The fields before her were in a constant chaotic flux. At the very center sat a tree quite similar to the ghost tree she saw in Annaghdown, but it looked to be made of muscle and beat rhythmically like a heart. Each pulse sent a wave of red mist out over the field but instead of covering it in a sea of blood as Alanna expected, the fields and shrubs bloomed and thrived as though they were infused with the concept of life itself. Small animals darted around in a peacefully idyllic existence and there was a profound sense of belonging for all living beings. This was home and it provided for all within the land. The second pulse would then resound and the mist would be pulled back into the heart tree leaving a field that seemed drained of life. The grasses were brown and wilted. The shrubs turned to tangles of vacant branches. The animals all lay down and the land was consumed by small ghostly tendrils that extended from the roots of the great tree. The tree then grew ever so slightly and on the next pulse the land bloomed with just a bit more life than before.

Alanna stared in awe and confusion at the spectacle before her. There was something profound here, and while she caught the obvious cycle of life concept on display, she knew there was more to this. It was more personal somehow. She watched as the life generated and consumed became far more advanced and larger more complex creatures joined the cycle. The flora and fauna soon became massive in scale and large feathered bird like creatures stalked the lands fighting and consuming large scaled reptiles. The inverse was also seen as the scaled creatures just as often snacked on the mega birds.

Then the land changed and darkness seemed to be ever present. The temperatures plummeted and frost began to cover everything. The great heart tree drew what it could from its surroundings but there was nothing left and its pulses struggled to allow life to blossom. It still happened because life always seems to find a way but the life was changed and the old flora and fauna could no longer survive. The tree had to consume part of itself to help the land and it withered away until it was a sapling once more. Then the sky brightened slightly once again allowing the life giving light of the sun to caress the corded muscle of the heart tree. Its slowed beats sped up ever so slightly and with it the land changed once more.

Alanna watched as the long winter faded. She watched the new more rugged life slowly die out as a variation of the old once again took their place. She watched the tree once again start to grow and thrive. She watched as humans returned to these lands and fought over its bounty. She watched as a dark mist spread across the land and out of it came the Tuatha De Danann who defeated the Fir Bolg and made this place their promised home. She watched them fight against the Fomorians and eventually they too were removed but they did not leave conventionally. Pushed back by the Milesians they sued for peace and made a deal with the land but this deal was without foresight. The dark mist once again consumed them and they became one with the land and were pushed into the underworld leaving the lands above to the Milesians. Through it all the heart tree stood. It grew and with it so too did the people tied to it. Alanna saw when the kingdom of the new God came and she saw the overzealous try to destroy all the places of power misunderstanding what the land gods actually were. After all they too were its creation. Alanna saw the land once again become diminished. It had been frozen, cut, bled but it persevered. It changed its face many times but regardless of what it looked like it was still life and it always found a way to survive.

A peace spread through Alanna as she had this epiphany. She too had changed faces many times yet her spirit still lingered to this day. It lingered here because she was part of this land. Unlike many humans she was something a bit more. Something tied to this world. She moved from her perch atop the hill and walked toward the heart tree. She walked under its bough and stared up at it in reverence. It was life. She was life. She closed her eyes, reached out her hand and pressed it against the tree. She felt something shift both in her body and her soul. She opened her eyes and found herself looking out over a great sea of green grass and rolling hills. She could see simultaneously in 360 degrees and she knew that this was her land. Her sense of hearing was strange in that everything sounded a bit dull. It was as if sound had to travel through a thick wall to make it to her. She still hear the sounds of nature but they seemed a bit further away. Alanna found that to be rather sad. She did not realize how much that sound brought comfort to her.

She tried to move but found she could not do so in the same manner she once had. She changed her perspective to focus down her body and found to her surprise she was looking at the trunk of a tree. If she had lips she would have pursed them. She thought about it for a moment then had to agree this was probably an obvious outcome. The question was what to do now and how to go back to the other her. She moved her focus around and realized that her sense of touch was also strange. She could feel everything from an ant walking along the ground, to the cars diving down the roads. Nothing really hurt her. She could tell the land was not quite as healthy as it could be but in time that would change. She did feel some minor irritants in the land. They were not exactly wounds but they were places where the land was not quite whole. She mentally frowned. These places were rather well known and she couldn't quite remember why. There were several of them scattered across the isle and she felt a call to do something with them. She just wasn't sure what. After fixating on one spot Alanna had a realization. "They are fairy forts!" She thought. Why do they irritate the land and why am I drawn to them?

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Alanna was not quite sure and she couldn't figure out how to stop inhabiting the land so she just watched and waited. After staring for what felt like days but was probably hours, she found several areas that were struggling a bit. She saw a farmers crops appearing malnourished and a close inspection of the ground revealed where there was an invading root system pulling from the nutrients in the soil and it caused Alanna to smile. This little guy was a bit of a glutton but it was a survivor. She wished she could move it to a better area and after that thought she felt a bit drained of energy then the plant root system and all were gently lifted then deposited much farther away from the small farm. Alana felt a bit more energy leave her as the farm received a trickle of life and the plants took on a healthier appearance. Alanna was happy that she could help, confused by how she did, and concerned by the weariness that overtook her. She almost missed it when she subconsciously found dead plants and animals with her ghostlike roots and consumed them. The trickle of energy she received was enough to draw her attention to the act. She did not receive much from it and she still felt rather sleepy. She understood that the balance of the land was not something to be altered on a whim. With her mind exhausted she closed her eyes briefly but when the sounds changed once again they shot open and she found herself looking down on her mamó.

"What?" Alanna asked in confusion. "What!" Her grandmother said in awe as she looked up at the taller woman. Her grandfather turned from the stairwell and looked back at the pair then furrowed his brow and pursed his lips. "Huh." He grunted. He walked over to Alanna and she felt a sense of cognitive dissonance because she was staring at him eye to eye. Her body felt great. It was better than she ever felt. She felt more herself. Yet, her mind was telling her she should be looking up at hims as that was correct. Alanna looked down at her body and found she was much larger than she had been. She still held a feminine frame but she was no longer quite as soft as she used to be. She ran her hand down her stomach and found defined abdominal muscles. "Oh." She said. "Well that's a first for me." Her daideo said. "Yes I have not seen the blessing of the land make such a physical change before." Her grandmother replied. "I feel great if that helps at all." Alanna said sheepishly. "I am a bit concerned about clothes though." She admitted as she ran her hand over her now exposed stomach. Thankfully her pants stretched. Although she was not looking forward to removing them. "Right well I cannot even begin to know how to approach this." Her grandmother exclaimed with a bit of exasperation. She motioned toward the stairs with her hand. "Well tell us what happened on the way back to the car. "How long was I gone?" Alanna asked. "It felt like years but it obviously wasn't." "Oh a little over an hour." Her grandfather replied. "It feels longer because we have to integrate the past into ourselves at one of the places of power." Her grandmother explained. "Our family is descended from an ancient line so we tend to see rather far back."

The trio left the cellar and made their way up the stairs and out of the abbey. As they left the ivy and brambles wove their way through the debris and once again hid the stairwell down. It was a bit of an uncomfortable walk back to the car as there were a few tourists taking pictures of the old cathedral ruins. Alanna tried to hid behind her grandfather but it was slightly less effective that it would have been earlier that day. She was pretty sure one of those guys took a picture of them as well. She couldn't help but imagine what he was taking a picture of. She wanted to groan but with her grandfather looking big an mean and knowing his personality there was a non zero chance he would beat them bloody if she even hinted at what they may or may not have done. Plus she would be exposed for longer. "Yeah just going to get in the car." She thought and did just that.

The ride back to Corrandulla went by rather quickly for Alanna. She shared her experiences with her grandparents who were both stunned to near silence for much of the ride. Her experiences and who she had been in her past lives defied belief. When she explained the part of the treen her grandparents just shared dumbfounded looks with one another and shook their heads in confusion. They were silent for a long while until her daideo finally broke the silence. "Did you get a quest at least?" He asked. "We feel a call from the land from time to time and step into the places of power where we will preform a task of some sort to help the land" It happened more in the early 1900's from what I recall. It was a rough time then we lost a lot people." Alanna looked and a strange expression stole over her face. "I obviously wasn't there!" Her grandfather exclaimed. "I just remember the stories my parents and grandparents told." Alanna grinned and shook away the many irreverent things her mind provided to say. Instead she thought about his question. "I feel drawn to do something at the fairy forts. Not sure which one or if it is all of them though." Her grandparents shared a worried look but didn't say anything after that. They drove a while then pulled into Clarke's for a pint. There was a lot to process about what Alanna had explained and their was no better way to put that off than by having a pint.