"It's not like anyone'll miss me, anyway. Now was it green or brown for North..."
"Okay Zel, this is definitely *not* Atlas City. For one thing, Atlas has buildings. And people. This has...not really much of anything, actually. A few stunted trees, lot's of dirt, and I think that's a skeleton over there. I don't think I like here. I want to go home." So saying, I held up the painted feather and began to chant.
"Wings of Desire, take me back to Journey's Start."
"Wings of Desire, take me back to Journey's Start."
"Wings of Desire, take me back to Journey's Start."
A dry wind sprang up, lifting the feather into the air. It soon spiraled away out of sight.
"Hey! Wait for me! You're supposed to take me with you! Oh, shi...heck."
I knew I wasn't supposed to use words like that, even if I was alone.
"Okay, now what am I going to do? Let's see, the Sun is that way, and it's still rising, so that must be east. So north is *that* way, and that's west and south is over that way. Now if I knew where I was I could get home. I know! Maybe since I used two candles for North, I went too far north! That means all I have to do is start walking south, and eventually I'll end up in Atlas City. I'm just too smart."
The hours dragged on as I walked. Why hadn't I come across any water yet? Or a road? A road would be nice, and maybe an inn where I could get some food and maybe a ride home. This wasn't as much fun as it was supposed to be. And somehow *another* rock had worked its way into my boot.
I looked up. Why was I lying on the ground? This wasn't my bedroom.
I coughed. "I want some water!" But only the wind heard me.
I picked myself up off of the dirt. "Well, at least the sun is starting to set. That means it'll start cooling off." My stomach grumbled.
" Why didn't I bring along something to eat?" I started to walk again.
"C'mon, just sit there a little longer." I lifted the rock a little higher, then threw it with all my strength. The lizard skittered off of the boulder just as the rock struck where it had been. "No! It's not fair! They never have this much trouble in the stories...and I don't remember the hero ever eating lizards, either. They do *not* taste just like chicken!"
Water? Water!! I threw himself forward, face first into the small pool. Thirstily gulping the water down, I didn't stop until my stomach felt like it would burst. Then the pain hit. "Ooh...I think I drank too much-"
I woke with a start. Looking around, I didn't see anything immediately. "Okay, *something* made that noise. Anyone out there?"
There was a quiet cough above me. There, on top of the boulder, I could make out the silhouette of a cat in the remaining moonlight. "Go away, kitty! Zel isn't food!" I grabbed a rock and threw it at the cat. Just missing, the rock clattered off of the stone near its paws. The cat hissed at me, slinking off behind the boulder. "So much for sleeping tonight," I commented to myself as I picked up a stick and edged farther back into the cleft, wishing I had some more substantial weapon, like maybe a dozen guardsmen. It was going to be a long night...
I stopped. There it was again. A faint stirring of magic. It was off to my left, this time. Towards that cairnlike rock. As I moved closer to the cairn, the feeling of magic got stronger. With my Othersense, it smelled rank and foetid. Not good. Naelor was rising full over the cairn, casting the scene in silvery light contrasted with stark shadow. Something moved behind me. Shadow Wolf. I was scre- seriously inconvenienced. It began to circle to the right as more rose up out of the darkness. Oh, come on! Why me? Casting about, nothing came to hand but a small piece of flint. An idea formed. A spell Lady Nagaa had described once when she was visiting. I knew I wasn't supposed to be trying magics like that yet, but they'd been talking to loud for me to sleep. And it could help me now...
I gathered a handful of dirt in my left hand, and holding the flint in the other I began to chant.
"Spirits of the Earth, heed my Call!
"By the Ancient Pact I Summon thee!
"By the Ancient Pact I Call thee!
"By the Blood that is the Bond,
"By the Word that is the Law,
"Vu Vraimaa! Come now to my aid!"
As I chanted, I cut my left hand with the flint, letting the blood mix with the Earth. Suddenly weakened, I fell to my knees. Then the ground began to move. It lifted up like an erupting volcano, subsiding into a large humanoid form. "IN ACCORDANCE TO THE ANCIENT WRIT THE SUMMONS HAS BEEN ANSWERED. WHAT IS THE NEED?" Its voice rolled over me like a wall.
The Wolves, however, continued to circle widdershins. They were raising a Power. "Vu Vraimaa! The Wolves, that which they Call, must be stopped!"
The Elemental seemed to peer down at me. "ASSHA MIZU...THOU HAST THE POWER ALREADY, THOUGH YET QUISCENT. VERY WELL. THE PRICE HAS BEEN PAID. THE TASK HAS BEEN SET." I don't know what it meant by that... Child of Water? It suddenly sank back into the ground. What? Had I been abandoned? But no, just as suddenly, spires of stone speared up out of the ground, impaling each of the wolves. A circular crevass opened, taking the spires and the wolves down into the bowls of the earth. With a crash that knocked me prone, the crevass slammed shut again. All was silence, with only a few small cracks in the ground as evidence that anything had happened at all.
The image in the pool misted over, resolving itself into the small carp filled pond it had been before.
"So what happened next," she asked.
"Well, I wandered around for another week or so. I'm not really sure exactly when that happened. But when I was finally found, I'd been in the Wastes for over a month. Nobody understands how I could have survived there for a week, nevermind a month. Experienced outdoorsmen have died in there."
"So how *did* you survive?"
I don't know. Luck? Determination? I just knew I couldn't give up. That could be what it had meant when it called me Assha Mizu. Just as Earth is associated with strength or Air with skill, Water is associated with endurance. Water persists, turning mountains into fields and fields into canyons. Hit a stone wall with a hammer, and the stone breaks. Try to hit water with a hammer and look what happens. Nothing. But keep it up, and eventually your arm will tire, you'll drop the hammer, and it will slowly rust away into nothing.
"Anyway, it's time to go."
She laughed. "Already? Don't you ever get tired?"
"No. And neither does the enemy. C'mon, we have a war to win."
| Monday, November 10, 1997 |
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