Rash woke up slowly with a sharp headache, feeling as if someone had sliced his head in two, inserted something, and sealed it back up—and whatever was inside was trying to claw its way out. The next thing Rash noticed was that he was on a bed inside Kieren's cabin, and for some reason, the cabin looked brighter than it had yesterday.

  "Good morning, Rashiel," said Kieren, appearing as if out of thin air.

  Rash startled and pressed himself against the wall, looking at Kieren in fear.

  "I understand why you are afraid, but I promise you—you will not be hurt anymore," Kieren said.

  "W... what did you do to me?" Rash stammered.

  "I had to ensure that we couldn't be overheard or that you couldn't be tracked," Kieren said.

  "Fr... from what?" Rash stammered again.

  "Let me tell you a story that will explain everything, but I ask—keep an open mind until the very end. Alright?"

  Rash nodded, and Kieren continued:

  "Thousands of years ago, the world was completely different—more developed, technological, and far more free. It wasn't this small; it didn't consist of only the forest and the five kingdoms. There were hundreds of kingdoms spread across many continents, each one unique. Then, nearly 3,100 years ago, a special person was born in a distant country called Alush. He was given a name I'm sure you’ll recognize—Rashiel."

  Suddenly, Rash was no longer in the cabin. He was floating above a city filled with tall buildings, with vehicles of every color of the rainbow flying through the air and others moving along the ground. Suddenly, Rash flew into a tall building and entered a room filled with people in white coats and a woman sitting on a bed holding a baby. It seemed that none of the people noticed Rash.

  Then Kieren's voice was heard again:

  "From the moment of his birth, Rashiel was different from everyone else. Instead of crying like any other baby, Rashiel emerged quietly and simply looked around, absorbing the world."

  Rash looked at the baby, and the baby looked back—as if he were the only one who noticed Rash—but then the baby continued to look around, as if Rash had only imagined it.

  "How did you transport me here?" Rash asked.

  "Don't worry, this is only an illusion. We are still in the cabin," Kieren replied, then continued:

  "At just three months old, when Rashiel began to walk, he went out to explore the world."

  Now Rash stood in the yard of a house and saw a three-month-old baby leaving the house toward the forest that surrounded it.

  "Rashiel entered the forest every day, learning more and more about nature and animals—until suddenly, when he was six years old, something happened that changed the world forever."

  Now Rash stood by a waterfall and saw Rashiel as a young boy standing beside it, looking down. Suddenly, he slipped and fell. Rash fell along with him, until suddenly, in the middle of the fall, Rashiel raised his hand in an attempt to grab onto something. The light around Rashiel's hand turned into a solid arm of light that shot out, grabbed the edge of the cliff, and stopped the fall. Using the arm of light, he pulled himself up to the top of the cliff.

  "What you just saw was the first use in history of the art of Pure Sylarin. From there, Rashiel went on to research and understand the art of Sylarin."

  Rash saw the boy Rashiel talking to animals, creating things out of thin air, and even shapeshifting into a beast.

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  "Over the years, as he grew and reached the age of sixteen, he was already famous throughout the country of Alush, and he even taught quite a few people the art of Sylarin. He realized that every human being has a tendency toward a different type of Sylarin use, and therefore defined four types."

  Rash saw one person healing another, and another person shapeshifting into a wolf.

  "The first type—Matter Manipulators. People capable of changing matter itself, and using that to heal people or change shape."

  Then Rash saw a person lighting a match and turning it into a massive fire, from which he fired fireballs at an enemy.

  "The second type—Energy Manipulators. People capable of manipulating energy, increasing or decreasing existing energy, and even changing the type of energy itself."

  Rash now saw a person holding a small stone in his hand and turning it into lightning bolts that he threw at his opponents.

  "The third type—Matter-to-Energy Shifters. People who, as the name suggests, are capable of turning matter into energy and then shaping and controlling the energy they created."

  Now Rash saw a person whose hands glowed, and in the center of them, a sword appeared out of thin air.

  "The fourth type—Energy-to-Matter Shifters. People capable of taking the energy that surrounds us all, or even more mundane energy like fire or electricity, and creating things."

  Rash now saw a person opening a portal and stepping through it to another place.

  "Over time, Rashiel discovered that there are rare individuals who can control two or even three types, and they can combine them to develop special talents—like a portal that changes matter to energy and back. He called them Combiners."

  Rash now saw Rashiel standing on a stage (this time as an adult) in front of many people, cutting a ribbon.

  "At age twenty-five, Rashiel opened a school in the capital city of Alush, and people came from all over the world to study with him. But despite all his attempts, he did not find anyone like him capable of using all four types."

  Rash saw Rashiel sitting in his office, looking tired and despairing.

  "Then, at age thirty-two, Rashiel’s son was born—Alistriel. And five years later, something happened that he didn't expect—Alistriel had no tendency toward any of the types."

  Rash saw Alistriel arrive in a room with four giant glass crystals. He went and touched them one by one, but nothing happened.

  "Despite all his efforts, Rashiel could not find the reason. But Rashiel did not despair—he worked with Alistriel until the small hours of the night, for ten consecutive years, until finally, it happened."

  Rash saw Rashiel standing in a training arena with Alistriel, swinging a small axe toward him. Alistriel blocked with his own axe, and both axes broke. Golden energy began to leak from them, but instead of dispersing into the air, all the energy was sucked into Alistriel. Rashiel broke into a huge smile and hugged his son.

  "Rashiel realized at that moment something very important—Sylarin energy can be used in another way: it can be drawn inward and used to strengthen yourself. Additionally, he realized that controlling the energy itself is just as important as how you use it. In the following years, Rashiel invested in research and discovered many more ways to use energy to strengthen yourself rather than change the environment. Furthermore, thanks to the new discoveries, Alistriel was able to use all four types of Sylarin, even though he still had no natural tendency toward any of them. This led Rashiel to realize another important discovery—the most important of his life, but also his last."

  Rash was back in the room with the four crystals, and he saw Rashiel there—only this time he was alone, and he himself tried to touch the four crystals. Just like Alistriel, there was no reaction from any of them.

  "Rashiel realized that not having a tendency doesn't mean you can't use that type of energy; it only means you'll have to work much harder for it—but also that thanks to that hard work, your control rises by many levels, to the point of perfection."

  Kieren took a deep breath, and suddenly Rash was back in the cabin.

  "I will tell you the rest of the story tomorrow. Right now, I want us to go outside and train, to prove to you that everything I’ve told you so far is the absolute truth."

  Rash got out of bed and went outside. Kieren grabbed the small axe and went out with him.

  "I know that after what I did, you have no reason to trust me, but right now you have no choice. Tomorrow you will understand the full picture. For now, I want you to take this axe and swing it through the air while taking deep breaths."

  Rash, understanding the situation, did exactly as Kieren said—but he still barely managed to swing the axe. Suddenly, he felt Kieren's hand on his shoulder, and just like yesterday, he felt a foreign energy entering him.

  Except, unlike yesterday, he felt his body accepting the energy and embracing it. And suddenly, he felt more alive than he ever had. Then, he saw the entire world painted in a golden color.

  "Wow... is this not another illusion?" he asked.

  "No," said Kieren, and removed his hand from Rash's shoulder. Suddenly, all the gold vanished.

  "Excellent. Now continue swinging the axe in the air, but I want you to imagine the gold you saw—feel it and breathe it in."

  Rash did so, and suddenly the world became golden again. Rash continued to train while Kieren walked back to the cabin.

  "Keep going like this until evening or until you are exhausted," Kieren tossed over his shoulder before disappearing into the cabin.

  Rash nodded and continued to swing the axe.