Elian looked away unable to meet her kind eyes. If she had seen what he had done to Ruy and the others, would she be looking at him with such kindness? Or, would she be afraid of him as he was of himself?
Lizella yawned.
“Sorry, it’s been a long day. Our parents are going to be so worried about us, but I think we should do what Yin says and stay here until morning. I don't know what he meant about the woods being dangerous this night, but I get the sense that he knows what he's talking about. Perhaps he spotted a wolf pack or something?” she said tiredly.
Elian threw back the itchy covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He winced as his bruises made their presence felt.
“Take the bed. I feel like I've slept for a hundred years. I'll keep watch.”
Lizella offered little in the way of an argument and readily agreed. Elian watched her climb into the bed, and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was snoring softly.
“I'm sorry” he whispered before heading to the door.
As quietly as he could, he opened the door and peeked into the next room. It was larger than the bedroom, and it too had a simple fireplace built into the back wall. An old table was in the centre of the room and at its side stood two comfy looking armchairs, one of which was occupied by the mysterious Yin.
“Come here, my lad. I think we have much to discuss,”
Elian jumped as the old man spoke. He obviously had no difficulty with his hearing. Nervously Elian approached. The old man picked up a pipe from the table next to him and began to top it up with some tobacco. Elian recognised it as a Sindin Cavendish; it was the same make his father often used. Next, Yin leant forward and touched a taper into the fire and then lit the pipe. A spicy aroma began to feel the room as he took a few puffs. To Elian's surprise, Yin offered him the pipe.
“Er... no thanks. I tried it once, and it hurt my throat a bit,” he declined.
Yin raised his thick bushy eyebrows in amusement.
“Young un's these days never seem to want to try anything new,” he chuckled. He took a few more puffs and sighed as he settled back into his chair.
“Although..., I gather that what you did today was new to you. Tell me, lad, have you ever done it before?”
Elian shook his head.
“Interesting. Very interesting indeed and worrying.”
“Why worrying? I don't like the sound of that.”
Yin regarded the boy for a moment before tapping his pipe on a small ceramic ashtray.
“What you tapped into today was the Power. Do you know what that is?”
Elian had heard the stories; the Venerable Chamber's priests often spoke of it. It was the source of the Supremes’ power they said.
“The Power is what the Supreme is master of. How could I have tapped into it? Only she can do that...” he replied, confusion evident in his voice.
Yin snorted and spat into the fire in disgust.
“No boy, that's just what they want you and everyone else to think. The Supreme wields it most certainly, but it is not exclusive to her. There are others out there in the world that can tap into it. You did today. In fact, you did with such force that your Emergence was as loud as a thunderclap.”
Elian looked into the fire and then at his hands. He didn't believe the strange old hermit and yet- he had felt something. He had felt powerful.
“What’s an Emergence?” he asked.
Yin sighed and stretched his back. He grunted as it clicked.
“Emergence is the term used to describe when someone Gifted comes into their abilities. Often it comes at a time of extreme emotional distress. In your case, seeing your friend hurt triggered such anger that it was enough to awaken the Power inside you. Emotion is key to the Power. Your anger gave you supernatural strength; other emotions grant their own abilities. It is sad that it was anger that was the trigger, it can lead to an unstable progression; perhaps, even a Break.”
Elian looked into the fire his mind racing.
“Before you ask, a Break is when you lose your mind. Many a Gifted has fallen victim to one, but Empowered Ones are most vulnerable to it. Harnessing and switching emotions on the fly is not a very easy thing to do after all.”
Yin gestured to one of the armchairs that stood close to the fireplace. Elian hesitated for a moment before sitting down.
“What do you know about Empowered Ones?” Yin asked. He tapped his pipe, emptying ash into the clay ashtray next to him. He regarded Elian with raised eyebrows, curious to know what the strange lad knew.
Elian shook his head, “Only the stories that my parents sometimes told. I know they weren’t supposed to tell them, they always warned me never to repeat them to anyone else.”
“Stories and myths are all they are these days it seems. It’s a crime just to utter a word about them,” Yin grumbled. Picking up a pouch of tobacco, he set about lighting his pipe. Elian watched the old man in fascination. Yin took a few puffs from the smoking pipe and sighed contentedly.
“Sit back lad and let me tell you the story of who we are and how we were betrayed by the ones we trusted most.”
***
Chapter 5.
Yin placed another log into the fire causing the flames to flare a brighter yellow as it consumed the new source of fuel. With a stretch, the old man sat back down in his worn armchair and stared into the flickering light. Elian leant forward in his seat eager to hear a tale of the Empowered Ones. He’d always loved such stories, especially the ones forbidden by the Supreme’s decree.
“A long time ago, our people were nomads wandering the land. We had no interest in farming or science. Our ancestors were one with nature and lived long happy lives. Humans and the other races got along, each choosing to not interfere with the others. That all changed when a tribe of nomads stumbled across something they could not explain. According to the old texts, now forbidden, of course, the tribe had found what they described as a tear in the fabric of reality. Two men stood outside the tear, their clothes different to those of the tribe. Fearful of the strange men the tribe attacked them only to be thwarted by powers they could not explain. The two men could control the elements; fire erupted from the palm of one and lightning from the other. Cowed by this display the tribe submitted to the men who identified themselves as Wizards of the Golden Empire.”
Elian sat back in his seat his mind racing. Just imagining such beings had set his imagination racing.
“What’s a wizard?” he asked dumbly.
Yin cackled at the question.
“After many months the Wizards learnt the tribe's language and were able to communicate. What they said changed everything. They claimed to be from another world and wielded a power that they called Magic. Using this power, they had discovered a way to travel between worlds and had arrived in ours. They eased the tribe's concerns and told them they came in peace. All they wanted was to learn about our world and perhaps aid the tribe. Needless to say, as the years went by more and more of the Wizards arrived and taught the tribe the ways of civilisation.
‘A close bond formed between the Wizards and the people to the extent that some of them took our men and women as their spouses. They were curious as to why the people of this world could not use Magic like they could and so experimented. It was when the first offspring of these unions were born that they learnt that they had created a new power. Unlike their abilities, this power manifested itself through emotions, and soon their children were granted the name ‘Gifted’. These Gifted, were only able to harness the powers of a single emotion. However, a rare few were capable of harnessing all. These very special people were named Empowered Ones. Then, one day, without any explanation the Wizards vanished. As the years went by the tribe became a kingdom, and before long the other tribes followed suit. Civilisation had arrived, and without the Wizards guidance conflict erupted as each kingdom used their Gifted and Empowered Ones as weapons against the others.”
Elian loo
ked at Yin.
“So Gifted people are the descendants of these Wizards?”
“Yes. Although, it is a lot more complicated than that. Anyway, where was I?” Yin answered irritably. He never liked having his stories interrupted.
“Ah yes, the wars. When the world of man looked set on destroying itself, the Wizards returned. With them, they brought a chest made of gold and told the King of Aeranyth to keep it safe and defended. They explained that conflict had come to their own world and that soon their Golden Empire would fall. The object in the chest was one of immense power, one that could not be allowed to fall into the hands of their enemies. As quickly as they had returned they vanished once more leaving more questions than answers. The King assigned a group of Empowered Ones to safeguard the chest, but one amongst them was ambitious. A young woman yearned to learn the secrets of the Wizards, and so she betrayed the others and stole the power for herself. Using the object, she obtained eternal life and power that was nigh invincible; no one could match her strength. One by one the kingdoms fell until finally, only the great Kingdom of Aeranyth remained. She corrupted other Empowered Ones to her will, and together they destroyed Aeranyth utterly, scattering the survivors to the four winds. Today, those once verdant lands are now a barren wasteland. With the kingdom eradicated the newly self-proclaimed Supreme set about hunting down all those born with the Gift. Her hunters have done their jobs well so that now after three hundred years nearly all of the Gifted are either dead or now serve her will.”
“What was the object?” Elian said his tone full of wonder.
“Nobody knows for sure except the Supreme. She has hidden any information about it well. There are rumours, legends that sort of thing but nothing concrete.”
“You have the Power as well, right?” Elian asked looking at the old man.
A thin smile touched Yin’s lips.
“I do. My area of expertise is Positivity. By tapping that emotion, I have the ability to alter people’s emotions. I can calm folks, even send them to sleep as I did with you. I am what is known as a ‘Gifted’; I can harness one emotion with the Power but no more. Some Gifted can use two but not many. An Empowered One, on the other hand, can harness them all. They are extremely rare. I wonder...” Yin said as he stroked his chin. He looked at Elian with renewed interest.
“What?”
“Close your eyes and think of the happiest moment in your life. Concentrate.” Yin urged.
Elian did as he was told and closed his eyes. His thoughts went back to his tenth birthday. It had been a hot summer’s day, and his mother had arranged a birthday party for him. Everyone in the village had attended including the new family that had moved there from the south. He remembered when he had first set eyes on Lizella. She had smiled at him, and even though he had never spoken to her, he felt such joy that he almost felt his chest burst with happiness. Thinking of her always made him happy. A tingling sensation spread through his body.
Yin gasped. Elian opened his eyes, confused. The old man rose from his chair and walked over to a small chest of drawers. Opening it, he took out a small mirror and held it in front of Elian’s face.
“Woah!” Elian cried.
All of the bruising that had covered his face, the fat lip, the broken nose, all were gone. Tentatively he touched his chest. There was no pain. He lifted his tunic; his chest was free of bruises.
Yin stepped back his eyes wide in awe.
“You…you’re an Empowered One.”
Suddenly a look of fear crossed his face.
“You must leave here; they will have surely heard the Emergence as I did. She will have heard it,” he stammered.
Elian stood up, panic filling him.
“What do you mean?”
“The Supreme will have sensed your Emergence. The strength of it, I should have known. She cannot allow any Empowered Ones to live Elian; she will send her servants to find…and kill you. I fear you are in terrible danger.”
Yin hurried into the bedroom and began to rifle through the wardrobe. Lizella awoke with a start at the noise he was making.
“What’s going on?” she asked bleary-eyed.
Yin pulled out two moth-eaten travel cloaks from the wardrobe and chucked them at Elian and Lizella. Both were far too big for them.
“We must leave here. I fear it may already be too late,” Yin explained as he hurried back into the living room and began to raid his larder. He took a cloth sack off the peg on the wall and began to fill it with food. A few cans of beans, bread and a few jars were all put into it.
“What about our families!” Elian asked. “We can’t just run away without telling them.”
Yin stopped for a moment and sighed deeply.
“It is better that they do not know anything. Do you not understand boy? You, and now your family are in terrible danger.”
“We have to warn them then,” Elian argued. Lizella watched them both as though they were mad.
“Will someone please tell what is going on?” she demanded with a shout.
Yin threw a warning look at Elian, a look that told him to keep his mouth shut. Elian understood. To tell Lizella would also put her in danger.
“We have to leave. Yin thinks that we are in danger.”
Lizella crossed her arms.
“A moment ago, you said we should stay here. That it was too dangerous to leave, now you’re saying it’s dangerous to stay? Elian what are you not telling me?”
Just as Elian was about to reply, a bell began to toll frantically in the night. It was the village’s warning bell. Even in the woods, the sound could be heard; it was only normally used to warn the woodsmen that a dangerous beast had been spotted in the area. This time, however, Elian knew it heralded something far worse than a wolf pack or bear.
***
One Last Thing...
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The First Fear_The Empowered Ones Page 4