Chapter 25: Jack; Shauran 30th, 344SR; 12:30

The quiet afternoon silence was broken by Jack's training with Ajal. Jack pursued him relentlessly throughout the small and enclosed space but was right next to him all the while. Jack swung his fist and Ajal ducked. 'Kick low!' Jack swung his leg forward quickly and ignited his spirit. Ajal flipped and completely evaded Jack's foot. 'Wha-' He landed on one arm and pressed off the ground. Jack's leg continued forward, he stumbled as he recovered.

"You haven't hit me once, what good is knowing how to make a Spirit Ignition if you can't land any attacks?" Ajal asked.

"I can't if you keep dodging!" Jack grunted impatiently.

"Will you ask your opponent to stay still?"

Jack focused his spirit into his fist and swung at Ajal who simply dodged backward. Ajal backed up into the fence, 'He can't dodge now!' Jack took a step forward and threw his fist at Ajal's left shoulder. The moment before Jack's strike could connect, he dodged to the left. Jack punched the tough wood instead, he pulled his right hand back as his fingers rattled from the impact.

"Ow!" Jack winced in pain.

"Try to stay calm-" Ajal recommended.

"Dammit!"

Jack's spirit flowed from his fist and into his foot as he swung his leg at Ajal. While still facing Jack, Ajal grasped the top of the fence with his left hand and pulled himself up. He flipped and planted his feet against the fence, and then kicked off in the time it took Jack's leg to rise. 'Dammit!' Jack turned to try and get Ajal once more but he stopped as the side of his stomach started to hurt. He grabbed the left side of his stomach as he breathed in and out, it felt like his stomach was going to rip itself out.

"You're tiring yourself out, calm-"

'I'll jump this time!' Jack clenched his teeth and ignited his spirit under his foot, he kicked off the ground toward Ajal. The moment before he could hit, Ajal dodged out of the way again, causing Jack's fist to just barely make contact. 'The way he dodged- It was at the last second, it's always at the last second!' Jack jumped back and took a deep breath. Despite them doing this for almost an hour, Ajal's white full short-sleeved shirt was clean, and the most Jack had managed to connect an attack with was his black sweatpants.

"Your use of Spirit Arts is much better, it's amazing really, you almost got me that time, but you're getting worked up too easily," Ajal critiqued his performance while dodging.

Jack breathed in, he focused his spirit on the back of his shoulders. Ajal squinted in confusion, causing Jack to hesitate. 'No... Not like that... That won't work... I have to kick off again... But... faster!' Jack focused his spirit on his foot and ran forward, Ajal got ready to dodge again. He slowed the flow of his spirit down, just as it was starting to overflow. Jack crouched down and clenched his teeth. 'Don't ignite!'

Ajal moved to the left, but his eyes lit up as Jack made a feint. 'Now!' Jack's spirit ignited and he kicked off at Ajal whose feet were currently off the ground. Jack threw his fist forward without any spirit.

'I got him! I got-'

Ajal used both hands to redirect Jack's fist to the right, he tripped and fell, rolling against the dirt and colliding with the red fence. 'Ah!' He pushed himself up and rested his back against the fence as his legs lay on the dry grass.

"Dammit..." Jack whispered as he breathed in and out.

"Using Spirit Arts for your movement was the main point of this session, but it was also to get you to think during a fight rather than trying to use a strategy that wouldn't work over and over," Ajal explained.

"You're barely sweating... How... Do you use Spirit Arts so easily?!" Jack huffed.

"Huh? I haven't used Spirit Arts once in this whole session. That wouldn't be fair."

"What?!"

Jack's head fell limp against the fence, and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his head. 'This is insane... This guy couldn't beat Alexander Rael?! What chance do I... Ah! I don't even wanna think about it...' Jack signed as he glanced over towards the deck, where Sarah sat with her legs crossed. She had been meditating while Ajal and Jack were training.

"Can I do what she's doing? It looks a lot easier..." Jack asked.

"It's not easier, if anything it's harder. Sarah isn't good at fighting physically like the rest of you, so I'm teaching her something else," Ajal explained.

"Something else?"

Jack stared at Sarah, her short black hair seemed to rise slightly even though there was no breeze. Her skinny hands were open and facing upward as she breathed in and out. Jack watched her spirit collect at her palms, her spirit was on the verge of igniting, but she was holding it.

"When we perform a spirit ignition, the energy isn't necessarily released, rather the force of it bursting is what is released. The spirit flows back to you. It's useful, but someone without a strong physical body can't just become powerful that easily. What Sarah is doing, is the level after ignition, Spirit Manipulation, a controlled ignition, by controlling some spirit very closely in her brain while trying not to ignite the spirit she's going to manifest it into magic," said Ajal.

"Magic? A controlled ignition simultaneously, what? Is that the dangerous part... Igniting spirit in your brain?" Jack repeated.

"Depending on where you ignite your spirit, you can perform a variety of techniques. Of course, this is incredibly dangerous depending on what you do, but the benefits are astounding. Igniting the brain is the most dangerous when it fails, so you have to keep it just under. That is the fifth and final combat level, Spirit Release."

"Shouldn't I be learning that then?"

"No, it's completely separate from using the spirit in a physical fight. Spirit Release drains your spirit, you won't be able to use Spirit Arts for some time so if you do, so you'd have to defend yourself without it."

"Oh..."

"By igniting your spirit into your heart, you can boost your body's speed and reaction. In the muscle, it would increase power. But igniting it in your brain is different, your spirit will take the form of your affinity, and then you can give it commands."

"Give commands?"

"It's the foundation for magic, or, techniques that are far more advanced. It can be bypassed with a source of energy external from the spirit."

"I don't get it... You- talk to the spirit?"

"Sort of... Not exactly... Uh- I'm not very good at this so I'm probably explaining it terribly. There are six basic elements: fire, water, air, and earth are the first four. However the other two: light and darkness behave differently, while they both exist simultaneously, they can alter the properties of the other elements including themselves."

"Uh-huh..." Jack tried to follow along but he was visibly confused.

"The element a person can use depends on a person's affinity, personality, even blood. Look," Ajal pointed at Sarah.

Jack looked back to Sarah, her eyes were still closed. In her hands was a tiny light shining in her palm. 'Woah... I can see it...' Jack approached Sarah and put his right hand near the light, he felt a warmth that soothed the pain in his knuckles. The light wavered slightly, flickering like a dimly lit flame.

"Sarah only has a weak affinity for fire, it's altered by a stronger affinity for light. This usually results in healing techniques. I don't have an affinity for the four elements, my affinity is-"

"Pure darkness?" Jack finished Ajal's sentence.

"Uh... No..." said Ajal.

"Wow. But you control shadows all the time?"

"That is just my natural abilities... My real affinity is Light and Dark magic..."

"Wait, Light and Dark?"

"Yup... Light," Ajal looked away when he said it.

"That doesn't make much sense?"

"It's a rare affinity... Especially for me, since Light and Dark magic, as well as life and death magic, are disparity types, my disposition of the two is highly pure and allows for the two to exist together, albeit I prefer my dark energy because it's less straining for me and I'm just better with it, I doubt I'd ever need it."

"Hm, I guess that makes sense... What's my affinity?" Jack asked curiously.

"I'd have to put you under this training to find out your affinity."

"I'm cool with that-"

"Can I open my eyes now?" Sarah asked and the light disappeared.

She opened her eyes and looked at her palm.

"Dammit!" Sarah cried.

'She had been focusing even before the others went out, and before my training with Ajal... Do you really have to sit down and focus for that long? How is that useful?'

"I know I felt it... It sucks that I can't at least look at it..."

"You'll be able to soon. Even if you don't see it yourself, it's there. With enough practice, a Spirit Release won't even take-"

"Yeah yeah... With practice," Sarah muttered.

The old man, Marina's father, slid the screen door to the side. He pulled a tray with three cups of tea off the counter and stepped out onto the deck. Ajal walked over to receive it.

"Thank you," said Ajal as he took the tray from the man. Two of the ceramic cups were filled to the top with dark brown tea. Ajal's wasn't as dark, a purple flower petal floated on the top. The purple color bled out of the flower petal and into the liquid. It slowly changed to a white petal from the top first, leaving a fog of some sort in the tea.

"You're going to sleep?" Jack asked.

"Yeah... Franklin took so long to train, he barely progressed so I stayed up until now... So far, you, George, and Reinhardt are doing the best with this training."

"Yeah, Franklin is... Pretty stupid," Jack mentioned.

"Where are they anyway?" Sarah asked.

"They went out to get groceries, Marina was talking about going outside Andurill's wall to get some local ingredients, she said she was running low," Ajal sipped the tea.

"I haven't gotten to go out yet, and they all went!? Wait that means Franklins has gone twice! That... Ugh..." Sarah groaned.

''Want to come with us to the library?" Yorrin suddenly asked.

Jack and Sarah turned to the door, and Yorrin and Korra peeked through the door. The old man turned and looked at the two, then sighed.

"I thought your mom told you not to watch us train?" said Ajal.

"She didn't say that today," Yorrin pointed out.

"Don't tell, or else," Korra warned Ajal.

"These kids in Rea are interesting..." Ajal whispered as he took another sip.

"I want to! I've always wanted to visit a library!" Sarah stood up excitedly.

"Huh? Why? Libraries suck?" Korra asked with a squint.

"Libraries are great Korra," Yorrin raised an eyebrow. "You're just brainless."

"What?!" Korra stomped. "I am not!"

"Wouldn't you have to look out for guards?" Ajal reminded them.

"We're going with Grandpa, so that'll be fine," said Yorrin.

"Jack you should come too," Sarah suddenly turned and asked.

'Huh?' "I- I don't really want-"

"Just come along, that way at least we have someone strong..."

'I'm... Not strong though?'

"Grandpa is strong!" Korra shouted angrily.

"I mean if you're okay with it..." Ajal nodded toward the old man. "I'm hitting the bed though so I'm not coming," said Ajal.

"What?!" Yorrin suddenly looked disappointed.

"Jack, Sarah. Don't fight, stay casual. If you get into or approach a conflict, avoid it however you can," Ajal instructed as he walked inside.

"Alright..." Jack agreed, still a little skeptical about going.

The old man looked at Korra and Yorrin, then tapped his wrist twice. Korra turned and ran inside. Yorrin kissed his teeth and looked down as if he had failed to do something, he turned and followed his sister into the house. 'I kind of don't want to go out again after what happened last time...' Jack looked at the fences around him, Ajal stood up and made his way inside as he took another sip of the special tea. Jack looked at Ajal, and then back to the fence. 'Using Spirit Arts for movement...'

***

"How far is this library again..." Jack asked after an hour of walking.

"It's in Ketova, the northeast district," said Korra.

"I thought we were staying in Rea..."

They stood in front of a forest full of massive trees with bright green-colored bark. The leaves falling from above were turning white as they dried up, some of the leaves still had a trace of their vibrant blue hue. 'We took nothing but back streets to get here... I didn't see a single guard, who is this old guy...'

"Wow, there's a forest in the middle of the city? And look at those leaves!" Sarah shouted with ardent enthusiasm.

"Yeah, if you go further into the forest you'll reach Anka, and if you go the other way it leads out of the city, towards Bomo's Jungle," Yorrin explained.

"Why is it called Bomo?" Jack asked.

"Bomo was a beast from the Celestial like Ophi or Wilo but didn't have as many followers, his descendants still control it, but they're a neutral clan," Yorrin answered.

"Nerd..." Korra whispered.

They had made their way to the region between the southwest and northwest districts, the loose forest had multiple small buildings as well as buildings that connected to the trees. Jack found the new setting a bit refreshing from the usual.

Korra and Yorrin wore blue jeans and sweaters. Yorrin's sweater was green, and Korra's orange, the hoods could barely contain their dense black hair. 'They might have distinct physical differences but... Hybrids seem very similar to non-unified...' The northwest district's buildings could be seen past the gaps in the trees, one building was especially large for some reason.

"That's the library, see!" Korra pointed to the large building beyond the forest.

"That's a library? Why did you need to go there?" Jack asked.

"We have to get a book about the life cycle since the festival of life is coming up soon," Yorrin answered.

"That's why we're going?" Korra asked.

"Yeah. Wait- Weren't you listening to Ms. Cera?!"

"You listen to her?"

"Korra..."

"What?"

"You're hopeless..."

"Huh?! What does that mean? Don't judge me!"

"I have reason to!"

Sarah and Jack both wore black sweaters with hoods and their regular black camo pants. Sarah giggled watching the two banter. Jack didn't say anything, he just continued to walk with the group, keeping an eye out for guards. 'Why did she want me to come along anyway...'

'... but you've been befriending angels? What's wrong with you?'

The words she said in Logos came back to him, they stung but also confused him. 'I hate angels but... Eos wasn't a bad guy...' The two of them hadn't talked much, and they were silent to each other along the walk except when Yorrin or Korra had something to say. The old man walked in front, taking strange turns and going in directions that seemed redundant, but Jack trusted he knew where to go. The old man wore a black robe, he was incredibly slim, and a belt wrapped around his waist tightly. The white hair on the back of his head flowed in the wind.

"Hey Sarah, Jack! Have a race with us!" Korra asked, waving her arms excitedly in the air.

"A race? Korra you're such a dummy... You always lose..." said Yorrin.

"Yeah but I could at least try to beat them," Korra gave her strange reasoning.

"Sure, I'll race you! I can run way faster than Jack," Sarah accepted.

"Huh- A race? Sure?" Jack accepted. 'Spirits Arts for movement... Maybe I could try right now...'

"All right! The last one to the end of the forest has to carry all the books!" Korra shouted as she took off.

"Huh? At least play fair! Ugh, dummy," Yorrin spat as he started running.

Korra ran down the curving path, Yorrin cut through the thicket of trees 'He seems smarter, I'll follow him!' Sarah started jogging as well, Jack focused his spirit on his legs and started running. 'Yorrin went through that gap in the trees!' Jack started sprinting. A burst of spirit underneath his right foot carried it a bit further. Jack's foot didn't touch the ground, 'shit!' Jack fell onto the dirt and broke the fall with his arms, his shoulder hit the ground and he felt his skin scrape against the hill, but he came to a stop on the descent.

"Haha! You fell!" Sarah chuckled as she passed him.

"Ah... Dammit, that hurt!" Jack grunted, his side stung.

Jack quickly got up, shook his head, and looked at the gap in the trees, 'Through there!' This time without running he focused his spirit on his left foot, he breathed in and out as he focused his spirit as hard as he could on his legs.

'Spirit Ignition!'

Jack ignited his spirit at his feet as he jumped off the hill, launching himself soaring between the two trees and past another. 'This is dangerous!' Jack saw Yorrin running up a hill ahead. 'It'll hurt if I land at this speed! I have to strengthen my-' Jack focused his spirit to his feet the moment he hit the ground and landed, he bent his knees but couldn't stop the velocity his body traveled and he rolled over on his shoulder, his back collecting several leaves during the roll. He slid down the hill rather than following Yorrin up.

He rolled onto his feet and pushed with his muscles to start running as fast as he could, 'There are too many trees in the way!' Jack's foot landed on a muddy pit of soil. His foot sank in. 'Shit!' Jack took another step and the ground was muddy as well.

"Why'd you go on the bad path?" Yorrin shouted from above on a hill.

Jack looked up at the boy on the hill while trying to progress through the mud to a better spot.

"Why don't you do that thing again?" Yorrin asked with a smug grin on his face.

"Huh?"

Jack looked up ahead and noticed something. Up ahead was a trunk that had fallen away from the direction he was running. 'Movement...' Jack hurried through the mud. He got to the log and stepped on it, he felt the log spring back against his weight. The old wood was turning grey in some parts, it creaked as he got his second foot on. Jack turned and slowly ran up the log, it got wider the further he ran up. The incline was a little steep.

Jack was getting a better view around as he got higher, up ahead was Yorrin struggling to get through a small stream, 'You wanted to see something cool huh...' Jack ran up the branch while focusing his spirit to his core. At the end of the fallen tree, he noticed a clear path through the trees back to the original brown dirt trail. Jack sped up, 'Over there!'

As his spirit ignited Jack shifted his spirit from his core to his right foot. The moment before he jumped he crouched down, with both feet at the cracked edges of the branch. 'Spirit Ignition!' Jack jumped and ignited his spirit at the same time. Breaking the wood with his lift-off and soaring through the forests quickly. His arms flung wildly as he soared through the woods and focused his spirit into his core once again. 'Fast! Too fast! Too-' Jack looked to his right and saw Yorrin below him. The boy's expression was completely dumbfounded as he saw Jack fly by in mid-air. With a rapid beating in his chest, fear, and excitement ran through his veins as he witnessed what Spirit Arts could do. The wind pushed against him, passing by tree after tree, the angle and height he jumped at were taking him further than intended.

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Jack started to descend, the buildings of the northeast district directly in front of the trees ahead, he was nearing the original trail which happened to curve in the direction of his trajectory. Jack concentrated his spirit to his feet. He landed on the ground but he was moving too fast. He tumbled immediately, falling on his front and flipping over before crashing into a tree.

***

"He flew through the forest!" Yorrin shouted as he huffed.

"He doesn't have wings?!" said Korra.

'Huh...'

Jack regained consciousness, half of his face hurt, and he could feel a cold chill against a scrape on his stomach. Leaves and sticks fell out of his hair as he pushed himself up. 'All I remember was focusing my spirit on my legs before I hit the ground... My legs took the least impact...' As he planted his left foot on the ground, the sides of his knee both throbbed as he pushed himself up.

"Why'd you try so damn hard to win!" Sarah scolded him, then offered Jack a hand. "Here, come on..."

Jack got to his feet, his leg shaking from the pain.

"Did you use Spirit Arts to get ahead?" Sarah asked.

"Well... Ajal told me to use Spirit Arts for movement... So I did... And, yeah it went... Better than I thought," Jack explained.

"Better than you thought? You can't keep your leg straight right now!"

"Yeah... I managed to do a really powerful Spirit Ignition..." Jack replied.

"That's... Really amazing, but you're an idiot for that," Sarah muttered quietly.

"Teach me how to do that! If I made myself lighter I could fly really- Ow!" Yorrin was cut off as his grandpa hit him in the head with a chop.

"Who won the race?" Jack replied.

"You were being competitive weren't you?!" Sarah shouted at him.

'Didn't you say you were faster than me...' Jack squinted at her but said nothing.

"Grandpa won," said Korra, she had been pouting about coming second last.

The old man took Yorrin and Korra's hand and proceeded towards Ketova. Sarah waited for Jack.

"Ajal can do them one after the other almost nonstop, I've been practicing a lot but can't get near that guy's level..."

"What do you mean! You're already better than Reinhardt, he can only do one strong ignition at a time. I can't even-" Sarah looked down.

Jack limped a few steps as his body got used to the pain in his legs. He followed the old man, and Sarah walked behind.

"It sucks you know..." said Sarah.

"What does?" Jack replied.

"Being weak... Ajal even told me I was weak..."

"Well... He didn't exactly say that."

"But it's true... At the angel's outpost, I lost to Bruno in one hit... That royal guard from Dorad in Logos was really strong too, and scary! I didn't stand a chance and I'm pretty sure she held back..."

"Hmm..." Jack didn't reply, he was unsure of what to really say.

"Did George and Reinhardt tell you..."

"Tell me what?"

"A week before we met you and Ajal at that outpost, the resistance ordered us to attack it to keep the angels and hybrids in Helios occupied... According to the guy that gave us that order... We were still expected to be there... Until we died..."

Jack raised an eyebrow when he heard that. 'The resistance... Ordered that? Isn't the resistance supposed to be good?'

"I'm sorry I called you weak when I couldn't believe you beat Alexander, it's pathetic for someone like me to call others weak... I don't know why you are acquainted with angels but I'm really sorry about that."

"I didn't- ugh..." Jack groaned. "Ajal couldn't even beat that guy... What makes you think I did?"

"Huh? But Franklin-"

"Franklin is stupid! Really stupid to be honest- I can't stand that guy!" Jack snapped.

"That- That is true..." said Sarah. "Then, what actually happened?"

Jack recalled the events from that day, his head throbbed as he remembered how afraid he was.

"I only had one friend in Logos, a girl named Carol. I don't know why she was so nice to me, she didn't seem to open up to anyone else..."

"Carol? What was her last name?"

"Endoran I believe, I only knew her for a few days... But she was sort of my only friend."

"Hmm, I don't remember anyone named Carol from the schools... The name Endoran does kind of ring a bell..."

"We tried to close the mines, we just wanted to do something, anything to end this misery... And of course, we paid the price."

"The angles executed-"

"Alexander didn't just execute her, he made an example out of her... Just like he does everyone else. He was ruthless... He was beating the life out of her in front of the whole village, and no one tried or dared to stop him, not even me... I can still remember how rigid my body felt as I froze that day, I was so afraid... Until I watched him plunge that sword through her stomach..."

Sarah's covered her mouth, the story visibly bothered her.

"She died with a smile on her face, that's the last thing I remember," Jack lied, he didn't want to explain further.

"I was really insensitive all this time... Ugh I'm such an idiot, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay... Franklin is just an idiot..."

"Franklin is a dimwit... Ugh. Next time he says something like that, I'll kick him in the nuts!" Sarah shouted angrily. "And what's wrong with that king of the angels! Letting Alexander Rael do those things... They don't treat the other towns nearly as strictly."

"I doubt the king cares... I've only seen him once, he didn't even look at any of the slaves' faces, he was too focused on some girl he was with..."

"Sure doesn't sound like a king to me..."

Jack looked around, Ketova certainly felt different from Rea, he tugged his hood forward to make sure no one saw much of his features, the hybrids in Ketova varied in appearance and clothing. There weren't just descendants of Ophi around. Taller hybrids walked about among the descendants of Ophi clad in dark clothing. Compared to others, descendants of Ophi seemed to value stealth and keeping low profiles. 'I wonder what Celestial beasts the others descended from... This district is closer to Welis I think...'

"That's what I wanted to say though, I really am sorry. It's- it's why I asked you to come along too..." Sarah admitted.

'Oh... You could've just said-'

"Hey, there girl!" Someone approached Jack and Sarah.

A slim but tall man with brown hair walked up to Jack and Sarah, except he went right past Jack and straight to Sarah. The man walked away from a group of hybrids who primarily had brown hair, many of them hollering slurs at Sarah. The group seemed to be highly nimble with their bodies, some stood on the building while others hung off it with the help of a single foot or a hand.

"You're pretty cute for a black rabbit," the man told Sarah as he grabbed her arm.

Jack looked around quickly, past the gate to the town center were two guards. 'Avoid conflict... What if the conflict comes to us...' Jack thought as he was unsure of what to do. He focused his spirit into his fist.

"Hey, the guards are right there... I wouldn't-" said Sarah

The group of hybrids exploded into laughter and cut her off.

"Hey, guards?", "Shitty guards! Shitty guards!", "Were the women in the royal guard not hiring?!"

The hybrids exploded into even more laughter. The two guards reminded Jack of the guard he had encountered. Taller than Ajal, with large burly bodies, and stern faces with plain features. The two guards had different hair colors, one had white hair, the other black. The guards were ignoring the brown-haired hybrids despite the abrasive shouting and annoying remarks. 'Why are the guards not doing anything?'

"How about it girl? Want to spend a night with- Ow ow ow!" the man suddenly started shouting in pain.

The old man grasped the hand that held Sarah's shoulder. 'It doesn't look like he's squeezing that hard?' The man pulled his hand away, and the old man let him go. The entire group of hybrids stood up as they saw the old man. 'Aw crap... Looks like there's going to be conflict...' The man who approached Sarah had wide eyes, his jaw even wider as he looked up at the old man from the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran for his group.

"Oh shit... It's him! The red hare!", "Just go, just go!" the other hybrids ran across the rooftops to get away.

'The red hair?'

"Bunch of jerks... thanks old m- cool dude!" said Sarah.

"Grandpa once beat up a whole gang of people who stole my cand- Ow!" Korra yipped as Yorrin smacked her in the head.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to talk about that? Ugh... Big mouth," Yorrin scolded her.

The group continued forward, the old man pulled his hood on as he passed by the guards. 'I wonder who he is... That was all physical strength... All he did was just grab him?!' Jack continued to ponder. 'He doesn't seem strong, who is this guy...'

"Ugh... I really wanted to use Spirit Arts to kick that guy in the head..." Sarah muttered angrily.

"How is the training with Ajal going? You're learning something else right?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, but... it feels like useless training, he said I could perform Spirit Arts techniques for healing others..." Sarah pouted.

"Huh- Healing? Like a doctor?"

"I don't know... he said I have a low affinity for fire, with a higher affinity for light and something like that..."

"Oh yeah, those affinities, I wonder what mine are..."

"He said I have to ignite my spirit in my head while focusing on my spirit where I want to manifest an ability. Which was weird at first, but if I do it really slowly it doesn't really feel dangerous or anything, but then I have to take what manifests and command it to do stuff which... I don't even know... If I say something I also lose focus... And then on top of that... What do I even say?!" Sarah explained. "What'd it look like to you? I have to close my eyes to focus hard enough, but when I open my eyes I don't see anything."

"Your hand looked brighter, there was a faint light glowing in your palm, and it felt warm," said Jack.

"That's what Ajal said too... Ahh! I wish I could see it!"

"There it is!" Korra shouted and pointed forward.

The group passed under a large green gate that stood about two stories high. It was made of two green pillars connected by a single beam with a sloped roof similar to the other buildings. Further ahead was another large green gate of similar design, just across the open street. The two buildings to each side of the gate seemed to connect over top of it, making more floors for both connected buildings. The design of the northwest district reminded Jack of Logos's design with concrete rather than dirt and grass, two sets of outer streets divided by buildings surrounding the district's center, just like Logos, the center of the city was a large open space where people gathered. Korra pointed at a tall building at the edge of the district's center, the sun hitting the face of the building, illuminating its windows and reflecting the bright glare from the sun at Jack's eyes.

"That's the library?" said Jack.

He shielded his eyes as he continued forward, the building was massive, at least three times the height of the gate, as they got closer the glare became less intense and Jack could see. There were six rows of windows, Jack looked up to the top and noticed a man behind the middle windows on the sixth floor.

"He could probably see everyone in the center of this district from there..." Jack whispered to himself.

The person in the window looked down directly at Jack, 'He's looking at me... There's no way he can find out I'm non-unified from there though.' Jack continued towards the entrance. Korra ran up the stairs two steps at a time. Sarah did the same, the old man continued at the same pace, as quietly as ever.

"Hey, mister! Stop!" someone shouted in fear.

"Huh," Jack looked down and noticed he was about to walk into an old homeless man. "Ah, sorry about that," Jack walked to the side.

"No problem young one, you almost kicked my knee, I woulda lost it ya know..."

"Eh..."

"Waha! I'm just kidding!"

The old man had a scruffy beard, he wore tattered robes as he rested in the shade of the library. 'Not all the hybrids seem bad...'

Jack looked to the right and noticed a pathway to the outer streets, to the left, was a tall building, even taller than the library. There were ropes between the building and the mountains in this district.

"Hey Yorrin, what's that building?" Jack asked.

"Huh? Oh, that's the information control center for Andurill. Each of the hybrid cities connected with the alliance has one, it's mainly for them to communicate without the resistance knowing, but citizens can use it to communicate with friends or family from different cities," the young boy explained.

"How are they communicating?"

"Oh, descendants of Wilo are born with Wilo's talon, a golden arm that can launch their hand forward. The hand is still connected to the wrist by a very strong fiber, but it's really tough and can carry heavy stuff. It also conducts electricity very well. The wires help transport power around the city. With help from descendants of Goku, they were able to turn it into a means of communication."

"Huh, sounds complex. You sure do know a lot..."

"Of course I do, my sister has no brain so I have to have two."

"Are there descendants of Wilo at the ends of those lines? They just stand there all the time?"

"No, the wires used are from descendants of Wilo who passed away. Not even fugitives have their arm taken from them, a person's Celestial gift is special after all."

Jack looked up at the wires coming out of the information control center. 'Their arms are where the wire comes from? That's... Kind of dark...'

Jack and Yorrin were the last to enter the library, a cool breeze sent a shiver up Jack's spine. Yorrin walked directly to the front desk. The ceiling was very low at the entrance, but the number of books already surprised Jack. The entire left side was composed of shelves filled with books of various colors, and to the right was a desk with a lineup of people checking them out. Jack thought back to the book Arthur had given him, and he looked around. Korra and Yorrin were at the desk with their grandfather, Sarah had begun looking around. Jack noticed more books on the other side of the first floor. 'How many books are there, can anyone even read all of these?'

As he walked through the library along the glossy marble floor, there was a strange scent he didn't recognize. It was a soothing, gentle scent that brushed through Jack's nose with a velvety elegance that comforted him and reminded him of the sweet foods the merchants from Logos sold.

In the center of the room was a statue of a little girl holding up a large globe. The sunlight shone down over the statue and made the boulder look incredibly large and imposing. Jack walked past the wall to the right of the entrance and realized there were books behind the wall of the front desk. As he looked around he noticed there had been bookshelves around every edge of the room, neatly displayed for the various hybrid scholars who were studying.

"Woah... There are books everywhere!" Jack said in a raised voice.

"Shhh!" several voices all whispered at once and startled Jack.

A hybrid walked towards him, it was a grey-haired old lady wearing a grey robe over a white blouse, she had a golden gauntlet attached to her right arm. 'A descendant of Wilo...' She pointed her golden finger at Jack.

"This is a library!" she whispered. "Be quiet! People are reading."

"Oh- okay, sorry," Jack whispered back.

She smiled softly at Jack and turned back to the shelves where her trolley awaited her. She picked up several books off the metal surface and moved them to the shelves. Jack approached the grey statue, it was carved out of a single stone judging from where the hands joined with the boulder the girl carried. She was young, her facial features lacked imperfection, and her calm stone eyes were closed as she held a gentle smile. As if the boulder on her back was nothing to worry about. Jack looked down at a plaque, it read as follows:

'The Deity of Rabbits, Ophi - May she conquer the burden of our sins with her grace.'

Jack looked down at the stone the plaque rested on, it wasn't the same, the plaque rested on a shining marble, similar to the design of the floor. Behind the statue was a staircase, 'Why is there a staircase in the middle of the room?' Jack looked up and his jaw dropped. Five more floors were above him, the tall shelves on each floor filled with books. He almost forgot to breathe as he gasped at the overwhelming sight, 'That's... A lot- no... Too many books!'

He looked left and saw Yorrin walking around the shelves near the entrance looking for a specific book. Korra was in the same aisle pointing and saying something Jack couldn't hear from where he stood. Jack walked up the stairs, and the pain in his knee became more tolerable. As he got to the second floor, he looked down, the height made Jack gulp. 'This goes pretty high...' He became curious and hastily walked to the next stairway to the third level, once there he continued to the next level.

Jack looked down and saw the old lady from the first floor, from this distance she looked tiny. As he reached the fifth floor he was now above the statue of Ophi. His legs ached from all the climbing, but he pressed forward, huffing with each step up the last flight of stairs. There weren't many people on this floor, Jack looked to the left, past the bookshelves where the windows overlooked the front of the building.

'I'm at the top!' Jack felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

He looked above the shelves and noticed some labels.

'History of Grelt.'

Jack walked between the shelves, the various books were organized to be side by side with other copies, he scanned the various titles, unsure of what to read while he waited for Korra and Yorrin to find the book they needed.

'The Battle of Cerulea', 'The Strife of Dorad', 'Arken's Life: From King to Fool', 'The Divine One.'

Jack stopped as he read that last one, he picked up the green book and looked at the cover, a single black skull beneath the letters of the title.

"Divine? Ajal mentioned that Grelt should have a divine being..." Jack whispered to himself.

Jack flipped through the pages until he came to a picture. It was a sketch of a scene from long ago. The page depicted a large throne room, its banners displayed a triangle-shaped symbol with circles at each corner. A single man stood in front of an army. He held his massive great sword high, and the army of ghoulish skeletons did the same. The picture was black and white.

At the front of the room was a chubby man and a skinny woman wearing strange clothing. The skeletons had worn armor, but those two seemed to be dressed in clothes Jack didn't recognize, they were drawn so small it was hard to tell.

Between the two, however, sitting on the throne, was someone strange. A woman wearing armor, her mask had no features. The only detail Jack could make out was the emblem of a tree carved into her breastplate. 'Skeletons...'

"Wait a minute, we saw skeletons on the bridge..." Jack whispered as he realized.

"Go now, your vengeance awaits you," Jack's attention was stolen by a nearby voice on the same floor.

'Huh?' Jack closed the book and slowly crept over to the seats past the shelves in front of the windows, he peaked past the shelf and noticed a lanky man who stood at a height of six feet. Jack recognized him quickly, 'Wait... That's...' He had his black hair tied in a single ponytail that drooped down past his waist, he wore a sleeveless white coat, and he wore baggy black pants with the same rings around his ankle and waist. Right next to him were two children, one of them had their hands against the glass window, and the other clutched the tall man's coat in fear of something.

"Kill away," the tall man said with a wide grin that made Jack gulp.

The child at the window turned and walked towards the stairs, he had lots of thick brown hair around his face, and the boy's eyes were filled with intent. The other boy not so much, he simply shivered at the side of the tall man. Eventually, he too followed the order. 'Marina said the guard saw Geral Murdok... Then... Is that really him?!'

The tall man stood in front of the window and simply watched the front of the building with his hands behind his back. 'Why is he just standing there-' Jack gulped nervously when he remembered the person standing at the window watching him. He took a step back, a surge of pain from his knee made him wince. A small exhale left Jack's throat.

The tall man's entire body whipped to the left, he stared Jack in the eyes with an intensity he'd never felt before. Jack stepped back from the shelf. 'He heard that?!' Jack's body shivered in fear, he only felt like this when someone like Alexander Rael was near. 'I should-' Jack turned back to the staircase, only to see the man was in his path now instead of by the window.

"Hi there," Geral Murdok greeted.

"Hello," Jack replied nervously.

"It's surprising to see you here. I didn't get your name last time," the tall man asked with a smile.

"Huh? Uh- it's-" Jack stuttered.

"The divine one? Ah yes, the book about Oaraun. It's a good read, quite insightful."

"Yeah... I'm- I'm liking the book so far."

"I'm surprised."

"You're... surprised?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised you managed to get that close without me noticing."

"Uh... Okay?"

"Come to think of it, you're the one who looked up at me from outside..."

Jack started to breathe heavily as he knew something was wrong, 'He's just been standing at that window this whole time... Why?'

"Judging from how afraid you suddenly are, I assume you know full well who I am, who sent you?" the man asked.

"I- don't know what..." said Jack.

His cold fingers wrapped around Jack's shoulder, 'Why is he so cold?' Despite the normal temperature in the library, Jack could still feel the man's cold touch through his clothes. Jack took a step back, and another. He didn't notice the leg of a table behind him, and he fell backward, making a large thud.

"Hey! I can hear you from the floor below!" A guard shouted.

A pair of heavy footsteps climbed the stairs up to the sixth floor. Jack didn't move, his body was frozen in fear. He could only hear the large hybrid's steps as he approached. He looked up at the tall man, who was now looking toward the stairwell. The guard walked around the corner and approached the two.

"The higher floors are supposed to be quieter!" the guard spoke, ironically, he was the loudest one.

The guard stopped speaking. Jack gulped as he listened to a quiet silence that felt too long to be real. 'What... Why did he stop-'

"Hey... you- You're-!" the guard stuttered in shock as he tried to shout.

Jack blinked and Geral vanished. At the exact same time, the quiet sound of a blade piercing through flesh stopped the man's speech.

"Aw, if only you said it just a little louder, you may have caused me an inconvenience, that's all your life is going to end for unfortunately," Geral whispered with a malicious smile.

Jack looked to the right and his heart started to beat rapidly. Geral stabbed the short dagger horizontally through the middle of the guard's neck and grabbed his collar to keep him still. A line of blood ran down from the wound. The guard reached for the blade in his neck as he tried to breathe, his hands shaking from pure shock as he didn't know what to do.

"Guh-" the guard tried to call for help.

"There, there, down you go," Geral whispered.

The hybrid was a large man at least eight feet tall when he stood, he had a green robe over his black polished armor. The man's eyes stayed open as Geral pulled his blade out slowly, and the guard's arms fell to his sides. Geral held his collar with a clenched fist, and the guard's body fell forward as he went limp. Before he could slam against the table Geral grasped the back of his collar and slowly lowered him.

"Can't have him making any more noise. Now... Now that you know who I am... I'm quite interested in you. Even for a slave, you don't panic or scream at the sight of someone being murdered in front of you. How about you tell me your name?" Geral said menacingly.

"My- my name?" Jack hesitated.

'Why does someone on a different continent know you!' Arthur's words rang in Jack's head.

"Uhm- Eckleflor?" Jack lied.

Geral raised the knife by the handle and Jack looked down in fear, he walked towards Jack. A whooshing sound of his blade followed by splatter made Jack's heart skip a beat as he thought it was the end. However nothing happened, Jack opened his eyes and raised his head to find out Geral had returned to observing the front of the library.

"What's your name?" the leader of the hybrid resistance asked once more.

"Huh?" Jack stuttered.

"There's only one person in Logos named Eckleflor, but he prefers to be bald," Geral gave Jack a sly smile.

Jack's heart beat rapidly, 'He knows I'm lying... What'll he do if I say Jack...'

"I-" Jack carefully considered how to answer. 'What would Ajal do...' "I got dragged into coming here... I didn't really, want- to come to the library..." Jack nonchalantly told him the truth, the last part extra quietly.

"Pft- Hehe- Hah-" Geral held in his giggles. "Seriously? What kind of answer is that? Are you being serious? Why do I feel like you're being serious?!"

"I am serious..."

Geral covered his mouth. "That's funny, really funny actually, I didn't plan to be here today either. It seems like fate has dragged us together once again. Would you like to see why I'm here? Slave of the angels," Geral pointed to something in the front of the library.

Jack walked up to the window, "I'm not a slave anymore..." he muttered.

Jack looked down at the large center square of Ketova. Geral pointed towards the two guards who ignored the thugs that bothered Sarah earlier. They were beating up the scruffy old homeless man in ragged clothing. 'What...' They slammed their black steel boots into the homeless man. 'Huh... Why are they bothering him...'

"Why... He wasn't doing anything?!" Jack put his palms against the cold glass as he leaned forward.

"They have to keep the square clean, it's their job. That homeless man from Welis has been here a few times, continuously preaching about the sins of the Lithonians," Geral explained.

"Lithonians?"

Jack's breath was close enough to leave fog against the transparent window. Geral's hand gripped Jack's shoulder. 'Huh...' Jack glanced to his left, his heart beating faster. Geral had a malicious grin spread from ear to ear.

"Watch carefully, the best part is about to begin," said Geral.

'Best part?' Jack looked back to the violent scene. Several hybrids were watching the man get beaten by the guards. It reminded Jack of the violence in Logos. One of the guards turned around, and the other lifted the beaten and unconscious man by the arm. At that exact moment, two children walked out of the crowd, the guards were unaware of them.

"That boy's name is Timari, and his brother's name is Jamar, both descendants of Goku from Welis. Their father sold medicine from the remnants of Bluewood Forest here, it was a trade he inherited from his father before him, and it was all he could do to support his children on his own. The guards of the city recently apprehended him for it. I was a friend of his," Geral explained.

"Apprehended him for- selling medicine?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, it's an illegal product, a special root only grown in regions controlled by descendants of Tilill. Descendants of Tilill are a non-neutral clan, in opposition to the alliance. For that sole reason, those disgusting traders from Lemen don't want it being distributed freely. That homeless man is their father," Geral revealed.

"That's..."

"For him to get to Bluewood now, he'd have to go around. He'd have to travel even farther and longer, all the while his children starve for several days at a time. Feast your eyes... We shall witness the glorious justice he deserves," Geral raised his arms as he grinned.

The man's wide smile still made Jack nervous. One of the kids had started sprinting towards the guard who held his father. Timari jumped and plunged a knife into the middle of the guard's black armor, between the plates and into their flesh. The people started to scream, and Jack couldn't take his eyes away. The other child, Jamar, was still hesitant. The other guard dropped their father and grasped Timari. The eight-foot man easily grasped the boy's entire head, however, green lightning crackled around his arm and the guard let out a painful shriek. The guard let go of Timari, however, Jamar had run to his brother's aid and stuck the guard with another knife. He pulled it out and stabbed the guard again. Then again. And again. while they couldn't hear the violence, Jack felt like he was listening to each of the hesitant child's grunts of rage as he plunged the blade into the guard with both hands. The other guard scrambled to his feet and tackled the kid.

"Holy shit-" Jack covered his mouth as he watched.

Geral giggled maniacally. The father of the two kids was left completely speechless as he watched more guards storm into the square to apprehend them. Jack just watched with wide eyes. 'The kid... Stabbed him... A kid...' The two reminded him of himself and Carol. He stepped back from the window.

"Why did-" Jack tried to ask, but could barely form words after witnessing that.

"Now that I've shown you why I was here, answer my question already. I wouldn't say I like talking to someone whose name I don't even know," Geral asked again.

"But..." Jack replied.

Geral looked down at Jack with a confused look.

"Those guards..." Jack stuttered, still focused on the event that unfolded in front of the library.

Geral let out a disappointed sigh. "Welp, you have no intention of telling me your name, you seem like an interesting fellow though, I won't kill you," Geral walked away.

Geral walked away with a smile on his face and his hands behind his head.

"My name is Jack..."

Geral's footsteps came to a stop. Jack could see the reflection of the library in the glass, Geral's head turned the moment he heard that.

"What was that?" Geral asked, suddenly interested.

"My name... Is Jack Eldritch."

Geral's eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open in shock when he turned around towards Jack. He simply looked at him for a moment and then looked down as he thought about something.

"Hah... Hahahahah!" Geral cackled out loud for the whole library to hear.

Jack continued to look at Geral with a worried expression.

"Quiet! "You're too loud sixth floor!" "Ugh, I thought the guard dealt with this! I'm trying to study!" Multiple upset mutters came from the fifth floor.

"Fate... How interesting," Geral said to himself before he looked at Jack with a look of confidence.

That was all he said as he turned and walked away, as he reached the stairs he stopped and looked at someone, he grinned at the person he saw on the stairs. He glanced at Jack once more, as if he was even more sure of something. A rush of footsteps climbed the stairs as Geral went down, Jack saw the old man with wide eyes and a worried expression on his face. He saw Jack, still taking in what had happened. The old man walked over to Jack, he stopped as he turned and noticed the dead guard in a pool of his own blood.

"Oh man, that's a lot of stairs... That guy had a cool Jacket... Hey Jack you were up here all along?" Sarah called. "We were about to leave-"

She walked forward and noticed the old man looking at something, she glanced at Jack who looked in the same direction.

"What's up?" Sarah asked as she walked over. "Ho-!"

She covered her mouth as she witnessed the dead guard just inches away from Jack.

'Fate.' The words repeated in Jack's head as he looked at the blood spread through the carpet.