I stood at the clearing edge, taking everything in for long seconds. A single tear even came out of my eye and made it down my cheek as I was too overwhelmed by the moment to wipe it away.

If I had the opportunity, I would have remained rooted in place for hours. And for every second I stood there, my eyes would have burned every detail into my mind multiple times. Because everything was straight out of the legends and myths that my mother had told me in childhood. With each breath I took of the sweet air, I felt a greater feeling of peace and tranquility overcome my mind.

The feelings became so oppressive that taking a single step forward was becoming challenging, though not such a burden that it could stop me. I had to move deeper into the clearing, not to escape my pursuers — as I was happy to die here — but to get a better view and to take everything in.

I remembered the stories my mother told me about the ancient fortresses and cities deep within the heart of the Great Forest. Stories of ruins still holding living Dawn Trees, with legions of Guardians hidden within their branches and roots. Those who willingly sacrificed their lives to protect the Branches and Roots of the World Tree.

I never thought that I would come across a Dawn Tree… And be forced to bring creatures that can only bring destruction following in my wake. Their impending defilement of this sacred site grated on me. But what was done was done. Gathering my thoughts, I pushed back the emotions filling me and stepped onto the manicured grass that stretched out until it reached the trunk of the enormous tree in the center of the clearing.

With unwavering certainty, I forced my body to move toward the massive tree one step at a time across the grass lawn. The world around me fuzzed over, and all I could see was my goal at the end of a long tunnel. Faintly, as if I were in a dream, I saw patches of multi-colored flowers and small pools of clear water from the corner of my eyes, but as the seconds bent and blurred, my perception was that most of what I passed was a trimmed lawn.

The longer I stayed here, the more one thought circled my mind. No one was around, even though this place looked as if it was being carefully manicured and cultivated by a hundred expert gardeners, carefully checking every blade of grass.

Stopping an arms-length before the trunk of the Dawn Tree, I couldn't stop the contented smile from spreading over my face as I craned my neck backward to look into its golden canopy. Given its distinctive coloring and how it towered hundreds of feet into the air, it should have been visible from anywhere in the valley. Probably far beyond.

Not that I was breaking out a measuring stick, but the Dawn Tree towered hundreds of feet over all the surrounding trees — which were all tall themselves — letting sunlight slip under the gap in the branches and filling the clearing with light. Its limbs and leaves radiated at least four hundred feet to all sides, covering the clearing, and would have been touching the trees on the glades border if they were the same height.

I took in every bump and contour of the Dawn Tree, and the longer I studied it, the more the world seemed to fade around me, but that only made me more content. The shimmering golden leaves of the Dawn Tree swayed high overhead, casting shimmering reflections of golden light on the grass and flowers below. Its dark brown trunk was broken up by silver-gray lines pressed between two bark ridges. And if I had to guess, the trunk had to be at least fifty feet around.

Blinking in surprise, I noticed I was now stopped a dozen feet from the trunk. My brow wrinkled in confusion, and I thought back, remembering that I was within arms reach a moment ago. But even as I searched my memory, I found my thoughts were becoming sluggish and slipping away, like I was drifting into a heavy sleep.

A spike of fear ran through me at the realization, and I quickly gathered my mental energy and willpower and formed a shield around my mind. Immediately, I felt my thoughts flowing easier, but now it was like I was carrying a boulder on my back as I resisted the mental compulsion.

Redoubling my efforts in reinforcing the mental shield, I vaguely began to remember a hazy memory of walking backward into the clearing to get a better view of the Dawn Tree's branches. With every stride, my feet became increasingly slow and heavy until I stopped walking entirely, basking in the ambiance of the clearing.

What really struck home the extent of my clouded mind was the realization I could hear the howls of the beastkins again. Marshaling my thoughts, I intentionally stepped toward the Dawn Tree.

It felt like I was walking waist-deep upriver while a strong wind blew against my chest. I hadn't even completed my first step before I understood. The feeling of peace and contentment was imbued into mental energy billowing off the tree in waves. The closer I got to the tree, the stronger the feelings became as the casting became more concentrated.

Taking one stride, then another, I retraced my steps but kept control of my mind this time. Distantly, I could feel the foreign impulses somewhere between images and whispers. Sweet and soothing impressions urging me to "lie down and sleep. That everything will be fine. You should rest and relax."

Shut up! Shut up, shut up! I shouted in my mind, trying to drown out the feelings with my mental voice. I needed to keep moving, walking forward, and focusing on something other than the oppressive foreign impulses.

If I stopped for even a single moment, I doubted I could start again, even with my mental shield erected. I had already let my mind be infected by the energy, and now it only needed the smallest of holds to reclaim my thoughts. Step after step, I pushed forward as seconds slipped by, one blurring into another as my movements became akin to sap flowing down a tree.

I did not remember when it started, but suddenly, I found sweat had broken out over my entire body. My clothes stuck to my limbs, sweat dripping from my chin as my body shook with the strain of my silent struggle. It was not that what I was doing was physically taxing, at least no more than the days I spent stalking creatures through the forest.

Mentally, however, I was unsure how long I could go on. The desire to lie down and sleep kept building upon itself. And now that I was actively resisting it, the pressure had become more persistent as it bore down on me.

Worse than that, it was insidious in its pursuit of achieving those goals as the situation became a vicious cycle. The greater my exertion became, the more it fed into the idea and desire of resting. "Lay down and relax. Let go of your troubles." Whispered a passing thought outside my mind. Gritting my teeth, I slowly shook my head, trying to throw the thoughts off me, but I failed utterly. In my failure, I found myself looking down, focusing on my feet.

I lowered my left foot.

I raised my right foot.

I lowered my right foot.

A sequence I repeated one time after another.

I didn't look around, as suddenly I didn't need to. It was like my eyes were opened for the first time, except I could see everything around me with my mind. A boon that did not come without its cost because as I finally saw the world, I fell into it. With every step, my desires were stripped one at a time.

My thoughts slowed, and all that was left was action and facts.

My head tilted up, and my eyes locked, unblinking on the tree. Locked upon my goal. The reason for the goal didn't matter; it simply was. And my body was the instrument by which it would happen.

Some amount of time passed, and my body was standing within arm's reach of the tree, but it was not what was needed. An image crafted from the bedtime stories told to me as a child popped into my mind, and it felt right. More than feeling right, I knew it was on the far side of the tree.

My eyes arduously shifted one way and then the other before my body pivoted to the right. Left foot raising again, my body started moving, but this time around the tree. Step after step, keeping the trunk in the corner of my eye and the golden leaves above, my body moved.

Until my body stopped before its goal. An alabaster white stone pedestal was sticking out of the ground five feet from the tree trunk. On top and in the center of the circular pedestal was what looked like a half dome of scarlet stone. As I looked at the object, the scarlet surface suddenly rippled like a pool of water when a stone was dropped into it.

Reaching out, my hand hovered above the object briefly before falling onto its surface. A jolt ran through my body… and I felt myself come alive as every part of my body began prickling with energy and power.

Sucking in a deep breath, I felt the fog suppressing my mind burn away by the power flowing through my hand. For the first time since entering the clearing, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. "Wait, what is… Shi— Ahh!"

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Suddenly, the pulsing power under my hand sent a surge of energy burrowing through my flesh, performing something I thought was impossible. For a moment, I was uncertain of what to do.

Pushing the shock to the side, I quickly gathered my willpower and internal energy to form a barrier to stop the invading energy from flowing any farther up my arm, but the foreign power swept past my feeble defense without a pause or stutter in acknowledgment of my attempts.

By the time I gathered myself from the pain of my casting breaking and regained control of the remnants of my shattered mental barrier, my meager efforts for defense were pointless as the foreign power reached my mind and invaded my mental energy reservoir.

And in the next instant, my life started flashing before my eyes.

**********

With my friends Beech and White, I squatted beside the hard-packed single road leading to our village. We were showing off our rock collections, but it was just an excuse. We had shown them off last week, and no one had bragged about adding anything impressive to their collection in the meantime, so we all knew there was nothing new… Or at least, that was what they thought.

But the real reason we were here was because the merchant who visited the village every month was due any day now, and we wanted to be the first to greet him. The only exciting part so far was Beech showing off his blossoming mental powers by levitating his rocks around his body. Not that I'm jealous or anything. Not at all!

Deciding to pull out the card up my sleeve, I began speaking, causing Beech to drop his stones as he lost his concentration, "You know, the other day when we went adventuring for a Dawn Tree but found nothing? Well, I was dumping out my pockets once I was home, and I found this white rock with green lines running through it in one of my…" I trailed off as a distant creaking noise caught my attention.

Looking to the side, a smile spread over my face as I saw a wagon making its way around the distant bend in the road. "He's here!" I shouted, taking off at a sprint down the road to be the first to meet Master Merchant Kale.

"Hey!" Shouted White in indignation.

"What? Guys! Were ar— I need to pick up my… Hey~! W-wait for me!" Complained Beech as he was left behind. Without speaking, we unanimously decided we were in a race as we sprinted down the road, with me keeping the lead. Nearly stepping on my heels, I could hear White closing the distance between us, but she could not quite pull ahead.

Halfway to the merchant cart, I saw one of the guards walking with the wagon, taking a couple of steps to the side. At the same time he was moving, he reached up to his head and removed his helmet as the others started cheering us on.

Losing my rhythm, I started to stumble and had to slow down to a jog to avoid falling. I couldn't help it, as the shock of seeing my father's face was like a blow to my body. White darted past me with a shout of triumph, quickly lengthening the distance between us.

The shout broke me out of my stunned state, and my feet ground into the packed earth as I leaped forward, regaining a sprint within a few strides. I was closing the distance between Beech and me, but I was no longer trying to reach the merchant cart first, or at least not only that. I also wanted to make it to my father as fast as possible.

As we quickly traversed the remaining distance, the gap between White and me steadily began to close as the air in my lungs burned from the effort. I could taste copper in my mouth, and every breath was like inhaling smoke, but I kept lunging forward stride after stride.

White was huffing and puffing, and as her head turned to the side to glance back, I lessened the gap between us ever so slightly. Releasing a scream of effort, she put on a burst of speed and pulled ahead. One inch at a time, she increased the distance, making what was a neck-and-neck race into one where she was leading by an arm's length.

It was a distance I could not make up no matter my desire as White tore past the merchant to the cheers of some and the groans of others. A moment later, she passed my father as I dove into his arms. Part of me was sad I lost the race, but as my father scooped me up, letting out a laugh of joy and squeezing me tight, the feeling lasted only a moment before it was smothered.

A second later, he set me down and looked down at me while ruffling my hair. My protest vanished on my lips as his smile abruptly disappeared, and he flinched as White called out. His face began twitching in a way I had never seen before. My father sucked in a long breath as his eyes closed, and when he let it out, all emotion had vanished, and his face became a blank mask that caused me to step back in fear. Not noticing my reaction, my father turned slowly and walked up to White.

"Where's my father?" She asked with quiet desperation and fear filling her voice.

Kneeling in front of White, my father put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "I am sorry, White Rabbit Dancing Across the Snow, your father…" Father's voice caught in his throat, unable to finish the sentence for an instant.

White's face had lost color the instant she saw my father's face and started shaking her head in denial of what hadn't been said yet, tears filling her eyes. Only Beech, who had joined us at some point, and I were still looking at my father and White.

The guards and merchant were pointedly looking away as they slowly moved down the road, no longer talking as they attempted to give our little party space. They had all seen this before, too many times, and no one wanted to see it play out again.

White tried to step back, but the unyielding hands of my father would not let her move. Father's faltering voice hardened as he coughed and continued speaking, "…He died in the shield wall saving a comrade from a beastkin. His death is worthy of respect. I am so sorry, White."

Tears were streaming down White's face, and I reached out to her as she fell to the ground, crying into her hands.

**********

My father had returned from his tour in the 18th Legion as a scout a month ago. He had lost his oldest friend, White's father, during that time, and he was not the same as I remembered. Not that what I remembered was all that clear… But I remembered his laugh and smile, and I hadn't seen him do either since coming home.

More than that, for weeks now, I felt a sudden tension come over him every time he looked at me. This morning, my father abruptly said he would teach me how to shoot a bow and hunt properly. There were countless times in the past when I begged him to teach me, but all of those occasions ended with him saying, "Soon, son. I'll teach you all too soon." before he ruffled my hair and moved away.

But then he left to join the 18th Legion after it sent out a call for volunteers to guard the northern border against the beastkins as the war with the Imperium picked up, and most of the Northern Line's veterans were taken to form a new legion down in Scorpio. The extra money we got was great, but he was away for three years. Not that he could have started teaching me all that much sooner. I was only eight when he left, and I still had a lot of growing to do to pull back a strung bow.

Now, my father stalked around me as I drew back a bow string before slowly lowering it back to resting. He was pointing out faults in my stance and posture by whacking me with a switch even as my arms shook from the strain of pulling a half draw, which earned me another smack every time for failing not to fully draw my new practice bow.

He said it would allow me to keep my focus 'no matter what.' "Oww!" I screamed and flinched to the side as my father hit me on the side of the head.

"Focus Green! You dipped your elbow. That's another ten pushups."

"Aww! Come on," I whined.

"Another twenty pushups." Stated my father. "You are at one hundred and ten." I glared at him with hatred as he turned his back, but it changed nothing.

**********

I stalked through the forest, using the casting techniques and training that my father beat into me over the years. A truth I learned early on in the process that my father called "training" was efficiency. I had to make the smallest drop of mental energy count.

My reservoir was significantly smaller than the average for an elf and minuscule compared to humans. While I hoped I would be one of the rare few with a massive spike in my mental energy reserves and I would gain another orb or two at the end of adolescence, it was a faint hope. More of a wish at this point.

Another way to put it was that my mental energy pool was 4 orbs, putting me in the Minimal tier, not Lesser like most of the other elves or Minor like my father. Accepting that fact was… frustrating. Because of my shortcomings, I would have to compensate for the lack of mental energy with hard training to create an unbreakable will. And I have spent most of a decade doing just that under my father's watchful gaze.

Eyes focused on my target, I steadily advanced. A part of my mind was tracking where I could take a step to make the least amount of noise. Not that it would spell success or failure on its own, as any minor sound I did make was muffled to near nothing as I shaped a tendril into a dome around my foot to block sound.

Besides the dome, I Covered my whole body in a thin telekinetic shield to contain my scent. With noise and sent covered, sudden motion was my only issue. So, I moved slowly enough that a snail would look fast. And even then, I was only creeping forward when the deer was looking away.

Minutes passed as I smoothly crept forward, sweat beading all over my body, with no sound or trace to mark my passing. As I reached the haunch of the deer, I did not stop or slow in indecision because any jerking or rushing from excitement had long since been beaten out of me.

I continued at the same measured pace I had before, passing a hand's width from the deer's flank until I could reach around the animal's neck. At this point, I finally triggered a sense of alarm within the beast, but it was far too late to save it. In one smooth motion, I firmly plunged my dagger into its neck and sliced it to the side, slitting its throat.

As I took a step back, I watched the deer bound away for a couple dozen feet, but it soon dropped to the ground as its life's blood spilled out onto its hide and the ground. I jerked in surprise as a voice rang out, "Good job, son. Good job. I couldn't have done it better myself."

Turning, I saw my father leaning against a tree a hundred feet away, arms crossed over his chest. He was smiling, a sight I had hardly seen in years. Smiling with pride. But underlying every portion of his body language was a bone-deep relief.

**********

Thanks to my father's efforts, I joined the legion and served my time as a grunt, proving my worth to my century despite my deficiencies. I escaped the oh-so-common fate of elves who died on a battlefield due to running out of mental energy. And when my mandatory time was up, I became a scout.

I hunted beastkin through the forest and mountains as I was tracked and hunted in turn. A battle of skill that set my heart pumping with excitement and primal fear.

I used every trick my father had ever taught me with his hard, demanding lessons. I used them to a degree I would have thought impossible in my youth and never would have considered without my life being the cost of failure.

Every moment of my life seemed to flash before my eyes, at least all the ones that mattered, the ones that defined who I had become. And a few more I could have sworn were only dreams. Then everything stopped, and my mind was filled with a white, endless field.

"The time of Rebirth has almost arrived, and still, there is little hope…" Murmured a soft, melodic voice to herself, sounding despondent in her grief. I felt the moment she pushed the emotions away and focused on me, "What can I do for you before the end, Little One?"

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