Chapter 2
"Are you alive, if so get up.” I heard a callus shout and looked around seeing a gray haired man.
“What the hell are you doing out here kid?” the Old Man asked.
“I I am looking for my father, he was protecting our village, it was attacked by an outworlder and he disappeared.”
“Follow me” the old man replied.
I hesitated but followed, curious to see if he had found my father. The haggard man walked a little further into the woods to a clearing where he had set up a campsite. He then walked into his tent and grabbed a sack; opening it he pulled out a lump of red flesh like the one I had seen earlier.
“Your father was fighting this creature right?”
I looked at him not knowing how to respond or who this man was but since he might know something I answered.
“Yes, My father was trying to protect the village so he battled that filthy outworld thing.”
The man looked at me with piercing gaze. “Your Father was Jeshua of the golden blade?”
I paused for a moment trying to gather my thoughts, “his name was Jeshua, but I don’t know abut the rest.”
The old man snarled and replied “Damn to think they tracked him down here.”
“Tracked him down you mean that thing came to attack my dad on purpose, why would an offworlder look for my dad?”
The mans eyebrows raised as he looked at me. “You really don’t know do you?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“You think your father was from this world?“ The old man asked.
“Of course he was,” I stammered.
“Boy are you really that blind?”
For a moment I stared at him he was gaunt and looked frail but his eyes were clear and I felt him look right through me, I thought back, things my father had said, he was from a far away land, he had no family, he told me things about fighting and stories that made no sense, skies with 5 suns, lands where islands floated among the clouds, beasts that couldn’t possibly exist. What if those weren’t made up, what if they were from the outworld.
The man’s hoarse laughter jolted me from my reverie.“Hmm, if you are really his son then I suppose I should stick around and train you a bit, you are much too helpless and pathetic like this.”
I balled my fist but kept my mouth shut, as frail as this man looked I knew he was not as simple as he seemed.
“Oh hoh look at this ready to fight me are you.” The old man then cracked his knuckles.
“ No I just”
“Hmmf be more resolute brat, are you not his blood.” He stroked his patchy grey beard
“ Well I can test you to see if you are worth wasting some time on.”
“Test me for what?” I asked.
He smiled, “for your inheritance.”
My confusion slipped into a veneer of disdain.“I haven’t awakened any elements I don’t have any talent, I am already viewed as a simpleton.”
“Oh, you are an expert on multi plane hybrids are you, you know about the power of higher planes, bah you don’t know what talents are or what powers exist throughout these universes.”
My mind spun, universes, multi planes; wasn’t there this world and the outworld, were there other elements; did I have power? It seemed I had entertained the man as he showed a wide and toothy grin.
“Hehehhe oh I have your attention now do I, if you trust me come here and let me test you.”
I immediately stepped forward and lowered my guard then bam I took a large backhand to the head which knocked me to the ground while he glared at me.
“ Are you really his son, why the hell did you trust me so quickly, you don’t know me, I made some vague assertions and you are willing to do anything, Be more cautious if you want to live.” He stated, his eyes wide and unflinching.
I got up, and stared daggers at the confusing old psychopath. His jeering face again broke into a smile “Bwahahah those eyes are much better, anyway as for your talent you are a true half breed, you will probably never stand on the planar peak and will likely never be as strong as your father ” he said as he turned his head as if I wasn’t worth his time
“ What that’s it, you didn’t do anything, do I not have an element what the hell is going on!”
His face was again serious “Oh you have already been tested, and knowing what I have told you, and I assure you it is true; are you willing to be taught. You will suffer more than you ever suffered. You will have to go farther than you ever imagined and your very life will teeter on the brink of destruction. All so you can have a slim chance of finding out what happened to your father.”
I bit my lip, I did want to know this truth but the path before me was daunting, at the very least I was willing to trust this old man, if he wanted me dead he could have killed me a thousand times over already.
“ Yes I want to learn who my father was and I ..I ..I want to be strong”. I said stammering.
The old man again started grinning from ear to ear. “ Very well I am called Edjudan of the many deaths, but you can call me oh great and honorable master, sensei, and savior of my weak and pitiful fate.“
I was tense when I heard his nickname but it all faded when he told me what to call him. “Well great and honorable master sensei and savior, what should I learn first.”
“Hahah you actually said it, what a desperate boy you are. What is your name young one?”
“Jee-roo” I took the time to say it slowly and enunciate it for the man.
“Hmm well no matter, I shall call you tadpole.”
My eyebrows raised “ What’s that”
“Oh don’t have those here huh, it is a great and powerful beast” he smirked.
“ Hmm ok, I like that from now on, I am tadpole.” I replied.
“Hahha ok tadpole, you seem obsessed with elements explain to me how this low plane classifies elements and powers”
“I’m not obsessed, its just if you don’t have an element you’re viewed as defective, you can’t leave the village or go to school you just have to do manual labor.”
Edjudan let out a long yawn. “ Yes yes what does that matter, tell me everything you know on the subject.”
“Well That’s easy, there are 6 elements air, water, fire, darkness, earth, and light. Usually people are born with more than one, but they are almost always weaker than pure element users, in addition each person is born innately knowing a primary skill that they are most gifted with and can perform from the time there element awakens.”
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Edjudan mumbled under his breath for a second “ So in other words this place is backwards and as a lower plane knows nothing, ah truly difficult, you are fortunate I don’t easily go back on my word.”
“Huh what do you mean?” I replied.
“Simply, the worlds and the elements are much more complicated than you think…it is easier to think of everything in layers.”
He took a stick and started drawing into the dirt," first there is light and darkness simple and pure they form the basis“he drew a square around light and dark.
"Surrounding them there are base elements, water, earth, air, and fire; which are in harmony and mutually restrict each other. In a circle around those are fusions of elements leading to lightning, wood, ice and metal, beyond those are further fusions of other and multiple combinations of base elements. Still more boxes surround those, they are known as the fundamental forces or four corners which act on man and elements these consist of life, death, space and time. These are pulled towards two points outside of the boxes chaos or order. Not to mention fusions and combinations across the boxes themselves.”
My mind reeled, “there are how many elements, what’s a fusion? How does the death element work?” So many questions sprung to mind and my face went blank.
The old man lectured on continuing to draw in the dirt,
“Your world is but one of the lowest planes, its energy is faint and its expression of true elements weak, that is why you see only the smallest circles, the many worlds are like a giant pyramid few at the top and many lesser planes. You have to climb them one at a time to get to the upper levels. The strongest person from this plane could barely count for anything on a higher level of the pyramid, in addition each plane is its own, and powers and abilities express themselves differently in them.”
I vaguely understood the concept and it made sense why offworlders were so fearsome, if they came from a higher plane their power would obviously outstrip ours.
An idea took root in my mind as I looked at the hastily scrawled element diagram, did I have an element that was beyond this worlds powers. A crooked sneer spread across my face.
“Tadpole brat what is wrong, did you eat something weird.” I shook my head
“ So, oh great master what is my element am I stronger then the people of this world?”
“I see hmm you are indeed very special.”
Hahah I knew it, I mused as I waited with baited breath for Edjudan to finish
“You are a weird hybrid of ultimate power and uselessness gaining the worst attributes from both sides.”
Ehh my smile evaporated, worst from both sides. “ So I have no elements?”
“In a manner of speaking no, not really…. Your father is one of the strongest beings in the many planes, his bloodline includes two ultimate elements both chaos and order, his abilities were to impose and ignore. He was able to harness pure chaos ignoring planar restrictions on power or rules and harness pure order which was the ability to add laws and rules. Your mother was of the earth element and based on you seems to have an affinity for barriers."
"What! How in the seven hells could you know that?" I asked.
" AHHAHAH I did not slap you just for fun." The old man answered and began explaining more.
"You do not have your mothers earth element though it seems you do have an affinity for barriers and you do seem to faintly have the capacity to develop the power to ignore of the chaos element, but what good does ignoring restrictions on your powers do if you have no powers of your own.“
It was hard to follow but I got the gist of what he meant, to have the potential for a great power which could do me little good was truly useless, ughh what was the point of telling me all this if I was still useless in the end.
“ I see, well thanks anyway old man.” I said, which elicited a fierce scowl from Edjudan.
“ What old man, old man. Who the hell is Old man. I am oh great master, honorable sensei , or savior of my weak and pitiful fate, or all of the damn above not old man. Do you not want my help you useless tadpole?”
“You just told me I was useless how could I possibly be strong?”
“Hmmpff I said YOU were practically useless, I never said I was. There are ways to improve your strength. With my help a skill and the power of chaos should be enough to make you unique which can be itself a great strength."
I stood there trying to rack my brain how could I be strong without the power to attack or without being able to use an element.
“What is a man's greatest strength?” Edjudan asked.
“His uh, his perseverance.” I was proud of that answer if I just stuck to training I could be strong in my own way …. Bang a loud smack resounded as I was backhanded again.
"Oh hoh just perseverance; by all means dig a hole all day everyday, continue for hours on end and somehow you will become the ruler of all creation. No that is important but your biggest strength must always be your mind, find solutions avoid traps solve problems. For example, your lack of a usuable element; hmm if you cannot harness the power of the universe harness power from within.”
Edjudan’s hand glowed with a faint light halo. “This is not light energy, this is not life or anything from outside, it most closely related to will or strength but in essence it is power I have gathered into myself through training my strength, breathing, and understanding.”
I fell down flat on my back, it wasn’t awe that knocked me down there was an oppressive aura of strength, yes this would work if I could be this strong I wouldn’t need to shoot fire or make pillars of earth I could still climb to the top.
“ Oh great master, sensei please teach me” I didn’t bother getting up instead staying on my knees.
“Yes yes I will raise you tadpole, come back here tomorrow, early in the morning and we will begin.”