylia waved her hand all around. “You can walk in any direction and you will eventually reach the border.”

“I meant a specific direction.” I said. “I don't want to be wandering around aimlessly.”

“It depends on where you want to go.” Maylia said.

“Well, I think the most advanced country would be best.” I said, in the hopes that I would find something there to help me get back in contact with my ship and my friends.

“Then you need to head to the First Sothen Kingdom.” One of the elders said and pointed. “Despite being the smallest nation in area, it has the highest population.”

I turned that way and tried to use Presence to attune my orientation in that direction. It didn't quite work like I had hoped, then I remembered that I was supposed to include mana when doing things. When I did that, a green arrow about the size of my fist appeared in front of me and pointed in that direction. I turned back to face the elders and the arrow stayed in front of me and kept pointing in the right direction. The neat thing was it avoided hitting anyone that was closer to me than it was so I could always see it.

“I'd like to say it was nice meeting you all; but, this has been a horrible experience for me.” I said to their shock. “This is the second time I've been kidnapped and stolen from.” I looked at their faces and squinted my eyes. “You are all very lucky that I didn't just kill you all.”

“You've caused us damage as well.” Princess Sylvana said and motioned to the tree. “It will take years to heal that much damage to this city's Protection Tree!”

“You threw the spear, not me.” I said dismissively, then put a hand on the wound on my lower back. “Who caused me bodily harm again?”

Sylvana looked at me angrily, then waved to one of the elves in the crowd. A young woman came out and walked over to me. She was fearful and nervous as she held her hands out to me.

“Are you a healer?” I asked, and she nodded. “I tried healing it myself; but, it's not working.”

She chuckled despite her fear. “Self-healing is a very rare talent. Even the best healers can't heal themselves, since their own energy can't be used to replenish itself.”

“I'm not sure what you mean.” I said, and she waved at the wound. I turned and lifted the armored top out of the way as I absorbed the solid Presence I had covered it with. She stepped close and held her hands above the wound and they started to glow.

“Think of it like this.” She said as her energy entered my body and I felt the wound start to close. “Your mana is like a very good meal that you can serve to others. They respond positively to the good food, because they have not eaten it every single day of their lives.”

I thought about that analogy for several moments while she poured healing energy into me. “You're saying that I'm cannibalizing myself by using my own energy to try and heal myself.”

“That is a good example. Another would be when we make bread. We roll the dough out and fold it over and over to make it strong, and yet, sometimes it tears.” She said. “We fold it over the tear; but, the tear is still there, even after we cook the bread, because we didn't add any new dough to it.”

I closed my eyes and felt her energy as it flowed around my wound, and I could sense the damage from Kara's Light sword was still there. I could also feel my body respond to the added energy and it knitted itself together. Now that I knew what she meant, I let the energy permeate my tissues and let my Presence ease away from the area. I opened my eyes to look at her reaction and see if she felt the change in me. Neither her face nor her energy changed at all.

“I can't remove the spear.” Someone said and I opened my eyes to look.

“The tree is trying to stop the crack from spreading.” I said and turned my head to the one healing me. “Can you hurry up?”

“I can go faster, but...”

“You will be exhausted afterwards.” I said, and she nodded. “Please, do it.”

She sighed and closed her eyes, and I felt a surge of green energy from her. It came in a rush and slammed into my back. I grunted as the wound closed over almost instantly and the internal damage faded away. I redirected some of it to my crotch and it healed as well. I looked down at my front and the slight scar that Kara's Light sword had left there faded away.

“What was that?” I asked, surprised.

“Major... Healing.” She said and started to wobble, her knees weakened from the energy loss.

I caught her before she fell and sat her down on the ground. “Thank you.” I said and took off my glove, then put a fingertip on her forehead. “Let me return the favor.” I smiled and gave her a small dose of my Presence and mana mixed together, which entered her mind and mixed with her own energy. She took a quick breath from the sensation and her fatigue and energy loss disappeared.

“What was that?” She asked, astonished.

“It's something I've used a few times when friends have been exhausted and needed a boost to keep going.” I said and stood up.

“That wasn't a boost!” She said. “My mana's been refilled!”

I smiled, because I had only put a small amount of mana into that mix. “Do you feel like giving me a hand, then?” I asked and she held a hand out to me. I took off my other glove and helped her stand, then led her over to the tree. “Stand aside, please.” I said to those in my way.

“Haven't you left yet?” Someone asked as they turned from the tree and looked at me.

“Despite what your people did to me, or were trying to do.” I said and looked at Ari and Nita, then at the princess. “The tree isn't at fault, so I can't leave it harmed like this.”

I had no trouble when I used a Presence Hand to yank the spear out of the tree. Everyone stared at the spear as it moved on its own. To show them that it was me, I caught the spear and stuck it into the ground. After that little display, the several elves that solemnly rubbed their hands on the bare part of the tree stepped back to let us approach. I stepped forward and concentrated on the tree. It's green energy was fluctuating as it tried desperately to repair itself, and I looked at the woman holding my hand.

“It has the same problem that I just had.” I said to her, and she nodded.

“It's deeply wounded and can't use its own energy.” She said. “It needs our help.”

“Why aren't the forest healing wards working?” Someone asked.

“If I had to take a guess, it's the difference between healing a small cut and a deep gash.” I said. “Minor healing will work... eventually... if the patient doesn't die first.”

“No!” Someone gasped.

I nodded to the one holding my hand and we reached forward together. As soon as our fingertips touched it, we were assaulted with both pain and anguish. We let go and fell to our knees as we hung our heads down and several people rushed to the woman beside me to check on her.

“It... it's all right.” She managed to say through the pain. “It's just a... a shock to... feel it like this.”

“I think that's my fault.” I said and looked at the tree. “For some reason, I feel like I have a connection to it.”

“That shouldn't be possible.” She said and looked at me. “You said you only just woke up.”

“Yeah.” I said and used several mental techniques to ignore the pain from the tree and lowered the external stimulation. “Okay, I think I've got it under control.”

“I hope so.” She said. “It won't be possible for me to concentrate if I have to feel that to try and heal it.”

I nodded and we stood up together. I took a deep breath and rather than just try to adapt as things happened, I let my Presence and mana flow out and over her to give her the same benefits of my techniques. Her eyes widened as she felt the swirling energy.

“Wh-what are you doing?” She asked as her whole body tingled.

“Sharing.” I said and nodded at the tree. She nodded back and we both put our hands on it at the same time. The force of the pain was diminished and the anguish was still there; but, it was more of a motivation now and not an overwhelming deterrent for us.

“Major healing?” She asked.

“We need to gather energy first and then apply it.” I said.

“Gather energy?” She asked, confused.

“Just close your eyes and get ready to use your healing.” I said and closed my own eyes, then I started to gather both Presence and mana from the air around me. I intentionally avoided taking any from the trees, including the massive one in front of me. With the woman next to me, I could sense she had a good-sized reserve of energy as well, so I started to siphon some into her. I felt her reserve expand to accept the extra energy and she turned her head to look at me.

“Don't stop concentrating.” I cautioned her. She didn't say anything as she closed her eyes and I felt her slight resistance to what I was doing disappear. “Good. That's good.” I said and shifted my attention back to the huge crack. Thanks to the pain feelings, it let me map where the best spot was to focus the healing. “Now!” I said and used my own Presence Heal mixed with mana to pour it into the tree. The woman chanted and her own mana poured out of her hand and into the tree as well.

I didn't have a lot of experience with healing trees; but, I had spent a lot of time inside the East Forest Glade and I had attuned myself to have a balance with the forest. I wasn't worried about the massive size of the tree, since the size itself didn't matter. What mattered was restoring its balance with its surroundings, which just happened to include me this time. I pulled more and more Presence and mana from the air and both I and the woman with me glowed green as we acted like funnels.

There was a loud creaking sound, like twisting wood, then the crack started to close. No one spoke for the next ten minutes, and I could feel the woman with me as her surprise over holding her major healing spell for so long started to overcome her desire to help the tree.

“We're almost done.” I said to distract her. “Lift your hand slightly.”

“But...”

“You don't want the bark to grow over your hand.” I said.

She opened her eyes to see the bark flowing over the parts that had been blasted away. She watched in fascination as it moved almost like water on a sandy beach towards our hands and she lifted hers up several inches. I had to smile, because she had it at just the right height for the bark to roll under her palm and felt it as it passed. The hole closed over completely and I stopped sharing my energy with her. She wobbled and someone grabbed her to hold her up.

“I'm... really tired.” She said as her eyes fluttered open and shut a few times.

“You are going to sleep for a day or so.” One of the elders said. “You channelled a lot of mana today.”

The woman nodded and looked at me. “You are...” She stopped mid-sentence and promptly fell asleep.

I looked around at them and they stared back at me. “Not even a thank you, huh?”

“You have trespassed on our lands, a sacred tree was damaged, and you threatened to kill us all.” One of the elders said. “What do you think we should say?”

“That you're sorry you immediately took me prisoner instead of waking me up and asking what's going on.” I said and she glanced at Sela. The look on her face told me all that I needed to know. “Oh, I was supposed to be killed.”

“Yes.” The elder said. “If you had been, none of the other things would have happened.”

“Then which one are you going to punish?” I asked, and she looked at me with a question on her face. “Are you going to punish the one that wanted to kill me and didn't, or the ones that stopped her?”

Her face twisted a little as she thought about it and she still couldn't respond to that question.

“What about the princess?” I asked. “Will she be punished for losing to me?”

No one said anything, then another elder spoke. “That will be up to her mother.”

“Well, you tell her mother that her daughter has been a bad girl and lost to a man.” I said with a smile and turned and started to walk across the town square. “That should really get her riled up.”

“We are going to tell her everything!” Sylvana said. “How you captured our people and held one hostage, then...”

“I honestly don't care.” I said and cut off her tirade, then had to stop walking when the group of elves in front of me didn't step out of the way to make room for me. “Really? Passive resistance?” I asked, and chuckled. “You figured out that safe passage doesn't mean unimpeded passage, haven't you?”

I took two steps back, created several solid Presence boxes at different heights, then used both Presence and mana to boost my body. It settled into my muscles much quicker than it normally should have, and I tried to hop up onto the first box I had made. I severely miscalculated my muscle enhancement and had to change my trajectory with Presence, then landed on the second box I had made about fifteen feet above their heads. They all just stared at me with open mouths and wide eyes as I stood above them on an invisible box.

“Buh-bye!” I said and waved to them, then used my newfound enhanced ability and jumped again. I landed about thirty feet up on a building roof, ran to the end, then jumped again. In a few moments, I was out of sight of the tree-town and all of the elves gathered there. I could feel the flow of Presence and mana in the forest, and I tapped into it as I activated Presence Run and turned off my powered armor. My speed quadrupled, as if I was sharing my energy with Lashina, and I laughed as the mana and Presence inside me flowed together and combined.

It's like I have two people inside of me. I thought in surprise. They are together and separate at the same time. One with Presence and one with mana.

I jumped from a large tree branch to another and kept running. I made sure to not scuff the branches with my heavy metal boots and I didn't disturb the leaves or the animals on the ground below.

Maybe I should have asked one of them to teach me more about this mana thing? I asked myself, then shrugged mentally. I'm sure I'll find someone in First Sothen to tell me what I need to know. I jumped from tree branch to tree branch, and was surprised that I barely had to jump far to reach the next big tree. If all of the trees are like this in the elves land, I'll be at the border in a day or two.

As an afterthought, I used my Presence and mana to clear off the green mana glow from the cloak and the bedroll and replaced it with my own to make them my possessions. I followed the green arrow that still floated in front of me and the tree branches stayed in a straight line as if they wanted me to have an easier time running across them.