I rode long through the day and late into the night. I didn’t stop for 8 hours. I finally stopped after the horse threatened to fall from underneath me. I rested only long enough to eat a very quick meal and to let the horse catch its breath. I rode the final mile to the base of the mountains, dismounted and then began the long, arduous climb to find the elusive grail fruit. I kept a eye out for it, apparently it was of a vivid red colour. It couldn’t be too hard to find. I couldn’t see how hard it was to get these fruits. I could see, from here, many of them much further up. They all seemed to be completely unguarded and in easy to reach places. I scrambled up quickly and reached the fruits in no time.

I reached out to grab the nearest bunch when the fruit shimmered and disappeared. The whole mountain resounded with the sound of an alarm. I could see many Ickar gathering at the peak. I decided that my best chance was to run and made my way quickly down the slope. I pulled myself into the first crevice that I found. I pushed myself as far back into the fault as I could. I silently drew my sword and waited with baited breath. I waited for what seemed like an eternity but was probably more like an hour. Absolutely nothing happened or passed. I slowly put my head out of my little hidey-hole. There was nothing. No wraiths, no fruit holograms, nothing. I tentatively walked out into the open again. As a walked out the fruit holograms reappeared. I knew now not to be fooled by their appearance.

I walked straight past and up the mountain further. There were no Ickar in sight so I guessed that those holograms were there to ward off any fool from gaining entry to the mountains and stealing the precious fruit. I kept walking until I reached the peak. Over the other side of the mountain was a tree a branch of which reached out onto an outcrop of rock. On this outcrop was a glowing plant and on this plant was a single bunch of grail fruit. I knew that the outcrop wouldn’t take my weight and the only way across would be the tree branch. If I chose to take this route I would have to leave all my armour behind as the weight could snap the branch. I would also have to lay my weapon down as it would be cumbersome for me to take over the branch. I had to do it though otherwise Poltin would die.

I laid all my equipment down on the ground and hoisted my way up onto the branch. I then shimmied along the branch until I was directly over the plant. I reached down, removed all the berries I could carry and then began to make my way back along the branch. As soon as I got halfway along the branch, the Ickar poured out from the surrounding foliage. I was completely defenceless and on a tree branch. Nothing was in my favour.

I could only watch as the wraithlike beings floated towards me. Suddenly my hand took on a life of its own and made complex motions in the air. A pyramid, a rectangle, a triangle and a cube: all intertwined. As soon as I finished these movements the shapes burst into light and flared into existence. The whole thing expanded until it filled the sky. Then it began to descend. It screamed until it hit the ground. The earth shuddered and split open. Streams of lava burst up and enveloped the Ickar. They died from being burnt and drowned at the same time. I was only saved by the fact I was still clinging to the tree with both hands. They were shaking with the fear of the power I, a normal man, had just unleashed upon these demons. The tree gradually tilted and sailed down the side of the mountain on a sea of lava. The tree carried on around until it met with an old, so it seemed, river track. It fell into this, as did the lava, and carried its way down. I was forced to keep shuffling my way around its circumference as it kept rolling on the waves of magma. It ran down the hill until it finally came to a rest on a great boulder. I remembered nothing after that until I woke to see one of the lieutenants looking down at me.

"Are you alright?” Are you alright? What kind of a question was that after coming down a mountain.

"No I’m not all right. Would you be if you just made your way down a mountain via lava flow. Help me back to base camp.” The experienced warrior wrapped his arms round me and half helped, half carried me back. I ran into Poltin’s room shaking the berries in my hand as if they were solid gold. "I got them, I got them!”

A medical expert took them straight away and saw about making up an elixir. I wasn’t allowed to see how it was made. This was ready within an hour. As soon as the mixture passed his lips he fell back and smiled.

"Thank you, my friend. You have proven yourself to be true. As soon as I am back on my feet, I will prove my thankfulness to you.” The medic told us that the disease would take a day to leave his body as he had been infected for such a long time. I didn’t care though, he was safe and he was going to live!

Poltin seemed to be completely better by the afternoon but, the medic said we shouldn’t take the risk and that he should rest until he was completely healed. We were to pull back from this front this very night. I hadn’t told anyone of my escape and how I did it. I thought the only person I could entrust was Xandile. I managed to catch his eye at dinner. I motioned for him to leave the table and to follow me out into the night air. "What is wrong lad?”

"I’m not really sure. I scared myself up there. I used, I think I used, magic. But that’s impossible isn’t it? There isn’t a bit of magic in my family”

"Hmm. The only way I know of humans being able to get magic is by the Great Oak. It is a tree only of legends. It is said if you make contact with it then you are given unlimited power. It is said that the people that can wield it have all the power of the Earth. This is the most potent type of magic and the most dangerous to use.”

"That’s it, that’s it. I climbed up a tree to reach the grail fruit. That must have been the Great Oak itself. My hand took on a life of it’s own. It made many symbols in the air and they flew up into the air then back into the ground. Then a great rift opened up and molten lava gushed out and obliterated all of the approaching Ickar. The tree fell down and was taken by the current down to this rock. It’s just over…” The tree and the rock had both completely disappeared.

"Don’t worry lad, that’s just the tree’s way of protecting itself. Every time someone takes their eyes off of it, it disappears. Well we need to get you to be able to use this most potent of all magic. I myself deal in fire and a little weather magic, so your teacher can’t be me.” He pondered a second. "Ahhhh, I will ask Sir Galten if he has time to teach a promising rookie earth mage. I’ll put in a good word for you, eh? Now come and pack your bags, we leave at midnight.” With that he just turned and left, not another word. I was disappointed that Xandile couldn’t teach me, I only hoped that Sir Galten would be as good and as friendly a teacher as Xandile was. It seemed I hoped for too much.