G) The Drift

Tam stood on the edge of the world. The Last Valley spread out
before him, stretching as far as the eye could see. The land was
scorched and barren. A few gnarled trees were dotted along the valley
floor. In the very centre, in a deep bowl lay the Drift. It was asleep,
he could tell because it was a deep midnight blue.
The Drift was no where and everywhere, it was nothing and everything.
It held no shape or form, it merely existed. It was the beginning and
the end. As he watched it began to change to blood red, hatred.
He scowled back at it as he remembered Lor. She was down there, inside
the Drift. It had taken her two days ago. The image of her capture
flickered into his mind. He pushed it aside before it could get a grip
and before grief could set in. That wouldn't help Lor. All he could do
was keep going until he found her. She was the only one left that he
could help.
The Drift was swirling in a rainbow of colour now, mourning black,
terrified green, hatred red, it was reflecting his own emotions. He
clutched the small talisman that hung round his neck. It had been
Lor's. She had dropped it before the Drift had taken her and Tam had
found it later.
Suddenly he wasn't looking down at the Drift but had a bird's eye view
of a huge stone maze. A flash of orange whirled round a far corner,
Lor. She was terrified. He could feel it although he wasn't sure how.
There was something else in the maze as well but it kept to the
shadows. He couldn't see what it was but he felt like he had met it
before.
As quickly as it appeared the image disappeared and he was back on the
edge of the valley. The Drift was still flashing a rainbow of colours
only now purple confusion had been added to the mixture. Tam looked at
the talisman still clutched in his hand. A small red gem had been half
embedded in a polished square of metal. Engraved in the gem was a tiny
bolt of lightning. He tucked it under his shirt and decided not to
worry about it right now.
Tam's main concern was getting down to the Drift. He was standing at
the top of a steep scree slope. He unsheathed his sword and touched the
ground with the blade. It sent a layer of pebbles rattling down the
slope to the barren land bellow. After a short pause he took a step
forward. The ground under his boot slid away dislodging more scree as
it went causing a small landslide.
"Great." He muttered. "This is all I need." The Drift flashed mocking
yellow at him and taunting sky blue. "And you can shut up as well." He
said to the Drift.
As if in reply a strong wind picked up. Tam pulled his sword up into a
ready stance and scanned the land around. This was the same wind that
had brought the monsters that had killed his friends and taken
Lor.
There was a long silence punctuated only by the howling of the wind.
Tam's cloak whipped around his legs, his yellow hair falling into his
eyes. He scanned the horizon hoping to spot his enemy before they saw
him. After a while the wind died down. The Drift returned to a neutral
grey and a depressing silence fell over the valley.
Tam frowned as he sheathed his sword. He glanced over his shoulder and
then back at the slope in front of him. It wasn't far to the valley
floor but it was very steep.
"It's the only way." He muttered to himself. He took a deep breath and
moved towards the slope. Once he was on its edge Tam put his left foot
on the scree. Immediately the ground crumbled under his foot but
instead of pulling away he put his whole weight onto the slope. Slowly
he began to slide with the scree, his arms held straight out to help
keep his balance.
It didn't take long before he was standing on solid ground only a few
hundred metres from the Drift. He pulled his sword from its sheath and
began to advance towards the mass of shifting colour. The Drift seemed
powerless to stop him although it was obviously agitated. It flashed a
rainbow of colour and finally settled for an angry but sulky
purple.
Tam cautiously edged closer to the Drift his sword held ready. The air
around the Drift seemed to hum and vibrate. He guessed this was because
it held so much magic inside. When he was within reaching distance of
it he held out his sword and touched its side. The very point of the
sword disappeared into the Drift. Tam pulled it back quickly. Then very
slowly he tried again. This time he pushed the sword in until the whole
blade was gone.
As he marvelled at this something from within tugged his sword. Tam was
so startled he lost his grip on the handle and to his horror the rest
of the sword disappeared into the side of the Drift.
"Hey!" He yelled angrily.
The Drift changed to a cheerful orange as if it was smiling at him. Tam
uttered a few curses and scowled at the spot where his sword had been.
Now he had no way to defend himself if he where to save Lor.
"Oh well." He whispered. "At least I'll have tried."
Slowly he walked towards the Drift. Every step he took felt like an
eternity. As his foot disappeared into the Drift he felt sure he could
hear laughter. He disappeared inside as the Drift was changing once
again to a triumphant gold and a cold laughter filled the
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