Aruters

by D Leon D.

  - I know it’s a new concept for everyone –Cornelium started talking taking a place behind a worn-out table– Time.

  - We don’t have much –Ycze said.

  - We have it all –Darrell corrected her– But it’s necessary that it’s used, not wasted.

  - What should we do? –Onevin asked, who always seemed ready to do whatever they asked, Ramsil envied a little that emotion.

  - Can you help me light a fire to begin? This is freezing –Cornelium looked at Onevin when he spoke.

  - I can’t light a fire… and if… everything is wet –The boy answered ashamed.

  - Precisely –He invited him with his hand to a gathered group of Ligna– You are better with the water than the rest, something like that it seemed to me –The boy crossed the little precinct, with his hand extending he took the strength of the water in the Ligna, leaving it completely dry.

  - I wasn’t wrong then –Cornelium lighted the bonfire– Do any of you know what Vicnelia had planned before… leaving?

  - What a way to say it –Ycze mumbled to herself.

  - She said something about training us together, combining our abilities –Ramsil answered after thinking about it for a little while.

  - We’re going to have to solve it by ourselves; do you know your abilities? –Darrell asked.

  - Yes –They answered almost in a choir.

  - Would you say that you have control over them –He asked them again, the only response he received was what it seemed like exchanging looks.

  - I don’t have it –Ramsil said after Ycze and Onevin dared to answer with a nervous “Yes”.

  - Do you know what you can do? –The conversation now was only with Ramsil.

  - Yes, I can change of form, into… an Aruter.

  - The Feider Formorut… how interesting, one of the most singular.

  - Formorut?

  - Yes, it had the ability you just mentioned, the carrier can change at Will of form, only into an Aruter.

  - At will… –He said it almost between his teeth.

  - How many times have you succeeded in the transformation?

  - Almost twice.

  - Almost? How can you almost change of form?

  - Onevin was close, he reminded me that I shouldn’t do it back then… it didn’t happen completely –He answered looking at Onevin, who nodded to give faith of what was said.

  - How did you manage it? What were you thinking about?

  - We were in the mine, there was an attack, we were in danger and I felt that… only I could do something to protect us.

  - And the second time?

  - They were taking Vicnelia, and I…

  - You thought only you could help her? –Ycze interrupted finding the key.

  - Ye… yes.

  - Courage is the most important part of all of the abilities, trust, it’s not only physical, it’s emotional, it’s…

  - Part of me… my Feider is myself –Ramsil reflected aloud, remembering Vicnelia’s words.

  - I’m going to ask you now to change of form; only that way will we all be able to move forward.

  - But…

  - Like I said we don’t have time to waste, only to use it, I need you all to be ready to react –Darrell looked at the bonfire and then at Ycze, who nodded with her head, then at Onevin who imitated the gesture.

  - I’ll tr… –Ramsil started saying, but Darrell didn’t let him finish.

  - I don’t want you to try; I want you to do it! –Darrell raised his hand and with one of his few abilities he pushed Ycze throwing her against the fire, what happened afterward left everybody speechless.

  As if it were in slow motion, Ycze activated her ability to regenerate, before falling in the fire her skin had already the neon glow, she was safe and she wasn’t making herself an important damage, to extinguish the fire Onevin took a couple of seconds to react, he stretched his hand towards the bonfire and his Feider –Which made his fingers glow at that moment– took the force of the fire putting it out almost instantly. The quickest response was Ramsil’s, what he had felt before as strong heart beats that made him vibrate completely until completing his transformation, at that moment he had felt it like a lightning striking his head, filling with electricity all his body in a fraction of a second, he was able to see his hands turn quickly into claws, and fall to the ground with force leaving him like a giant animal on four legs ready to attack, roaring with fury, making the cabin vibrate completely, the strong sound shattered the only crystal of an already broken window, Ycze stood up still with her skin glowing.

  - I’m all right! –Showing her hand high so that he could notice she had activated her power and didn’t have a scratch.

  Inside the cabin and before Ramsil recovered his form, none of them had seen up close an Aruter, it was a big beast, it looked very heavy, of four legs with strong claws, Ycze thought it could stand up and attack with the front legs, although it would be hard to keep the balance, it seemed very heavy, and on the contrary to what Onevin –Whose mouth was wide open– managed to think, the creature didn’t have a tail, he had imagined it as some sort of a giant lizard. The skin of that beast was strong, it seemed very hard to hurt, besides the color wasn’t uniform at all, it was shiny in some parts and it had an aspect of dull iridescent, it looked like an ancient reptile, its teeth were pretty long, silver white, similar to Ramsil’s hair, its eyes almost completely a shiny yellow, a little lengthened with a reptile pupil: thin and intimidating. Everything was back to tranquility, what had happened had exalted everyone, no exceptions.

  - Damn it, Ramsil, you scared me; I thought you were going to eat us all –Onevin’s cleverness made them all laughed, it served to relieve the commotion.

  - Wow, you have surprised me –Cornelium padded his back.

  - I’m sorry, I didn’t –Ramsil couldn’t speak, all of that was funny for him, but he also felt ashamed.

  - Don’t worry, boy, you haven’t done anything we didn’t expect –Darrell cleared his throat before continuing– Although it was frightening –Once more they all laughed.

  A moment passed and they kept talking about what had happened, they flattered each other, everyone with their own abilities had reacted quickly, Onevin felt proud, Ycze felt victorious, a little blushed too, she knew that Ramsil’s such immediate reaction had a straight relationship with the fact that it had been her who was “in danger”, Ramsil felt alive, and moreover, he felt powerful… Ycze exchanged looks and laughs with Ramsil.

  - What’s next? –Onevin. Everyone was used to his will of not stopping.

  - I was waiting for you, Onevin, you set the tone to follow –Darrell commented and winked at him, he meant it.

  - We must be safe, if Sonyei didn’t know, he knows now; three Feiders were activated at once, without a doubt that’s something he can feel.

  - Where do we go? –Ramsil asked.

  - We are going to try for all of us to be able to enter the coat –Darrell answered, ending that session.

  CHAPTER 24

  Just like he had thought, with Vicnelia’s soul the ritual was ready to begin, it would take him some time, but Sonyei decided to rest, he felt the power of the Feiders and that upset him for a moment, then the fact that he had three Aruters to control comforted him, that would come soon and it had to be more than enough, his plans were going well, he had Windark talking with the most advanced students, they were all going to wear the uniform of white and gold to protect the room he was going to occupy while he was in the ritual, which would leave him vulnerable while this took place, he prepared himself to rest and got ready to take that power, he could already taste it, feel it, it was unimaginable to make it out. Four guards watched over his rest at the corners of his bed –covered by curtains– eight more guards guarded the hallway, twenty guards made rounds in the walls –in addition to the ten that normally were found there – they had designated four extra guards for each of the six wider areas of the temple. None of the guards rested while Sonyei slept that
night, he was too close to his objective like for his surveillance to be something to worry about.

  While he was sleeping it seemed to him that he was dreaming, but he thought he was awake and that that wasn’t just a dream, he was confused, because he felt he was young and when he saw his hand, he was, he was hiding and he didn’t know why, he was only able to see a vertical line of light, someone came closer to him, covering partially that illuminated line and told him with a nervous voice, “don’t come out”, it was the voice of a woman, in spite of those words he pushed what it seemed to be the only exit and entrance to the small space in which he was found, the line of light turned out to be the space between two small doors, once outside, the sudden light stung his eyes for a brief moment: He wasn’t at the temple; it was a simple house, completely in a mess. In another room he saw a door half ajar and somebody’s hand on the floor, a dead person perhaps, he decided to avoid that, some screams in the hallway, “You can’t control everything”, said the voice of a man, someone answered him.

  - By myself no, but they are all with me–A woman answered with a surrounding voice.

  - We’re coming for you.

  - You won’t be able to do it.

  A movement was heard, he crossed the ajar door and saw the lifeless body of a woman, he quickly entered the other room where everything was dark and hiding turned out to be easy for Sonyei, whom scared took his hand to his mouth and suppressed the cry that was thronging in his eyes. A moment passed in which the voices he had heard seemed to continue in an argument, then with a strong sound the body of a man hit the wall with his back at the end of the hall, his look met with the one of that hurt man and he could notice his lips moving, “don’t-let-her-see-you”, he managed to understand, crawling he tried to go back to the little room with the vertical line of light –A kind of hiding place for him –No adult would fit in that reduced space– because he just noticed that his body was the one of a young boy –When he just closed the door he heard the noise of a beast, followed by a drowned scream.

  Sonyei woke up sweating and exalted, it wasn’t the first time he´d had that awkward dream, every time he felt it more real, was it a memory?, he opened the curtain which gave him privacy in his bed, the guards were there, ready to respond, he closed it again and laid down, he fell asleep again, this time without dreams that exalted him. When he awoke, he was ready, he felt ready, he got dressed and looked for Windark, whom had a face of exhaustion.

  - Soon you’ll rest; your services will be rewarded.

  - Everything is ready to begin –He replied without further ado.

  - The students, everything in order?

  - All uniformed and ready.

  - The beasts?

  - In the pit of the basement, just below the room for the ritual.

  - Then, let’s begin.

  Sonyei and Windark walked together to the room for the ritual of the beasts, it was the last step for Sonyei to gain control of the Aruters, it consisted in showing to them –the beasts– as a high being and for that he had to take the power of all the captured souls, Sonyei had to create a force field –Unique ability of his Feider– like the one he had created to keep safe the pit of the creatures, this field had to surround him like a dome, completely, inside some sort of a pool with holes at the bottom, situated strategically above the pit where the creatures rested, he would release the souls, from which there was nothing more, but their force and by being imprisoned under the dome they would unite with him, that would take him more time than the rest of the ritual, which consisted in creating a link with the Aruters. Sonyei got into the pool and stripped naked, Windark saw the marks in his skin again.

  - Leave me alone, and everyone guard me well –Windark exited the room, reaching this point, he could no longer intervene, he locked the door well when he went out.

  - Everyone to their places, it’s going to start –He ordered in a loud voice to the students who would guard the door during the rite and retired in silence, with the feeling that he had done less than what he should have done.

  CHAPTER 25

  Everyone, except Ramsil, entered the coat without a major problem, for him, it took him a while to put his mind at ease so that the Coat of the Council would welcome him as an equal, Onevin had already entered one and left, therefore, it felt familiar for him, Ycze had a former knowledge on the subject, but Ramsil felt nervous and anxious, he had to first calm down those emotions, the Coat was, in Darrell’s opinion: a living being and conscious; it felt the energies, and although it never manifested by talking or moving objects, The Council knew it, because it protected them very well, a lot better than a normal shelter.

  When they entered, Onevin had the fear of seeing the dead bodies of the members he had left lifeless, he hadn’t remembered it until he got there, had he remembered it then, the coat would have felt his fear and wouldn’t have allowed him to enter, but once inside he recalled everything, Onevin didn’t try to forget it and take away the responsibility, he was conscious of what he had done and why he’d done it, but that didn’t make it any less painful in his memory. He wasn’t surprised to notice that the bodies were gone and that their robes were perfectly folded along with the others, which he thought, were of fallen members too, because they were behind a kind of glass cabinet built into one of the walls.

  - I assume you prefer to rest a little –Darrell suggested, noticing Onevin’s face.

  - Yes –Ycze and Ramsil answered in a choir.

  - Yes, master –Onevin answered with his eyes still on the robes.

  Darrell guided them through the coat, they had thought it was only one room, but actually it was about something much bigger, maybe like a small house, but without windows nor doors, the rooms were separated by thin curtains, everything was very silent in that place, he took the three of them to a wide room with a long line of beds so that everyone could rest together.

  - Why does this room exist if there are only four members of the council? –Ycze had asked the question that perhaps everyone had thought of asking.

  - This room didn’t exist until today, when Cornelium and I saw it, we knew immediately that the coat would receive some refuges, we searched for you quickly, perhaps that’s why we arrived just after Vicnelia was… –Darrell didn’t finish the phrase.

  - When we exited the coat, we saw you there, under the rain, the coat led us to you –Cornelium completed, who had just arrived after Darrell.

  - Get some rest, tomorrow we’ll have to make some kind of a plan or something –Darrell commented and retired from the room.

  Surely two moons had changed of phase when Onevin accepted that it would be hard for him to fall asleep with his memories so vivid about that place, he thought that maybe Darrell couldn’t fall asleep, he got up from the bed and started walking through the coat in silence, a long time passed before he found the room were Darrell and Cornelium were talking, he didn’t want to eavesdrop, but from where he was he listened to part of a conversation.

  - How long will it take him to finish it?

  - Not very long, we have to move fast.

  - And the carriers, are they ready?

  - No, but we don’t have another choice, at least they know their abilities.

  - I’ll go with Ramsil; I want to be of help.

  - I’ll do what I can from here, we can’t both leave…

  - I know.

  - Then, we’ll do it tomorrow.

  - I would like to interrupt the ritual, but I’m sure that Sonyei has protected himself like never before.

  - Do we have any way of seeing him?

  - No, Falan was the one who had those abilities; he used this and was able to see some things with him.

  Onevin tried to see what he was referring to and in his attempt he was almost exposed, Darrell turned the face in the direction he was, he didn’t try to go back to hiding, after all he wasn’t doing anything bad, he just wanted to talk to Darrell because he couldn’t sleep, he decided to enter the same room.

&
nbsp; - I’m sorry, I can’t sleep –He apologized.

  - Onevin, it’s important that you try; you know that using your Feider requires that you are in a good state, physical and mental, and surely because of what you heard; you know you’re going to use it.

  - I thought we weren’t going to separate again.

  - We’re trying to come up with a plan, Onevin, tomorrow you’ll find out.

  - We’ll have to go to the temple, won’t we?

  - Yes, Onevin, we can still surprise Sonyei, but please, try to sleep a little.

  - I’ll try.

  Onevin walked back to the room, it took him almost the same time going back to it that having found the only two members of the council making their plan, he felt a little uncomfortable, they were making a plan and neither Ramsil nor Ycze were aware of it, he entered the room in silence and lay down on the same bed from which he had gotten up, face up, to his surprise he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been able to sleep.

  - Won’t you tell me what you found out, little one? –Ramsil, speaking in a low voice not to wake up Ycze.

  - It’s not funny, Ramsil, I’m not so little.

  - I know, it amuses me a little… come on, I know you didn’t go out just to stretch your legs.

  - They’re making a plan.

  - It’s the best, that’s why they’re the council, aren’t they?

  - I suppose so, but… shouldn’t we be present?

  - Don’t take it so personal, Onevin, we have one responsibility, we didn’t choose it, they know how far we can get.

  - I think they’re going to separate us.

  - Don’t tell me you’re afraid, you’re amazing, have you seen everything that you can do?

  - W… well.., I suppose that’s true, aren’t you scared?