Under the spring moonlight a pail figure walks carefully through a field of young wheat. His red eves watch the earth carefully to avoid the young sprouts. His steps in the earth are light and silent. His cloak, trousers, and boots are thick with black mud from the fields. He stops over a yellowing sprout and kneels in the mud. He Looks to the full moon then back to the plant. reaching into his cloak he pulls a pinch of ash and dusts it over the sprout. Pail light radiates from his fingertips to the sprout that turns a healthy shade of green. The young man stands up and continues walking the field. He walks the entire field healing any sick plants and pulling weeds. When finished he looks over the field looks up at the moon and from his body radiates a light across the field. The young plants soak in the light and seem to visibly grow. The young man lowers his arms and walks to the next field. He repeats the prosses of weeding healing and radiating light. After two more fields he stops and sits down against a fence on the roadside. He pulls a large cracker and a piece of cheese out of his coat and nibbles on them. Once he finishes, he stands up and resumes his work. Moving up the dirt road to the village sleeping nearby. A small place made up of around 20 houses and a windmill set up on a hilltop overlooking a river. The thatch roofs and log walls are considered outdated by travelers. Not that anyone in this little place would mind what a traveler would think. The village may be old but those who lived there were content. A few young men would go looking for work in the factories of the nearby city Yourz or enlist to seek their fortunes, but most would come back in a few years to settle down and raise their families in this place. This nameless village on the boarder of the kingdom was home for the young mage. As the golden rays of light began to stretch out from the east the young man was already walking into the waking village his work tor the night complete. Farmers tools in hand nodded and waived to him as they walked out to the fields. The young man smiled and waved back.

The young man walked to his home in the village A small shack built against the windmill. He pulled the rope door handle open and entered. Inside was his straw bed big enough for two on the far wall. Another bed near the door for visitors and patients. A cooking pit in the middle. With a shelf nearby holding ingredients for food and magic. Above that a beehive had made itself part of the roof. Wicker cages holding rats hung from the ceiling nearby. Lined up on the exposed wall of the windmill were three wooden barrels fermenting ale. The room had a little bit of warmth to it. The young man removed his cloak and hung it by the door. On his chest were many belts and straps with pouches of many sizes all over. He emptied one of the larger pouches of the weeds he had pulled into the fire pit. He held his hands over the weeds and his hands glowed a grey color as the weeds shriveled to kindling. He pulled a book of matches from another pouch and struck the match tossing it into the kindling. The rats in the cages squealed in fear at the site of the flames. The mage watched the flames grow before putting a piece of dry wood on the fire. When he was satisfied with the size and temperature he walked over to the cages. He picked an occupied cage. The rat inside screeched in fear of the man as he walked over to the fire. As the rodent screamed, he placed the cage onto the fire. The animal made itself known to the man who placed his hands over the fire and released more energy. The flames turned from read to black. The smoke escaped through a hole in the roof and the man began to sweat from the heat of the dark flame. The rat stopped screaming as the fire burnt to ash. The young mage took some gloves out of a pouch and used the m to scoop the warm ash into a larger pouch on his chest. When he was confident that he had gotten all the ash he returned the gloves to their pouch and removed the harness. He set it by his bed on the wall opposite the door. He then got another fire started in the pit. Over the fire he hung a black pot he filled with water from the town well.

The door behind him burst opened and a young woman wearing dirty blue tunic and brown trousers entered his home carrying a wicker basket.

"Good morning! Albie," said the woman. "How did last night go! No sign of sickness I hope."

"None at all Cat," said the mage.

"Well that's good," Said the girl with a smile. "it's entirely too early in the season for the grain to be getting sick. What you cooking? Mind if I have some!?"

"Tie the rat up first please," answered Albie.

"Boiled oats for breakfast again?" asked the girl tying the basket in place of the one just burned.

"Yes," said the young man. "your favorite, could you grab the oats and the honey."

Cat grabbed the small jar of honey and the large bag of oats from the shelf and brought them over to Albie.

"It still amazes me that the bees just give you honey," commented Cat scooping some oats out of the bag and into the boiling pot of water.

"I already told you we have an agreement," answered the pail young man. "I use my magic to boost their lifespans and they give me honey. Its almost the same thing with the village. I use my magic to help grow the crops and I get to live in here."

"First off," said Cat. "The traveler gave you to us and nobody messes with the traveler. "Second, we are Bound. You could move into the mill house whenever you want."

Albie stirred three large dollops of honey into the pot. He looked at Cats Green eyes and spoke. "I can tell I still make your mother nervous. Your aunt doesn't like that I'm moon blessed. Both don't like it when I do magic in their house."

Cat rested her head on Albies shoulder. "I guess, but everyone knows how your magic works and the traveler is the one who bound us, my parents to each other, and aunt Lena to uncle Russ. Even if you are moon bound you are also the only boy in town who never felt the need to run off somewhere. Mom did always say that was a good quality in a man."

"I don't think I'd do to well outside of town," answered Albie. "The sun and me don't get along to well, and if I leave it would be harder for me to trade grimoires with the traveler."

"You are blessed by the moon after all," said Cat playing with her half of the moon charm holding it out for Her partner to complete it. "That makes me moon bound."

The young mage finished stirring the pot and took it of the fire. Putting it on the floor in front of them. He pulled out his half of the moon charm and touched it to hers. With a click the two pieces of silver united into one disk. "One day Cat. Breakfast is done."

"One day," said Cat handing her husband a spoon. "when will the moon ale be ready?"

"The moon will be at its fullest tomorrow," said Albie between bites of his dinner. "I'll give it a week to settle and it should be ready to drink."

"Just in time for the traveler to come by this spring," said Cat. "Is one of those barrels for me?"

"one is for the traveler," answered Albie. "the other two are for everyone and the cask I have hidden is for you."

"you were hiding another!" squealed Cat taking another bite of her breakfast. "where, wait don't tell me I'll find it myself."

"I don't know," said the mage. "I hid it very well."

"you can't hide anything from this rat catching miller," declared Cat finishing the pot. "I'm off Albie. Have a sleep."

Cat charged out of the house into the morning sunlight. Albie smiled as he began radiating a dark magic into the pot. All the remaining oats dried to dust and fell out of the pot into the fire. Albi put the pot away and got a book from his side of the bed. He began reading the grimoire the traveler gave him on using moonlight to enchant objects. He wanted to finish it before the Traveler arrived so he could begin learning a new spell. Since the traveler had left him here, he had been given grimoire by the traveler. He had learned how to use the moons power or the life force of a living creature to heal all kinds of things. He could cure illness and injury in people, plants, rodents, and insects. He had also learned to make pacts with bees and rodents. Not that he was going to tell Cat he had moon bound the bees to him. He believed it would make her unhappy to know she was not the only thing bound to him. The binding with the bees was entirely different from what he and cat had but it would take months to explain the differences to Cat and she would be very difficult to talk to for all of it. It would be his inability to cure the dead all over again.

For the last three years Albie had been learning to enchant things with moon light. The moon ale was just one thing he had learned to make. He had also learned to make moon stones that could store moonlight. That way even if the moon was week, he could still use moon light to heal instead of life force. He needed to finish the enchantment book so he could get the book on keeping plants alive through winter. He hoped that would help the village be able to grow food year-round. If it didn't, he could still probably use it to keep a few strange plants alive in his house to use as spices or ingredients.

As the fire died in the cooking pit, he began to feel tired. He closed the book and changed out off his dirty cloths into his sleeping clothes and settled into his bed for the day.