The earth shifted and grumbled, reforming to its original form. Streaks for red cracked and melted away from its surface. The jagged rocks that now filled the whole landscape of the battlefield began to withdraw themselves, sinking back into the earth as the topsoil was replaced with low green shrubs and the trees spun to life once more.

  The creature walked gently, each of its steps leaving an illusory glint of blue on the ground as its presence filled the area with vitality and stability. The altar that Reece laid upon jerked violently before receding into the ground, leaving the thaumaturge on the cold hard floor.

  Glory screamed as the sharp pikes tore free from her body. She collapsed to the ground, muscles spasming as the pain ripped through her. Around her, the other captives fell as the pikes released them at last.

  “Interesting spirit creature,” the visitor commented, his entire focus now on the entity whose presence was reversing his actions. “Tell me beast, what is your name?”

  “It is not a beast,” Reece answered. The wounds on his body were actively stitching themselves together seamlessly. “That is the spirit of preservation,” he confirmed.

  The Visitor frowned. It seemed to realize the weight of the statement Reece just made. Spirit creatures don't usually have epithets attached to them, hell most usually don't have names.

  It takes a certain age and presence within the spirit realm for a creature to possess a name of its own so the possession of an epithet usually signified an old and important spirit.

  “So you think you have saved them then? You think you can banish me from this world, spirit?” The visitor abandoned the humans completely walking towards the creature. “You believe your will and mine are equal?”

  As the visitor spoke, a frigid coldness descended on the entire area. Everyone's breath was now a visible puff of mist. The shrubs were now covered in frost and so were the trees. It was like something was sucking the heat energy in the area.

  Reece let out a hoarse laughter. “You are not its equal but it is definitely not here to fight you. Balaam is just acting as an herald,” he chuckled.

  The visitor turned around glancing at the boy who had swallowed the audacity of the entire realm. “Oh, and what is it heralding?”

  Reece’s breaths were getting rather laborious and the only thing keeping him from fainting totally was because he knew what was coming. Everyone else around him was laying on the ground, breathing from their mouths. They all felt as cold and tired as he was.

  Except for the red haired girl. She seemed rather okay, like the temperature drop wasn't really affecting her but she seemed too weak to even move. She was just sitting on the ground, her blank face following the action that was ensuing.

  Reece smiled at the visitor’s question and instead of replying, he only pointed to the sky.

  The visitor looked up and it took a while for him to notice what the boy was pointing at but soon he noticed it. A small glinting star that was glowing and flashing itself right in the distant sky, directly above them.

  The visitor frowned, probably confused, but the star became bigger with each passing moment. The Harrowing forest soon received rays of light that brightened it and mimicked the morning sun.

  A few heartbeats later, a pillar of fire descended from the sky and struck the spirit of preservation. A terrible heatwave spread through the entire area but it didn't scorch anything. In fact, it was soothing as it brushed past them.

  When the pillar of fire vanished and the entire forest adjusted back to the light of the two moons in the sky, someone was sitting on Balaam.

  It was a woman with long flowing hair that seemed to have been dyed in different colors but the glint of the moons weren't enough to make out what exactly those colors were.

  She alighted the spirit with the grace of an angel. She stood exactly in front of the visitor. Her cloth was a gown that flowed like tides and her presence was oppressive.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  To most people in Egrimorth, she is called. The Sage of Fire. However, to Reece white, she is called mother.

  “Sage,” the visitor allowed the word to escape from his mouth.

  The woman stood still for a while, she didn't talk, she didn't move, in fact it felt like she wasn't breathing and it seemed the Harrowing was also with her because everything was still.

  There were no chirping insects, no buzzing insects, the wind was still and all seemed to be in a momentary pause.

  She turned slowly towards Balaam and then spoke. “Preserve them,” her voice was soft and soothing like a distant echo of a nightingale.

  Adhering to her words, the bluish mist around Balaam spread through the forest, dissolving with the wind while finding its way towards Reece and the rest of the cohort. It engulfed them in a fluffy embrace.

  Reece shifted away from the area and decided to check on his friends one after the other. The redhead was fine. Her wounds seemed to have healed but her face seemed to have lost its vibrant and defiant sharpness, she just looked tired and stunned.

  Marius still maintained his stressed out look and Patelon had relief boldly written on his face. Shalliah was knocked out cold but she was breathing fine. Reece finally relaxed after making sure they were all okay. He literally closed himself off from the symphony and relaxed against a tree stump.

  It wasn't because he had complete faith in his mother; he did, but because if she couldn't beat the visitor, everyone was doomed anyways.

  Among the seven sages, Lorna Crowley was known as the one with the most destructive capabilities.

  “You,” her voice rang through the entire woods, it wasn't deadly nor was it angry, it was just as soft and beautiful as usual. “What abyss did you crawl out from?”

  The visitor regarded her with a scoff. “What makes you think you have the right to question me?” he demanded.

  “I don't intend for this to be a chaotic and violent encounter, you are a visitor from another world, you should be able to enjoy the hospitality of your hosts even though you have tried to kill…” she paused and looked around. “...almost everything you encountered but I am willing to let that slide. All you have to do is listen to my questions, understand them and answer.”

  The visitor inhaled sharply. “You are very confident I will give you that. It is admirable. Where I come from, confidence isn't something you see very often, it is my favorite trait in humanity. Their ability to put absolute trust in their own abilities.”

  Lorna sighed. “This will not be a very pleasant interaction between us, I presume. Alright then, let us get it over with.” she replied and took a few steps back. “Although, I have to admit that I was hoping you would react like this, it would have been devastating for my mental state if I was unable to release all this rage I am holding back.”

  The visitor did not answer with words. He answered with a devastating rupture of pure esoteric force. Red fissures raced across the field as the earth shifted once more, its surface warping and splitting. From the ground, pikes erupted with violent speed, bursting upward all around the Sage of Fire. It would impale her if she didn't move.

  Yet, she didn't and the projectiles did absolutely nothing to her. They’d all burnt to ash before they would even reach her.

  She took one step forward, and fumes of fire escaped from her feet. They weaved towards the creature possessing Jalin and it defended itself with a shield of rock but it didn't help because the rocks melted against the heat of the flame and a red flowing liquid was left in its wake.

  The visitor strode backwards and smiled. “You are really powerful,” he nodded. “I don't even think I am capable of such destruction even in my original state. However, you see this very location was chosen by me on purpose.”

  Jalin’s possessed form spread his arms wide and then muttered a language no one knew. The earth began to quake again and Reece felt if it were the earth he would just retire today considering the amount of time it has been disturbed.

  Lorna turned in the direction of the Harrowing as she saw corpses begin to crawl from the tombs and the surrounding valley. “Have you ever had to fight the corrupted body of a dead entity? I don't think you are used to corr…” the visitor began to talk but stopped short.

  The Sage of Fire had swung her arm in the air without any effort and a wall of blue flame beamed through the forest, burning trees and grassland to cinders on contact and the same fate befell the deadbodies. They all turned to a pile of ashes before they could even crawl out of the abyss.

  “Enough of this,” Lorna said and she dissolved into flames, vanishing from her original position.

  When she reappeared, her hand shot up and seized the visitor’s face like a vise. “You should have answered my questions,” she said, calm as a guillotine. Yellow flames writhed along her fingers, burrowing into his skull, licking and cracking flesh and bone. Flares exploded outward, painting the air with a grotesque, flickering light as an unholy scream clawed from his throat.

  The fire shifted—yellow to red, red to blue—until it drained of all color, burning pure white. Only then did the visitor grasp the full weight of his opponent. “Stop!” it roared, a voice ripped from the very bowels of the earth.

  “And why should I stop, because you command it?” Lorna demanded, her flames continuing to inflict pain on her enemy. Her voice was still soothing, still calm and soft.

  Reece watched the scene and he could almost plead for the Visitor. Although, in his head, he hoped that his mother hadn't caused Jalin's death with her flames. There might still be a way to save him if the visitor could be forced to leave his body.

  Exorcism was a general superstitious belief in Egrimorth and lots of priests had claimed to have done it. He believed if it was so popular it should be possible.

  “No, because I plead!” the visitor yelled. “I have information for you, I am but a messenger!"

  Lorna didn't stop however, her face was devoid of any emotions, it was cold and expressionless. “Keep talking.”

  “They are searching for the King's Table.” the visitor screamed out and suddenly Lorna stopped.

  She stepped back and glanced at the visitor. “Demon, what did you just say?” she asked.

  “I said, those that brought me here were searching for the King's Table. That was why they brought me here, they wanted information about it.”

  “What information?” Lorna asked.

  The demon smiled. “I don't think I will answer that,” he said, then a rock appeared in his hand as he tried to stab himself in the neck but Lorna's hand caught his arm.

  “Are you trying to banish yourself?” she asked with a smile. “Don't worry, I will not leave you to the cruel fate of going back to whatever lord you serve. No, I will kill you right here, thanks for telling me what I needed to know!”

  The visitor’s face contorted in pure horror as Lorna’s hand clamped down once more. White flames erupted from her fingers, searing and blinding — but then they vanished, leaving only rippling waves in the air, shimmering like heat haze over a desert. No fire remained, yet the visitor’s scream tore through the Harrowing. A raw, unhinged sound swallowed and twisted by the very fabric of reality, as if the world itself had joined in his torment.

  Soon enough, the visitor stopped and Lorna withdrew her hand. Jalin's body fell to the ground and silence descended on the Harrowing once more.