The Descent to Madness by Gareth K Pengelly

gift? What’s this gift you speak of?”
    Frowns. “You don’t know?”
    “I don’t remember much of… anything, really.”
    Lanah looked to the shaman and Stone followed her gaze as the older man began to explain.
    “The world is full of spirits, Stone. Even your namesake, the stones in the ground, have their own spirit, their own essence. And it’s with this essence that those with the gift can commune, can parlay to enact their wishes on the world.” He could see that Stone was lost. “Do you have any special… ‘talents’ that you can’t explain. That seem natural to you, but seem to set you apart from everyone else?”
    “I…” he hesitated, looking from one to the other. Wrynn’s face, inscrutable, impassive, deeply lined with age and stern wisdom; Lanah’s, young, open, friendly, beautiful. He made up his mind.
    “Yes. I have.” Wrynn cocked his head, Lanah’s eyes widened. He gulped but carried on.
    “I can move fast. V ery fast, but only in bursts.”
    Wrynn nodded and smiled for the first time. “Yes, the Falcon-Sight. A wondrous gift indeed! What most hunters would give for that!”
    Stone gave a quick laugh to himself, out of relief at sharing his secret, or the fact that his secret had a name. Falcon Sight . How cool did that sound?
    “Anything else?”
    “Erm, yeah.” Excited now, he thought back to his fight at the slaver camp, what must be three or four weeks back now. He remembered the strength that had flowed into him from the ground itself, the very memory bringing back the taste of tin and copper to his tongue. “Once I… I’m struggling to explain it. I was in trouble. Just as things were getting really bad, I could feel the earth beneath me; not just feel, but taste, smell, sense, know . The metals, the minerals. And as I did, it was as though my strength doubled, as though they were lending me their properties, as if my muscles were stone, my ligaments tin and copper… it… it was incredible.” 
    It was their turn to be excited now. Wrynn’s eyes widened with intrigue, as Lanah let out a gasp.
    “The Earth-Tap…”
    Wrynn nodded sagely. “Yes, the Earth-Tap. Your teacher must have been learned indeed to teach you such a mighty invocation at such a young age. You cannot remember his name, or where he lived?”
    Stone shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I remember only the last few weeks, living in the woods like an animal. Aside from you, the only people I’ve met have been hostile, transporting captives through the mountains to be sold as slaves. They attacked me. To be fair, I did try to steal their dinner…”
    Wrynn spat his distaste on the dusty ground of the hut.
    “I was hungry!”
    “No,” he waved aside Stone’s protests. “Not you – the slavers. Steppes People; violent folk, they live far south of here in the Barbarian City, but pass by often on the other side of the river on raiding sorties.” He snorted. “They live only to consume, whether that be people or land, caring only to satiate their own lust for blood and power. Their Clans would fight amongst themselves if they weren’t so scared of that vile king of theirs.”
    Stone was curious, now that he was on a subject he’d had some experience with.
    “Why don’t they raid here?”
    Lanah answered. “We’re pretty far from their city, out here on the plains, not worth  them sending a large army. But at the same time, any small raiding party will be taken apart by our warriors. We’re not the only village of the Plains People. Any threat arises and we band together to protect our own.”
    Stone looked down, images of the slaves in the back of wagons flashing before his eyes.
    “I’m assuming the folk in the mountains don’t have that same protection…”
    “No,” Wrynn replied, his voice tinged with sadness. “The Hill People live in small, scattered villages, isolated from each other by the weather and terrain. Some are safe, hidden in remote valleys. Others are easy