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He slammed into the thick boled tree with a stunning force. Brilliant bits of light seemed to float about him as he shook his head and then ducked by ingrained reflex. The crude, heavy club slammed into the where his head had been a moment ago and Flinc lurched unsteadily to his right, his rapier darting out automatically towards the massive body of the ogre. It bellowed "EEeehhf!" as the razored tip slashed a narrow furrow along one thickly muscled arm. Flinc regained his senses more completely and crouched, ready to move any direction as the ogre twisted it's features in an indescribable grimace. Flinc feinted to the left, paused, and when the ogre started to swing, he faded to the right and lunged forwards, one hand lightly touching the ground with the other extended fully in a classic passata-sotto. The thin blade of the rapier slid into the ogre's chest with scarcely a pause, piercing a lung, the heart, massive amounts of blubber and nicking the spinal cord. Lurching backwards, the ogre's eyes rolled upwards and it collapsed in an ungainly heap upon the ground.

Flinc grinned and then winced as he stretched his battered back. He had barely avoided the first swing of the club by throwing himself backwards and colliding with the tree. His arms instructor would have broken him back to a neophyte if he had seen such an awkward move, but at least he was alive. IF he hadn't been daydreaming, the ogre wouldn't have been able to get close. The ogre had some gold and miscellaneous bits of armor which Flinc tucked into his pack. He gazed down the hill over the broad rolling meadow. Wildflowers and tall grass moved gently in the breeze. At the edge of the wide river, thick rushes sprouted and an ancient willow tree sprawled, its gnarled roots spread out and sunk deeply into the earth.

Flinc imagined a small, sturdy house sitting there by the willow with a walk of closely fit, flat river rock. There was room for a garden and the meadow itself held plenty of room for fruit and nut trees. The river was full of fish, and rabbits, squirrels, deer and other game filled the woods. When he had mastered the mage spell of Gate, nothing was far away as long as he had a rune previously marked.

He also could speak with Faara, now that he had found a place they both could love. If she would marry him then he would indeed, have all. She was a student mage who worked at the Lycaeum. Flinc had met her when he was rummaging around for old scrolls about the Yew crypts. Her hair was dark, long and slightly curled at the ends that reached down to her waist. Short bangs framed a heart-shaped face with high cheekbones. Her mouth was generous and sweet. She had a short nose that was slightly tilted upwards and her eyes were the deepest, dark brown with flecks of amber. Flinc often had trouble breathing when she was near.

Faara found joy in every aspect of life and her enthusiasm was unbounded. She had an endless thirst for knowledge, as did Flinc, and this mutual thirst attracted them to one another. A more serious hunger developed shortly thereafter. Flinc would compose poems about her and Faara would sing ballads to him. They often studied together and talked of a million different things. Things got more and more serious as time went by and as Spring blossomed into Summer that faded gently into Fall, Flinc and Faara were inseperable. Flinc smiled as he remembered Faara's blush at his abbreviated poem of summer that he had recited quietly the other day, while gazing into her eyes:

Warm sunbeam caresses in a woodland glade
a soft breeze sighs through shielding leaves
the two individuals join as One
trembling, vibrant, warm skin touching
voicing moist cries and murmurs of love;
the woodland flowers preen in glory
while yielding mosses gently receive
the lovers, and all of nature,
merge in global ecstasy.

Faara had swallowed, blinked her eyes and then arched an eyebrow at him when he finished breathing out the last line. Then she reminded him of their centering sessions, the druidic focuses to bring fuller awareness of the constance of life. The object was to let go completely of the Self while becoming One with all life. An exercise that many could not even comprehend, much less practice. But, somehow a spiritual resonance between them had allowed the pair to drop their own self limiting preconceptions and attain a limited ulta-consciousness for a short time. This discipline was referred to by many names but often called a kundalini exercise. She cocked her head to one side, her eyes narrowed slightly as she thought of how to succintly express it, and then smiling at him shyly she chanted:

Surging energies swirl and roil
Concentrating, elevating
Golden snake of power uncoils.

The Path is clear of all obstruction
Thrusting up the spinal weave
Torrent of life's ejaculation.

Mindstorm clears the shadowed court
Eyes of stars, reflecting pool
Open mind and heart are One,

Nothingness and All will rule.

Flinc had clapped his hands exuberantly and kissed her thoroughly at the end. Faara's instructor had entered the room just at that moment and stood there scowling. "Are you studying to be a mage or a lover, young lady?" he had admonished her. "And you, young vagabond, leave my most promising student alone. She has better things to do than consort with a boy who thinks his rapier is all that matters!" Flinc and Faara had collapsed in laughter at the implications while her mentor threw up his hands and stomped off in pretended anger. In truth, Flinc had at least the arcane potential of Faara and she thought there were untapped reservoirs inside him that none had glimpsed. He was thought of highly at the Lycaeum and master mages vied to teach him, and Faara both.

Faara was more mage inclined while Flinc showed a natural trend towards druidism. But both cross-studied together and as a result, advanced rapidly. Faara could already cast a gate but Flinc was ahead of her in druidic spells. With his natural martial abilities, they were an unbeatable team in combat and had proven it many times. They had been visiting the Brother's at the Abbey when a rider had galloped up, shouting in horror of the mutant rats in the village of Yew. Flinc and Faara had not hesitated but ran to assist the adventurer's that were assembling there.

The Brother's had tried to convince them to refrain from violence but this pair followed a different path. Their mutual love, and love for the Light of life, gave them the determination to battle evil in any of its multitudinous forms. In the Yew battle, luminaries of the realm such as Nox Starfire, Belle Remings, Chesea Duklain, Katrina Delsbar, Sachiko, Thane Stormrider and others fought the horrific rats. Flinc and Faara had encountered a swarm of the snarling beasts just before Yew town and sent each one squeaking, or roaring as the case might be, to their final deaths.

There was always violence in the World but that was part of life. In existence there was a balance between peace and violence, between love and hate, good and evil. It was a dynamic process and all one could do was fight for what they believed in and hope it was enough. But, life was not all battle. To live meant to enjoy life, to watch the sun rise and the sun set. To enjoy the flights of butterflies and the quiet grazing of deer. The most important part of life was Love. Loving life itself, loving the land, the skies and the waters. Loving the animals and the plants, and most of all, loving another human being. Most went through life searching for such a person and never finding that exact person. But Flinc and Faara had beat the odds and found one another.

-to be continued.

note: Flinc and Faara came to life over 20 years ago in a series of bedtime stories that I told my children. Flinc was their favorite. He was my favorite too and months went by as he studied combat and magery. In time he became the Master Mage of the world, Holder of the Seals. Faara appeared on the scene about mid way through this saga and became just as important. Eventually they married and had a pair of children. A lot of this are lost tales, lost in the mists of time and memory now but I thought I might resurrect them in a form in the World of Dreams.