Sean Brynor
I could sense all of the Nex moving around me, the strings that the energy naturally formed into pulsing with power. Water Nex, a soft, cool, flexible, and liquid-like energy, one that I was incredibly familiar with now, radiated off of the snow around me, moving towards these strings. One of the strings flowed towards me, straight into the center of my chest and into my heart. Some of the Water Nex followed this string, flowing down it and into my Soul. I was keenly aware of the cool energy flowing through me, filling me with a sense of strength and power I still wasn’t fully used to. It was an intoxicating feeling, one that I never wanted to let go of. If there was such a thing as a Nex addict, I would be the largest perpetrator.
The other forms of Nex were harder to feel, but still present. Air Nex flew around me, forming into barely formed strings as the energy danced with the wind. Earth Nex tumbled around on the ground beneath the snow, falling deeper into the large strings that carved into the depths of the earth. I could faintly feel a string of Fire Nex, its energy forming around all the other types of Nex, flowing towards Ronan, who was letting out a wide yawn as he rested just a few feet away from my back. Father was fine with me taking an hour or two out of our hunting trips to train my magic, but he wasn’t all too happy about Ronan joining me every time to take an afternoon nap. The string of Nex that flowed into his Soul was dull, having almost no feeling of weight or power to it. Through this new sense of mine I’d learned that everyone had a string connected to their Soul, but those without magic always had a quiet, almost lifelessness to it. The string was cold, not like the refreshing coolness of Water Nex, but a chilling, unnerving coldness.
I drifted my focus away from Father’s string, instead turning to the flat, disc-like pearlescent stone in front of me. It was shaped like an oval, with one end sharper than the other, and was the same one Restivus had given me just a few months ago. I could feel its power when I placed my hand on it, an overwhelming amount of Nex stored inside. No, that was wrong. It was entirely made out of Nex, an impossibility that became reality. I reached out with the sixth sense I had discovered and felt it in a new way. The stone was quiet, barely a trickle of Water Nex escaping from its form, not even enough to help my own Soul form a water ball. I pulled at the escaping Nex with my Soul, but something strong fought against me. The stone pulled the escaping Nex back into itself, away from my grasping Soul like it had a mind of its own. Stunned, I opened my eyes and stared at the disc. It glowed its pearlescent light as the rays from the sun beamed down on it, shining a light blue. “What are you?” I mumbled.
“Hoooo…” something cried to my side.
I turned slowly to get a look at the owl sitting just a few meters away from me on the snow. Its body shone a similar color as the stone under the sun, but its eyes were a deep blue like the ocean’s, and they were staring straight at the disc in front of me. I slowly stretched out my arm to the owl. “Hey there little guy. Remember me?” I asked.
The owl turned and let out another cry, then bobbed its head up and down like a man would when he was laughing. It bit at my finger, which I thankfully pulled away in time, then flew off to a nearby tree, keeping its eyes locked on me and the stone. I sighed, stood, brushed the snow off my legs the best I could, and picked up the stone. I stuffed it into the cloth backpack Father had given me, placing it a good distance away from the napping Ronan so that it wouldn’t burn up. Restivus had spent the better part of four years researching the stone and the different properties of Nex and had made no progress. I didn’t expect to make much in his stead, not without some training and a little more research, at least. I did, however, expect to make progress on something else today.
Nex filled me, and I felt the snow just under my feet. The blurriness annoyed me, making me feel like I was walking around with my eyes closed, but I had grown used to it. My control over snow and ice still wasn’t perfect, but it was the best I could do without help. “If only I could form a strong Soul Bind,” I thought, my eyes drifting towards the tree the owl was perched on. Ignoring my strong desire to scramble up the tree to try and catch the bird, I focused on the bit of snow just below the soles of my feet. “Push and pull,” I said under my breath while angling my Soul just right. Then, when I was sure I had the right angle, I pushed.
I was launched forward with the force of a freight train, flying so fast I couldn’t even see where I was going. In an instant I was laying face down in the snow, my legs and feet strained from the sudden force. I pushed myself up with my arms, trying to take a breath after getting the wind knocked out of me. I flipped myself over and gulped down the air, my heartbeat racing. Sitting up, I found myself about fifty meters from where I started, and a giant flaming wolf running straight for me. Elated, I let out a scream of victory.
Ronan stopped just in front of me, the snow letting out a sizzling noise as he got closer. He began to sniff and whine as I held my arms up in the air. “Did you see that?” I asked him. “I finally got the angle right! Fifty meters in an instant! Now all I have to do is stick the landing, and I’ll be as fast as those stupid white rabbits!”
My scream of joy seemed to convince him that I was okay, because Ronan began joining me in my celebration. He jumped up and down and let out small howls to congratulate me, even though he probably had no idea what I was saying. “Thanks bud. Now come on, I think with a little more practice I’ll be able to land on my own two feet.”
Even after practicing for a whole hour I was still unable to stick the landing. The whole idea of the spell was to travel a great distance in an instant, but I was completely unable to control how far or how fast I went. This made landing on my own two feet impossible, even at the slowest speeds, since I had no idea where I would end up. In a fit of frustration, I let myself fall backwards into the powdery snow. Ronan peered down at me, his flaming eyes shining in confusion.
“I’m okay buddy,” I said.
Content that I was alright, Ronan dropped to the ground with a thump and fell back into his nap. Even though he was a menacing flame covered wolf with giant teeth that could easily rip my throat out, he was actually kind of cute. I set my hand on him and pet him, the warmth from his body hot to the touch, but not enough to burn me. He let out a giant yawn, then slid his head onto my thigh, begging to be pet more. I cocked an eyebrow, “You are the least terrifying thing in these woods, you know that?”
Ronan lifted his head, looking offended, then slid off of my leg. He still kept his body near though, just on the off chance that I’d start petting him again. A loud fluttering noise came up from behind me as I felt the rough fur of the wolf. I slowly turned, afraid I might startle it again, to see the crystal owl to my side, its head reaching out towards me and its chin lifted up slightly. lt wanted to be pet too. “Was it jealous?” I wondered as I slowly reached my hand out towards it. I knew that the beast might just bite off my finger and make away with a quick snack, but I was too curious about it to just leave it alone. Ever since I’d accidentally invaded its tree, the owl had been following me, laughing anytime I failed a spell and taunting me when I wasn’t paying attention.
I stayed silent and slowly rubbed the bottom of its chin. The beast’s beak felt like glass, but its feathers were soft and light. Its whole body was as cold as ice, and I had to stop myself from pulling away in pain. The owl let out a small sound of appreciation, then opened its eyes and stared at me. It felt like being swallowed into the blue ocean, its eye’s captivating me with their deep blue coloration. “What should I call you?”
A deep roar rang through the forest, so loud that my ears stung. The owl flew off into a nearby tree, so fast that I barely saw it take off. I knew why it ran away so fast. I knew why Ronan, the owl, and I were so terrified at the sound of that roar. It was the roar of a mathear, and it was close. Very close. I grabbed my backpack from the ground, as well as the bow that was resting just beside it, and started sprinting towards where Father was hunting. He wasn’t far, not allowing me to be out of shouting distance, but a mathear wasn’t something I wanted to fight alone. Ronan had already started running in that direction, not even waiting for me to grab my things. He really was a giant wuss.
Father met us halfway, concern clear on his face, but he did his best to act calm. He still pulled me into a tight embrace when we met though, and I could hear his heart beating incredibly fast. Another roar resounded through the trees, this one sounding even closer than the one before. “It’s headed this way,” Father said as he released me, “It must have sensed us and thought it could get away with a quick snack. It’ll just be one, and if there were more around they would have already run off at the sound of that roar. It definitely has our scent though.” Father looked in the direction the sound had come, his eyes filled with fear. “I’ll lead it away, while you run towards the city.”
“What? You can’t–“
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“Tell the guards there that there was a mathear attack and they’ll come running to help,” Father cut me off, “Though, I doubt it will still be alive by the time they get here. Ronan, follow Sean to the gates. Protect him.” Ronan let out a whine and Father nodded. “Now go!” he yelled, and I took off sprinting, Ronan galloping at my side.
I grew more and more afraid as I ran. I wasn’t scared for myself or Ronan. We would make it back to Dousin and head inside the city, safe from any harm, but Father running off on his own to fight a mathear was terrifying. Morrison was a well respected guard even in his young age, and the few times I’d seen him fight proved his skill, yet he had almost died fighting a mathear right in front of me. I trusted Father, and knew he was strong, but how would he fare against such a terrifying beast himself?
I slowed down until I stopped. Ronan kept running until he finally noticed I was no longer beside him. He turned and cocked his head to the side while staring back at me. Without saying a word I started running back to where Father had been. I wouldn’t let him face such a huge monster by himself. The both of us could definitely take the beast down together. With my magic and his bow, it would be a simple fight. That’s what I hoped, at least. I was still terrified at the idea of facing such a giant monster, but I wouldn’t leave Father to die alone. Not when I could do something about it.
It wasn’t difficult to find Father’s tracks. He was making them pretty obvious so that the mathear would follow him rather than me, so the deep footprints in the snow were easy to find. Beside them, just as I expected, were a second set of tracks, the footprints each larger than my own head. I shuddered at the thought of the giant beast I’d seen Morrison kill. “It’ll be fine,” I told myself, “You’re ready for this.”
Not long after finding the trail I ran into a clearing that looked extremely familiar. Several spots on the ground were completely barren of snow and some of them had scorch marks on the grass below. It was the same area I had just been in not so long ago, where I was training the Snow Skip spell. A noise from behind sent jolts of lightning up my spine and I turned around as fast as I could, filling myself with Nex to prepare some kind of defense. Instead of finding a giant white furred bear with long sharp fangs of ice, I saw an owl that looked to be made of crystal resting on a low hanging branch.
“Hey there friend,” I said softly, getting the owl’s attention, “You should get out of here for now. It’s not safe–”
A roar filled the air and a giant form zipped into my view just a few meters behind the owl. The mathear ran at speeds I could barely see with my own eye, and it was sprinting on all fours straight towards the much smaller beast. Everything seemed to freeze as the giant mouth of the bear-like creature opened wide, large enough to swallow the owl whole and still have room for more. I stared at it for a moment, completely motionless from terror. Before I could even take in a breath, I moved.
On instinct alone I allowed Nex to fill my Soul and launched forward with the Snow Skip spell. In an instant I was at the owl, reaching out to grab it as I continued to zoom forward. I pulled the beast in close to my chest and twisted my body to cover it from the mathear. A freezing pain dug into my side, and I heard something tear before I landed into the soft snow several meters away from the mathear, who had bitten down onto the branch the owl was sitting on a moment ago, snapping it in half. Ignoring the searing pain in my side that I hoped was just a minor flesh wound, I looked down at the crystal owl in my arms. Its wing was damaged, and I could see blood on its body, though I didn’t know if it was mine or its. It stared up at me with eyes full of terror, but it didn't fight against my grasp.
Another roar rang out, and this time, with the beast so close, I felt like my ears began to bleed. It turned towards me, clearly ready to pounce on the snack that had just tripled in size, but a loud bark from behind it broke its focus. Ronan leaped onto the mathear’s back, his body only a third of the giant beasts, and began tearing at the giant's head. Fire erupted around his neck, forming into a mane like a lions, and his feet had claws like forged fire that tore into the mathear’s fur and skin. In between the rips and tears he made with his giant smoking jaws, the fire wolf barked in my direction, like he was telling me to run. I listened, and started sprinting as fast as I could.
The owl made noises of pain as it jostled around in my grasp, and I joined it as the pain in my side grew worse and worse. I realized I was running in the opposite direction of the city gates, but with the roars behind me only growing louder and louder I didn’t try to correct my course and kept running. I cursed at myself, both as a way to alleviate my pain and in anger. I was an idiot. Not only had I disobeyed Father and tried to fight a beast that most wouldn't dare to cross paths with, but I might’ve gotten Ronan killed for my own selfishness. He would die to a beast much stronger than him, all because I wanted to make a Soul Bind with this stupid owl. I looked down at the beast in my arms, its head nuzzled up against my arm and its hurt wing resting on my shoulder. “You’re one lucky son of a bitch,” I said to it, and kept running.
Not long after Ronan attacked the mathear I saw a hint of light blue breaking through the endless white of the snowy landscape. I ran out into a clearing and found myself standing on the bank of a giant lake with a single small island in the middle, home to one large tree. It was the same lake I had spent so much time training at, but I had never seen it like this before. Near the shore line were thick sheets of ice that led out further into the lake where the water shone an icy blue. Snow covered the giant tree Morrison always rested under, its leaves all gone, leaving only a mess of hundreds of brown branches. The island looked so much smaller now that it was covered with snow, a sight I found strange.
Another roar behind, this one much closer, shook me again, and I started running across the sheet of ice. Eventually I made it to the edge of the lake where the water had yet to freeze, and I held my right arm out while holding the owl with my left. With as much effort as I could muster, I pushed the water so that it split in half, opening up a walkway to the island. The only problem was that the ground was several meters down, too far for me to jump without hurting myself or breaking the spell. As I tried to come up with a solution, the mathear roared again, breaking my concentration and shattering the spell, causing the water to flow back.
I turned to see the giant beast sprint out of the trees, blood pouring down from its neck with scratches and scorch marks all over its body. My stomach fell as I wondered what happened to Ronan, but I had more important things to worry about before I could try and go find the wolf. I ran across the ice sheet as fast as I could, using magic to try and mitigate the frictionless surface trying to make me slip. The ice sheet shook as the mathear stepped on it and bounded for me. I wanted to use the Snow Skip spell to launch myself forward, but there was no snow on the ice. Anytime I thought the beast was getting close I launched a geyser of water in its general direction from the lake. I didn’t dare turn to see if my spells were working, too afraid and panicked at my impending death.
That was when I had a brilliant idea. I didn’t need snow for the Snow Skip spell. All I needed was something to propel me forward. Anything could work, really. Gulping down my fear, I turned and faced the mathear head on. I pushed a giant wave out from the lake, stopping the mathear in tracks and trying to pull it into the water. Then, feeling the thin layer of water just under my feet, I pushed, and was launched backwards, far away from the mathear. Except, the wave I had thrown at the giant beast wasn’t strong enough, and a huge paw with long, sharp icicle-like claws came down on me just as I launched away. I wasn’t fast enough, and the mathear’s claws were coming straight for my chest.
My sixth sense lit up, and I felt a strong string of Nex from somewhere in the trees. The string connected to the lake, and a giant wave swept out from it and pulled the mathear in just before I was mauled. As I launched backwards from the Water Skip spell, I sensed another string beside the one that had just saved me, this one made of air, and I immediately knew who it was. “Thank you,” I said weakly as I tumbled into the snow, even though I knew she couldn’t hear it.
I pushed myself up and took a glance at the wound on my side. It was bad, with three deep cuts still bleeding, but it wasn’t anything life threatening. It still hurt incredibly bad even with the adrenaline and Nex running through me, though. I stood, still holding the owl in my arms, and stared at the lake where the mathear was struggling to get out. It looked like it couldn’t swim, and for a second I thought it might just drown, but then its giant paw grabbed onto the ice sheet and started lifting itself out of the water. I started running immediately, again. Behind me, the beast roared again, but this time I could tell it was angry. I remembered that Morrison had told me on our last day of training, how I’d one day piss off a beast so much that it’d kill me. Apparently today was that day.
It wasn’t long before the giant caught up to me, and I immediately used the Snow Skip when I thought it was too close. It was either luck or my increased senses from the adrenaline that let me land on my two feet and keep running, but I was fine with either or. This process repeated for a while before I could feel my body, mainly my legs, growing more and more exhausted. I wouldn’t be able to last like this, and I doubted I could do much more magic without seriously hurting myself.
All of these thoughts ran through my head as I came to the edge of a cliff, where I could see a series of frozen over lakes that led off into a river that went on forever, splitting the forest in half. I’d seen this place before, but this time I didn’t get the chance to marvel at its beauty. Instead, a giant bear with large icicles for teeth and claws cornered me, completely blocking any escape I could try and come up with. I desperately wanted to fight it, but my body was too exhausted. I tried to launch a flurry of snow at it, hoping that it would push it backwards and give me a way out, but the mathear barely flinched at the spell. It only growled and roared in victory. I thought about the bow strapped to my backpack, but there was little I could do with that as I cradled the injured owl in my arms. I doubted a few arrows would do much to the beast anyway. There was only one thing I could do, and it would almost certainly lead to my death.
The mathear leaped at me, its giant paws reaching out to tear me to shreds and its mouth gaped open ready to take a bite. I stepped off the edge of the cliff and began to fall. The mathear fell down after me, its momentum taking it down faster than me. As it passed by it swiped its claws at me, but none of them hit me. The beast was acting desperate now rather than filled with rage. The giant crashed into the ice sheet below, shattering it and falling into the deep blue water of the lake. It was only a breath or two later that me and the owl followed it, plunging into the deep dark coldness below.