Thunder rumbled ominously. Dark clouds rolled over the vast, green plains, grass whipping viciously as a strong wind blew. There were almost no trees or shrubs, just endless grass that rolled like waves on the ocean. Petals floated on the breeze as small birds took off with panicked chirps, thunder booming once again. Bowing her head briefly, Tearna looked up at the horizon with a worried frown.

                “At long last, we arrived at the last leg of our journey, but the challenge before us was far more daunting than we had planned for,” Tearna narrated, the explorer trudging through the grass. The ghollon let out rumbling cries of fear as their handlers tried to keep them moving, the others keeping their heads bowed as they struggled not to get blown away, “Our last journey would be across the Windswept plains, a vast region dominating the landscape far to the west of Orden, and as our luck would have it, we had arrived right at the beginning of a vicious thunderstorm.”

                Bright light flashed on the horizon as thunder boomed once again. Tearna frowned worriedly as she scanned the horizon from atop a small boulder. Grimacing, she hopped down and knelt as she pulled out her journal, “These plains are known for their storms, hence their name. Just like on the Golden Plains, the windstorms here can be vicious, but what we were facing was a thunderstorm many times larger than the one we faced on Falador. Our prospects were grim, but we could do nothing but push forward!”

                “Is there anywhere we can shelter?” someone asked Farin worriedly as Tearna stepped up to the small group huddled around him.

                “Not anywhere that we can reach before that storm hits,” he said with a shake of his head. “The closest town is several hours to the south. All we can do is hunker down.”

                “Tents aren’t going to be an option,” one of the others pointed out.

                “And the ghollon don’t seem to be too brave today,” one of the others echoed.

                “We’re going to have to make do with what we have,” Tearna spoke up, drawing their gazes. She shook her head, “We’ve weathered far worse. Sure, we might come out on the other side a little rough, but we’ll get through it.”

                “That’s easy enough to say, but the lightning is going to be a problem…”

                “We’ll have to rely on our powers,” Farin spoke up with a firm nod. He gestured at Tearna for emphasis, “We know her granite can hold its ground, and some of the others have shield powers. If we work together, we can create a bulwark to at least give us some comfort.” A frown touched his face as he looked off at the sound of thunder, “Either way, we have to hope we can find someplace more easily defendable. Let’s get moving while we still have time.”

                Wind howled as they continued their march, the scent of moisture beginning to reach them as the temperature dropped. “Anxiety was high as we marched into the maw of the beast,” Tearna noted, keeping her journal stowed away. “This storm was looking to be brutal, but the best clue to that lay with the few animals we encountered.”

                Tearna looked up as a flock of birds went flying past with panicked cries, “A flock of tawny grasstriders ended up flying past. Grasstriders are a common bird on the plains, and known for walking taller than the grass. They have exceptionally long legs, a tawny color, and long feathers.” Tearna shivered a little as the flock continued off into the distance, “Seeing them fleeing the wrath of the storm didn’t help my confidence, and they weren’t the only animals bracing themselves.”

                Fearful squeaks echoed within a clump of grass. A small, brown furred creature scrambled along with numerous seeds in its mouth. It finally darted into a hole, its eyes reappearing alongside several others as Tearna knelt to study the burrow, “I also encountered a small family of valts. Valts are a small rodent that dig burrows and can be difficult to find, but their fearful cries made them easy to pinpoint.” Making a quick note to herself, Tearna looked off at the approaching storm, “Between them and the grasstriders, it was clear that we were about to be in for the fight of our life, and as the day started to draw to a close, the storm finally arrived.”

                Sheets of rain fell like meteors as wind tore through the sky. Lightning illuminated the darkness as thunder shrieked. Debris sailed through the air while rain practically flattened the grass. What had been a peaceful and beautiful plain was now a battleground, the entirety of the landscape twisted into a vicious painting of rain, lightning, and wind.

                At the heart of the plain, the storm broke against an immense barricade. The explorers braced themselves as wind and rain continued to surge around the barrier of powers, a mix of granite and telekinetics holding steady. Tearna barred her teeth as she did her best to keep the barricade stable, but the storm was showing no signs of letting up any time soon.

                “How much longer do we have to hold on?” Bren wailed beside her, breathing heavily as her eyes began to flicker.

                “As long as we can,” Tearna called back. She nodded towards the others, “You’ve done enough, Bren! Take a break before you pass out!”

                “I can keep… going,” she managed to grunt. Frowning with worry, Tearna simply nodded in response and focused on her barrier. Although she was exhausted, she refused to let herself give in!

                Stretched out on either side, the expedition members were hunkered down. The ghollon had laid down together, helping to protect themselves as other expedition members cowered in their shadows. Those who didn’t have the right powers were taking shelter while the rest of the group fought, but fighting for so long was taking its toll. Several shield operators had already been forced to stand aside, and things were not looking good.

                “Captain, there has to be something we can do,” Kai spoke worriedly as he hunkered beneath the shield.

                “I’ve been thinking as best I can, but I can’t come up with anything,” Farin said with a shake of his head. “All we have are a few planks, and those aren’t going to do anything against a storm like this!”

                “So, what do we do when the shield breaks?!”

                “Huddle together and hope we can hold on,” Farin barked, flinching as a clap of thunder echoed. “If you can think of something, I’m all ears!”

                Kai bit his lip as he glanced around, but there were no obvious answers. “We have to keep thinking,” Kai said with an adamant frown. “We can’t let the expedition fall apart now!”

                Wind continued to howl around the barrier as black clouds rolled overhead. Lightning illuminated their undersides as a fierce shriek ripped through the sky, a tremor shaking the ground shortly after as the expedition was briefly illuminated. While the barrier they had summoned was working to a degree, no one, not even the Archons, could keep their powers manifested indefinitely…

                Tearna ground her teeth together as her veins burned. “I-I can’t… I can’t…” Tearna’s heart leapt into her throat as she looked at Bren. The shasheek’s hands were shaking uncontrollably, her eyes flickering on and off, “I’m… losing… sense of…”

                “Bren, hold on!” Tearna shouted, drawing more than a few startled looks. “I need backup powers on the bottom side of the shield-“

                “Focus…” Bren suddenly whispered. All sound muted as she began to fall forward, both of her eyes winking out. Tearna’s eyes opened in pure fear as she watched her friend fall to the ground. Though Bren had only lost consciousness, that meant that the power she had summoned was about to fade.

                “INCOMING!” Tearna shouted. With a loud snap, numerous parts of the telekinetic barrier winked out. Wind screamed as rain exploded through the gaps. Tearna let out a cry of surprise as several other expedition members were sent flying. Cries of fear and confusion rang out as the other telekinetic wielders quickly worked to patch the holes, but it was too little too late.

                A loud crash suddenly rang out as numerous crates fell from the back of a ghollon and burst open. All sound muted as Tearna’s heart stopped. Slowly, she turned with a look of abject fear. The crate that had fallen and shattered… Was it actually- With a gasp of true, existential fear, Tearna let out a scream, “NOOOOOOOOOOO!”

                One by one, all the notes she had so painstakingly made were lifted into the sky. Tears fell down her face as she tried reach out for them, but she stopped. All she could do was watch helplessly as all her hard work sailed away in pieces…

                “RECOVER HER NOTES!” Tearna gasped. In utter disbelief, she watched as Kai and Farin shot into action, several other wind wielders charging after them as they dove into the clutches of the storm. Lassos of wind shot through the sky as they latched onto the flying journals, quickly reeling them back to safety. Farther out, numerous tendrils snaked through the air as Farin spread his arms in both directions, grabbing as many pages and journals as he could while Kai vaulted into the air.

                Tearna watched in stunned amazement as he chased after the journals that had been sent the highest. Tendrils of wind shot out as he snatched the various pages, collecting them along with a few journals before locking onto another journal much higher up. It flipped and twisted as what few pages it had left whipped back and forth, carrying higher into the sky as lightning illuminated it. Launching towards it, Kai snatched it and touched it against his chest as he fell back down.

                “FIRE! We need fire!” Farin shouted as he rushed back over to the shield, quickly kneeling and collecting all of the notes in a pile. Instantly, fires ignited around them, the wind wielders making a small shield to protect her notes while the fire wielders dried them out. Looking at them in disbelief, she looked back out at Kai. Even without saying anything, he and the others had thrown themselves right into the storm without a second thought…

                “I got the others,” Kai panted as he jogged up to them. Kneeling down, he hung his head with an exhausted huff, “I didn’t see any others, so… hopefully we got them… all.” Wiping some of the water from his brow, Kai began to wrench his cloak dry, but paused. Tearna was staring at him silently, tears dripping off her face as a small smile of gratitude touched her face. After a moment, Kai simply nodded and smiled in return.

                “Keep them dry!” Farin commanded, shoving the other journals and pages into the small pocket of wind they had created. “We cannot lose this work!”

                “We won’t be able to last if the rest of the barrier collapses!” someone else pointed out as one of the medics drug Bren’s body over. “If it goes down, those pages are lost!”

                “I’ve got it!” Kai suddenly exclaimed. They looked at him with a start as he summoned his powers, “Dig! Dig like your life depends on it!” With a shout of defiance, he sent his winds into the ground as he began to carve out a trench.

                Staring at him in stunned surprise, hope suddenly shone on Farin’s face as he shouted, “You heard him! DIG!” Dirt flew through the air right and left as everyone began to dig, even those without powers. Mounds of dirt began to build up in front of the trench, creating a massive wall of rock and soil while the trench itself continued to descend. “Get all the remaining supplies!” Farin called out, taking a crate from one of the others as they handed it down. “Make sure nothing is left behind!”

                At last, the expedition was mostly free. Bren and several of the other telekinetic wielders were lying within the trench on makeshift beds while the ghollon had laid down near the back. Crates and supplies were lying in piles while Tearna’s notes were carefully being guarded, someone already working on piecing them back together.

                Near the heart of the trench, Kai nodded and stood before walking over to Farin, “Is that everything?”

                “Everything except for one person,” he said with a firm nod, moving up to the left side of the trench along with Kai. Wind and rain broke against a large, granite slab. Tearna’s expression was strained as her body shook from effort. While everyone else worked on evacuating, Tearna had stood strong, but she was reaching her limits.

                “Tearna!” Kai called out. She blearily opened her eyes, both of them flickering as she looked back over her shoulder. “Get out of there! We’ve gotten everybody out!”

                “O… Ok,” she barely managed to speak. In the depths of her exhausted mind, however, all she had heard was that everyone was fine and she could rest. With an exhausted sigh, her eyes fell shut as she began to tip forward, the last vestiges of her strength burning out.

                Wind whipped around her like a lightning bolt and yanked her back as her granite wall collapsed. With a groan, the rock shattered, wind and rain cascading through it before slamming into the natural mound just in front of the trench. Kai grunted as he fell backwards, Tearna lying across him limply as the others quickly gathered around. Shaking himself off, he sat upright as he picked her up, “Tearna! Hey, you’re still with us, right?!”

                Tearna remained still. Finally, she moved, lifting her head up to look around through bleary eyes. Turning her gaze, her eyes locked onto Kai. “Thanks… for saving… my… journal,” she managed to whisper, smiling faintly before finally letting her eyes fall shut.

                The medic rested two fingers against the side of her throat, waiting a moment before nodding, “She’s alright. She just seems to have run out of energy.”

                “That’s a relief,” Kai sighed. Shaking his head, he smiled down at her, “Thanks for keeping us all safe, Tearna. We all owe you a lot.”

                Staring at her with a warm, thoughtful smile, Kai looked up as Farin tapped his shoulder and nodded towards the beds, “Let’s get her laid down so she can rest. This storm is far from over.” Nodding once, Kai gently picked Tearna up and moved over to the beds, gently laying her down as a new shield manifested over their heads.

                Lights faded in and out as shapes and colors became visible, the faint chirping of songbirds barely reaching her consciousness. Blinking a few times, Tearna groaned as she flinched from the bright light shining through the sky. “Hey, you’re finally awake!” Theia said with a start, quickly sitting upright as she noticed Tearna moving.

                “Wha… What happened?” she managed to say, twisting her expression as her whole body throbbed.

                “I’m not surprised you don’t remember any of it,” Theia said, moving Tearna’s pillow as the orange furred shasheek lay back with a groan. “We were caught in a storm, and you singlehandedly held the line while the rest of us got to safety.”

                “I… I think I… remember that,” she managed to say, brief glimpse of the prior night coming back to her. Suddenly, she sucked in a sharp breath as she grabbed the hem of Theia’s robe in panic, “My journal!”

                “Relax!” Theia said as she smiled warmly. “Your journal is mostly intact. We were able to put all the missing pages back where they came from, but parts of it were damaged.” She frowned over her shoulder, “However, it’s still mostly legible, so it should be recoverable.”

                Tearna stared at her for a moment, but finally lay back down with a relieved sigh. “I owe the others for saving it,” she managed to whisper.

                “I think the debt is paid,” Theia chuckled. Grimacing as Theia helped her upright, she blinked in surprise as the shasheek gestured around, “After all, you kept us safe!”

                They were sitting within the trench that had been dug the night before, loose, damp soil visible all around them. Many of the crates had been loaded back up onto the ghollon along with the makeshift beds, and many of the explorers were working on packing up the camp. Tearna looked up in surprise as a flock of birds flew past. It was hard for her to believe that last night had actually happened.

                “Tearna!” With a start, she looked over as Kai hurried over. A relieved smile rested on his face as he stopped in front of her, “Thank the emperor! I was terrified you wouldn’t wake up for a few days!”

                “Thankfully I seem to be ok,” she said, smiling up at him tiredly. “Kai… thank you for saving my journal. If I had lost that-“

                “Stop.” She blinked in surprise as he knelt with a tired smile, “The only thanks I need is that you are ok.” Tearna stared at him with a stunned expression, but slowly began to smile. Smiling at her a little more confidently, he finally nodded and stood, “You need to get something to eat before we move out. After last night, everyone wants to get off these plains as soon as possible.”

                “I-I don’t know if I can walk yet,” she stammered.

                “Oh, that’s already been taken care of,” Theia said with a small laugh, Tearna looking at her in concern before finally looking at where the other shasheek was looking.

                Much gentler wind howled over the plains as light shimmered across the tall, green grass. In the heart of the field, the caravan made its way along in a long column with the ghollon at its center. While the large beasts looked normal, the middle one had a new addition. Strapped to its back was a bed, a rather odd addition that its occupant wasn’t all too happy about.

                “Though the storm was fierce, we managed to see the light of dawn once again,” Tearna wrote, frowning a bit sourly where she was lying. She rocked in tune with the ghollon’s step, her frown souring before she sighed and continued, “The price, however, was every ounce of my strength. I completely bled myself dry and had no energy to even walk with. Farin, as always, was eager to get moving, so I was begrudgingly strapped to the back of a ghollon, an experience that Bren was very vocally jealous of.”

                “You have no idea how lucky you are,” Bren grumbled beside her, trudging through the tall grass with a sour frown.

                “I don’t feel very lucky,” Tearna muttered. Resting her journal across her chest, she looked out at the horizon, “The sky was breathtaking. Getting to hear the chirping of birds and see such a resplendent sight after such a rough night was truly a serene experience, but I couldn’t stop myself from finally cataloguing one of the creatures that I had neglected for the entire trip!”

                Blinking in surprise, Tearna pushed herself upright as she looked north, “Although we had been traveling alongside these very creatures for months, I had avoided cataloguing the ghollon because it felt like cheating. At long last, however, we finally came across a herd in the wild!” A large hoof pressed down as one of the thick, wooly beasts bent to take a huge bite of grass. Others milled about in a herd of at least fifty, their grey fluff billowing in the wind as a few cried into the distance.

                Tearna laughed as one of their own ghollon cried in return, drawing a few gazes, “Seeing the ghollon was certainly a treat! Even though I grew up near here, I had never seen wild ghollon before, and they weren’t all that different. Sure, they were shaggier and their horns were a bit longer, but they were the same ghollon that we have come to know and love!”

                A happy smile settled onto her face as she watched the creatures graze, “As odd as it might sound, I was filled with a strange sense of nostalgia upon seeing them. Our journey began by meeting a trio of ghollon, and it was drawing to a close with another meeting among ghollon.” Tearna continued to watch the herd even as they became a speck on the horizon, “That sight will stay with me forever, and that will be the place where I truly felt as if our journey had finally reached its climax.”

                 Golden light shone across the sky as the star slowly began to creep towards the western horizon. Tearna frowned as she chewed on her pen, grass crunching beneath her feet once again, “After only a few days, the Windswept Plains were behind us and we were back to more familiar territory.” Pausing, she smiled at the tall towers sticking up from behind a timber wall, “And that, of course, meant a small reprieve.”

                Hinges groaned as the large gates leading into the village swung open, the caravan marching through as a few of the locals stopped to look at them with eager smiles. “As the land began to change back into jungle, we happened across the small village of Bakoma. Bakoma is a small settlement surrounded by walls to help block the wind.” Tearna smile peacefully as she looked over the small shops and homes, “There were a lot of things to explore, and a lot of familiarity, but, for once, I didn’t have the energy!”

                Steam wafted off the small cup in her hands as she sat on the front steps of the inn. Taking a small sip, she smiled up at the orange sky, “The feeling of relief I felt getting to sit and unwind was… indescribable. I had been working for so long that I had forgotten what it was like to just not worry about anything.” Tearna smiled and waved at a few locals, the shasheek still basking in the cozy atmosphere of the village, “I spent the remainder of the evening drinking tea and piecing together my wounded journal, and before the star had even set, my head was on a pillow!”

                As insects chirped in the night, a pair of figures moved down the village’s long road. A building with a tall tower glowed warmly as they approached, briefly regarding the sign before stepping inside. “Hmm?” the silver sheek behind the counter looked over in surprise as they entered, lowering their hoods and prompting him to smile, “Ahh, it’s you! How can I be of assistance this peaceful evening?”

                “We have need of a messaging service,” Farin spoke with a warm smile, Theia copying his bow as they stepped up to the counter. The silver sheek looked at the small scroll as Farin set it on the counter, “I need this sent to Orden, and it has to be there no later than tomorrow night.”

                “That can be easily taken care of,” the silver sheek said with a nod. “We have some of the fastest wind wielders in the region, so I’ll just tally up…” Pausing, he suddenly stammered, “O-On second thought, it looks like that’s been taken care of!” He barked a nervous laugh as Theia snickered, “Well, color me silver! I wasn’t expecting to see the emperor’s sigil!” Printed on the scroll was the crimson emblem of the emperor, the visage of a strange, but regal, behemoth.

                “I assume that works as advertised and covers the fee?” Farin asked.

                “Oh yeah,” the silver sheek said with a nervous nod. “Hoo hoo, I… don’t feel comfortable holding this anymore.” Very carefully, he set it inside a carrying case and sealed it shut before breathing a sigh of relief, “That scroll is way too expensive for me to touch.” Shaking himself off, he smiled at them, “Don’t worry about this getting there on time! I’ll have our fastest courier set out within the hour!”

                The next morning, twigs snapped and cracked as the expedition made its way along. Animal cries echoed through the dense undergrowth of the endless jungle as beams of light shone through the few gaps in the canopies. “After such a long time, we were back in familiar territory,” Tearna wrote, walking with a spring in her step. A laugh escaped her as she watched a pair of pipers flutter by, “It was strange to be back, but many of us felt more than a little relieved. After all, this was the jungle most of us had grown up in!”

                Flowers bobbed as she drug her hand through a shrub, “It was incredibly hard to convince myself to catalogue anything else as we made our way back to Orden. This whole area was so familiar to me! The sense of nostalgia I felt was overwhelming, and being surrounded by verdant colors in every shade was a truly sublime experience!”

                Tearna laughed as she nodded at something Kai was saying, Bren snickering as they walked at a leisurely pace, “With our journey coming to an end, I made sure to spend my time just… talking. For many of us, this would be the last time we would see each other, so we were making sure to make the most of it! Bren, Kai, and I spent hours reflecting on all that had happened and making jokes. We had so many wonderful memories, and it made me appreciate all we had been through so much more!”

                Insects chirped as a campfire illuminated the expedition members. Laughter echoed as one of them retold a story, “Though I had thought about it, what we had achieved had never really hit me until that first night.” Tearna laughed as Kai threw his hands up, “We had managed to venture all across our world! We had faced blizzards, volcanoes, thunderstorms and whirlpools. Every trial we faced, we had overcome, and the memories we had made were ones we would cherish for the rest of our lives.”

                Light illuminated the road as the caravan continued the next morning, Tearna smiling up at what little of the sky she could see, “As the days passed, many of us began to realize that it really was almost over. This journey we had shared together was at a close, and none of us were ready to part ways.” A few of the expedition members walked with their arms over each other’s shoulders, others laughing together while a few even cried, “It was hard to face, but that only goes to prove just how strong our bonds were. In truth, we no longer felt like an expedition, but instead like a weird family.”

                Smiling at the thought, she chuckled, “Although we knew parting would be bittersweet, I knew we were all eager to see our duty through to its finality, and, as Orden finally drew within reach, I found one last thing that needed to be catalogued!” Small, light-green legs moved by the hundreds of thousands as thousands of small bugs marched up a thin tree. Tearna watched curiously as the little green bodies wiggled in long columns, “My last entry, of all things, would be none other than the numerous and dutiful leaflits!”

                “Leaflits are a species of insect that can be encountered on every corner of Thericia. These small bugs look a lot like stunted leaves, or maybe stubby thorns. They are primarily green, have little red dots on the tips of their backs, six legs, and are no bigger than a pen tip! Colonies of leaflits can number in the tens of thousands, and they spend the majority of their lives carrying foliage up to their treetop homes!” Smiling happily, she stood up and sketched an image of the small insects, “Though small, the unity these colonies share is truly astounding, and I think that is what made them so fitting as my last entry!”

                Smiles rested on the faces of Bren, Kai, and Tearna as they marched, brilliant starlight shining across them as the road began to straighten, “Just like the leaflits, our unity couldn’t be broken even after our adventure came to an end, and come to an end it did.” Laughing at something Kai had said, Tearna stopped as her eyes widened like saucers. A hush rolled over the expedition as they stared ahead in awe.

                Letting her gaze dance over the treetops, Tearna finally let out a small sigh before smiling and looking at her friends. Bren smiled as she nodded, a hint of sad joy resting on her face. Kai also was wearing a smile of sad joy, closing his eyes briefly before looking over at Tearna. Looking into their eyes, she turned back forward to stare at the sight towering over the trees, “Though we were overwhelmed by the sight before us, we were all able to acknowledge what it meant, and it was something we readily accepted, because it meant we had fully achieved our responsibility to our people!”

                Resituating her pack for the final time, Tearna began to walk. The others looked at her in surprise. Looking at Theia before nodding, Farin began to move as well, finally prompting the others to kick into motion. “With our heads held high, we pushed forward to our ultimate destination, and the place where this all began so many, many months ago… Orden!” Light glimmered off tall, stacked towers as they loomed over the trees, an immense crimson wall towering just in front of them as the faint sounds of cheering and excitement danced over the trees…