Elevation of Mana Chapter 49 Things Fall Apart

I crawled out of my workshop late in the morning, all the gatherers having left for the day.  I'd been asked to come along today, but had been in the middle of a casting when asked.  Being a little late was okay, and it wasn't like they were going to be far from the village.

It was a short jog to the spot today, one of the better areas for berries that bloomed just before the rainy season began.  The clouds gathered, not raining yet, but shading the whole valley in a deep coolness, a welcome respite form the normally tropical climate.

“You're late,” Isha said, acknowledging my presence as I loped into the clearing.

“I was busy, where are the boys?” I asked, my own quick glance at the field showing that none were around.

“Hunting,” she said without looking up.

I did though, I looked.  Something felt off, but I couldn't place it.  It was like the air was just wrong, like an item in the house was out of place, but you couldn't figure out which it was.  I looked at each group of gatherers closely, examining for the issue.  It took me several times, my eyes circling the field before I stumbled upon it.

“Where's Cala?” I asked, suspicious.

“What?  Gathering, where else would she be?” the singer replied, her own eyes rising to look at the girl's group.  It was clear that one was missing, and so I quickly went over to where they were.

“Where's Cala?” both Isha and I asked them.

“Um?  She's been around Rindal a lot recently, going off into the woods for...” one of the older girls said, not letting it finish.  Teenagers were teenagers, but with so many gone it raised the hairs on my back.

“What about Elaya?” I inquired, since she too seemed to be missing from the clearing today.

“Back at the village, working,” the same girl said.

“Isha, can you call the hunters?” I asked.  “And send them to the cave.”

She was already forming the flare spell she would need, and said nothing more until I turned to leave.

“Where are you going?  They're hours ahead,” she said as I made my way to the treeline.

“I'm faster on my own.”

Of all the magic I did best, walls and movements of force was my best.  It and fire had been some of my earliest experiments, and putting a push to something was hilariously easy for me.  It was weird trying to do it to my own body, and decidedly dangerous.  I wasn't supernaturally touch, nor did I have insane reflexes, but I could push myself and so I did.

Every time there was a straightaway in the dense jungle, every time I could get a clean shot, I rocketed forward, magic pulsing to throw myself ahead as fast as I dared.  Flight was still a far leap for me, but I could do this much, steering and catapulting between the trees.

As a child this trip had taken many hours, even not so long ago with only a few others it had still taken the better part of the morning.  I was fresh now, and alone, there was no need for me to worry about pacing myself to anyone else.  It felt magnificent as the wind blew in my hair, and my magic flowed around me, and in under an hour I was approaching the cave once more.

I found them there, my opposite standing before the sealed rock with swirling power around him, Cala and the others standing well back.  Elaya had called in both myself and mother to block off the potential danger, and it was now nearly seamless, molten rock and thick growths blocking what used to be the entrance to the underground world.

“What are you doing!?” I yelled, moving into the little clearing with the pond.

“Ah Elian, you're here,” Rindal said, turning.  “So, you gonna help?  Or are you trying to stop me?”

The other boys looked concerned as the two of us stared each other down.  “You haven't answered my question,” I said, locking eyes with the young rebel.

“Isn't it obvious?  I'm making sure our little brothers grow up strong.  This power, it's theirs, ours, all of ours, with this our village can finally be safe from the beasts and we can become great.  Nobody will oppose us once we all have the power.”  His eyes sparkled as he spoke, but there was a hard undertone to it.

“That power is death Rindal, you know this,” I said, still moving forward slowly.

“Lies, Elaya just wants to keep us from opposing her.  You know how she is Elian, how she does what she wants, and makes us all bend to her will.  We don't have to, none of us do, and if we were all strong, we could.”

“You almost died, or don't you remember?” I asked, trying to push some reason into his head.

“You're right, and that's why we'll be more careful this time.  Just a sip at first, just a bit.  Now, are you going to help, or not?”

“No, the hunters are already on their way Rindal,” I explained, angling so that if and when magic started flying the younger kids would be out of the crossfire.  “It's time to stop.”

“You just want it all to yourself, you're just jealous that he's gotten so strong, that we could all be so strong,” Cala interjected from the side, angrily shouting my attempt at peace down.  The kids were all listening to her words too, seemingly unsure of what to do.

“That's how it is, huh?  Well then, I'll just have to beat you, and then get them their power before the men arrive.”

His angry aura flared up and we both started to move.  Rindal let loose a blast, like the one he'd been using to rip away the rocks, only for me to pull myself out of the way, the wind roared as it flew by, lashing and shattering the ground behind me.

I had other concerns, the kids.  Children were a blessing to us elves, and protecting them was always a worry.  They were so rare, so vital to keeping our village going as we lost people to accident or monster attack that they mattered too much to fight near.

I formed a box or force around my opponent and hurled him, trying to get him as far as possible from this place, from the innocents he might hurt.  It snapped into reality with little more than a flex of will, and flew back, crashing through trees into the forest beyond, myself in hot pursuit.

Once we had some room I stopped the cage in the air.  “Rindal, just stop, it doesn't have to be this way,” I pled.

“No, no, it does.  Goodbye Elian.”  He threw back his hands and my cage exploded, a quick shield being the only thing that stopped the wave of power from pulping me then and there.

Rindal stood there in the air, the amount off energy he was bringing to bear enough to manage what I'd struggled to control.  Around him energy whipped and tore at the trees, peeling bark and snatching leaves from branches to render them into little more than bits of confetti.

The last thing I could do before we began was to send up the emergency flare.  Who knew if any of the hunters who saw it would be able to help, but I had to try.  I had to try because as I looked at him and he at me I could feel it, this would be a battle that would decide the fate of our little home, either it could continue to grow and prosper, or it could fall to tyrannical power and the desire for more and more.