Book of One 04: A Child of Fire

by Baker, Jordan

  Aaron reached for the raw power that ran beneath the different energies that flowed within him like streams of color and he channeled it into his flesh. He could feel his bones and muscles becoming stronger and, the way he had darkened his appearance, he made his skin tougher as well. Aaron stepped forward toward the Ansari and he felt every individual grain of sand and even fine powder of dust beneath his feet move, attuned to his senses and another part of his power that he had not experienced. He felt like he could move the ground itself with it and wondered what he might use that to his advantage. He took another step forward and shifted the energy in the protective sphere around him, disappearing, then he stepped sideways, hoping his opponent might think he was still coming at him from the other direction, but the creature's eyes continued to follow him.

  "I can still see you," the Ansari said with a grin.

  "How?" Aaron asked. "You should not be able to see me now."

  "I am Ansari," he said. "Very little is hidden from our sight."

  Aaron shrugged, hoping his added strength would still make a difference.

  "Come," the Ansari said.

  At the side of the fighting circle, among the gathered Ansari, Tash and Lexi stood with Kasha, watching as Aaron slowly walked toward his monstrous opponent. He swung his sword and was sent flying across the dirt once more by a powerful swipe of the Ansari leader's forearm. Again, Aaron pushed himself back to his feet, dusted himself off, and resumed his attack.

  "Do you think he can win?" Tash asked, looking up at Kasha.

  "No," she replied. "Not as he is now, but this fight is not about winning."

  "I don't understand," Lexi said. "Why fight if not to win or lose?"

  "It is a test," Kasha said. "If Aaron can resist the power of fire that burns within him, then he will prove himself worthy to possess such a power. He must also prove the truth of himself."

  "Why is it so important that he prove to you people who he is?" asked Zachary, who stood nearby with Stavros and Ehlena.

  Kasha turned and gave him a hard stare with her eyes glowing golden.

  "Mage, Zachary, you are known to Ansari," she said. "Of all people, you should know why we do not treat true fire lightly and why we seek truth from those who possess such power. Much harm can come from those who do not know their truth, who allow their power to overcome them. This, you know very well."

  Zachary knew exactly what the Ansari woman was talking about. It was something that had happened long ago, and though he had many regrets in his life, what she spoke of was perhaps his greatest.

  "I understand," he said. "And I agree. It's just that Aaron has had almost no training with his power. To expect that kind of control from him is unfair."

  "And why has he not been trained?" Kasha asked. "Is it not the custom among your people to train those who are gifted with power? You are the head of the Council of Mages, are you not?"

  "The Council of Mages is no longer," Stavros said, answering on Zachary's behalf. "Much has changed in the lands to the north. You must be aware of the priesthood and their allegience to this god of theirs."

  "We have heard stories of this," Kasha replied. "Our contact with the kingdoms of the north has grown less of recent years." She looked at Zachary for a moment. "Still, we see many things, even from afar. A mage using the power of true fire is something we would notice and remember. It has been some time since you revealed your power, though there were tremors of it that we recognized several days ago."

  "I had a disagreement with the sea," Zachary said.

  "We felt that as well." Kasha turned to Ehlena. "Your power we did not notice, and even now it is difficult to see, though we now understand why."

  "What is this we?" Zachary asked. "Are you saying all of the Ansari can sense these things?"

  "As a mage, you can sense the power of another mage," Kasha said. "Ansari also have this ability and we are far more adept with our senses than most."

  "Then you must know about the appearance of the god-king, Cerric of Maramyr," Zachary said.

  "We have felt a great power growing in the north," Kasha told him. "We have also felt other powers in the world. We have felt many things of late and many of these things give us cause for concern."

  "Well it's nice that you are concerned," Zachary replied. "There is a lot happening in the world right now and very little of it is good."

  "We have learned of some of this," Kasha said. "Perhaps you can speak of these things with Ansari once this match has seen its end."

  In the circle, Aaron tried repeatedly to attack the Ansari leader, and each time he was blocked and sent flying. It was like fighting a brick wall and Aaron was frustrated with how much stronger the Ansari was. He drew more of his power, adding to his strength, but as he became more and more frustrated, the fire within him burned hotter and seemed to reach out to him. Another attack left him sprawled on the dirt and he coughed and spit blood on the ground. The Ansari's strength was enormous and even his defensive hits were causing damage. Aaron did not want to wonder what would happen if the creature went on the attack.

  "You are angry and you are afraid," the Ansari said, walking slowly toward Aaron as he rose to his feet once more.

  "I am annoyed," he replied, trying to cover the fact that he was right. He was angry and he was worried that he was no match for the Ansari.

  "Call it what you will, but now you understand the difference in our power."

  "And yet I cannot use my own power," Aaron said as he dropped to a defensive stance, ready for the attack he knew was soon to come.

  "The fire?" The Ansari stopped and shook his head. "You do not need it."

  "No? It doesn't look that way," Aaron said.

  "To you, perhaps," he said. "Your emotions burn with anger and are kindled by fear. The power of fire is often subjet to these, which is why it is a dangerous power, especially true fire."

  "What's your point?" Aaron asked, circling around the creature.

  "You must fight me without anger, without fear and without fire. You have used your power to become stronger, but you are still not strong enough. Why do you not use more?"

  "It isn't easy to control," Aaron admitted. The energy he had already channeled into his body was making it difficult for him to keep his balance and it already felt as though the power would burst out of him, which felt like the fire that he was trying to stop from igniting.

  "You cannot control such power," the Ansari told him and he leapt toward Aaron, swinging his massive, armored fist at him with blinding speed.

  Aaron leapt back and the wind from the creature's fist buffeted him, he ducked and sidestepped as another blow sailed over his head, and he darted around behind, moving to the center of the circle, putting some distance between them. The Ansari turned and crouched then, in a blur, he shortened the ground between them, appearing right in front of Aaron and swinging a low, uppercut at his chest. Aaron felt the impact of it lift him off the ground, followed by the weightlessness of flying through the air. He gasped for breath, feeling as though his chest had been crushed and he landed hard on the ground, coughing and retching, trying to breathe. With his power, he could sense the Ansari now walking slowly toward him, his heavy footfalls grinding the sand beneath his feet. Aaron reached out with his power, feeling the ground, the hard packed dirt and the sand. He envisioned a large hand, like that of the Ansari, gripping the creature's foot, stopping him.

  "Now you are learning," the Ansari said.

  Aaron drew in a breath and spit the blood from his mouth as he rolled to his knees. He could see that the Ansari was standing in place a few paces away, his large, armored foot anchored firmly by the earth. Aaron pushed himself back to his feet, dragging the tip of his blade across the sand, still reeling from the hit he had taken.

  "This magic may slow down your opponent, but only if the earth is stronger, and this is little more than sand," the Ansari said as he pulled his foot free of the dirt, which crumbled beneath him.

  "You say my p
ower cannot be controlled, and yet you want me to control my power," Aaron said in frustration. "Your words make no sense."

  "You must not try to control your power, you must simply be one with it," the Ansari said and he bounded forward so quickly that Aaron, still winded, could not move.

  He felt himself being picked up by the creature's massive arms that felt like as though they were harder than stone and he heard his bones and joints pop as the Ansari squeezed him in a fearsome embrace.

  "What is this weak body you wear?" the creature rumbled. "Make it stronger. Let your power flow, let it become what you want it to be."

  "I don't know what you are saying," Aaron said as the creature squeezed him harder and his sword fell from his hand, landing with a dull clatter on the ground.

  "That is why you are weak. You must be what you are, what you wish to be, whatever you will."

  Aaron's thoughts swirled in his head and his vision began to blur as he felt the life being crushed out of him, but as his body was being punished, at his center, his power remained. It was strange that every blow the Ansari had dealt him did not affect the energy that lived within him. It was as though it was somehow something that existed separately from his physical self, disconnected, even though Aaron knew that it was a part of him. That last thought echoed in his mind along with what the Ansari leader had said and he realized that it was not the power that was the problem, it was him. The energy that raged and flowed inside him was not something in and of itself, it was not something inside him, it was as much a part of him as his arms and legs, as the blood in his veins, even the sweat that rolled down his face as he suffocated in the Ansari's powerful embrace. The power was him and he was the power; they were merely different aspects of the same thing.

  Aaron's thoughts were growing erratic and he could barely see from the crushing pressure and the lack of air, but he suddenly felt a sense of calm flow though him and, instead of reaching out to take hold of the rivers of power, he moved toward it with the entirety of his being, immersing himself in it and feeling it course through him. Like a multitude of colors and sensations for which he had no words to describe, Aaron felt every aspect and nuance of his energy in ways that went even beyond his senses and, finally, he understood.

  "He's killing him," Zachary said as the Aaron's eyes rolled back in his head. It did not take his mage sight to see that he was close to losing consciousness and that the Ansari was crushing his body in a way that could easily prove deadly.

  "Will he stop?" Stavros asked, looking to Kasha, who glanced at him, with a concerned look on her face. "What is the point of this if Aaron dies?"

  "He will not die," Kasha told him, though her voice did not sound so sure. "I do not wish to see him die."

  "I'm going to stop this," Zachary said as Aaron stopped struggling. "If your Ansari leader wants a fight, I'll give him one."

  "No, Zachary," Ehlena said. "Look closely, something is different."

  "You are able to see this?" Kasha asked.

  "Of course, I am a goddess," Ehlena replied.

  "I see it too," Stavros said as he saw Aarons' power shift and change.

  A light began to shine from Aaron's entire being, bright even under the glare of the midday sun, flowing over the arms of the Ansari and illuminating the fighting circle brighter than even the fire that had burned within it the night before. Calmly, as though the Ansari leader were not crushing the life out of him, Aaron placed his hands on each of the powerful arms that encircled him and began to push them apart. The Ansari leapt back, releasing Aaron, who dropped to the ground, landing easily on his feet.

  Aaron could feel the raw energy flowing through every fiber of his body, coursing through his veins and repairing his cracked ribs and crushed muscles. He felt truly powerful, more powerful than when he had used the power of true fire and the sensation was both exhilarating and terrifying. He bent down and picked up his sword, which began to glow with the same light that emanated from his body and, at his touch, the leather bindings on the hilt of the weapon melted away, revealing the deep red stone embedded in its pommel. The Ansari leader took a step back, when he saw Aaron's blade exposed and Aaron saw him glance toward his own weapon that lay on the ground.

  "Pick it up," Aaron told him, his voice reverberating powerfully through the air.

  "This match is ended," the Ansari said. "You have learned that which you needed to know. You are ready to know Ansari, if you wish to learn what we might teach you."

  "I said pick it up," Aaron repeated and he took a step forward and his power flared wildly around him.

  The Ansari leader looked to the sword that was only a few paces away and, moving with blinding speed, he grabbed it from the ground. Moving just as fast, almost disappearing and reappearing, Aaron attacked, swinging his blade hard. Like a combination of fire and lightning, raw energy seared the air as both swords clashed. As large and powerful as he was, the Ansari was pushed back by the force of Aaron's blade, his feet sliding across the sand covered ground. He was about to counter attack when Aaron stepped forward and thrust a hand at his hard, armored chest. The sound of his strike was like thunder and the Ansari was sent flying backwards across the fighting circle, much the way he had done to Aaron. He landed hard on his back, but rolled and sprang to his feet almost in one motion.

  "It seems you have not completely mastered your anger," the Ansari said as Aaron advanced toward him.

  "I feel no anger." Aaron stopped, confused by the strange emptiness he felt within him. "I feel nothing."

  He did not know if he was angry or not, only that the Ansari had nearly killed him and that he was going to respond in kind. It was as though it was nothing more than a decision, devoid of any feeling whatsoever. Though he knew he should be angry, Aaron was indifferent toward the Ansari and the thought that he might kill him without feeling one way or another about it gave him pause. Confused by this, he lowered his sword and let it fall to the ground. His thoughts told him that something was wrong and he knew he was not himself, which made no sense to him since he had never in his life felt more complete. Aaron closed his eyes and breathed deeply, searching every part of his essence, his thoughts, and his power, which shimmered with a boundless, pure light made of seemingly infinite colors. Then he felt it, like a shadow, buried deep within him, a sliver of darkness at the center of his being.

  A vision flashed through his thoughts, of a man who he now recognized as Dakar, holding a cruel looking blade over him, under a star filled night sky. Aaron saw the blade plunge downward and he felt the cut as it stabbed into him, right to the center of who he was. The pain was terrible and nauseating, more so when the black robed mage priest pulled the blade from him and smiled. Aaron felt as though he was bound to something, tied to a stone table or an altar of sorts, and he could not move, but he could see the blade in front of him, dripping red with his blood in the starlight. He also saw a flaw in the edge of the blade, a tiny sliver of steel missing from its razor edge and he knew that the piece it had been left behind, inside him. It was the source of the shadow he felt, the darkness that was now growing within him with every passing moment, feeding itself from his power.

  Aaron dropped to his knees and the glow that surrounded him abruptly faded. A moment later, he fell forward to the ground as his power faded and he felt his consciousness beginning to slip. Aaron tried to push himself up, but he could barely lift his head and he saw the Ansari walking toward him, and tearing the leather straps from the hilt of his sword, revealing a stone that was colored orange like the setting sun. Even though he had let go of his power and his senses had returned to normal, he could still tell, just from the way he moved, that the Ansari was planning to kill him, but there was nothing he could do to stop him. Aaron could feel his power, but he could also feel the shadow within him like a hunger, begging for more of his essence. It was like the effect of poison he and Kasha had extracted from Lexi, seductive and demanding, except without the pleasure, offering instead only a numb, unfeeling,
emptiness. Aaron closed his eyes as the Ansari stood overhead, casting a shadow onto him.

  "You have deceived us," the Ansari leader said. "There is darkness within you. It was well hidden, but the truth of it is now clear."

  At the edge of the circle, all were silent as the Ansari placed his heavy, stone foot on Aaron's back and began to raise the sword he held in his giant, stone grip.

  "He is going to kill him," Zachary said as he realized what was happening. He summoned his power and ran into the circle before anyone could stop him.

  The Ansari raised his sword overhead, but Zachary flashed like a bolt of lightning, moving faster than even the Ansari could see, and he blocked the Ansari leader's sword with the blade that Aaron had left on the ground. A blast of blinding fire erupted from the mage's palm, smashing against the Ansari's chest and cutting through his hard, glistening armor. Blood spattered on the ground as as the Ansari leader flew backwards, bellowing loudly from the pain of Zachary's attack, but he did not fall. The Ansari stayed on his feet and squared off against the mage, who stood over his son, holding the sword that now blazed and crackled with fire and lightning.

  "You interfere in the circle, mage," the Ansari said then he roared loudly. The bleeding burn across his chest began to heal and he grew yet again, the size of his sword now growing to match him. His shape began to change even more, his entire form thickening and increasing in size, becoming a towering stone giant.

  "You said this was a test," Zachary yelled back. "He passed your test, so you don't get to kill him."