Maxwell

  “It is clear to me now that I cannot continue to live in wilful ignorance of the threat that looms over us all. The vision I had was no mere dream, but a warning. The Corrupted One is stirring, and I am the only one who seems to know. Thus, I have made my decision: in time, I will seek out The Baron once more, to help me enact the great expedition that must be undertaken. It is the only way. Heavens help me, but it is.

  For now, however… I must remain with my wife. I dare not leave her so close to the birth of our child. The little one will be here any day now, and I would not miss it for the world. It will surely make the thought of leaving all the more difficult, but that is the price I must pay.

  Sarah may not understand my reasonings, but I hope that she can one day find it in her heart to forgive me. I cannot risk their lives by staying idle in perpetuity. I must do what I can to protect them, even if it means sacrificing my own happiness. In this, I am certain.

  May the Stonefather watch over us all.” - Writings of the Sword-Saint, 2152 Post Separation (PS).

  “Maxwell…”

  “…”

  “Maxwell.”

  “Nghh… S’hlemme sleep…”

  “You have slept enough. It is time to wake up.”

  “Nooo…”

  It was a childish petulance born of the desire to rest. I was utterly exhausted, my mind adrift on formless seas.

  “Alright then,” Amelie concluded. I heard her rummaging through our pack somewhere far in the distance. A moment later, a cold splash of water hit me in the face, jolting me awake.

  “Ahh!” I yelped, flying up into a sitting position. “Hey! What was that for?!”

  “You fell asleep again,” she said, leveling an unimpressed stare in my direction.

  My thoughts ground to a halt.

  “What?” I blinked, a slim trickle of water dripping from my chin.

  We were standing upon the crux of a hill, overlooking a vast plain rolling over into woodland terrain. It had been a few days since our encounter with Mirrani of the Sisterhood, and the revelation of my changed eye color. Looking back on it now, I supposed I might have overreacted a smidge. After all, there was much about me that had changed since my arrival in Alwaar. And compared to some of the bigger adjustments, like my newfound ability to wield magic, a difference in iris coloration had perhaps been the wrong thing to lose my mind over.

  “You held the spell for too long,” Amelie explained, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Your form was good, but you forgot to watch your energy conservation. You ran out of Astra without even noticing.”

  “… Shit,” I murmured, getting to my feet with an embarrassed shuffle. “That’s the third time now.”

  “It is,” she nodded. “One would think you would have learned not to draw upon your own life force by now, but apparently not.”

  “I can’t help it!” I groaned, wiping some water from my face. “How am I supposed to tell the difference? It all feels the same!”

  “It is not that difficult,” she said, bending over to fetch a strip of cloth from our pack. She offered it to me with a frown, watching as I ran it through my wet hair. “Once you notice your body tensing up in a way that feels strange, you cut off the supply. That way, you will not drain yourself of energy beyond that which you have stored up for Wielding.”

  “But that’s the thing,” I sighed. “I don’t feel my body tensing up. It slips naturally from using stored Astra to internal energy without alerting me!”

  “Then you are either not focusing hard enough, or you are just plain stupid,” she shrugged. “My mind leans towards the latter.”

  “Hey now, there’s no need to be rude,” I said, wagging a finger at her. “Unlike you, I haven’t spent years of my life studying this stuff!”

  “It does not take years of study to understand that you should not drain yourself completely of energy,” she deadpanned. “And however amusing it might be to watch you put yourself to sleep over and over again, it does not bode well for your training.”

  “W-Well…” I coughed. “This is only the second time we’ve practiced. It makes sense that I wouldn’t be able to do certain things.”

  “While that may be true, what we are doing here is not complex Wielding. It is the most fundamental aspect of Astra manipulation, a thing even children can master in short time,” she said, shaking her head. “Being able to sense when you are calling upon your own life essence is not a skill. It is a survival instinct, a basic necessity for all Wielders. And watching you fail at it is like watching a fish fail at swimming. It simply does not happen.”

  “Alright, I get it,” I sighed. “I suck. Anything else?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes,” she said. “Your breathing technique is awful. Every time you call upon the Astra, you hold your breath for so long, your face goes purple. It is as though you are trying to strangle yourself every time you channel a spell.”

  “Wait… I do?” I said, confusion writ plainly on my face. “That’s weird. I haven’t noticed that.”

  “Likely because you are too busy putting yourself to sleep to pay any attention to it,” she said, throwing up her arms in defeat. She seemed genuinely upset, which surprised me. I did not think I had done anything egregious enough to warrant such a reaction.

  “Uhh… Amelie?” I asked, somewhat hesitantly. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem a bit… I don’t know… put out?”

  “Ahh,” she breathed, closing her eyes. “I am just… tired. I did not get much sleep last night, and… well, it is affecting my mood.”

  “Oh, okay,” I said, lowering my head. “I’m sorry for making things worse, then.”

  “No, no,” she said with a grimace. “Do not apologize. I am the one at fault here. I am sorry for being so harsh on you.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I shrugged. “I’m just grateful you’re willing to teach me in the first place.”

  An honest smile settled on her lips, followed closely by a short curtsey.

  “Well, I do try,” she said, before turning an attentive eye to my wet clothes and hair. “Here, allow me.”

  She came closer, placing her hands on either side of my neck. A shiver ran up my spine at the contact, a soft blush spreading upon my cheeks. I stubbornly refused to acknowledge the sudden tightness in my chest as Amelie closed her eyes in concentration, a crease appearing upon her forehead.

  Without warning, her hands grew feverishly hot, as if a subdued fire burned beneath her skin. The heat spread out into my veins, circulating throughout my entire body, chasing away the chill of the water. A short gasp escaped my lips at the sensation.

  “Better?” she asked, opening her eyes again.

  “Much better,” I nodded, feeling her warmth radiate inside of me. “That’s a useful spell.”

  “And a dangerous one, if performed incorrectly,” she said, removing her hands from my neck. For a brief moment, I wished she would have kept them there. “A little too much power, and I would have fried your insides.”

  “U-Uhh…” I blinked. “That doesn’t sound very pleasant.”

  “It is not,” she smiled. “But do not worry. I would not do that to you. Well, as long as you never try to kick me off the bedroll again, that is. If you do, I shall cook you like a lobster.”

  “Okay, we both know that was an accident,” I said with a pout. “I had a bad dream! And your cold feet resembled, in all the ways that mattered, the icy grasp of the undead!”

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  “Rude!” she said, though I could tell from her smile that she was not truly upset. I shot her a wry grin as I picked up and shouldered our pack, before matching her pace as we headed back to our campsite.

  It was refreshing to strike such an amiable chord with Amelie. Too much of our time together had been spent in silent contemplation, a chasm splitting the proverbial ground between us, seeming insurmountable on the best of days. But now, it felt as if we had finally been able to attune to each other’s wavelengths, arriving at a strange midpoint where the intimacy of our relationship was simultaneously greater and lesser than that of longtime friends.

  Co-existing beneath such loosely defined terms was a challenging endeavor in its own right, but somehow, we seemed to have figured out a way. At the very least, I could no longer imagine a life in Alwaar without her at my side, which perhaps spoke to a deeper yearning yet, that I was not quite ready to acknowledge.

  Our training session had reached its end, and so we settled down for the evening to share a meal and speak of little things, content to savor a peaceful moment on an otherwise stressful journey. My arm took to aching as we ate, but I did my best to ignore it. Mirrani’s promise of phantom pains had turned out to be more than accurate, as they had continued to plague me ever since that night in the cave, where I had been given a gift beyond my understanding.

  As thankful as I was for the arm, however, I would be lying if I said I did not miss my old one. Walking around with a blue appendage was not the kind of thing one got used to, after all.

  After finishing our supper, Amelie decided that it was finally time to teach me a little of the Alwaarian history, starting with the first civilization known to have inhabited these lands - the Progenitors.

  “In the beginning, there was a world, and its name was Garth,” she started, her pale features lit by the warmth of the fire. “It was a beautiful world, lush and green, and filled with all kinds of wonders. At its core rested a massive ball of pure Astra, providing nourishment to the soil and all who dwelt upon it.

  This world was split into five segments of land, called the Five Continents. The Five were home to a wide variety of animals and creatures, with one creature in particular carrying a certain resemblance to humans - the Progenitors. These Progenitors were bountiful in number, and lived in peace and prosperity upon a world loved by its creator.

  The Progenitors did not want for things like food and water, because the Maker of All, Astratum, provided them with Annam, a special fruit that would cover all their dietary needs, and strengthen their bodies. This blessing was greatly appreciated by the Progenitors, who had a relatively short lifespan of around forty human years to begin with.

  Infused as they were with Astratum’s own breath, the Progenitors had the ability to bend the elements to their will. This ability is what we today refer to as “Wielding”, though there exists a sharp difference between our technique and theirs, as the Progenitors were much more proficient in their craft than us, capable of committing great feats of sorcery far eclipsing our own.

  The Progenitors were spearheaded by the Council of Radiance, a governing body consisting of a hundred select individuals from all corners of Garth, democratically elected by the general population. Any single individual could get a seat on the Council, regardless of rank or social status, but would have to run a political campaign in order to gather support from their fellows.

  The Progenitors were also hermaphrodites, meaning they possessed both male and female reproductive organs. This meant that any Progenitor could settle down and reproduce with any other, as they were not limited by traditional notions of gender. As a natural consequence of their biology, the Progenitors were a very loving species, who practiced boundless empathy and kindness for all.

  This eventually lead to a culture of polyamory, where it was not uncommon for any single Progenitor to have multiple romantic partners who, in turn, would also be romantically involved with others. This, combined with other factors, was a big part of the reason why they were able to grow so tremendously as to span the entire length of the world, and not just a single continent.

  For well over two thousand years, the Progenitors went about their way of life, building a civilization that stretched from one end of Garth to the other. They covered the world with their culture and history, and for a long time, it seemed this era of exorbitance was to be everlasting. But then… a great betrayal took place.”

  “A betrayal?” I asked, interrupting for the first time to pose a question. “What kind of betrayal?”

  “The ultimate kind,” she responded, a sad smile upon her lips. “For there were some among them who were not content with their lot in life. These four were Asius the Scholar, Khoteus the Soldier, Rodona of the Apothecarium, and Nommas the Ferocious. All came from different parts of Garth, and all had their own reasons for pursuing that which lay beyond the reach of mortals.

  Asius the Scholar desired knowledge of the divine, so that he may better understand the workings of the world, and how the nature of Astra affected all that which lived beneath its radiant light.

  Khoteus the Soldier desired the will and spirit to protect all that he cherished, and to safeguard those who had taken him in and raised him as their own when he was abandoned as a child.

  Rodona of the Apothecarium desired talent in the form of a new technique to better heal and restore those in her care, so that none may know death at the hands of sickness and disease before their time was due.

  And lastly, Nommas the Ferocious desired strength of the greatest kind, so that he may slay his enemies when they come, and drench the soil with their blood.

  Together, these four entered into an accord - what history would remember as the Assembly of the Covetous - and made a decision that would forever alter the course of fate. For in their desperate search for power, they decided that they would break into Heaven itself and steal that which was not theirs to take. And so it was that the four Progenitors trespassed onto the realm of Astratum, splintering his immortal soul and taking the slivers for themselves, back with them to Garth.”

  “… Holy shit,” I breathed, my head spinning from the absurdity of her tale. “They… killed their own creator?”

  “They did indeed,” Amelie nodded. “And in so doing, they doomed their people. For as Astratum fell, so too did their source of Annam, the divine fruit they relied upon for sustenance.”

  “What? But… couldn’t they just eat something else?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. “Seems like an easy fix to me.”

  “Apparently not.” Amelie shook her head. “According to various texts, their physiology had changed after millenniums of continued exposure. Their bodies had come to rely upon the fruit completely. Without its specific blend of Astra-infused nutrition, they could not continue to live.”

  “Oh…” I said, a frown marring my features. “And the four Progenitors knew this when they… you know...”

  “They did not,” Amelie said. “It was only after they returned from Heaven that they realized the true catastrophe they had wrought upon themselves. And try as they might, they were powerless to stop that which they had set in motion. The supply of Annam soon started dwindling, which in turn evoked conflict and strife. Great nations turned against one another, fighting over the last remaining stores in a desperate bid to prolong their suffering. A great famine washed over the people, claiming millions of lives. All the while, the four members of the Assembly of the Covetous watched on, helpless to prevent the disaster they had brought about.”

  “What a terrible fate,” I said, thinking of the quiet desperation the four must have felt, watching their people face extinction. Around me, the rolling hills lay drowned in shadow, as the sun had all but vanished from the sky, the last dregs of sunlight retreating into the horizon. Listening to her story had taken more time than expected, and yet… I was far from satisfied. Something still nagged at me, a question that needed answering.

  “But… If the Progenitors all died off, then how come there are still people living here today? I mean, by the way you’ve been speaking of them, it sounds like they were supposed to be our forefathers,” I pressed.

  “Oh, the Progenitors are more to us than mere forefathers,” Amelie said. “While we often refer to them as our ‘ancestors’, the truth runs deeper still. For as the members of the Assembly watched their people die, they felt an incredible guilt tear at their souls. Their stolen Astratum Splinters offered them magnificent power, prolonging their lives and infusing them with great magicks. They did not suffer as the people did, for they each held a piece of the Maker; once whole, now fractured. As such, they felt the weight of their transgression heavy upon their shoulders.

  Asius the Scholar was the first among them to take action, setting out to save what little remained of civilization. At this point, most of the world lay in ruins, the terrain a never-ending graveyard of corpses, filled with the crumbling remnants of a once prosperous people. What few yet lived were all situated on the smallest of the Five Continents, as that particular island lay close to the heart of the world, imbuing its soil with enough Astra to sustain them a while longer. And so it was to this place that Asius traveled. To the island continent of Alwaar.”

  “Alwaar…” I breathed, feeling my eyes go wide. “That’s where we are. ”

  “Correct,” Amelie nodded. “The last true bastion of civilization, cut off from the rest of the world by a great ocean. Here, Asius began his work. He taught the people advanced methods of agriculture, utilizing complex Wielding techniques to yield bountiful harvests of fruit that resembled Annam, yet lacked its true potency. He erected a great settlement somewhere on the island, the last city in Garth, which is widely speculated to be the place we today know as Carthal. He united the people under common cause, and became their beacon of hope, their greatest source of inspiration. And in the end, he even became their God, when he swallowed his Astratum Splinter and assumed his colossal form, becoming a creature akin to the Maker himself - the Stonefather.”

  “So the Stonefather was once human…” I breathed, shaking my head in disbelief. “Or, at least something close to human; a Progenitor… But that just raises so many more questions. What about the other members of the Assembly? What happened to them? And humanity? How did we come about? I mean, you told me the Progenitors were hermaphrodites, right? And last time I checked, I only had one reproductive organ.”

  “All valid questions,” Amelie smiled, brushing back a stray lock of hair before rising to her feet. “But also questions that will have to wait. The story of Alwaar is a long one, and we have already been talking for some time. It is late. We should be getting to bed.”

  “Oh, come on!” I complained, puffing up my cheeks. “You can’t stop now! It sounded like we were just getting to the good bit!”

  She let slip a delightful laugh, which lingered between us for a moment, its melodic cadence weaving through the night. The sound of it sparked a warmth within me, despite the chill of the evening air.

  “I promise to tell you more some other time, okay?” she said, smiling at me. “If you promise to be a good boy and go fetch us some water from the stream. I would like a cold drink before bed.”

  “Ugh… Yes, ma’am…” I groaned, getting to my feet with a theatrical sigh.

  “Oh, and remember what I said before, about bedrolls and cooked lobsters,” she said as I bent over to retrieve our waterskins.

  “And remember what I said about cold feet and the undying,” I replied, shooting her a wink as I turned and left. Her laughter echoed after me as I walked, bringing a full smile to my lips.

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