Into The Forest

Liam is an elemental: he "controls" the earth element. In this exert he uses his powers to help make up for lost time.

It was later in the day than Liam had hoped. The night before he had had every intention of leaving during the grey, partial light that occurred just before the sun rose. But Liam had chosen to have a drink with a pretty serving girl that evening, and things had gotten out of hand . . .

So here he was. Well in to the day, just making his way into the forest. Liam had been set out by his royal highness to save his daughter, the (lovely) princess Dahlia. The other elements had already had the head start on him, as Liam had been taking a vacation. It was rare that he ever got to take a vacation, and technically Liam wasn't supposed to, but he did anyways. These thoughts spurred Liam in to a run, until h realized there was a faster way of getting there.

Liam groaned in indecision. He knew he should get used to using his powers, but Liam still couldn't help but hate calling upon them. He always felt like it was cheating, especially in fights. In fights with everyone, that is, except for his fellow elementals. They had the same advantage that he had, so it wasn't that bad to use them. Or at least that's how Liam reasoned it. Then again, how was this cheating? Was it cheating to have a superior mode of transportation? Was it cheating to make his journey a little easier? Liam suddenly realized he had stopped walking. He was still on the edge of the forest, so the foliage was sparse. Looking at the packed dirt beneath him, then up at the position of the sun--for the rain clouds had yet to reach him--Liam made up his mind.

His eyes flashed green as Liam reached in to the far corners of his mind to delve in to the stores of magic there. Of course there wasn't an actual pool of light in his mind, this was just the way Liam liked to visualize his powers. It really did nothing but give him a sense of what could most closely be called satisfaction. He envisioned the light spreading from his mind to ground below him, merging the two. Body and land became one until their minds had merged. The buzzing, contented feeling of the earth spread in to Liam's mind, allowing him to think and feel as the soil did. The ground was a buzz with whispers, faint pictures of fire and destruction. This could mean but one thing; Charlie was up to no good.

Slowly Liam disentangled himself from the earth; slowly, for everything was done slowly when the earth was concerned. The connecting of him and the earth rarely occurred. It also wasn't Liam had intended to do, but he had gotten carried away, and the soil itself had wanted him to know the things he had been shown. He shook his head. Next time Liam would need to keep a better handle on his powers. The earth had a mind of its own, and tended to want to bend his will to its own. This was another reason Liam didn't prefer using his powers.

Skipping all fancy gestures, Liam got right down to the point. The dirt beneath him rose as if a giant gopher were burrowing beneath him. Setting his face forward, a small smile upon his lips, Liam began moving his little hump forward, the forest around him becoming a blur. Every once in a while Liam would have to push his legs in a skating motion, for the hump of his was rather like an air pocket below the earth that passed beneath it, and thus the land covering it changed. The amount of effort he used to skate along on top of the hump was still less effort than it was to walk however, so Liam found this mode of transportation to be the most efficient.

Suddenly the foliage began to change. It thickened and rippled out, moving and changing like some form of green and brown water. Probably not very healthy. Liam made a mental note not to drink foliage-water. He was so entranced by this ebb and flow that Liam did not realize that the forest was again thinning out. Pretty soon all that was left around Liam was sand, sand, and more sand. Frowning, Liam came to a halt. Somehow he had ended up in the desert bordering the forest. Scanning the horizon, Liam could see a faint line of trees, so slowly he began heading for it. Perhaps skating wasn't the best way to look for the princess, or the other elementals.

Author's Note

This is an old exert.