Saraf frowned and answered:
‘Because there was nothing to bring back.’
‘What do you mean? Nothing good? Nothing that could be of use to us?’
‘You cannot understand until you see other worlds with your own eyes, but Aora is the perfect planet. Aorian civilisation is the embodiment of purity. There is nothing to change here in order to make it better.’
Afaris turned his look from his father towards the sunset, where the sun went down behind the horizon, leaving behind some weak-lighted beams. It was obvious that a new curiosity took life inside of him.
‘Am I allowed to come with you next time you leave?’
‘Unfortunately, I will never leave Aora again.’
‘Why not?’ asked Afaris surprised.
‘Because I have seen everything that could be seen. And every time I left I was afraid to come back, not to bring back with me something harmful.’
‘Such as?’
‘Have you ever heard of hunger?’
Afaris nodded:
‘Yes. Hunger is that physiological need of beings to feed on matter in order to gain energy and stay alive. But we are immortal, our food is the energy of Aora, why were you afraid you could bring it here?’
‘There are several types of hunger. Here is the hunger you talk about, but there is also the hunger for knowledge, for power. One being’s desire to have more, and more. To take from others in order to possess.’
‘But isn’t knowledge a good thing?’ asked Afaris.
‘Not when you harm other beings in order to obtain it. Hunger leads to conflicts, wars, and death. And it is only one of the countless pests drowning the other civilisations.’
Afaris was quietly looking at his father. Indeed, he could not understand what he was describing.
‘Will I be allowed to go from Aora on my own?’
‘Maybe one day, but you know a long time ago we installed some rules. We do not have many restrictions here, but the ones we have, we have them for a good reason.’
‘Yes, one shall not kill, one shall not go down the planet’s energy springs and one shall not leave the planet.’
‘There is another rule I have not yet mentioned: if one leaves, he is not allowed to return. For eternity.’
Afaris’s mood was in free fall mode. For eternity? Why was Saraf so stubborn with some ideas? Still, he knew he was much wiser than himself, so he did not even try to find out more about his way of thinking.
‘You mentioned a second type of training’ said Afaris.
‘Yes. Transfer of information. Starting right now, once every few days, we shall have a transfer of information. I will show you live my experiences from other worlds since you are so keen to know more.’
These words delighted Afaris:
‘Thank you, I appreciate. But what will that help me with? Same thing, source of inspiration?’
‘Yes, and even more than that. The transfer of information is a rapid spill of energy into your mind. This will push it, more and more. This way it will train and in time you will be able to channel more and more energy through it from your spirit.’
‘I see.’
‘Well then’, said Saraf and got up on his feet leaning his left hand on Afaris’s shoulder. ‘I will go rest, today has used up almost all my powers. I advise you to do the same. Tomorrow we are going up the mountain.’
Chapter 10
First flight
Afaris felt a hand shake him, waking him up.
‘Come on, get up!’ Saraf told him.
He opened his eyes. It was still dark, it seemed to be the middle of the night.
‘What happened?’ he asked.
‘We are going on the mountain like I said’ Saraf answered.
‘This early? I thought we would go during the day’ drowsy Afaris whined.
‘Yes, this early. Come, stop asking questions.’
Afaris rose and sat on the edge of his bed made of a sort of grass whose properties have been energetically modified in order to become much thicker, fluffier and very comfortable. He stood up and gathered his clothes from the branches in his room. In a few minutes he was all dressed up and went out of the house.
Saraf was sitting on the border of the energy spring, revitalising his body. Afaris came by his side and started in his turn to absorb energy, to get rid of the morning numbness.
‘I really don’t understand why I force myself to sleep’, Afaris said. ‘It’s completely useless to me, moreover, it makes me sick in the morning.’
‘You can sleep or you can stay awake your entire life, nobody stops you, but this ability was created with one purpose: it is the only natural method to regenerate our physique and the psyche.’
‘So you mean to say that energy feeding and meditation are not natural?’
‘Not quite, we have discovered how to make these things over time. However, we are born with the sleeping part. Maybe we can fool the body, but the mind, as much as you meditate, you will never obtain the effect of sleep, which is the release of every thought.’
‘Yes, probably’ Afaris said pensively.
They stood quietly for several minutes in front of the energy spring until Saraf broke the silence:
‘I have a surprise for you.’
Afaris looked at him with curiosity.
‘Follow me’, he urged him.
They started walking towards the edge of the eastern tower. In the distance the Mountain of the First Light was rising gloriously. The light of the stars was descending slowly upon the entire landscape. In the sky Afaris noticed two Nymphs hovering above the town.
‘Have you ever wished to fly on a Nymph?’ Saraf asked him, looking at him with a suggestive smile.
Afaris gave a slight laughter. Yes, he actually wished he could fly on the back of a Nymph, but this wish always seemed impossible.
‘I think so’ Afaris answered, slightly nervous.
‘Good, because before you woke up I found two volunteers willing to take us to the feet of the mountain.’
‘Wow, I actually am surprised about the strong connection we have with the Nymphs. I never thought it would end up here, especially because of the recent events.’
‘Nobody wants a war and the fact that we have gotten so close removes this possibility.’
The two Nymphs Saraf was talking about showed up in the sky above the town. Saraf and Afaris took a few steps back and they landed in front of them. They were two barely mature Nymphs and even though they were relatively small in size, respectively three times taller than Afaris, they were sinewy and strong.
‘I am glad to meet you’, Saraf told them.
‘The pleasure is all ours. Greetings, Afaris!’ answered one of them.
Afaris replied with an honest smile, full of enthusiasm, followed by a slight bow of the head.
‘Shall we?’ Saraf asked.
‘Of course’, answered the Nymph. ‘But remember our deal. You will tell us about what you discover today on the mountain.’
‘I will not forget. If you stick around, I will tell you as soon as we finish our business.’
The Nymph Saraf was talking to bowed before him so that he could climb more easily on his back.
The other Nymph came before Afaris and made the same gesture. Afaris hung on to his feathers and mounted him.
‘Wow, this is a completely new feeling’.
‘Wait till you see what’s next...’ the Nymph answered, making his heart beat twice as fast.
The Nymphs turned towards the edge of the tower balcony, preparing to fly. Before taking off, Afaris asked them:
‘I didn’t catch your names.’
‘I am Falus’, said the Nymph under him, ‘and this is my brother, Fasus.’
‘Nice to meet you’, Afaris said.
Falus made a short squeal, then with a psychic tone, slightly amusing and
arrogant, replied:
‘Let’s see if you will have the same opinion several minutes from now.’
> The Nymph spread his wings and threw himself from the edge of the tower, gently dived into the sky, then with a strong kick from the wings started taking altitude.
Afaris held as well as he could onto its feathers, traumatised by the new experience. Behind them came Saraf, carried by Fasus, laughing at his terrified son.
Falus continued to flap his wings even faster, increasing speed and altitude. Behind them the town was becoming smaller and more distant, and the earth seemed to descend underneath them.
‘You’ll get used to it’, Saraf shouted, continuing to amuse himself.
‘Yes...’ Afaris answered, too focused to maintain his balance to make conversation.
Indeed, the more he sat on the Nymph’s back, the more comfortable he became with the situation. He loosened the Nymph’s feathers from his hands and held his back straight, admiring the landscape and feeling the wind strongly blowing against him and whistling past his ears.
‘Do you hate me?’ Falus asked him.
‘No, there’s no reason for that, it’s beautiful. I’ve started to envy you.’
Falus, upon hearing Afaris’ words, turned in the air and dived straight down, continuing to spin while Afaris cried a long scream and grabbed his feathers with all his strength. The Nymph resumed his normal flying position and easily went up to the previous altitude.
‘What about now?’ he asked.
‘I might look at you maliciously next time I see you’, Afaris answered, panting from the fright he just got.
Meanwhile, Fasus was flying close to them, with Saraf on his back, in a straight and elegant position. He was holding onto his wings with only one hand. It seemed like he was born to do that.
‘He’s doing much better than some of his other brothers. Better than I expected’, Fasus told Saraf.
‘He is a strong and intelligent kid’, Saraf replied.
Shortly after, they arrived at the feet of the mountain. To their left, the sun started showing its firs beams.
‘If you want we can take you closer to its top, but we don’t want to get too close’, Fasus said.
‘It would be perfect. But you do not have to land on the mountain, we will jump from here.’
‘We’ll what!?’ Afaris interrupted him.
‘Stop whining, have confidence in yourself.’
‘I do have confidence, but I have never jumped from such height.’
‘You’re so fearful’, Falus laughed at him, which made Afaris even angrier, giving him courage. He had to prove Falus wrong.
When arriving above the mountain, the two Nymphs stopped flying. Saraf let go of Fasus’ feathers and jumped from his back with a somersault.
Afaris watched his father quickly approach the earth. Seconds were passing, one after the other and he finally landed on the mountain, making snow drift in the air where he fell and provoking a small avalanche. After several other moments, the sound of the impact reached up where they were.
‘Your turn’ Falus arrogantly told Afaris.
Afaris pulled a face:
‘I want to see you do that without afterwards drowning in the Lake of Mirrors.’
‘Hmmmm’ Falus answered, taking a spin in the air which took Afaris by surprise.
He lost his balance and fell off Falus’ back. The adrenalin penetrated his blood and all his senses sharpened. Starting a free fall, Afaris regained his balance by using the air currents and facing the earth. He focused all his power into his whole body, preparing for the impact with the mountain which was getting menacingly close.
After a few moments he collided with all his force against it, provoking a disaster around, but his bones and muscles did not give in. He straightened his back and looked around. His father was standing at a small distance, gently clapping his hands.
‘Well done, see you could do it?’
‘One of these days you’re going to kill me’, Afaris replied, slightly irritated, but proud of himself.
‘Or one of these days you are going to discover you cannot be killed anymore. Either way, had you been a smart boy you would have created a shield under you to cushion your fall, but that was good too since you are still alive.’
Afaris looked at him frowning. Saraf was one step ahead of him or at least one thought ahead all the time. At least once he wanted to be ahead of him somehow, just to see the look on his face.
‘Let us stop wasting time. The spring is very close.’
Indeed it was, if he had thought about it for a while, he could already feel its influence. For his safety he channelled more energy into his psychic shield.
The two started walking on the mountain’s snow. The cold wind was blowing mildly from front, and the closer they got, the more intense the energy became. It was obvious that since the last time Afaris was on the mountain, the spring had considerably increased its flow of energy.
In front of them, in the distance, a strange silhouette with a changing shape was appearing. Using his extrasensory perception, Afaris realised that silhouette was the energy of the spring itself. Getting closer to it, he could see with his naked eye how its black-reddish energy was dancing as if it were held captive inside a sphere, with small particles of energy escaping from it every second.
‘I have never seen anything like that’ Afaris said.
‘Well, me neither’, Saraf answered. ‘Be careful.’
The tone in Saraf’s voice showed he too was tense. The energy was playing its dirty part. But it could have no effect over them, the two felt how it constantly kicked their shield. They did not even want to know what would have happened if for only a few moments they had deactivated their shield.
Just a few steps away the spring, a beam of energy detached from the inside of the sphere, propelled straight against Afaris, hitting his shield.
Afaris withdrew a few steps back, frightened, but his father stood put, watching carefully.
‘Are you alright?’ asked Saraf.
‘Yes, but what was that?’
‘It tried to attack you. Hold your shield firm and strong.’
Saraf took a couple more steps towards the spring, but nothing happened. He waved Afaris to advance.
After only two steps, the spring attacked Afaris again, to no end, and he withdrew again.
‘Just as I thought, it attacks the weaker.’
‘Why?’ Afaris asked.
‘It makes its path into our world the easiest way. You know what that means, do you not?’
Afaris nodded:
‘We must be very careful with the weakest ones of us.’
‘Not only among us, the Nymphs are the weakest link in this world. They will be the first corrupted ones’ Saraf said. ‘Very few of them are able to maintain a psychic shield.’
Saraf raised a hand towards the spring and channelled his energy in his direction, trying to manipulate its energy. The energy from the spring started playing more and more violently and rapidly, even trying to attack him.
‘Help me with this’, Saraf urged him. ‘Let us try to close it together, to see what happens.’
Afaris also focused his entire energy towards the spring, but he was feeling vulnerable and weak. Then he stopped his activity and told Saraf:
‘I can’t help you this way, I’d rather give you the energy.’
‘Alright, but stand farther behind then.’
Afaris channelled again his energy, this time towards Saraf, who collected it with his mind redirecting it together with his own towards the spring. Its size started to diminish, but it did not disappear. The energy particles would all gather into a compact slightly bright sphere, opposing resistance.
After several seconds of attempts, Saraf gave up:
‘Alright then, let us go.’
‘What happened?’ Afaris asked.
‘Nothing, only now it seems quite impossible to close it. Let us leave before anything happens.’
The two started to move away from the spring, facing it in order to watch the moves of the energy. It came back to
the previous play, but the energy did not hit their shield as hard as it had before.
Reaching a sufficient distance so as not to see it anymore, Saraf and Afaris started running down the mountain, towards its feet. Clouds started surrounding them, gradually reducing their visibility, but Saraf was running first, leading the way for Afaris.
They quietly climbed down the mountain, then got out of the clouds. Outside daylight was striking, the sun beams were brightly shining to their right. Two black dots were flying in the sky, Falus and Fasus.
Saraf called them with his thoughts and they dived towards them. When reaching a small altitude compared to where they were, Saraf jumped from the ground with all his force, landing on Fasus’ back, regaining his balance by catching onto his feathers. Falus, observing that Afaris did not have all that strength left, descended closer to him and reached a front claw for him to cling onto.
Afaris plunged towards his claw and firmly grabbed it with both hands, and in that instant Falus started gaining altitude. Then Afaris gently mounted him, holding onto his firm feathers, until he reached his back.
The two Nymphs flew their way back to the town.
‘So, what’s new?’ Fasus asked.
‘It’s growing in intensity and strength, but that’s not new. One thing is certain, you also need to put serious efforts into protecting yourselves.’
‘We are able to do what you can do with your mind’, Falus said.
‘Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean you cannot protect yourself with a small psychic shield. Akadorisf can, for instance.’
‘You compare us with His Highness...’ Fasus laughed. ‘We are mere children in comparison, we need hundreds of years to reach that level.’
‘Or maybe a few days with the right mentor’ Afaris added. ‘Father, can’t you help them?’
Saraf stood in silence for a few seconds, then answered:
‘I think I can, and I will, if you think you can replace me for training sessions.’
‘Of course.’
‘We will accept your help with great joy, Saraf, but it is best to start after we enter the new era’ Fasus said.
Afaris: Shadows on Aora Page 10