The novelty had not faded in the slightest. It had been several days and Eiron doubted it ever truly would. How could someone grow accustomed to literally holding a gust of wind or a surging wave within one's self? Such thoughts had roots deeper than the weeds that filled his vision, even when his eyes were closed. No matter what he tried, they reared back up, begging for attention. He was happy to oblige.
Despite the constant temptation, he was quite hesitant to take risks...it would be quite unfortunate to end up like that poor Sulcar. Besides, he had been promised that further lessons with Linoh would become a regular occurrence. Many sleepless hours had been spent imagining what would be revealed next. Could he fly? Breath underwater? Did he even need to breathe?
Thankfully for Eiron's mental wellbeing, and the sanity of the crickets that had to listen to his nonsensical whispering into the late hours, the day of the lesson came along much quicker than expected. And so much slower as well. Eiron was still contemplating the paradox as he filed in with the other equally excited group of new adults.
The interior of the town hall looked much less sinister in the morning light. However, the plainness was still painfully obvious. Gone was the infamous pedestal, much to his surprise. Benches now stood in even rows along the length of the room. As he surveyed the space, he jumped slightly at the stoic figure standing on the raised platform at the front. Such secrets and wisdom he must hold, what small gems would be shared today?
Linoh's face held a placid expression, although it was hard to tell placidity from severity beneath all the wrinkles. He didn't react at all to the chaotic mass of young people who stole away the silence without regret. A seemingly passive tactic and yet, it had its desired effect. Peace descended at the expense of collective apprehension. Shuffling towards the front, they began to file into the rows. Several stood awkwardly, hovering halfway between sitting and standing. Many an inquiring glance was flung at the stoic figure but eventually they began to sit, one by one.
Eiron finally snapped out of his week-long pondering binge to be met with the nightmare of everyone in a group setting. He was the only one still standing. Not only that, he had paused near the front and was now completely isolated. Horror of all horrors, several rows on both sides had been completely filled, leaving the only viable seats in the very first row.
Red-faced, Eiron slunk to the one on the left. Trying to be as quick and subtle as possible, he was instantly defeated as his traitor of a foot slammed into the end support. The echo of that intrusive thud reverberated beautifully and endlessly through the room. The acoustics really were incredible. A few giggles also echoed quite clearly, as did the harsh shushing of the more conscientious audience members. Eiron hunched down as much as possible, silently begging Linoh to, well, do anything at all really. It took a few moments longer than Eiron dreadfully wished for, but eventually, Linoh did act. He cleared his throat.
Several more moments and Linoh moved, finally saving Eiron from ‘literal’ death. Pacing slowly across the platform, he began his address.
"Welcome youths of Ortus. From now, I shall refer to you as students for there is much to learn. Adults you may be in principle, but you have a long road ahead of you before you will be considered true men and women of this village."
A few faces took offense at the perceived insult, pride comes swiftly for all. Ignoring the petulant outrage, Linoh calmly continued.
"It takes diligence, character, and time to become a valuable member of society. Even more to hold but a drop from the river of mysteries which we crudely refer to as Essence."
He paused at the center of the room and slowly locked eyes with each student in attendance, one by one. Eiron withered under the attention, but only received a deep look which seemed to go right through him.
"I see my point has already been proven. Many of you have ignored my warnings and have continued to pull in air Essence." His eyes flashed dangerously. "This is not a light offense! Holding too much of the Essence carries many risks. What happens when you lose control and hurt those around you? And it is when, make no mistake. What if you're standing beside the river with a child and a gust of air bursts out? Or in the Sulcar fields, whose plants sustain the entire village? What will you do when your very blood is poisoned and refuses to obey you? None can save you at that point. I will say again, refrain from practicing without direct supervision. You know not the fates you tempt."
Descending on the room like an avalanche, the chilling message struck its target. Both those who had experimented and those who followed the Elder's teachings implicitly. As for Eiron, the overabundance of blood in his face had fled, leaving him dreadfully pale. Linoh was baffled at this sudden change, or maybe he had a pebble in his shoe, Eiron was too deeply alarmed to care. What had he done? Was water essence even safe? What a fool he'd been! At least killing the Sulcar plant had knocked some sense into his head. He shuddered uncontrollably at the thought of ending up a dried-out husk and crumbling to pieces.
"Remember this kernel of fear you feel now. Never let it abandon you. No matter how long you walk this path or what heights you reach, the dangers ride in your shadow."
An abrupt switch in his tone created a ripple of surprise and one or two jumps. "Now then, there is much to cover. We shall start just as we did sitting out in the plain, Assimilation. It is an endlessly complex process that even I am far from understanding, however it is one worth pursuing. Each facet uncovered improves upon the last in a never ending structure."
Eiron's embarrassment long since forgotten, he sat in rapt attention. Replaying each word that Linoh spoke, over and over in his mind, vowing to never forget them.
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"Such are best saved for future lessons, but it is beneficial to know what you are aiming for. There are many fundamental elements of Assimilation however. The first, which you likely have already guessed, is that it contains a certain amount of innate talent. But do not disparage those who appear weaker!"
His eyes flashed dangerously, scattering a few expressions of scorn and leaving remorseful ones in their place. Whether they were ashamed of their thoughts or of simply being caught, it was currently unclear.
"Weaker they may even be, but that can change with concentrated effort. It is true that those of you with more talent will probably have a much easier path, only focus and work will determine how high the path reaches. Besides that, talent is spread between three distinct categories with no apparent relation between them."
Hope leapt in Eiron's chest. It was fixable! Suddenly the sky was brighter and the pain in his foot was gone...mostly. Still, it sounded like progress would be very slow, maybe even an entire year! But most importantly, progress was possible.
"Assimilation. Remember back to Ortus when you drew in the Essence for the first time. The air was more concentrated out on the plains creating an abundance of the Essence itself. It exists everywhere but sitting down and meditating for every random breeze is a waste. Instead, you must find places where the air is most true to its nature. The top of a mountain, inside a canyon, in flat spaces empty of obstructions, even in the middle of a storm! Not only will the essence be purer, another lesson for later, it will be drawn in with less strain. That is another warning for you, do not overstrain your body! It can be deadly and at best, may destroy this very path you tread. As long as you remember that, you will not falter. I shall however, return to our topic for today, Assimilation..."
Despite all the complicated theories and numerous warnings, not a single student so much as breathed. Village noises faded away, perched birds, outside and in the rafters alike, contained their warbling. Time itself held still, if you ignored the sun beams slowly drifting across the floor. They were slow, yes, but persistent. Marching on, they disappeared for a short while before appearing once again on the opposite side. They didn't cease as small feet tread across them, an old man's following behind.
Their angle continued to grow as they moved across the square, through the gaps between the staggered houses, on across the fields framing each plant in those beautiful greens and yellows of sunset. They began climbing the houses now, quickly reaching the eves, leaving the streets bathed in shadow. Just as they reached the peaks of the roofs, the blue orb hung for a moment, dangling above the horizon. It really was a picturesque scene Eiron mused, surveying from his bedroom window. The greens and yellows deepening, small glimmers sparkling off the river barely visible with the distance and low light. The dusk shadows added to the beauty creating a natural vignette.
His mind was uncomfortably full, despite the afternoon spent trying to clear it. Oh, and the weeds....how he hated weeds. It was nice to have something to digest for the days between lessons but he hungered for immediate answers. The Elder had been quite vague in an annoyingly specific way.
"And that's the third time I almost slipped off the bridge...anyway, Assimilation!" Eiron couldn't help but chuckle at his imitation which quickly morphed into a yawn. He thought he understood the basic ideas though. Pull in the Essence, not too quickly or too much. Over time, more could be pulled at a faster pace as well. And then...who knew? Hopefully the next lesson would cover what to do with the stuff instead of just holding on to it.
The Elder didn't mention any other types of essence and Eiron's nerves had been too fragile to ask. Was the water actually dangerous? It hadn't felt like it. Come to think of it, soothing might even be a good description if he ignored the initial shock. Oblivious or conniving, that tempting river lay just out of reach on the edge of darkness. A twinge of pain shook Eiron out of his musings. He inhaled sharply and glanced down at his arm, resting casually on the sill. An ugly line ran down it, small drops of blood beginning to form at various points.
He was transfixed, confused, and concerned. Was he holding something sharp? Was there a splinter? But no, his arm hadn't moved for some time. Shrugging, he held his arm away from his bed so it wouldn't stain. It wouldn't take long for the bleeding to s--
His eyes saw.
But he didn't believe.
He could not.
Would not.
A dark terror crushed his heart.
It killed every errant thought.
Time truly held still as he watched it form.
Filling his vision, it crawled in an agonizingly slow trail.
Parallel to the other mysterious line...instinctually ignored, but not forgotten.
Not possible. His mouth opened to scream but the terror had already defeated his lungs.
Breath itself would not leave, let alone sound of any sort. His torment had no release, no recourse.
It had started as a slight pain, a following line formed quickly afterwards. It tore across his forearm, inch by inch.
Fraction by fraction of time it progressed, the sight of his skin tearing, infinitely worse than the pain which followed. That and the blood.
It was worse on this second cut. Not dangerously deep, but Eiron cared not if it went to the bone, if only it would stop. He was held captive as it reached his wrist and petered out, a slight curve at the end.
He still could not cry out.
Thoughts tried to form but were shredded constantly.
The first remotely coherent one was "HOW?!" Followed rapidly by "STOP.NO!WHAT?STOPSTOPSTOP.PLEASEMAKEITSTOP."
Revulsion came next. A base urge to flee from his own body. A body he could no longer control. No longer trust. Unbidden, an imagined vision of a dismembered arm, the two scratches clearly evident as he hurled it away.
He shuddered through his entire body. Bile tried to claw its way up his throat but the terror forced even that back down.
After an eternity, a first breath! It brought no relief.
His eyes refused to leave that line of blood as it welled up from elbow to wrist. His mind rampaged louder and louder, he could not move.
A tear formed, wobbled, and fell, just as the last of the blue light faded from the room. Darkness collapsed on him, jaws wide open. Finally, he was able to scream.