“I saw a path that leads out the village.”  I mumble a bit disappointed in not finding anything.

“Very well.  I’ve packed what little belongings we have and we should be on our way if we’re to find anything of use.”

“I was finding that lesson very useful.”

“Yes, but did you end up accomplishing anything.”

“...No.”

“Like I said.  We really should be going along, now.”

“Thanks, pops for everything.  I guess I really don’t have any skills.”

“Nonsense!  You can still find out if you can do more than open portals.  It’s about digging deep and finding what is truly inside you.”

“I guess that’s true in more than one respect.”

“Thank you for providing us with the much needed accommodation.”  Lucy announced as he extended his hand and helped me up as my legs were protesting.  “I think its time we take our leave and make our way back to where hence we came.”

“Anytime, stranger.  May our paths meet once more.”

“...and may good will be at your back until then.”  Lucy says offhandedly as he grabs out items and ushers me out not all that subtlety.

That sounds a bit rehearsed but I pay it no heed for now.

“What was that all about?”
“Pardon me?”

“The phrase you just said to Pops.”

“It’s just a thing you say.”

I give him a look that says, elaborate more, and so he explains, “I do not know where it came from, if truth be told.  I just responded out of reflex.  

“Wow, that’s some great reflex because I would have just nodded in agreement.”

“Well, I take it it must be a common thing for both of us to respond as we did.”

“I guess.”  I say skeptically and shrug as we found the main path outside of Pop’s pub and start walking that way.  “Oh, and I sorta promised to open a gateway from here to the city.”

“Excuse me?”  Lucy looks at me with reproach but I just wave him off and tug at his sleeve as we walk out of the village”

“I’ll explain as I go.”

*****

Lucy is still a bit upset at the agreement that I made with Pops but the uncomfortable silence turned into an amicable one as I wonder, not for the first time where we are and where we are going.  An hour of walking in the sun and I’m already feeling a bit tired in the heat even though it is not yet noon.  The road leading away from the lush and green village gives way to a gravelly and sparsely population of plant life but I am very grateful to the wind and funneling through the valley.  I spread my arms in appreciation of the cool breeze keeping me from overheating but when I look at Lucy, he seems to be brooding about something, if not stewing about the portal for Pops.  I wonder if he knew where we are going.

“We are heading toward the capital.”  He says just after my thought.  

I blush and realize I may have said that aloud rather than just in my head.  I shake off my embarrassment and ask him another question.  “How do you know where we are heading?”

“Intuition, Ms. Ao.  One needs to learn to trust such things.”

I frown at his all knowing tone and just look around at the nothingness around us.  Well, besides the mountains and the rocky terrain, I can’t really glean off much from this place other than there is a lot of hardship that needs to go into a place like this.  Fortunately, we do have a rather flat gravelly path that someone obviously took the time to make but to there really is not much to do as far as the eye can see.  Crossing this area is long and arduous if only because of its vastness but to set up infrastructure here would be also a lot of hard work.  What could a place like this benefit from?

A sudden strong gust of wind propels me forward and I stop despite its strength and have a familiar feeling run through me.  I close my eyes and stretch out my arms once again, a sensation in my fingers start to emerge and I wiggle them as they start to tingle.  Then wind picks up speed around me and the force behind and around me is compressing and holding me hostage all at once, almost as though it’s trying to flatten me or knock me from my feet.  I realize I’m not moving and can’t move at this point, the pressure against me almost too much for me to bear.  My arms, stuck to my sides can barely move but I still feel an immense sensation of tingling and heat building up at my palms, slowly working up towards my shoulder.  Pulling my hands from my side and feeling a throbbing build at my fingertips like a heartbeat, I instinctively bring them to my heart with a bit of difficulty and focus on the pulsing sensation.  My breathing slows as I really hone in on the sensation my hands are giving off until it slowly matches rhythm with my heart.  I take a slow breath and exhale when an image flashes before my eyes.  A glowing fuzzy light of pure energy now sits before me and I open my eyes to see that, what I sense around me has converged into a vortex of energy, drawing in the wind that is around me towards its center in front of me.  Dust and debris like gravel and leaves are carried by the strong trades, encircling and creating intricate designs around the ball of energy before me.  My hands are almost hot with the sensation now radiating around me and my heartbeat and that of the wind are in sync to the point that I cannot distinguish the source.  When I look around me, all I see is a glowing hole of energy but I don’t know what to make of it.  

What is happening right now?  Why is this so familiar?

Suddenly, I remember when I last followed and saw energy like this and instinct takes hold of my hands.  I raise them from my breast and steeple them as I did in the bar slowly raising them above my head.  With a large intake of air that expands my chest, filling my body with that same warmth and tingling that originated from my hands and bosom, I arch my hands down and apart towards my sides and watch as the torrent of wind and energy around me flare into action on mark.  Almost as though I created a large scythe of wind and energy and with the falling of my arms, I unleash a huge pulse before me and seemingly tore the area directly in front of me as though it were paper and I made a huge cut into it.  

I broke out of my trance when I feel a warm hand on my shoulder and turn to look at Lucy’s awed expression, not looking at me but at the damage before us.  He eyes are locked on the energy and wind crackling like he’s in a trance of his own and I touch his hand to bring attention back.

“How did you know you could do that?”

I shrug and give him a half hearted smile replying, “Intuition.” and pull him into the Egress before he could reply.