"So, who won?" Kilon asked Menoel intrigued, scratching his chin. He had to stay at the forefront, so he wasn't able watch the match, but was just as curious as anyone else.
"It got down to Efeheem and Avaanel by the end," Menoel responded, scratching his neck with disbelief in his eyes.
"Wasn't Melonius doing well?" Kilon continued.
"Well, it was found by Eharel that foul tricks were at play by Melonius, once he got out and could observe the match closer. They, of course, punished him properly." Menoel explained. Kilon started to lean his head to his right to hear Menoel better. "And in the end, Efeheem posed a question to Avaanel's question. She was bluffing about some knowledge regarding a secret scar that Manna had, and Efeheem said he knew about the scar, which he didn't, also bluffing. And so the time passed," Kilon couldn't take his ears off for one second "So they hit each other with a slap. They both wanted to hit the other first, in order to kill momentum from retaliation, but by doing so, they infused themselves with too much light and knocked each other out," the conclusion leaving Kilon breathless.
"That explains all the gasps," Kilon added as he smacked his face in annoyance.
"You promised something brother?" Menoel asked, referring to bets they placed.
"I did send a promise to teach the winner some advanced wind manipulation. Now they both won, so I figure I'll have to teach the two." Kilon responded a bit frustrated.
"Well, you can look at it as if they both won, or both loosed," Menoel added his look on the matter. Kilon liked the idea, yet he was a man of his word, so he didn't have a reason to back out of it, he also wanted to spend time doing something with his siblings.
"Although, I have to say. Wouldn't it make sense that it's counted as a stall of sorts? Since they knocked each other out?" Kilon asked, trying to make sense of it.
"Ah. I guess the last rule didn't reach you," Menoel responded "After Avaanel got in, they added a new rule, so that, if you fall unconscious, you forfeit the match, much like leaving out of your own will." he explained.
"I see, it makes sense." Kilon said silently, a shiver following on his back as he recalled the sound he heard that followed the last slaps. "Anyway, the road forward seems pretty clear. We shouldn't have much to worry about." he told Menoel, his eyes filled with hope. Menoel simply nodded in approval, their much sought location drawing closer, as one more sun has passed.
Ten suns later
"There is a valley between those mountains, much like in the Shivering Lands, but the winds don't blow between them as they did back then." Menoel assessed.
"No. Though, they carry a different breeze," Kilon could tell "It's a bit colder than here, yet rich. It's as if, it carries life with it." he was feeling the air of a dense forest yet to be seen. "Let's carry on. Tell Avaanel to continue doing it once every size." Kilon issued, size referring to the length of the group.
"Understood," Menoel affirmed "I bet she will be happy to have it a bit easy." he continued, Kilon looked down frustrated. "It's not your fault, you know? Without you, we wouldn't be half the way we're at now.".
"That doesn't mean I couldn't have done something sooner," Kilon responded, scratching at his body aggressively.
"Are you okay brother?" Menoel asked worried, rays of light emanating from Kilon's body in places.
"I'm fine. I didn't control the light well, so it's my fault," Kilon kept beating himself over.
"Maybe we should rest, we've been going at it for-" Menoel tried to suggest, but Kilon's sharp look cut through what he wanted to say. "Look, Kilon. I understand how you feel, they were my brothers and sisters as well, but we can't have you collapse or shatter from inside before we arrive there."
"You understand how I feel? Do you also carry their lights and hear their painful screams throughout your body, Menoel?" Kilon's words spoken in spite. Menoel knew better though, as Kilon's words only reflected his poor state of mind.
"If you do not wish to rest, then at least let me carry you over brother." Menoel suggested.
"No. I will have Efeheem carry me in his arms, if you're so adamant about it," Kilon responded.
"Then so be it, you stubborn brother," Menoel finally agreed.
As Efeheem made his way to the front vigorously, the other Lightborn were in a dire state. Over a hundred were missing, while the other had their bodies strained by the constant travel. Some were still trying to get over what happened, while others had their hope shaken. The only driving force for all of them, Kilon, was barely holding himself.
"What do you think. Will we be fine once we're surrounded by mountains?" Melonius wanted an opinion from Eharel.
"Given how unpredictable everything is, I severely doubt it." Avaanel answered instead "The rootworms attacked us because we weren't prepared for them, and we had to learn through the hard way what being unprepared means. Now we rely on my ability constantly," she spoke her mind.
"Right, and who asked you anything splatterlight?" Melonius snapped at her.
"Easy now brother. You don't want her to punish you once more, do you?" Eharel reminding him of a bad time not so long ago. "I will say though. Given Kilon's state of mind as is, we'll probably have to rely more on each other and less on him." he completed.
"That won't do," Avaanel said "The reason I left the Link and agreed to come along, was because Kilon promised me, us all, a home. I can't let that slip away now that we're close to it.".
"And if we don't find safety there? What then? Will you leave us sister?" Melonius asked of her, a hint of worry in his voice.
"Don't try to fill your mind with pointless worries Melonius. Everyone here knows that alone, we can't make it back." Eharel reminded his brother.
"If you're so sure brother, then I guess I'll just not worry," Melonius responded with snark "What I'm more curious though, is your ability sister. How do you keep these worms at bay?" he asked to change the subject.
"It all starts from the outside. I first peel away bits of flesh and course light through, let the flesh layer on top and so on until I make chunks," Avaanel started explaining, happy to teach anyone about what she knew "But unlike the 'main' chunks I make, these ones are smaller and a bit more concentrated, see?" she continued her explanation by showing her skin, which looked as if ridden with some sort of disease, small pimples covering it. "I then simply take them out, dig a small hole in the ground and let them sit there.".
"Do they activate when they feel life?" Melonius asked intrigued.
"Close, but not quite," Avaanel started to correct him "They activate when they "feel" movement. To be concise though, they don't really feel, as much as I do, or rather don't."
"Oh. I see. You're attaching small strands of light to them, right? And when you feel one being disrupted, you activate it." Melonius arrived at the conclusion.
"Yes. Very good brother. It is why, also, we walk in two separate lines now, with a gap between us, so I can place them in between." Avaanel added.
"Could you teach me how to do it myself sister?" Melonius wanted to know.
"What do I get for teaching it to you?" a slight smile following her question.
"I can teach you how to-" Melonius's answer was interrupted by a loud noise, followed by the tremor of the earth, every Lightborn taking a long, terrified look behind them. "Are those?"
"Yes, they are. I'll go ask Kilon what to do. You two help form ranks in the form of lines. Twenty each, five apart, as discussed." Eharel quickly commanded. He then took off to the front, as the other Lightborns stood in shock. Avaanel took his command and relayed it first, then Melonius who was a bit more shaken.
"Get me there, now!" Kilon was yelling at Efeheem "If I don't help, a lot will die you fools!" now screaming at Menoel as well.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"And you? Who will help you if not us, brother?" Menoel asked him, worry overtaking his face as he looked at his body.
"Is it brother as says!" Efeheem mustered in his way.
"Fine. If you two won't help me, I've got my ways," Kilon responded by pushing himself away from the arms which held him, and used his wind manipulation to get his body afloat
"Kilon!" Eharel exclaimed as he arrived "There is a root-" he then took a more careful look at the situation "Why aren't you two helping him?" he asked angrily, as he offered Kilon his support.
"If we help him get to the others, he might die. Just look at his body," Meonel pointed out to Eharel. However, Eharel still helped Kilon. "Didn't you hear me Eharel?! He will die unless we let him rest!"
"I heard you clearly," Eharel simply responded.
"Then why don't you stop?! Do you want him to die?!" Menoel asked filled with anger, his eyes letting out sparks as the light started to course through him.
"You're challenging me, brother?" Eharel asked back, his body starting to glow with an unpleasant glow, as Kilon barely held onto him. "Do you not get it? He is needed so others won't die. It's why he must be there to command us," he explained, as his body glowed stronger, as if in response to his words.
Efeehem didn't know what to do. His brothers were ready to fight in front of him, Kilon could barely do anything and the threat was just behind them. So, in a moment of confusion and panic, he simply stated "I'll take care." such a simple yet crystal clear sentence that it stopped the two from thinking for a moment. Both looked at him bewildered if they heard him right or not. Efeheem didn't waste a moment. He let the light course through him at full flow, his body glowing with a powerful red, his steps cracking the ground beneath.
Kilon watched in a state between conscious and unconsciousness, as his brothers were arguing, then Efeheem stepped up and activated his light. "Is it him? The one I should be careful of?" he was thinking of the vision he had some time ago. "No. He wants to help us. His glow is yet soft." Kilon said softly, not sure of his own words. Even so, he extended his hand as Efeheem started to walk away, and lent his over one hundred lights to his brother's aid. This, unbeknown to him, also helped his body relax, allowing for the strain to cease some.
Efeheem noticed the powerful surge of light that was going through him, yet he didn't think much of it, he simply thought that "It must be the rush I feel before hunting," his thoughts much clearer than his words.
On the green fields, the Lightborn were standing still in rows. It was in order to not denounce their positions to the rootworms. If one line got compromised, they were to quickly reform opposite of where it attacked. This proved effective, as the attacks were imprecise by the worms, and, when they did strike between ranks, Avaanel and Melonius were ready with groups of Lightborn to unleash rays of light upon the rootworms, their skin proving weak to, what could be described as, burns of light. However, given that rootworms were attracted by their lights, none provided more attractive than Efeheem, now bearing the lights of over a hundred, and he was also the best at surging high quantities of light through his body. Only Avaanel was as much of an appealing option by comparison, but her reserves of light were masked by layers of flesh.
Efeheem knew that, as it was observed prior, so, he drew the rootworms away from the ranks, running towards some hills East of them. Melonius understood what he was doing, so he told everyone to "Move out! This is our chance. If there are any injured, use wind manipulation to carry them over, don't form groups and run in rows at a distance from one another!" his command efficient and to the teachings of Menoel and Eharel. "Creator be good with my brother, for he is dear to me," he whispered a quick prayer, his body lifting off the ground for a moment, then pushed back down by Avaanel.
"We should go help him," Avaanel told Melonius.
"What about Eharel and Menoel? Where are they at? They should've been here with Kilon to-" Melonius tried to argue, to no avail.
"We cannot know for now, so let us hurry and help our brother, so that peril doesn't get him." Avaanel told her brother bravely, her hand shaking a bit on his shoulder.
"Very well. Let's get stumbletongue back." Melonius affirmed, his determination rising.
As Efeheem saw his siblings get far enough, and the worms still following him, he stopped. He stood still and closed his eyes. Before a hunt, he would do so, in order to feel the flow of light throughout his body. Now, he was the one hunted, but it was no different. He was able to feel all the lights inside of him, realizing what Kilon had done. Although it wasn't permanent, just borrowed, this great flow of power was a new, wonderful experience to him. So, he simply let it all flow throughout him, his body barely containing it, his skin glowing like a fallen star on this planet. As the ground started to shake violently, and the teeth of the rootworm made themselves seen below his feet, his body let out this surge of light in waves, heating the surroundings.
Melonius and Avaanel were running towards him. His light, that was now casting shadows amidst the day, blinded them for a second, in which time the rootworm leaped up from the ground, swallowing Efeehem whole. "Brother!" Melonius screamed.
"Melonius! Stop!" Avaanel cried to him as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "There is more than a rootworm. We must take care of at least one of them!"
"What about Efeehem?!" Melonius cried back frustrated.
"You saw him didn't you? He can take care of himself. At worse, he'll be missing a limb or two, but he will still be alive. Us though? Not for long, not if we don't do something," Avaanel as calm as possible explained to him. She then took out her hunting knife and started to put it through different parts of her body. She dug up spheres of flesh, brimming with light from within. "These ones are my strongest. I've tried one on a frozen hill back at the Shivering Lands, and it completely destroyed it. If we throw at least one of those inside a rootworm, it should take care of them. Got it?" she told him fast. He wasn't paying full attention, so she slapped him and turned his head to hers "Got it?!"
"Got it. Throw one of those inside of them, and they should die." Melonius simply responded.
As they were speaking though, a rootworm made it's way below them. Avaanel reacted in time and pushed Melonius out of the way, but her right foot go bit off. She didn't have time to scream in pain, she rolled with Melonius a bit on the ground as she threw a sphere into the mouth of the rootworm. After a few moments of silence, the rootworm's body expanded at the middle portion while still leaping up, bubbled in parts, then fell flat on the ground, dragged a little back into the hole by the weight of the body.
"Awesome..." Avaanel said under her breath, not even caring for her lost foot. Melonius on the other hand, started to use his light to seal the wound, weaving the light inside her leg to move in such a way so that it wouldn't escape. She finally realized her wound as she growled in pain to Melonius tending her wound "Where did you learn to do this?".
"I just learned, for the first time." Melonius told her sister, as he carefully manipulated her light from the missing foot. "I simply apply the same principle of regeneration we have over ourselves, but to you instead of me."
Avaanel was pleasantly impressed by her brother, although, the issue at hand still remained, or rather, didn't come yet. "There had to be at least two more right?" she asked perturbed.
"They might fight over Efeehem for all I know. Either way, I can't have you here like this, let's go back and-" as Melonius was about to finish, the grass on a hill in front of them started to glow a little, then burn up. From below, the scorched body of a struggling worm started to make way, dying on top of the hill. Empowered by the lights of his fallen brethren, Efeheem made his way out of the rootworm through it's mouth, his light burning everything around it.
As he saw his brother and sister, Efeheem gestured them to be silent. A few moments have passed, then another worm made it's way up, leaping from a side of the hill towards Efeehem. He didn't move however, he caught the worm by it's mouth, and pushed against it. The burning sensation of his hands and the overwhelming strength coming from this Lightborn, made the rootworm regret it's actions on an instinctual level, prompting a violent yet desperate response. It tried to bury itself back into the ground as it shook it's head, dragging against the pull of Efeheem, but it didn't matter, as Efeehem didn't let go of it, his body now glowing brighter.
While his words wouldn't be able to convey the message, his eyes did. A deep frown and a frozen face, were all needed to talk of his rage to his siblings, while the increasing intensity of the heat from the pulsating light within him, told the beast of the fate that would follow. Efeehem then held the rootworm with his right hand, plating his feet firmly into the ground, as, with his left hand, let out a powerful ray of light, heat emanating from it, into the mouth of the beast. This scorched the rootworm from inside-out. Although this ray of light was by no means as powerful as it could've been in the hands of the likes of Kilon or Orvus, it was strong enough to burn up this thirty and some more meters long beast.
After Efeehem's glow ceased, and the small flames from the rootworm's body extinguished by the wind, Melonius felt safe to approach his brother. As he got closer, he could still feel the radiant warmth from within him, albeit "friendlier" in a sense. "Is it done, brother?" Melonius asked, his hands cautious around Efeheem's body "Are there any more of them?"
"There not ar-" Efeehem's impeded speech got disrupted as his eyes widened and his hair started to fluctuate in it's glow. He started to growl in pain, brought down to his knees by some unknown threat in his left arm, which he grasped with his right hand.
"What is it brother?!" Melonius asked worried. Going to his left side and taking a look, he was able to see the issue. The palm of Efeehem's hand got burned and tore open because of the ray he expulsed. Further, his forearm had the light fluctuate aggressively throughout, at times, behaving erratic, like hairs in the wind. "You lost control. The light doesn't know it's way, you have to tell it where to go." Melonius tried to help his brother, but Efeehem couldn't listen, his mind suffered from the intense surge of light.
Efeheem's greatest asset was the way he could efficiently and effectively flow the light into his body, but, in order to do so, he had to give up training regarding the mind so he could focus on his body instead, thus the speech impediment. This wouldn't affect him, as long as he didn't need to use his mind too much, since his body learned instinctively to flow the light and give it to where it was needed. However, in this case, the powerful surge of lights given by Kilon, paired with his maximum use of his ability, strained the body and mind alike. And since the mind lacked the training, his mind was exposed to shattering quantities of energy.
In Melonius's eyes, this was the same as it was for Kilon's body. Except Efeehem lacked Kilon's experience and much better trained mind. "Hold on brother, I will bring you to Kilon, and I'm sure he can help you.". Melonius had hoped so, as he took his brother's right arm over his neck, but then there was Avaanel, not able to walk. "Wind manipulation. I must weave the winds so I can carry both of them," he rightfully thought. His attempt failed however, his mind was deeply perturbed and agitated. "The others, where are they?!" he thought as he looked for them, they were too far now. Leaving them here alone, could mean their deaths, unsure if there were other rootworms. "Somebody! Somebody please!" Melonius cried, tears in the form of sparks escaping his glowing eyes "Brothers! Sisters...I need...I need help!".