Everlast: Story of the Horizon

Chapter Three

    A few days passed by and the village had nearly transformed. All around were handmade decorations for the annual feast. Streamers were strung up between huts, lanterns lit with magic were floating over-top the streets and tables were being set up in the center of the village. Things were almost ready for the celebration and everyone was excited. Even me.

The annual feast was a chance to do something different. Well, once out of the year, at least. People danced, played games, had eating contests and even made a show of their magic. (I wasn't allowed to participate in that particular event for obvious reasons.)

All of the friends I had had managed to gather to hang around and goof off. Each of us had helped out with decorating and setting up for the events. We were all able bodies, so to say that our elders took advantage of that would be an understatement.

Thankfully, all of the heavy lifting had been finished so the five of us had been relieved of duty.

High noon had only just passed which left us all sweating after the setup. The heat had reached its peak and we'd decided to take a swim in the lake near our village. The barrier extended far enough to include this lake for fishing, which was a favorite food among the villagers.

The lot of us were all soaking in the cool water, thankful for it after a long morning. We were just glad we'd thought of a soak before we started, so we'd grabbed swim garments in the morning.

"This feels so nice..." Our friend Blaine said as he sunk further in until his head, just above his mouth, was exposed. He blew out bubbles to emphasize how relaxed he felt.

"No kidding." Ezra replied with a bright grin.
"I think those festival arches were the worst of the decorations."

I sat up a little and laughed, looking at him like he was nuts.
"Don't even. Those arches were easy compared to moving that stupid stage Mrs. Birch had stashed away."
Lifting that thing was no easy feat, and it took all five of us and another villager to heave it over to the center of the village. My muscles were still screaming and it wasn't hard to tell everyone else felt the same burn I did.

Everyone groaned at the memory, agreeing with my statement.

"Okay, you're right." Ezra felt his shoulders droop, for once letting his cool demeanor slip.

Ezra was a pretty popular guy in the village. He also happened to be Eve's brother. Those two could almost be considered the power... siblings? Yeah, power siblings of the village. Both had awesome magic, great control over it, and they were both good looking people.

He had shoulder length brown hair, hazel eyes and was the tallest out of us. His tan skin was almost blemish free outside of a few small scars he'd gotten over the years.

"I'll admit, I should have waited to grow those decorative flowers and vines through the village. Using my magic drained me and it didn't make it easy carrying that thing." Eve herself didn't seem as graceful and cheery as she usually did. There were uncharacteristic bags under her eyes but we all understood why.

Using enough magic, depending on how much you have, can be seriously draining on your body. Most all of us knew that. Well, aside from Blaine, who had none.

Raven, the genius of the group, had her golden brown eyes closed. It was hard to tell if she was listening or not. At least, until she decided to speak up and add in her thoughts.
"Intervals between magic usage is better for your body. Less strain than what you go through when you just keep going until the job is done." She spoke almost autonomously. This girl thought purely through a logical standpoint, which was a contrast to some of us who were used to leaping before we thought it through.