I closed my eyes as my veins pulsed in my temples. Then I saw the tree. Standing on the hill alone, waiting for me. I walked up the hill toward the twisted tree. She looked beautiful. New green buds sprouted on her branches and a couple red-orange flowers grew from the branch with the twenty large leaves on it. Warmth pulsed out from the tree. It felt as if the air itself was reaching out to hug me. “I’m dying.” I said to the tree. “Can you help me?”

A breeze blew out from the tree. I saw a flash of the blood and the vines. I felt the pull of the life force flowing out of me into the vines. A pulse from the tree pushed against me and I stepped back down the hill into the fog. I laughed. The tree had pushed me. I stepped back up the hill and approached the tree. Soon I would be in the pit. I would be in screaming terror. Covered in lava. Blinded by the searing heat. Deafened by the screams. I didn’t want to imagine it though.

I sat at the base of the tree and felt the waves of energy flow out from it. The air began to hug me again. I felt the draw of my mana to and from the tree. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the tree. I just wanted to escape for a moment. To pretend the terrible world outside this place didn’t exist. Go back to a place where I was happy.

I took myself back to my date with Elizabeth by the waterfalls. When we were younger and more carefree. We walked down to the sand bar and noticed a walkway behind the falls. I held her soft hand in mine, and we walked back behind the cold spray of water. It was so loud back there that we could hardly hear each other. She smiled at me and reached out to cut through the falling water with her hand. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail with the long curls of her bangs hanging down to her jawline.

I grazed a finger across her cheek, and she turned her brown eyes to me. I kissed her and her tongue tasted like the orange we shared on the way down to the river. Pulling her tight to me I kissed her neck. “I love you.” She whispered over the sound of the crashing water.

The aura of the tree pushed against me. I stirred from my memory. It pulled at my spirit then pushed again harder. It was playing with me. I could feel love and joy in the gesture. It repeated again and I could sense the place in my soul where the aura of the tree reached. It was pulling and pushing against the spirit of my heart. I focused on it feeling the truth of my soul touching the aura of the tree. I looked down inside and saw a faint light glowing around my heart. It was colored like light shining down through deep water. It was crisp and cool.

I twirled the light with my mind. I caused it to shrink, and it grew brighter, harder and colder. I caused it to grow, and it became dimmer, softer and warmer. I felt the aura push against it and I pushed back. The trees aura switched to pulling and I tugged back against it. I laughed. I grew the light as big as my chest and the tree shoved me back. I rolled away from the tree and lost concentration on the light.

I looked around a moment and saw the tree swaying. The buds on the tree were larger. The tree seemed taller and thicker. I closed my eyes again and took a moment to find the light inside again. I shrank the light down as dense as I could until it was a swirling torrent of blinding blue. I pulled against the aura of the tree and the tree resisted. The force was so strong it pulled me physically to my feet. I kept my eyes closed and braced my foot against the trunk pulling with my spirit as hard as I could muster.

The tree suddenly pushed, and I fell back but braced my foot behind me and pushed back. I had to lean against the aura. The tree pulled again, and I leaned back and swirled the light inside me. Then we built into a rhythm. A dance of pushing and pulling. The tree and I tried to catch each other off guard but each time the other would switch to meet the force.

I saw an image of the blood in my mind again and felt the vines sucking the life from me. Then the aura released me, and I dropped to the ground. The image of the blood vines stayed in my mind. “Are you trying to teach me?”

Mana 20

Six points! It was the most the tree had given me yet. I lay under the base of the tree and looked up at the beautiful tear shaped leaves over me. The tree vibrated like a purring cat. I just wanted to stay under the tree forever, wrapped in its peace.

Then I couldn’t breathe. I clasped my throat, but no air came. I felt the piercing vines and the tree vanished. I was surrounded by darkness once again. The blood pressed around me. The vines sucked at my organs.

Constitution 01/17

I felt the life being siphoned from me. I panicked and pulled back against it. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the light inside. Searching for the tree to comfort me, to guide me. If I could just connect with the light maybe I could go back to the hill. Spend my last moment under the tree and away from this darkness this pain. I spun the light with my mind and tightened it until it was ice cold and blinding bright. Then I pulled with all my might.

Instead of the aura of the tree being drawn back to me I felt the life flood back through the vines.

Constitution 9/17

I pulled again harder.

Constitution 17/17

I was beating this thing. I reached out with my spirit trying to get a feel for the creature that held me bound. I could feel two other lights near me. If I concentrated, I could see them. They were faint and broad. They had a signature to them. A scent almost, a personality. I recognized them. It was Agatha and the centaur. I reached out with my spirit and felt them stitch to mine like drowning children clinging to the adult. I could feel the desperation in their spirits. I could feel their fear.

I pulled again. I felt their spirit's flutter. I was drawing life back into them. I pulled again and I felt them pull with me. It felt like they were crying in my spirit. We all pulled again.

Mutation