Maxwell

  “I am convinced that, out of all the brave acts a man can choose to commit to in this world, the act of loving someone is perhaps the bravest of them all.

  I used to think that bravery was something found in battle. The stalwart gleam in a man’s eyes as he stares down death and desolation with naught but the steel in his hand and the conviction in his chest. But now, I am certain the truth lies far from such conventional reasonings.

  For as I watch Sarah nurture and care for our child with her very body, I am filled with a fear the likes of which no battlefield has ever given me. It is the fear of losing something far more valuable than just my life. The kind of fear a man can only experience once he has found that which he cannot live without.

  There is no man, monster or god in this world I would not kill to protect the unborn child in her stomach. And such compulsion can only be born of fear greater than any other, a fear begetting a bravery of such magnitude it stumps the rational mind.” - Writings of the Sword-Saint, 2151 Post-Separation (PS).

  I sat before the campfire, the flames caressing my skin with a soothing constant of warmth and heat. Shadows danced across the walls of the cave, a reflection of the darkness outside, which was gradually bleeding over into dawn. The first glimmers of sunlight appearing on the horizon, stretching long fingers across the velvet dome, making the stars retreat into obscurity and the color blend into a dark-purple hue.

  It had been a long night. I had not managed much sleep, for my thoughts were a restless ocean casting waves upon a rocky shore. It also did not help that my new arm had now taken to aching incessantly, its mere presence on my body sending rhythmic pangs of torment up my shoulder and chest. The result was a fitful rest, where I tossed and turned as much as our shared bedroll would allow, my eyes closed but my mind alive.

  Amelie had not fared much better. Usually, she was fast asleep within moments of her head hitting the pillow, but that had not been the case this time. At multiple points throughout the night, I had heard her muttering silent curses to herself as she hunted for a more comfortable position to lie in. A pointless endeavor, of course, for the sleeping position was not the true issue plaguing her, but rather a symptom of a deeper unease.

  Mirrani of the Sisterhood sat near the entrance to the cave, her hands working a mortar and pestle that was filled with various herbs I did not recognize. A set of empty glass vials lay on the ground next to her, ready to be filled. She hummed a tranquil melody as she worked, its cadence soft and pleasant to the ears.

  We had not spoken much in the time since we woke from our slumber. My encounter with The Colossal Whale was still fresh in my mind, occupying my thoughts fully as I struggled to make sense of all that had happened in the past twenty-four hours.

  It was nigh on impossible for me to reconcile my current life with the one I had lived in my old world. In many ways, my time in Alwaar felt like the makings of a fever dream, a grand mixture of madness and delirium concocted by a comatose brain to make sense of the incomprehensible. Was any of this even real? Or was it merely the deranged imaginings of a man on the brink of death, whose mind had slipped into insanity in order to protect itself from the crushing realization of an imminent demise?

  Yet, at the same time… this world felt much too alive to be a mere figment of my imagination. The sights, the sounds, the people… It was all so very lifelike, and authentic in its portrayal. Nothing here felt any less real to me than that which had existed in my old world, and so if I were to go down this path of questioning… well, then should I not also question the existence of my past life?

  What made me so certain that Earth was the “real” world, and Alwaar the “fake” one? Could it not very well be my old life that was the impostor, and not the current one? After all, it was here in Alwaar that I yet drew breath, and had a heartbeat. Could the same be said of my old world? Had I not died in that forest, my body reduced to ash and dust by the flames of the gargantuan serpent?

  I placed a palm to my forehead, and let out a long sigh. All this thinking was giving me a headache. I needed to distract myself from it, and so I turned my attention to my companions, who seemed locked in their own musings.

  To my right, Amelie sat with her head slightly tilted to one side, staring into the crackling embers of the campfire with a thoughtful expression. The fire bent and swayed in front of her, as if on the beck and call of her gaze. With a thin frown curled upon her lips, she extended her hand toward the blaze, fingers outstretched as if to grasp the very essence of the inferno itself.

  The flames flickered and writhed.

  She retracted her hand.

  The fire returned to serene crackling.

  “How did you do that?” I asked. It was a stupid question - her alchemical sigil granted her mastery over the flames - but I posed it nonetheless, as a way to break the silence.

  “Astra manipulation,” she said in a somewhat absentminded fashion, her gaze still locked on the fire.

  I took a moment to consider her response.

  “… Could you teach me how?”

  She blinked, then turned abruptly to look at me.

  “What?”

  “Could you teach me how to do it?” I asked again. “I should be able to, right?”

  “Well, yes, but-”

  “Then teach me. Please.”

  An unreadable emotion flitted across her face as she stared at me. Her flame-colored eyes were like twin pyres on a blank canvas, burning with a fierce ardor that would not be denied. Raven-black hair ran in twisting curls down the sides of her face, partially obscuring the birthmark on her right cheek. Even after all we had been through together, that gaze of hers could still make me feel like a child again, standing in the presence of an intimidating adult.

  Her answer was a long time in the coming.

  “… Fine,” she said at last, breaking the stalemate. “I will teach you. Come here.”

  “Thank you,” I said, before scooting closer. As the cave was not particularly spacious, the move put me in a position where I was all but brushing shoulders with her. Despite this perceived invasion of her personal space, however, I knew with some certainty that she did not mind the closeness. We did share a rather cramped bedroll together each night, after all, and so physical intimacy had become somewhat of a mundanity for the both of us.

  “Hold out your arm,” she said, placing a hand on my left elbow.

  I did as told, and raised my remaining human limb towards the fire, my fingers outstretched. I dared not use my other arm, the one I had been gifted by The Colossal Whale. It still felt too foreign, too dubious to be relied upon just yet.

  “Good. Now close your eyes.”

  The world disappeared into vacant obscurity, backlit by the soft hue of the flames, as my eyelids were not able to shut out the light completely.

  “Reach for the Astra.”

  I took a deep breath, and allowed myself to seek out the sea of white crystal once more. I could envision it clearly in my mind; a world of pure energy, bright veins of glowing light stretching out to encompass all. And yet…

  My breathing grew shallow, and uneven. The immaterial seemed slippery, for some reason. It would not reveal itself to me. Instead, the blackness only grew stronger, and more prevalent. My thoughts turned sluggish, making it difficult to think, as memories of my arm exploding into red mist threatened to consume me.

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  I opened my eyes again and gasped for air, my body shaking in place.

  “Calm your mind,” Amelie said, gripping my elbow with a reassuring pressure. “You are safe here. The Astra will not tear you apart unless you allow it.”

  I focused on the sound of her voice, and the feel of her hand. It worked better than I could have anticipated. Within moments, I felt a measure of composure return to my panicked mind.

  “Remember, you are the conduit through which the Astra is filtered,” Amelie explained, running her hand up the length of my forearm. “As such, you decide how much or how little of it is allowed to pass through you.”

  I thought back to my encounter with the creature in the woods. To the sensation of power, and the way it had filled my body. Back then, I had purposefully let it build to a greater crescendo, had I not? Even though I sensed the strain it placed upon my arm.

  “Now, let us try again,” Amelie said, standing even closer to me than before. I could feel her hot breath upon my neck as she spoke. “Close your eyes, and call upon the Astra once more.”

  Though distracted by her close proximity, I tried my best to follow her instructions, and promptly squeezed my eyes shut. At once, the world melted away into ashen dusk, lit only by the glowing energy that lived unseen in all things. It crackled and shimmered before my mind’s eye, as if reacting to my presence.

  “Right,” Amelie breathed, her voice low and delicate. “Now reach out, and siphon the energy from the flames. But be careful not to take too much, or your body will suffer as it did in the forest.”

  I took measure of the campfire before me, its visage akin to a beacon of light amidst the endless void. The Astra danced around it, weaving its way between the logs and up into the air, where it emitted a brilliant warmth and radiance in all directions.

  “It’s so… powerful,” I whispered, my eyes still closed.

  “I know,” Amelie said. I could almost imagine the smile on her lips. “I have seen it all my life. It is a thing of beauty.”

  I concentrated on the conflagration of energy, and attempted to call upon it with naught but will and intent alone. It responded to my wishes with glee, leaving the wood behind with a quickness to soar up my arm and chest.

  Okay… Here goes…

  I breathed deep, and allowed it to enter my body through the sigil on my back. The Astra wasted no time dispersing itself throughout my flesh, and soon, a searing sensation erupted in my hand, causing me to groan in agony. Shaking slightly, I took a reeling step backwards in order to retain my balance. It felt like someone had poured molten lava into my veins, setting fire to my blood.

  “Control it,” Amelie whispered, having noticed my sudden discomfort. “Cut off the flow, and redirect the energy.”

  The fire waxed and waned before me, twisting and coiling as I pulled at its being with my mind. It was an arduous endeavor. Attempting to wrestle control of the Astra felt like trying to hold back a tide of water equipped with naught but a small rag. The tiny strip of cloth managed to absorb some of the energy, but the majority of it simply washed on by to strike me in the chest.

  “Do not think of it as a singular pool of energy,” Amelie continued, leaning in close to the point where I could feel her hair tickling the side of my face. “Rather, view it as a larger collection of individual strands, which you can pick out and discard at will.”

  I attempted to envision the Astra as advised, and soon found that I could separate the flood into smaller sections, each of which contained a specific amount of the celestial energy. That, in turn, made it easier to control, as I could manipulate each section independently of the others. I began blocking off access to the sigil on my back to every such section, and before long, the waves of energy were bouncing off my body, unable to find a way in.

  “Yes!” Amelie said. “That is good! Keep doing that!”

  I smiled despite the strain, and shifted my focus from active blocking to active handling. Now that I was no longer taking in more Astra than I could manage, I was able to begin manipulating the energy in earnest. It swelled within me as I called upon it, longing to be set free.

  I opened my eyes again, and pointed my hand towards the wall at the opposite end of the cave. I was not entirely certain of what I intended to do, but one thing was clear to me. I needed to release the energy somehow, and this seemed a good a way as any. Luckily enough, my intuition proved fruitful.

  The power built within me, surging through my veins as I commanded it to shape and form itself in the image I saw fit. There was little time to contemplate a proper output, loud as the thrum of energy had become, and so the form it assumed was largely a product of subconscious decision-making happening in the span of a microsecond.

  A loud buzzing sounded from my outstretched fingers as tendrils of electricity arched across the space before me, lighting up the room with its sudden and intense luminosity. It struck hard at the stone wall on the opposite end, leaving scorch marks upon its grey surface. The sight of its pure destructive power all but stole the breath from my lungs, and left my eyes wide with wonder.

  Over near the entrance, Mirrani lifted her head from the mortar and pestle to watch the spectacle unfold.

  As soon as the conjured bolt of electricity had left my body, I felt the remaining Astra seep from my skin like vapor, leaving me hollow and spent. Looking down, I noticed the fire from before had been reduced to smouldering embers, stripped of much of its vitality.

  “… Wow,” I said, blinking to clear my vision. “That was…”

  “Amazing,” Amelie finished for me. “It was amazing.”

  Turning to face my companion, I found her standing there with a proud expression on her face. It was the first time I had seen her look at me that way, and so the sight of it did strange things to my heart.

  “Thank you for helping me through it,” I said, feeling bashful all of a sudden. “It… I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “You are welcome,” she nodded, still with that proud smile upon her lips. “Loathe as I am to admit it, I am starting to think you might have a talent for this after all.”

  As the echoes of my spellwork faded, I looked to Mirrani, who had observed the display with a measured curiosity. The strange woman rose from her seated position, dusting off her hands, and approached us.

  "An interesting display of Wielding,” she commented, her voice calm and thoughtful. “To call upon the very heart of the storm itself is an ability most commonly associated with the Great Noble House of Tarwen, the current rulers of Carthal. And as far as I’m aware, the Stormbringer is not known to have any undisclosed heirs running about the countryside.”

  Amelie gave a low grunt at the mention of that name. Whoever this so-called “Stormbringer” was, he seemed no friend of hers.

  “As such, it would appear that the Empyrean Sigil on your back is no mere imitation after all,” Mirrani continued, her lips twisting into a frown. “Which only works to further complicate matters. What a truly perplexing situation. No wonder Tuk’Garosh acknowledged your presence in the Great Blue, logbah.”

  “Again, I’d like to point out that my brain is not made of wood,” I said, raising a finger in objection. “Not that… anyone cares.”

  “Your very existence is an enigma,” Mirrani said, ignoring my remark. “A riddle of cosmic, if not mythical, proportions. There is likely no scholar in Alwaar that would not surrender all of his worldly belongings for a chance to study the sigil on your back.”

  “Oh, uh… Y-Yeah, I guess,” I said, running an awkward hand through my hair. “I don’t know, I try my best not to think about it.”

  “Well, you should,” Mirrani said, raising an eyebrow. “For instance, I myself am currently fighting the temptation of kidnapping you right here and now, in order to bring you back to the Sisterhood for studying.”

  I let slip a nervous laugh at the comment, only to be met with stone-faced expressions from both women.

  “She’s joking, right?” I asked Amelie. She gave a noncommittal shrug.

  “Either way, you should take some time to consider your next move,” Mirrani finished, turning to resume her work. “For as long as you have that sigil on your back, this world will never be safe to you.”

  Her words left me grappling with a powerful apprehension, even as I knew them to be true. How was I expected to survive in a world where everyone was out to get me? And more importantly, how would I go about determining who to trust, and who to keep at arms’ length?

  Amelie must have noticed my anxiety, as she gave my shoulder a playful bump with her fist.

  “Hey,” she said. “Stop that. We will figure it out. Besides, we already have a plan, remember?”

  “R-Right…” I said, feeling my heartbeat steady a bit. “Thank you. I… I genuinely don’t know what I would do without you.”

  A tiny crack appeared in Amelie’s otherwise composed demeanor.

  “Oh… No need to thank me,” she said, averting her gaze to stare at the ground. Was that a spreading blush I saw on her cheeks? “Just… doing my part, I suppose.”

  “Well, your part means more to me than you know,” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “So again… Thank you.”

  She lifted her eyes. There was a moment of silence as we looked at each other then, the warmth of the fire caressing our skin and illuminating our features. In the stillness, it was as if I saw her again for the first time - regal and beautiful, with a fierce passion to her that defied explanation. Who was this mystery girl, whom I had been so blessed to meet? And why did I feel so drawn to her, in a way I had never felt with anyone else, not even Petra?

  It took a long time for either one of us to break the hush that had settled upon the cave. Throughout it all, my hand never left her shoulder.

  “Your eyes…” she started, reaching out as if to touch them. “They are… nice.”

  “… Nice?” I asked, feeling myself redden ever so slightly at the compliment. “What do you mean?”

  “The color is… beautiful,” she continued, ill at ease with the words coming out of her mouth. “It is a very distinct shade of purple.”

  “What?” I said. “Purple? My eyes aren’t purple. They’re brown.”

  “Uhh… No, they are not,” she frowned. “They have been purple for as long as I have known you, at least.”

  “But… that’s impossible,” I said, breaking eye contact to shoot a bewildered look around the cave for anything reflective to use as a mirror. Purple eyes? Surely not…

  Mirrani, who had been paying attention to our conversation from the sidelines, reached into the pockets of her pants to retrieve a small object concealed within a velvet bag. Dipping her hands into it, she brought forth a small mirror attached to a thick silver base with inscriptions carved onto it.

  “Here,” she said. “Use this.”

  I walked over to her and accepted the mirror with a nod, holding it up to my face. If memory served me correctly, this would be the second time I had laid eyes upon my own reflection since arriving in Alwaar. The first time had been back in Galwen, when Rachel had first pointed out the sigil on my back. But at that time, I had been too preoccupied with the change to my body to notice the change to my eyes. Now, I saw it clear as day.

  Holy shit…

  My irises, which had been a deep brown my entire life, were now colored a vivid purple instead.

  “… What is happening to me?” I whispered silently to myself.

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