by Jordan Baker
THE BOOK OF ONE
A Broken Throne
by
Jordan Baker
COPYRIGHT
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and events contained herein are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Other than historical characters, any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright 2014 by Electrum Press and the Author.
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CHAPTER ONE
Dark grey clouds, flashing with light and echoing thunder rolled across the early morning sky as night retreated and the world turned to mist. Cold and wet, chilling to the bone, the raw sensations of the world faded as he turned his thoughts inward, feeling the warmth of blood, the steady rhythm of his heart and the burning power of his essence.
Yet, deep down, hidden within, lay the shadows, like flames of black ice, tendrils spreading outward, consuming the light and darkening life. Like a blot of ink spilled upon a clean scroll, bleeding slowly across the surface and sinking deep into the fibers, the shadow continued to grow.
Life, energy, power, the essence of being, fed the dark flames, their nature a contradiction, for the shadows were the opposite of fire, an absence of light and heat, growing, eating away at the flame of existence itself, leaving less than nothing behind, not even the bitterness of ash, only the emptiness of oblivion.
A chill ran up his spine as Aaron opened his eyes, pulling his senses away from the dark absence at the core of his being, and he was greeted by the concerned expression on Ashan's face.
"You now know the workings of the shadow," the old man said, though his statement was more of a question.
"No," Aaron answered with a frown. "I can feel it and I can see it, but there is still much that I don't know."
"That is a wise answer." Ashan smiled. "Knowing is but the first step on the path to truth. Admitting what you do not know is a good place to begin if one is to truly come to know a thing. If you are to truly know your power, then you must truly know yourself, but if you are to stop the shadow, then you must know it as well."
"It is the Ansari way, to know oneself," Aaron said.
"It is," Ashan said. "It is Ansari, to know oneself and to be true within, but you are different in some ways, Aaron, thus your challenges are also different. You must come to know more than yourself."
"Please, Ashan. Tell me how am I different?"
"We have already spoken of this, Aaron," Ashan said. "Though I know a great many things, I do not know all, and the answers I might give you could be the cause of even greater troubles, so let us keep focus on the problem at hand. What have you learned of the power of the shadow within you?"
"It is elusive," Aaron said, closing his eyes once again, feeling the power and the darkness within him. "If I try to touch the shadows with my power, it only steals my power and makes the darkness grow. If I try to touch my power, the shadow reaches out and grasps me, trying to take hold. It is a strange sensation, for even though it hungers for my power, the shadow itself feels like nothingness."
"That is the folly of the dark power. Though it seeks the light, it cannot exist without it. Thus, in essence, it destroys itself and everything else."
"Why would the shadow do this?" Aaron asked. "Why would it destroy itself?
"Perhaps that is its purpose, or perhaps it has no purpose," Ashan said. "Knowing the shadow is a contradiction, for to know the shadow is to be destroyed by it."
"There must be some way to stop it," Aaron said.
"The shadow can be destroyed, Aaron," Ashan told him. "It takes great power to burn it away, but they too involve great destruction. As for the shadow within you, only you may defeat it, if you are to live."
"So if I were to die, then the shadow could be destroyed," Aaron said. "That is what the Ansari wanted to do."
"Ansari abhor the shadow, for in the sight of truth, the dark power is a lie," Ashan told him. "To know Ansari is to be true in all things."
"Isn't changing your shape like lying?" Aaron asked.
Ashan chuckled, his eyes glinting with amusement at the question.
"Your boots, they are black, yes?"
"Mostly," Aaron said, looking at the scuffed pair of leather boots that had once been shiny black when Lady Valaymr had them made for him. "Yes, they're black."
"And if you were to put on another pair, that were brown, would you no longer be you?"
"Of course not," Aaron said.
"How is it any different what shape one takes, if one's being remains true?"
"I suppose that makes sense."
"You are you, so long as you are true," Ashan replied.
"But if the shadow takes hold of me again, then I won't be me," Aaron said.
"That is why the shadow is reviled, for it turns truth to lie, light to dark, and, it seeks to destroy all things. That is why the shadow must be destroyed."
"What if I can't destroy it?" Aaron asked. "There must be some magic that can block it, or contain it, like the ward that Stavros put on me when I was young."
"There are ways to slow the shadow's course, but they are not lasting," Ashan replied. "The problem is one involving the nature of being. You were blocked from your power for many years, and this stopped the shadow from growing for a time, but Stavros has told me that the magic he used eventually became twisted and misshapen, causing you great pain.
"The mage believes this was caused only partly by the influence of the shadow, while the true issue was your power itself, building up inside of you, which is natural and more pronounced for one who is coming of age. That this ward spell failed does not surprise me, for such a spell is one of denial and it is Ansari belief that denial of self is a lie that ultimately leads to the shadow. Since the shadow exists already within you, and your power would have continued to grow, it would have overcome this magic either way. At best, Stavros' spell protected you from accidentally giving your power to the shadow, though his intent was to hide you. It was fortunate and allowed you to live free of such worries, but it is no longer possible to do such a thing, for your power has grown too great for such magic, and it will not be denied. Your power grows within you and will manifest itself if you do not use it, and when that happens, it will feed the shadow, and likely in unexpected ways."
"So, if I deny my power, then it will feed the shadow anyway, but if I don't deny my power, and I use it, then I will feed the shadow directly," Aaron said, frustrated.
"It is a conundrum," Ashan said. "But you are not beaten yet. There is hope that you will find an answer, in time."
"And if I don't?" Aaron wondered how much time he truly had.
"If you fall prey to the shadow, then my people will hunt you."
"Why don't the Ansari hunt down Cerric and this god that inhabits him?" Aaron asked, irritated that he should
be singled out by the powerful shapeshifters.
"I believe we will, however it is easier to say a thing than it is to do a thing. It is no simple thing to kill a powerful god, and the shadow is difficult to destroy. It cannot be done so easily."
"Why not?"
Ashan smiled.
"Ah, that is the eternal answer to the question of life," he said. "You are coming to know Ansari."
"A question is an answer?" Aaron frowned.
"In the search for truth, every answer is merely the start of another question."
"Now I am confused," Aaron said as he puzzled what the old man had said. "Not everything is a question. On a bright and sunny day, were you to ask me if the sun is in the sky and I said yes, then I would have given you an answer. There is no question there."
"True, but is the sun truly in the sky or is it beyond the sky?" Ashan asked and he seemed amused by the bemused expression that appeared on Aaron's face. "If I asked you if the sun appeared to be in the sky, you could answer that it did, but that is only a question of appearance and has little to do with the truth. It is grey and cloudy this morning, and you cannot see the sun, but you would still say it is there, would you not?"
Aaron looked up at the grey cloudy sky and though it was true that he could not see the sun, he could still feel its warmth and see the light it cast.
"Of course it is there. If it weren't, it would be night."
"Yes, but you cannot see it."
"It is day and there is light, so I know it is there."
"And you are sure that it is the sun that lights the sky this day?"
"What you mean?"
"Could it be something else that lights the sky? Perhaps the clouds themselves give the world light while the sun is resting somewhere."
"I have seen the clouds part on days such as this and the sun is always there," Aaron said. "I do not see the point of wondering such things when we both know the answer."
"The point," Ashan said, holding the tips of his fingers together, considering his words. "The purpose is to consider that what we perceive is not necessarily the truth of a thing. You perceive the light of day, but you only suppose it is the sun that makes it. You cannot be sure of it, unless the clouds were to part and reveal the sun. Until then, you believe it is there, which is perhaps practical, but while it may be true, it is not necessarily true."
"How could it not be true? What else would make for day and night?"
"Many things," Ashan replied. "As I said, the light on a cloudy day could come from the clouds themselves, or perhaps from magic spread across the sky. You have seen the energy that courses through the dark clouds of a storm, the lightning that flashes. There is much power there, is there not? "
"That's true," Aaron said. "But I am fairly sure that it is the sun that lights the world."
"So you are fairly sure, but not completely sure." Ashan gave him an amused look. "Let us accept that it is the sun. Tell me, what is the sun?"
"The sun?"
"Yes," Ashan said. "What is it?"
"It is the sun," Aaron said.
"Yes, but we have decided that it lights the sky and warms the world, so what then is it? What is it made of? Is it a luminescent disc that floats high in the sky or is it a ball of fire so hot that it would burn away the world if it were not so far away?"
"A ball of fire?" Aaron had always imagined that the sun was a large, warm, brightly shining lantern in the shape of a dinner plate, and it had been described as such in a few of the books he had read, but the more he thought about it, the less sure he felt about that idea
"You have the power of fire," Ashan continued. "Could you burn your power enough to light the sky and warm the world if the sun were to disappear?"
"Light the sky?" Aaron thought about it for a moment and he wondered how much energy it would take to create light and warmth over such a large area. "I don't know. Even if I could make such a fire, it would probably burn everything."
"Such a thing would be very likely, unless the fire was far away," Ashan suggested.
"A fire that bright would have to be very far away."
"Yes, and the further away it was, the more of the world it would shine upon, much the way a lantern held high lights more of the ground."
"I understand what you are saying," Aaron replied. "But even if I could burn my power enough to light the world, how would I stay in the sky?"
"How does the sun? It travels across the sky every day, does it not?" Ashan said. "It always moves in the same direction."
"True," Aaron agreed.
"And what does that suggest?"
"I don't know." Aaron thought about the old man's question. "Perhaps it is a lantern that moves across the sky and then is snuffed once it has shined upon every part of the world."
"Ah, yes, but it does not snuff out, it falls past the edge of the world."
"And then it is snuffed," Aaron said, though he was not so sure of it.
"The edge of the world that you can see changes when you move from place to place, does it not?"
"It does," Aaron said, looking through the mist and clouds toward the horizon, which he could not even see on such a grey day.
"So where is the edge of the world?"
"Far away?"
"Or is there no edge?" Ashan asked. "Perhaps the world is a sphere, round like a ball and the sun travels around it."
"I hadn't thought of that," Aaron admitted.
"Most people do not, for it is outside of their perception," Ashan replied. "If the world is a ball, then perhaps it is not the sun that moves across the sky, but the world that turns, while the sun stays fixed in its place."
Aaron thought about it for a moment and he realized that what the old Ansari was saying could be true, and indeed something in him knew it was likely true, even though much of what he had learned of the world might suggest otherwise.
"I think I understand what you are trying to teach me," Aaron said. "It is the difference between what I can see with my eyes and what might be the truth of things."
"Yes," Ashan said, his wizened face cracking a wrinkled smile. "That is exactly my purpose."
"But what does it have to do with my power and the shadow?"
"If you are to overcome the shadow within you, you must first learn to perceive beyond what you see, both with your eyes and with your power," Ashan said. "The shadows play tricks, but there are also ideas and perceptions that you may have learned that could blind you to the true nature of both the shadow and your own power."
"I suppose that is why Stavros and Zachary wanted to teach me," Aaron said. "I should have listened to them more."
"Perhaps," Ashan said. "I do not wish to speak ill of the wisdom of the mages, and they do have much knowledge, but your power is different from theirs in a way, so perhaps it is better that you come to understand it for yourself."
"I think I understand," Aaron said. "The power of the mages is like a river, flowing in one place and it can be taken and turned into lines and patterns. I can do this the same way, but the power of the Ansari is in everything, in every part of me, the way water fills a lake, right up to the shore. It is always there. Ever since I fought the Ansari chief, my power has felt different from the magic I have learned, as though there are two parts to it."
"That is a good way to describe it, though I am surprised you would use water to do so, since you have so much fire within you," Ashan said. "It is true, you are like the mages, and like Ansari as well, but there is another aspect to your power, one which you have not yet perceived."
"What aspect is that?" Aaron asked.
Ashan paused, staring at him for a moment, carefully weighing his words before answering.
"There are things that I can see that you do not yet perceive, things that mages and Ansari can see, and other things, different things, that very few others can see. You are different, Aaron, but I cannot tell you more than that," Ashan said.
"Why?" Aaron asked. "Why not just tell me what is it th
at you can see?"
"That I cannot do, Aaron."
"Why not?"
"If you are to truly know your power, then you must learn of it yourself," Ashan told him. "I cannot tell you the answers, but perhaps I can help you find them. And I can also help you learn to use your power in the way of Ansari, a way for you to fight without feeding the shadow."
"Stavros wants to teach me about magic, and I have learned how to do some things, but now I can't take that risk," Aaron said. "If I can learn to use my power like the Ansari, then there might be a way to fight he shadow within me, but if there is another way, then why can't you just teach me what I need to know?"
"What do you think we are doing here, right now?" Ashan asked, then he sighed, remembering how little Aaron knew of magic and the other powers in the world. "The mage's way to knowing is through study and structure, and there is much you might learn from such a path, but you must remember that the knowledge they impart is arranged according to how they perceive their power and the world."
"So you are saying that they might not be able to see some things?"
"Perhaps." Ashan frowned a little. "It is more that they perceive things differently, according to their way. Whether it is something they have learned or simply because of the way their power manifests is a good question, and one I cannot answer, for it is possible that the mages see things that Ansari do not. Of that I am not entirely sure, but I am certain that Ansari perceive many things that most mages do not, just as Ansari may not perceive some things that mages can see."
"So if I learn from both Ansari and the mages, then I might have a better chance."
"It would be wise to learn what you can with the knowledge that there are limitations," Ashan replied. "Neither the way of the mages or Ansari can teach you everything. You must learn truth for yourself, and to do this, you must learn of yourself."
"How can I learn from myself the things I don't know?" Aaron asked, confused.
"When you were tested in battle by Ansari in the great circle, did you learn of yourself?" Ashan asked. "Did anyone teach you how to become one with your power?"
