Eli found himself sitting next to a small, yet intricately carved stone pedestal. While the temples foundation and frame had been finished, most of the necessary details were missing. Unless they wanted to undergo another round of treatment, Eli and Don needed the altar to be completed that night.

As a small crowd of workers, who had just ended their shifts, gathered around him. Eli closed his eyes and focused on the acorn in his palms. Using his the spell Shape Nature, he poured the necessary mana into the small orb. Power flowed into it in a single burst, allowing him to change the shape of the seed, but not much else. If he wanted his plan to work, he would need to make it grow. He needed to grow and shape a living tree in seconds, not years.

Before the spell ended Eli focused his intention, forcing the flow of mana to continue and his bending the Ironbark seed to his will. For a moment, Eli’s power crashed against an unseen barrier, as if the spell refused to take hold. Not wanting to give in, Eli squeezed his hand, focusing his mana into a tight stream. A moment later the acorn shook, then cracked.

Once through the protective barrier saw an multitude of intricately weaved fibers. Forcing his mana into them allowed him to see the near infinite possible shapes for the future tree. As sweat formed on his brow he reached out with his mind and began to pull, a clear image of what he needed in his mind. In his state of complete focus the shimmering glow of green energy forming around him went unnoticed, as well as several notifications. From the growing mass of people, he thought he heard Liliana praying.

In silence, the crowd watched as Eli’s breath struggled. The once pristine leather armor covering his body grew heavy and damp, as exhaustion took hold. From his palm, a sapling appeared. Small and weak at first, the newly born tree wavered in a slight breeze. Yet as they watched, the Iron bark grew and shifted with each passing moment.

One second the tiny tree was nothing more than a twig with two tiny branches. The next bark formed around what looked to be sturdy legs ending in cloven hooves. Roots dug their way into the stone pedestal, through the foundation, and into the soil benieth. For what felt like an eternity the crowing crowd sat, watching their leader shape a small seed into an intricately sculpted statue of his patron God, Aryentorr.

Vibrant red leaves intertwined to form a patagium stretching from a tail made of vine, to the claw-like tip of wings made from thick branches. Thick bark curved and twisted arund a thick trunk of a humanoid body, with the muscular arms mad of the trees boughs. Touching the quickly forming ceiling of branches was a massive wooden lions head, its main made from the same fiery red leaves as the wings.

With the statue finished, thick Adventitious roots begun to burst through the soil. In moments, a system of smaller trees formed around the existing framework of the building to create walls and a ceiling. As the structure neared completion Eli’s skin grew pale. Sweat clung to every inch of his body. Trickles of blood flowed from his nose and palms as his fingers dug into his palms.

In less than five minutes, Eli had managed to turn a small Ironbark seed into a living statue and a nearly complete structure. As the building formed, the dim green glow of energy surrounding Eli burst to life in a mesmerizing flair of divine energy. Then he he fell, his body going limp as the rapid growth of the structure came to a halt. As he did, Liliana’s praying came to an abrubt stop as she followed, her body slamming to the ground with a thud.

With a firm shout Alyssa parted the crowd, rushing to the two adventurers side. Both were in a severe state of mana crash, unlike anything the healer had ever seen. It was as if, they had drained their natural stores of mana, then pushed forward to use their bodies own essence. Whatever they had done had drained their health, stamina, and mana to nearly zero.

Taking a small amount of healing salve from her pocket, she began covering their chests and necks with the simple compound. It did little to heal anything internal, but it would speed up their natural healing. As she did, Don pulled a two minor healing potions from his inventory and forced them into the players mouths. Still conscious, Liliana stammered. Unfinished sentences about her god, blessings, and new skills fell from her lips in stuttered bursts. To the worried crowd, she seemed to be speaking in tongues.

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“Does anyone have mana or stamina potions!” Don shouted, holding his friends head in his lap unable to heal anything more than simple wounds and afflictions. While he could heal some of their health, the potions he gave them worked just as well. What they needed was to survive the simultaneous crash of their mana and stamina.

From the back of crowd came the deep voice of Roscoe, “Quickly, let me through. I have some on hand.” His commanding voice forcing players and NPC’s out of his way. “Move!” He shouted, “Or I start cutting my way through.” At his warning, the expanding sea of people began to part.

After making his way to Don and Alyssa, potions in hand, the three tended to their exhausted companions.

As their condition improved Roscoe was the first to talk, “What in the hell were they doing? Where did this building come from? And who who’s the the pretty Aosai girl?”

Laughing, Don answered with worried smile, “Man, I don’t know. On second Eli has some crazy idea that he wont tell us about. The next he’s on his knees at the center of an unfinished building. Then boom. Roots and branches start whipping around all over to form whatever this is.”

“It’s the Altar,” Myr said from within the quietly murmuring crowd, touching his hands to the newly formed statue. “The boy nearly finished it.”

“Wait, what? How?” Don asked, holding his friends head in his hands while staring at the small, yet beautiful structure. “That took like what, a few minutes? Didn’t it take him all day just to make that shitty bridge?”

“Divine magic,” Lillian stammered, causing everyone to look at the newly coherent druid. “He forced his spell to change. Made it expand, like a channeling spell. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Her words came stilted and harsh. “When I saw what he was trying to do I started casting buffs and prayers. Trying to keep him going. I got a new spell, Arynetorrs Inspiration. It infuses another players spells and abilities with divine power. Along with a small boost to mana and stamina.”

“So that green light?” James said, keeping the crowd back from his friend. “It was you?”

Coughing, Lillian closed her eyes and smiled, “No. That was Eli, or maybe Aryentorr. I’m not sure.”

“It wasn’t me.” Eli coughed, the effects of the various potions taking hold. “I don’t even know what I just did. I felt the threads of energy in the acorn and forced them to grow. When they resisted, I just kept pushing.” His words came out rough, and week. “I’m just sick of letting things happen around me.” With a whisper, he continued, “Then Aeryntorr told me to keep pushing. He showed me the image of what I needed to make, burned it into my mind.” Pausing to take a breath, he opened his eyes, “I forced as much energy into my spell as I could, pushing it past its limits. I made it my own, forcing my will to become reality. It’s what the system wants us to do, I could feel it. Then Everything burned. My body, mind, and soul it all burned. Like I was melting from the inside. Then a bunch of notification appeared and I blacked out.”

Eli sat awkwardly, his arms wavering. Taking a moment to breath, he looked at what he built with open eyes. For the first time his will, his intention, became reality. Magic was the tool used in its creation, but the action and determination to create it were his. The sight filled him with hope. He knew he could learn to do wondrous things, to create and make his destiny his own. The system might be in charge of keeping everything running, but the players controlled their own actions. They were the ones in charge, forcing the system to respond to their will.

With the sight of a nearly completed altar in his eyes and a smile on his face he whispered, “It’s time to make the system work for us.”