"Cathelyn Cornelius!" Kins yelled out in the middle of the scriptorium. Once again, a book came sailing through the air and landed in Kins hand. This one was very different from the first one; it was much shorter and not as elegant to look at. While the other book was ornate and metallic, this one lacked any luster at all. It was a simple book with a deep scarlet cover, it had to be no bigger than five or six inches tall and was about two centimeters thick. The cover had only one thing on it; Jay's mother's name embroidered in gold in the bottom right corner. Kins smiled wildly excited to dive into another book, but Jay looked hesitant.
"Kins…" Jay said just before Kins threw the book open, "Is this going to be like the other book...and if so will I see a projection of my mom…" Jay's words held a deep sadness. After her death, Jay wanted nothing more than to see her again. She always encouraged him to explore and discover, that is one of the main reasons that he still went into the woods so frequently after she died, he didn't want to lose that part of himself that his mother loved. But now many years have passed, he has lost everything, and if he is being honest with himself the only image of his mom's face he has left is from paintings on the wall. As much as he would love to see her again, Jay became very afraid that even seeing something that just holds the image of her would disgrace the memory. He was not the same boy and many of the attributes she loved about him were buried beneath heartache and trials.
"You mean this little thing," Kins held up the small red book and looked at it puzzled, "no way this thing could handle that kind of magical spell, this was just your mother's journal." Jay breathed a sigh of relief and nodded his head. Kins opened the book and flipped through the pages quickly.
"You don't seem to be reading it," Jay noticed.
"I am looking for a specific part within this journal. I have seen it before and I know it is here...AH!" Kins opened the book wide to a set of two pages side by side. On both pages there were diagrams; one showing a lineage and the other a magical affinity chart. "This is where your mother documented her family line as well as her magical affinity. Look a couple of rows up on her lineage," Kins pointed to a particular name as he said this to Jay. Jay leaned his head into get a closer look at the name, in neat little cursive letters it read:
Davill Wilhelm
"Davill, you mean like the leader of the Druids Davill!" Jay asked. Kins nodded.
"Your mother came from the druidic line, and the leader of the druids in fact!" Kins said, throwing his hands in the air in excitement. "Now do you get it!" Kins asked, but he was only met with a confused look on Jay's face. Kins put his hands down and looked at Jay with frustration.
"What," Jay asked, "my mother was from the druidic line, that's awesome but it doesn't help me understand why I am not telekinetic." Kins muttered in the foreigners' language under his breath and wiped his face.
"Were you paying attention at all during the story we just heard?" Kins had a hint of annoyance in his tone, the kind of annoyance that follows when you very clearly understand something and other people just do not seem to get it. "Davill was the right hand man to Heathers. He was the last known user of gravity magic...so…"
"But that isn't possible. Magic is hereditary, if my mom is from Davill's line then someone would have had to inherit his magic somewhere in this tree," Jay pointed out, he still rejected the notion that he was any different than he had grown up believing to be.
"Take a look at Davill's children, tell me what you notice," Kins gestured towards the book in a sweeping motion. Jay looked down at the family tree and couldn't find anything peculiar at first, but then he realized that out of Davill's four kids only one of them had children; and that was the line his mother descended from.
"My mother was from the only surviving son of Davill," Jay said. Kins smiled at Jay's deductive reasoning.
"Exactly! Davill had four children. Three sons and one daughter. Two of Davill's sons and his only daughter were killed because they inherited gravity magic, your mother came from the only son to inherit the magic of their mother, telekinesis." As Kins talked things began to click in Jay's head. The magical affinity existed within his lineage, it just became very rare for all these generations; and he came from the line of elemental magic users which tend to have their traits show over any other magical affinity. Jay, by some dumb luck, had been the one to inherit the magical affinity even as it grew smaller and smaller with each generation. Jay shook his head side to side violently. He could not believe that he was even considering the notion that he was the holder of some old form of magic.
"I understand that what your saying actually is possible, but why would my family lie to me? I have been training my telekinesis my entire life, how in the world could I not know what it really is?" Jay had hints of concern welling up in his voice. Kins in response kept on smiling as if he enjoyed the look of internal anguish.
"Oooo a two part question. Let me see, the first part is more of an assumption and the second part is going to have to be a demonstration," Kins said. "First, my assumption is either 1. Your parents did not know or 2. They were trying to protect you." Kins walked over and started looking through a stack of books quizzically. "In my opinion, it is the latter rather than the former. Your dad, the mighty king of Illverstand, knew that if you were found out for your magical affinity you would be executed in order to cut off the bloodline, along with your mother. So, he convinced you that you were telekinetic like your mother. Same magical tree, looks similar, and easy to justify." Kins said he finally found a small brown book he looked satisfied with and threw it towards Jay yelling "catch". Jay's eyes began to glow white and the book stopped in midair after barely leaving Kins's hands. Kins looked impressed.
"What are you trying to prove with this?" Jay asked.
"Tell me Jay, how are you holding that book there; and please don't just say 'magic'," Kins asked Jay while examining the floating book.
"I reached out with my mind and grabbed the book in midair using telekinetic energy," Jay answered unenthused.
"Right, well then would you mind moving the book up and down, side to side, in a circle around me, anything like that," Kins inquired. Jay swallowed in embarrassment, he knew that he was unable to move objects more than in one solitary direction at a time, but it was embarrassing to say the least in front of someone else.
"I…" Jay started.
"Can't. Can you," Kins said plainly. "Let me guess you can keep things in the air but you can only move them in single directions before having to reset am I right? Jay nodded in astoundment. "Let me explain:" Kins gestured in a circle around the book, "You are not holding this book in the air because of telekinetic energy you are doing so through simultaneously exerting an equal gravitational pull on all sides of the object. The reason you are able to move it in different directions is because you are either lessening or increasing the amount of Newtons of force upon the object to force it to move in straight lines. This is a very advanced technique for people of your magical affinity, but because you have been taught your whole life that it is telekinesis you have grown to inherently be able to cause this effect!" Kins put his hands on his head as if he was trying to keep his head from exploding as he talked. "Because of the misinformation about your magic you have actually reached a higher KpL than most without even really trying!" As the force of knowledge and words hit Jay, he dropped the book and quickly collapsed in a chair. Most of what Kins said sounded like nonsense but the parts Jay could understand made sense.
"Kins, I need you to understand that while I find this as fascinating...actually I find this less fascinating than you...that doesn't mean that what you are saying entirely makes sense," Jay said to Kins, he was slightly annoyed at meeting someone who was more scientific than he was; but enjoyed the time to learn if he was really being honest. "So let me try and understand: I am not actually telekinetic, instead I can manipulate gravity at will? But that doesn't explain what you said about KpL's?" Kins looked around and pulled up a chair to sit in front of Jay.
"Your analysis is correct and I'm sorry I didn't address the issue a little more, delicately. It can be frustrating to learn that your story is different from the reality you have known. Gravity is not only an old forbidden art, but it is also extremely uncontrollable. See your ability in my community is classified under abilities that mess with natural law. Normal magical abilities are abnormalities in the influence of human nature, but law abilities mess with the entire principle rather than producing power through it. Your brother Tyrius for instance, he also has a law ability, to manipulate cosmic energy and use it to bend space so he can travel. Powers such as these are almost too powerful to exist peacefully in the world. Your parents wanted you to grow up without that burden I'm sure," Kins spoke in a manner that made him sound a little more soft spoken, but still terrifying. In Jay's mind, it sounded as though he was a vessel of uncontrollable energy. The thoughts drifted through Jay's mind causing visible struggles for him to comprehend. Jay's entire life he had seeked to have a better understanding than anyone else around him, about the world, about magic, and he is now presented with someone who can talk circles around him. The last bastion, the last piece he thought he held was his understanding, even in his young age he appreciated his own ability to comprehend, but now he was at a loss. With him finally losing everything he knew to be true before, he wondered if he could truly consider himself the same Jay. As Jay seemed to drift deeper into his subconscious, making him seem dazed or almost not present on the outside, he was suddenly broken from his thought by Kins grabbing Jay's hand and slamming it against the table. Jay jumped up and back in shock, registering that he was still in the scriptorium.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" Jay yelled at Kins. Kins got in really close and looked Jay right in the eyes.
"I am only this close right now because I need to get my point across. I slammed your hand against the desk because I could tell you were not here. That was to remind you that you are here, present, in this moment, in this world. When everything around you is shaking and the world seems to be crumbling, touch something stable to remind yourself that you are grounded in reality, not what is in there." Kins pointed intensely at Jay's head. Jay was the one being comforted but the intensity of Kins gaze went both ways, Jay could tell the words he spoke came from a place of understanding. As if the intensity was fueled by anger of past failure. After a moment, Kins returned to his seated position and grabbed Cathelyn's journal. "My mother once said something to me that I will never forget. The last lecture I ever got. Don't run away from change or shifting in reality, the breaking apart of the former will help strengthen the new reality that forms...only the One Above knows that I have done my fair share of trying to follow her philosophy…" Kins and Jay were quiet for a while after Kins stopped talking. Jay took the seat he held before, he took in Kins advice and found that even in the solitude of silence; he would not drift into his thoughts because he remembered that he was grounded in the real world. This would not always be the case, but at least for now it gave him a moment of peace.
"So…"Jay said after regaining his composure, "Where do we go from here?" Kins chuckled.
"From here...we stop being sad little kids and accept that the world around us is changing. And that unless we train you to a level that is adequate of a druid, your brother is going to take over the entire world," Kins stood up and threw Cathelyn's journal to Jay. Jay caught it and turned it in his hands a couple of times studying it. The awkward transition of leaving a deeply emotional state caused them to both look around uncomfortably trying to figure out what to say. Jay was the first to speak up.
"What is a KpL?" Jay asked standing. Kins perked up, returning to his normal demeanor.
"Lets wake Lily so I don't have to describe it more than once," Kins walked out of the Scriptorium into the plaza. The light from the doorway hurt Jay's eyes as he looked forward into the day. He looked at his mother's journal one more time before sticking it in his pocket. He took one step after another towards the door, and even though the stress was ever present, like a storm on the horizon in his mind; the moment he crossed the threshold the worlds stopped shaking.
-
In the ruins of the Illverstand throne room, Tyrius looked at the broken throne that was in front of him. Even though his face had healed, he still felt the knife slicing his face just from being in this room. The feeling reminded him of his anger and resentment towards the place he stood. Soldiers moved all around him but he paid them no mind as he contemplated the events that transpired in the room. The room where his family stood as a single force against him. He felt no sadness for the loss, no nagging regret, just an overwhelming sense of unfinished business that he was unable to finish off his entire family. He transitioned to looking out at the harbor. Since the beginning of the invasion, two more battleships have appeared in the harbor, as well as hundreds more troops that set up stations and tents throughout the kingdom city, preparing for a full on war against the rest of the world. A blackhooded man with the crest of Illverstand approached Tyrius.
"We have been unable to find the sub that took your brother as well as the druid and the girl. Netler and Jezriel have completely healed since the encounter and are resting. The healers said that they should not fight for at least another month, even with the soul transfer," the man said to Tyrius.
"It appears that though Jay has finally learned the truth about his powers...we can't allow for him to receive any help in understanding the true danger of his ability. Corsin, in your opinion, how should we proceed." Tyrius turned and looked at him, "you are advisor to the true king of Illverstand, advise me." Corsin bows to Tyrius.
"From what you have told us, your brother has an aptitude for powerful magic but is in a rut because he does not understand his own ability. The fact that you subtly gave your brother advice that would undermine his development leads me to believe that he will not truly be a threat in our campaign until later on in the war…" Corsin says.
"So we let him be for now? I don't feel comfortable with leaving any of my family alive, but if you truly believe that it is better for the overall goal…" Corsin interrupts Tyrius.
"However, he is with the final member of the druid, he is someone who is a current issue. I would put him fourth, maybe fifth in top priorities." Corsin finished.
"So...your saying that I should go after him myself?" Tyrius asked, Corsin shook his head no.
"I'm saying we send someone who wants to prove themselves, even if they can't defeat him, then maybe they can come back with their location. We already know that Kins will let people leave instead of finishing them off." As Corsin says this, a man behind the two of them drops a box and calls out.
"I CAN DO IT!" He strides up to Tyrius and Corsin with gusto, smiling the entire way. As he is about to reach them, Tyrius closes and opens his hand in a strained manner. A portal opens in front of the man and in front of the hole in the wall. As the man walks through he finds himself outside of the window about the fall just as Tyrius catches him and dangles him over the edge.
"Not only did you drop precious materials that belong to your king and listen in on his private conversation, you had the audacity to butt in as if you were invited." Tyrius said all this in a calm manner making the encounter all the more terrifying. It wasn't as if he was angry, but that he was simply stating a fact, it was a matter of indifference.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT PLEASE! I am an elemental magic user! I was one of the people that helped set up the devices in the bay before the invasion! Please don't hurt me my king please I only wanted to be of use to you." The man spoke in a fast manner, speaking for his life, he flailed back and forth in fear of falling. Tyrius looked at him for a second, then a smile crawled across his face.
"Very well, I am going to drop you out of this hole. If you survive, then come back inside and we can discuss equipment you might need if you are really going to find Kins and my brother," Tyrius said. The man looked down at the ground below and felt as if it was growing farther away. He looked back up to protest but at that moment Tyrius let go of the man and he began to fall. The on looking soldiers were still for a moment then went back to what they were doing. "If he ends up still being alive, give him some gear and twenty soldiers," Tyrius said to Corsin. Corsin nodded and then left. Tyrius looked out over the ashes and burnt buildings and didn't feel a sense of accomplishment, just nagging ambition; and pain in his eye.
Coming next Week: TRS first Arc- The Final Druid.