Whilefollowingtheso-calledwitchthroughtheforestIamstillinaweirdmood.I''mnotsurewhattothink,or how to feel. JustashortwhileagoIdepletedanamounthappiness,whichmightamounttoalifetimesworth.I actually found her, I''m so glad.


    ButmaybeI''mbeingabittoooptimistichere.Shelooksmature,butisn''tshealittlebitofanairhead?Imean,onourfirstmeetingweaccidentallybumpedheads,isn''tthataprettyairhead-ythingtodo?


    Maybewearebothairheads,Idon''tknow.


    "So,aboutthatfog,wasthatyourdoing?"


    I''mcuriousaboutthis,soIinquire.Afterall,thatwasmostlikelyherdoing,buthowdidshedoit?Magic,maybe.Ihaven''thadthechancetolearnanyyet,orrathergettingsomebodytoteachyoumagicisratherhard.Ijustsaid''hard'',didn''t I?Morelike,itsveryexpensive. Truth be told, I did get taught magic by somebody, for a very short time. I sought out a teacher at the last town I passed through, but I could only participate in a short trial lesson. He tried to teach me the basic magic "Ignite", which has power equal to a lighter. Guess what, I couldnt even learn that. Honestly, I felt pretty bad about it at the time.


    "Well,Iwasactuallyjusttryingoutthispieceofawindspirit."


    "Whatsthat?"


    Shestops,lookingbackatmealittlebaffled.


    "Youdon''tknowaboutspirits?"


    "No,notreally.Aretheylikefairiesorsomething?"


    Shegigglesatthat,guessI''moff.Maybeafrownisshowingonmyface,becauseshewavesherhandatmeinawaythatconveyssomethinglike"don''tmind."


    "Iguessthiscanbeyourfirstlessonthen,becauseyou''regoingtobelearningalot.Spiritsaresomethinglikematerializationsofnatureitself.TheresaspiritforeveryelementandImanagedtocaptureawindspirit.Becausetheyarebasicallyenergy,ifyoutearoneinhalfneitherhalfdisappears,butbothpartsbecometheirownseparatespirit.Don''tbefooledthough,theydon''tactuallyhaveawilloftheirown."


    Tearoneinhalf?Thatsoundsprettyextreme.


    "Sowhatyou''resayingis,yourippedoffapieceofaspiritandsomehowcreatedwindwiththat?"


    "Youcatchonprettyquickly,don''tyou?That''sexactlywhatIdid.Yousee,whilespiritsdon''tdieifyouriptheminhalf,theybasicallyrunontheirownenergy.Sowhenyouripoffasmallpiecefromaspiritthatpiececanonlysustainitselfforsolong.Whenaspiritdiesthatwayitbasicallyimplodesandreleasesthelastremnantsofitsenergyinanuncontrolledblast!Itsreallygreatandflashy.Sadlyspiritstakeawhiletoform,soyoufindoneratherrarely."


    Issheapyrotechnicianorwhat?Thatsoundslikeasupernovatome.That''sbasicallywhatitis,isn''tit?Howisthisworldstillinpieceswithselfdestructingnatureballsfloatingaround?But...Whatdoesanyofthishavetodowiththefog.Really,thatdoesn''texplainanything.


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    "Igetit,butwhatdoesanyofthathavetodowiththefog?"


    "Ithoughtmaybeyou''dgetit,butIguessyoudon''t.Well,Idon''tmindexplaining.Basically,thecoldwindthatiscreatedbythisblastcollideswiththewarmerairinthevicinity,causingthewatervaporpresenttocondensereallyquickly,andthat''showyougetfog.Itdoesn''tlastverylongandtheareathefogcanspreadtoisrathersmall,butitsstillverycool,isn''tit?Dependingontheweatherconditionandthesizeoftheblastyoucandosomecoolstuff.Itsalsomoreeffectiveearlyinthemorning,whentheresalotofdewpresent."


    I''mkindadumbfounded.Imean,isn''tshescientificallywaytoofarahead?Whatkindofthingshasshebeenteachingherselfinthisforest.Shesalmostlikesomekindofwisemonkthatretreatedintothemountainsandcamebackasanenlightenedman.


    "I''mreallyhappy."Isay.


    Myvoiceiskindofsmall,butfarfromtimid.Forsomereason,thislongexplanationaboutfogisexactlywhatIneededtohear.Shesdefinitelytheone!ThepersonIneedtobecomestrong.


    "Really?Didn''tthinktherewerepeoplearoundthesepartsthatdidn''tabsolutelyfearmetothepointofsuperstition."


    "Youknow,evenifyouwerethemostevilpersononthiswholeplanet,I''dstillbehappytohavemetyou."


    Forsomereasonasmuggrinformsonherface.


    "I''mprettyamazing,right?"


    IguessthestuffI''msayingwouldgettoanyone''sheadifthey''dhavebeenmadeanoutcastfortherestoftheirlife.


    "Yeah,youare.YouaresoamazinginfactthatIforgottoaskforyourname."


    "Ialsodidn''taskforyournameyet.Shouldn''tyoubetellingmeyournamefirstanyways?"


    "MynameisZennith.Justlikeyou,Ihavenoclass."


    "Zennith?That''saprettyfancyname.Alright,mynamesRoxanne,theevilwitchthatrulesthisforest.Also,justlikeyousaid,Ihavenoclass."


    Thewayshetalksassheintroducesherselfistotallyoverplayedandalmostdramatic.Youcouldpracticallytastethesarcasmwhenshecalledherselfan''evilwitch.''


    "Nicetomeetyou,Roxanne."


    "Thepleasuresmine,Kennith.Thenagain,havinganybodyaroundwouldbeapleasureatthispoint."


    AswekeepwalkingtowardsI''m-not-exactly-sure-where our chatter continues. Its mostly just me saying stuff and her answering me with something somewhat serious followed up by a joke, but I appreciate the company nonetheless.


    Buttheconversationcomestoanendwhenshesuddenlyexcitedlypointsatsomethingwhilealsosignalingmetokeepquiet.


    Ilooktowardswhereshespointing,whenagiantballofdirtanddustentersmyvision.Ithoversstrangely,theballslowlysinkingandthenrising.Itdoesn''tdoanything,itsimplyhoversthere.


    Isn''tthataspirit?I''mprettysurethat''saspirit.Itsmaybesixtycentimetersinheightandhasacircumferenceofaboutone,maybetwometers.


    "Letsstealapiece."Roxannewhisperstome.