For those gifted with the Sight, the coming of night was a breathtaking phenomenon, beautiful to behold. One can See the flows of earth-power rising upon the ground, luminous threads of sapphire and violet interlaced with silver like a vast spider web, linking all that is Ervon from the largest of its creatures to the smallest grain of sand. Where the earth was deep and ancient, an iridescent ocean of Power rose from which the whole of Ervon's creation floated magnificently.

For Jared, the end of day was the birth of a nightmare, for which there was no escape. To one such as he, the Power that surged from the earth was more than terrifying.

To his Vision, the red pulsing waves rose angrily into the sky, obliterating everything, plunging toward him with all the fury of a tempest. Its seemingly solid weight crushed his body to the ground, and he could not have moved a finger to save himself, with that weight and the overwhelming pain that followed. Where it possible for one to be alive with all of one's bones broken, that was how it felt.

The Power seared his eyes and roared in his ears until he thought they would shatter. Everywhere it touched, a slow burning commenced, eating its way over his flesh to the bone beneath, his blood boiling within. The torn places in his mind that never healed flared up into cinders, sending fire coursing along his nerves— until he thought there was nothing left of him but the ever-burning flames, devoured by that Power. But it went on and on, mercilessly. His mind screamed— and kept on screaming.

Once, not very long ago it seemed, he had a vague impression of having seen Death in the face. His fear then denied Him the opportunity. But now— now he wanted to die.

Brilliant green Power flashed suddenly before him, as if responding to his need. Without thinking, his mind reached for it desperately as a drowning man grabs hold of a branch to save himself. Strength flowed into him, and with a rage born of the agony he had suffered, he pushed at the crushing, fiery red Power with a focused thought, pushed with all his might. And he felt it give way before him with a terrible rending sound that echoed and re-echoed like thunder. With a tired, contemptuous twist, he wrenched the hurtful energies away from him as far as he could, and with his own Power held them there.

He would not— could not— allow it to hurt him again.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Calidar snatched his hand away from Jared's forehead, as if the boy's skin burned him. His eyes refocused, a crease of worry on his features.

"It is happening, sooner than I feared," he muttered, half to himself, and to Marsh he said, "His mindshield repels my probe, and I cannot breach it enough to ease his pain."

Marsh looked at the Healer in dismay. "T'was all going very well, Master. I thought— I had hoped— he be freed from the mind-things that troubled him so. I do not understand."

The old mandrake shook his head, large eyes fixed on the still form before him. Jared was curled into a tight ball on the ground, unmoving, as if by doing so, he could hide from the torment that plagued him.

"It is the coming of night that has undone him, young Marsh. The energy surge that accompanies nightfall, I fear it is too much for his Senses, and for his mind— to bear. His perceptions are very strong, stronger than any I have ever seen. I was wrong to hope that, weak as he is, it would not come to him this quickly." The Healer's ears drooped and his face grew grave. "And he in turn has undone me. I have never seen his like, in the many years that I have been Healer."

They did not dare move Jared anywhere from the spot on which he lay. In his panic, Marsh had earlier attempted to carry the youth back to the hut, but the boy's moan of agony, his limbs twisting and cramping horribly at the slightest movement, deterred him.

Above them the night was as peaceful as ever. The moon shown brightly upon the clearing, and around them the trees glowed silver, their branches stirred slightly by a warm wind. How could such a seemingly benevolent night bring so much pain? Calidar cursed softly. Worse, he could Feel something, like a gathering of opposing forces, forming about the youth. Any time now, the Forest's peace could be shattered by the struggle between those forces, and when that happens, the Abyss would be a place preferable to where they are now. Unless— unless he did what he had to do.

"Will he be dying, Master Calidar?" Marsh asked softly, eyes wide with despair.

"No. Not if I can help it," declared the Healer in a firm voice. "Stay with him, Marsh."

Calidar stiffly gathered himself up, and went inside the hut. He emerged shortly, holding an earthenware bowl, which he brought before the stricken youth. Its liquid contents smelled faintly of mint and honey, and within it Marsh saw three small, silver-blue leaves that he recalled were in the Healer's pouch that afternoon.

"Nightshade. It dulls the Senses most effectively," Calidar explained. "Three leaves is the limit that any man can take; four— and it becomes a powerful poison. Hold him up, Marsh. There isn't much time. Even I am not certain this will work, with him."

The younger mandrake raised Jared's head gently, supporting him as the movement caused another round of painful spasms coursing down the boy's slight frame. Jared's eyes were open, but Calidar could see nothing but agony reflected in those green, senseless depths.

The old Healer carefully tilted the cup to Jared's lips, stroking his throat to encourage him to swallow. After the boy managed a few unconscious sips, Calidar nodded at Marsh, and they cautiously laid him back on the makeshift bed.

"Now we wait," the Healer sighed.

For several tense moments they watched him, Calidar occasionally touching Jared's forehead with a gnarled finger, assessing his condition with his keen Sight and healer's sense. But every time he did so, his face grew grim, until finally he said tersely, "The Nightshade barely seems to have any effect on him. Either his Senses are unbelievably strong, or his Powers are channeled elsewhere and his body is too weak to make any use of it. And I dare not give him more."

"Then there is naught else we can do?" Marsh queried hopelessly.

"It is in the Creator's hands, now. I heal bodies, not minds, and I fear I cannot help him." The old mandrake looked away, as if he could no longer stand the agony of spirit that he Saw in the boy's eyes— and his own failure.

A loud, tearing sound, like rolling thunder above and beneath the ground, suddenly filled the night. 

 Marsh gasped in mingled surprise and fear. 

With the Sight both mandrakes saw the very Power of the earth rip asunder, as if a huge invisible hand had taken hold of it and tossed it away with contemptuous ease. Torn from its natural course, the angry waves pulsed outward, cleaved by a terrible force and the desperate will of a boy driven to extremity.

Sudden, total silence covered the clearing, and around them Ios' light dimmed. The wind stirred once, and then was still. The Forest sounds ceased abruptly, as if its creatures sensed the wrongness in the Power flows.

"Gods of Ervon!" breathed Calidar, wide eyes staring beyond the clearing. His Sight was sharper than Marsh's, and he was thankful that the young mandrake was spared such a frightening vision. 

"I have to stop him, or all will be lost!" Calidar touched the lad with a trembling hand and sent a strong, focused thought right through the boy's shields.

': Jared, you must—:'

The youth shuddered in pain at the mindtouch, his senseless eyes flashed with rage, and the next thing Calidar knew, he was sprawled ten paces away, stunned by an invisible, powerful blow.

"Master!" Marsh scurried to the Healer anxiously.

"I am alright," Calidar rose shakily, holding his throbbing head. "That— that was a very foolish thing to do. If I were not shielded—"

Images of burning flesh crossed his mind, but the Healer pushed the thought away and fixed the younger mandrake with eyes filled with grim determination. "Marsh, you must make haste and find Lord Arlan. Tell him what has happened here."

"But Jared—"

"Jared is safe, for now." Calidar nodded at the still form, where a bright green glow now encased the boy like a cocoon, pulsing in time with his heartbeat.

The lines of pain eased away from Jared's face, and Marsh turned at the Healer with mingled awe and disbelief. "He— he pushed the earth-Power away— where it could not hurt him? But how is that possible?"

"His Power protects him without compunction. And I fear it will destroy everything around it if that is what it takes to preserve his life." Calidar mused, eyes gone dark with foreboding. 

 "I am not entirely sure, and I need the Druid's skill to be certain, but I think— Jared may have, unknowingly, created a Chaos storm."

Marsh swallowed hard,  "What— what be a Chaos storm, Master?"

"Can you not Feel it?" Calidar whispered, staring at the Forest. "The trees shudder and the animals cower in their lairs. The air is filled with unbalanced energies—not here, for we stand within Jared's protections, but out there. . ." 

 The Healer's eyes narrowed and he spoke to Marsh urgently. "Chaos storms are a very rare phenomenon. No wonder you young ones have forgotten its like. As a rule Ervon's power flows are constant and unchanging as the workings of nature are not. But after a span of a few centuries, something would go wrong in its course, no one really knows why or how, and the effects of such a change are always devastating. Lightnings that destroy entire cities are only the beginning. The land is warped with strange life forms, and the Changelings come soon after— But I do not care to frighten you with things that cannot, and must not happen." 

Calidar laid a hand on Marsh's shoulder and said wearily, "Time is of the essence if Jared is to live, and I fear his time is running out. Go and find Arlan Druid."

The young mandrake shook himself as if to break free from the Healer's alarming tale. He nodded briskly, setting his sights on the Forest's beaten path beyond the circle of sylvan trees. 

Calidar turned and limped back toward where the boy lay, thinking about the long night ahead and the strange Power that pulsed around Jared, slowly but surely consuming his remaining life-force. 

"So very strong— and yet, so weak and lost. How can one reconcile such a paradox?"