Iola felt the burn behind her eyelids, gritting her teeth hard to keep her tears from falling.

“What am I going to do?” she whispered brokenly, running a tired hand over her face. “Do I really have to die?”          

“You don’t have to.”          

The voice, soft as it was, startled Iola so much she gasped and jumped out in fright, only to lose her seating and tumbled down from the tree’s branch, shrieking in fear as she fell down the air.          

Branches sprang out to cushion her fall as a bed of current stopped her descent. She could hear a grumble in the wind, a hint of worry tingeing the harsh words.          

“Geez human girl, do I always need to catch your fall?!”          

Iola gripped her tunic, her heart still beating furiously from the near fall. “Well, I wouldn’t have fallen if you hadn’t surprised me, Makani!”          

The wind spirit grumbled some more under his breath, but Iola noticed that the wind current that carried her down safely slowed down even more. A branch from Javor’s tree lowered down before a loud smack was heard.          

“OW! That hurts, Grandmother!”          

“Serves you right for frightening the poor child like that!”

As Iola descended down she glimpsed Javor’s face in the tree, torn between peering at her concernedly and amused at the new face that has appeared above him on the tree’s trunk. The new face frowned seeing the glare Makani threw at her and the branches shook in anger.          

“Oh, stop that look, you know you deserve it!”          

Grandmother Livne was still ranting, waving the branches threateningly. “You are lucky that she wasn’t hurt or else you’ll be getting more than a smack from my children.”          

“Of course she wasn’t hurt; I caught her, didn’t I?”           

“She wouldn’t have fall down if you hadn’t surprised her in the first place!"          

Iola jumped down easily when the air current was low enough to the ground, biting back a smile when Makani landed besides her, rubbing his head as he glared at Javor and Grandmother Livne. Before she could do anything two heavy weights barreled onto her and knocked her down to the ground, long red tongues all over her face and low, whimpers sounded in her ears.          

“Hey, hey, easy guys,” she laughed even as she pushed the drachensteins away. The animals whined as they nuzzled her more, rubbing their noses on every part of her body they could touch. It tickled her side and she chuckled a little at the gesture.                    

“Did I worry you? It’s okay guys, it was just a small fall, I wasn’t hurt or anything.” She ran her fingers through their furs consolingly, petting them down.          

Once the drachensteins have calmed down, she peered up back to the tree. “Hello, Grandmother.”           

Grandmother Livne smiled down kindly, a thin branch lowered down to brush over the top of Iola’s head. “Hello, child. You’re not hurt, are you?”          

Iola shook her head. “No, I’m fine.” She glanced to the wind spirit hovering to the side. “And hello to you too, Makani. As much as I like seeing you again, next time try not to surprise me, especially when I’m somewhere far above the ground, okay?”          

Makani rolled his eyes as a burst of wind messing up her hair. Iola grinned at the silent answer, sitting down more comfortably on the ground. The drachensteins settled themselves besides her, lending her their warmth and she sighed as she buried her hands in their thick fur. The hum in her mind had intensified, twirls of threads all jumbled up.           

She peered up at the spirits. “You are not the only one here, are you?”          

Makani and Grandmother Livne shared a look, before slowly shaking their heads. The earth began to tremble slightly, the soil moving and changing as a kind face appeared at the hard ground.          

Iola shot the new presence a small smile. “Hello, Mother Teirra.”          

One by one, all spirits that she had encountered during her time here began to show up, even ones she had never seen before. Some of those new spirits hovered at the background, reluctant to get closer at first though they immediately moved nearer when Iola gave them a welcoming smile.          

The hum in her mind grew louder but there was something missing, like a piece of note gone from the complete symphony and she looked up, scrutinizing everyone around her.          

“Why is Fintan not here?”          

“He’s the spirit of fire, human girl,” Makani replied easily. “Unlike the rest of us who can be found in nature everywhere, he is not something that can be found and must be made.”          

Iola frowned. “Then how does Chanyeol, or other previous Guardian of Fire conjured up his element?”          

“They use their body’s heat to create the fire.”          

Iola nodded, mind already working as she searched among the sea of threads in her mind. It was easy enough by now, the thread glowing warm and bright and as Iola grasped it her body began to heat up. It was not unbearable, though, and she held up even as beads of perspiration began to dot her forehead and her clothes stuck to her back from sweat.          

When she opened her eyes again Fintan was hovering in front of her, tall and majestic, tongues of flames up and down his body and sparking off heat.          

“Hello, kid.” Fintan’s voice was booming and warm. “I wish I could say it’s good to see you again, just that I hope it was in better situation than this.”          

Iola tried to smile, but her mind was too distraught. Instead she only sighed, tired palms cradling her head. “I guess I don’t need to ask why you’re all here, do I?”          

Mother Teirra peered up at her in concern. “We’ve heard that you’ve met with Admon.”          

Iola looked down, not meeting the spirit’s eyes. “I did.” She bit her lips hard. “He told me how my soul is supposed to feed the new Tree of Life.          

She couldn’t say anything afterwards and pulled her legs up to bury her head on her knees. A few beats of silence ensued as the wind picked up slightly, ruffling her hair gently. The drachensteins nuzzled her sides, whining when she still won’t look up.          

“Is it true?” she whispered against her knees, her voice came out muffled. “Everything that Admon told me; of how the Tree was dying and all, is it true?”          

The wind picked up some more as Iola looked up. A light drizzle had began to pour from the clear sky, though the beads of water never touched her skin.          

“It’s all true, Chosen Soul,” Yarah answered, her watery body rippled and waved with her every motion. “The Tree is dying, as are Admon himself.”          

“But…but how? Admon explained it to me, but I still don’t understand how something or someone as powerful as the Tree that is the living soul of this world, can be dying!”          

A snowflake fell on the tip of her nose and Iola crossed her eyes to see the white substance still sticking on her skin. Some m