Original X-roads-2003

In the Present…
 
    Jonothan walked into Zariaha’s room and stared out her window. The servants were clearing out the emptied dishes. He looked out over the countryside, parts of it were turning in to a perfect tinderbox. He teleported the servants to the kitchen after the last dish was gathered, then walked to Zariaha.
    He knelt down and held his hands out to her, she took his hands into hers. The two closed their eyes simultaneously and began to concentrate on rain.
    Slowly, whisper strands of clouds began to form out of thin air. They grew slowly until there were pockets of soft pillow clouds scattered sparsely across the immediate countryside.
    Jonothan drew in a deep breath and concentrated harder. It was as if some force was working against him on purpose. He could not pinpoint the source to locate it, but he could feel it. The magic all around his magic, desperately trying to suppress it. It wouldn’t be much longer before he would be able to find the source, all they had to do was keep using it.
    He pressured Zariaha to concentrate harder, but he could feel her starting to strain. The clouds grew larger and more widespread.
    Sweat began to form on Zariaha’s forehead.
    Jonthan’s muscles were so tense they were almost stone.
    The clouds now covered the countryside as far as the eye could see. They started to weave together to form a heavy, white cloud quilt in the sky. At first the color was a very faint light gray, then slowly they began to grow a shade darker.
    The force working against them began to intensify as Jonothan and Zariaha began to tire.
    Jonothan felt a headache starting in the front of his brain near the upper left eye socket. He would not be able to endure much more of this. Zariaha was young enough that in a few days time, with enough rest, she would recover.