Two weeks after the attack, the weather became much warmer. The snow began to melt and in places, some small patches of ground began to be seen. The Tao family and one of the deorgs had left the village and were heading north, where there was a small graveyard. The climb was not easy, so Indres carried the eldest daughter and son in his arms. The infant had stayed at home, looked after by other people, so Sofra occasionally looked anxiously towards the village. In her hands was a garland of conifer branches, decorated with tiny flowers. The family's goal was not the cemetery itself, but a new grave site nearby, outside the usual area.

This grave was large, and covered with a layer of stones. At one end was a larger stone, which Indres pointed out to a deorg man, older than the others, the one who wore glasses.

"Here," Indres said shortly, lowering the children to the ground.

"Good. What to write?" Deorg asked.

"Teru... no Terano." Indres corrected himself.

"Just a word?" The tiny man wondered.

Indres looked at his wife.

"Brave and kind. Please write that under the name." Sofra offered.

Indres nodded.

"I can carve the outline of a dog next to it, too. If you like." Deorg offered.

"And how much will that cost?" Indres asked.

"Ah, it will be the same. It's not hard, I don't mean to make a painting, just something simple, so people know who sleeps here... or I could write 'dog'."

"No, the outline will do... thank you." Tao's father nodded.

Deorg set to work. Although his chisel and small hammer didn't look like much, somehow the front of the stone cut unusually flat, like the stones used to build the wall. Having created a large, flat facet, the craftsman began to make the inscription.

There were at least two dozen graves in the cemetery, some of which were still covered in snow. The tradition of marking the graves of the dead with tombstones was not unknown in Tao’s old world. However, it was not acceptable to bury animals next to people, so Indres had to find a new place nearby. Tao did not know when exactly his father took care of it, but when the family returned home, Teru was already gone.

"Teru is here?" Safia asked, looking at the grave.

"Yes, he's resting." Her mother patted the girl’s head.

"When will he come out?" came the next question.

"Teru will be going to The Beyond. We won't see him for a very long time, I'm afraid." Sofra said quietly.

"The Beyond?"

"Where my mom and dad are, child. They'll take care of Teru, surely."

"..." Safia didn't answer, but snuggled closer to her mother.

Despite the thaw, the wind was still unpleasantly cold. Standing in one place for a long time was not easy. Fortunately, the deorg worked quickly and soon the inscription and the drawing were ready. The outline of the running dog was very reminiscent of Teru.

"Well, I hope you like it." The stonecutter got to his feet and straightened up.

"That's... good." Indres said, looking at the inscription.

Terano

Brave and kind

image [https://i.imgur.com/upFsIym.jpg]

"Thank you very much, Master Gareth." Sofra bowed respectfully to the little man.

"I was honored. I'm sorry about the doggy. The boys and I often watched you come and go. A beautiful beast."

"Yes..." Indres responded softly.

"Then... if that's all... your elders will forgive me for only half an hour's absence." Deorg made to leave.

"Yes, thank you very much again. We won't forget your kind-heartedness." Sofra bowed again.

"No, don't say that, I'll be ashamed to take your coins... Then, peace be with you."

"Blessed be."

Deorgh headed back towards the village, leaving the family alone. Sofra placed the garland on the grave, then put her hand on husband's shoulder.

Their eyes met. Tao noticed that his father's usually stern eyes were different. There was uncertainty, even weakness.

"My wife and children are safe and sound, I should be laughing with joy, but I... I'm a fool, aren't I?" he smiled bitterly.

"No. You are not." Sofra's voice was gentle.

If anyone here is a fool, it's me, Tao in his mind chimed in.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized how stupid his delusions were.

Learn magic to protect the family? Ridiculous!

Teru didn't hesitate to throw herself at the monster, even Sofra, the pregnant woman, fought to the last. Brave and kind. Both of them.

Not Tao.

He couldn't even think clearly, let alone fight. If the spawn had decided to kill his mother and sister before grabbing the boy, he would have just watched, chanting in his head "This is not happening."

Tao only began to resist when he realized the danger to himself.

And even if he had managed to pull himself together, would it have made a difference?

It seems obvious now, but all this time in training Tao had not grasped a simple truth.

The moment he uses the spirit power to defend his family, they will know.

They will know that the boy knows something that is impossible for him at his age.

And will stop loving him.

That's why Tao still hadn't said anything.

I just need more time... Until I reach an age when I'm no longer suspicious. Maybe the dream wasn't connected to the spawns. After all, nothing has happened since... Tao tried to excuse himself.

He didn't know what to do. More precisely, the only right option was too frightening.

Brave and kind.

Those words stung his heart.

Something touched Tao's cheek, snapping him out of this dark spiral of thoughts. Turning his head, he saw nothing but a patch of uneven snow-covered ground with a few melted patches.

An invisible spirit? Or was I wrong... Tao decided to be cautious and vigilantly studied his surroundings.

His attention was drawn to some tiny flowers that had appeared on a patch of dry grass among the snow. Tao didn't remember seeing them when they came here, but perhaps boy had missed them.

Suddenly another white flower bloomed before his eyes. It happened so quickly that it was clearly not natural. Tao saw that his family was still paying attention to the grave, so he cautiously walked towards the grass patch. While the boy was doing this, another flower appeared.

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Tao crouched beside them and studied them carefully. He thought he saw a kind of waving in the air above the blades of grass. It was like steam over boiling water, the length of a palm, but with a sort of green tinge. The air vibration was moving over the blades of grass. It touched one of them, causing another flower to burst forth.

The boy was afraid to try to touch the phenomenon, so he continued to watch it. The swirling air, in turn, took on a sort of tiny human-like form and seemed to turn towards the boy. Then it bowed.

"Oh, Mighty one! I greet you!" came a tiny, childlike voice, barely louder than a whisper.

Tao opened his mouth. Then closed it. He looked back at his parents, but they were too far away to hear.

"W-who are you?" The boy asked quietly.

He was suspicious of this phenomenon but decided to engage in conversation anyway.

"I protect the forest... no, I grow it... or should I say preserve it?" was the not very clear answer.

"You're a spirit, right?" Tao wanted to clarify.

"Yes, a spirit of the forest, if you like."

The boy couldn't make out a face or any other special feature on the tiny figure. The slightly green-colored, swirling air seemed the most accurate description.

"What do you want from me?" He asked the next question.

"I dare not ask anything... I came to see your glory."

"Glory?" Tao didn't understand.

He glanced back at his parents again, but for now, he was safe.

"Your greatness, the power that shines gloriously, oh Mighty one! I was not the only one who felt it. Lesser ones, they dance around you in a big circle" came the strange reply.

It seemed absurd to call a two-year-old boy mighty. But Tao had already understood that spirits see things differently.

They see what is hidden.

"Are you talking about my spirit power? And... the lesser spirits?" Tao tried to clarify.

He began to remember his previous conversation with the spirit, that demanded to be just as... patient.

"Yes, your spirit power is great, it attracts the lesser spirits. I felt it too and that's why I came."

"Hmm..." Tao didn't know what to say.

He heard someone coming closer. Looking back, the boy saw his mother.

"Tao, what are you doing...?" She called out.

Damn, bad timing! The boy winced.

The air stopped swirling in front of him. Tao did not understand whether the spirit made itself invisible or fled.

"Did you find something... Oh! It's spring hopes. We can put them on Teru's grave!" Sofra said, bending down beside her son.

Hopefully, the spirit won't mind... the boy thought to himself.

The mother picked at the newly bloomed/made flowers and urged Tao to stand up to return to the family. Sofra put the flowers in a garland on the grave, kneeling beside the boy. Noticing how serious her son looked, she smiled and stroked Tao's head.

Tao barely felt it as his mind was engaged in busy calculations.

If my spirit power is visible to the spirits, it doesn't matter that I don't use magic, they will find me anyway. Maybe it protects them from monsters, but I don't know... There's too much I don't know. For now, the most sensible thing would be to try to find out more. This spirit seems to be interested in me, so it will probably try to contact me again... the question is, can I trust it?

From now on, Tao decided to be more cautious about expressing his thoughts, and not only in the presence of spirits.

"Indres, maybe me and the kids can go now? It's still windy, and Inya is waiting." Sofra spoke to her husband.

"No, we'll all go," Indres replied.

He took the two children in his arms and headed down towards the village.

Tao glanced back several times at the clump of grass where the flowers had bloomed, but he could no longer see the strange air movement.

The monster attack did not affect the construction of the wall. The Deorgs were still working hard and advancing the wall several meters every day. As the family approached the village gate, they heard a loud voice from the construction site a little further south.

"I don't care that you were allowed! Why do I, a practitioner of magic, have to dig the ground while you're wandering around? Have you forgotten who saved you from the spawns? Where's the gratitude, eh!?"

The fire mage seemed angry with the deorg who had helped carve the inscription into the tombstone.

"The Eternal save... He's in trouble now because of us." Sofra sighed.

"No, Vern's not happy about being put to work, that's all." Indres shook his head.

To build the wall faster, villagers were regularly assigned to help the masons, for example by digging a ditch for the wall's foundations. Obviously, this was not to everyone's taste.

Tao could not hear what the deorg said, but the man's face turned red.

"What do you know about the battle, dwarf? All five of you were hiding in your hut while I was on the front!"

The other four, who had so far just continued working in silence, stopped and stared at the man. A few other villagers who were helping with the digging looked shaken.

"To Abyss with this idiot!" Indres cursed.

After lowering the children to the ground, he hurried to the construction site, hoping to resolve the conflict.

Sofra did not rush home immediately but stayed to watch, much to Tao's liking. A moment later he felt another invisible touch on his cheek. Looking back, the boy saw another clump of grass among the snow with a few white flowers just beginning to bloom. The cluster of grass was next to the road, so the boy could get closer. As he crouched down, he saw the air swirling between the blades of grass.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want others to notice me." Tao heard the whisper-like voice again.

"Why?" The boy asked.

"Humans are not trustworthy."

"But I'm human."

The spirit seemed to stir for a moment, though it was hard to make out because of the vague shape.

"Really?" He seemed to express doubt.

"Indeed," Tao confirmed.

"Even so... you're different than the others."

The boy considered for a moment, wondering how best to continue the conversation.

"Do you want something from me?" he decided to be direct.

"Why does the Mighty One think I want anything?" The spirit replied with a counter-question.

"You made yourself visible to me. You follow me. There's a reason for that, isn't there?"

"The Mighty One is also wise... evil took up residence in my forest. I was forced to flee, to seek refuge."

"Evil?"

"Evil power, the enemy of the spirits and of men."

"Sounds bad..." commented Tao thoughtfully.

"I'm too weak to fight back, like everyone who lives in the forest..."

"What is this evil?"

The boy looked back again to make sure his mother was still paying attention to the argument between the deorgs and the rude man.

"Mighty One, don't you know? You have already defeated this evil. Twice." The voice claimed.

"What do you mean?" Tao furrowed his brows.

He understood before the spirit gave an answer.

"The one who controls spawns and dreams. You defeated him with your might and forced him to flee."

"What does it want from me?" The boy's face grew more serious.

The simmering figure seemed to consider the answer for a moment.

"It is beyond my comprehension... perhaps to destroy the one who can confront him?"

"You don't know that? But you knew that this evil attacked me."

"The lesser spirits that accompany you. I learned from them."

"I thought they were not intelligent."

"Indeed... but you can get information from them if you know how... I see you have a lot of knowledge about spirits, Mighty One."

"I once spoke to a spirit of light." Tao decided to reveal.

"That... is amazing. I thought they didn't talk to humans." The voice seemed surprised.

"It was a special situation."

"Indeed, I was not mistaken, the Mighty One is a special person."

"Thank you, but you think too highly of me." The boy decided to show modesty.

It was weird to hear this voice calling him 'the Mighty One'.

"No, I'm sure there is no one else in this land who possesses such power, neither among mortals nor spirits. Perhaps that is why the spirit of light came to speak to you?"

"I don't know... I don't feel so strong myself."

"Why? You won a victory over a powerful enemy. That is a testimony to your strength."

"Or this evil is not really so powerful..."

The roiling in the air became more pronounced as if the spirit was expressing displeasure at being challenged by his words.

Tao didn't know what to think about that. He had no idea how much spirit power his parents, the healer, or the fire mage had because they usually didn't use it until they were exhausted. From their conversations, the boy had understood that each individual's reserves could be different. Indres speculated that Tao's spirit power might be greater, but only because he could not explain the monster's attack.

"This evil, what exactly is it?" the boy decided to find out more.

"Its true nature is hidden from me, O Mighty One." The voice replied.

"Is it a physical monster? Or a spirit? Can you tell me at least that much you?" Tao insisted.

"I'd say spirit... but I ran when I sensed its closeness, so I didn't look at its form. I knew I wouldn't be able to face it."

"It looks like we have a common enemy... what would you suggest I do?"

The spirit didn't seem to expect such a question.

"My wish is to return home... But it seems that the Mighty one lacks confidence in his own strength..." the voice gave a vague answer.

"Maybe I managed to protect myself, but I don't think I will be… a threat to the powerful spirit. I am a little human child."

The tiny figure seemed thoughtful, perhaps trying to comprehend Tao's words.

"Perhaps in time, if I become stronger..." the boy added slowly.

"With time? For how long?" The spirit inquired.

"I don't know when I'll feel that I'm strong enough. Besides, I can't go into the forest to fight the evil spirits now. I am not allowed."

"Are you a prisoner?"

"No, I am a child, only a two-year-old child. I'm not allowed to leave home without my parents yet."

"..."

Without even seeing the tiny figure's face, it was clear that the spirit was dumbfounded.

"Then... the Mighty One is in the disposition to wait." The spirit asked after a moment.

The subtle voice sounded disappointed.

"For a while, yes."

"I understand. It's wise to show caution... it's just..." The spirit didn't finish the thought.

"Just - what?"

"Tao, come! Let's go home!" The boy heard his mother's voice.

The father had somehow calmed both parties and walked back to the family. It looked like the time for conversation had run out.

"The Mighty One attracts attention by the strength of his spirit power. Even if the enemy does not come to the forest for the time being, what if others like it turn up? If an evil spirit comes to this land, he will surely feel your power. My advice is to hide it." The Spirit explained.

"Is that possible?" Such a thought had not even crossed Tao's mind.

"I don't know if it's hard for someone in the flesh, but I can try to teach you. Other things that can help defeat evil spirits too."

"You'll help me?"

"If you want, yes... "

"And the payment?"

"I would be grateful if, when you are ready, you would free the forest of this evil... enemy of you and me."

"Tao, rise! We must go home!" Mother repeated.

There wasn't much time to think through all the pros and cons, but Tao didn't have to worry about that. Talking to the spirit, he had gradually come to understand what would be the best thing to do.

Get more time - that was what the boy had wanted.

"My name is Tao." He finally introduced himself.

"You want my name, I understand? I cannot fully express it in your language... mortals once called me Elet'nairo Veitei... shorter would-be Eleya."

"Eleya... I agree. So be it." Tao said a phrase he had heard the adults use.

He nodded his head in affirmation.

"So be it, Tao the Mighty." The spirit repeated the words and the movement of his head.

The boy wanted to tell Eleya to stop saying "Mighty One", but his mother had come over, so he fell silent and got to his feet.

"What happened? What are you looking at... spring hopes again? Twice in a row? So attentive and lucky!" Sofra was surprised and patted son's head.

The spirit had disappeared when his mother picked the flowers again, this time to take home with her.

Tao was sure that Eleya would return.

They had made a deal.

Each had something the other wanted.

It will be dangerous.

But now there is hope, Tao thought, looking at the tiny flowers in his mother's hand.

Spring was coming. A new beginning.

***