“Londyn.”

“Bob, good to hear from you, you have something for me?”

“Code 23X, Outskirts of Jakarta. Code-name is the Toxic Herald.”

Londyn swore through the phone, and then sighed.

“Seriously? Another one? I’m starting to believe Voidspeaker is actually summoning these things. Thanks Bob, I’ll get someone on it.”

“Anytime.”

Bob shook his head as he ended the call.

“Heroes are so annoying.”

Bob stood up and exited a small room, wrapping a scarf around his face. He walked over to where numerous people wrapped up in robes and scarves were mounting horses. Bob strode to the center of the group, where an elephant knelt on the ground, and mounted a black horse nearby.

“There you are, acolyte, we were about to leave without you.”

“My apologies, Master Dayal, I needed a moment to center myself.”

On top of the elephant rode a woman. She wore a brown cloak over a simple tan tunic with a brown belt. She had brown skin, brown eyes, and straight, black hair. She wore no makeup or adornments, besides a crown of leaves in her hair. She nodded her head.

“It is perfectly understandable, acolyte. We are about to embark on our great mission, it is only natural to be nervous and it is wise of you to acknowledge it. What is important is that you are here now. Let us depart, and restore the balance.”

With that, Master Dayal tapped the elephant underneath her and it rose to its feet. Another acolyte blew on a horn, and the thundering hoofs of a thousand horses shook the ground.

The Order of Harmony began their march.

It was evening time when the Order arrived at their destination, the sun beginning to set. Before them stood countless pillars and smokestacks rising into the sky. Metal pipes, towering scaffolding, and angular buildings stretched out as far as the eye could see. Hundreds of electric lights illuminated the horizon as the light of the sun faded. Cars and trucks move to and fro, carrying with them liquid gold.

The largest oil refinery in the world, Jamnagar Refinery.

“Halt.”

The army came to a stop. The elephant strode forward until it was in the very front, and then turned to face the Order.

“My acolytes, my comrades, thank you for traveling with me today. Long have I devoted myself to peace, to balance. Long have I tried to live harmlessly. But I have traveled too far and seen too much to ignore the despair in the world any longer. The Earth has lost its balance, its people cry out, the world itself is dying.”

“The only thing necessary for evil to prevail, is for good to remain silent. I can sit back no longer, I can remain silent no longer. If not us, then who? Who will speak up for the Earth? Who will speak up for peace? Who will speak up for balance and harmony? I have traveled and listened, and I have heard not one.”

“Today we come to Jamnagar, to this monument to short-sighted greed, to say nay. To take our stand. To let it be known that there are still good humans in this world that are willing to fight for it. And I thank each and every one of you, for having the courage to be one of them.”

“Today, let us go forth, and fight for our world. Let us put an end to the devastation of short-sighted greed and selfishness. Let us restore peace and balance to the Earth.”

“Remember, we are the ones who fight in the name of peace. Do not be swept up by your passion, righteous though it may be. Do not lash out in anger or aggression. Remain at peace, remember serenity, use your knowledge, embrace harmony. Show the ignorant and the evil one the error of their ways not by the strength of your arms but by the righteousness of your cause. Let it be known that though evil must be destroyed, that we will not suffer to see good die with it.”

“I am one with the Earth.”

A thousand voices replied.

“””And the Earth is with me.”””

Mastery Dayal clasped her hands together and bowed her head.

“Go now. Clear the way. Let none perish who can be saved. Do not strike unless you are struck, do not continue if they are willing to stop. Return to me when it is done, and I will heal the wound in the Earth.”

A thousand hoofs thundered towards the refinery.

Bob and the other acolytes took out wooden staves, pointing them to and fro. Before them stood several refinery workers, hands up, brows sweating, and glancing all over the place.

“MOVE!”

The acolytes shouted. The workers gulped and began to walk away from the refinery. They joined the crowd of thousands, huddled together in a massive parking lot. All around them acolytes on horseback patrolled.

And then they heard the sirens.

A convoy of police cars and trucks appeared on the road to the refinery, lights flashing and horns blaring. A few of the heavier vehicles even had machine guns mounted on top. The acolytes gripped their staves tight.

Which is when a voice rang out.

The quiet voice of a woman.

And a deep rumbling voice, as if the very Earth itself spoke out.

“I am one with the Earth, and the Earth is with me.”

And the Earth trembled in response.

Cracks appeared on the road to the refinery, the ground began to bulge upward. Sudden roots and branches exploded from underneath, rapidly covering the ground and reaching towards the sky. The lead police car was forced to veer to the side as the convoy came to a halt. Further and further the branches extended out to the sides, a wall of leaves and bark separating the police from the refinery.

“Come not closer, those who would oppose us. Lay down your arms, embrace harmony. We only seek to restore the balance. Those who desire peace shall not be harmed.”

Mastery Dayal arrived, no longer riding her elephant but now walking on her own two feet. She nodded to her acolytes and raised her hands. A path opened in the wooden wall. The acolytes began driving the refinery workers through.

A squad of heavily armed police began to march through. The moment they passed the wall the branches came alive. Vines wrapped around weapons and arms, roots tripped feet and legs, branches wrapped around torsos and arms. The officers were trapped on the sides of the wall. The rest of the police halted their approach, turning instead to accept the incoming workers and usher them past the blockade.

Master Dayal turned back towards the refinery.

“Is that all of them, acolyte?”

Bob nodded.

“Yes Master.”

Master Dayal nodded. She closed her eyes, and clasped her hands in front of her.

“I am one with the Earth and the Earth is with me.”

At first, nothing.

“I am one with the Earth and the Earth is with me.”

A slight shift, the air grew still.

“I am one with the Earth and the Earth is with me.”

Master Dayal’s voice took on a quiet echo. There was a tiny tremor in the ground.

“I am one with the Earth and the Earth is with me.””

A second voice joined with Master Dayal’s, a deep and primal rumble. The trembling of the Earth grew.

““I am one with the Earth and the Earth is with me.””

The ground shook violently. The horses began to jump and cry, their riders trying to keep them in check. The police on the other side of the wall had trouble standing, several of them fell to the ground. Though she spoke with the same level as the start, Master Dayal’s voice and the second voice seemed to grow in strength and intensity, until all in the area could hear it, no matter how distant. Bob could feel it rumbling within him, stirring his stomach and his chest, causing his heart to pound within him.

““I AM ONE WITH THE EARTH AND THE EARTH IS WITH ME.””

It was not a shout, yet it rang in every ear present. It was not a command, yet all bowed to the authority within it. It held no emotion, yet it resonated in every heart. Men and women began to cry. Police lowered their guns, took off their hats, and bowed their heads. All of the acolytes of Harmony clasped their hands and bowed their heads.

There was a moment of silence.

And then the Earth erupted.

Metal groaned and screeched, wires snapped, stone cracked, lights sparked. Roots the size of houses curled from the ground, flipping over buildings and scaffolds. Thousands of vines wrapped around metal pipes and electric lights and obscured them from view. Balls of fire exploded into view before falling beneath green and brown. Smokestacks crumbled as tree trunks grew from within them.

And then all was silent.

A towering forest now rose above the empty plains.

And no sign remained of the Jamnagar Refinery.