Chapter 13 - Blending

  Three potential abilities to learn. Alex nearly salivates at the idea of being able to move things with his mind. He imagines hurling a giant boulder at that ram-demon. And then he thinks about how he couldn’t use Intent-movement while his thoughts were in turmoil. “Telekinesis is tempting, but I don’t know how useful it would be in practice.”

  Alex considers, then looks over at Corvus’s crow form. “Telepathy is how you’ve been talking to me while using the bird form, isn’t it?” He asks. Corvus nods. “Might be handy for having covert conversations. But with you already capable of it, I don’t think there’s any rush for it there.” Alex says, thinking aloud more than talking to Corvus really.

  Then Alex pauses his walk and looks up at the hazed ceiling of the immense cavern. It’s so high up now that he can’t see details anymore. And looking around, he notices the cavern doesn’t so much have walls or branching tunnels anymore, but pillars of stone connecting the floor and ceiling.

  “The perception skill, how does that work?” Alex asks, feeling that an information collecting skill might be more his speed anyway. “I’ll be able to, what? See farther, hear better, smell uh… more?” He cocks his head, trying to imagine what that would be like.

  Corvus swoops in to land on Alex’s shoulder. “In a manner of speaking, yes. Think of it this way.” Corvus begins, adopting his lecture tone. “Enhancing your sight won’t make distant things suddenly clear. But rather it will allow your mind to pick up on details more easily. You’d be able to count the number of leaves on a tree, judge the angle of a cliff or wall, spot the pattern in a seemingly random arrangement of items. That sort of detail. It is not your senses that sharpen, but your perception.”

  Alex struggles to wrap his head around that concept, uncertain what the difference is between perception and senses. “Well, it sounds like that might be the best one to start with. Something I can passively use, rather than need it in a stressful situation.” He says.

  Corvus lets out a small caw and launches back into the air. “I agree. It is a sound choice. And one that I believe fits your nature.” The crow wheels above Alex, then bolts into the distance so fast that Alex has to cover his ears from the sudden crack of sound. The crow had gone hypersonic without so much as a wingbeat. It wasn’t Intent-movement, but something more direct.

  “Holy shit!” Alex exclaims, rubbing his ears and temples. “Warn me next time!” He shouts in the direction Corvus had gone. He scans the air, trying to pick out a sign of the crow.

  “First lesson.” Corvus’s voice sounds out, as if right next to him still. “Try to find the state-of-mind you use to engage with the Intent-movement. That clarity of purpose, the intent to perform the task, and the will to make it happen.” He instructs, still nowhere to be seen.

  Alex keeps peering into the distant air, but gives up on that and instead focuses on Corvus’s instructions. He settles his mind, imagining he was about to use the intent movement, but stops just shy of taking a step or willing himself to move. He can feel something within him start to stir, a writhing of potential that wants to be used.

  “Good, good.” Corvus says, obviously able to still keep watch on Alex. “Now, instead of focusing on a goal to move for, focus instead on your mental picture of my crow guise and the last thing you saw of me.” He instructs from the far distance.

  Alex does so, imagining the crow tucking its wings in tight, body sleek like a black bullet rocketing off into the distance. He imagines the iridescent sheen of the feathers, a warping of the air right before the bird had disappeared. He imagines Corvus having to snap his wings open to slow down at the end…

  “Now open your eyes, and Look.” Corvus demands of him.

  Alex’s eyes snap open, and unerringly, his eyes drift up and to his left. Within moments he spots a faint black speck in the distance flying in a lazy figure-eight. And as soon as he consciously recognizes that it’s Corvus, the details snap into place. “Oh… shit… I can see you.” He says breathlessly before the effect breaks and his perception snaps back to normal. Once more, Corvus is just a black speck in the air.

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  Before Alex can say anything else, Corvus is above him again. But this time, the crow does use the intent-movement, ‘sliding’ back into place. “Very good Alex! Very good indeed. Focusing your perceptions on other senses is similarly accomplished.” Corvus says with a tinge of reserved pride. “I do apologize for the sudden shock I gave you. But it was necessary to give your mind something clear to latch onto for your first attempt. A startling movement with a loud sound, that draws attention sharply.” He explains.

  Alex nods, then turns back towards Last-Stop. The town was far behind him at this point. He focuses on the last view he had, setting his mind and drawing upon his intention and will. But the moment he feels that writhing within, Alex’s head explodes with pain. He doubles over, clutching his head. A ringing in his ears deepens and warps until he recognizes the sound of his own voice screaming. He holds his hands over his ears and buries his face into his knees, trying to shut everything out.

  Corvus lands next to the shaking man, his crow guise discarded even as his feet touch the rocky ground. He huddles over Alex, using those immense wings to shroud the other in a cocoon of black feathers. Enclosed in the dark, the wings blocking out the sounds of the world, sheltered from the overwhelming sensory pressure of the world, Alex starts to calm back down.

  Slowly, the pain abates. Alex uncurls himself gradually, shaking and soaked with sweat. “What… what the hell was that?” He asks, stammering out the words. He shudders and his stomach threatens to rebel against him.

  Corvus retracts his wings slowly letting the light back in. “You attempted to see the town again, did you not?” It’s more of a statement than a question, but there’s no accusation in it. Alex just nods, immediately regretting the movement as he grabs his head and groans. “What you just experienced is a backlash. When your intent and will are there, but the potential for what you are attempting is not.”

  Alex just groans. “So, even if I had the full ability, I couldn’t see it?” He asks through the haze of pain. His head throbs, a migraine setting in like someone driving a mining-pick into his eye-sockets.

  Corvus returns to the shape of the crow, and stands before Alex. “Correct. Even if you had the standard ability for it, or even one of the enhanced versions of the power, that backlash would still occur.” He says, then pauses. Corvus considers something for a moment before continuing. “It is honestly quite impressive that you were even able to activate the ability with enough force of will to get to that point. I would have expected it to simply fail to engage.”

  “Oh, you hurt yourself but at least you did something impressive.” Alex sarcastically mimics Corvus’s tone. Unphased, Corvus simply gets airborne again with a solid wingbeat. “You didn’t warn me that was a potential because you didn’t think it would work enough to even happen?” Alex asks after taking a moment to catch a breath.

  The crow circles above, but doesn’t answer. “Corvus?” Alex asks again. Still no answer. A sinking feeling starts to build in Alex’s gut. Alex starts to turn, eyes scanning the area. The sense of unease just gets worse as everything around him seems to grow still.

  “You are in danger. I cannot say more without violating my role.” Corvus’s voice finally reaches Alex. “Until you recognized that for yourself, I could not say more.”

  Alex flexes his hands, wishing he had some kind of weapon. He still couldn’t see the threat. “So you could warn me about the ram about to blast me… but not this…” Alex puzzles out. “So there’s something different.” He whips his head around, trying to keep a view in every direction. The surroundings are a mix of boulders, gravel, and scrub-brush. There’s not much cover that something could hide behind to approach.

  Then he notices it. As he scans his gaze back around, one of the boulders wasn’t in the same place. It was a few feet closer. Alex edges away from it. “What the hell is…” He trails off as the boulder moves, standing on four bestial legs. Now that it is moving, Alex can tell the shape of it. The creature is canine in form, with a skin of mottled reds and greys that blend in with the surrounding stone. When it isn’t curled to mimic a boulder, the thing is lean, angular, and dangerous looking.

  With its cover blown, the creature bolts towards Alex. Its paws kick up gravel behind it and it lets out a fierce snarl. The thing’s eyes burn a dark amethyst, and the teeth flash metallic yellow. Alex takes all this in in the brief moment before he has to throw himself to the side to avoid the beast’s charge.

  “A stone hellhound.” Corvus says from above. “An ambush predator. It creeps up on prey, blending into the terrain. Beware its teeth and claws, they are metal and will cut and rend you easily.” He advises.

  Alex rolls across the rocks and scrambles back to his feet, watching the hellhound skid to a halt and turn towards him again. It approaches slower this time, head lowered and growling. “Oh, that’s just great.” Alex grumbles. “How do I fight it?”

  “You don’t.” Corvus says simply. “Flee.” He says with more urgency.

  Alex doesn’t need to be told twice. He turns and bolts, hearing the hound behind him start running too, both kicking up rocks in a frantic chase. Alex can’t outrun it, the four-legged beast outpaces him easily, gaining ground with each loping gait.

  “You have the tools you need to escape, Alex.” Corvus says encouragingly as the creature takes a bite at Alex’s heel. Luckily it misses.

  Alex has to dodge to the side again, rolling on the rocks to avoid another bite. As he regains his feet, he catches sight of the beast already having turned and coming at him again. Taking a deep breath, Alex tries to summon all the focus and intent he can muster, locking his eyes on a point further away than any ‘step’ he’s made before. The roof of the cavern. This time, instead of just stepping off, he leaps. And the world stretches.