Windsong: The study of ley line sees the world as a clear map.
Windsong: The cities look like squares to us, while natural landscapes appear to be curves overlapping one another.
Windsong: Many bizarre places in the world, such as the location of the Tunguska explosion or the mysterious 30th Parallel North, can't be drawn in squares and curves like cities and ordinary landscapes.
Windsong: We need to find a way to indicate them,
Windsong: in a clear, precise way.
Avgust: It's a maze!
Windsong: Well, it is the ley line map of a city. But you are right. It does look like a maze.
Windsong: To begin with, I should introduce the most crucial concept in the study of ley lines—that of ley energy.
Windsong: It is a special energy which we can easily detect throughout the town. See how it comes out from underneath the ground and goes into the local biosphere, circulating around like a system.
Windsong: If we think of the town's ley lines as a food web, then ley energy lies at its foundation.
Avgust: Like how big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat even smaller fish!
The boy's comparative is simple but essentially correct.
Windsong: Exactly. They are the smallest "fish" eaten by the "big fish." If we catch the "big fish" and study what they eat, we will know where to find the other "big fish."
Windsong: And the ley energy, I mean, when the "big fish" die and break down, the "small fish" will go back to where they first came from. The circulation goes on and on.
Vila: You've put it very well, Ms. Windsong.
Vila: Like the rainwater that comes from the ocean, to the rivers, and returns back to the ocean.
Her tone rises, the scales along her neck unfurling slightly.
Windsong: You are a quick learner.
Windsong: But it is not exactly like water. The concentration of ley energy is far more noticeable than that of a lake or a school of fish. Once we find its densest spot, we will be able to trace it back to its source.
Nina: Then what are these bright spots?
Windsong: These are the energy-rich locations. In a way, they indicate the energy flow.
Avgust: So many, they look like stars in the sky!
Windsong: Yes, and finding these locations can be very costly in terms of time and manpower.
Pasono: Then, what do we do after finding them?
Windsong: They can "tell" us many things. The ley hunters will follow their courses, analyze the components in them, and match those components to each resource.
Windsong: Some of the components don't match with any of the known resources, which means there might be a new resource waiting to be discovered.
Windsong: Of course, from the ley energy, we can also learn about the local critters.
Pyotr: You talk about strange things, almost like Avgust does!
He pouts, finding all of this hard to believe.
Pyotr: These are just lines.
Avgust: Like dancing earthworms! They wriggle, they twist, they are having fun!
Avgust: Jumping on the waves, then into the little boxes, and back into the little balls!
Pyotr: sighs Great, we have two of them now.
Nina: They look interesting, but we don't really understand.
Her theories are a bit too complex for children at this level, even with the aid of a drawing.
Windsong: Cheer up, kids. It's not finished yet.
Windsong: Ley line cartography is complicated. It takes the efforts of many ley hunters working together, investigating the area, even braving dangerous and forbidden places.
Windsong: To this day, we've never been able to finish a completed ley energy map.
Their enthusiasm dims, but some remain immersed in the world of ley lines.
Avgust raises up the incomplete drawing.
Avgust: I know! I know it now!
Avgust: This is Rayashki!
Vila: ...?
Pasono: Ah! I see it too! And here is the swimming pool. That little square is our square. These little balls are our homes!
Nina: Oh! I live here, the third ball on the left of yours.
The children react with surprise. Windsong applauds.
Windsong: You're very bright, Avgust. This is the ley energy map of Rayashki.
Nina: But, Ms. Windsong, why are you mapping the energy of our town?
Nina: Have you found any secrets that we don't know?
Windsong: Children, right now, you can only see what's above the ground, but there is even more ley energy beneath the ground.
Windsong lowers her head, feeling momentarily transported back to a time long past, while her audience listens intently below.
Windsong: Will the sun always be in the sky? Will the glaciers ever melt away? What lies in the darkness beneath us?
Windsong: Are there other critters around here that you've never seen? How should we deal with them?
This topic sets off a clamor of excitement from the children.
Pasono: I heard once that there were many strange footprints next to the school windows.
Nina: Uncle Patrik saw it! A monster with six legs, and each one has spikes!
Windsong: That must be a Qiqirn, a small sized canidae critter, mostly seen in cold areas.
Windsong: But the ley energy might have affected the weather of their habitat, or they wouldn't be here in Rayashki in summer. The deep blue line here shows that particular one's movement.
Pyotr: Or maybe Uncle Patrik could have drunk too much.
Windsong: The ley energy accumulated in them suggests that they mostly feed on moss and worms under the snow and stay near town.
Windsong: We can infer that this is a docile, herbivorous kind of critter that is merely curious about human behavior. I think feeding them will be much more useful than driving them away.
Vila nods thoughtfully.
Vila: Since these critters began to overrun the area, the defense team has encountered many new creatures. I can feel there's something strange about them, but I can't yet understand the differences.
Vila: You provided a different angle on the situation, Ms. Windsong. I believe it could help the defense team greatly.
These new discoveries have provoked interest in the teacher and her students alike.
Avgust: The fires in the furnaces are out, the bees and kites dance around the pond, white mosses on the wall.
Avgust: Oh, oh! Stones will fall down from the sky!
Windsong: Huh?!
His bizarre yet ominous statements seem to upset the others.
Pyotr: Stop saying these strange things, Avgust!
Pyotr: The defense team will keep the critters out of town and protect everyone!
Pyotr: And there will not be any stones falling from the sky!
Pyotr stands up, his fists clenched and face flush red.
Avgust: Is everything alright, Pyotr?
Pyotr: You! You're lying! Rayashki is safe. It will be our home forever!
Windsong: I hate to tell you this, kid. But what Avgust just said could be right. I have the same feeling that ...
Windsong: The good weather here won't last too long.
She gazes outward. The sky above is gray and growing darker.
Windsong: Look at those thick, gray lines.
Windsong: Those are the traces of cloud movements and moisture. Now, they're mingled together.
Nina: But the sun will still be shining. Ms. Vila said that the polar day will last for a very, very long time!
Windsong: Ms. Vila was right, and past statistics don't lie. According to the data, the weather here should continue for the next few months.
Windsong: Yet the ley lines say otherwise. They say the weather will be extremely unpredictable.
Pyotr: You are making things up! The forecaster on TV said the weather in Rayashki will be temperate in the coming months.
Windsong: And the weather forecaster was right according to his analysis, but life is full of surprises.
Vila: I know why you're concerned, Ms. Windsong. I feel the glaciers are melting slightly faster than usual. There's going to be a warm front forming from the melting water.
Windsong looks at her audience. She had half-hoped for some opposition from them.
Nina: But, but will there really be stones falling from the sky?
Windsong: I can't say anything for certain just yet, kid.
Windsong: All I have is this incomplete map, and as you can see, many sources of the marks and traces haven't been located, which means we can't come up with a precise calculation.
Windsong: But there's no question that Rayashki will soon face many challenges. The weather could become much worse, the environment might change, maybe some unknown critters might turn up.
Pyotr: ...
Pyotr: Liar! You are all liars!
Pyotr: Rayashki is our home, so it can't be dangerous!
The class bell rings at an inopportune moment.
The children rush out of the classroom one after another.
Avgust: Pyotr, you can't fly if your feathers get wet!
Windsong sighs. Although she hasn't fully adapted to her new role, she must keep up with the children.
Vila intercepts her.
Vila: They will need some time to take in all this new knowledge, don't you agree?
Windsong: I thought I could handle all their questions. I think I made things worse. Sorry.
Vila: Have faith in them. They will come around.
Pyotr squats on the ground, muttering softly to himself while rolling some pebbles.
A sunflower, and the boy attached to it, approaches.
Pyotr: Are you here to laugh at me?
Pyotr: All these stories of monsters and falling stones—they aren't good at all!
Pyotr: I overheard Mr. Evgeni talking.
Pyotr: He said the town has so many problems, and soon, what some people think will decide our future.
Pyotr: If people believe in those terrible stories, maybe they will be scared, and they won't come back to Rayashki.
Pyotr: Our town will be forgotten.
Avgust: But, I wasn't lying.
Choking tears fill their small world.
Rustling sounds come up from behind the flowerbed.
???: roars
Crimson eyes set in a furry head observe them with curiosity.
Avgust: Mm? Hello, Qiqirn!
Pyotr: What, what are you doing?! I will draw its attention. You go find the defense team for help!
The older boy opens his trembling arms defensively.
COMBAT
A mound of sunflower seeds is presented on a pair of tender hands.
Moist nostrils approach, and then a rough tongue greedily curls around the seeds.
Avgust: chuckles Heh-heh, it's itchy!
The Qiqirn purrs contentedly as the now empty hands stroke it gently but confidently.
Avgust: It feels warm, doesn't it?
Avgust: Ms. Windsong said they can be our friends, that they would bring seeds to every corner of the town.
Pyotr: Like a gardener?
Another pair of hands reach out to cautiously caress its fur.
Avgust: Yes!
Avgust: Go plant more sunflowers, Qiqirn!
The deep blue creature darts away.
Pyotr: ...
Pyotr: So, Ms. Windsong was not a liar.