The Source

I felt the leacher draining my life and vigor out of me. I sensed my trunk getting constricted and the leacher widening the holes it had dug out of my body.

The nourishment i was receiving from my mother was being used by the leacher for its own growth. I felt my aegis unable to resist the leachers thorns. The leacher greedily took more and more till i was left as a dried lifeless husk cutoff from Mother's shade.

The leacher wasn't satisfied even then and aggressively enveloped my life essence and started devouring it. As the last vestiges of our life burned for the leachers greed, the heavens opened for us.

We beheld the torrent of energy surrounding us and pushing the leacher away. Our Aegis strengthened stonewalling the leachers thorns. Our trunk grew reaching for ever greater heights and our branches stretched to become a legion.

Our roots grew to entrench the ground. Flowers bloomed to show our happiness and fruits grew receiving a piece of our vigor. We held steadfast against the leacher and our aegis was a firm bulwark against its efforts.

We were rewarded for our tenacity as the leacher withered without our essence. The leacher shrivelled and even its final death throes didn't move us. We watched it dissolve in abhorrence and reveled in its demise.

A part of us was content and wanted to leave. We were confused and suddenly the heavens closed. Like a river that is dammed the torrent of energy enlivening us slowed down and then petered out. Without the energy of the heavens we slowly decayed and our leaves withered.

There was sudden anxiety from a part of us and heavens opened again. We rejoiced in its presence and remembered that heavens are fickle and without Mother's constant nourishment we will wither.

Our trunk pierced the ground and went in search of our Mother shade. Our trunk travelled through the ground and came upon the calming presence of our Mother. Mother noticed us and entwined us in her embrace and we started getting her nourishment.

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I woke up with a slap ringing my face and my body was shaking uncontrollably. I turned to see Buld looking at me with concern on his face. My thoughts were muddled but a single image surfaced on my mind.

"The Mother"

I whispered putting a name to it. My heart started beating loudly and i stood up trembling. My legs turned towards the village and started walking only for it to become a run a few moments later.

I ran out of the Orchard through the main streets of the village and behind the Old heads hut. I found out where the Ilphyr's are getting their energy from. I found the Mother of all Ilphyr's in our Orchard.

There was a huge Ilphyr tree standing in the middle of the village with a greenish tinted crystal embedded on it trunk. Its lush green leaves and roots were gently swaying in the wind in defiance of yosdu.

Gan withheld the crystal tree and couldn't help look down on his hands and wonder about his gift.