Awakened, page 38
Movement in the corner of his eye made him jump, and his hands squeezed the mane of the horse tightly, making Marric’s knuckles white. Terror filled his whole being, but when he looked, it had only been the shadow of the trees and the reflection of Avryn’s ball of Light off of a particularly shiny tree.
Allowing himself to relax, his other senses came back to him and he closed his eyes, trusting that Avryn would detect any danger, for he felt unfit to keep an eye out himself. That is, unless shadows proved more dangerous than they usually were.
At length, the light of the second moon, Mallan, bright and blue, filtered through the trees above. Looking up, Marric could see that the thickness of the forest was waning, the trees becoming a bit more sparse, though only enough to allow more light to come through. Avryn, now able to see more, dismissed his Light with a sigh.
“I love Mallan’s light.” Avryn said, seemingly at random.
Marric didn’t know what to say to that, so he muttered some sort of response, just so that man knew he had heard.
After a pause, Avryn continued. “The reason I love Mallan’s light is because it is very bright, making it easy to see at night. Also, it’s blue, just like our Lightbearing.”
Another pause. Marric heard what he was saying, but he knew that there was a hidden meaning he was missing.
Chuckling, Avryn clarified his meaning.
“It is a perfect time to practice with our abilities. We still have a bit of time, Marric, and the only way that you will be able to feel comfortable and skilled with your Lightbearing is to practice.”
A fog of confusion left Marric’s mind and clarity appeared. For some odd reason, the trip had seemed awkward, as if he didn’t know what to say to Avryn. This seemed to clear it up.
“Is it safe?” the boy asked.
Rather than saying anything, Avryn removed one hand from the reins, and in a flash of Light, summoned a blue sword, brilliant and true. It appeared without a sound and so suddenly that Marric blinked at the closeness of the intense blue Light. Shocked by its brightness, Marric jumped and scanned the forest around them. However, the Light from the sword was hidden by the blue glow being cast from above. Of course, the sword wasn’t completely hidden, but from afar, the gleam of the sword could easily be that from Mallan above.
Marric turned slightly to see Avryn’s smiling face. The man gave a nod, then dismissed his sword.
“Do you know what your powers are? I have my suspicions, but I can’t be sure.”
It took Marric a moment to realize that this was no longer a hidden answer. He had actually received the powers that he’d heard about—seen himself—over the past few days. It was no longer what power or powers he may or may not receive, but which ones he had now received. He had finally gotten them. Or, awakened, rather, according to their term.
Our term, he thought. Warmth blossomed in his chest at finally being able to say that.
“Erm . . . ”
The revelation he’d just had caused him to pause for a much longer time than normal, making Avryn furrow his brow in worry. Marric didn’t care. This was the first time since his awakening that he’d had the chance to really think about it, really revel in the fact that he was finally . . .
A Lightbearer, he said in his mind, naming the actual term.
Marric was finally able to clear his head enough to talk, though the warmth and elation remained inside him.
“Erm, of course. You’ve seen it, but Seeing is one of them. It has already proven a lot more useful than I imagined when you first explained it to me.”
Avryn hummed in approval behind him.
“I must say that I am quite envious of you. I have never been able to develop even what little power of Seeing I have. Most of what I see are fuzzy images with vaguely human shapes.”
Marric chuckled at that. It wasn’t that he thought that it was funny, but by comparison, his experiences were so clear, sometimes even clearer than his own thoughts and sight.
Another pause.
“So, is that it?” Avryn asked, clearly not wanting to be impolite or rude.
“Oh, no, I don’t think so. But I haven’t tried the others much. While I was with Riln—”
Avryn stiffened behind him.
“You met Riln directly?!” the man said, surprised.
Marric tilted his head to the side. That was not the reaction he was expecting.
“Well, yes. Before Janis appeared, and—”
Avryn cut him off before he continued.
“You’ll have to tell me the full story at some point, but Lanser, am I glad that you made it out in one piece. That man is—” Avryn was choosing his words carefully. “. . . has been known to be very dangerous.”
Marric nodded. There was clearly more of a story to that comment, but Avryn didn’t appear to want to elaborate on the thought.
“Anyway,” Marric continued, “He asked me—or rather, forced me—to Conjure something. I was able to create a bow and arrow. Made from blue Light.”
“Ahh, welcome to the ranks of Conjurers. I thought that was the case, based on the events of your awakening, but I wanted to be sure. It is indeed a very useful gift to have. Perhaps I’ll teach you myself, once the chaos dies down.”
Once again, it was obvious that the man didn’t want to discuss Riln further. Avryn pushed forward with the conversation about Marric’s powers again.
“I’m a Mover as well, yes?” Marric said, the memory coming back to him. There was a part of him that thought Riln had mentioned Moving at one point, but his short-term memory was a little jumbled at the moment.
Avryn nodded in affirmation.
“Seer, Conjurer, Mover. I’m sure that those three will come quite in handy together.” Avryn said, a thoughtful tone to his voice. “At the sanctum, there will be experienced Seers and Movers to assist you in mastering your abilities. Of course, I can help you with Conjuring. Perhaps now is a good time.”
Marric felt a thrill in his chest. Ever since he’d learned that he would awaken to powers of his own, he’d been excited for the day when he could actually use them and become trained on how to master them.
Careful not to allow too much eagerness into his voice, he asked, “What do I do?”
Avryn smiled at his quick response.
“Well, the first thing you must know about Conjuring is that it is powered by the imagination.”
The man paused there, apparently wanting that to sink in.
Marric felt a bit disappointed, and he let it come out with an, “Oh.”
Avryn chuckled.
“No, we aren’t going to spend the next bit of time practicing how to imagine, I think that you are probably quite good at that already. I’ve found that the younger you are, the more natural that part comes.”
Marric sighed in relief.
“All you must do, then, is while thinking of that object, whatever it may be, imagine it being real. You may need to hold open your hand like so.”
He extended his hand in front of Marric with his palm open and extended. This time, a small flash of Light announced a pair of spectacles. They were small, with round frames, and looked to be for an old man.
“By practice, holding your hand open isn’t required, it just helps the process along. In time, you can conjure anything away from your body as necessary. I once Conjured a large rock above the head of one of my enemies. It knocked them unconcious quite quickly and they didn’t even see it coming.”
Avryn smiled as Marric looked back at him in disbelief. The idea of that actually happening was such a wonder to the boy. Smile lines creased deeply on the sides of Avryn’s eyes, which made him look far older than he likely was.
Deciding that it was better to just try, and feeling less overwhelmed without a pale man throwing knives at him, he held out his hand and tried to think of something to create. Of course, nothing came to mind quickly, so he Conjured what he had before. He imagined his bow, the bow that he’d lost during the scuffle with Prost and his accomplices. With shock, Marric watched as the bow sprung into life made of brilliant blue Light. Once again, Marric expected the bow to be hot, painful to the touch, but instead it was pleasantly warm, and felt remarkably like actual wood.
“Very good. I’m impressed with the detail. It also looks quite functional. Though, a bow and arrow is a bit impractical, considering the distance limit that Conjuring tends to have.”
Marric had forgotten about that. Avryn had told him, seemingly ages ago, that Conjured items would disappear once they grew a certain distance away from their creator.
Perhaps we should test it, then, he thought to himself.
“Just a moment.” Marric said, lifting his leg over the horse and sliding off.
Marric held out his other hand, creating an arrow, and once again marveled at the strangeness, yet easiness of it all. He nocked it, aimed, and shot the arrow at a tree within ten or so paces. It struck the tree with a crack, and hung there, embedded in the wood where it stayed, unmoving.
Cocking his head, Marric wondered why it hadn’t disappeared.
“How long will it stay there?” he suddenly asked, still watching the arrow as if it would escape his view if he looked away even for a moment.
“Ah, it will persist until either you grow too far away, you fall unconscious, or you dismiss it. Which, once again, it is an object of the mind. Simply will it to be gone, and it will.”
Feeling a bit ridiculous, Marric thought about the arrow puffing into nothing. Regardless of his feelings, the arrow did snuff out, quickly and completely.
The boy looked down at the bow which still seemed to pulse ever so slightly with Light, then looked up at the moon. They were very much similar in color, which seemed like an unlikely coincidence. Regardless, he was glad that he was being allowed to practice. The thrill that he’d felt before returned to him and he suddenly wanted to keep practicing.
Releasing the bow, Marric thought he’d try something that Avryn might not expect. Looking into the distance, Marric imagined Janis, her slight, yet strong and confident stature, her movements, her hair style, everything that he could think of. A sudden flash of Light in the trees ten or so paces away made Avryn stiffen behind Marric. The man summoned a blade of Light and stopped the horse.
“Someone’s here. If I tell you to run, take the horse.”
Marric wasn’t listening, however. He watched with awe as a seemingly perfect replica of Janis, though made of blue Light, stepped out from the tree and started walking toward them. Jumping down from the horse, Avryn moved to the side, away from the Light-figure and toward the trees nearest there.
“Whoever you are, show yourself!”
Avryn wasn’t looking at the Light-Janis, but he was looking around the trees. It was clear that he knew it was a Conjure, and he was likely trying to find the person responsible for it.
“Wait.” Marric said.
The man paused, looking at Marric with a hard expression.
“It’s Janis.”
Avryn’s brows furrowed in confusion, the blue moonlight from above shadowing them and causing his eyes to look darker and deeper. Then they relaxed and his face took on a more surprised look.
“Lanser’s might,” he whispered, watching the woman walk to Marric and stand there, looking down at him slightly. “How did you . . . ?”
Marric stared at her, then he held out his hand and she did as well. The two shook hands, and he gasped at how natural the hand felt, not at all like the Light from which it was actually made.
A slight whistle distracted Marric, and he looked away. As soon as he did so, the Light-created woman disappeared in a puff of what looked like mist made of Light. The moonlight above was once again the brightest source of blue Light, save Avryn’s sword, which he soon dismissed after realizing it was Marric’s creation.
“That was . . . unexpected.” Avryn said, clearly choosing his words wisely. “A Conjure of that sort is uncommon in those who awakened very recently. Of course, we can’t Conjure real autonomous living things, they are simply shadows of reality. It seems less confusing now why Watchlight was so interested in you.”
At the mention of Watchlight, a question suddenly slipped into Marric’s thoughts.
“Why is their Light red?” he asked, unashamed.
Avryn released his sword and walked back to the horse. Marric had dismounted and he didn’t even remember doing so. When Avryn didn’t offer up the answer quickly enough, Marric said it again.
“The Light of our powers is blue, like Mallan,” he said, pointing up, “but Riln’s, I mean, the robed man, his were red. Very red.”
“Ahhh, so that’s what you mean.” Avryn said, nodding his head. “To be honest, Marric, no one really knows. At least, no one that I’ve talked to. There is one thing that we do know, however.”
He paused after that, thinking for a moment.
“I’m sorry,” he said after the quiet. “This is very perplexing to me, and I think perhaps it lends aid to our perception of Watchlight as a whole.”
Avryn shook his head then, still bothered by something.
“All Lightbearers, as far as we have seen, awaken to Light colored blue, like ours. However, it seems that those who choose to follow Watchlight find that their Light gradually changes to red. It seems very odd and unexplainable, but I will say that it does come in handy to know where allegiances lie.”
It was obvious that Avryn took quite some comfort in that idea, but for Marric, it lent him no such feeling. For some reason, that knowledge made his stomach churn. There was something so unsettling, even more so than his first encounters with Lightbearing, about the red-lit powers of Riln and those at Watchlight.
Avryn cleared his throat, apparently noticing that Marric was bothered by the subject. So he returned them to what they were working on before.
“So, perhaps we should continue with your Conjuring.” Avryn said. He narrowed his eyes at Marric then, not in a suspicious way, but merely in a curious one. “Conjuring images of people, especially those with the likeness of someone else is very challenging. Have you done that before?”
Marric shrugged. “No, but it felt right at the moment. I’m worried about them.”
“Ah, yes. I wouldn’t worry too much. Shrell and Harmel are very smart in situations like this.”
The man chuckled then. “And Janis has more than proven herself resourceful, to say the least.”
The boy nodded, though he didn’t feel as confident in their safety as Avryn did. He couldn’t explain why, but he had a feeling that something was about to happen and it felt off. The two mounted the mare and set off again.
“How much longer until we are there?” Marric said, suddenly shifting topics.
“To the sanctum? Oh, only a couple more hours. We are quite close.”
They both fell into silence, Marric’s Conjuring training coming to an abrupt end. The boy was still amazed and full of wonder at his new abilities, but he wasn’t in the mood to learn about them anymore at the moment. He regretted asking about the color of Watchlight’s powers, but at the same time, he didn’t.
The mare on which they rode clopped, the echo seeming so loud, yet so quiet at the same time. It was quiet, save for the hooves and an occasional snort or snuff from the horse. The night seemed to drag on, and Mallan eventually set, leaving them in a dark period before Isllan would rise, and with it, the fog. In his mind, that was the worst part of every night. He’d been out in the fog more than once since they’d journeyed, and no, they hadn’t been killed or attacked, but it felt . . . wrong.
Avryn must have sensed Marric’s unrest, for he spoke then.
“We are almost there, Marric. We’ll probably be in the sanctum before the fog comes out, so try to relax.”
That seemed a silly statement to him, for the last time they had been near their destination, an ambush seemed to have been waiting.
Fear gripped him at the memory, and a flash of Light to their left exploded, causing Marric to cry out, almost falling off the horse. Avryn gripped him by the waist and hoisted him back in the saddle.
“What was—”
“Marric, you need to relax. It is all going to be fine.”
“—but—”
“That flash of Light was you, Marric.”
Avryn spoke softly, trying to keep relaxed. It was clear, however, that the Light had stressed him out. They may be close, but the darkness before Isllan made their powers stand out far too much, and that could give their position away.
“What do you mean it was me? I didn’t mean to.”
“Your powers, at least until you understand more how to control them, will be triggered by memories quite easily. I suspect you were remembering something stressful, am I right?”
Marric only nodded, trying with difficulty to not let the memories come back, fearing that it would happen again.
A reassuring hand gripped the boy’s shoulder and Avryn said, “It happens. For now, may I ask that you focus on where we are going? Our Light is far too bright right now, and I would like to get inside before the fog comes out.”
Marric nodded in agreement, though the oppressive memory of the ambush was still imposing on his mind.
The two travelers lapsed into silence once more, which allowed Marric to gather his thoughts and ponder on their conversation and his small amount of training. Fortunately, this seemed to make the time go very quickly. In the darkness, Marric couldn’t really tell much about the landscape, and he even wondered how Avryn or the horse could tell which direction they were going, yet they walked on. The air seemed to start cooling, indicating that the fog would soon arrive. However, not a moment after Marric started feeling it, the horse stopped. Isllan’s orange light had only started to peek through, and they had left the trees and entered a clearing in front of a great cliff.
The air was much wetter, and Marric could hear the sound of running water somewhere, like the combination of many streams or small waterfalls weaving together into a complex sound.
