“No, not like that; you’re still going about it all wrong, Temin. You cannot force your power to work through desire alone; even if that somehow worked you would end up hurting yourself in the process. You need to allow it to flow from within naturally and shape it with your mind.”
“But I don’t understand how. I can do this easily enough,” Temin said and manifested a dagger of light in each hand. “I just don’t understand how to do the other stuff, like make myself stronger.”
“Don’t lose heart; your natural gift for advanced techniques is simply making it difficult to understand the more basic ones. Still, I will explain it again because I believe you’re more than capable of learning all that I have to teach you.”
I wonder why Master Rin has so much faith in me. Everyone else just writes me off as a problem child or a freak of nature. What is it that makes him care about me?
“Imagine your body as a hollow vessel filled with light. Your arms and legs are simple pathways that the light may follow on its way out of your body. Even as I sit here and explain this to you, a small amount of power is radiating from you. Left unfocused and untapped, it flows out invisible and unnoticed. When you do something like this however,” Orlon said as he manifested a short blade of light from the tip of his outstretched finger, “you’re focusing that power into a shape of your choosing and amplifying it many times over. Thus, it becomes visible and able to be interacted with.”
Reaching out with his sword-less hand Master Rin touched the side of the carriage. Nothing happened. Then, with the blade of light jutting from the finger of his other hand, he touched the same spot as before. The wood of the carriage instantly burned away as the light touched it leaving a hole exactly the size of his finger. The wood around the hole was completely unaffected except for a thin, black ring just around the inner edge. Orlon Rin immediately banished the blade and Temin followed suit banishing his daggers back into nothing.
“Do you see how the same power can be made useful when properly focused? This is a technique that you seem to have mastered without understanding the actual process of what you’ve done.”
“Why isn’t more of the wall burned? If your weapon is hot enough to burn straight through the wall shouldn’t the rest of the wood burst into flame?”
“If this was a sword made of fire, yes, but when focused, the light of Anedae only damages what it strikes directly. The light in this case was formed into the shape of a sword and so none of the energy moved beyond that shape. You instinctively do this with your own manifestations. I know that you have a habit of spinning your daggers on your finger, and yet, even with the point facing down, you never cut yourself or burn your hand.”
He’s right; I guess I’ve never thought about why I never get hurt by my knives, I just know I won’t. Hey, how does he know that I spin my daggers on my finger? It's so creepy sometimes how he always knows so much.
“You’ve already mastered the technique I’ve described, and though you seem to be hung up on daggers for some reason, I'm sure you could manifest other weapons as well. The more basic lightwielder skills that you don’t seem to understand are actually significantly easier to perform. Instead of focusing the light as it leaves your body and holding it in a physical shape, you work within your body.”
“I know this already,” Temin said in annoyance.
“Well, since you're having such a difficult time learning this let's try a different approach. I’ll try to explain it backwards, starting with the technique you've already mastered rather than from the beginning, as a lightwielder would usually do to learn this technique.
The amount of power that is contained within the body differs from person to person and lightwielder to lightwielder, but the techniques are generally the same. In the same way that you would focus the light that radiates from your body to form a weapon outside, try to focus it just before it leaves your body.”
“Look down at your hand, Temin. Now manifest a glove of light around your hand.”
Temin effortlessly formed a thick gauntlet around his hand. He kept staring down at it in bewilderment, wondering how it was going to help him.
“Good, but the glove is too big; try making it a little smaller.”
How does he know how big it is?
Again, Temin did as he was bidden, but his puzzlement only increased as the gauntlet shrank smaller. It diminished in size until it was a skintight glove.
“How’s this?”
“Better, but it’s still a little big; can you get it just a little smaller?”
What?!
Temin stared at his hand in confusion. The glove was already the tightest manifestation he had ever made. The feel of it against his skin made his skin tingle slightly.
“Um, Master Rin, I realize you’re blind so no disrespect, but this is as small as it gets. If it gets any smaller it’ll be inside my hand.”
“Precisely.”
Temin stared at his hand again in wonder. A slight twinge of fear caused tingles along the back of his neck.
Is that really all there is to the basic techniques? If I do something wrong will it hurt me somehow? He shook his head at the thought. No, Master Rin wouldn’t tell me to do something if it was that dangerous.
Concentrating on his hand and the glove of light around it, he focused and tried to make it even smaller. Slowly, the already-skintight glove pulled back into his hand, melding into his skin until it had vanished completely.
Letting out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, Temin smiled at his apparent success. The skin of his hand didn’t look any different than normal, but Temin could feel an odd sensation racing through his skin as if it had suddenly been warmed by the sun.
“Ha! I did it. Did you see th-” Temin shouted enthusiastically then, realizing his unintended blunder, he sheepishly added, “Oh, right, sorry Master. Can you believe it though? I finally managed to get the basic skills to work. I feel like I could crush a rock with my bare hands!”
“I’ve never had any doubt, Temin. You are the single-most-gifted young man I’ve met in well over a hundred years. Can you try to do that technique again? This time begin by forming the glove just within your skin as you would if you quickly needed this technique in battle.”
Temin willed away the previous power that had filled his hand and felt the warming sensation that it had brought fade immediately. After a brief pause, he focused on his hand once more and visualized a glove manifesting just within the top layers of skin in his hand. For a moment, he thought that it hadn't worked, but as he concentrated a little harder, the same feeling of warmth as before washed over the skin of his hand.
“I must say, Temin, you continue to impress me with your amazing talent. I see you becoming more powerful than me someday,” Orlon said with a fatherly smile. “That day, however, is still a few years off. Knowing how to perform that technique is only a small part of the battle. You’ll need to practice often to master it to the point of being able to deploy it quickly in battle.”
“Do you really think I could be stronger than you someday? I don’t know, you’re the most powerful lightwielder in the world.”
“Possibly, but that is not a claim I will ever make. The world has many powerful lightwielders and some of them prefer to remain outside of public view, choosing instead, to protect people in secret.”
“Wouldn’t we know about powerful lightwielders if they were going into The Nightlands to protect people?”
“The Nightlands are not the only source of danger that threatens the people of this world. The World of Light contains many of its own villains: sorcerers, demon worshipers, and even the rare-but-dangerous, rogue lightwielder that has fallen from the path of the goddess. Such people are enemies of not only Anedae, but the people of this world in general. The World of Light is a big place, Temin; never think that demons are the only enemy that you may face.”
“There can’t be that many bad people around can there? If the other lightwielders are as strong as you, shouldn??
?t they have already beaten them all and come to help keep everyone safe from The Nightlands?”
“Ha, you’re still so young Temin,” Orlon said with a faint smile. “Someday you’ll come to understand the truth about this world. Just remember this: demons are demons; they don’t try to hide themselves behind false personas. Humans, on the other hand, can be very deceptive and are capable of as much cruelty as any demon. I don’t envy any of the lightwielders that must hunt down our own kind to maintain the peace, but I understand the need to do so.”
“Oh,” Temin replied quietly.
He lowered his eyes and stared down at the floor of the carriage. The boards were dark and dusty, but he didn’t actually see them. His eyes focused on nothing as his mind drifted. His thoughts became darker the more he thought about what Master Rin had said.
How does someone stray from the path of Anedae? Do they use their powers to hurt people instead of protect them? Hurt them the way that I hurt father... or worse.
Memories of that day rushed back to him. He remembered the feel of his father’s blood on his hands. The look of fear on his parents faces as they cowered away from him. That silent terror had still been in their eyes as they'd left him at the temple and never looked back.
He shook his head in denial. His hands formed into fists and all traces of humor fled from him. Temin had relived the attack in his mind countless times before, but instead of feeling sad, as usual, he became angry.
I was only four years old; I didn’t know what was happening nor did I know how to control my powers. If what Master Rin just told me is true, then there are people out there that know what they're doing and are hurting others on purpose. Why would anyone do that to another person?
His parents’ faces flashed in his mind again. The look of fear they had worn that day had haunted him ever since.
I hope that the master is right and someone is out there to stop them. I don’t know if I could use my powers against another person, but I do know I won’t allow anyone to be hurt the way that I hurt Father. I’ll get stronger than any of them; I’ll become the most powerful lightwielder ever. Then, I’ll have the power to protect everyone from demons and anyone else that would try to hurt them.
His heart bent on achieving his lofty goal, Temin set himself to his training with diligence. Over the next few hours, he repeated the technique that Orlon Rin had shown him dozens of times. He experimented with various parts of his body and found that the more he practiced the easier it became to boost any specific area.
Even though he was stuck inside the carriage with no way to test exactly how strong or fast he could make himself, he could still feel the difference. Enhancing his arms, he couldn’t believe how strong he felt. After he enhanced his legs, he wiggled his toes inside his boots and smiled.
This is amazing; I feel like I could run for a week and then kick down a brick wall. Do all lightwielders feel like this when enhancing their bodies? I wonder if I should ask Master Rin.
He glanced over at Orlon Rin and quickly decided against it. Rin’s face looked relaxed, but Temin could tell that something was bothering him. He’d rarely seen Orlon Rin seem so troubled by anything.
Are The Nightlands really that frightening that they can even bother someone as strong as Master Rin? He was blinded there last time, so I suppose I should be scared too, but I can’t wait to try out my new abilities.
“Temin!” Master Rin shouted.
A sudden jolt in the carriage caused Temin to slide off his bench. He put out his hands and stopped himself from colliding with the other bench and quickly stood up. The carriage had stopped moving and the horses were whinnying madly outside. Something had obviously frightened them.
“Master, what-”
“We’re under attack!”
Orlon Rin reached out and grabbed hold of him just as something hit the side of the carriage. Temin shut his eyes and felt the carriage jolt from the impact and crash over onto its side. He landed against Master Rin and felt splinters of wood scrap against him.
Immediately, he felt powerful hands lifting him up and he opened his eyes. Orlon Rin had risen to his feet and held Temin by the shoulders. The master lightwielder quickly checked him for injuries with his hands, and then set him aside.
“Stay here, Temin!”
Without hesitation, Orlon Rin reached up with one hand and grabbed the carriage frame that had moments ago held a door. With unbelievable strength, he pulled himself up and out of the carriage nearly too fast for Temin to see. He disappeared from view and Temin swallowed hard.
Suddenly alone in the sideways carriage, Temin tried to get himself to calm down. His legs were shaking badly and he couldn’t stop staring at the splintered remains of the bench where he’d been sitting. His eyes began to tear up, but he wiped them furiously with the back of his hand.
I can’t cry like some little kid, I’m a lightwielder. I need to get outside and help Master Rin.
He jumped up and grabbed the side of the frame with both hands and hung on. He kicked out with his feet to try and find purchase on some kind of leverage, but they scrapped through empty air. The door had been in the middle of the carriage wall and was too far from the benches for them to be of use. He tried to pull himself up through strength alone, but he only got a short ways up before his arms gave out and he fell back to a hanging position.
What am I supposed to do now?
Immediately the answer came to him. Focusing on his arms and hands he enhanced them and felt an amazing sense of strength. Once again, he tried to pull himself up and he shot up several feet into the air.
While he was still airborne, he glanced over and saw that the road was blocked by a rockslide. All but one of the horses appeared to be dead, crushed up in the rocks, and the survivor was in bad shape. He couldn’t see the carriage driver or Master Rin and before he could turn his head to look for them, his legs struck the upturned side of the carriage and he tumbled down to the ground.
As soon as he hit the ground, he looked up and watched a demon slowly emerge from around the front of the carriage. It looked like a large, hairless, red gorilla with spikes running down its back. Something bloody hung from its wickedly huge mouth that looked like a human hand. Temin gasped in shock as he saw it and tried to step back. His back hit the roof of the carriage and the demon turned and glared at him.
Grunts, howls, and shrieks of pain were coming from every direction and Temin didn’t know where to run or what to do. The demon snarled and the bloody, half-chewed hand fell from its mouth. Dozens of jagged teeth lined the terrible maw that hung open as the demon's hungry gaze bore down on him. It took a step towards him and his legs began to shake again.
What am I supposed to do; that thing’s going to kill me.
The demon took another step and lowered itself as if it was about to lunge at him. Its pale, yellow eyes stared at him hungrily, and it leered sinisterly before it swiftly threw itself at him. Temin did the only thing he could think of and quickly manifested a dagger in his right hand and held it out in front of him. The demon collided with him and knocked the wind out of him as it crushed him against the roof of the toppled carriage.
“That hurt, lightwielder,” the demon rasped at him in an inhuman voice.
Temin looked down to see his knife buried in the demon’s shoulder, but the demon had taken hold of his wrist. He tried to move his arm, but the demon was amazingly strong and he couldn’t move. Instead of struggling further, he changed the shape of his weapon from a dagger into a sword and the tip of it burst from the demon’s back.
The demon howled and grabbed him by the throat with its free hand and began crushing the life from him. He tried to pry the demon’s finger off but it was no use; he was too weak. He gasped for breath and his vision began to blur.
No, I can’t let it end like this. I’m going to be the strongest lightwielder ever. I need to be stronger!
Pushing everything else from his mind, Temin focused all of his power into his left arm
and grabbed the demon’s hand. He jerked the demon’s hand from his throat and winced as its nails dug gouges along his neck. As hard as he could, he squeezed his hand and felt the demon’s hand crunch and shatter in his own.
The demon cried out and released his other hand and tried to take a step back, but Temin still had hold of its ruined hand. With a sudden jerk, he pulled the sword out of the demon's shoulder amid a spray of dark, sour-smelling blood. Swiftly, he brought his arm across and slashed through the demon’s stomach with his sword.
It slumped forward with a grunt as gore spilled out of it, but it remained standing against him. Only after the passage of several seconds did Temin realize that he was still holding the demon up by its hand. Immediately, he released his hold on its mangled appendage and the demon collapsed to the ground.
He banished the sword and sat down, breathing hard. He stared in shock at the fallen demon and as he watched it shuddered and died. Its body began to melt away almost at once, turning first into a sort of puddle and then seeming to evaporate into nothing. In only a few moments, the ground was covered in a dark, brownish-red stain where it had died.
“I killed a demon,” he said softly in disbelief.
The sounds of howling around him had quieted significantly, but he knew that there were still more demons. He pulled himself to his feet and staggered away from the carriage as he looked around for signs of both demons and Orlon Rin.
The road had been cut through a hill side and had steep banks rising up from it on either side. He knew he needed to get to high ground to see what was happening. Both banks towered over the road and Temin paused for a moment and then started towards the one in front of him.
He got most of the way across the road before he realized he was going the wrong way. The sounds drifting towards him were coming down from behind. From over the far bank, he could hear fighting and the occasional howl of pain. He quickly ran back across the road and started climbing the steep incline.
His hands slipped on the loose soil, but he enhanced them and forced them to find purchase by plowing them deep into the earthen hill as he pulled himself up. Steadily, he made his way up the incline using his hands alone; his feet scrambled uselessly against the loose soil offering no help.
A demon flew down over his head as he neared the top and he turned to watch its unexpected flight. He wished he hadn’t as he watched it strike the ground headfirst and twist at an unnatural angle. Thick, dark blood oozed out of the demon for a few moments and then its entire body began to dissolve just as the one he'd slain had done. Swallowing the bile rising in his throat, he turned back to the incline and continued to pull himself up.
Orlon Rin was the first thing he saw as he reached the top. Pulling himself up over the edge, he saw four demons had Master Rin surrounded. For some reason, his master had not manifested any weapons and faced the demons with only his bare hands. At once the four demons rushed him with their wickedly sharp teeth bared.
“Master Rin!” he called.
Orlon Rin crouched low and tripped the first demon to reach him and rolled over the demon as it fell. As he came to his feet again he kicked back at the demon on the ground and his leg tore right through it as sure as any blade. The other demons seemed unafraid and ran around their fallen brethren.
Moving faster than Temin could see, Orlon punched his hand through one demon’s head. Another demon tried to slash at him with its clawed hand, but he caught it with ease and jerked the demon’s arm to the side where the fourth demon was impaled on it in mid-air. Turning back the other way, Orlon kicked the demon whose arm he held, and its head was ripped clean from its shoulders and sailed high over Temin’s head back toward the carriage.
After a brief pause, Orlon released the headless demon’s arm and its body fell to the ground along with the impaled demon. The demons' bodies quickly began dissolving away and Temin remembered the demon he had killed below. Dozens of red stains littered the ground all around.
“How did you do that?” he asked.
“Temin, I told you to stay in the carriage,” Orlon Rin said as he started walking toward Temin. “You could have been seriously injured or killed.”
“But I had to help; I even killed one of the demons!”
“This is not a game, Temin. Understand that these are the weakest type of demon that dwell in The Nightlands. It is very likely that we will encounter more powerful ones once we get there; you cannot afford to act so carelessly.”
“Yes, Master Rin,” he said in resignation and lowered his eyes.
Orlon reached out and clapped a hand down on Temin’s shoulder. When Temin raised his eyes again he saw that Orlon Rin was smiling at him.
“I’m glad that you’re okay, Temin.”
Temin smiled slightly and turned to look back out over the edge of the incline. The carriage lay on its side with boulders partially covering it. The rocks at the front of the carriage were covered in blood from the slaughtered driver and horses.
“The carriage’s been destroyed and the driver’s dead. We don’t even have any horses; what will we do now, Master?”
“It appears that from here we’ll be walking, so I hope you’ve saved some energy.”