There exists a place in this world where magic can, and does happen. I can not tell you where it is. I can not tell you how to get there. Only one man from our world has had the fortune of finding it. A brilliant and creative man, who’s life’s path could have only lead him to find his hearts content. He was alone in our world. This was the only place he could ever find love.

Only a few humans existed in this world. They were the descendants of its original inhabitants. A people who had the task of ensuring its secrets, and casting the spells that created its beauty. When our man found his way there, only three were left to fulfill that heritage. Three sisters, who had no hope of continuing the line.

When he arrived, he had already forsaken the things of our world. Climbing his way onto the beach, half dead, he stripped off what remained of his clothes and tossed them into the sea. Never again would he cover himself with the trappings of a worthless society. As he crawled to shore, for the first time in his life, he felt free. He collapsed and slept there in the sand for a week, and he dreamed once more of the vision that had drawn him there.

Five years had passed, and he had made his way deeper and deeper into the dense jungle that covered this land. He lived within the branches of the trees that were so intertwined, he never had to step foot on the flowers that filled the ground with wondrous colors. He ate the fruits and leaves, he drank the morning dew, and he fought viciously with the dangerous animals that lived within the darkness created by the foliage that left little room for light to penetrate.

His hair had grown wild and untamed, his beard was long and dreadlocked, and his body was covered scar upon scar. The skin of is arms and legs was as rough and tough as the rocks he had remembered from his old world. The result of his constant fighting and foraging had left him bulging with muscle, and his gluttony for a particular fruit that grew only here had given him a bit of a pot belly. Despite all the trials, he had never been happier. Yet still, he felt there was something missing. One day, he found it.

He came upon a grassy clearing, the only place in this land, aside from the beaches, that one could fully experience the brilliance of the sun. He did not enter the clearing however, he was stopped short by a beauty that far outshined all that he had seen in his life. She was sat upon a log that lay near the center of the clearing. She was busying herself at carving the life-size figure of a woman into the wood of a fallen tree. He sat within the darkness of the branches and watched her work.

Eventually, the sun had crossed the zenith and shone its light upon her face. He was so taken by what he saw, he nearly fell from his branch. He knew her. This was the face of the woman he had so often seen in his dreams. This was the vision that had brought him to this place. This was what he had been missing all of his life. His very first thought was to rush to her, but upon imagining how he must look, he realized that his appearance would only frighten her.

He could only watch her from afar as she arrived in the clearing day after day, continuously carving the figure in the wood. At night she would walk to the edge of the clearing, utter a few unrecognizable words, and then float away beneath the branches, never stepping upon the flowers. He had tried to follow her, but had no chance of keeping up, hopping from branch to branch, and she left no trail to follow. All he could was wait until the dawn, when she would once again arrive and continue her work. For a year he watched her, and finally she had completed her task, or so he thought.

That night, as she floated away, he entered into the clearing to peek at her work. It was perhaps the finest carving he had ever seen. Immaculate in its detail, it was a perfect sculpture of a woman. The face was very similar to her own, not a self portrayal, but it could have easily been her sister. With her work complete, he thought, she may not return. That night he did not sleep, only nervously waited in hopes of seeing her again.

With the arrival of dawn, she once more returned, and brought with her another piece of wood, and she began yet another carving. He was elated in knowing that he could watch her still, from his branches, as she carved yet another figure of a woman. For two more years he watched as she slowly and articulately carved away. She created another, very similar woman, perhaps another sister. When it was completed, he spent another anxious night waiting to see of she would return.

He knew from the position of the sun and stars, that the next day would be the beginning of a new season. It was the winter solstice, the dawn would bring about the lengthening of the days. He could only hope, as sat upon her log staring at her marvelous works, that it would bring her back as well.

Indeed, along with the dawn, came the beauty that he had for so long adored. This time she brought with her, not another piece of wood, but a large leather bag. He watched intently as she removed some white powder, salt perhaps, and sprinkled it upon the ground in a circle around her sisters. She removed some oil, and poured it slowly over them. Then, she turned to face the sun as it rose over the trees and cast its light upon them.

He knew at once what she would attempt, forbidden magic. She would attempt to resurrect the dead, and he knew from his time here, that the consequences could be dire. She must have known this as well, he thought, she is a native of this land. She must have loved these sisters more than her own life.

She soaked up the rays of the new sun for a few moments, and then she began to chant once more in her strange tongue. Immediately the ground started to shake, the wind picked up, and a rumbling could be heard across the land. She was unperturbed in her casting, continuing on despite the worsening of these omens. He could barley hold on to his branch as the trees were shaking and cracking all around him. Finally she was yelling her foreign words at the top of her lungs, and then all the motion stopped suddenly, with what he could only equate to a sonic boom, only louder, and it reverberated for nearly a minute.

For a few minutes after, there was only silence. She fell to her knees and began to cry, her despair of failure shown forth easily in her tear soaked face. She wrapped her arms around the legs of her carvings and her tears feel upon their feet. He thought he would rush to her now, if only to ease her pain, to let her know that she was not alone. To tell of his undying love for her, even if he was only a hideous beast from another land. Just as he was about to leap from his perch, there was stirring in the clearing.

It was not her that arose from her knees, it was her sisters, as the wooden sculptures began to move. Slowly they transformed from solid masses, and into the familiar flesh of women. Her expression at once went from despair to delight, her tears became tears of joy and for the first time since he had watched her, he saw her smile.

The sisters turned and pulled her from her knees, wiping the tears from her face as she arose.

“You should not have done this.�?They chided her. “They will send a golem for you.�?/P>

“I don’t care!�?She blared with all the strength she had left. “The two of you deserve to live, not to die in vain because of my mistake.�?/P>

“It was no mistake sister,�?they told her, “your destiny lies with another.�?/P>

“I have no other destiny than to assure that you two live on.�?She replied.

“No sister, you have the destiny of assuring that our way of life continues. That our land will remain a secret, and the beauty of this place will be guarded against the taint of humanity for eternity.�?/P>

Just then a sharp wind arose from the south, it tore up a mass of purple flowers as it neared the clearing. The purple wind whirled around at the edge of the clearing, and formed into the most vicious little golem one could imagine. Its guttural snarling and growling was like the sound of a thousand whirring motors, and despite its small stature, the ground shook with its every step as it made its way towards the girls. It seemed unable to climb over the log that lay on the ground between it and them. Instead, it open its oversized mouth, filled with pointy menacing teeth, and snapped the log in half with one enormous bite, clearing the way for it to proceed.

The two newly reborn sisters had forced the other behind them, they began to utter words in the long forgotten language of their ancient magic. Our man was already on the ground and speedily covering the distance to the scene, ready to do battle once more. Sparks and light were flying from the tips of the sisters fingers but it seemed to have no effect upon the golem. With another gaping bite, it ripped into the arm of the one on the left, and she shattered into a millions of minute splinters. The other sister had changed her chant, fire was spewing from her mouth, but again it no effect upon the little devil. With another devastating bite, she too was splintered to pieces.

The other sister was lying on the ground, recovering from the shove she had been given. She turned and saw the beast coming for her, just when she thought her end had come, she saw a man. She had never seen one before, but she knew it was a man, covered in hair, bulging with muscles, leathered skin, and naked, he was truly a sight to behold. He placed himself between her and the golem, he was trying to protect her. For a brief moment she forgot about her dilemma, she could only stare at his naked form and marvel at where he might have come from.

The tiny monster did not care much for his intrusion, it lunged at him with an open mouth. He made a fist and forced it into the golems mouth, going in up to his elbow, and it bit down upon him. Its teeth went deep into his flesh, but it was unable to penetrate him fully to the muscle. There was a surprised look on its horrible face as he opened his hand and grabbed whatever he could of its organs and guts. He ripped his arm from its gullet, tearing deep gouges in his flesh as he withdrew, bringing with him its innards, he tore them away from its body.

It fell to the ground and began to roll around, screaming in the most horrible sound one could imagine. He tossed the guts aside and picked up one of the halves of the log, and brought it down upon the beast with a reverberating thud. It smashed the golem into pieces which flew into the air, and then slowly fluttered to the ground as dozens of purple flowers. He let go of the log and turned to ask if she was okay. He was breathing quite heavy, still flowing with testosterone and rage, and he hadn’t spoken in more than seven years. It came out sounding more like a growl than words.

“Are you okay my beauty?�?/P>

She was de-speechified, so much had happened in only a few moments. She reached out and took hold of his outstretched hand, he pulled her to her feet. She did not speak, she began to trace the bloody wounds on his arm, she was shaking visibly. She reached into her leather bag and pulled out a small bit of herb, wrapped in leaves. She brought it up to his mouth and instinctively he opened it and consumed what she gave him.

Almost immediately the wounds on his arm began to heal. The scars that had covered his body faded away, his beard dissolved, and his matted, wild hair took on a healthy sheen. He was staring at himself in awe, watching the changes as they befell him. Suddenly, he felt her hands upon his face, gently stroking him, she was smiling and once again began to cry.

“It was you,�?she spoke with the utmost care in her words, “you were the one all along. The man in my dreams.�?/P>

“And it was you in mine.�?He responded, this time in a more congenial tone.

They spent the next seven-hundred-eighty years making love in the grass. Then, finally, they began to repopulate the land with their offspring. Assuring that for eternity, the beauty and magic of this land would thrive.