Time moved forward with no regard for the lovers, until it came to be the last day before Nashus was to leave on his voyage. He had told the owner of the garment shop that he could no longer work for him because he was to spend the entire day with his beloved. But the gods had long been jealous of Nashus’ pure and simple love, and on this most crucial morning they sent a storm.
             Soon Nashus was met by a panicked messenger on the road who said, “Nashus, come quickly! There has been a flood at the garment shop!” But Nashus refused.
             “No,” he said, “I am to spend this day with my beloved.” But the messenger was frantic.
             “There is danger,” he shrieked, “You are needed!”
             Reluctantly, Nashus packed his things and prepared to leave. Turning to the messenger, he said, “Tell my Love I will come for her soon.”
             Then Nashus took the path to the east and the messenger departed to the west, neither of them suspecting that the Trees had heard every word.

For hours, Nashus toiled in his shop, and for hours his Love waited for him. It appeared the gambit of the gods was proving successful in keeping the two apart. But where his Love was filled with hope, Nashus was overcome with disquietude. So he sent for the messenger Telephonus to deliver an oath to his Love.
             “Go to my village, Telephonus,” he said, “There you will find a beautiful girl. She has skin smooth as a pearl and hair flowing like the seas that surround it. And her eyes, they are so bright. They could outshine even the Fire-Orb. Yes, find the girl with those eyes. Go now!” Telephonus ran, stopped, frowned, and returned.
             “Um, would you like to deliver a message, sir?” he asked.
             “Oh,” Nashus replied, “Of course. Tell her I love her.”
             So the messenger Telephonus disappeared into the daylight as Nashus continued to toil in his flooded shop. The day grew long, but Nashus was driven by the prospect of holding his Love once more.

Soon Telephonus returned with news. “I have done what you said, Nashus, and your Love has returned a message. She says that she cannot bear to sit still and think of you, so she will begin to walk to your home in hopes that you can meet her there soon.”
             Nashus was overjoyed to hear this news, so he turned to his boss at the garment shop and stated decisively, “I am leaving you now. The shop is safe and nobody has been harmed. I must ride the False Winds home to be with my Love.”
             As Nashus was preparing to leave, the Trees had once again overheard every word he had said. They knew that the gods would never allow him to be with her, for theirs was a love so powerful that it could sustain them forever, and then they would never need to rely on the gods for anything.
             As the gods began to whisper of storms and catastrophes from on high, the Trees made a pivotal decision. They determined, for the first time ever, to move. They swayed and shook and stretched as high as they could until just one of them was able to touch just one leaf of just one branch against the False Fire. Their hopeful conspiracy paid off. The orbs of the False Fire, which were not created to withstand contact, trembled violently until they flared and sent an explosive surge across the countryside. The surge, as a last attempt at revenge, struck all of the messengers in the land, killing them instantly. Telephonus was downed.

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