Goosebumps traveled up Lia's skin quickly, and a chill wind blew on her from the North. She sat up, alarmed, and stared at her home. She could hear war cries, and saw torches bobbing like apples in a bucket of water. Lia noticed that night had fallen; stars winked at her from the ebony sky.

She pulled her eyes away from the heavens, and gazed back at her house. She could hear only a bit of what was going on, and could see even less. Lia reached for her Gift inside, and gently pulled it toward her throat, past her mouth and nose, to her eyes. She focused on here house, and with her enhanced sight, saw with her own eyes what she had first suspected - Scanran raiders, and spidrens!

Lia picked up her lightweight skirts, and bit back the scream on the tip of her tongue - yelling would do her no good, only draw attention to her! Returning the Gift she had used to see the raiders to her reserve, she ran as fast as she could across the field, ignoring the stinging wind and blades of grass that whipped her heels.

She was about to dash up a knoll to her home when she asked herself,

"What can I do?" She couldn't do anything like Alanna the Lioness did on a daily basis, for she hadn't been trained well enough. She was a small girl, to small to don armor and fight with the men.

Fury at her helplessness started at her toes, and rose throughout Lia's whole being. She trembled with anger; she didn't even notice that her Gift in it's entirety was emanating from her. Only when she stopped trembling and managed to calm down but a bit, did she notice that the air around her, in ten feet in all directions, was a midnight blue, glowing sphere. Presently, Lia knew that she could indeed do something to stop the raiders.

Summoning the light to her hand, she rolled it into a smaller, denser ball of magic than she had ever seen before - it's very weight made Lia want to collapse. As soon as she had gathered all of the magic around her, the fury at the raiders returned, and she hurled the ball into the fray.

Dark flames engulfed the raiders and the spidrens; the air shimmered with heat and power. Suddenly, they were all gone. The soldiers from Palouse stood idly on the grounds, untouched by the flames, open mouthed. Lia stood on the knoll, amazed that she had simply vaporized what must have been at least fifty men. For at least ten minutes, everyone stood in a void, of sorts, without moving, all staring at Lia in shock.

Lia's mother broke the spell.

"By the Goddess, Lia, what HAVE YOU DONE?" A vein throbbed in her mother's face, which was turning a spectacular shade of purple.

"Well, come in now!" Lia hung her head dejectedly, as her mother led her into the small castle, beginning yet another lecture on how terrible magic was.

But as she marched inside, the villagers all sprang into spontaneous applause and cheers for her.