The Blue Pearl

Maybe…

A sudden thought in its restless escapade struck him with an idea and he started collecting them. Gathering them fragment by fragment into a coherent will. There were just so many; he observed numbly.

Slowly he was starting to focus, was able to think ahead. More than just the simple curiosity from before. A "will" was formed and soon after, a "need". He still couldn"t feel anything around or see or felt any of his other senses working and desperately wanted to get a sense of stability.

But he felt the energy around him, constantly moving and swirling.

He willed his thoughts in position, gathering them in six points around his head into small spheres. Tiny like marbles, then bigger and bigger; and stopped as the size became about as big as his head.

This was his limit. The size and the number he could control, even with his current endless power. Tristan"s level of skill only could take him so far. He felt the six of them now around him, their shapes and weight and then he burned them, not with fire but light, like his master had been teaching him again and again. It was the only skill he was able to learn in all his time with his master. Not because he lacked talent or will, but the pathetic amount of magic Tristan stored in his body threatened to kill him if he tried more.

But now with the endless supply he let go, making them brighter than he ever had. The six b.a.l.l.s of light pierced the darkness around him and shone enough that they stung his eyes even when they were closed.

It worked. The giddy thought overwhelmed him. It had worked even better than what he had hoped, much better. He had created six floating b.a.l.l.s of light around him and felt NOTHING, no drain, like barely even a drop was taken from his well of power.

Now, only if his control was any better.

He dimmed the lights and slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the brightness.

Looking down, Tristan saw that he was not floating in the darkness but standing on a ground full of pebbles that he could now see under his bare feet. He still didn"t feel them, the pebbles, however, like wearing thick, invisible boots over his feet.

The darkness inside was like the fog, no, he thought, it was THE fog, the one that haunted his village every night. And somewhere around it lived that monster. He felt a sudden cold settle into his stomach and his dangling twins clutched up, trying to retreat back inside of him. His light, though bright enough to sting eyes, didn"t pierce the dark more than a few feet ahead of them.

He waited, not sure what to do now. Now that he had touched the source and filled himself, he ought to return. Maybe ring the bell and wake the others if they hadn"t already.

But how?

There was no sign of how he got there. It had only been a touch of the mist and all he now felt was miles of it all round him. No sign of Ava or the way out. He wished he could push the light around him to see more. But besides the slight hovering they did, they remained in their places.

He was lost.

Then suddenly out of nowhere he relaxed, his shoulders dropped and a deep breath entered through his slightly opened mouth. The lights all sprinted far away from him and grew. Bigger and bigger like the sun and completely burning the darkness away. Tristan saw the way where he came from and on the other side a cave that led deeper into the chasm. He took a step toward the way out, or he thought to but found himself walking the other way instead. Feeling like a pa.s.senger in his own body, he saw his legs taking careless steps toward the cave.

A panic pa.s.sed by him, and then was quickly suppressed. He felt his cheeks stretch and open his mouth into a wide grin. He felt amus.e.m.e.nt and a mild curiosity bleeding into him that was not his own. Slowly he felt a soft pull behind his eyes and his vision was starting to blur. Tiredness and the need to let go, and-

-Ava was in front of him, tensed and sword drawn. There were two b.a.l.l.s of bright light floating around her face, blinding her. It took Tristan a moment to realize those lights were his, acting on their own and so he "willed" them gone. Darkness enveloped them and then, in that moment there were more lights. But this time they were tiny golden stars blasting out in front of them. They spread about, hundreds of them, thousands, lighting the place in a dim golden glow. These were Ava"s.

"Tristan?" Ava said, shaken and guarded. Though she stood only few paces away, her voice sounded like it came from much farther and from every direction. She held her sword pointed at him. "Is it …really you? How did you get here?" She asked again and took one step closer to him, sword nearly poking him on his chest.

"I ...ah" Tristan started and paused, his throat felt hoa.r.s.e like he had been shouting. His own voice sounded like an echo that came from everywhere. He thought an answer to her question, and…

He …didn"t remember.

Last, he had tried to touch the fog in the chasm and suddenly he was here. Inside the fog. But how?

On the other side Ava was having her own shock as her eyes widened and she lowered her sword. She took a step back like she was physically struck.

"You are a caster. Dammit!" She cursed. "Should have seen it coming. The draw, the hunger in your eyes, I was not just seeing things." She paused and looked at him again as another realization hit her. "And it was not even your first time. You have been here before. When you said "the last time…"" She said. The echo of her voice made it sound ominous like he was being scolded by thousands at the same time.

Tristan meanwhile, watched in horror at his secrets spilling out like rice from a hole. He hadn"t planned on going deeper in to meet her nor her knowing anything more about him. This was bad. "Say something." Ava roared and broke him out of his thoughts. "Do you know how dangerous this place is? Or even know WHAT this place is?" She advanced toward him, heavily seized him by his shoulder, her feet slapping against the ankle high water he hadn"t yet noticed under them. Then again seeing no light reflected from it, it could very well not be water, but it was cool and felt like it. He saw her furious eyes and the glinting sword in hand and almost bolted the other way but strong grip on his shoulders stopped him.

"Don"t run!!!" She growled.

"Such tiny reserves and overflowing… this is not good." She muttered now, shifting her grip to his wrist and lifting his hand while looking down in thought. Then she stared into his eyes and peered deep into his soul, or so he felt, "Tell me and don"t bother trying to lie or be quiet. You are not a born caster, are you?"

He jerked at her question more as a reaction than anything. He almost was thrown back but her grip held strong like iron cuffs, he could move his skinny wrists around it but couldn"t shake her hand even an inch. "No" he said despite not intending to speak at all.

"Is it the priest that made you a caster? Is he also your teacher? What was his name?

"Yes. Yes. Nowsen." Came his monotonous answer as he watched in horror his mouth spilling the secrets his master wanted him to keep.

"Did he send you here?"

"No" he said and her grip slacked slightly. "He warned me again and again not to come here." He added himself and Ava nodded in understanding.

"Did he have something to do with the monster?"

"No!" He answered right away and this time by his own volition.

How could Nowsen have anything to do with the monster?

"Is he alive?"

"Yes, but ...he is sick and very weak."

Ava nodded and finally released him. He dropped to his knees, gripped his wrists and suddenly felt very cold.

"You need to get out of here…" She looked around them and grimaced, "Which... is not happening anytime soon. Stay with me …And I need to talk to your ...teacher when we return." Ava"s voice still ranked distant and hollow but he could feel it coming from her now. And not just an echo.
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"O-okay."

"Get up, we have to find Olean and get out of here quick."

"Is she still...?" He didn"t know what exactly he meant to say but Ava answered regardless.

"She is somewhere deeper inside. Probably lost and roaming around looking for a way out. Difficult to pinpoint a person here." She said sounding more than a little exasperated. Then she turned to Tristan who was staggering to his feet now. "Can you hold on for a while? I shall try and find her soon but it is not in my hand." Ava looked around in the darkness, sounding distracted and a little desperate…?

"Ye-yes," Tristan huffed. "I think so."

"I have emptied you for now, but tell me when you feel full again." She paused to sheathe her sword, "But do hold on for as much as you can. It"s not good for you to have me affect your reserves too much."