Hugh nodded his head at Vic's words.Raising his staff, he chanted the words of the spell for motion of water. It was a rather simple spell but it required alot of concentration on his part. The tip of his staff glowed a bright white before it shot out like vines towards the water. As Vic tore the water upward, away from the crystal lake, Hugh assisted her by retaining the impurities at the bottom. With his free hand, Hugh aided in the twirling and shifting of the liquid as it begun to take shape of a ship.

In a matter of minutes they were done and there before them lay a sloop that was a magnificent structure. Hugh turned to cast a smile at the Guardian of Solas but was met with the crumpling of her body hitting the grassy banks of the lake. She was drained. What he had asked of her had been too much and it had taken its toil on Vic's body. Coming to kneel beside her, the giant of a man slipped his hand under her knee and around her shoulder. Lifting her frail body up, Hugh ate up the space as he walked towards the house.

"Ash! Stay with the sloop and make sure we're ready to leave in the next few minutes. There's no time to waste," Hugh barked orders at his charge before taking to the house.

Entering the house, he saw that Eleazar was preparing herbs and medicine for the trip while Airowyn was watching over Layna who was awake now. Gently lowering Vic down onto the couch, Hugh said a few words to her, "You make a brilliant Guardian. The gods must have seen something in you for they would not have chosen you for no reason. You have something special in you so learn to accept that part and you will do great things Vic."

Rising up from where he had knelt, Hugh knew that the Guardian might scorn at his words but he had needed to say them. Her brother had been chosen at first but he had fallen to his plight and Vic had proven to be a wise choice she just had to realise it.
............................................................................................................................................................

Ashanti sprinted to the front of the sloop as Hugh had instructed. Pacing the grassy planes, Ashanti felt the changes in the air of Arilt. They were subtle changes but chilled her to her bones. The azure skies were darkening ever so slightly to a cloudy gray color and gloom was spreading across the lands slowly taking Arilt as its prisoner.

Her hands on her hips, Ashanti glanced out at the only thing that seemed untouched, the lake. She remembered Hugh's words to her when she was twelve.

"The lake is very special Ashanti. It is a place of serenity and peace, a path that leads to the Gods. And it is also where all powers cease."

Those words flashed in Ashanti's mind. "All powers cease once you enter the lake."

"...dont gag when it shifts." he said with a smile, she blinked, that would be hard, she was having trouble not gagging from breathing right now. never the less, she takes the mug from him with a weak nod of thanks and puts it to her lips. taking a breath before swallowing a few gulps down, it tasted strange, lots of herbs and spices, it reminded her a lot of the Skull-Horn ale she had drank on her 16th year. it burnt her throat at the first sip and made her cough but after that it went down easier and she felt it warming her body and cooling her temperature at once, she shivered as strange tingles raced around her body, hitting like pins and needles but feeling relaxing and homey.

she finished the mug of quite quickly but kept the mug in between her hands to keep her palms warm, the dregs at the bottom being swirled around until Leannan nudged her to allow him to finish them off, afterwards he shook out his feathers and blinked a few times, standing on his feet a little better when he went back to his temporary perch - the head board of the small little bed.

she looked around Alrit with a warm smile, just how green it was warmed her - or perhaps that was the strange 'medicine'... she looked around atthe beautifully old trees, some of them large enough that 12 full grown goblins with outstretched arms wouldnt have touched hands around its vast trunk, the array of colour pleased her after the dark waxing and wayning of the of moons she had spent in her dieing home of Flinx.

as she examined the secenery she stood up and walked a metre or two away from the Elder, breathing in the sweet air, after her second breath she tasted something else in the air, something that made her want to spread her wings and never return, a smeel she was used to in a place like Flinx but she had never expected to smell in such a beautiful land like Alrit - this place like no other in any world.

she quickly looked in every direction and saw in the distance a tree whithering before her eyes its bark turning to Charcoal, she gasped, dropping the mug through numb fingers where is smashed into pieces at her feet. and rushed the few steps back, nearly treading in the fire.
"Its him!! He's in Alrit! im sure its him!!" she half-shouted half whined to Airowyn. the souls presence showing itself for the first time since she had awoken, rippling across her stomach, but fear - not hatred and guilt, confused, Layna put a hand to her stomach, as if cradling a child. the soul... the sweet little girl; Elika.... she knew Laynas heart was pure, and knew her murder the literally heartless was near... Layna felt nothing evil from ELika, she was innocent after all... and it seemed now... wanted to help Layna, they were united against the same foe.
thank you... she thought, directing it at Elika, then towards Leannan, go... fly and see if it is him, if it is then fly back to me.
he nodded and strecthed out his great wings, soaring high up into the blue skies and becoming a small dot before heading in any direction.

"It is time to leave."

Ashanti felt more than heard Hugh first. Her eyes never leaving the crystal lake, Ashanti clasped her hands behind her back and nodded her head.

"You sense the change," Hugh presented it as more of a statement than a question. The last protector of Arilt stood beside Ashanti as he allowed the peace settle over him.But he knew it was nothing more than an illusion. It was like the calm before the storm.

"I...I can't sense the change over the natural world or...in people's emotions," Ashanti voiced her thoughts aloud. This was the payment for overusing her powers. She was slowly loosing touch over reality. In the short time after the small battle at Flinx, Ashanti had found that her worries had come true. Because she was constantly using her powers in large quantities, she was slowly loosing herself in the essence of time itself. Sometimes, everything around her seemed to move too fast or at times to slow. And within a span of a few seconds, she had had several visions. The odd part of it was that the five visions were of the same situation but with different endings.

"But I can sense the changes in situations. Many things have changed in the future because of some of our actions," Ashanti's voice was void of emotion. Hugh glanced down at Ashanti and he knew that she was facing the problems that the previous Guardians of Earth had faced. "I can't feel much.....anymore." Ashanti whispered.

And as though she was simply stating a passing comment about the weather, she carried on, "I saw how you died."

Hugh did not even flinch as she muttered those words. Instead, he took a deep breath before gently saying, "When the time comes for you to make an important decision, you need to let your heart decide. Not your mind. Logic is not always the right choice." What more could he say to the young girl he had raised. She was lost in her own mind, caught up in the visions that filtered through every minute.

"They're here," Ashanti whispered. "We need to leave now."

Hugh turned around sharply at what Ashanti said. "Get on board the sloop. I'm going to get the other guardians," Hugh ordered Ashanti before hurrying to his home where the others were. Before he even pushed past the door, he bellowed, "To the sloop. Now."

Eleazar was finished, and was feeling rather self satisfied. A lot had been accomplished in his small snatched moments between activities. Sure the sky was going black and the enemy was encroaching on them, but that didn't have to ruin their day, did it? Still, when Hugh ordered him to the ship, he grinned and came to attention with a snap, saluting and all, then took off at a run, half on all fours for speed. He stopped abruptly and looked back at the others.

"You need any help?" he asked them, feeling a surprising amount of concern for these people. Heck, they could be his only chance for survival, as it stood. Perhaps he should be more careful with his friends. Jokes, sadly enough, must be put by the wayside for the time being, if he were even capable of such a feat of self control. Looking from the larger man to the smaller girl, and him as small as she was, he was somewhat sure he wouldn't be of much use anyhow.

"Ah," he said, reaching into the pack he had prepared. He pulled out a packet and handed it to Layna. "This is a powerful medicine. It will allow you to do what you can't. Take a little and it will give you a pick me up so you can book it if you need to, despite being weakened. Every person's bodies have blockers that prevent them from reaching their full potential. Some of it physical, some mental, whatever. This breaks them down and speeds you up. It's pretty good stuff, though it does effect your self control levels a bit if you take too much." he then turned and took off a bit. The girl was pretty beat up, and may be needing to fight for her life soon. Tragic though that was, she would have to be strong anyhow. He had given her enough for five smaller pick-me ups, two larger ones and a small one, or one very large power burst that would do a lot for her in a fight, but would most certainly leave her worse off than she started afterward. Not a thing to use if you are one notch up from dead. Maybe if you are two notches up from dead. He snickered in spite of himself. He had one other pack of the stuff.

He reached the boat and climbed on, feeling at once both excited and anxious. His stomach roiled once he was no longer on land. The feeling of unsteadiness was unsettling. He had something for that, in his pack, but it would be like paying a hundred gold pieces for a loaf of bread, and the doses couldn't be cut down. He sighed heavily, settling down, curled but alert on the deck, his eyes scanning the shore and around.

"No modern comforts for me I guess." he paused. "Pity."

!