Every song tells a story to me. Fascinating visuals broadcast through my mind like an IMAX presentation when I close my eyes and put my headphones on. I'd like to give you a glimpse into what I see, so feel free to listen along as I present the stories I've found while listening to some of my favorite tracks.

Today's track: Antti Martikainen - From the Fields of Gallia

006 - Thornrider, Wurmslayer

The sun crept ever closer to the horizon. The first and brightest stars could just barely be seen in the sky, and Kalimesa rose from her slumber. The other druids of her grove would be resting for a few hours more, but she was a Thornrider, always pushing out first to perform reconnaissance for her tribe.

Donning fine leather armor and grabbing her vine-wrapped short staff, she rushed to one of the many smaller stele; monumental stones that encircled the grove. Reaching in to her shoulder bag she withdrew a large piece of smooth volcanic rock and fit in into the concave opening in the territorial marker.

The small tree behind it rustled as its roots began to wrap around the stele, locking the volcanic key in place as its runes began to glow. Leaves rustled, and a flash of blue grazed Kalimasa's vision before hovering near her. Unphased, she began fixing several pouches to the fat trunk of the squat tree, which had nearly completely uprooted itself as it joined with the stone before her.

"Yest Huitzil," Kalimesa whispered, "It's time for us to ride. Hurry and drink if you must, but make haste. There's much ground to cover today." Kalimesa kissed the air in the bird's direction and it darted off towards a garden in the distance.

The tree and stele both lifted slowly in to the air. The trunk bent downwards and its branches braided. As rose it curled into a nearly complete ring, green leaves just missing joining up with the roots and stone. Kalimesa climbed on top, hooked her heels into the branches, and with a flick of her wrist the volcanic key began to glow brighter. Huitzil chirped to announce his return, and Kalimesa nodded. She gripped the stone handles of the stele, pointed her toes back, and sped off on her hovering construct.

The grassy knoll of the grove fled beneath her natural craft in a blur. Kalimesa's long braided hair danced oddly behind her head, affected by the same magic that kept her and her craft afloat. Inertia was dulled by the orb of force, giving its rider the freedom to glide without a helmet. Bugs and small debris would be forced around the craft, while the added balance offered gave the rider the ability to wield ranged weapons with the same ease as standing still.

Huitzil preferred to stay just above the craft, surfing on the wake of air as it split over the top of the magical field. The tiny blue bird's metallic feathers fluttered as he swooped, occasionally performing aerial stunts to occupy his mind. Being a druid's companion brought many benefits, but the most enjoyed was his sapience, for he was much more aware than the other sapphire-winged hummingbirds of his kind.

The grassy knoll soon gave way to sandier terrain as evening gave way to night. Kalimesa's heart sank softly, and she bowed her head briefly. It was no great surprise to see the swath of desert before her, but it did cause her a saddened pause. Her kind were rare, for few druids risked giving up their land. As the sun scorched their world, many stubbornly chose to fight the burning tide , a fight many of them lost.

Breathing deep, Kalimesa held her head high. Her order would survive, for they brought their grove with them. Every tree, stone, bush, the sod carpet, and even the fertile earth itself were all a mobile force that traveled at night and rooted during the day. This allowed them and their small forest time to recharge, feeding on the warm sun.

She reached for a waterskin to help refresh from her sudden sorrow. She drank deep of the sweet nectar, and her mind cleared. Wiping her lips, she poured a few drops in her hand and offered them to Huitzil, who quickly dove down and rested on her fingers before lapping up the sweet juice.

As Kalimesa returned the waterskin to the side of her craft, Huitzil chirped in distress. She felt it too, something not quite right about the dunes in the distance. She grabbed her short staff, not one for taking chances in the dead of night.

She squeezed the handles of the stele, and it's light brightened. As she closed in on the dunes they shifted, though there was no wind. Suddenly aware of her error, Kalimesa pulled the craft hard to its side, sending a wave of sand forth as she desperately tried to change direction. The motion on the surface was all confirmation the beast needed, and a gaping maw lunged forth from the depths of the desert.

Thrown off by the speed of the craft and its sudden change in direction, a wave of sand from Kalimesa's slide was all it caught. Enraged, the wurm roared a thunderous trumpeting that spewed forth dirt and grit, sending chills down Kalimesa's side. She looked behind her as she circled around, and her chills hardened into an icy fear. The wurm's maw was full of razor-sharp teeth, which meant that it was a mother with brood.

Shouting expletives in a lost tongue, Kalimesa began to buck and weave her craft. The great beast kept pace, sliding over the surface of the dunes effortlessly. The druid reached low and snatched a leaf from the braided tail of her craft, whispering a quickened apology for requiring its sacrifice. Energy coursed through her veins as she channeled what strength she could muster into the spec of foliage.

Thrusting her hand out toward the beast, she turned her head as the leaf flew from her hand in a blaze of green light. It exploded in front of the wurm, leaving a cloud of noxious gas behind. Kalimesa knew that she did not have the strength to fight the creature, and without brambles nearby to ensnare it, or the power of the forest to aid her, the only thing she could do was escape it.

The wurm crashed through the poisonous fog, and pits and welts formed on its body as it passed. Raising up to a towering height, it opened it's multi-segmented jaw further, screeching a hiss that rose in tempo as its teeth began to vibrate. The chase stopped, but it's hunt wasn't over. As its scream became a crescendo, the wurm's jaws snapped further back as it let loose a hail of fangs, each a larva of its brood, every tooth a mithril horn on the head of its young.

Dust and sand exploded around the Thronrider. The shield that protected her resonated disapprovingly with each hit, jostling the craft. It could keep smaller detris off of her with ease, but the foot-long maggots put a strain on the magic of the stele, the same source that kept her afloat. The maggots that missed exploded with great force, each becoming an orange blast of fluid leaving craters in her path. She pushed her craft harder, trying desperately to win with speed.

In response to the change in power use, her shield flickered but for an instant. A keen larvae detonated in the sand with a vile explosion, sending the mythril shard of its horn through the temporary gap before gouging its way deep into the trunk of her craft. The curled trunk went limp, the stele flung free of its rooted grasp, and for a moment, Kalimesa was thrown free, weightless. Time seemed to stand still as an overcharged burst of energy burst from the thornwood she rode, and she tumbled in horror as the tree's shape went limp. Her eyes shifted skyward as she inverted toward the ground, and a bright flash of light cascaded through the sky before her vision went black.

Kalimesa woke in the arms of her kin as several druids tended her wounds. In the distance, the head of the great wurm was smoldering, a cauterized gash that left its face split in two. Lumbering redwoods carried the still-humming henges of her grove's central stone circle, pointing them off into the distance and ready to strike should any more beasts challenge their claim. Birch trees sprinted by on root-wound legs, carrying druids that fired arrows into the surviving young before while others severed their horns for their valuable metal scales.

"Kalimesa," an elder spoke through the ringing of her ears. Layers of sod and dirt were scattered on the desert around them as the forest began to settle into it's new temporary home. "You know not to ride alone. You're lucky Belthia was not far behind. Rest now, you're safe, but you'll be digging dirt if you keep this fleeting attitude of yours. We can afford a couple of days here, the wurm's meat will buy us a little time, but any longer and we risk the heat itself. Sleep now, but when you wake I expect to see you carving entrails from that monster you angered to feed the compost here."

Huitzil chirped before nuzzling into Kalimesa's bosom, and as they both drifted off the light of day crested the horizon.