And there it was - on an old beaten path through thickly grown and long dead weeds - that I tried to save myself.

I knew the words by heart. I knew it could only work among the sighs of ancient pines and cricket cries.

And so I recited the words that had always worked before, the words that could always bring me back to the surface. As the air thickened and grew heavy with unspent magic, I lifted my head, opened my eyes and saw what I had summoned. I saw what could be. And I watched it dissipate before me.

Much like the peace it granted, it could never last for long.