Legacy Of The Golden Wielder: A Novella Prequel to the Void Wielder Trilogy

by Cesar Gonzalez

  “That’s all I hear from you. Stories and dreams of how you’re getting all of us out of here, but it’s been five years.” Destro held up five fingers in Aadi’s face. “Count them. FIVE!” His breaths were coming in quick bursts now. “There was a time that I actually believed in you, but you’re nothing but a lot of talk and no action. The way you feed hope into these poor men is cruel. You’re no better than Padstow.”

  Aadi stood in shocked silence as Destro spat on his feet and walked away with his followers. The men who had seconds ago stood by Aadi’s side scrambled away quietly.

  He’s right, he thought. All these years I’ve been planning a way out, searching for weaknesses and holes on Kilead Keep’s defense, but I have found nothing. He sat down on the cold ground, feeling defeated and mangled. I need to find a way out of here and fast.

  But, in the next year that passed, a solution did not present itself. He began to think that maybe this was it. Perhaps he was destined to be a prisoner the rest of his life, confined to mining and dying like the rest of his brethren. To make matters worse, he’d noticed that they were being provided with less and less water every day. The words from the scroll came back to him. Could it be that the second element, water, was being taken? If that was true, then he didn’t have much time left to live.

  But a few short days later, something happened that breathed new life into his dream of escape.

  It began like any other day. Aadi was taken down to the mine. However, it quickly became apparent that it was going to be a day unlike any other.

  Aadi had just begun singing when he was interrupted by a collection of sighs. He turned and his heart fell to his stomach. There on the cavern ceiling, a section had crumpled off, revealing a ray of sunlight piercing into the otherwise dark cavern.

  Still beyond words, Aadi walked toward the light like a drone. His heart raced in his chest as he looked up and saw part of the blue sky. The men huddled around him, all gazing up at the sky they had not seen in years.

  “That’s enough!” yelled the guard. “We dug too high. Time to head to another section.”

  But Aadi wasn’t paying attention. He gazed at the freedom that lay so close, but yet so far. His insides riled as he saw Ishani in the sky, smiling down at him. He knew it was just a vision, but it felt so real. He took in a whiff of the fresh air. It was a welcome respite from the musky aroma he had experienced for the past six years.

  “I said that’s enough!” boomed the guard. But as he finished speaking there was a thunderous crack. A spider web of cracks spread throughout the ceiling. Everything was coming down on top of them!

  The frightened men scattered back to the entrance. The younger ones made it out easily enough, but three of the older men were moving too slow.

  Aadi doubled back and took a crippled man under his arm. But as he ran to him, he realized it was too late. He simply couldn’t reach him on time.

  The man brought his arms over his head and fell to the ground. Aadi pushed his hands forward. As he did, a surge of energy rocked through his body, similar to that time he had been thrown into the pit.

  The energy seemed to be imitating from his chest. It whirled down his arms, through his palms, and out of his fingertips. The rocky ceiling shot back viciously. It crashed loudly into a heap of dusty granite.

  Aadi’s head was spinning. He was breathing hard and his body felt strangely rejuvenated.

  “Anyone okay in there?” The guard waved the dust away from his face. He was standing with the group of survivors.

  “Y…yes,” answered a shaken voice from inside the cloud of dust.

  “Where are you?” asked a guard.

  Unlike the guard, Aadi had no problem seeing in the debris of dust that filled the cavern. He saw golden orbs of light moving about. It was almost as if he could see their life source. What is this power? He closed his eyes and opened them again. The strange vision disappeared.

  The next few minutes were spent making sure the three old men were fine. They were rattled by their near-death experience, but otherwise unharmed.

  The guard stood dumbfounded. “I don’t know how you survived that. I was certain you were dead for sure. Must have been some type of miracle.”

  Aadi looked down at his hands. He turned them around, looking for anything out of the norm. He knew it had been no miracle. Somehow, he’d had control of the earth. But how? He was no earth wielder.

  “Are you well, Aadi?” Linius asked with terrified eyes. “You seem lost.”

  “Yeah, I’m good.” Through the commotion and dust, no one seemed to have witnessed what he’d done, and he wanted to keep it that way. Who knew what these new developments would bring. Knowing his luck, he doubted it would be anything good.

  ~~~

  Back in the cage, the collapse was all anyone could speak of. The excited inquires and statements came from all over the place.

  “Is it true that you lot saw a little of the sky?”

  “Did you actually see the sun?”

  “Was it a big collapse?”

  “How did you survive?”

  “Amazing. I would have given my life just to get a glimpse of the outside just one more time.”

  Unlike the members of his crew, Aadi had no desire to talk about the events that had transpired. There were still too many unanswered questions.

  He quietly snuck through the group of men and sat in the corner of the cage. Staring at the ground, he replayed the images over and over in his head. Perhaps there was something he’d missed.

  A pair of feet stepped in front of his vision. Aadi looked up at a muscular, thin man looking down at him. He appeared to be about his age. Twenty-three. He had dark wavy hair and a serene face. He looked calm. Too calm. Aadi thought he might fall asleep at any moment.

  “Can I help you?” Aadi asked, realizing that he had never seen this man before, which wasn’t completely unusual. There were over a hundred of them, after all. However, he’d at least glanced or seen all of them come and go. Or at least he thought he had. Apparently one of them had snuck past him.

  The man extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Arajakata. I’m here to help you.”

  “Help me?” Aadi asked curiously.

  Arajakata lowered his voice. “Yes. I saw what you did in the mines. You earth wielded.”

  Aadi’s body went rigid. He tried to keep his voice calm as he chose his next words carefully. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Arajakata took a seat beside Aadi. “Before I was wrongfully incarcerated here, I spent my life studying the elements. I may not be a wielder, but trust me when I say that I know everything there is to know about wielding. Forms, poses, feeling, strategies, energy consumption levels, abilities. You name it, I know it.” He leaned in closer, as if to make sure no one heard them. “And what you did today was earth wielding.”

  Aadi licked his lips. “No earth wielder has been born in Va’siel in ages. Everyone knows that.”

  “That’s what I thought too, until I saw what you did today. I almost dropped dead with excitement, but I kept my composure.” He took a suspicious glance around him. “No way of knowing what could happen if news of this got out.”

  Aadi grimaced. He didn’t like the idea of admitting to Arajakata that he was right, but it was obvious the strange man already knew about it. Besides, if he really was an element expert, as he claimed to be, perhaps he could give him some insight into what was going on with him.

  “Listen,” he whispered. “You may be right. I felt an energy flow through me. And after that I had control of the rocks. I pushed them away, though I cannot say for sure how I managed such a feat.”

  “I knew it!” Arajakata grinned with satisfaction. “Do you know what this means?”

  “No, not really.”

  “It means that now you can get us out of this prison.” He narrowed his eyes, meeting his gaze with intensity. “It means that you’re the savior the people of Va
’siel have been waiting for.”

  Chapter 12

  Aadi brought down his pickaxe on the rock once more, thinking about what Arajakata had told him the day before. Surely Arajakata had been mistaken. He was no savior. He couldn’t even save a group of a hundred men. How was he supposed to save an entire planet?

  But then again, he had shown an affinity for earth wielding. Perhaps he could hone his skills and help out in some way. The only problem now was finding a place to train. He couldn’t do it in the cage; all the men were there. And he certainly couldn’t do it during work.

  Fortunately, Arajakata had a solution in mind. Or at least he hoped he did. His plan was so daring that it might backfire and get them killed. But it was the only plan they had and, despite the dangers, Aadi knew he had to go for it.

  He looked up at Arajakata, who was beating down a slab of rock with a pickaxe. Their eyes met. Aadi nodded, signaling he was ready. This was it. It was now or never.

  Aadi threw down his pickaxe and marched up to the guard, who was standing tall with a whip in hand. Before the young guard could register what was happening, Aadi reached out and took the whip from the man’s hand.

  “Maybe I should give you a beating with this so you know how it feels,” he lied. He held up the weapon as if going for a strike, hoping the guard would believe his bluff.

  The guard smirked. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Oh yes he would,” came Arajakata’s voice from behind him. He snatched the whip and proceeded to hit the guard. The man threw himself on the floor in a futile attempt to cover himself. The blows landed on his back, face, and legs.

  “Stop that!” Aadi ordered, taking hold of the whip. “That’s enough.”

  The guard stood, red-faced and shaking in anger. “I’ll teach you both to raise your hand against a guard!” He picked up a large bell and rang it viciously, sending ringing sounds bouncing through the musky cave. Seconds later, a duo of out of breath guards appeared, accompanied by the warden. Padstow smirked when he saw Aadi holding the whip.

  The injured guard quickly filled in the warden on what had happened.

  Once finished, the very satisfied-looking warden walked past Arajakata and stood directly before Aadi.

  “Finally! You’re breaking. Resorting to treachery such as this.” He cackled and Aadi’s eyes watered as the rotten stench of the warden’s breath washed over him. “Take these two to the crusher. Don’t take them out of there until tomorrow morning.”

  “All day?” asked the stunned guard. “That’s certain death.”

  “Let this be a lesson to the rest of you!” Padstow declared. “And for the next thirty days they will spend every night in the crusher.”

  The guards led them deep into the cave. They took many paths that Aadi had never seen before. Despite his brave face, he couldn’t deny he was a tad nervous. He’d heard many stories of the crusher, but didn’t really know what to expect. Arajakata, on the other hand, seemed absolutely at ease. He hummed softly to himself as he moved down at a steady pace.

  “Hey, you two,” said Arajakata, calling to the two guards who escorted them. “You should have heard your comrade cry like a screaming banshee as I whipped him with his own weapon.”

  “Shut your mouth!” ordered one of the guards.

  “Hey,” Arajakata held up his chained hands. “No need for all this anger. I’m simply pointing out that your friend sounds like an old hag, that’s all.”

  What is he doing?

  “Just for that, no food for you tonight or tomorrow morning,” said the guard. “Keep on talking and I’ll take your ration of mana for three days.” They reached a large steel door. “That is, if you survive that long.”

  The thick door creaked loudly as both guards struggled to push it open. The room was not at all what Aadi had expected. Unlike the rest of irregular walls found in the mines, the ones here were smooth and even. Two large rocks had been chained down at the middle of the room. At the side of the walls, being held back by a thick chain, were four slabs of rock. They had been polished to near perfection. Large spikes with dried blood protruded out of them. Obviously, they had been used before.

  They had Aadi and Arajakata face one another. They then held up their hands and put them around the large rocks. Grinning, the guards stepped back and closed the metal door.

  “I would hold on to the rock if I were you.” A guard snickered beyond the door. “As soon as we unchain this lever here, you will be only thing keeping those spikes from crushing you. If either of you let go, it’s over for both of you.” They cackled again. “See you tomorrow morning.”

  Aadi gulped as the rock above him suddenly grew heavier. His feet lifted an inch as it pulled him up for a second. Before he lost control, he held it back down over his head. He swallowed nervously as the slabs of spikes dangled a few feet forward. Arajakata, seemed to be doing a lot better. His muscular physique rippled as he held his rock evenly.

  “Yes, everything is going according to plan.”

  Aadi took a few calming breaths. “Went overboard with the whippings, don’t you think?”

  “Not at all. I needed to make sure we would be thrown in here for a substantial amount of time. I say a month is more than enough.”

  “That’s only if I can really earth wield,” Aadi said tentatively. He wasn’t comfortable with their entire survival hinging on him doing something that for all intents and purposes was now thought to be impossible. Then again, he didn’t really have much of a choice. He needed to get out of Kilead Keep.

  Arajakata looked on with seemingly no concern. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. The guards won’t be here until tomorrow morning. My taunts took care of that.” He smiled with satisfaction, and Aadi wondered just how far ahead his new companion had planned. “Now, just earth wield those slabs of rock back and we’ll be safe and sound.”

  “Just earth wield, huh? You make it sound so simple.”

  “It is simple. Well for you, at least. Now let’s see it.”

  Aadi closed his eyes. He gathered his thoughts. He tried to think of earthy things. Rocks, dirt, sand, mud. He even used the smell of coal that surrounded him as some sort of inspiration. But after minutes of trying, nothing came. The energy he had felt before was now non-existent.

  “C’mon, Aadi. I saw you do this. Wield!”

  His eyes snapped open. “Let me concentrate.”

  For the next couple of hours Aadi tried everything imaginable. He attempted to will the earth around him to move. Then he ordered it to move. Finally he yelled at it, but nothing seemed to work. To worsen matters, his forearms and shoulders were killing him from the strain he was taking by holding the rock in place. He would have given almost anything to put his hands down to rest.

  “So do you have any ideas?” asked Aadi, finally giving up.

  “From what I know, first time wielders have to use really strong emotions in order to wield. At least until it becomes second nature. That should come easy enough for you.”

  “What do you mean?” Aadi asked confused.

  “Simple. You’ve been unjustly held for over six years, and to make it worse, you been unable to see your woman.”

  “Her name is Ishani.”

  “Her name is irrelevant, what is important here is that they kept you from her. There is no way she is still waiting for you. This, no doubt, must cause anger to stir inside of you. Use this anger to fuel your wielding.”

  Aadi felt a tinge of pain at thinking Ishani might have moved on, but he tried not to show it.

  “So….” said Arajakata expectantly. “Release all that anger you have for your unjust life. Anger for your loss. Rage you have for the warden. Let it fuel you and consume you.”

  “I don’t think that will work.”

  “Why not?” Arajakata asked, looking baffled.

  “Because I don’t hate anyone.”

  Arajakata’s face washed over with disbelief. “How could you not hate?”

  “Sure, I’m not happy
with the way some events in my life have gone, but life is not always all sunshine. You have to take the bad along with the good.” He tapped his feet lightly on the ground. “I been through so much bad, that I’m sure the good is nearby.”

  “Hmmm….” Aadi could tell that Arajakata was thinking hard, trying to come out with a solution. “Tell me, do you recall what it was that you were thinking about when you wielded at the mines?”

  He thought back to the glimpse he saw of the sun, and to the vision of Ishani he’d witnessed. “It was a beautiful memory.”

  “Since your anger is next to non-existent, your surge of energy must come from…” Arajakata looked disgusted, as if he were to vomit, “…happy memories.”

  Aadi nodded, he wasn’t really surprised. He got angry from time to time, like any other person, but for the most part he remained upbeat. There was no use in dwelling too much on the bad in life.

  Again, he closed his eyes and thought back to Ishani. He saw her inside their cave. She hummed softly as she laid a soft blanket beside the pool of water. She extended her hand invitingly, flashing a smile that, even in his dreams, made his stomach flutter. He moved forward, and as he did he felt the strange energy extend with him. Then, suddenly, she appeared before Ishani. She looked back at him with a saddened expression.

  His eyes snapped open.

  “What happened?” Arajakata asked. “I sensed the earth energy flourishing inside of you and then it suddenly went blank.”

  “It was her.” He swallowed loudly. He’d never spoken about her to anyone and he surely didn’t want to start now. Arajakata was helping him, true, but he had just met him. Regardless, he had to reveal everything if he was to get the help he needed.

  “Listen,” said Arajakata. “You don’t have to tell me the details. But whoever this her is, it’s obvious she’s interfering with your energy. You have to deal with it if you’re ever going to wield.”

  “How?”

  “The fact that you don’t mention her name or her relationship to you tells me that you are trying to block her out of your life. You need to embrace her role if you’re ever going to move on.”