"Shadowpath: The Saga of Aarian" : 'Destiny' - Part 2

submitted by aarian on Mar 8th, 2007

“Shadowpath: The Saga of Aarian”

“Destiny” Part 2

“What have you done??” He heard the old man shout from the back door of his home.

Aarian looked up to see his instructor frantically limping towards him, closing the gap at an incredible speed. He was shaking, filled with a sense of wonder and fear at what he had done to the stud; unable to retreat from his frantic instructor all he could do was stare, slack jawed and wide-eyed.

The old man grabbed Aarian by the ear with amazing strength and turned back to the house. Wincing, Aarian grabbed the old man by the wrist, attempting to relieve some of the tension as he was dragged back into the small shack.

The old man shoved Aarian to the ground as he hurried to the windows, slamming them shut with frantic conviction.

“How did you do it?” he snapped as he moved to the next window. “How boy?” He moved to the door hurriedly scanning the landscape before he slammed the door tight with a loud crack that silenced the room.

The old man paused, leaning his head against the door, the room eerily quiet.

“You must tell me how you did it” the old man said with disconcerting calmness

Aarian was silent, unable to find the words to describe what had just happened. He wasn’t even sure if he could find the words that he could find the nerve to utter them.

The old man slowly turned to face Aarian. Then, without warning, he rushed towards him. Hand frantically groping Aarian’s clothing, searching pockets and cuffs, creases and seams. “How did you do
it boy? Was it poison? A dagger perhaps?”

“I don’t know” Aarian said nervously trying to fight off the old man’s groping

“How?”

“I don’t know”

“You must tell me!” the old man snapped.

“I don’t know!” Aarian retorted, continuing to slap the old man’s hands away.

“You must...”

Aarian pushed the old man to the ground and retreated to the wall “I willed it!” he shouted.

The air was silent for what seemed like an eternity. Carefully the old man stood, brushed himself off and slowly pulled a chair from the table and sat. His brow furrowed as he thought, mouthing inaudible words, seemingly arguing with himself.

Aarian took a moment and then joined the old man at the table. He waited a few moments, staring at floor, before he spoke. “How did I do that” he said calmly, quietly.

The old man looked up, “I have an answer, but I don’t understand it. But then, I don’t know if it matters what I understand”

“What is it?” Aarian asked solemnly. “Was it magic?”

“Indeed” The instructor said as he lifted his body from the chair and made his way to a small bookshelf near the fireplace. “It is most assuredly a form of magic, but not like you are thinking. “ He let his hands drift over the tomes hovering over one particular volume and pausing as if questioning his choice.

Curling his lips in resignation he pulled the book from its resting place and returned to the table placing the book in front of Aarian.

Aarian looked down at the book. Its aged black binding showed no signs of extensive use, in fact it looked as if it had hardly been used at all. The cover was in excellent condition, covered in leather-like material he had never seen before. He turned the book right side up so he could see the title.

‘Necromancy: The lessons of the dead’.

Surely the old man wasn’t serious. He had heard the word Necromancer before, but as he had thought earlier, only in nightmarish stories. Stories which were meant to frighten children into submission, turn people way from things or places they shouldn’t be. They certainly weren’t real.

“What is this?” Aarian asked skeptically

“That will be yours, I am afraid. Every man woman child and beast here on Telon is born with a destiny chosen for them. It is our job, or duty, to find it and live it to the best of our abilities. We may not
agree with the choice that has been made for us, but it is not our place to defy it. It would appear, your path lies there” The old man pointed at the book as he pulled an old dusty bottle from a small area he used as a pantry. Taking a sip off the bottle, inhaling through his teeth he continued. “The physical natures tend to be easiest to find. They are straightforward; the only question is the path they would ultimately take. The mystical, however is a bit harder to discern. The magic’s are so closely tied together that the nuances between the paths sometimes can be muddied. What many identified in you as an affinity for the elements was in fact, something much different.”

“You’re mad” Aarian snorted, pushing the book across the table.

“Am I? Then how do you explain it. You killed my prized stud without arrow or sword, without poison. Choked the life from its body without ever laying a finger. You didn’t use fire, or ice, or storm. You
didn’t use divine graces from the spirits that surround us, nor did you draw power from the trees. You did, however, see its very soul, and from there. . .”

“Stop it!” Aarian cut the old man off. “So, what are you saying, I am evil? Some vile creature who takes pleasure in the death and decay of others? Some kind of nightmarish...“

“No.” The old man moved to Aarian placing a hand on his shoulder. “I never said anything about evil, not now anyway. That is a choice you will make as you advance your skills and your teachings. I said
you have the affinity, how you handle that – how you deal with that- is purely in your hands. Destiny only goes so far, you control your fate”

Aarian paced around the room, occasionally glancing at the book on the table. “So, what do we do now?”

The old man opened a closet door and pulled aside some old clothing revealing a wall with hundreds of odd shapes. He recognized some of the shapes as being the language of other races around Telon.

The old man spoke some words in a bastardized sentence of several languages and the wall faded. It could still be seen, but could see through to the other side.

Aarian approached the closet carefully, eyeing the old man accusingly.

“Let’s go inside and we will discuss what to do next”

Aarian stood in front of the transparent door for a moment then, prodded by the old man, stepped through.

(To be continued next "Teachings and Trials" Part 1).

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