Sean watched quietly as the boy Bryan and Rebecca had named, Luke, slumped to the ground, his body a tangle of exhaustion and confusion. A long, deep sigh escaped Sean’s lips. Essence. The lifeblood of this world, the very pulse that coursed through everything. From the moment a being is born in Neverworld, their body is infused with this ethereal substance.
In many ways, it’s as fundamental as atoms would be in the world that Luke had known. It makes up everything. Every rock, every tree, every creature, every breath of wind. It’s the very fabric of reality. Yet this boy was taken from the Neverworld and cut off from the stream of Essence in his body. Which inevitably would have made him weak by this world's standards. Now he got that infusion back, Sean felt when he had been pulled through his body had taken in so much of it, and absurd amount like an ocean filling the boy's body, no wonder he had been rendered unconscious.
In Neverworld, the ability to manipulate Essence was not exclusive to only the gods. Mortals, too, could tap into its power those that fought for their very survival in this world. But the question always came down to how much Essence one could control, and how effectively. That was the complication that is what allowed others to rise to more power and those that couldn’t to be left behind or used as fodder whenever necessary.
As Sean gazed down at the boy, he understood. Luke’s soul really had been different—empty, like a vessel waiting to be filled. As he had crossed over that vessel filled for the first time. The Essence had finally found its way into him, flooding his being in a way that felt almost unnatural. And yet, even as it revitalized his dormant body, it was trapped, unable to flow completely freely.
Luke’s soul was shackled by runic symbols that encased it, sealing away something that couldn't quite be discerned. Sean felt something though just at the edge of his senses. Something vast, and untapped, potentially greater than anyone he had scanned in the past at least at this level. What he did notice was that the boy’s meridians were clogged, the flow of essence stifled as it filled. It was like a raging river blocked by a dam after it had just entered his body.
Leaning over the unconscious boy, Sean used his skill as an Academy Assessor, a rare talent that allowed him to peer into the depths of another’s soul looking deeper at the flow. However as he looked deeper a shroud like existitance covered the deepest layer and all that was discernible were the runes that Sean had had seen but upon further glance he noticed that they were unlike any he had ever seen. This could explain why he could only sense potential and the meridians were closed off. His gaze lingered, trying to find any answer, but the more he searched, the more elusive the truth became.
Luke was an enigma, a puzzle with pieces hidden away. Only time would reveal if the boy could awaken these seals through some arduous trial or internal struggle. Though he was an Assessor, Luke would get tested by others and Assessed in a more difficult way at the academy. Their assessments were not just peering at ones soul but seeing how malleable it was by any means necessary. Potentially one of the others in the Academy could discern what the runes meant. It wasn’t common but had been seen before.
That was the way with Essence users sometimes though. Recruits could have all the potential, vast quantities of the stuff but no way of properly wielding it, shaping it into magic or some aspect of strength to be used on a battlefield. The Academies were a way to teach and help those reach for that potential however, some could never grasp the intricacies of utilizing that power. Help, was also a carefully used word. There were those that would offer guidance and help, but only if it could garner them more power in the end. Shape a tool to use later when the recruit joined under their command.
It was then that Sean realized how much time had passed. From opening the gateway to scanning the poor kid's soul. Before continuing their journey through the Twin Peaks Sean would let Luke ask some questions and rest from the transfer through to the new world. They sat at the edge of the field where the pocket world had once lingered, its existence barely a memory in the shifting winds, though a little gem almost resembling a little marble still lingered.
Sean knew over the course of the next few days that the power that could still be felt would be Rebecca's last little bit of life. It was rare for an essence user to die this way, but she essentially shackled her soul to the pocket world so as her power waned it would break down the world. It should have happened in about 100 years but pulling Luke through had taken almost all of the remaining strength she had.
Deep beyond the forest they currently resided in lay the winding valleys that cradled the Plague Mountains, their jagged peaks rising like teeth from the earth. This range was a place of both beauty and danger, where the air grew thin and cold, and the land was scarred by time’s cruel hand and battles waged in which Koracks Faction was able to grow. At the very edge of this foreboding region stood the Twin Peaks, two towering mountains that flanked a high valley, known as the grand entrance to Koracks true stronghold and of course the Academy of Knox.
The Twin Peaks were notorious for their shifting mists, unpredictable weather, and the strange creatures that made their home within the labyrinthine paths that led through the mountains. The valley between them was both a natural gateway and a dangerous threshold, where the border between worlds seemed thin and fragile from the scars many battles had created. It was said that those who passed through the Twin Peaks never quite left the same—changed by what they saw in this area. The truth really was that Korack was one of the most powerful dominions and the true secret rise to that power was the mountain valley’s and even the great forest just beyond his dominion was that the veil between worlds was truly thin. More pocket worlds were discovered in this region than any other.
Though they may be small glimpses into various pocket worlds they tended to drop off things into Neverworld above the typical rate. Whether that be people, items, or monsters from various worlds in the great void. Korack had various battalions at his command that scoured the region in campaigns never having to mentior too far from the dominion as they were able to acquire many things to increase the Dominions power very close to home. It would be a challenge to somehow get Luke through the Valleys without one, dying, and two without any battalions wondering why Sean was traveling with a marked recruit by themselves.
For now, however, they could afford to rest just for the night for the journey ahead would not be an easy one and Sean knew the boy was a virgin to the ways of this world. So that he managed to survive it would take some time to get him up to speed. Luke would have questions, too many for him to be ready to take off immediately anyways. It would be more difficult to try and travel with someone who constantly asked every little question. He needed to teach the boy at least the basics of manipulating essense if he were to have any chance of making it to the Academy before they sent those looking for him.
Not only that it was important to understand the power structure of things here, and of course the very basics. In Luke's world Sean had seen very briefly that things were safe, and a lot less hard than they were here. That would be the true measure if the boy was able to survive here. Thankfully Sean would be there to see him survive at least until he was a recruit at the Academy, but then it would be difficult to keep an eye on him without others being suspicious of his motivations.
As Sean gently lifted Luke and propped him against a nearby tree, he retracted his presence from the boy’s soul. The tension in the air seemed to ease, though only slightly. He began gathering dry wood, preparing to build a fire. It was going to be a long night but an even longer trip for Luke. At least he would start his time in this world with something familiar, a little time around a warm fire. Give the kid the chance to grasp the situation he found himself in.
…
Luke’s eyes fluttered open, the haze of unconsciousness slowly lifting from his mind. It was as though his very consciousness had been submerged in a thick fog, only now beginning to clear. His body was sore, an unrelenting ache that gnawed at every muscle, yet there was an odd energy within him, a pulse of life that hadn’t been there before. He tried to move, but his body refused to obey, sluggish and stiff.
As his senses returned, he became aware of his surroundings. He was sitting beneath the canopy of trees, the distant rustle of leaves catching in the breeze. He could see a vast field stretching out before him, the remnants of a pedestal and a marble statue, oddly familiar, yet entirely out of place. The reality of the situation was beginning to sink in, but his mind felt fragmented, the pieces not quite fitting together.
Then the scent of smoke reached him, a campfire, crackling softly somewhere nearby. His body wanted to move toward the warmth, to find comfort and escape the lingering chill of the night air. But something stopped him. It wasn’t just the fire that beckoned him; it was the presence of the man sitting near it, calmly tending the flames.
In an instant the man’s gaze pierced Luke like a sharp blade going from looking at the coals into the fire to what felt like a look at one's soul. It wasn’t the kind of look one would give a friend or a fellow traveler. It was the kind of look one reserved for prey, or an enemy. Instinctively, Luke’s spine straightened, and a bead of cold sweat trickled down the small of his back. He couldn’t explain it, but his body was locked in place, every muscle screaming to flee, yet his limbs felt heavy, as though an invisible weight was pressing on his very soul. A fight-or-flight response, he could feel it, raw and primal but his body was frozen, unable to move.
The man’s smirk, though subtle, was a challenge. As if toying with him, just for a moment. And then, as suddenly as it had come, the pressure lifted. The invisible weight was gone, and Luke found himself able to breathe again.
“Well done, kid,” the man’s voice came, smooth and low. “At least you can recognize the difference in power when you meet someone who might not be a friend.”
Luke stared at him for a long moment, struggling to make sense of everything. The last thing he remembered was being in his mother’s kitchen, a strange pull in the air, and then... the pain. A sharp, agonizing pain that tore through him, the memory still vivid in his mind. He couldn’t make sense of it. His mind was a fog, a swirling mess of images and confusion.
Finally, after a long silence, he managed to croak out the only words that seemed to matter. “Where am I? And who are you?”
The man didn’t immediately respond, his gaze unwavering. Luke, sensing no immediate threat, slowly pushed himself to his feet, his legs unsteady beneath him. He limped cautiously toward the fire, drawn to its warmth. The chill in the air gnawed at him, but the man remained unmoving, seated on the log as if he had all the time in the world.
Luke was aware of every step he took, his senses heightened, watching the man carefully. Despite the absence of the earlier pressure, the lingering tension was palpable. The man could be dangerous. He felt dangerous. But Luke was still alive, and that meant something. If he hadn’t been killed yet, maybe there was still a chance to get answers.
The fire crackled, the only sound in the otherwise silent night, and Luke took another step, closer to the warmth.
As he got comfortable on a log opposite the man he asked his Questions again, “Who are you and where am I”. Luke truly looked at the man in front of him and knowing he was dangerous was one thing but he felt so odd and out of place different from the world he remembered. He was wearing a dark robe that still showed he was muscular in the places you would expect of an athlete. Two swords on his hip and he seemed to have an edge to him that gave off the impression the swords were not just for show. Dark features, and tall about the same height as Luke with a distinct lightning bolt scar under his eye.
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The man sat back on his log dropping the stick he used to tend the fire, saying, “Your mom never mentioned me huh, that wasn’t very nice of her. I was, let's say, her most trusted ally and friend. Her and your Father were my superious once and if not for them I would not be alive to this day. It was your Fathers wish to look after you in what way I could in case the Academy drew you in. I am not sure what your mother had time to tell you, but I am sure it was not enough time to fully get you caught up so first tell me what she was able to tell you.”
Luke took a moment to process what he had said, he was both a friend of his mother and father. The father he had never known and a mother that had ultimately lied to him about his origin.
It took him a minute to process all that had happneed over the short period of time that he had been suposdely brought through to the world he originally came through. That thought alone had him thinking this could potentially all be a crazy dream. However, a feeling he had never felt before, one of home. He noticed it now sitting under the starry night, the air was cool, and the wind rustled the nearby trees ever so slightly. He could feel something more though, something he never could in his old world. A thought came to him then, a word his mother had used.
“Essence” he said in a whisper, which originally he had hoped it stayed in his head. The man opposite of him finally let his serious look go and gave a look and assessing gaze.
“Essence is right, this world is unlike the one you came from. It's actually unlike most worlds that I have had the privilege of glimpsing into. Essense can be felt almost like a heavy mist, or fog as some would describe it. It coats everything around you. Whether that be alive or not. Essense makes up every fabric of the world. It also resides within you as a person. Though most cannot see it with their true eyes, some develop ways of seeing it around themselves. That is typically a very rare ability. What you are feeling now is what most of us can, the basic sense of for essense. Which, I am thankful that you can at least do that.”
This last bit was said with a little venom in Seans voice, that Luke picked up.
“What do you mean thankful I can atleast do that”? He said with a little bit of argumentative influxition in his voice.
Sean gave him an assessig look, “Look while I have the utmost respect for Rebecca and Bryan. They have crippled you in a way you have yet to find out. Not only did you grow up in a world where you have no basic concept of affinities, but of even essence. Your world is baren to that, not only that, but you lived a life of comfort. When I was your age, I had already developed a knack for my affinity which is the reason your dad took me in and taught me along with my basic studies.
Luke wanted to bark back, to argue with this strange man in this strange world, but for some reason he couldn’t make himself continue. To snap back at him. He was exhausted in a way he had never felt.
“I know nothing of this world, you are right. However, now that I am here I need to understand what I can. Please teach me something, anything that will give me a chance. My mother tried to give me some idea of what to expect, but you are right it was almost nothing. I feel it though, in the air, in the wind that is whipping my hair,, even the fire in front of us. I feel some dormant connection there.
Sean gave the boy a look. He half expected this entire night to be an argument fest, to have to calm the boy down. Maybe he was in shock. He seemed almost sensible. For that he would give Luke credit. He needed a decent head on his shoulder or else he wouldn’t make it the first week.
“Alright let's start with this tonight I will give you the very basics, and then tomorrow morning we will rise with the sunlight, and from there we will begin a short lesson every morning on what you learned from the previous day and move on to the next. We have little time to get to the Academy before you are brought back by those that do not wish to see you live; they do not care. They will strip you of your soul and you will be gone forever”
Luke sat upright, exuding the look of someone who might actually take things seriously. Sean thought over what the lessons would be. “Listen kid, we will have five lessons. They will be the most basic things that will see you through this short journey to the academy. If you can't seem to grasp those, then you have no hope. Do not interrupt me, and if you have any questions, wait till I am done and we will go from there.”
Though Luke took on the persona of someone willing to learn his internal struggle was anything but calm. His mind was racing, a storm of conflicting ideas and thoughts and he needed this right now something to grasp on too. To calm his beating heart, and to soothe his addled brain.
“Understood, what are the five lessons”? Luke said.
Sean using his fingers to give weight to five lessons, “They are as follows”.
1. Essense and affinity
2. Power structure
3. Void, and pocket dimensions
4. Academies
5. Gods and their Dominions
Putting his fifth finger up he continued, “ These are the five most basic things. Things that every recruit no matter if they were born here or brought here will be able to understand intrinsically. These will atleast give you fundamentals. Since you already can sense in some way the ebb and flow of the essence around us, let's try something I have not done since I was a small child.”
Luke Looked on, not interrupting this man in the slightest, watching him reach behind him and grab a small twig. He then watched as the man broke that twig off into five little pieces and arrayed them on the dirt in front of him.
“You will have five chances to light these twigs. While you may not have the knack for fire magic. Everyone on this planet can start a modest flame using essense to light a fire. Now for every failure these twigs will have an adverse affect on your body.”
Luke gave Sean a look, adverse affect sounded daunting but he would give it a go what was the worst his moms old friend would do to him.
“Alright, so where do I begin”.
“That's simple, since you are night using essence within yourself but the essence found all around us to perform a simple task you do not have to shape it, or even run it through your soul's channels. Take a deep breath, clear your mind and picture the essence, what you are feeling all around us in your mind and project it as a flame onto the twig.”
Luke, not understanding half of what the man was saying, still listened and did as he was told. He closed his eyes and shut off his senses. He let the sounds of his own breath grow quiet till all he could hear was the fire crackling, and felt the energy that was all around him. He felt and then he used his brain to think of a flame. As he thought he might grasp that flame. He opened his eyes and pulled thinking of a flame on the tip of the small twig. He saw the twig quiver and what resembled a small burnt mark appear on the ground right at the tip, but no flame.
Then all of a sudden his mind reeled, and he felt pain unimaginable pain lace his mind. He let out an exaggerated grunt as he fell off the log he was on to one knee. As he sat there panting for dear life trying to calm his head he heard laughter.
Sean watched as the world around Luke had sent essense feedback upon not being able to bring forth any power. That power had sent a shockwave through Lukes system and all he could do was laugh.
“Hahaha, I knew this was going to be hard but we are in for a real challenge now. Listen, the world around you has all the power in the world, but if you do not will for that power with all of your concentration. That power will send a shockwave back at you 10x as strong as what you wanted. In this case it wasn’t so bad. Hopefully you only thought of a small flame at the tip of the twig, if you had thought of a burning inferno to engulf the twig the feedback would have been much worse”
“To break it down even further, the world will allow us to use its power but only to a certain degree. You can use the essence around you for a small campfire like this. To do more, you have to circulate that essence that is inside of you and bring it through your soul's meridian channels. Power as abundant as essense has its own set of rules, it will allow you to take some but not too much. Because of your lack of knowledge of its manipulation my thought was you thought of a fire and it was too much and so you got a whiplash effect.”
Luke, finally recovering from the splitting head pain, looked up at Sean. “I did exactly as you said to do. I thought of the edge of that stick with a small flame. I'll try again, doing exactly as you said.”
Luke no longer kneeling sat back down, and focused all of his senses on the twig and fire. He took a deep calming breath, closed his eyes and felt for the power around him once again. As he felt it he pretended he pinched some of that power and used his mind's eyes to create a small flame, a flame that would typically be used to start a campfire and still with that pinch in his mind's eye he set that flame on top of that second twig in the row.
Pain again this time in his fingers sent his body upright in his seat. Luke looked down at his fingers, the same ones he thought of in his mind's eye and saw that not only did they look broken, but were blackened like a small burn. Radiating nothing but anger he rounded on Sean. “What is this, you said there is power and all i get is broken fingers and pain. How the fuck am I supposed to do this. How can i get power if it turns me into some cripple before I even get started”.
Sean, not letting the outburst stoke his own anger towards those so far beneath him gave him the look of someone who told someone to do something but they didn't listen. “First of all, I explained that your mind must focus, you are still trying to do too much. This task is as simple as I can make it. You need to understand that while the power around you may seem malleable to your touch it is not, it has its own rules. I said that you can take a little but let me guess you expand your thoughts. You thought of the twig as a large flame.”
Luke still looking at his broken fingers, breathing hard, trying not to loose too much control. “ I tried to pull the littlest amount of the power, a pinch worth, and thought of a small flame that could create a fire like the one in front of us.”
Sean shaking his head, hands on his chin. “See that is where you went wrong. You can not take the power, pinch it and manipulate it at your will; that is only something reserved for Gods and Sages. You can direct it but not attempt to touch it. Only the essence within your own soul can you touch and manipulate. Second, you can't let your thoughts wander outside its goal. You thought of not only a small flame. But of a flame that could start a fire like this one. Trying too much.”
Luke finally understood something, he broke it down in his mind. Essence is malleable from my own soul. The essence around us can help but there are rules to it. It can’t be touched or used in any way that it doesn’t want to, however can be guided for simple tasks. Luke looked down at his fingers, seeing that all of a sudden they were back to normal. He knew the pain had dissipated but didn't feel the slightest change in them until now.
Sean, seeing the change, grinned. “That is probably the biggest lesson you will learn as you are alive. This world is a part of you and when you understand the basics, when something clicks there are times it will reward you. You had some understanding now that the world around you saw fit to heal you of what it did. That is something that should be taken away from this moment and never forgotten. Now lets begin again.
Luke flexed his fingers, seeing no issues with them concentrated once more. This time he didn't pull. He felt the power, the energy around himself and guided it. Afraid to touch it with his senses but helped guide it down to the twig when he thought he had the grasp he thought of a tiny flame. Even less a spark of which can cause a tiny flame. Then he kept that thought and focused every fiber of his being on that. Guide the essence, spark the edge of the stick, like a match stick from a box. His mind hyperfocusing on this one task was finally a success. He watched as the edge of the small twig in the dirt lit up. A small flame dancing along its edge.
Before Luke could get too excited, he again fell to one knee. Breathing heavy he looked up at Sean for confirmation this was something other than another fail.
“You did well, I would say that's a success if I have ever seen one. However, there is still a price to pay, for you it's a lot. Through your lack of understanding it still took something from you, and the world sought to take some energy from you. Be glad that is all. There is a price for everything. Now what I want you to do is get some rest. Tomorrow we learn how to manipulate the essence within ourselves, and on our first leg of the journey we will go over affinities.”
Seeing Luke about to protest, “Listen you did alright kid, you had a long day do not exhaust your mind anymore than you already have. We will have plenty of time to learn tomorrow. Get some rest while you can, and I'll wake you at first light. Do not worry my presence has drowned out this, nothing will bother you.”
Sean actually meant what he said, throwing Luke a blanket. The boy didn’t even protest, some understanding must have crossed his mind that if he tried to push anymore it would harm him more than he had already felt. Sean watched as he laid down on the blanket and not more than a few moments he was softly snoring. Sean had to give it to him, he didn’t think he would be able to grasp the ability to use essence around himself. That took fine essence control, and was essential for anyone to know, but to pick it up in the span of a few hours was very assuring. He hoped the symbols sealing some of his channels would not hinder the boy overly much in tomorrow's lessons. Or what started out as a good start could deteriorate fast.