Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle)

by Lee Morgan

  “Now that each of you are gathered, we will teach you special variations to your abilities. Mainly Fire and Liquid Balancers will have a wider range of skills, but the other three elements are stronger and honestly don’t need to worry as much.” She glanced at Connor for a moment to see him smiling. With her gaze returned to that gathered group she stated “First we will demonstrate a versatile skill for the Fire Balancers. Many of you saw this ability last meeting when my mate fought the Keeper Guards. This technique is called the Fire Shield.”

  For the next two hours Connor and Sarah gave demonstration. They saw how fire could be used to absorb energy, but something had changed with her shield this time. Not only was it larger than she is, it was closer to Connor’s height, and swirling uninterrupted in the ground, but it didn’t collapse like it used to. Even when water was thrown on it, it didn’t implode on itself anymore.

  It did collapse when the Fire Balancers tried their hand at the skill. The rotating shields that were conjured ranged in size from a small Targe to large enough to cover their owner’s torso. Connor and Sarah lobbed fireballs at their defense and showed them the bonus to this technique. When they tossed small globules of water, their shields were destroyed.

  For the Liquid Balancers Connor demonstrated how if there was no water available to use ones sweat as a small weapon. Many of the women, including Jillian, didn’t like this, but they did follow the instructions.

  Sarah taught the Terra Balancers how to make trap holes and seal them so that if they caught a Keeper, it wouldn’t be able to escape alive.

  Connor gave flying lessons to the Pressure Balancers. No one was as swift or as graceful as Connor, but then again no one could ever be as capable. He showed them how to flip in the air, like they were swimming, and then fly in the opposite directions. Agility was key to surviving an aerial battle.

  There really wasn’t much they could teach the Metal Balancers because there was only the variation of the mind when they altered the form of their affinitive element, but Connor did manage to give them hints on what they could do. They could make different weapons and find a way to make both ranged and close range weapons for everyone. Amber said that she would do what she could.

  Once the two hours were up the Balancers clapped for their teachers because they were given many new things to work on.

  As Connor and Sarah left the stage a sickening thought entered her mind. She didn’t want it to be true, but couldn’t know if it wouldn’t happen. They needed to be prepared incase that eventuality should happen to occur.

  As they made their way to the usual table she composed herself, but Connor knew something was wrong and was patient enough not to ask right now.

  They made it to her babies again and her parents wanted to know why they’ve been keeping the aura secret for so long. Sarah explained how they made a promise with Veronica and they understood, yet not initially. They were surprised at how dramatic it made everything look, but they were mostly thunderstruck at the size of their daughter’s dark blue aura. They had her thinking on something that hasn’t been done and she intentionally wanted to see her children’s aura.

  Both Darrel’s and Pearls aura was barely large enough to surround their bodies, but it did allow her to see the color. They both had a bluish brown with flakes of green moving around their skin, but Pearl had more green in her own unique aura. Connor caught her and he too looked to see what they looked like.

  They learned that Darrel wished he had long claws like Sorono so he could scratch his own back. Connor, Sorono and Jack had a little joke about him scratching himself, but boys will be boys, no matter their age.

  Before they left for the evening, Connor and Sorono had another hand to hand bout and the sound of lightning breaking the sound barrier actually came from them. Connor had a good fight that lasted five blurring minutes, but he lost again to his older sibling. Despite his loss he gained much experience and was gracious in his defeat.

  It made Sarah even more proud to be his lifelong mate.

  After putting the kids to bed and took a shower, they were laying on their bed just holding each other in silence. She continually took in his smell and basked in the warmth of his body. He broke the silence of the dark room after they had both calmed. “Princess, earlier you seemed to have something on your mind that you didn’t like whatsoever. Can you tell me what it was about?”

  I wasn’t thinking about it till now… She sighed and propped she elbows on the bed as she tried looking at his face in the darkness. Her voice came out on the verge of breaking, but it somehow remained neutral. “Actually after seeing how weak the Balancers are compared to me, it had me thinking. What would happen to Darrel and Pearl if something tragic happened to us? What would happen if the same thing happened to everyone else? They would grow up in a world that won’t understand how to treat them because of their talents. I don’t want to imagine leaving them behind, but it…”

  “could happen.” He finished her statement because her voice almost broke. He began rubbing her lower back to ease the lingering discomfort. “You’re completely right. We cannot leave them behind if we are going into a fight that we might not win. I don’t want to think about our children without us, but this fight has too many variables and the probability of our survival is unclear. The only thing that makes any sense is to make a living will. We cannot leave them to your parents or my sister or Mark because they could all die as well. The only logical person would be…”

  “Jenny.” Sarah said flatly, finishing his sentence. “She still has enough life left to raise them into late adolescence. We should also set up a trust for the both of them so that Jenny could take out however much she needed. How much should we leave for them…hypothetically?”

  In a few seconds he said “We should leave them at least twenty million each.” Sarah didn’t balk at the number like most parents probably would. “We both understand that they will grow slowly and once they come into their abilities their food bill is going to skyrocket. They cannot produce the energy we do. Once they finally look the age of a young adult Mom can sign over custody of their inheritance. Plus if they need to move because of certain unforeseen events, she can use the money to build a new life with them.” Sarah’s throat was as thick as Connor’s had slowly become. It felt like her heart was breaking at hearing him speak like this. They were both worried for the blank future their children would face without them.

  They decided together to speak to Jenny in the morning and begin preparation for the eventuality should they have a mortal death.

  She placed her head against his chest as tears of worry spilled down her face. Connor became too still until he eventually moved his arm and placed a moist hand on her bare back and then put together that he was crying as well. Their bond to each other were both in twin agony and sorrow as they clutched each other for support.

  They both slowly and silently cried themselves to sleep.

  Pain and Pleasure

  Hearing the clashing of steel, roar of challenge and cries of pain became a familiar and comforting sound around here. It is the violent sound of hope for the human world.

  Connor currently perched himself in the comforts of a large oak tree and watched expectantly as the crowded clearing bustled. It has been twenty three days since Clarein, Firon and Xaon had arrived and he knew everyone who could, had, shown up. Those that gathered, all knew of the impossible numbers they faced. The opposition is eight hundred thousand strong, but currently Connor’s only counted close to one hundred and nineteen thousand for their side, that were here. Oh and he quickly found out that there were many more Immortal Guards than he first realized. He thought there were only about sixty, but actually there were several thousand. The sixty that he’s met are strictly the personal guards for the Elders. Sorono explained that many of the Guard were off duty during the meeting. Their numbers were a massive surprise to him nonetheless.

  He dropped his head against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes. He b
egan automatically searching for some kind of solution to the many problems the camp faced while also recollecting recent events.

  After the torturous night when Sarah explained what they needed to set up for the possibility that they wouldn’t return to their children, they sealed their minds so that neither Darrel nor Pearl could learn of the plan.

  After they had arrived at the training field the next day Connor gained the attention of Sorono and that of his in-laws. Sarah felt it to be her duty to be the one to explain that they needed to go somewhere without the children and Connor read their minds to realize that they figured out what they were up to, without being told directly. The others understood and didn’t say anything to make their decisions any more difficult. They were given a reprieve from the day’s events and Sorono said he would fill in for Connor’s duty in training the Balancers. Before he and his mate began the difficult decisions they left the care of the children in the hands of Jillian and Jack.

  Connor knew that his mom didn’t have work that day and she was confused at their unexpected arrival. She was thrilled to see them again, but that didn’t last. They were sitting in her living room together and Jenny listened very quietly as they explained what they had discussed last night. His mom was a strong woman, but hearing the words ‘We might not make it through this.’ made her begin to understand the seriousness of their positions. Jenny didn’t like hearing this as she began to cry and Sarah was the only one capable of easing her suffering as they hugged each other and cried together. Somehow Connor was able to manage to barricade the tears, but his swollen throat couldn’t and wouldn’t allow him to speak further.

  Once things eventually calmed down, Jenny said she would do whatever it took to keep the kids safe, secure and out of danger. Sarah told her to go clean herself up because they had some driving to do that day. While Jenny did her thing, Sarah called a high-end lawyer and set up an immediate and priority appointment with them. Apparently she had dealings with this lawyer before because the secretary instantaneously made the appointment and shifted another client out of the way.

  Jenny rode with them in his green truck and it took over an hour to finally reach the destination. Once they made it to the lawyer’s office Connor realized that he knew the secret of their family to a point, but only that they didn’t age. He was a middle aged man with a relatively bright personality and good looks. Apparently he is a sixth generation lawyer that the Branderson family used regularly when they were in this state. The Branderson’s were the ones who had gotten his great grandparents their big break. He never gave any verbal or physical cues as to revealing the fact that they were different, but he did look at Connor and Sarah curiously. He listened to what they needed and went over to his computer and began printing off several documents.

  He sat down with the three of them and drew up the papers that were needed. Soon a living will was drafted and in the unfortunate event of their death, Jenny would become the twin’s primary guardian. They all signed the documents and had them witnessed. Connor saw from his mom’s signature that her hand was shaky because she truly didn’t like ill-fated events happening to her family, but she didn’t have many choices to choose from.

  After the will was finished, and filed, Sarah and Connor set up the large trust funds and Jenny as the trustee until their twenty first birthday, even if both looked in early to mid-teens at the time.

  Jenny about choked on her tongue when she realized the inheritance each of the children will receive. She nearly fainted when Connor offered to have her retire early. She said it would be a bad idea if she did, but she did fantasize about going on a pleasure cruise. He vowed that if they made it through this she would get just that.

  They had some surprise guests upon their arrival home that evening. Veronica and Sorono were waiting in the shadows of the trees. They talked about what Connor and Sarah were doing with Darrel and Pearl and came to their own conclusion about their progeny. The two giants shocked them all when they asked Jenny to watch after Shannon while they went off to fight and if something went wrong, that she should remain with her if Clarein and Firon fell as well. If in the event the enemy won completely against the combined forces of three races they sealed special directions to a hidden sanctuary so the children could grow into adulthood and be able to defend themselves decades later.

  It didn’t take Jenny long to say that she would keep all the children safe and flee to the haven should the worst happen. Everyone knew she was doing everything she could to keep herself together.

  Sorono then brought out a large pouch and opened it to reveal a sack full of gold coins and polished jewels. He had given it to Jenny for any unforeseen expenses that she might face in the care of Shannon. Connor judged there to be close to a quarter of a billion dollars worth of ancient treasure Sorono handed over to Jenny for the care of his daughter.

  Its weight was more than his mom could carry so Connor carried it into the house for her. By the end of that day she had taken much on herself, but he knew she wouldn’t get carried away with the responsibility.

  A few days went by and a routine began forming for everyone. Everyone was given a filling meal for any exercises that were sure to be taxing. From ten until noon became a reserved time for training the Balancers. From noon until two became hand to hand or in some cases claw, from two till four became weapons fighting, and then it became free time for the rest of the day to do what they liked.

  Connor began bringing Tool and his armor to practice just as Sarah also did the same with her Fangs and armor. And he had to alter her chainmail because of her new bust. She became giddy that her mail needed to be altered in that area.

  It became clear that many Keepers prefer to use their claws or teeth as weapons and as a result they made weapons that enhanced those features. They made metallic gauntlets that their hands can slip on and the metallic claws were razor sharp and serrated. It also became same for the claws on their feet. Then Connor remembered the hollow metal tooth from the island and saw that even their Keepers made them for themselves. They used the metal teeth over their own to make their teeth into a more deadly weapon that both served as a threat display and a promise to be used in a fight. Very few warriors were like Xaon and carried a sword and Connor realized that it is difficult for a Keeper to use swords because of their bodies. It requires skill and training for them because their balance is slightly different from that of a human.

  In Connor’s daily fight with Sorono he revealed, fifteen days ago, that he too had his own clawed gauntlets made from Dark Steel. The fight on that day was on a whole new level. They fought three separate battles in one explosive sparring match. They battled hand to hand, with weapons and with elemental abilities. It was a great fight and he schooled Connor once again. The prizes of his personal defeat, that day, came as a broken right ankle and a wrenched shoulder.

  In Sarah’s fight that day, Veronica too showed that she had her personal pair of Dark Steel gauntlets. Their fight was just as mesmerizing as Connor suspected his to have been. She too lost and received a broken tailbone, which he only noticed when she returned to his side and refused to sit down for five hours. She also revealed how chipped her steel daggers had been from the fight.

  The result of that match forced her to ask how to make steel her Fangs into Dark Steel.

  That night, much of their energy was consumed. Sarah learned the cost of using this elemental form. After she repaired both of her blades she turned them individually into their ultimate and final shape. Each single bladed dagger became pure black with a rich and polished luster. Despite how the weight became lighter, its balance remained perfect.

  After her blades were done an idea popped into his mind and his chainmail soon found its way in his hand. Connor soon figured out that so long as each link touched another, it remained as one piece of metal. He had changed the chainmail into Dark Steel as well. Soon so was Sarah’s. Now piercing, hacking and slashing attacks became useless, but crushing weapons would still be effe
ctive. They put the rest of their armor into one large touching pile and turned them all into Dark Steel, but he had to make more mail for the armguards for the leather could no longer stand the stress of speed and strength he now wielded.

  By the end of the night they were both running on less than ten percent of their original stores. They cleared out the pantry and were still hungry.

  The fight of the next day resulted in a surprise tie between all of their weapons and armor, but their owners bodies still lost the match to the reptiles in the end.

  At one occasion Michelle, the wild looking Changer, who volunteered to work with Deputy Burrow, brought an irritating Changer to Connor. Michelle arrived to the clearing wearing a deputy’s uniform that the Sheriff had given to the Immortal Guard that were aiding him and keeping the peace. Her short and cropped hair still remained the same though.

  Apparently this male Changer was causing a large disturbance at a local bar and took up the offer for Connor to deal with him rather than being told to simply leave the location and stop disturbing the peace.

  He wanted a fight and got one thinking that since he lost to Sorono daily that he was weak. He found the assumption wrong. The Changer was taken out with a single hit to the back of his head and went completely unconscious. Connor proved then that he should have taken things with a clear mind and also proved that everyone should respect the law concerning keeping peace with the humans in the area.

  Since that incident there haven’t been any large disturbances on either side. No humans came to check out the area nor were there any troubling instances that couldn’t be quelled quietly, discreetly and peacefully.

  Then there is the training concerning the Balancers. Not only did they learn how to develop their powers in new and unique ways, but they learned to work together as a cohesive unit. Connor and Sarah explained that Balancers weren’t going to fight separately in the upcoming fight and had them get into groups of four or five, on average. The elders had decided not to tell which group would go where, yet. They always kept mates together because they knew it would be best to work and stay together. To beat their opponents they needed to learn to fight in small, mobile groups so that their weaknesses could be compensated by their teammates. Those with single elements were mainly paired up similarly. Like pairing up a Fire and Liquid Balancer with a Terra and Pressure affinitive type. Those that were Metal Balancers always had mates that were capable of manipulating both Terra and Pressure. Those rarer relationships were always paired with Fire and Liquid. That meant Jillian and Jack were always pared up with Amber and Ben. The growth of comradely and skills had greatly and rapidly improved among the combatants. Connor just hoped that this will be enough.