Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 16:56:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: Taylin Asterifos <taylin_asterifos@yahoo.com>
Subject: Lost Land of Ouranos, Chapter 3
The Lost Land of Ouranos-Nisi
Here is chapter 3, where Chris finds out what he truly is, and has
to figure out how to live with it. This is one of those chapters you are
really going to love, or really going to hate. If you like it, let me
know, and if you hate it, I still want to know. Any input any time is
greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer:
If you are offended by relationships between teenage boys, or between
a man and a teenage boy, please hit the `back' button on your browser and
trouble yourself no further. This chapter contains some heavy kissing
between two boys, but not much else in the way of erotic material.
Remember, I am trying to build a relationship, and those take time.
This story has been copyrighted under the pseudonym Taylin. A copy
has been placed in the Nifty archives for your enjoyment. This story cannot
be used to derive monetary gain, nor placed in archives that require
payment for access, or printed and distributed in any form that requires
payment either directly or indirectly.
This story is fictional, and is solely a product of my imagination.
Any similarities to real individuals, living or dead are entirely
accidental.
Please send any comments, suggestions, or constructive criticism to:
taylin_asterifos@yahoo.com. Any input at all would mean a great deal to
me.
Ok, on with the story:
---------------
Chapter 3 -- What am I Really?
Knock*, Knock*, Knock*, brought Rodger Southerland out of his
contemplative gaze out the window at the darkening sky. He hated it when
his secretary pounded on the door instead of buzzing his phone. Why
couldn't he have a normal secretary like everyone else? "What is it
Mrs. Jennings, when will you learn to use the phone?" Rodger shouted
through his door.
"Sorry sir, but Major Kindrik is here to see you sir, and he has a
very strange boy with him. He said it was very urgent that he see you."
Mrs. Jennings shouted back through the door.
Strange boy? AH! Kindrik sure was fast, he didn't think Kindrik
would be able to find a seeker so fast. Most of them were already out in
the field, already tracking established leads. "Fine Mrs. Jennings, please
let them in."
The door opened, and Mrs. Jennings, a rather plump woman, stepped
aside to admit a tall man in standard army uniform. Following behind him
was a boy that looked to be around 12 years old. The boy had
brownish-orange hair, and brownish-orange eyes. The boy was wearing a
black long sleeve button-up shirt, black slacks, and a black leather belt.
He also had a thick solid gold collar around his neck. Rodger was never
comfortable around a magus, with their strange eyes that always had an
orange tint. Rodger also had to remind himself, that with a magus,
appearances could be deceiving, VERY deceiving!
The Major walked in and have Rodger a salute and stood at
attention. "Captain, may I present Keith gifos-magus, 6th rank."
"At ease Major." With a curt smile, Roger sat up and came around
his desk, and shook hands with the Major, but when he offered his hand to
the magus, he just stared up at him, his eyes seeming to bore straight into
his soul. A shudder went down Rodger's back, and he decided to go back
around to his chair and sit at his desk. "Have a seat gentleman. Can I
have my secretary get you anything to drink? Water?" The magus's eyes
never left Rodger as he took his seat along with the Major on the other
side of his desk.
"We're fine, thank you. Sir." The magus might have spoken with the
soprano of a boy not yet into puberty, but his tone was dead serious, and
spoke with a confidence totally begetting his age.
"Did you enjoy your flight into Ft. Carson from DC, magus? We
didn't pull you from anything too important did we?" Rodger asked, having
to avert his eyes from the boy's raptor gaze.
"One assignment is as good as the next; it doesn't matter much to
me. The Colonel had me in Philadelphia hunting fotiafos, but I was only
able to find one, and he was pretty weak." The boy looked annoyed as he
recalled his most recent endeavors, almost like they were wasting his time.
"Have you had a chance to review the report I sent you this
morning?" The magus shook his head. "Well, it basically showed what our
DFDS picked up yesterday, and once again this morning. Yesterday, we had a
very large fos spike that lasted nearly 15 minutes, and this morning, a
shorter one that lasted about 10 minutes. We can't tell what kind of fos
it was, but someone was using large amounts of it. This leads me to
believe it was a magus, and a powerful magus at that! The strange thing
is, none of my gifos in the area felt anything yesterday, but they felt it
this morning, loud and clear!"
Rodger definitely had the magus's attention now. At the news of
yesterday's confirmation, the boy almost seemed eager about this
assignment, like he was hungry for confrontation with another magus. "Have
you successfully captured another magus before Keith? Do you think you
will be ok alone?" `Well, he won't be quite alone; Major Kindrik will be
acting as his controller'. Rodger looked at the magus's collar and felt
some measure of relief. The FSD (Fos Stemming Devise) could prevent a
magus from touching the fos with the simple press of a button. Without the
FSD, none of this would be possible.
"I am magus rank 6 captain; there are only 40 magi above me in the
whole country. I doubt the little worm you've found here will present any
problem, and if he does, well; I have your number, don't I?" Such
confidence coming from what looked like a 12 year old boy truly unnerved
Rodger.
"Yes, I suppose you will be fine. We have been able to localize
the second DFDS signal to somewhere around Woodland Park, but we can't
narrow it down any further. My gifos can also confirm fos being channeled
in that direction." Rodger could see that he was beginning to bore the
magus, so he decided to wrap up the conversation. "Is there anything else
you need magus? Would you like me to notify the Woodland Park police of
your arrival? Would you like to stay on base tonight, and have a fresh
start for the morning?"
"That won't be necessary captain, I need no help from the local PD,
and I would prefer to start the assignment from Woodland Park in the
morning. May we be excused now?" The magus really DID seem eager for the
hunt. Well, that's probably why they made him a seeker.
The boy rose to leave, but Rodger stood up real quick. "Wait.
Magus, can I ask you a question? How old are you really?" He asked with a
tremor in his tone.
"I will be 49 years old in October sir, good day." With that, the
magus turned to leave; Major Kindrik following closely on his heals.
Rodger sat down hard. He knew that people who could touch the fos
could live longer, but this was just nuts. How could a man who was 49
years old look like a boy before he hit puberty? His gifos all looked
young too, but most looked 16 or 17 when they were in fact 24 or 25. A 49
year old gifos should look about 29 or 30 years old. He had heard that
gifos had roughly twice the lifespan of a normal human, but he never
believed what the researchers said about a magus's life span. Now he
did. It was then Captain Rodger Southerland wondered how powerful the magus
really were, especially the rank 7 ones. Was the FSD enough to protect
mankind against them? Rodger hoped to god it was.
**********
Chris stared at the boy across from him, still unable to believe he
was still there. Taylin was staring off into the sunset again, shadows of
clouds playing various shades of pink and orange across his face. Chris
reached out with his little index finger and poked him just to see if he
was real. Taylin laughed when Chris poked him, and then turned to give him
a bright smile.
"I hope we can become fast friends Chris. Nothing in all the world
would make me happier." But then Taylin's expression turned serious.
"Chris, there are some things I need to explain to you. You need to be
strong for me, you need to be patient, and listen closely while I explain
it all, can you do that?" Chris nodded eagerly. Taylin took a long, deep
breath.
"Ok. I..., we have been looking for you for the past 13 years now,
ever since you were born. When you were born, the bios trembled, and
everyone sensitive to it knew a very special life had entered this world.
We didn't know where you were born, only that you had shaken the bios all
over the world with your birth. You see, when a normal fos is born, there
might be a small disturbance in the fos, allowing any fos in the area to
find them, but most of the time, there are no fos nearby. If there had
been a fos nearby when you were born, they would have felt it strongly!"
"As a fos grows, his aging behaves pretty much the same as any human
until their 6th year. During the 6th year, the fos's body establishes a
very small connection to a particular fos. The fos they connect to depends
on the surroundings they have lived around for the first 6 years of their
life. If the person lived deep in an urban city, where there is a lot of
metal, and things made by intense fire, the fos they connect to will be
fotia. If the person lived out in the country, or even in the suburbs,
they will most often be gi. Now, if a person lived very close to a body of
water, or was around water most of the time, they would link to nero.
Lastly, and the most rare, are people who link to aeras. Most of the
people who link to aeras, have lived in very high places, or were in the
air a lot. By a large percentage, most fos link with gi. If you were a
normal fos Chris, you would have linked with gi, but you also had a small
chance of linking with aeras, living at the elevation you do."
"Once the link with a specific fos is made, the fos will begin to age
at a slower rate, which is the same for all fos, even you Chris. You see,
all fos are linked to the bios. It is the fos's link to the bios that
slows aging, because the bios is life itself. For a normal fos, aging
slows down to half at age 6, and that is the speed they age at for the rest
of their life. Do you understand so far Chris?" Taylin asked very
seriously. Chris nodded his head slowly, his attention completely focused
in on what Taylin was saying.
"So you are saying that people who can touch the fos age slower, and
that's why I'm so small for my age?" Chris looked relieved knowing that
there was an explanation for his small size. Taylin merely nodded, then
continued on with his explanation.
"Also, a normal fos begins to sense gi, fotia, nero, or aeras at
around 13 years of age. A normal fos can establish a link with the fos at
that age, and draw a small amount of energy from it, but only a small
amount, allowing them to do things that are... supernatural, like running
really fast, or jumping really high."
"Now, a magus is like a fos, but FAR stronger. When a magus turns
13, he can also establish a connection to a particular fos, but he can pull
MUCH more energy through that link. A magus can channel that energy into
himself, and then release it in many different ways, or use it on himself.
Some magi are more powerful than others. The more you can channel, the
more power you have, and the greater your connection is to the fos. The
greater your connection is to the fos, the slower you age. Once a magus
has made his connection with the fos for the first time, his aging slows
considerably. A typical magus will age about 10 times slower than a normal
human." Taylin was watching Chris very closely when he said this.
"WHAT? You mean that I'm going to look like I'm 9 for ten more
years?" Chris looked a lot more worried now, but Taylin kept speaking.
"For most magus, it is easy for them to see the fos they are
connected to very soon after their 13th year of life. Also, on their 13th
year, and their first touching of the fos, their hair will change to the
color of their fos, which for some, isn't much of a change. For most magi,
the fos comes into their vision when they are concentrating on looking at
it. For a gifos magus, when he focuses on the earth around him, and blocks
everything else out of thought and mind, an orange-brown glow will immerge.
From there, all the magus has to do is mentally picture himself touching
the light, and fos will flow into him. An experienced magus will be able
to control how much fos he channels, and it is VERY important to control
that flow, because too much too soon can cause the magus serious damage.
Channeling fos is also very exhausting, and if you haven't done it much,
the you get tired very quickly." Taylin looked directly at Chris again,
deep blue eyes boring into his soul. "For a normal magus, seeing the fos
is easy, and with practice and the right focus, the light comes into view
without a second thought. But you Chris are special."
"Special, you mean being a magus isn't special? It sounds like
something straight out of the Lord of the Rings to me, and there weren't
very many wizards in middle earth! Gandalf was like the only one! Except
for Saruman. There were more in Harry Potter though, I guess." Chris
smiled to himself at the thought of being like Harry Potter.
Taylin laughed out loud again. "Harry Potter, yes, I've read about
him. I'm not sure what kind of magic he was using, but its nothing at all
like this. There is no waving a magic wand, or saying the magic words. A
true magus shapes the fos to his will, making it do what he wants. But
don't get me wrong Chris, it still takes a lot of practice and training."
Just as soon as Taylin's face brightened, it got serious again.
"This is no game Chris, fos can be dangerous, even lethal for the
untrained, especially for you! You are special Chris, more than you can
even imagine. Chris, you are like the sun compared to the moon. You have
more power than almost any other magus who has walked this earth. You may
be even more powerful than...." Taylin's voice trailed off then, and he
breafly looked out on the horizon. The sun was below the horizon now, and
the stars were shining brightly. "You are like the stars Chris, your light
burns so brightly to me. If I focus on you, I'm blinded by your radiance.
Your first contact to the fos lit you up like the sun, and now I could find
you from light years away. But don't worry Chris, for it is only I that
can see your true light, your asteri, the truest, most pure fos in the
universe. Every magus has a good amount of a particular fos within
himself, and you Chris have asterifos, the foundation of life, the
fundamental energy in the universe." Taylin was looking at Chris with a
look so sad, and so happy at the same time.
"There is only one other person on this earth that can channel
asterifos." Taylin's eyes began to swell, and a single tear left his eye.
"I have finally found my twin shining star in the universe, after waiting
so long, so SO long. You are finally here." Taylin reached over and
hugged Chris, so closely that Chris thought he would suffocate, and not
because of lack of air, but because of the waves of raw emotion and energy
that poured out of Taylin and into him. Just when Chris thought he would
be overwhelmed by the massive amount of energy, Taylin pulled back. "Oh
I'm so sorry Chris, I almost lost control." Taylin was wiping his own eyes
out now. "I haven't cried for such a very long time. What kind of example
am I to you. If the rest of the counsel saw me like this, they would never
let me live it down. But they were never alone, never as alone as I was,
there were always at lest a few others. But now you are here with me
Chris, and I hope you will come with me. Now that I have found you, I
never want to loose you again.
Chris was flabbergasted, he didn't know what to say or what to do, or
even what to THINK. Taylin was such a nice boy, and his presence alone
filled Chris with joy. He could almost feel the connection between them.
There were still so many things he didn't understand though, so many
questions rasing through his head. Taylin quickly composed himself though,
and continued with his explanation.
"I know this is a lot for you to take in Chris, but I want to explain
everything to you. I know your going to find this last part very difficult
to accept, but please be strong for me. I'm here now, and no matter where
you are, I'll always be connected to you. Ok?" Taylin took a deep breath.
"There are 6 types of fos total. I have already told you about gifos, and
that its light is orange-brown. Fotiafos is orange-red and nerofos is
orange-blue. Aerasfos is different; there is only a very small amount of
orange in the light-blue. Some magi can touch the orange light directly.
The orange light is the biosfos, the light of life itself. The magi that
can touch this, as you can imagine, have a very strong connection to the
bios. The magi that can touch the bios are called biosfos. Also, through
the biosfos, the boisfos magus can touch all the other fos. A biosfos can
also touch any of the 4 fos directly, just as you have."
"On his 13th year, a biosfos can make contact with any of the 4 fos,
but it is much more difficult, since it is not his native fos. If the
biosfos concentrates on the life around him though, he can then see the
orange light alone, and control it directly. Easy for a biosfos, but
impossible for almost any other fos. The 4 main fos only have a sloppy,
indirect control over it. Also, when a biosfos first touches the bios, his
hair will turn completely orange, along with his eyes. Upon his first
touch with the bios, the biosfos's aging will slow drastically. A biosfos
magus's body will only age 1 year when 100 have passed."
"100 years? What? Are you kidding? That means a boisfos would live
10,000 years! NO WAY!" Chris couldn't believe his ears. Taylin had to be
making this up. NO ONE could live 10,000 years!
"Yes, 10,000 years is the average lifespan of a biosfos. There is a
heavy burden that comes with having such a long life. You see
civilizations rise and fall, any human friends you make in your youth are
dust while you have barely changed at all. Believe me, I know. I'm afraid
that's not the worst of it Chris. You are not a boisfos magus. You are
like me. You are asterifos magus. You can tap into the very essence of
the universe. The asteri is what the stars are made of. The stars and the
sun. The sun gives life to all. The asteri is the fundamental supplier of
life and energy on earth, and yet none can touch it, at least not directly.
WE can touch it Chris, you and me. We are the only ones on earth who can.
All others touch it indirectly, but we can touch the light itself. The
asteri is the alpha and the omega. Our power reigns over all!" When
Taylin said that, his eyes were glowing a bright blue, as bright as a blue
star, and Chris had to look away. The ground shook, and shook hard. It
didn't last but a second though, and Taylin's eyes dimmed quickly.
"Oh my, all of this has gotten me more worked up than I have been in
over 1000 years. Control is so important for us Chris, and I know it may
sound cheesy to you, but always remember this: With great power comes great
responsibility. Never let it consume you. At the same time, don't think
you are invincible either, because you are NOT. If enough magi form
together, they can block the flow of your fos, and you will be
helpless. Never forget that!"
"Ok Chris, there is only a little bit left, and I think we have
gotten through the worst of it. When an asterifos magus turns 13, he has
the ability to touch the asteri, but it's very hard to find at first,
especially during the day. During the day, there is so much asteri that it
is almost invisible. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, and that's
probably why none can channel it. Since the sun is so close, there is so
much asteri that only someone who has been channeling for a long time could
handle it all. There are also many other things you need to learn before
you can begin to channel asteri during the day. Luckily, an asterifos can
channel any of the other fos as well, and when you come into contact with
any one of them, you can establish a link with asteri, but since asteri is
your native fos, all others will be more difficult for you to touch. With
a lot of time and effort, you will be able to touch them, and once you have
an established connection, you can channel it just as easily as asteri."
"Once an asterifos has touched the astari, either directly or
indirectly, his aging will slow as well, but even slower than a biosfos.
Chris, you have touched asteri, although indirectly, and now it will take
you roughly 1,000 years for your body to age 1 year." Another tear left
Taylin's eye. "I'm sorry Chris, but for at least 4,000 years, you will
remain in the body of a child, and be unable to reproduce. I figured it
would be best to tell you now. Please don't hate me Chris. The only
comfort I can give you is that I will be there for you. If you ever find
yourself alone in the depths of eternity, I will always be there to share
it with you." Taylin hugged Chris again, but Chris was still sitting
there, half staring at Taylin, half staring at nothing. He couldn't move,
wouldn't move.
"1,000 years? It just seems so unreal. I don't feel any different.
I only started doing this stuff yesterday. I feel just the same." Chris
was almost talking incoherently, blabbing more to himself than anything.
"And you won't feel any different either, not unless you are touching
asteri, but when you do, you will feel more alive than you have ever felt
before, and you will feel like you could do anything, anything at all."
Taylin was staring up at the night sky, searching the stars as if he was
looking for a specific one.
"Taylin, how old are you? 4000, 5000?" He still couldn't believe
Taylin could possibly be that old. He looked like he was barely more than
14, at the MOST. Maby he was making it all up, that's it, he's just making
it up!
"I will be 12,657 in January." Taylin said it with a completely blank
expression, but Chris could tell that he was pained by it. Pained by
eternity.
"But you said 1,000 per year, which would make you look 21 right?
You only look like you are 14. I just don't get it." Chris was almost
laughing to himself. This was LUDICRIS!
"I said 1,000 on average, for me, its more like 2,000." Taylin didn't
sound very happy about it. "For you Chris, we just wont know for a long
time, but Chris, that doesn't mean you have to live that long, or even that
you will. You are not immortal; you are just very closely linked with the
life of the universe. If you never channel, you can be killed just as
easily as any other human, but if you touch asteri, you can protect
yourself, and with great practice, have it protect you. You can be as
vulnerable as you want to be, and as invulnerable as you try to be. I can
teach you Chris, if you let me."
Chris could almost feel the pleading in Taylin's eyes. It was then
that Chris fell completely and utterly in love with Taylin. Chris could
see the love in Taylin's eyes, and a caring so deep that he could not
remove his gaze. Looking deep into his eyes, Chris decided right then that
it wasn't important how old Taylin was; only that he loved him. Chris
jumped into his arms and hugged him back as hard as Taylin had hugged him,
and then he drew back from his hold and stared into his eyes.
"Taylin, I just don't know what to say. It's all just too much to
take in. Can we just make it simple for now? I mean, I want to learn
about asteri and all, but can we just get to know each other first? I
mean, I just want to be a boy right now, and I want you to be a boy too.
You're so beautiful Taylin... I... I think..." Chris's shoulders dropped. "I
don't know what I think." And Chris started crying again. Taylin pulled
him close and buried his head in his white shirt.
"Oh Chris, you don't have to feel bad around me about anything.
Chris, every second I'm with you, I feel closer to you. It doesn't matter
that you're a boy. It wouldn't matter if you were a girl, I would still
feel the same way about you. I know we've only just meet, but right now I
love you more deeply than I have ever loved anyone in all my life, and
believe me, I have lived a very long life. You are my twin shining star
Chris, and I couldn't think of a sweeter boy to share eternity with. I
look at you, and I want to live the rest of my live with you, until the end
of time." Both Chris and Taylin were crying now, and both were trying to
work up the nerve to kiss one another.
"Oh god, I LOVE YOU TOO Taylin. I was so scared you would reject me,
just like Timmy did. I was afraid that you would think I was a freak, or
just some sick twisted gay boy. Just some twisted freak of nature... I
thought-" Just then Taylin closed his eyes, reached in and kissed him. As
first Chris was too stunned to kiss back, but then he slowly started
kissing back, letting Taylin take hold of him.
Chris opened his mouth a little, and Taylin leaned in deeper, holding
Chris closer, mingling his tongue in with Chris's. Chris let Taylin lean
him back a little, and bury his tongue deep into his mouth. The feelings
Chris was having were exploding everywhere in his body simultaneously.
Taylin kissed him long and hard, and the backed off slowly, withdrawing his
tongue, practically trying to take Chris's along with it. Taylin kept on
with the kiss, mouths still touching for longer than he thought possible,
then finally pulled back and opened his eyes.
"I... I've never kissed anyone before. I... I don't know what to say.
I love you Taylin, thank you soo much!" Chris hugged him again, Just a
good, heartfelt hug, and Taylin hugged back.
"No Chris, thank you. You complete me. You fill the gap that has
been in my soul for so long, so long that I thought I would be alone
forever. I will do anything to protect you Chris, I promise. No one will
hurt you." Taylin rocked Chris gently, stroking his smooth back.
They stayed like that for what seemed like hours until Taylin finally
pulled back and stood up. Taylin's Shirt was a mess. It was wet from the
stains of chris's tears, and Chris's runny nose. He didn't mind though,
anything that came from Chris was special. He walked slowly over to the
summit, and stared off into the twilight, once again loosing himself in the
starscape.
Chris stood up a few minutes later and walked over to Taylin, timidly
putting an arm on his shoulder. "So, you're like the most powerful magus
in the world? Did I just get kissed by Gandalf? Well, at least you're not
old and gray!"
Taylin's alto voice broke into mirth's of helpless laughter. "Oh
Chris, that's why I love you so much. You are so full of life; just being
around you makes me feel more alive than I have felt in forever! Never
loose that sense of humor Chris!" Taylin took Chris's hand, held it up and
kissed it. "Am I the most powerful magus? Well, I suppose I am, but as I
said earlier, magi can bond together and still overpower me. Alone, I
might be able to face several biosfos, and maybe even a lot of normal
magus, but it would still be hard. I'm not god Chris. There is something
you have to understand. Fos, bios, asteri, we all share it, we all pull
from the same source. Some might be more powerful than others, but if you
form a group, then you can be much more powerful. I admit, there is much I
can do alone, but there is still much that I cannot do. There is much that
I still need help with, and need to link with fellow magi in order to
accomplish." Taylin ruffled Chris's hair, and then let the white locks flow
through his fingers.
"There is much you need to learn as well, and there may not be a lot
of time to teach you. They have detected you Chris, I know, because they
have sent a seeker to come after you. But don't worry about that right now;
we will deal with the seeker together. We just won't have much time after
that." Taylin was staring off again, but this time to the south east. His
head seemed to move really slowly, eyes distant and faintly glowing. Just
as quick, Taylin snapped out of it, his expression grim, and looked back as
Chris.
"Hey, what do you say, before we head back over to your house, we try
practicing a little bit? Ok?" Taylin's look was half serious, half
mischievous. Chris couldn't tell which. "Ok Chris, come stand over here."
Taylin gestured over to the rock they had been sitting on. "Ok, get up on
this rock, good. Now, close your eyes. Good." Taylin got up on the rock
with Chris, faced him, and held his hands. "Ok, now I want you to clear
your mind. Focus out the wind, focus out the ground, focus out my touch,
focus out everything until there is only emptiness. Is everything black
now?" Chris nodded, keeping his eyes closed. "Ok, now I want you to imagine
a single point of light, as small as can be, in the darkness. Let that
light glow more brightly. Yes Chris, that's it!"
Chris could feel something happening, but he couldn't tell what. It
didn't feel the same as it did before. There was a deep stirring in his
chest. "Ok Chris, let the glow get brighter now. Let the brightness begin
to consume the darkness. Let the rays of its light eat it away and push it
back further. GOOD!" Chris felt his chest heave all of a sudden, and in
his mind, he saw the light explode outwards and split into millions of
smaller pieces of light. It was beautiful. As the light exploded
outwards, colors red-shifted and blue-shifted through every color of the
rainbow, and Chris could feel a bright glow coming from within himself,
almost like he was another star. "Now open your eyes."
Chris opened his eyes, glowing a magnificent bright blue, and stared
up at the starry sky in utter disbelief. The stars were brighter than they
ever were before, and they were all different colors, just like they had
been in his focus vision. Chris could actually see the band of the Milky
Way, and stars that he had never seen before. The starlight shined down on
him, and he could feel the light they radiated flow into him. Chris's
senses were heightened too, and everything around him looked so alive and
bright, even though it was nighttime. Chris could swear he could hear and
see for miles, and if he wanted to focus on any one sound, he could hear
it, or focus his vision, he would see it.
"Great Chris! You are touching asteri. Now you have to control its
flow. Let's try to pull more in, but slowly." Chris mentally reached out
to the asteri around him, and willed it into him. "Slowly Chris. Pretend
that you are completely surrounded by a barrier that no light can enter,
except through a tiny hole that you control the size of. Make that hole
really small." Chris imagined himself surrounded by a curtain, and then he
poked a hole though it, and let some of the light through. "Oh perfect
Chris, that's great, your going so good. Now, make that hole a little bit
bigger." Chris envisioned the hole getting bigger, big enough to stick his
head through, and the light poured in. Chris was knocked back by the sheer
amount of light that came through that hole. Taylin had a good hold of
Chris though, and didn't let him fall. "WOO, close it fast Chris, close
it! CLOSE IT NOW!" Chris snapped the curtain shut, blacking out all the
astari he could.
"Yikes, that was close Chris. NEVER open a hole that big again. Not
until you're ready. Right now, it's only safe for you to channel small
amounts of asteri, ok?" Chris nodded again, almost shaking. "Hey, its ok,
you're doing well!" Taylin hugged Chris close. "Keep that curtain closed
Chris. It's alright to look at the asteri, but don't draw any in until we
are ready, just remember how to let it in slowly. Ok, now its time to do
something with all that asteri you let in, Ok?" Chris nodded again. He
could feel the energy of asterifos inside him, swirling, and whirling.
"Ok, this is where it gets tricky Chris, and the hardest part is
believing you can do it, but you can, and I'm going to help guide you. In
the end though, you will be doing it yourself. Alright, I want you to
close your eyes. Good. Now I want you to picture your room. Picture
yourself in your room right now, looking around it, and seeing all your
pictures on the wall, all your models, and all your toys. Picture your
bed, just as you left it, and your desk, with whatever was on it this
morning. Try to make sure you get every detail right. I'm going to help
you picture everything in your room, ok. I'll make sure you don't leave
anything out. In order for this to work, you need to remember everything,
ok?" Chris nodded his head.
Chris did everything Taylin said, pictured his room as best he could,
and tried to remember every single detail. "Ok, good! Now, imagine
yourself in that room, block out everything you feel here on this rock,
remember how it feels in your room. You are in your room, ok? Now focus
on the asteri inside you, and PUT yourself in that room! DO IT!" Light
flared across his vision, through his eyelids, and his body tingled form
head to toe. Then he felt nothing.
"Open your eyes Chris, go on, and open them!" Chris opened his eyes.
He was standing in his room. He was in his room! HE WAS IN HIS ROOM!!!
Holy shit! "HOLY SHIT! IM IN MY ROOM!" Chris jumped around and bounced
on his bead and started clapping really hard. Taylin was standing there
smiling at him, sucking in Chris's flamboyance.
Taylin moved over to sit in Chris's desk chair. "How do you feel
Chris?" He asked, almost unable to hide his own joy at seeing Chris so
happy.
"I feel GREAT! But the asteri inside me is gone now, at least I
think it is. I'm still touching it though, I think." Chris looked around
his room. "Everything looks a million times brighter, and I feel so
great!" Chris jumped up and down in the air again. "Its so incredible
Taylin, you were right, I feel so much better when I'm touching asteri."
Chris ran over and jumped in Taylin's lap, making the chair spin round and
round.
"I'm so happy for you Chris, but now you have to let go ok?" Taylin
looked very serious again. "Never touch asteri for too long ok, else it
will consume you. Be strong, and let go. Now, close your eyes." Chris
stopped bouncing in Taylin's lap, and sat there. Chris then closed his
eyes. "Ok, now remember the stars again; remember all the lights and
colors. Now, reduce all the lights into one again, and then make that one
light dimmer and dimmer, until it fades away into the blackness."
Chris collapsed the little galaxy in his head back to a single point,
and dimmed the light until it was gone. When Chris opened his eyes again,
his room looked normal again, if not for the bit of running and jumping
around he did. Just then Chris noticed how awfully TIRED he was. He
couldn't remember being this tired in his whole LIFE! Chris stifled a
yawn, and Taylin raised him up off his lap.
"I don't think you are going to be doing any more channeling tonight,
my little shining star, but there is still a couple more things we need to
take care up before we turn in for the night, ok?" With that, Chris looked
at him for a second, and then realization hit him.
"Oh my god, your right. My mom! She is probably worried to death
about me. What are we going to do?" Chris sounded panicky all over again.
Almost as if answering his thoughts, Chris heard foot steps coming up the
stairs, and not after long, a knocking at the door.
"Chris? Is that you honey? When did you get home? I've been worried
sick. Can I come in?" Chris's mom sounded even more panicky than Chris.
Chris looked over to Taylin helplessly. "What should I do?" He
whispered. Taylin motioned for him to open the door. Chris went to open
the door, and mom came in and picked Chris up and hugged him close.
"Oh honey, I was so worried about you. Timmy and Mr. Dennings are
downstairs right-" Mother got cut off as Timmy ran through the door. As
soon as Timmy saw Chris, he went over to give him a hug when mother put him
down.
"Chris, your ok! Where the heck have you been all night?" It was
then that both Timmy and mother noticed Taylin, still sitting comfortably
in Chris's desk chair. "Chris, who is that?" Timmy was looking at Taylin
very strangely, but mother had a very haunted expression when she saw him.
Mother cleaned up her look very quickly though, and replaced it with a
smile.
"Is this a new friend of yours honey?" Chris's mom waited patiently
for Chris to explain.
"Yea mom, this is Taylin. I met him up on top Soldier Mountain.
Taylin likes climbing mountains too. I guess it was just coincidence that
we met up there, right Taylin?" Chris looked to Taylin with a puppy dog
face.
Taylin merely nodded, then shrugged. "Sure, coincidence."
"Anyways, if it weren't for Taylin, I don't know what I would have
done. I was so mad, and Taylin helped calm me down." By then, Timmy's dad
had made it up the stairs and into Chris's room.
"Well, I'm glad to see you ok Chris, we were really worried about you
when you ran out like that." Mr. Dennings said with true concern.
"You see Chris, I told you that you had friends, and you were just
too stubborn to listen. Your not alone, it looks like there are still
people here who care for you. You see, everything is going to be ok."
Taylin gave Chris a big wink, and Chris got a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
Just then, Chris felt like everything was going to be alright in his life.
**********
Trees, houses, and cars speeded across Keith's vision as he watched
out the window of the car Captain Southerland had lent them. Major Kindrik
was driving them up to Woodland Park for the night. As Keith watched the
trees go by, he let out a long sigh. It really pissed him off that he had
to sit in this car and wait to be hauled up to his query. It was almost
insulting, demeaning! They had no right to treat a rank 6 magus like this.
Keith could only dream of what he would do to Colonel Davidson and the rest
if his collar was removed, but now he was helping to leach other magus so
that he would no longer be a `threat' to modern society. He had personally
put the leach on at least 200 fos and 20 magus. Now they were sending him
up to do it again.
Keith knew it was a necessary evil. Magus shouldn't be allowed to
run around unchecked, think about all the damage they would cause! Unaided,
Keith knew he could crack the earth wide enough to swallow a large house.
Keith had even heard that a rank 7 aerasfos magus could cause a level 5
tornado, and he knew that a rank 7 fotiafos magus had enough power to cause
a small nuclear explosion. The magi were like walking bombs, and they had
to be contained. Keith knew that. Still, wouldn't it be nice to open up a
chasm to swallow up the pentagon? With enough rank 7 gifos magus linked
together, they could do it, but what would the point of that be really?
The houses continued speeding by, and soon they were out of Colorado
Springs and headed up the mountains to Woodland Park. It wouldn't be long
now, maybe a half hour. The Major would probably rent them a hotel room
for the evening and insist that Keith wait until morning to start the hunt.
Keith would have to obey of course, because the major held the switch to
Keith's fos. Keith guessed he was lucky, being a seeker. Until he reached
rank 2, they wouldn't even let him touch the fos without supervision. The
leach was always buckled down tight on a new magus; they needed to learn
who was truly in control. Once the Magus was `trained', they would ease
off the restraint a bit, but not much. They would be allowed to touch the
fos, but they still wouldn't be allowed to channel without supervision. No
one was allowed to channel without supervision, except for a seeker. But
Keith had paid the price for his small amount of freedom. Seekers were
required to go through extensive conditioning before they were allowed to
channel unsupervised. Keith did not even want to think back to the 10
years he had spent underground, completely cut off from gifos, being
drilled on constantly by so called specialists in the field. By the time
they were done with him, he would do whatever they asked, whenever they
asked. Keith looked down at his feet in shame; he had been so weak then,
so helpless.
Keith shook his head, burying those thoughts deeply once again. He
was a seeker now, and a `trusted' member of the US military. A trusted
`weapon' of the US military more like, a tool that they could turn on and
off at will. He didn't know whether to be thankful, or hate the thick gold
collar around his neck, but he sure would like to get his hands on its
inventor. 35 years of captivity, so long he couldn't even remember being a
normal boy anymore.
It didn't matter; Keith had a job to do. Tomorrow, he would show
that puny magus wannabe what a real magus could do. It wouldn't even be a
contest, whoever that magus was. He would likely just be a scared 13 year
old, without a clue as to what he was doing, and the DFDS signal was
probably just his first touching of the fos. They could have just have
sent up 10 gifos to capture him, but the government took no chances.
The seeker would do his job quickly and efficiently, just as he
always had.
---------------
Well, if you read this far, that hopefully means you liked it. I
hope I didn't bore you too badly with my loooong explanation of the magic
system. I had a really tough choice to make, and I think, if the reader
(and Chris!) understands this now, the rest of the story will make more
sense as it's presented.
Please let me know what you think, and BTW, if you can think of any
cool spells you want to see done, or if you have any questions about the
magic system I am using, please email me at taylin_asterifos@yahoo.com
Thank you again,
Taylin