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Chapter 2

I rose up from a bed of marigolds. I breathed in the sweet air with my eyes closed. I had missed the outdoors so much! I stretched my arms and popped my neck, then slumped back down on the soft grass. I was so comfortable in here. The sun shone from behind a cloud, and I felt its warmth like a soft blanket.

How long had it been since I had been outside? It felt like it had been an eternity. Even if I couldn't remember the path trodden, my soles were worn and my feet were sore. I sighed contently, and stretched my hand out.

I felt your hand around mine, closing gently. How long had it been since I had seen you last? I kept my eyes closed, afraid of losing you to my memories again. I felt your warmth next to me, you smelled of cinderwood and wineberries. I pulled you closer, held you tight as you pressed against me. Your lips touched mine hesitantly, kissed me once, two times. My free hand moved gently over your body, exploring it so I could commit your shape to memory, hoping this time would take. My fingers brushed over your soft fur over your bare body, moving slowly up your leg.

Your body and mine entwined under a kind sun. You whispered three words in my ear and I blushed. I gasped and moaned in hushed tones, your sounds were taken by the wind, but I knew them well. I knew your expressions as our bodies tensed up as we culminated our dance.

Spent, we weaved our fingers together. You told me about your travels, I sang for you. I wished I could remember more to tell you, but you understood -you always did. We held each other quietly, listening to the waves of grass and the bobbing dandelions.

I blinked.

It was a beautiful sunset over the coast. I sat up, and looked around. I was alone atop a grassy hill. Behind me, I could see the steps in the sand from where I had come, stretching far towards the reds and violets in the horizon. You had vanished like a feverish dream overnight.

-It's ok- I told myself, half believing it. -I will wait however long it takes us to be together again.-

I stood up and brushed the sand off of my robes, and picked up my leather bag. It felt lighter than usual, and my stomach grumbled.

Almost there.

Almost where?

I sat on the plaza's fountain and dropped a copper coin into it, playfully. Then I thought better about it; I pulled up the sleeve of my robe and sunk my warm in the cool waters. As I shook my arm dry, I noticed an elder baker boar guffawing at me.

"Are you that bad-off that you'd rather cash in an unfulfilled wish?"

I stood up and placed the copper on his counter. "I would rather think of it as encouraging the wish along. I wished for food, and for your good fortune, so if you sell me a loaf for this copper, I'd say we both will be a step into it, wouldn't you agree?"

The baker gave a hearty laugh and patted his rounded belly. "Certainly, brother!" He looked at my robes and staff "Howzabout I make it two loafs and you give my business a proper blessing, then?"

I nodded guiltily. In truth, a "blessing" would do as much good as a coin on a well and most people knew it, but many still delighted themselves in playing along superstitions. I took a step back and drew a small circle with the staff on the ground, thinking of creatures thought of bringing good luck. A woodland spirit felt the call and stepped in playfully into reality inside the circle, dancing and making funny faces at us, then disappeared.

The baker stretched my hand, gave me two loaves and even tossed in a small meat pie. As I ate half a loaf he mumbled thoughtfully "Not many callers visit us nowadays", stroking the stout beard under his porcine tusks. "You reckon summthin' happened?"

I meant to say was that summoning was highly taxing and was dangerous to the overconfident or the frail. I also wanted to say summoners were meant to wander and roads were unsafe. I wanted to add that with increased reliance on mages or new technology meant lighter coin purses. All I managed to do was shrug and grunt with a mouthful of breath -which, to be fair, was just as good for the baker.

"Well, have safe travels anyway" he stated, and snorted shrugging his thick snout.

I wrapped the rest of the loaves and the pie on a worn cloth, then packed it in my bag. I thought it would be nice if I could get some cheese and dried fruits to go with it.

I wandered around for a while. The sandy floor cooled off under my soles and the shadows stretched longer as the blanket of night extended lazily over the dunes.

A few hours later I sat under a palm tree, throwing away the pits of some phoenix fruit. I had a small fire pit and a kettle warming up oasis water. I opened my journal and a sharpened charcoal. I struggled to read through the haze of my notes; it was like trying to spot a lighthouse across a dense fog, and my brow grew tired of the intense frowning.

Still, I found the next blank page and started writing. I wrote about your scent and how much I missed you. I wrote of the beauty of the sunsets. I wrote of a friendly baker. Some words stuck, some vanished like ink on wet paper.

The kettle whistled, and I poured myself a hot cup of tea on a tin cup. I ignored the curious eyes from critters hiding in the dunes, and flipped through my notes, trying to unearth some memories.

Ocean cavern. That's right, I was looking for one, to fulfill a pact. Him -that's right, you skirted the edge of my memories but the tethers had held. Pact... pact... pact... seemed like a lot. Sweet cakes in the town of ___, those had been good. Something else... a haze memory of happiness, I read that one a few times, whatever it was.

I fell asleep under the stars, clutching my journal in my arms.

How long had I been walking? My feet sank in the sand like molten gold. I dragged myself across, trying to find shade. It seemed endless, an ocean of sand stretched beyond the four cardinals. It called out to me, there was something there.

I felt the rumble under my feet. Something glided under the sand, but it was its presence that caused the shaking. The land itself feared it and trembled as it opened to let it pass. And in its wake it would drag down an entire city.

It was the land that called out to me. To anyone that could help. It was their cry that I had followed like a piercing whistle.

I stretched my staff above me, and started chanting. The ground rose beneath me and tossed me to my knees, then tossed me around effortlessly. I tried to get up, coughing sand, and the land erupted underneath. I was flung, and I landed as limp as a rag doll, deafened and blinded by the impact.

And the spirit had yet to notice of me. To it, I was just as irrelevant as the ants crawling in the path it torn asunder. A pact would be impossible, it would be like taming a volcano and leashing it with the wind itself.

I should run, but standing was impossible under the unsteady ground. I tried crawling, and the land gave way under me. I was trapped, a castaway in a desert storm. Waves and eddies of sand thrashed around and I could barely hope to stay above it.

I stretched my staff to try to gain a foothold, and channeled power in a desperate attempt. The magic flared untempered and raw, lacking focus of a proper spell. I spoke a handful of words, hoping to channel it, and the unbridled arcane energy scattered around me.

Most of the spell was lost, but a few water lashes hit the ground, soaking it through. I grabbed on to it like a plank from a wreckage, and tried to gain better footing. I shifted to my knees and tried again. This time a large bubble burst around me, scattering a deluge of salt water. The thirsty earth drank it up and from the clumped sand I garnered some foothold.

I scurried to my knees and spun the staff, chanting loudly. It was this channeling that finally caught the attention of the spirit, but this force of nature was not curious or patient, it stopped in its tracks and a massive pillar of sand jutted into the sky. It was larger than an obelisk, and its sheer size weighted down on me as a looming threat.

Suddenly, the sand surrounding it started turning and dropping towards its. The ground spiraled down, as if it was trying to drag the entire land into its domain.

My chanting became a pitiful plead. "Drown this land, turn this realm into your own and to your own image!" I shouted into the storm. "Swallow up those who defy you!" The sand had dragged me down to my waist. "Save me, for my life is yours!" I cried out.

The skies billowed and darkened. A deafening boom from the sky announced the completion of the ritual, and a large figure materialized. The spirit and its kin had responded, and I recognized its wreath -it was the same that I had once confronted. Would it be enough? And even if it was, would I survive it?

A cold dread shook me as a sudden tidal wave took form above, and time froze for a second as it gathered weightlessly.

Then it began falling, growing larger and obscuring the sky above. The land spirit roared, and its cry was of the world itself, ravaged and resentful. It jutted pillars of sand above, attempting to break through. As the two powers collided I braced myself.

The clash was silent at first, then a massive roar that echoed across the desert.

The sky began to clear up as the power from the calling dissipated. I dug myself out, coughed and gasped for air, and dared to look down at the other spirit. It was all wet sand as far as I could see, and the monstrous pillar cracked under its own weight.

I sighed in relief, and stood up.

Then my heart sank. The spirit shook the wet sand as a molting snake, and huge chunks of sand crashed on the ground below.

It began its movement again, struggling under the wet ground. I was exhausted, having poured so much into the call, even if my spirit had taken most of the burden itself. I dropped as my stamina gave out.

But then the spirit hesitated. It seemed uneasy with its surroundings, or with itself.

Some spark of hope burning in me. I gather was much strength as I could and reached out to the smaller spirits of this land, calling for those of greenery and growth.

Some were too scared to approach, some did not trust me or my power, but a few of them decided to aid. I focused inwards, thinking back to you, the feeling of grass under my body, the sound of leaves rustling. The thoughts took root, seeds sprouted, and tremulous flowers budded.

As a quilt of greenery unfurled, the beast coiled down foggily. It covered itself in the damp earth, and the grass covered it smoothly. The spirit's rage subsided; it hadn't been contented or quelled, but for the time being it had been replaced by the desire to sleep. The primal beast slumbered and its cover flourished. A remnant of water pooled down the abandoned hole, and was turned into an oasis at the base of a verdant mound.

I signed in relief, and curled up to nap beside it.