As their eyes met, a great, overwhelming power surged up in Lirya. She felt when the circlet appeared on her forehead, and her first thought was one of relief.
I have this power too! I no longer have to be a weak pawn to my father! I can be like Jason!
As she watched Taryn fall limply to the ground unconscious, the distant sound of her heartbeat and a roaring in her ears was all she heard as shaky fingers reached up to touch the cold material of the circlet on her head. Muted disbelief followed, as a single, cold tear trickled down her face.
As she gazed at the wide smile on Taryn’s face as he renounced his birthright and crowned his younger brother, a bittersweet feeling squeezed her heart.
Could I… have had something like that with my younger brother, too? If I had accepted the marriage and stayed loyal to my father?
Feelings of regret, at what could have been if she’d chosen differently, welled up within her.
Her thoughts snapped back to the present when a loud horn sounded. She and the other guardians— Jason, Taryn and Altein—were standing in a semi circle facing the last guardian, a tall and lithe elven male named Jaron. She got the gist that he and Taryn were related someway, and it was exceedingly obvious that they shared both similar features and, more visibly, the white hair that ran in the Aegivyl family.
"When the horn blows a second time, try to call your power. Only when you have felt the power for the first time do you know what to search for the next time you seek the power. Our power reacts to strong emotions, most notably the negative ones—that means rage, anguish… hate… the list goes on. Try to think of a particular moment when something terrible happened to you!"
The large horn in his hand was raised to his lips and he blew deeply into the horn.
Immediately, Lirya closed her eyes and searched her memories for a moment when she'd felt that overwhelming hopelessness Jaron had described. And to her astonishment, few moments came to mind that matched Jaron's description. It was as if her life was devoid of emotions—at no time had she ever felt true joy, nor true sorrow. Her first joyful memory was of the freedom she had felt when Jason had shown her the village outside the castle walls. She struggled, but felt nothing.
Around her, gasps were heard and she opened her eyes. There stood Taryn, surrounded by beautiful but deadly spikes of sharp ice. Jaron applauded and quietly instructed Taryn to retract the ice again, before turning to face the others again. Altein's face was the picture of concentration and Jason stood rigidly, a frown gracing his features. A moment later, ice surrounded Jason, too.
Jaron strode over and asked, "Do you know what happened just now? Do you know what your power is?"
"The… power of ice, surely? Like him?" He gestured to Taryn.
Jaron shook his head and explained, "Not quite. You are a jack of all trades—gold will never master any element, rather is proficient in the use of all of them. If you apply yourself properly, you could become a force to be reckoned with… the pillar of the guardians."
He continued, "What you did was essentially imitating Taryn's ability, but to a lesser degree. That may sound underwhelming, but imagine using sapphire's ability to harness the winds to fly while manipulating the earth and attacking your foe with fire and ice! Reyneld was probably the best ability user the world has ever seen and I am proud to have fought beside him and my other companions."
Jason stared at his hands in wonder, a new light in his eyes.
It took Altein a full hour to get his power activated, and when it did, the earth shook as a massive pillar of hard packed mud rose from the ground.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
And yet, nothing came to Lirya.
<--<< >>-->
Months passed and spring faded into a warm summer. Lirya had begun to learn archery while the others learned ability control. When night fell, Lirya tried again to concentrate and activate her power, but to no avail.
The bright summer greens turned to vibrant autumn oranges as time passed and the companions all grew more proficient at the abilities and weapons they wielded. The others who were not guardians were released after a period of time and were deemed ‘harmless’.
Winter came forcefully, a blizzard whirling into Silvardor and heralding the start of the snowy season. Weapon training moved indoors, but Taryn’s and Jason’s ability control was put to test as Jaron had them stand for hours in the cold to attune themselves to the element.
Spring arrived again, marking a full year since the companions had ended up in Silvardor.
<--<< >>-->
“Where are we?” Jason asked, as he and the others joined Jaron in a walk to a small temple situated on a small hill in the forest.
Jaron replied, “It’s been a year since you first arrived in Silvardor, so it's about time you pay your respects to the gods. It is likely that the reason you washed up in Silvardor was because of divine intervention. We have a custom, here in Silvardor, called the ‘Annuals’, where we offer up food for the gods—and more for your patron god or goddess, should you have one.”
“Patron gods?” Leus wondered, joining the conversation.
Jaron smiled, “They may offer to support you if you meet certain conditions. For the most part, nothing changes, but they may just save your life one day, so offering up a little extra to them is hardly any trouble. My patron goddess was Iside, goddess of winter. Our contract was severed the moment I lost my powers, though. Perhaps Taryn will be granted an opportunity to sign a contract with her, as he’s inherited my powers.”
The conversation halted when the temple came to view.
It was a stunning building built of obsidian marble. Towering pillars embraced a circular clearing with a singular stone at the centre. Around the clearing and between the pillars stood statues.
“Those are-”
“Yes, the gods. We honour the gods very much,” Jaron said, then proceeded to describe each of the gods.
Pelos was often seen as a deity of ‘good’ and purity and he was the eldest son of the earth goddess, Nutaku. His elder sister, Aeliyas, was often portrayed as the opposite of her brother—the goddess of ‘evil’, and his younger brother, Gialan, the ‘neutral’ god who turned his eye to books rather than intervention of mortal matters. Seldom mentioned was Haert, the father of chaos and creation. As the first among the gods, he created Nutaku—from his tears, common folklore detailed—and bestowed upon her three children. The elves followed the origin gods mainly, while dwarves looked more favourably on Fyramus, the god of fire—who aided them in their blacksmithing ventures—and Vitaku, the seldom mentioned twin brother of Nutaku and the god of earth. The humans mainly worshipped Pelos, and the seasonal goddesses for bountiful harvests. Syori and Homina, the twin god and goddess of love were often called on for a blessing of a marriage. The elves put Nutaku on a higher pedestal, worshipping her as the ‘mother’ of all beings.
“Thanks to the gods, we’ve been protected for many centuries—through the efforts of our queen of life and her contract with her patron god, Pelos. Only once did the barrier fail—during the demon war when even the gods were unable to stop invasion. The barrier fell when our previous queen perished during the war,” Jaron explained, “That’s why we honour patron gods so much… and why we were so surprised to see you guys washed up on our shore. Nothing should have been able to get through, so we concluded you being here must have been the will of the gods.”
“So… Do you still have the barrier now?” Jason asked, and Jaron replied, “We do. It's hard to see, but if you get near our borders you’ll be able to see the edges. I’ll ask Euiridas to take you all to the shore tomorrow.”
Leus asked with a frown, “Are portals still able to spawn within the barrier?”
Jaron shook his head and explained, “No—the only portals that can appear are mortal-made. Therefore we are safe from monsters crossing over from the abyss. However, the barrier is only extended a certain distance from our cities—so the forests are still prone to random portal sightings. In a way, it is beneficial for us to train our young warriors.”
Ever since creation, randomly spawning portals to the Abyss appeared all around Dargon, generally spawning in less populous areas. Those same portals were discovered to connect to the outer edges of the Abyss, letting weaker monsters cross over the worlds.
Offerings were made and the group headed back to town. Jaron’s disappointment that Taryn had not been chosen by a patron god was evident, although he tried to hide it.
I had no idea that gods even chose mortals like that, Jason thought, I wonder why they never chose any humans…?