Waking up to the pitter-patter of soft rain falling on the leaves around me; I poked my head out of my canopy atop the tree and surveyed the sky. The skies were gray and dotted with menacing rain clouds. Looking towards the horizon, I can see a storm rolling in - fast approaching my location.

I sat up and stretched to release my muscles from the deep sleep that I had woken up from. The forest was quiet today. The only noise was the sprinkle of rain.

Moving the leaves of my canopy aside, I slid down a tree branch towards the trunk. I miscalculated just how slippery the tree branch was and fell against the side of the tree trunk with a thud.

“Ah!” A quiet squeak escaped from my lips. Causing a few baby birds in a nest to wake up and start squawking for their mother.

“Sorry, babies!” I tiptoed along the tree branch towards the nest and stroked the baby bird’s heads. They peered up towards me with their mouths wide open - waiting for food.

I closed my eyes. Listening for the sound of the mother bird.

Focusing my attention to the forest around me; I pushed aside the sound of mice skittering and lizards rummaging through the soil. A field of dandelions floated into my mind, and I saw a small bird pecking at the dirt.

“Your mother is coming soon with food. Be patient, my babies.” I stroke their soft, wet heads once more before jumping off the branch towards the mossy forest floor.

Landing on the ground I wiped away the leaves that had stuck to my hair and face. Blinking to clear the raindrops from my vision, the forest floor was a different scene than the treetops. A thick fog was rolling in. Making it hard to see more than 6 feet ahead of me. To the left of me, a pair of gray squirrels were foraging amongst the wet dirt. Looking for fresh mushrooms to eat.

The squirrels took notice of my presence and stopped all movement. Tilting their heads up towards me I could vaguely hear their thoughts behind their watery, brown eyes.

“Mushrooms...hungry.”

Chuckling to myself, I crouched down and pressed my right palm against the cold dirt. Instantly, a crop of fresh, red mushrooms pops up in front of the squirrels.

The squirrels jump back in alarm at the sudden appearance of mushrooms, before dashing towards the fresh fungi and ravaging them.

“Mushrooms!!”

The sounds of the forest became muffled as it started to rain harder. The cold drops stung the bare skin on my arms yet refreshed my tired face. Although I could feel the temperature; the cold rain and wind did not make me shiver.

The foliage was thick - growing larger by the day with the abundance of rain that had been falling lately. The wind was howling, and my hair started to whip around - smacking me in the face and obscuring my vision.

As I walked along the small trail to the edge of the forest, I tied up my hair and focused my attention on the tasks that I would have to complete today. But something about today felt off - the air was electric, and my heart was pounding out of my chest. Today will be a difficult day.

In the far distance, I could hear the village start to stir. Realizing that I was late; I started to run as fast as I could towards the village.

My simple, leather hide shoes slapped against the wet detritus that lined the ground. Slipping and sliding through the mud - I decided that it might be easier to glide along the ground as opposed to risking a potential ankle breakage.

I took a small leap off the ground and skimmed along the surface of the forest floor. Branches smacked me in the face as I whipped by. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the same two squirrels running on a branch beside me. They chirped happily as they bounced from tree to tree - cheering me on. A smile creeped across my face as I burst from the edge of the forest.

I arrived at the outskirts of the dilapidated village. By this point the fog was too thick for me to see much. I couldn’t hear any villagers out on the fields yet. Everyone was still inside - getting ready to face a new, dreary day.

Many years ago, this village had been a bustling core for the city of Kranen; however, due to the Black War that had destroyed much of the city and killed millions of its citizens - this village was reduced to a few cobblestone huts.

Every time I thought of that awful war my heart felt heavy and tears welled up in my eyes. Shaking my head to clear away the depressing thoughts - I set to work.

The king had long abandoned this village. Not giving any of his poor citizens a second thought and using all of his resources to save himself, the upper-class citizens, and his army. Resources were stolen from all the villages and neighbouring towns. The rich lived in the capital - surrounded by a large wall. They pretended that the poverty surrounding the capitals walls did not exist.

The people here were stick-thin and had not even a penny to their names. And even though I did not like or agree with how humans conducted themselves - I couldn’t stand the thought of any more innocent people losing their lives. Every morning before the village was awake, I would come here and refresh the crops.

Gliding towards the first field, the wheat field, I crouched before the tiny field and pressed both of my palms into the wet grass. A small rumbling started beneath me. My palms glowed a light green as the wheat stems started to stand up and dance. Suddenly, the once barren wheat stems exploded with heads that quickly filled with wheat kernels.

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Smiling at my handiwork and cleaning my hands off on my skirt, I set towards the next field. This village had a few small fields. Barely enough to sustain the local population - let alone the capital.

As I approached, I could hear the chatter of the villagers. There was only time to replenish one more field.

Digging my hands into the dirt I quickly finished another wheat field. The dark skies rumbled, and the clouds threatened to erupt with lightning.

I floated towards a tall tree on the outskirts of the village. The fog had settled enough for me to observe the villagers. I perched on a tree branch and peered down towards the huts.

I frequently wondered what the villagers thought when they woke up and saw that their crops had grown overnight. I wished to communicate with them but that would put both them and me in danger.

The male villagers lumbered towards the fields, rejoicing that their crops had sprouted new grain. The women came out of the huts. Some of them were holding skinny babies, and others had sickly children hobbling around them.

The men quickly set to work. Tending to the fields as the women grabbed the food and hid it in barrels and under dirt piles - away from the prying eyes of the knights.

The king’s castle lay to the south of the village. Tall houses surrounded a beautiful castle with more treasures inside than ever imaginable. The Black War had provided the king an ample opportunity to pillage and desecrate other countries. But despite his enormous wealth - nothing was spent on these dying villagers.

The skies growled ominously - a warning. The clank of armor and the stomp of horse hooves was on the move.

I desperately wished that I could be of more help to the villagers. But as one of the Sister Earths, I did not show myself.

As much as I knew that these villagers were not evil. I have seen the horrors of what humans are capable of - and what they would be willing to do in times of desperation. My powers were better used in secret. Lending a helping hand from a distance and never interacting with them.

“Wahhhhhhh!!!”. A singular, loud trumpet startled me.

Looking down from my perch I saw knights on horseback approaching the village. The villagers scrambled to compile a tiny pile of food for the knights to take.

The knight commander carried a large black flag with a white clover in the middle of it - the symbol of Kranen. All the knights wore black armor with white helmets, and each carried a rifle with a bayonet. Along with a massive sword and shield.

Counting the knights, I noticed that today there were eleven knights instead of the usual ten. I did not know much about human politics, but I did know that it was difficult to become a knight of Kranen. This new knight was most likely the son of a spoiled Baron.

I watched as the group of knights rode along a thin, muddy road towards the entrance of the village. The commander came to a sudden halt. Sending a spray of mud towards the villagers.

I felt anger bubble up inside of me. These stupid knights had no regard for their fellow humans’ lives.

I had lived on my own for so long that I wasn’t sure I knew what compassion and love was anymore. But even I felt something for these villagers. I was not human but the real monsters here were the unfeeling and brutal knights.

The knights all jumped down from their horses, some removed their helmets whilst others kept theirs on.

I watched as the new knight trainee removed his helmet. He had bright orange hair and piercing yellow eyes. He would be quite handsome if I did not see him as such a detestable creature.

“Villagers!” the commander boomed, “we have come to collect the monthly tax!”

The village elder walked towards the commander, “Here you are, Lord Profonus, this pile here is all we have gathered from our crops this month…”

Lord Profonus walked towards the pile of food that the villagers had compiled. I was starting to worry as I noticed that the pile did not seem as large as last month's haul.

These poor people, winter is closing in, and they must be trying to save as much food as possible… I hope the commander takes this food and leaves the people be… I prayed quietly towards the Sky God.

“You think this is enough?! This is barely a pittance! Are you trying to get yourselves killed!?” The Commander swung his sword towards the townspeople. The woman and child cowered as the men stepped in front to try to protect them.

One of the village men stepped forward, “Lord Profonus! Please! Spare us, winter is coming, and we do not have enough food to feed our women and children…”

The Commander scoffed, “It is your duty as citizens of Kranen to provide your tax towards the king. If you cannot do even a simple duty such as this, you do not deserve to call yourselves citizens of Kranen.”

The other knights quickly formed a circle around the villagers. I could feel myself shaking in rage, how DARE he do this? Does Lord Profonus not know the horrors that these people go through every day just to survive?

The tree that I was sitting in started to shake ever so slightly. The wind picked up in a violent rage. I tried to steady myself by grabbing onto the branch. The wind howled in my ears, and I lost my grip - tumbling down to the ground.

I managed to catch myself before hitting the ground - hovering above the dirt as another gust of wind blew me aside. Smacking against the side of a tree - I felt the wind knocked out of my lungs. Damn Sky God, is a massive storm your idea of protecting the villagers?

With shaking legs, I stood up and peered around the side of a tree. The knights' horses were bucking and running around in fear as the wind picked up and swirled around them.

I watched as the stupid knights ran around and attempted to calm down their horses. It was such a satisfying sight that I suddenly let out a loud snort. The new orange-haired knight quickly turned around and stared in my direction. I gasped in fear and ducked back behind the tree. Did he hear me?

But there was no way he could have heard me in this storm. No human had hearing that good.

Once my heartbeat calmed down, I looked out from behind the tree again. The rain was coming down fierce and there were cracks of lightning all around us. Lord Profonus was yelling and pointing with his sword. A deep scowl was etched into his face and his mangy brown hair was plastered to his forehead.

The commotion of the storm had scared everyone, and the village was in disarray. The villagers were retreating into their huts; men, women, and children were sliding around the mud. Trying to gain traction and escape from the rage of the knights.

The screams and cries of startled children hurt my ears. Their shrill voices pieced through the thunder. I covered my ears and turned my eyes up towards the Heavens.

Icy rain stabbed my face and ran down under my dress. My thoughts ran wild as I wondered what was going to happen next. Would a storm of this velocity be enough to convince the knights to leave?

Turning my attention back to the village; I observed as some of the knights secured the horses, and others grabbed food and shoved it into burlap sacks.

Lord Profonus paced around, yelling commands, and striking the ground with his sword. He was irate. A shiver run down my spine. I knew what horrors this awful man was capable of.

A young boy was running towards his home; his mother beckoned him to run faster. Her face was streaked with mud and tears, and I watched in horror as Lord Profonus blocked his path.

The commander grabbed the collar of the boy and spit in his face before slicing off his head.

His mother let out an anguished wail that reached down into my stomach. I felt sick. My heart pounded and tears slid down my face. I fell to my knees and let myself cry; the sound of the wind and rain hiding my voice.

“AHHHHH!!” Another horrifying scream pierced through the howl of the wind and rain.

I quickly looked up and nearly vomited from the scene unfolding before me. The knights were massacring the entire village. Slicing and stabbing through the terrified villagers.

I couldn’t let myself be a bystander. I leapt up and ran towards the village, my green dress billowing behind me.

“Stop!! Please stop!” I screamed in desperation.

Lord Profonus whipped around to face me, “And do pray tell, who might you be?” he sneered. Blood and mud were smeared across his forehead; and there was a lengthy scar etched into his cheekbone.

The battle around us stopped as each knight turned and walked towards us. Lifting their swords and rifles toward me.

I felt the blood drain from my face, what had I done?!

One of the knights chuckled, “my my, she’s quite pretty, maybe we should take her as a prisoner?”

A few others nodded in agreement as Lord Profonus walked towards me with his sword raised. I dropped to the ground and pressed my palms into the dirt.

“What? Giving up already, darling?” Lord Profonus cackled, “You can be my prisoner firs-”. He didn’t get a chance to finish as the ground beneath him cracked open. He tumbled quickly into the black hole. I could hear the crack of his bones breaking as he slammed into the wet earth.

The other knights backed away, “What the fuck!?”

“What was that!?” “What happened to Lord Profonus!?”

I looked down into the hole in shock. But I decided it would be in my best interest to pretend that was on purpose.

“Alright, who wants to be next!” I yelled towards the knights. I tried to take a step backwards to escape. But my vision went black as I collapsed.