Sunshine and shadows

The spring sect

I run through the forest, glancing back every few steps. But no matter how many times I keep checking, the vision behind me doesn't change. I groan every time I see that, but my mind still isn't ready to accept that, cutting through the autumn trees with their blazing light, are two suns in the sky instead of one.

In my heart, I know exactly what this means. The ritual must have gone wrong somehow, and if I don't fix this quickly, the whole world will pay for our mistakes.

I quickly scramble through the thickets that cut me in the arms and legs as the temperature steadily mounts the atmosphere. I even have to keep pausing to wipe the sweat off my brow when it trickles into my eyes and blocks my vision.

A streak of lightning flashes above me and strikes a clearing just in my line of vision. I shield my head with my arms and continue running with more urgency now. The pink petals floating around me begin to decrease in frequency as I draw nearer to the Stone-clearing, and I almost sob at the implications.

The rhythmic chanting is what greets me first as I burst into the paved clearing in between the woods. The four stones carved with runes form a circle on the dusty ground, and in between the stones stand the ancient beings, joined by their interconnected, raised hands.

All their eyes are closed, which is probably why they don't realize that our world is crumbling all around them. The cherry blossoms are crumbling to ash at my feet and the trees as slowly fading into the ground.

I know that this could very much get me killed, but I grit my teeth and cross the white line separating me from the elders. I immediately feel the burn throughout my body, and my knees tremble under me, but I push through and land heavily on the ground.

Their concentration breaks immediately and the elder witches turn toward me with wide, urgent eyes. This temporary lapse causes the world to come to a standstill and they gather around me and pull me to my feet. All around us, trees begin to wither away and crumple into themselves.

"Ziya. What is the meaning of this behavior?" Lady Ehren admonishes me strictly. "You've been briefed on how much this ritual is required to banish the Snow monster. How many times do I have to tell you? Such an untamed beast can cause massive destruction in our world if we don't stop it. Yet you persist with such atrocious actions?"

"Forgive me, Lady Ehren," I reply, performing a quick bow of apology. "But the ritual has already gone wrong. Please look around you. If we don't stop now, we don't even need the Snow monster to destroy our world."

The witches blink as though they woke up from a daze. I watch them take a good look of their surroundings for the first time and cover their mouths at the horrible state of our world.

The Spring Sect, known for its eternally beautiful spring climate and cherry blossom trees, is slowly transforming into the worst version of summer imaginable. The two suns have already done their job in scorching the earth, the animals are dying around us from thirst, and the greenery has long since shriveled up in the heat.

"In your haste to summon the sun and prevent this world from turning cold, you've instead given it the opposite and razed it to the ground. The Snow monster has melted into the earth, but everything else will soon follow it unless we do something." I continue bravely. I can see the horror in the Ladys' features, but this is not the right time to grieve.

"Please think of a way to fix this," I say like a small child who expects her parents to fix all her mistakes. The witches close their eyes and begin muttering furiously, trying to remember any spell that could be useful.

This hopeless feeling that I have reminds me of my childhood, when the magical children would bully me and I would run home crying and expecting my parents to solve my problems, when in reality they could do nothing about it.

I hate this feeling.

So, I join in the effort and recall all the lessons I've taken till now, and to my great relief, a basic spell that I learned comes to my mind.

"If I may, there is a spell I recall. One that helps in healing and nourishing Nature and its extensions. Why don't we try and use it for the Spring Sect?" I offer hopefully.

"My dear, that spell is for children. They use it for when their plants or pets fall sick. I don't believe it's feasible to use for such a catastrophic disaster," Lady Aryani interrupts me with a soft tone. I shake my head stubbornly.

"No, my Lady. This spell is the perfect one for our problems. Trust me. If we join hands and work out together, we will surely prevail."

They all look at each other, shrug helplessly, and lead me to the center of the Stones again. This time my hands are grabbed as well, and we begin chanting desperately with our eyes closed.

At first it has no effect, and my heart thuds dully in disappointment, but soon I hear whooshing as the world around us slowly heals itself and fits back into its original shape. I sneakily open my eyes and see cherry blossoms being restored to their trees, and the world goes back to normal as the second sun disappears from the sky.

We part hands as a magical chiming informs us that the spell is complete, and we admire our surroundings in awe. What had been a catastrophic land just minutes ago had now transformed into the epitome of beauty in all its spring glory.

The witches pat me on the back with huge, appreciative smiles and laud me for my quick thinking and skill.

I smile back at them and catch a blossom in my hand and smell it delightedly.

Ah, this is nice. Everything is right with the world once again.