an old post from my FA gallery

beautiful art by  snowsnow11. please fav the original!

in another timeline, cassandra is a fledgling druid. an unfortunate choice for someone who lives in a city carved into the side of a great, barren mountain overlooking ragged taiga and frost. greenery is precious and rare here among the black and silver stone. yet she persists, as does life, tenuously.

the ancient winds swirl through the secluded courtyard, whispering secrets and promises. she focused, breathing in and out, slow and steady, each breath a gift from the sky. there was power even here, but not free for the taking. she knew the balance. nature abhorred a vacuum, and the void left behind by the power she took demanded she gave from herself in turn.

the wind danced around her, a lonely fallen leaf swirling on the cobblestone. she could have it, the wind said, if she wanted it. the strength and might of the mountain lion. the sight and stealth of the hawk. the spirits would give her the overwhelming power of an avalanche, or the nurturing warmth of the sun. they were all hers, if she wanted, but her fate would be entwined with the will of woods. she would have her power, and the woods would have their servant.

her breathing slowed. she reached out for the wind, and it answered, gusting through the courtyard and tugging at her robe and hair. the currents caught the leaf and lofted it before her, and it was quickly joined by more fallen leaves caught by the wind. she motioned, and the leaves formed a wreath, swirling gently in a loop before her. another motion, and the brown and gold shifted, the dead edges uncurling and taking on the bright green of new growth after a rainstorm.

taking a deep breath, she said: "i've decided. i'm not staying here any longer. i'm ready."

the wind intensified and a sudden upward gust tore the circle of leaves from her grasp with ease, scattering them to the courtyard. some of them faded, returning to wherever she had called them from. one of them landed tauntingly on her nose. she picked it up by its stem. unlike the other leaves, this one was vibrantly green throughout, and it smelled fresh.

she let it go, and the wind caught it once again, sending it careening through one of the archways that led back to the city proper. smiling, she followed

beautiful art by  snowsnow11. please fav the original!