Afaris closed his eyes, seconds passed, but he could not hear anything but the sound of water. He opened his eyes and looked at his brother disappointed.
‘I’ll give you a hand, listen to me and follow the water sound in the background.’
Long and mysterious ways,
Its light idly rambles
And only his gaze alone
Is meant to seize it
That’s the path of his last son
Afaris was doing his best to find a link between the song Urfius had sung and that of the water, but found it hard. Focusing he continued to listen and his senses sharpened. Just like a thought, the song penetrated his mind. Ears could not catch, neither could the mind, but the soul could, the waterfall voice spreading in his thoughts, and in the background he could hear the water blows, just like musical instruments:
A last thought still torments him
To go back home
A last road to take
And he will be back home
That’s the destiny of his last son
‘Come on, don’t stress out, it took us years to discover it …’
‘I can hear it’ Afaris interrupted him.
‘Seriously?’
‘Yes’ and he told him the last lines of the song.
Urfius raised his brows in atonement:
‘Wow, it seems Father takes no rest from training you. Well done! I really am impressed!’
‘I wouldn’t have discovered it myself had you not drawn my attention. Maybe if I meditated next to the waterfalls.’
‘We always meditate here and it took us a long time to discover what you discovered in a matter of seconds.’
Afaris raised his shoulders, slightly touched. Still, the waterfall song gave him food for thought:
‘I think it’s a song about me or Father.’
‘Yes, I’ve noticed the resemblance, too. I don’t know what to tell you, sometimes it sings about those who sit and watch the waterfalls, other times random stuff. Sometimes it sings for every individual. Other times it doesn’t sing at all, you can just hear the water sound.’
‘Do you think it has a meaning?’
‘Well, if we consider Aora a being, then this is her mouth. Who knows, we may be simply insects in this case. What can we understand? My advice, keep that in mind, is for you to remember what you hear if you think you’re interested and, in time, discover if it has a meaning.’
Afaris nodded, then looked around. The pond was spurting steam, meaning the water temperature was high.
‘How hot is it?’ he asked his brother.
‘Well, today it is sufficiently hot so, as you can see, we’re the only ones daring to have a bath.’
They were indeed alone, which was unusual for the town’s main attraction.
‘If you lift up to half of Saraf’s praises, I’m sure you’ll have no problems. On the contrary.’
Afaris looked at him curious:
‘Is Father praising me?’ he asked and Urfius nodded smiling.
Urfius started taking off his clothes and continued to talk:
‘He is proud of you, that’s for sure. Don’t tell me he’s never congratulated you.’
‘Well yes, several times. But with him you don’t know where encouragement stops and sincerity steps in.’
‘Well’ Urfius continued laying his folded cloak onto the grass ‘I saw you on the field back then. I honestly don’t think you should compare your current powers to the previous ones. It’s no big deal to run fast and resist some blows.’
Urfius dived head first into the pond and emerged immediately:
‘Wow, it is hot indeed …’
Afaris smiled.
‘Come on, what are you waiting for? Take off your clothes and join me.’
Afaris took off his clothes and threw them carelessly on the ground and then jumped into the pond. The hot water burnt his skin immediately. He had not expected it to be that hot, but this was no obstacle. With little energy and focus, his skin became more resistant to the high temperature, replacing the burning sensation with a pleasant and relaxing one. He then emerged from the water and moved his hair to the back with one hand.
‘So, what’s it like?’
‘I see why nobody dares, but for me it’s just perfect.’
Urfius was leaning against a stone at the edge of the pond, his head outside the water, enjoying the comfort of the thermal water, accompanied by the waterfalls symphony.
‘So’ he asked Afaris ‘when are you going to erect your own Menom?’
‘I’ve not thought and discussed about it yet.’
‘When I was your age, I left Saraf-Menom to start a new life.’
‘Isn’t it too early? Eventually, even you are a child compared to Saraf.’
Urfius laughed from his heart.
‘A child? We’ll always be children compared to him, regardless how many centuries will pass. Maybe you were born 20 solar cycles ago, but you will never be able to take on a new challenge. But you are ready to take any risks when your mind is strong and you have started to think. Ask your own questions and look for answers alone. Do you think I was ready when I left? Ha! I had no idea what the future held in store for me, but with the support of descendants and advisors, I erected this wonderful place. Honestly speaking, it’s not that hard. There are no issues which can occur and which you cannot handle. And you, my dear brother, with a hurt ego, I’m telling you, you are much smarter than me.’
Afaris blushed on hearing his brother’s honest praises and did not know what to say. He thanked him in a timid voice.
‘You need not thank me, that’s the truth. Anyway, let’s leave serious stuff aside and speak about something more interesting. I saw you watching that girlie, you fancy her, don’t you?’
Urfius had a great talent to embarrass Afaris. As he knew him, if he said yes, he could simply fly out of the pond, dash to the town and come back with her.
‘You won’t let it go, will you? Even though you already know the answer.’
‘She likes you, too, believe me. You should get acquainted.’
‘What’s here name?’
‘C’mon, I won’t disclose everything. Are you curious? Why don’t you ask her?’
Afaris looked at him frowning and then smiled ironically:
‘Nothing’s ever easy with you.’
‘Do you want my advice? Invite her to one of your trips. If you and the Nymphs are such good friends, take her for a flight together.’
From Afaris’s perspective, Urfius did not understand how frail the new relation with the Nymphs was, but he lacked the energy to explain him.
‘Believe me, if you make her heart beat strong, she will link that feeling with your presence, then take it for love and it’ll turn into love eventually.’
‘I didn’t know you were so deep.’
‘I’m telling you how I conquered Vilinda’s heart.’
‘I have an idea, why don’t you let me tackle this my way?’
Urfius regarded him with irony, pulling a funny face:
‘You’re going to die alone…’
Silence bestowed upon the two and Afaris could focus his attention away from the conversation and notice the changes produced by the sun slipping behind the trees. In the darkness that was falling, the view was waking up. The Water in which they were bathing seemed to gleam more intensely as dusk set in.
‘Is it my impression or is the water giving out light?’
‘Energy, actually. I think that from the town’s energy pit just a small part of the overall energy springs and the rest finds its way to surface via other means, like water.’
Urfius left his comfortable position and swam to the other shore, next to some thick bushes.
‘Look here’ he said and cast water on the plants.
Immediately, from the plants numerous shiny insects took off, like drops from the pond. The insects were flying chaotically, unknowing what had disturbed them.
‘How come they gl
ow?’ Afaris asked.
‘Consuming this water permanently, they took over its characteristics, and now they glow in the dark.’
‘Don’t you drink the same water? How come you don’t glow?’ Afaris asked laughing.
‘We have other means for storing energy than small creatures. Thus, the source of light disappears from the body and moves to the spirit. But if you keep drinking it will make your belly glow. It’s a strange and funny image.’
Curios, Afaris leaned and started to drink the hot water. He felt it burn his throat, then spread from the stomach to the entire body. He felt the energy replenishing his body in a completely new manner. Raising his head, he noticed his vein starting to glow slightly and then they became invisible again.
‘Wow, that’s unheard of.’
Urfius smiled, delighted that his brother was impressed by his inheritance.
‘I think it’s time we headed back’ he said. ‘If we stick around longer, it’ll burn our skin.’
‘Did you run out of energy while bathing in an energy pond?’ Afaris asked him smiling ironically.
‘Not really, but too much is not good.’
Urfius went out of the pond and shook water off then raised his body’s temperature, causing the water to evaporate. Afaris did the same.
‘This feels so good’ Urfius sighed.
‘Indeed it does.’
Urfius raised his clothes and started to get dressed. Afaris, however, tried another way. Focusing on manipulating the energy composing his clothes, he ordered them to get off the ground and resume position on his body. They obeyed him, flying over and twirling around his body until they dressed him up. With another little thought, they became clean and fresh.
Amazed by Afaris’s extraordinary control over energy, Urfius congratulated him:
‘I’m surprised, if I tried this, I would probably end up suffocated and killed by my own clothes.’
‘I’m sure that if you have the wish to achieve something you can do it easily. You just need to visualise, want it and order the energy.’
‘Or maybe you were born with much more promising skills than me.’
***
Reaching the town, the two brothers walked the illuminated streets, speaking about their adventures, games they used to play, traditions and trips. Afaris was definitely excelled by his brother’s stories. As he had not been far from Saraf-Menom, his adventures were much more limited than Urfius’s.
As they were walking down the street, the curly-haired girl who had caught Afaris’s eye earlier popped in front of them. A small energy bird was flying around her, which she seemed to control.
Afaris glanced at his brother who was looking in another direction and had not noticed her. He was afraid he would do something crazy to get him into an embarrassing situation.
The girl continued strolling towards them, focusing on the energy bird, and suddenly the bird stopped dancing, staring at Afaris and the girl turned towards the two brothers.
Just like when they had first met, the girl smiled and put her hair behind her ear, which prevented Afaris’s from seeing her face. The two got close, she went past Afaris’s who felt a blow in his left shoulder, which surprised him. He lost balance, ran into her and they both fell down. The girl’s energy bird dissipated and she screamed briefly.
Urfius turned to the two and nagged Afaris:
‘You’re such a never-do-well you can’t even stand straight’ he shouted. ‘You’re embarrassing me, I won’t even talk to you’ he said and left uncaring, grinning.
Again, Urfius’s incredible talent to create embarrassing situations for Afaris had stepped in. Afaris stood up, embarrassed and gave the girl a hand up.
‘I’m sorry…’
The girl started laughing and stretched out her hand. She stood up and started dusting herself up.
‘It’s alright, it wasn’t your fault. I think we both know my father is a redneck.’
Afaris lifted his eyebrows in surprise:
‘Is Urfius your father?’
She smiled.
‘Yes. I see he’s not found the time to mention me.’
Afaris could not believe how treacherous his brother was. Without him knowing it, he was trying to persuade him to approach his own daughter.
‘I’m Finaria’ the girl introduced herself, but seeing Afaris too shocked to say anything, she continued ‘You’re Afaris. Right?’
Afaris nodded and smiled shyly.
Father has told me much about you. Is it true Saraf is turning you into a weapon?’
‘Somehow …’
‘I find it very interesting. I’ve learnt much from my father, yet I’m certain I can’t match you.’
Afaris felt so emotive that his mind was not working as he wanted it to. He did not know what to say and it seemed to him he was behaving like a loser, despite her being so energetic and friendly. Her melodious voice somehow soothed him, yet made him nervous at the same time. He was lost for words.
‘I should get going anyway, I’m seeing my friends.’
His heart started pounding. She left and he could hardly mumble anything.
‘But I’d like you to share some of your knowledge with me’ she continued. ‘Tomorrow at noon I’m taking a walk among the ponds. Will you join me?’
Again, his mouth was clenched. It seemed Urfius did not know his own daughter. Why was he bothering to explain Afaris how to date her, when, in the first minutes she had invited him?
Finaria smiled, amused by Afaris’s shyness.
‘Well then, if you want to come, I’ll see you tomorrow morning by the pit.’
She left. As she was getting farther, his mind resumed operation. He turned and asked her:
‘Aren’t we meeting at your father’s house?’
Finaria glanced over her shoulder and replied:
‘I’m not going home tonight.’
She continued her elegant stroll, cloak floating behind her. A new energy bird took form next to her, and the two minded their way, leaving Afaris staring.
Recovering, Afaris started to be aware of his situation: his heart was rushing, he was fascinated and attracted by Finaria’s beauty and finesse and captivated by the girl’s mysterious tenure. It went without saying, she had stolen his heart.
Chapter 14
A vision soaked in blood
By the time he reached his brother’s house, his heart beat reached the normal pace, yet his mind was stuck on Finaria and the fact that they would walk together in the town the following day.
On entering the house, he noticed Urfius and Vilinda sitting at the wood table in the living room. Hearing him enter, they turned their looks to him and started laughing. It seemed Urfius had had enough time to tell Vilinda what happened while they were away.
‘So, how was it?’ Urfius asked, smiling satisfied.
‘Wasn’t it simpler for you to introduce her as your daughter?’
‘Sure, but where would the fun be?’
‘Afaris’ Vilinda said ‘you shouldn’t feel embarrassed I know very well the animal I live with and what he’s capable of, but he hasn’t done this just for you. My little girl kept asking about you ever since she first saw you, fighting Saraf on the field.’
Her words made him smile. He was happy Finaria felt the same attraction as he did.
Urfius sent an energy pulse to one of the trees around the table and it took the shape of a chair and urged Afaris to sit down. Afaris nodded and sat in his place.
‘So, what did you two talk about?’ Urfius asked.
‘We’re meeting tomorrow to stroll by the lakes.’
‘Nice, but I’ve told you, you’d better invite her to a Nymph ride.’
‘She invited me out.’
‘Oh’ Urfius exclaimed. ‘I see the girl knows what she wants.’
‘Indeed, why doesn’t she sleep with you?’
Urfius decided to explain to him.
‘Together with her friends she built a house in the forest nearby. Or
better said a complex of tree houses. Very nice and inventive. Maybe she will show them to you one day.’
‘That sounds interesting. Did they build them themselves?’
‘Yes. Using only their imagination and a good control of energy.’
‘Does she sleep there often?’
Urfius nodded:
‘More than here even. She likes being as close to nature as possible.’
Vilinda interrupted them changing the subject:
‘Let’s put romance aside for a while. Afaris, we are very eager to find out how training with Safaris goes. Can you tell us more?’
Even though he disliked changing the subject Urfius raised his eyebrows on hearing Vilinda’s question. He, too, was interested:
‘Indeed. We’ve worked on the basics, what Saraf has shown us. What else does he teach you and what are his teaching techniques?’
For the rest of the evening, Afaris told them about his energy control training, from basic forms of manipulation to energo-spirits and energo-forms, as much as Saraf had taught him. He also showed them the terrible torment of quick information transfer via the hand grip. Urfius and Vilinda were very excited about the subject.
After the chat, his brother and his wife decided to have a nap, but Afaris was feeling too energetic to go to sleep. He went outside, sat on the steps of the energy pit and started meditating. At first, he focused on adjusting his own energy, then on his feelings in the hope that he would control himself better at his date with Finaria the following day. Becoming very relaxed he fell into a trance, failing to ignore the passage of time. If seemed his mind was completely off.
He woke up on feeling a hand on his right shoulder. He opened his eyes and was immediately blinded by light.
‘Forgive me for interrupting, but you’ve been sitting here unmoved since this morning.’
He immediately recognized that pleasant voice. It was Finaria.
Managing to come to his senses, he realized the sun was up. It was noon and this shocked him as for him a couple of minutes before it had been night. He stood up and his bones cracked because of the fixed position throughout the night.
Afaris: Shadows on Aora Page 13