I had ignored all distractions as I run through the trees, dodging any encounters, and curving my route back towards the road. I was starting to think that I had completely lost my way before I found the gravel road again. Before I stepped out of the forest, I checked both ways first. 

- No bears. Just wolves. @#$%!  What is up with my luck? 

Three brown and grey mottled wolves were down the road a bit milling around a large isolated tree sitting off the road in the grass field. One turned to look in my direction. Just as the wolf lifted his front paw to move towards my hiding spot, a loud screech erupted from the tree. All of the wolves looked up moving back and forth, ready to pounce, their attention locked on something moving amongst the tree’s broad spade shaped leaves. 

An odd shaped monkey with grey and black fur was hopping madly between the tree's wide branches, screeching down at the wolves. The wolves would lunge whenever it climbed down onto the lowest branches, following it around the tree, never letting it get out of sight. 

- So, should I stick around, see how this turns out? Pick off the winner? 

I looked inside at my core.  

- Not enough free magicicles available in my disk. I wonder if I can peel some off from the cyclones? 

As I was contemplating what to do the monkey stopped his bouncing around. Standing on one of the lowest branches, he raised his hands over his head, like he was holding a soccer ball. He stood still for a moment, tracking the wolves’ movement bellow, then made a throwing motion. To my surprise the wolves dodged. 

- Did I just miss something? 

It seems the monkey was just as surprised as me. It looked at its hands, screeched again, and the made the same overhead throwing motion. Nothing happened. This time the wolves dodged, but in a more hesitant manner. 

- The wolves obviously were expecting something. The monkey must be able to use magic, well till it died at least. I wonder what I would learn if I ate its soul marble? 

I continued to watch as the monkey continued to hop, screech, and attempt to throw imaginary soccer balls at the wolves. The wolves were no longer taking the monkey's threats seriously. Two continued to harass the mad little simian while the last would lay down and take a break. 

- Ok now do I stick around and see how this plays out, or do I move on waiting for a safer opportunity to snag a magic using creatures soul marble? 

I looked in towards my core.  

-The disk is too thin, it is only the cyclones that have anything left. I thought that they might get thick enough and start producing ‘liquid’ magicicles, guess I’m going to have to wait till I find a new source. 

I started to tug at the cyclones, trying to peel off a small ribbon off each at the same time. I was trying take the same amount from both, maintaining the symmetry of the two seemed important. Ever so slowly I skimmed a small stream off the tops, leaving spiralling ribbons that gracefully curved down towards the disk. 

- It looks like a fuzzy spiraled sphere around the core. Now that I have a bit more magic available, I'll stick around and watch the show. 

I giggled. 

A short time later a large flock of very small birds flew by, small spurts of gold light showed in the dense cluster. Both the wolves and the monkey remained still, and very quiet while the flock moved through. 

- That reaction bodes ill for any future encounters with that particular type of bird. 

The standoff resumed after everyone was sure that the flock was not returning. 

While I waited, I watched as the ribbons that I split off from the columns slowly aggregated into the disk, the denser ribbons forming seemed to be affected by the two orbiting soul marbles, splitting into distinct rings in the disk. 

- Very, um... astronomical. Looks like the cyclones are quite dense, I wonder if I’ll ever get them to form ‘rain’? Well not if I'm slicing off pieces here and there. 

 "And I really want to zap some more black sludge till it glows"- Me 

My whisper was accompanied by an evil grin. 

As I was thinking about how to tap a phantom tree, a boar with scales and serpentine features charged down the road at the wolves. Two of the wolves stood, and broke away from the tree to face off against this new threat. A vicious battle broke out as the two wolves worked together, using their speed to counter the boar's strength. The boar's scales turned most of the wolves' attacks, but even the small wounds eventually started to affect its movements, and the wolves moved in for the kill. One tripped the boar's back legs, and is it fell the second went for the throat, but the wolf’s speed failed. The boar flicked its head and sank its fangs into the wolf's muzzle, then heaved sending the yipping wolf flying, The flailing arc of the thrown wolf ended as it slammed into road near my hiding spot. The third wolf abandoned its vigil and ran streaking towards it companion and the still reeling boar. The battle resumed with snarling ferocity, nothing was held back. 

I stepped out on to the road and walked slowly over to the broken, brown and grey furred body struggling to get up. As I got close it looked up at me snarling, baring its cracked fangs, twitching its broken neck trying to reach me.  

 "I hate wolves."- Me 

I raised my hands sending leaders out from each of my fingers. There were too many to control, but I was close enough that it didn't matter, ten arcs of electric played over the twisted figure.  

- I feel like Emperor Palpatine 

 The extra encouragement sent the wolf into de-rezz. I zapped the sun, the washed-out figure, and the black sludge equally. The black sludge was blown into crystal glitters, the sun left early leaving behind some of the gold ribbon, and the pale bead left with very little of the silver glitter. As the soul marble was forming, I quietly walked towards the tree, where the monkey was capering and screeching, totally focused on the battle. A leader touched the back of its head. 

 "Shut up already!"- Me 

 The smouldering monkey hit the ground in front of me, already shedding grey dust. I zapped it's de-rezz as I watched the battle continue. 

-If they haven't noticed me already, that would have got their attention. It does not look like either side is going to pay me any mind till the current fight is done, well probably as long as I don’t interfere. 

One of the wolves was down, struggling to even move, while the boar and the last wolf continued to tear at each other. Each was covered in gaping bloodless wounds, desperately clawing and goring the opponent, trying to land that final blow. They broke apart, limping and glaring hate, looking for the opening that would end in decisive victory.  I'm not sure what the trigger was, but the two crashed together with an audible thud. The boar slammed to the ground, his shoulder torn and useless, while the wolf bounced away, it's face opened by the boar's fang that was still embedded in its eye.  

I walked close as golden suns rose over the wolves, fur shedding grey dust and black sludgy gas. I threw a leader on the struggling boar and gave it a jolt to keep it from making it back up onto its good legs. Both wolves got their de-rezz electrified, before I returned to the twitching boar. 

 "What are you? Snake fangs, scales, and eyes on a large angry pig. Wonder how you taste smoked?"- Me 

I wasn't foolish enough to get close enough for it to reach me even if it lunged. 

"Ok you stubborn little porker, it's time for you to live again" 

- And I don't have the juice to make you go, so hurry up already! 

I collected the other silver frosted soul marbles as the boar stubbornly hung on. I put the wolves into my pocket with the four marbles I had previously picked up. I played with the monkey's marble, rolling it between my fingers and waited for the boar to start its de-rezz. And waited. 

- Looks like it's going to be stick around, maybe long enough for its body to return to normal. I'm going to have to try persuading it, and it will probably require a lot. Which means I'll need to us more magic, and I really don't want to shave anymore off the cyclones. 

The boars pain filled squeals were loud and had already attracted the attention of other creatures. 

- So far, it's only small critters, but it can't be too long time something larger comes by. 

I gave the boar another hard jolt then moved over to the phantom trees. 

- Do I have to use a tree? The magicicles in the road seem too deep for me to get at. I don't think my electrical ability will let me tap a tree, more like blow a hole in it, and who knows what happens then. 

I rubbed my nose as I started at the phantom forest. 

 "Stupid pig! Your too noisy!"- Me 

I scorched another charred line across its scales. 

 - So, the phantom effect is not just limited to the trees. I wonder if the pressure of the magicicle has would be limited by a smaller phantom plant, like a twig, or maybe the grass. 

I squatted down and looked for a small stalk of grass pointed away from me. I couldn't sense anything in it, unlike the road. 

- I didn't sense anything from the trees till I was forced into one. Just that heard/felt buzz I didn't notice till I hit the silence around the road. Looks like it's going to be the brute force way. 

I created a leader between my fingers with the top of the grass in the middle, and zapped. Not much happened at first, but I kept playing with the variables of the electric arc, at least the ones that I could manage to control. I finally hit a combination that had a sudden and immediate reaction. The top of the grass shattered, sending pencil thin line of power sizzling through the sky. 

 "Holy slime barf!"- Me 

 I jerked back and landed on my ass looking up at the brilliant line. I could sense that it was a fountain line of magicicles in their least dense gaseous state, but somehow packed tight and under incredible pressure. The line soon petered out. I looked down at the now innocuous straw of grass.  

- It looks like crystallized magicicles have closed the wound, like magical scar tissue. And how the @#$% can something feel like it's packed so tight, and also feel like it has no density? Why do they feel like particles if they don’t act like it! 

I could feel a lot off free magicicles spreading out in the area, some seemed to start revolving around me. I could feel them slowly permeating my skin. 

- Looks like my core can drag in any free magicicles in the area, but this is going really slow. I guess I could open a lot of grass and flood the area. It would be bad if any of these monsters could also collect power too. And that light display probably didn't help with whole not attracting attention thing.  

I found a much smaller piece of grass and zapped it. Nothing happened. I tried again checking to see if I got the right variables. Again, nothing happened 

- I have to burn my fingers every time I use magic and now, you're telling me that each phantom plant has its own electrical ‘code’! 

I pulled out two of the marbles from my pocket and passed the arc through them, instead of my fingers. It would change the marbles, and cost more power, but this way I wouldn't be in pain the whole time. Eventually I found the right combination and tip of the grass shattered. A very thin line of power shot passed my face and into the sky. 

- Note to self: Be more @#$%ing careful! 

 Taking a deep breath, I slammed my hand down, piercing the broken grass blade into my hand. 

The high-pressure stream of magicicles soon completely clouded my magic sense, filling me like a dust storm moving in. 

I ripped my hand off after the grass scarred over with crystalline magicicles. 

“I feel like an over feed dog.”- Me 

The cloud inside my body was so thick and chaotic that I couldn't even see my crystal core. I looked at my hand to see how much damage I had done. A black char line ran across my palm and ended at a crystalline dot where the blade pierced, and it didn’t seem to be healing. 

- Yah, I'm going to have figure out a better way of doing this. 

I turned back to the boar. It had recovered some, and was desperately trying to drag itself away from me. 

“I hope you fear in your next life too.”- Me 

I held up hand, marble in my fingers, and dropped a leader on his head. I gleefully zapped it's de-rezz a short bit later.