"Molly, do you know of the Plague? It seems like a swirling cloud of darkness, but it is much worse. It is misery, fed by sorrow, anger, and fear. The four of us have fought it once before, but that was hundreds of years ago. I cannot explain why it is here now, nor can I explain how it could have come to this point," explained the Harvest Goddess.
"Was the fourth person Witch Princess? I wonder why she isn't here now."
"Says you!" so said a familiar voice.
Witch Princess strode in gracefully, and with a firmness. She clearly had a purpose for being here, but no one knew what it was. "While you two were off on some big adventure, the Plague came to my forest! It destroyed everything in the perimeter. A few mortals were hurt too." Molly turned, with her hand on her mouth. Wizard was sure she was thinking of the Horn Ranch farmers. He wanted to comfort her, but there was business that needed to be taken care of at that moment. "But, why are you here, Molly? How do you even know about the Plague?"
"It tried to kill me."
The three of them looked at her, the Harvest Goddess, the Witch Princess and the Harvest King a little dumbfounded. "If it weren't for Wizard, I wouldn't be talking to you all right now."
"Is this true, Gale?" asked the Goddess telepathically. "Yes, but I don't know why it happened or how. All I knew was that she was in danger."
"We could surely use the help in this," said Witch Princess aloud, "Who knows? Maybe this mortal's got something in her that could help." "I agree that we need more force, but can a mortal like her help?" asked the King aloud. "We cannot know unless we try. Let us see if we can find help within the earth like before." After saying it, the Goddess moved her arms so they could meet above her head, palms outward, her blue glow becoming eminent and pushing her arms down, revealing two caverns with two different stair steps. "Wizard, Harvest King, take the left entrance and see if the pocket of Happite can be of use. Witch Princess, Molly, come with me." Wizard intervened with, "Uh, shouldn't Molly… come with us?" The King responded, "I see no reason to bring the mortal with us. She will probably be more useful to the Goddess to than you and I." He sighed and looked at Molly as the three of them went down their entrance, and he followed the Harvest King into theirs.
The Harvest King's hair served as a bright source of light, so he did not need to create one. He used their privacy to ask, "Ignis, since we're in privacy, may we speak aloud now?"
"I see no reason why not."
"Do you think… you could ever fall in love with a mortal?"
A great big bout of booming laugh was released. It could have shaken the cave if there was any more force in the laughter. "Love is not for Gods, especially not with mortals! No, mortals of obsessed with their feelings of 'love' and 'affection'. We only feel trust with those who are worthy. Why else do you think we do not speak of our names to anyone besides other Gods and Goddesses and your kind of witches and wizards?"
"What about Molly?"
"No, Molly has some sort of prowess about her. I feel if I knew her better, maybe I could share that information. You could tell her, Gale. I sense you two have a special bond. It must be that piece of humanity your kind is born with that makes those feelings."
Wizard went to thinking, thinking about Molly, thinking about how much Molly has trusted him, and how little he has told her, despite how much he trusted her. He regretted not telling her of the Plague in the first place. He felt as though he let some sort of pride for not quite being a mortal clouded his judgement in this case. "Do not feel bad, Gale. I would not be so eager to tell a mortal of that information either if I did not know the circumstances," said the Harvest King. He had no idea why he tried to have private thoughts in front of a God, but he went to ask aloud "Do you think that what we're doing here will work?"
"We have nothing else to use here. I can only hope this will work."
The three women walked on the other side. Her blue aura was not quite bright enough to fill the area with light like the Harvest King could, so Witch Princess made a light of pink fire, walking ahead as she wanted to get there first. "How long ago did this Plague come?" inquired Molly. "It was sometime around 200 years ago. Wizard would have been close to 100 years old when we fought it." Molly was shocked. He certainly did not seem like he was 100 years old. He hardly seemed like he was her age. "Yes, witches and wizard have an amazing quality in their immortality, almost like us gods, only we are far older."
"Was there a wizard that came before him?"
"Oh, yeah there was," yelled Witch Princess from ahead, "and no one was quite thrilled with his magic. It was burn city, Molly. I know the feeling. If the wizard we know now didn't get me out of it, I would have ended up just like the last one."
"It was a very long time ago, Molly. It was during a much darker time than now. It is why I am curious about this Plague. It is far more powerful than the last one we dealt with, and it concerns me. I do not think it originated on Castanet."
"Where exactly does it come from?" asked Molly.
"Emotion is a very powerful magic, Molly. In places where there is no magic, it is merely a feeling and nothing more. However, on islands where magical presence is nearby, it is something that can construe into a form. Where there is happiness and love and trust, there is a good magic, a magic that can only be beneficial. However, where there is anger, fear, and sorrow, there is a bad magic, one that spreads chaos and destruction, trying to destroy any source of good. You cannot get rid of one or the other, as that would mean there would be no more free will. However, one can dominate the other, and in this case, the balance between them is skewed.
"The first Plague we fought came that 200 years ago, when Castanet was a darker place. There was fear of magic, fear of powers that could control them and fear of one another, fear of what will happen to them when they die. People were angered by the authority that ruled over them, a cruel and authoritative government. It was a time when enlightenment was near, but not there yet. During that time, by no fault of our own, the Plague was starting to form, feeding off of the negative energy the town provided. Once it was satisfied, it started attacking townsfolk, and the four of us came to call. We used Happite and Gledium to help Witch Princess create a special brew to fight it—"
"And it WORKED! It's why I'm as good at magic as I am now", interrupted Witch Princess.
"Yes, it worked. We used our force to fight it off, and we never saw it again. With the Plague no longer making the people upset, they could finally overthrow their government. Enlightenment touched the people, and soon, stigma of magic wore off, a lot due to the belief that it is not real. However, this did not feel like it was concentrated by us. It felt like something else, as if there was more… feeling to it. I wonder…"
She went into her thoughts, leaving Molly in silence. She started having a theory: what if the magic came from somewhere else? But where?
Both teams finally reached the bottom of the cave, but the moment they all landed feet, Wizard, Witch Princess, and the Harvest Goddess said aloud and telepathically…
"This won't work."