Lukas and Bene stood across from each other. The morning sun had yet to greet them, and so the nearby fire was the only light around them.
"Lukas, I want you to focus on yourself and see if you can see either of our auras."
Lukas closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and tried to imagine the feeling of his aura. He imagined it would feel like something enveloping him, like a large hug. But instead, the only sensation he could perceive, was like something was lightly tugging on his back, or rather, something was attached to his back. It was like he was tethered, or bound to something he could not see.
"Well, do you feel anything?"
"It feels like something is tugging on my back. Like a rope around my waist pulling me."
"Open your eyes, do you see anything?"
Lukas slowly opened his eyes, but he didn't see anything around himself or Bene.
"No..."
Bene sighed.
"It seems you can sense your aura, but you cannot see it. Now, it is true that not everyone can see auras. In fact, some cannot even perceive them. So you may not be able to see them at all. However, more use of your Frequency may unlock it for you. I have a few guesses as to what your Frequency might do. But overall, I am unsure, so I will do a simple test."
Bene cleared his throat and explained:
"I will count from 1 to 20. On a number between 10 and 20, I will shout for you to activate your Frequency. After I shout I will also strike you with a wooden training sword. If one or more of my guesses is correct you should be able to dodge the strike, or at least know what number I will shout on. Shall we begin?"
Lukas nodded.
They moved to a sparse part of the forest not too far from the cabin. It was snowing, but not too cold, even though they were now away from the warmth of the fire. Bene was calmly walking around Lukas a sword's length away. Bene inhaled deeply and began counting at a steady rate, about once per second.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12- NOW!"
"Tor!"
Lukas shouted... but nothing happened. Bene proceeded to hit Lukas' arm with the wooden sword. The hit wasn't very hard, but the rising feeling of embarrassment within Lukas' for being unable to activate his Frequency, hit a little harder.
Bene retracted the wooden sword.
"What happened?"
"Nothing..."
"Nothing?"
"I said it and nothing happened."
"Right, you haven't used a Frequency before this. Of course, you would have trouble using it for the first time."
Bene paused to think of what to say to try and explain it to Lukas.
"To activate your Frequency you not only have to speak the command word with a firm conviction. Which in your case, is Tor. But, you must also completely focus on activating it. Think of when you swing your sword while training. You must completely focus on every small action you take. Instead of swinging a sword, you must recall what it felt like to use your Frequency and completely focus on it with no doubt or hesitation. Now, try again."
Bene began walking around Lukas again, counting with each step.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14- NOW!"
As Bene's shout ringed in Lukas' ears, and as he began to swing towards him, Lukas slowed his breathing and cleared his thoughts. He attempted to recall the sensation he felt during his awakening.
He focused on two distinct aspects. The first was how it almost felt as though time around beckoned to his call in his breath. The second was how he would fall through the world around him, appearing within a strange realm.
His heart grasped onto these concepts, bizarre as they were. He focused on nothing but those feelings, nothing else in this moment mattered to him.
With this conviction, he took a deep swift breath. The world around him swirled like a whirlpool, with each glance forming a fractured moment in time. Then, he spoke:
"Tor"
Once again, the sensation of being hurled, or thrown, backwards returned. So did the foreign realm, but this time it was filled with every moment of his training that he had taken part in today. Just as quick as it began, however, it was over. Lukas could hear Bene's counting again.
"9, 10, 11-"
"Stop!"
Bene stopped out of shock, a little confused.
"What happened? I didn't shout for you to use your Frequency yet."
"You did! No... wait..."
"What? Are you okay?"
Lukas remained trapped in thought before coming to a somewhat disturbing albeit exciting conclusion:
"I WENT BACK IN TIME!"
Lukas' voice was filled with unrestrained joy. The idea of going back in time? Why that was just about the most thrilling and exciting thing that he could ever possibly think of. And now he had proof that he could do just that!
Bene, however, was in complete shock.
"WHAT!?"
"You said 'Now' after 14 seconds, I activated my Frequency and you were still counting at 9. I THINK I WENT BACK IN TIME!"
Bene, stood there absolutely stunned by Lukas' words. But as he thought about what Lukas had told him and what had happened before, he came to a similar conclusion.
"You might be right about that."
"I KNOW I'M RIGHT!"
Lukas didn't know how to feel about this revelation. On one hand, he just went back in time! However, he didn't know the drawbacks of such a power, and if it was good.
'How could this be a bad thing to have?' He thought.
He may have thought a little deeper about that statement if it weren't for the absolute flood of thoughts in his head. He wanted to know more about his power. He wanted to learn more about the realm he sees when he uses his Frequency. He wanted to know why he was given such an ability. He wanted to know so much more, but that would have to wait, for Bene had more to say.
"I thought you might be able to see into the future, with foresight, or something similar. But I suppose that this too would explain what happened to you. I have another test now though. I noticed your aura acting a little strangely, but it was hard to tell if anything happened since you were stationary. This time I will choose a number between 10 and 15. You will walk in a circle around me while I count up from one. On the chosen number I will shout just like the last test, on that shout use your Frequency. Understood?"
Lukas nodded. Perhaps his thoughts would have to wait a little longer.