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Blossom scented air wafted softly past and golden sunlight bathed her gently. She sat crosslegged in the center of the Druid's Grove, relaxed and aware. Her loyal Great was coiled in the clearing, dozing but with draconic senses attuned to any possible danger. As she let go of her body, she felt as if she was growing larger and yet receding or sinking. She could feel the minute sparks of life in every single blade of grass in the clearing, the slow, patient strength of the trees that encircled this glade of tranquility and safety. Deeper she went into druidic awareness until she could taste the sea, feel the moist clouds that scudded slowly overhead, see the curve of the globe and hear the murmurings of billions of living things upon the world and faint, ethereal music of the stars.

She opened her eyes and they glowed with an inner, greater light as she merged with the Mother, the world itself. Quietness pervaded her senses and a deep tranquility filled her soul. Her draconic companion opened one eye just a slit and peered at the green woman, now more than a human, floating quietly above the sward, glowing with a pale light that was a balm to the eye. The antlers atop her head held the deep, ruddy glow of life itself, her fingers were the branches of every tree, her toes the roots seeking deep within the soil for nourishment. Her hair was the sky and clouds, the rain her tears, the wind her breath, and her heart, a boiling cauldron that pumped life-giving heat to everything within and upon her.

The irrepressible joy and relentless growth of life filled her and the Balance was within her. All creatures were her children and some were violent, some peaceful, some angry and some sad. The entire gamut of emotion and ways of life was encompassed by the ones that lived here and it took all of that to create the Balance. But, there was a Taint.

Somewhere was a thing of eternal darkness, a thing twisted and obscure, something that was not within the Balance. She sought it but it always seemed to be just beyond her perception. In the grove, beads of sweat slid slickly down her human face and her body trembled as she gave all her energies into the search. She could not locate it but found evidence of its passage.

Shopkeepers in towns were raging and frustrated whereas before they had always been content. Inside their minds, they screamed and wept, but they were forced to swarm out, attacking anyone. Brigands and mercenaries slavered with greed and viciousness. The Praetorian warriors were twisted now, driven with a dark energy that burned within them. It seared their bodies and minds, driving them to unimagined violence. There were mutated vermin with incomprehensible power and origin, twisted things of evil driven past insanity. An adventurer killed the town crier in front of the Britain bank and people laughed. An apple tree withered as worms devoured its aromatic trunk. A young tamer set his new dragon to killing cows and chickens. Healers and village folk were slain senselessly. The Taint spread slowly, seeking to disturb the balance and wreak utter destruction to the world, to all life.

Slowly she came back to herself, finding her body once more, no longer part of the All but just a simple human again. She lay upon the grass, her heart pounding, breath gasping, tears in her eyes as she remembered the visions of horror she had witnessed. This Prophet was a tool, the real evil stemmed from something else, perhaps something he had found and been taken captive by. Something from some other place, a twisted universe of pain and violence. The source of this must be found and destroyed; for there was madness upon the land.

quite a writer

Lyl wrote:quite a writer

LOL Lyl......quite an understatement. I love this guys writings!!

Herakles

Hail
Yes another great story and is well written.