Although we had left the field of blue grass, there were occasionally a few patches of it growing within the thin forest we walked through.

Small trees, as thin as my forearm, scattered around us. They looked… normal, in both color and shape, but it was a little odd at how dense their leaves were. Even though there was only a tree every so many dozen feet, they still blocked most of the sun’s direct glare with their dense treetops.

The wind was light, but the sun was still high overhead. Every so often I saw it through the treetops, and I wondered just how long we had been walking.

It took a few hours to get to that field of blue grass. And it’s been a few hours since then.

Yet the sun seemed to have not moved at all.

It was kind of worrying, to be honest…

Glancing at my guide, I watched him step over a small root. There weren’t many here, but every so often one did peek through the ground.

He’d said we’d be in this forest until a little before nightfall. When we had entered, it hadn’t been much of a forest… a few trees had been all that was around us, then. They had been slowly growing in number, and I wondered if they got even denser farther down our path. Since I still wouldn’t really call this a real forest, yet.

“That tree there is the mother of this forest,” Krift then spoke up.

I followed his point, and found… a smaller tree than any other. It looked half the size of the ones around me, although its leaves were just as thick as the rest.

“The mother?” I asked, wondering what he meant.

“When I planted it there, only shrubs and grass were here,” he said.

For a small moment I absorbed his words… and quickly realized what he meant.

“You planted it?” I asked, looking around. There had to be thousands of trees all over…

“I did,” he said, a little proud of himself.

Staring at the riftborn who had just so proudly declared he had created a… forest, I wondered what to say.

“Why did you make a forest?” I asked, approaching the mother tree.

“It was an experiment. The blue grass kills all other plant life, just like it would animals. But this tree grew occasionally around the grass. So I found the strongest tree of its kind, and planted it at the very edge of the grass. Sure enough, over time, it spread. These trees now encompass about half of the fields of grass. In time, they’ll circle the grass completely,” he explained, still proud of himself.

“An experiment…” I whispered, staring at the supposed mother of this forest.

The bark upon it was a white with black marks. There didn’t seem to be any pattern to the marks, but it did look…

Tapping one of the black marks, I found the spot was a little cold. Putting my hand onto the tree, half on a spot and half not, I realized that the spots were indeed a little colder than the rest of the tree.

Odd.

“There are still patches of the blue grass around here, though,” I said. There was none directly nearby, but I knew a few minutes back the way we came was a larger patch.

“Yes. It seems the grass and trees are constantly at war. The trees hold the line, but occasionally the grass intrudes. Just as the trees sometimes do so into the grass. Those trees always die quickly, though,” he said.

War. What an odd way to phrase it.

“Did you want this… war, to happen?” I asked, stepping away from the mother tree.

“No. It honestly had just been an experiment. An interesting thought, which I couldn’t discard until I tried it out. But now that the war is ongoing, I’ve decided to let it be.”

“What if… what if the trees win?” I asked.

“This grass can be found in many other places. Losing this patch wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But I think the trees will eventually lose, or at best create a stalemate,” Krift said.

As he spoke, I noticed his small smile. The way his voice was a little deeper, a little smoother.

He was enjoying this conversation.

“Hm. Then I hope the trees win,” I said.

“Because I think they’ll lose?” he asked.

“Because it’s pitiful that they’re not being praised by the one who forced them here,” I said honestly.

It was also because I liked the thought of the grass, which was a danger to Krift, would perish.

For a moment Krift stared at me, and a part of me wondered if the look he was giving me now was the one he had when planting the mother tree.

“Come on. It’ll be dark soon,” Krift said, turning away.

He spoke kindly, but I knew he had just forcefully ended our previous conversation.

Disappointed, I hurried to follow him away from the mother tree.

Had he taken offense, then, to what I said? Maybe I should have worded it a little better…

“The sun is still in the center of the sky, though,” I said, walking next to him.

“The… yes. This sun is,” he said.

“This sun…?”

“You’ll see. There’s no point in explaining,” Krift said.

“Because I’d not understand?” I asked, wondering why he had said that. Krift might think I was young, or maybe even foolish, but nothing has led me to believe he thought I was stupid. He always seemed willing to explain things, to a point.

“Rather because it’s hard to. Here in the Rift, things are different. The suns and moons don’t come and go like they do outside it.”

Suns and moons. He spoke as if there were multiple.

“So I’d not believe you, unless I witnessed it myself,” I said, understanding what he meant.

“Yes. I didn’t mean to imply you weren’t intelligent enough to understand,” Krift said, telling me he full well had understood how I had interpreted it.

“Good. And if the day comes where I’m not, please teach me enough to change it,” I said.

Krift glanced at me, and I liked the way his eyes narrowed. Not in anger, but amusement. “Deal,” he said.

Rounding a tree, then another, it quickly became apparent that this was indeed a forest. The trees were quickly becoming numerous, and dense.

“How long ago did you plant that tree…?” I asked, bewildered by the amount of them.

“Not too long ago. Maybe eleven or twelve years,” he said.

“Do these grow quickly…?” I asked. Most we passed were all the same height.

“No. They don’t,” he said.

“So… how are there so many then?” I asked.

“This is the Rift. Here things don’t really…” he stopped talking, and slowed to a stop.

“Krift?” I asked, worried. He’s had an overall odd look, since we entered the Rift… but he’s not once acted like this yet.

The last time he did, that man had showed up. Long-Blades.

“Here, come sit for a moment.”

“Sit?” I asked, wondering what he meant. I wasn’t tired. At least not yet…

Still, I obeyed. I had agreed to listen to whatever he told me to do, after all. Maybe it was he that needed to rest.

Krift walked me over to one of the trees, which had most of its roots out of the ground. A few of them were coiled thickly enough that I’d be able to sit on them.

“Not that way. This way,” Krift stopped me from sitting down, and I hesitated.

“Excuse me?” I asked, wondering what he meant.

“Sit facing that way,” Krift said, pointing behind me.

Although his order was… quickly becoming strange, I did so. It resulted in me sitting away from him. Looking back to where we had come from.

“Don’t move. Just watch,” Krift said, as suddenly his hands rested my shoulders.

“Krift?” I asked worried, as he firmly kept me seated. He didn’t really grab my shoulders, but it was clear he’d not let me up.

He said nothing, yet wouldn’t let me move. I could barely make out his face, while looking over my shoulder, and it didn’t look like he was too worried… in fact, I could almost see a small smile.

I huffed, and decided to just sit and wait.

The forest before me, which we had just been walking through, hadn’t changed. Mostly flat ground. Some grass, shrubs and flowers scattered here and there… The thin trees, scattered and abundant…

Nothing was too out of the ordinary. Every so often the breeze blew at just the right angle to make a ray of sunlight peer through the dense tree-tops, but that was it.

Yet still, I sat and waited…

And waited…

And…

“Krift…?” I asked, worried that maybe I had misunderstood something.

“It’s almost here,” Krift said simply.

“Almost…? It’s been rather…”

I grew anxious, looking to and fro for whatever it was that Krift spoke of.

Was it going to be dangerous? A part of me hoped he’d not have me just sit here, if it was… but who knew what would happen here in the Rift and…

After several minutes, I calmed down.

Then several minutes more, I decided that Krift was just weird.

Nothing was happening. Nothing was here. Not even a small animal, or a bird.

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In fact I’d not even seen any insects or…

I sighed, and took the moment to make sure that my shoelaces were still tied.

The boots Krift had gotten me were… heavier, than I was used to. Thicker as well. Yet the biggest problem I had with them was that no matter how hard I tied the laces, they kept coming loose.

He had said these were boots made by powers for long journeys. Why then did the laces come undone so easily?

They weren’t untied, but I still tugged the knots anyway. I could tell the left shoe had loosened, as I did so.

“Mint,” Krift softly whispered, squeezing my right shoulder.

“Hm?” I looked upward, and thankfully stayed seated, even when I jumped at the sudden motion before me. Krift’s firm hands on my shoulders kept me down, even when I tried to stand up and back away.

Water was flowing right in front of us. Too close for comfort, and…

Impossibly high.

There was a wall of water in front of me. And it was flowing wildly.

The water was eye-level with me, yet not too far below it… was the familiar forest I had just been staring at.

Water splashed, and the familiar sound of water moving at high speed entered our little quiet forest. Every so often I felt the spray of mist, as the water flowed past… as if the water had suddenly hit a rock in its stream.

I couldn’t tell just how… deep, the water was. Since it was flowing past at an angle, but I wasn’t able to see through it all the way. Even though the water was pretty clear, I could even see one of the nearby trees that had been in its path. The tree was bent a little, yet held steadily.

Flowing just under the treetops, the water rushed by with… extreme speed. The trees that the water flowed past, and around, swayed as the water impacted it. All of a sudden the sound of leaves and wood rustling, even branches cracking and breaking, became numerous.

“Krift?” I asked, worried. It was almost as if a river had suddenly appeared. Or rather, there really was a river where there hadn’t been one.

Yet…

“It’s fine. Just be quiet,” Krift whispered, squeezing my shoulder again. Maybe to further enforce his words.

Be quiet.

Maybe the water could hear me.

I watched as the water flowed past, and then looked to my left. To where the water was flowing towards. Off in the distance, I could see the stream of waters… beginning? Head? It was hard to tell, but it almost looked like it was swaying as it rushed forward. As if it was a snake, slithering.

Or rather, a fish. It was moving like a fish did, swimming up river.

Looking the other way, towards the opposite end of the stream, I groaned at the sight of never ending water. It looked as if it went on forever and…

My eyes went wide at the sight of something moving within the water. And not a tree, or broken leaves and branches.

It quickly reached us, and I followed it as it passed. The large fish swam with gusto.

I didn’t recognize the fish. It looked a little too… dark in color, compared to the fish I knew. But I knew there were many kinds of fish, all over the place. Plus this was the Rift… and…

Well, it was a fish swimming in a floating river. It being an odd color was no surprise. In fact, it looking so normal was probably more of a shock than anything else.

As it passed, swimming in the floating river, I noticed its shadow beneath.

Below the water, the ground looked… sprinkled, with water droplets. As if it was raining.

Sure enough, every so often, splashes of water fell from the passing river. Splattering the ground.

Watching the droplets, I noticed another shadow. Then another. Looking back to the river, I watched schools of fish swim by. All varying sizes, but similar to the one that had passed earlier.

The sight was a wonder, and I was more than happy to watch the fish swim past. It reminded me of sitting on one of the bridges back at home, watching fish swim underneath.

For a short while, my world was a happy one. Even though I knew I should be concerned over the fact that a river was… magically floating in front of me, I still couldn’t help but be calm.

After all, I doubted that Krift would let us just sit here like this, if it was truly dangerous and…

Then something massive swam past.

Going still, my eyes refused to move… to turn, and look at what had just…

But I didn’t need to turn. Another swam past.

Nearly as big as the river itself… was an eye.

The impossibility of it made my heart flutter.

Bigger than me, by many fold, the large orb floated by. Moving quickly, but not as fast as any of the fish had done.

Most of it was white in color, but there was a massive pupil. It was deep red in color, and the small part of the iris that I could see from this angle was pointed, like an animals.

It was staring ahead, looking forward, yet…

I felt my whole body begin to shake, as I watched it swim past.

No.

It wasn’t swimming.

It had no fins. No tail. No arms.

It was just one giant eyeball… floating in the river…

Quickly looking to the left, farther down the stream, I saw the blot of darkness. The one that had just gone by was not too far away yet. At this distance I couldn’t make it entirely out, but it was the same shape and bobbing up and down the same way this one was.

Two eyes.

Thankfully this eye went past us quickly as well. I ignored the fish that followed it, and paid close attention to the two circular orbs of darkness that continued down the stream.

The way they moved told me that occasionally the eyes swiveled. Almost as if they were looking in different directions.

Breathing quickly, I tried to make sense of it.

The stream of water suddenly appearing… was understandable. Maybe a nearby river flooded. Or a dam broke loose.

Said stream floating in the air was also somewhat understandable. After all, this was the Rift. A place of magic. A floating river was not strange in that context.

Fish swimming in that magical river, was also not too crazy. After all, what river didn’t have fish?

But those eyes…

Krift’s hands squeezed a little, and with their grip I noticed I was shaking. Rather fiercely.

I reached up and grabbed his hands with my own, which oddly he allowed. Although glad for the support, I also found myself missing the firm warmth on my shoulders.

Looking up at him, I hated the soft smile staring down at me.

He was amused.

It wasn’t fair that I’d be so scared, only for him to be so calm and happy.

Though, it was comforting to see that he wasn’t concerned.

Looking away, I found that the water was thinning. Shrinking.

It was no longer near the treetops, and I was now able to see all the way through it.

A small group of fishes swam past, hurriedly, and very shortly after… the stream ended.

Its tail end dripped heavily, splashing more than not. The droplets were large, and they left a very wet trail behind as it passed overhead.

Just as quickly as it showed up, the stream of water was gone. It didn’t take long at all for it to grow so far away, that I had difficulty seeing it through the trees.

Watching it go, I was relieved as the sound of the river quickly faded.

Quickly standing, I found my legs had grown sleepy. I stayed upright, thanks to Krift still holding my hands, but it made it difficult to turn and face him.

He released my right hand, which let me turn around, and I glared at him.

“You should have warned me,” I said.

“It wasn’t that dangerous,” he said.

“That dangerous. How dangerous was it?” I asked, glancing to the trail of wetness it left behind. Now that it was gone, I was able to see just how wide the floating river had been.

It’d take me dozens of steps to cross the trail of wet ground.

“If it had noticed us, it might have attacked. Or ran away. Depends on how dangerous we seemed to it,” Krift said.

Looking to my left hand, and the hand it was clasped to, I wondered if I’d be able to squeeze it hard enough to bother him.

I highly doubted it, but decided to try anyway.

Squeezing with all my strength, I groaned when I felt his own hand lessen his grip. He didn’t try to move, or pull his hand back and instead seemed to accept it.

Our hands shook, thanks to my own squeezing, and I felt the straining in my fingers. I could also feel my fingernails a little too vividly. Some felt as if they were going to break.

After a moment, I glanced up at Krift’s face.

And my squeezing came to an abrupt stop.

He blinked, and his amused smirk quickly faded. He said nothing, but I could tell he was wondering if…

“That was it?”

With a deep breath I released his hand, and stepped back.

“Well?” I asked.

“Well… what?” he asked in return. His hand was still outstretched, as if still wanting to hold hands.

“Do you regret teasing me?” I asked.

“Tease…? I hadn’t been trying to. In fact I had thought you might have found that interesting,” he said, his hand finally falling to his side.

I watched it for a moment, hoping to see it twitch or close… in maybe not pain, but discomfort.

But it didn’t.

“It was. Until those eyes went by. What were those?”

“Its eyes, obviously,” Krift said.

“Its. The waters,” I said, clarifying.

He nodded, with a frown. “The water is the creature. Those were its eyes. The fish are just from other rivers. Sometimes they hide in rivers, and while inside them the fish get in. I’ve also seen snakes inside them too,” Krift said.

I shivered at the idea of it hiding in a river. As if lying in wait, to ambush prey.

You’d never be able to tell. It itself was a river, after all.

“You said it’d run from us, if it thought we were dangerous,” I said.

He nodded, and then pointed at himself. “I’m dangerous, after all.”

Although a part of him seemed to be proud of the fact, I could tell he wasn’t really boasting. Nor did he find it humorous.

He was stating a simple fact.

“A bird of clouds. A living river. Are… are things like they really so common?” I asked, concerned.

“Yes and no. There are many things like those here in the Rift, but most creatures are a little more… normal. Like us,” he said.

I glanced to where the river had disappeared, and was glad it was still gone.

“Normal,” I cursed.

“Normal. You did well, actually. You only really panicked once the eyes came by. Usually they’re farther ahead, at the front,” he said.

“I wanted to run away,” I said honestly.

“Hm. I figured. Most try. It was why I had you sit, so I could hold you there,” he said.

The way he spoke told me this has happened before. To others he’s guided.

“Are they that common? To be encountered so often?” I asked, worried.

“No. But I’ve traveled the Rift a lot, you know,” he said.

Ah. True. He’s been a Guide for a very long time. Since the war. Nearly forty years.

“Next time, try to warn me. Even if you think I won’t believe it. Didn’t we just have this conversation?” I asked.

“We did. And as I said, I hadn’t been trying to tease you.”

“I’m… It’s not the teasing I’m complaining about. I’m complaining about the lack of warning over something dangerous,” I said.

Krift sighed, and turned. He began walking back on our original path.

Following behind him, I made sure not to trip over any of the roots.

“It wasn’t that dangerous, honestly. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll give proper warning from here on out. If I can. Real danger usually doesn’t give much warning, really,” Krift said, glancing back behind him to make sure I was following.

“Please and thank you.”

He shook his head, but I noticed the smile before he looked back in front of him.

Annoyed a little, but still… amused? Puzzled, maybe? Over me.

“How was my grip, by the way?” I asked, stepping next to him.

Krift stepped away, a single step, but quickly returned to my side.

I pretended to not notice it, and gave him a smile.

“Weak. Even for a young woman. Weren’t you a farmer?” he asked.

Although I had expected it, I was still disappointed. “That bad?”

“Hm. You’re about as strong as a child of our kind. Maybe you really are a child?” he asked himself, as if he suddenly figured it out.

“Please. Do you think it was the lack of food?” I asked, hoping he’d not tease me too badly.

“Maybe. It might have also…”

“What?” I asked. I wasn’t going to let him go all silent again.

“It might have just simply been the fact you grew up in the Lands of Man. Maybe it was the air. Or the food grown there. Or water. It could have been anything, really,” he said, telling me he had really thought about it.

“I see. Well… I suppose it’s fine. It’s not like I’m sickly, or anything. At least, I don’t think I am,” I said.

“True. When you do settle in the Lands of Power, maybe let the rest know. Not that any power plans on having children in the Lands of Man, but it might still save others from a similar problem,” Krift said.

“Great. I’ll be proof of what not to do,” I said, hating the idea of it.

“It’s not so bad. At least you’ll be remembered for something,” he said, smiling.

“Easy for you say, Riftborn.”

“If that was all I was known for, then I’d agree with you,” he said softly.

I was going to press, but I noticed the look. It was very similar to the one he had when I brought up the knowledge of the blue grass’s effects.

So I let it be.

“Are you stronger than other power’s, Krift? I know you’re stronger than men, human men I mean, but what about our kind?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Most,” was all he said.

The single word, and the tone, told me he was still thinking of his previous words.

Although I wanted to continue our conversation… I kept quiet.

Walking side by side with the man who, in my eyes, was as dangerous as the magical world around me… I hoped that one day he’d not look so sad.

It was after all… a very familiar look.

One I saw on my mother often.

A look one had, when they felt the whole world hated them.

Which wasn’t fair… to those who didn’t.