Chương 27: More and Even More Discoveries

I haven't been this far out of the Enclave since the night of the botched contract in the Town Hall. Everything around me feels alive. Like its waiting for me to step forward and claim the power I sense humming all around me. It bleeds in through my fingertips, eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. All of my senses consumed by it. Power is heady, but there is truly a responsibility that goes along with it. One I neglected when I pulled so desperately what seems so long ago now.

In the clearing where the Blood Sect sought us out. When I buried all those people alive. And that's what's happened to everyone who has tried to wield power in the last century. Inadvertently or deliberately. With the power relegated to the back of everyone's minds, no one knows anymore how best to tame it. Those who came into it during childhood never got to practice. One use and they were devoured. My mother saved me. Her attention to plants and to herbs, to the craft of alchemy is what saved me.

It runs in my blood and always had, slowly building resilience. This humming is so loud now, but it's been with me off and on for as long as I can remember. From the time I was tiny and clutching my mother's skirts, to when they died, and all I had at night were the plants I'd taken from the forest. The gentle sound of music just for my ears. That hadn't been listened to in a millennia. Now, however, is not the time to get lost in it, as much as I might like to.

This is to help me, to teach me, so that I don't cease to exist. So that the power has someone to channel it. My Recovery Acclimation has been active the entire day. On and off anyway. I've put so much effort into maintaining that hum in my ears, to remembering that it needs to always be there for me to get stronger. It's still not unconscious, but it is getting easier to leave it switched on. Moving on from there, I need to work on Germination Control, which is a large part of why we're here.

Helping plants grow, helping them thrive in cold and unwieldy circumstances with rocky ground that isn't ideal? That's the goal for today. This way I won't leave evidence in the herb garden for everyone to see. If I feel around me: the ground and its soil is lacking in nutrients. There are ways to pull those necessary elements through the bed beneath it and up into the soil to assist the plants failing to thrive completely. It's difficult to grasp though.

One of those things where I have to concentrate so hard I break out in a sweat. Pulling the smaller particles through the ground, raising the healthier soil that's too deep.

"Damn it." I say and open my eyes only to find Xan leaning against one of the massive rocks around us, watching me silently.

"What's wrong?" they ask, their tone calming.

"Just trying to pull nutrients into the soil, but I can't create them from nothing, so…" I shrug.

"Have you tried bringing water over? Or under? Everything over here feels drier than it does around the Enclave." Xan's tone is full of logic. I blink at them. They're right. The Enclave is on the edge of constant water. We haven't had much rain lately, so the ground around here is much drier. Add to that the canopy conceals the ground from the would-be light rainfall and that's a perfect idea. Except, earth is my element. While water can work in tandem with it, I have no idea if it'll answer to me.

I might be too far for it to listen, for me to reach, for it to make a difference. But I'll try it. This time when I close my eyes, I can almost feel the anticipation around me. It's as if the forest knows what I'm about to do, about to attempt. Encouragement whispers at me from all around. I dig deeper, farther than I have before, beyond the rocky landscape we're sitting in, toward where I know the whitewater of the falls dances in the afternoon sunlight. It's faint at first.

Just like when I was in the catacombs beneath the city, I can feel the power of the water. Right there, waiting for something, for someone. Perhaps it's waiting for me. There's this jovial feeling around water, this happiness. It is indeed a giver of life. The earth can't do anything without it. Photosynthesis is useless without water to help provide sustenance and nutrients. It tickles when it touches my mind. A questioning presence at first. Who? I am Taria, and I can sense you.

That's what I try to convey, but I'm uncertain if it works. My own abilities are lacking. A general feeling of curiosity washes over me, as if a cold shower just drenched me. It ignites a tingling down my spine. Anticipation leaks from the connection. Why? This, this I can show. I send an image of what I'm trying to achieve. How I want to enrich the soil, make it easier for plants and trees to survive. The way I can help guide the roots, the life and make it thrive, if only I had water's help.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Interest sparks and it's almost like the element is having a conversation with itself. Nothing dark lingers around that presence, just light. This warm, giving sensation. Okay… but only if… And there for a moment there's nothing. Nothing telling me what it wants. All at once pictures bombard my mind. Pulling at me, tugging at my awareness, roaring through my mind. It's greedy and excited. The water wants me to play with it too.

Because it hasn't had anyone in so long all it has are shadows of memories of those who came before. Water. I am in tune with water too. I acquiesce, promising that I will get to work figuring out how to use it. But I warn it—there are things I must do, and it's better for all of us if I can use both earth and water together at the same time. A presence I don't understand looms over me, like it's judging and grudgingly accepting what I've offered. For now, anyway.

Reaching this strange if tentative agreement, the water suddenly floods to where I've asked that it reach. Over to me and through to the spots of earth that are simply too starved of water to help the life above it grown. It seeps into the ground, through the soil, bringing in all the nutrients, touching on the roots I couldn't reach before. Life begins to flow through them, through me. But unlike the bandits, this makes me feel stronger too.

Not only is the ground, the world around me expanding, but I'm being strengthened through it. Helping life, pushing for it to bloom.

"Holy shit, Ria!" The exclamation from Xan sounds so far away from me at first, like it's in another place, perhaps a dream even. Slowly, I blink open my eyes, a strange sort of double vision plaguing me at first. The ground around me has sprouted bushes, grass, and the trees are noticeably healthier. Leaves on the undergrowth are crisp and new. Mushrooms litter the ground around me, reminding me of fairy circles as they were described in books when I was a child.

Perfectly lined up around me like a village that houses magical creatures. It's like a vision of spring at the onset of winter.

"Wow," I say, the sensations rushing through the magical channels in my body lighting me with wonder. Every single gram of power is evident in the way I see things, move my body. Standing up, I realize I'm dizzy, and yet… light as a feather. As if the sheer power coursing through me is giving me life. No. Showing me life. It isn't stopping just because I've opened my eyes. The magic continues, seeking out growth and expansion, funneling the rays of sun through in a way even more efficient than usual.

Flowers extend petals, leaves revert to buds again. Magical. Powerful. Blatant. That's the thought that pulls me back from the brink of asking for more. Of asking the entire forest to bloom again, despite what the weather is telling it. Too much, and it'll consume me too. Finally, the ground beneath me feels solid again, and the humming recedes back from the crescendo of engulfing sensations that threated to take me over. I drop to one knee, panting, and yet—I feel so much stronger than I did before.

"Ria?" Xan's voice is closer now, and I look up to see them standing a couple of steps away, their brow pinched with worry.

"Are you okay now?" I nod, still feeling breathless at the wonder, the power of it all.

"I am, and for once, I truly am fine." It's not even just okay or fine. There's sensations running all through me that make me feel like I am invincible. Perhaps I can be with magic? Or is that a reckless thought?

"You actually look fine." They're walking around me now, like they're performing an assessment of sorts. Checking for anything that's out of place. Then they stop, right in front of me and gesture around at the area I just revitalized.

"How did doing all of this, not drain you?" I do pause, because I can't quite think of how to explain it, but I figure I'll just go for it.

"This is a mix of using Germination Control and Recovery Acclimation together. It allows me to replenish my own energy that I use in casting, but mostly, because I'm helping my element thrive for the sake of nature, it doesn't actively hurt me. As long as I don't push it, I think." Xan looks about as confused as I feel that explanation demands, so I give it another try.

"I'm helping it do its job, and just manipulating the flow of energies around it that already exist. Thus, it doesn't need to suck my own energy dry. It just needs a little nudge and redirection of itself."

"So, then…this hasn't helped you figure out how to use your actual magical abilities for self-defense or you know, quick burials?"

"No. No it hasn't." I shake my head making sure that hum is ever present. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

"I don't think it's quite so easy to practice the third type of power manipulation." Xan looks thoughtful for a moment.

"Ok then, I have an idea. Let's bury a rock in the ground with your power. And then bury something totally self-serving in the ground. That should help you gauge how much energy things might need?"

"Like what?" I ask, intrigued by the idea.

"I brought just such things for this occasion." Xan's eyes twinkle at me as they reach into their backpack and pull out a rock, and what looks like a small chest. It's easily held in one hand, or at least, balances precariously on the palm of their hand. Taking the rock, I walk outside of my fairy circle. It might not last for long with winter approaching, but I'm quite proud of it. I crouch down and place the rock on the ground. It takes me a few moments to think of how to trigger Conduit Expansion.

To be honest, I'm probably a little scared for the first time in my life. Even when my parents died, I made a plan for revenge, for knowledge. I'd like to think I don't scare easily. But this is something that sucked so much lifeforce out of me, I'm partially terrified to do it again. The rock is as big as my fist though, and I've recovered, so the odds of it hurting me like it did back then are low.

Taking a deep breath, I place my hand above the rock, close my eyes and envision the rock sinking into the ground just below the topsoil.

"Sink," I say, the command I give, even though I'm not sure I need to speak anything out loud. It's more to warn Xan that something's about to happen. I open my eyes as I feel a slight tug against the harmony of the hum around me, and watch in mild astonishment as the ground closes over the fist-sized rock. I'm not entirely sure what I expected. Perhaps that the entire section of earth around us would open up by accident. But no, this worked about how I hoped it would.

The earth only clears as much room as is necessary for the requested task.

"How do you feel?" asks Xan, leaning forward but not getting quite close to where the rock disappeared. Taking stock of my body, I ponder the question. My body feels fine. I don't even feel like it took energy from me.

"It might have counted that as Germination Control." Xan nods.

"One of the possibilities. So, try the small chest next." I take it from Xan's hands and am surprised at how sturdy it is. It weighs more than I expected it to when I saw them take it out of their backpack. There is absolutely no reason the earth can see this as returning to the earth despite the fact that it's made out of wood. The wood has been carved and treated. It's no longer living. I, for one, can sense no life from it. In a way, I find that sad.

Moving a few steps away, I crouch down again and place the chest on the ground, my hand hovering above it. This time, I envisage what I want to happen to the item and don't close my eyes. This time, I want to watch everything.

"Devour," I command the ground. In an instant the earth cracks slightly and a root pokes out, unfurling as it reaches for the small chest. Latching onto it, the root tugs it into the soil, dirt, and rocks, before closing the ground over the top of it. During the whole episode, the humming around me intensifies, and I feel it tug at me. I can feel the rush through my veins, or I guess it's my magical conduits now. There's a flash of pain ever so brief and then it's gone.

A wave of fatigue washes over me, but it's short, and the hum tones back down to it's usual volume as my energy returns mostly to normal.

"And?" Xan prompts me. I'm surprised. So much in fact that I'm unsure how to quantify it.

"It took energy out of me, but not enough that my Recovery Acclimation can't immediately deal with it."

"So what you're doing is working then?" they ask, their eyes hopeful. I can't help but answer in the affirmative.

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks for the help, Xan. I guess I can count on you." Their response isn't what I expect, but then it rarely is. They look away sheepishly before replying, and do not meet my gaze.

"Aww shucks," is all they say. That's okay though. We can all have secrets. I don't need to tell them that I have a gut feeling that I'm missing something very important in the process of Conduit Expansion. That while it's working, I can still feel it wanting to consume me.