In a slow wave heading out from Kairen’s situation the ground rippled. The sand didn’t completely vanish, but a fair amount of it was replaced with rock and harder soil, materials capable of holding water. The change stopped after forming a rough large circle, at a guess the area that Kairen was confined to. He amused himself for a bit by walking around the perimeter and confirming it before the next change took place.

For a while things were quiet, but slowly a deep rumbling could be heard, and lighter grains of sand started to dance as the ground under them trembled. All of a sudden, the ground in the middle of the area cracked open, and a stream of clear water burst forth. As it flowed the surrounding area began to sink under the weight, and soon a large pool of crystal-clear water had formed, any silt or debris that would normally be present having been supernaturally stripped away.

For a minute, all Kairen could do was stare. His village had built a large cistern before he was born, and between that and the efforts of the local shaman there had always been enough water for the necessities. He could even remember watching as the semiannual rainstorms dropped their burden, solid sheets of water pouring from the sky. But nothing compared the tranquility and permanence of the pool in front of him. It wasn’t guarded or buried deep underground to keep it from evaporating in the harsh sun. It looked ready to drink without needing any additional filtration and its sheer size seemed to invite the boy to come and play in it.

Any hesitation Kairen might have had about spoiling the water was overridden by a single thought. This was his. He had made it, and no one else could complain about what he did with it.

It didn't take him long to break into a run straight for the pool of water and once he reached the edge he jumped in feet first. Even if he wasn’t capable of acting on the world it seemed that whatever magic allowed him to stand on the ground also allowed him to experience the sensation of swimming. It meant that instead of standing on the surface, or sinking to the bottom and acting like the water wasn’t there, Kairen was able to bob up and down, buoyed up by water that didn’t even ripple or splash from his antics.

For the first time since he had died, Kairen was truly able to forget about his condition. Swimming was such a strange sensation! A tiny part of his mind knew the water should be splashing about, but he simply closed his eyes, turning the world around him to darkness as he twirled and tumbled away.

Kairen lost track of time, and only stopped because he was out of energy. Even if he didn’t need to breathe, or have muscles to get sore, he still felt like he needed a break to catch his breath, and flopped on his back, bobbing up and down gently while he relaxed. It was a comfortable position to be in, far cozier than sleeping on the ground, and Kairen was tempted to simply fall asleep where he was. He had spent most of the night awake, and despite the bright sun telling him that a new day had arrived he soon found himself drifting off.

The screech of an animal jolted him awake, and it took him a bit of foundering to orient himself, having never woken up in the water before. What he saw amazed him. It was one thing to know how valuable water was to people. It was another to see what it meant to the animal kingdom.

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Kairen knew that water had a scent. His village always knew when to start tying things down in preparation of a storm when the dogs started barking and signalling their handlers, able to catch the scent of rain carried ahead on the breeze far before the clouds became visible in the sky. He had heard tales of animals with even stranger senses which allowed them to survive in desert conditions, all of which would help them find their way to a source of life-giving water such as he had created.

Before Kairen had gone to sleep the largest animal in the area had been the desert rat. Now there was a veritable zoo. Camels and Antelope towered over smaller rabbits and lizards, and a few desert foxes cautiously approached the pool, unwilling to initiate violence while outnumbered in this new environment. A few mobile plants had also made their way here and had put down roots. Vine snakes had formed a small thicket in the northern shallows, shifting to a passive form to regain energy, while a troop of knightmoss covered creatures were partially hidden just within sight range of the oasis. Kairen frowned at that. Hopefully, whatever magic that was keeping the water clear despite the animals churning it up would also prevent the knightmoss from getting a foothold. While he wasn’t personally at risk if the knightmoss managed to take over his pond it would scare away the other animals and humans until a specialist group could be put together. Fortunately, most animals recognized the danger that the mind controlling plant posed and would do what they could to stomp it out.

Kairen made his way to shore, marvelling at his ability to get close to the various animals without scaring them away. Later he would definitely try and spend as much time as he could learning about each species present but for now he wanted to get closer to the knightmoss. It turned out that the hiding spot the knightmoss had chosen was close to the anthill Kairen had observed earlier. The presence of water had thrown the ants into a building frenzy, and Kairen watched as a steady stream of workers made their way to the partially buried troop, biting off pieces of moss and hauling them back to the hive to feed the rest of the colony. Each stolen piece was too small to envelope and hijack the ant carrying it, and the diminished intelligence of the knightmoss’ mounts was almost completely focused on observing the oasis and the far greater potential threats present.

Relieved, Kairen watched the war of attrition for a little longer. There was too much traffic by his oasis for the troop to try anything, and by the time things might settle down again the ants would have neutralized the threat the troop posed. Getting back onto his feet, he began wandering around, enjoying the ability to treat the oasis as his own personal zoo.

Even if they weren’t humans, even if they weren’t able to see and interact with Kairen, the sheer life and energy that surrounded Kairen was a balm he hadn’t known he needed. His time under the slavers had been isolating, not for a lack of people, but for the enforced lack of opportunity to interact with them. The interaction he was experiencing now might be one-sided, but simply watching the animals react and enjoy the water he had provided brought a small smile to his lips. He chuckled as he watched the antics of a young antelope, young enough to probably have lived off of milk and then moisture gained from eating plants. Standing water was a complete mystery to it and watching as it interacted with the mysterious substance greatly lightened the mood. Every contact with the cool liquid sent the young animal scrambling back in terror, and Kairen might have felt sorry for the thing were it not for the calming presence of its nearby mother. After a few moments of drama, it would be reassured by the lack of reaction from its parent, calm down, inch forward and then repeat the cycle over again.