Scene 24

We made our way through the mountain pass without further encounters, other than spotting a few goats in the distance. We were making our way down the other side to the plain below when a low hum filled the air.

“What is that?” Steven asked.

As we listened the humming turned into the sound of bagpipes. I looked up at the sky and saw the rolling bank of clouds.

“It’s the storm; we have to find cover,” I answered.

We ran down the trail, desperate to find any kind of shelter from the approaching storm. As we ran lightning flashed around us and gusts of wind nearly blew us off our feet. A large gust would have blown Deena away if I hadn’t caught her and placed her in my pocket. She clung to the material of my clothes in desperation.

“Over there!” Steven yelled through the fury of the wind. I glanced over and saw a small cave where he pointed.

We barely made it into the cave before the full fury of the storm passed over us. As we watched, bolts of lightning struck the ground outside.

Deena let out a scream and I felt her squirming in my pocket. I looked down and saw flashes of energy consuming her.

“It hurts!” she screamed in pain.

As I watched I saw her form begin to blur, as though she were starting to change.

“Hold on Deena; you have to hold on!” I said to her. “The storm can’t change you if you don’t let it! You have to hang on to who you are!”

“But it hurts so much!” she howled.

“Fight it!” I pleaded. “You are Deena Unaspencia and this storm will not change you! We won’t let it!”

“Yes, hold on little one!” Steven joined in. “We are here with you!”

We continued encouraging the small pixie as the storm raged outside. As we watched her form began to solidify again, back to her normal appearance. Her cries of pain lessened as she gained control.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, the storm ended. Deena flew up and I noticed she was breathing easy.

“It’s over and you made it through,” I said to her.

“What was that?” she asked. “What happened?”

“Yes, David, what kind of storm was that?” Steven added.

“From what I understand, that was a new reality changing the world. The storm is a result of the different realities conflicting. It tried to change Deena as well, but she resisted.”

“Change me?” Deena asked in horror. “Into what?”

“I don’t know, something appropriate to the new reality I suppose, but it didn’t. You maintained your own reality.”

Deena was flying around the cave and she paused as if sensing something. “The world has changed,” she said. “I can feel it. The magic of this world is different.”

“Look at the walls of the cave,” Steven said. “When we came in here, they were moist. Now they’re bone dry.”

“Let’s see what’s happened outside,” I said to my companions.

We stepped out of the cave and looked around. Around us on the mountain, plant life was much sparser and hardier, like you would find in a dry climate. We looked to where we had been traveling and saw that things had changed drastically.

Where before a vast grassy plain had spread out before us, now only the rolling sands of a desert could be seen.