The Balance - I 

(The fire crackled as the old woman leaned forward, her white hair shining fire-orange and her crystal eyes glittering against smooth pale skin. "Ahhhhhhh..", she sighed, "You want to know about the balance? Well... know this children.  The world cannot abide any force unchecked. Any force that arises, that becomes active- be it a magical node, an enchanted castle, or an overly ambitious king's lust for worldly power- is countered by a force that is its equivalent.  Ahhhhh the Mother Earth cannot stand an imbalance- she responds naturally to any thing that breaks the cycle of time and nature. "

She shrugged and looked up at the stars twinkling over head as the cold wind whistled through the camp.  "It is said that when the balance of the world is broken, the world will topple back into the watery void from whence it came and we will all die screaming as the waters of nothing close on us. That the balance is what gives our  lives meaning. "

She looked down at the large, frightened eyes staring at him from around the camp fire.  One of the children had gotten so frightened that he reverted to bear form- and the bear cub was now hiding behind his big brother.  She laughed.

"Come out silly!  There is nothing to be afraid of!  "

"But.. but.. what if we do something to upset the balance... like last week when I knocked Mama's sword off the wall!" Jeremy blurted, his bright eyes darting back and forth.

For a moment her eyes looked sad and far away, and then she smiled- a quiet, happy smile which peeled her years away. "You are too small child, to be of notice to the balance.  Only the big players of the world, the ambitious players,  need to concern themselves with it."

"Like Great-Aunt Dora?" little Kathleen spouted out.  "No silly!" Jeremy interjected, "Aunt Dora is little!"

She laughed. "Yes, Katie, just like Great-Aunt Dora."

"What about you?"  Jeremy asked, "Are you a big player?"

She paused, and then ruffled his hair. "No, Jeremy, I'm not."

But the howling of wolves and the song of the night wind gave the lie to her words.....