Laurel's POV
"Why is Mother Earth so hesitant to help people in need?" Leafia asked this just as I was about to call Mother Earth before we headed out for the third day of our trip. The previous morning Istan had tried to ask Terra to just rescue Mist and Faun. She of course refused. But seeing that Istan did not want to give up, she quickly fled after pointing out the direction.
"She has tried to help a few times in the past. Her power is just too great. She would often cause more harm than good," I replied mellowly, watching the white mist rise as I spoke in the cold morning. I doubted if it would get much warmer today. "She has always been extremely hesitant to get involved. The final straw was a time that she helped a group only to find out that the pleading party was not as innocent as they insisted.
"Mother Sea is the only one that seems to be able to convince her to do anything. She was very reluctant even to show us the way to Mist. I would suggest we just gratefully accept the help that she is giving and not press her to provide any more." I said that last part loud enough to be sure Istan heard. Istan looked like he wanted to counter my point but I did not give him the chance. "If we try to force her, she will just leave us." He still seemed like he wanted to counter my statement. I could see that he was driven by a desire to help me but I had a hard time understanding how contradicting me could be seen as helping. "I will gag you if I have to. I know Terra and her limits much better than you so trust me on this. DO NOT ASK FOR ANYTHING BUT WHICH WAY MIST IS." I did not see any way a zealot like Istan would be able to understand the struggle and pain Terra has been through. I myself was there for most of it and still found myself wishing I knew more of what Terra was thinking. We could never really come to understand each other. But one thing I knew is that pushing her is very risky. Tide was the only one that seemed to be able to coax her.
Seeing that the others had nearly got the horses packed I sent a wave of energy into the ground to "summon" Terra, as she insisted on calling it. A moment later the ground again began to shift as Terra rose to the surface. The horses pranced about a little at the strange sight, but as this was the third time that they were seeing it they calmed down quickly.
"Those horses are much more sedate than the others I have interacted with," Terra said looking at Gray and Istan calming them down. "Even the first time I showed up they did not try bolting."
"I claim no responsibility for that. Out of all of us I think I am the least adept at handling them. I think the only reason they put up with me is because I grow the food for them to eat," I said following her gaze to the waiting horses.
"I only know the basics," Gray replied as Terra's eyes wandered over to him clearly asking the question 'why were the horses so even tempered'. "The horse breeder back in our village was the one who trained them. I hear that he is quite well respected. At least in the dukedom."
Terra seemed satisfied with this answer as her questioning gaze abated. After a moment of silence I decided to get Terra's work done so she can get on her way. I really did not know what she spent all her time doing any more, but I did not feel I should keep her just for a little point in the right direction. "Should we keep heading south today?"
"You will need to turn East in a few hours," she responded, still watching the animals.
"So I just need to turn east at the next path," I asked to confirm our direction.
"No, there are several paths coming up. The first one will not take you where you need to go." She absently replied.
Of course things could not be that simple. Well, it was not like it was that hard to find a solution. "Should I call you when I get to them?"
Terra thought for a second at my words. "How about I come with you. I have not had a good chance to stretch out my legs in a long time."
I was surprised by her sudden offer, but tried not to show it. "Of course you can come with us, if you want."
"Do you wish to borrow my horse?" Istan asked when he heard that Terra would be coming with us.
Terra just looked at him in confusion. His devotion was really his biggest fault. "There are two big problems with your statement," I said to try and smooth things over. "If she was riding a horse how would that help her stretch her legs? And second, dryads are the slowest of all the great spirits. The horses can not even keep up with me [neither can you]. Terra will have no problem keeping up."
An awkward silence settled over the horses as we mounted them. Or at least my companions mounted them. I felt like I should walk next to Terra. I was not overly fond of riding and now that Terra was here I would not have to deal with as many protests from Istan since he would just think that I was keeping her company. I wanted to ask why she was really coming with us today. It would not have been hard at all to call her again. But somehow saying this felt insensitive.
Finally giving up on finding a way to ask the question I wanted to, I asked the most innocuous question I could think of. "So what have you been up to these last few centuries?"
It seems that Terra did not find this question quite as innocuous as I expected since I noticed an embarrassed blush form on her face. I could not help raising a questioning eyebrow at this but seeing as she was reluctant to answer I did not push her and just let the awkward silence again fall over us. In the silence, I noticed Emily seemed quieter than usual as we rode. I remembered she had not eaten much at breakfast that morning, either. I hope she's not falling ill, I thought to myself as I walked. Do I need to make her some of my medicine? Everyone would need to be in top condition when we found Mist and Faun. Who knew what state we would find them in. But not wanting to interrupt Terra's thoughts, I kept these ideas to myself for now.
"I have been practicing my control." Terra's voice was quiet. I am sure that the last words were heard by no one else in the group.
"Practicing your control? But I have not noticed anything." The shock was evident in my voice. It was unheard of for Terra to be working magic without those sensitive to it feeling her power.
The news that I had not felt her use her powers gave Terra a big boost of confidence. "Tide and Fry helped me find a quiet place in the ocean. I have been practicing building islands."
"Who might Fry be, my lady?" Istan asked, seeming to want to know more about this new goddess to worship.
Either Terra did not notice or did not seem to mind Istan's reverence as she replied. "She is the animal spirit that lives with Tide. Though I do find it interesting that she has not evolved her name and power like you did, Laurel."
"I asked her about that once when I started to move onto land," I replied. "It seems she just really thinks fry are cute and is happy with them."
Terra just shrugged and I thought I noticed a little roll of her eyes but she went on. "I have been working on building the islands slowly and making them so they do not collapse. I have already made seven. I did have a couple collapse at the beginning."
"Was that the big wave we had a few centuries ago?" I asked curiously.
"No. Tide promised to stop any waves from causing damage if I caused a landslide." Tide must have worked hard trying to get Terra to work on this project. I am sure Terra would have never agreed without that.
"Why would Mother Sea need to help stop waves?" Leafy asked in confusion.
Terra patiently explained. "When the ground moves under water, it pushes the water and can make a big wave. I was afraid that if my project failed I would destroy all the coastlines, so Tide stopped the waves for me."
"You said you already had seven islands. Maybe when we are done here I could go and plant them."
"But the volcanoes are still active. The plants would just die." Terra seemed hesitant to even harm the plants.
"Fire is part of a plant's life. You saw my forest a few days ago."
"That was anything but natural."
"Yes, but it will still recover in a few decades." I did not give up. "I am sure I could find a plant that will do just fine as long as you don't cover all the islands in lava at the same time."
Terra hesitated a little so I added, "Think of how much prettier it will be with flowers blooming."
"Are you calling my rocks ugly?" I saw a slight smirk appear on her face, reminding me of the 'discussions' we had when I first started to cover the land with plants. This reminiscence did not last long since it was interrupted by a barrage of questions. The rest of the morning was spent explaining what volcanoes were and such. The elves had no concept of liquid rock. In the end I am not sure I managed to convince Terra to let me help.
It was just before lunch when Terra suddenly stopped walking. A fork in the road was just a few dozen paces in front of us. "Mist has stopped moving now. Take the path to the left. If you continue at the speed you have been going you should get to her in a few days. From tomorrow on I think you should suppress your presence. That young Dryad, Ivy, filled me in more on everything that has happened after you left. I think you need to approach as silently as possible. Do not let Maximus know you are coming. If we do not do something about him he will destroy the balance of this world that we have made."
Terra obviously wanted Maximus stopped. This was the most direct I have ever heard her. I wished to ask her to just handle it. But seeing as she was still working on controlling things any smaller than mountains, she would most likely crush the whole town he was in. All those other lives that would be lost just to get one man would haunt her.