Welcome to Gaia! ::

Appearing in the grand hall, Jason dropped to one knee before the Great King once more, listening intently to his instructions before committing them to memory. There were another two locks to be undone, and he would do his best to assist the Great King in this endeavor. And as the king began to fade like before, he granted another gift to the hunter. He felt more like himself now, but he felt a twinge of dread fill him as more of his promise was revealed. Was the world...really going to be destroyed?

He certainty hoped not.

As everything faded, Jason moved towards one of the objects still there, the fountain, and placed a hand in it's cool waters.

-----

The next thing Jason became aware of was light. Soft glowing light that surrounded him. He lifted his hands to examine this light further as it then separated from him, forming into soft glowing orbs. They beckoned him, and so he followed. He walked along the path they led him on, and he sighed, his whole body relaxing. The fog seemed to soothe him more then frighten, and the trees, although bare with no leaves, looked so beautiful. It was a bitter-sweet feeling he felt, but one of calmness. The area soothed his mind, revealing it of tension and fear as he continued to walk at the guidance of the glowing orbs.

Eventually they lead him to a large tree, and he gasped as he heard it speak to him. Tell him it's tale and request him to help fulfill it's last desire.

Jason grew concerned. Was this tree dying? If so, how could he refuse such a request. Of course he would help!

The horse neighed uneasily, trotting on the dusty road that lead into the town. It's rider looked up warily at the emptiness of the area. He'd seen this happen a few times before, But then man next to him had seen this happen enough to know for certain what would happen next.

"Keep back Jason, it's gonna get real rough in a moment."

As soon as he said this, the sheriff pulled out a gun and fired, aiming at the first story of a nearby bar. There was a guttural cry, and a bandit fell from the height.

All mayhem broke lose. Bandits poured out of the tavern doors, and Jason pulled out his own pistol as the sheriff hopped off his horse, the beasts scattering as the two took cover from the gun fire. Surprisingly this was a common occurance, but the local were used to it. Sheriff Zanthvos and Depty Jason were real proses at taking care of this unruly people.

Jason concentrated hard, sweat pouring down his face as he worked on his magic. If he was successful, he would summon a creature that would aid him in his studies. This was important; everyone had their own creature by the age of 23, and if they didn't, they didn't get very far.

Grunting with the effort, Jason let lose all the magical power he could muster, eyes shut as he felt something come into being.

Slowly, he opened his eyes...

A butterfly fluttered around in his face.

...."Really..." He sighed, slumping back into a chair. It was better then nothing.

As he held out his hand to let the butterfly land, He felt something land on his head.

He looked up. It was a raven.

"NEVERMORE!"

"HOLY s**t!" Jason fell out of his seat as he realized that what he had summoned wasn't the butterfly. The bird just fluttered onto the chair head and flapping it's wings.

"NEVEREMO- Okay thats growing old. Hai, I'm Zanthy. I'm your new birdy."

"..Can I have the butterfly instead?"

By now his tree had almost grown up, though he wasn't fully sure how the memories helped to make them grow, they made the tree feel better, so he was happy to have experienced them. Well, most of them, anyway.

There was still one thing to be done. The tree needed more water, so Jason returned to the pool only to see it had changed. There were rock pools now surrounding it, and in the distance he could see a majestic castle. He was half tempted to walk towards it, but first he had to take care of his tree. The hunter gazed at each rock pool, noting they were each different, until he settled upon a lighter one. The water inside was lighter then the rest, and as he touched it he could recall something else; The many times he had spent in the backyard, letting the afternoon warmth of the sun wash over him as he snacked on chocolate caramel cookies, the ones his mother and grandmonther knew how to make best.

Filled with fuzzy warm memories (and a desire for cookies), Jason took the water back to the tree, watering it and happy to see the leaves sprout all over the branches. It asked if he was satisfied, and he was decidedly so.