Sean watched quietly as the boy, 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.
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.
Luke, however, had never had the luxury of growing up in a world steeped in Essence. Born in a void of power, a rare pocket world where the very essence that gives those powers in this world was absent, his body had never adapted to its flow. The General had believed that such a world, untouched by Essence, could be sealed away—isolated from the reach of other machinimas—if only he could use his own life force to lock it down. The General had intended to use Rebecca's fading power to complete the ritual, keeping them locked in the pocket world unable for the keeping the forces of the Academies from touching Luke’s existence. But things had not gone as planned. Luke had been drawn into Neverworld, and now the consequences of living in an isolated pocketworld echoed in his soul as it tried to contain essense for the first time.
As Sean gazed down at the boy, he understood. Luke’s soul was 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 freely. Luke’s soul was shackled by runic symbols that encased it, sealing away what seemed to be some dormant power. Sean felt 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.
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 esistitance covered the deepest layer and all that was discernible was runes that Sean had never seen. His gaze lingered, trying to discern any potential, 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. 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.
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. Its power was just potent enough to know it wasn’t just a simple object. The field overgrown with wild grasses and soft blooms, seated within the bounds of the Great Forest, a vast expanse that stretched endlessly beyond the Academy of Korack a zone not under the control of any Faction The forest itself was a place of ancient secrets, where the towering trees whispered of forgotten times and creatures unseen.
Beyond the forest 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 the Koracks true Region and Faction.
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 the Academy to bring glory and recognition to Korack.
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For now, however, they could afford to rest, for the journey ahead would not be an easy one. The path through the Twin Peaks was treacherous, and they would need all their strength, both physical and mental, to face what lay beyond. Sean knew one thing for certain, Luke would have questions, too many for him to be ready to take off immediately 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 since the trip through the Valleys would take up a lot of time, and a deadline was soon to approach for Luke to make it in time before others were sent looking for him.
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.
……
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. 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.
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 a time 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.