Aadi closed his eyes. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to remember. He had spent his life running away from the events that transpired that day. To now go back and relive them was asking too much. Nonetheless, a voice deep inside spoke to him, telling him what he had to do.
I have to do this. I have to face my fears.
Suddenly, in his mind, the vision of a small village formed. The collection of stick huts that dotted the plain lands were scattered about. The sun was close to setting and a number of villagers moved about, finishing the errands of the day.
Beside a bread cart, Aadi saw a younger version of himself walking next to a skinny, young woman. She had tan skin and wore a long red robe. Her nose and ears were pierced with red jewelry.
“Come get the last pieces of bread!” the young woman yelled. “Half-off.”
A group of dirt-caked men, who were apparently coming back from a long day at work herding the berudas took her up on her offer. They handed her a few coins and took the dry rolls.
“We did it!” cried Aadi.
“Yes we did.” The woman caressed his head lovingly. “Now let’s get home. It will be dark soon.”
An unexpected agonized shriek pierced the air. Aadi turned to find a girl being suspended in the air. A second later she was slammed hard on the ground. Her lifeless body bounced off the hard stone, spurting blood from her nose and eyes.
Aadi’s heart almost stopped as he gazed at the blurred figure that had killed the girl. He had long robes and a long face with six red eyes on top of each other.
The panicked woman grabbed young Aadi’s hand and pulled him hard. “Aadi. Don’t look at it. Run!”
The young boy didn’t have to be told twice. He stood up and took off after the woman. His raggedy clothes rippled wildly as he moved quickly through the huts. Screams and loud wails drowned out the noise of his bare feet slamming on the hard earth.
“In here!” ordered the woman, pointing at one of the many caves that surrounded the village.
Young Aadi took one last look behind him. His eyes widened as the robed figure waved his hands dramatically. Giant portal-like holes appeared beside him. Out of the holes all manner of savage creatures poured out. Some were muscular cats with long fangs at the edges of their mouths. Other two-footed monsters were so large that they towered over the cabins. They had thick skin and massive horns on their plated heads. Before he could make out more of the creatures, the woman tugged him again.
This time young Aadi followed, not daring to look back. Many villagers had joined them inside the dusty cave, but in no way was this a team effort. Every person ran their own way, hoping to find some source of escape.
They rounded the corner as a two-legged creature dashed behind them. The gray monster pounced through the air. With a violent tremble, it landed before them. It moved forward. Young Aadi closed his eyes as the woman threw herself in front of him. But the creature had not gone for them. It, instead, dug its razor sharp fangs into a short girl that had been running beside him. The young woman opened her eyes. She looked back at the girl with a mixture of sadness and fear as she pulled Aadi close.
“This way!” Aadi yelled. They took off in a full sprint, leaving dozens of screams behind them. Out of breath and tired, they ran down the cavern until they reached a dead end. At the bottom of the rocky wall was a slim opening where moonlight from the outside drenched in.
The woman grabbed the boy and pushed him down just as three large shadows appeared at the other end of the cavern. The creatures grinned as they spotted the two defenseless humans. With renewed vigor, they marched toward their prey.
“Hurry up. Into the hole at once.”
The boy’s body trembled as he struggled to move through the opening. Luckily he was small, and he made good progress. A fresh breeze coursed through his grimy hair as he came out the other side, which was a long-dead farmland. Thousands of dry wheat plants were scattered about.
He turned around and reached through the opening. He gripped his hands around hers. With all his strength, he pulled. But despite his supreme effort, she wasn’t making much progress. Finally, the boy let go and peered into the hole.
“Why aren’t you moving?” he asked.
“I love you.” She suddenly screamed as a force pulled her back into the cavern. Six thick stumpy legs came into view. He reached for her one more time, knowing full well that there was nothing he could do to save her.
A pair of clawed hands reached into the hole toward him. With a scream, he moved back.
The woman’s words dripped through the walls. “Don’t ever let this wicked world change you, my sweet little brother. Stay happy and sweet.”
The boy trembled as he fell on his knees. “No! No! I need you!” But despite his screams, he was unable to stifle his sobs as his sister’s words were replaced by screams of pain.
Aadi’s eyes snapped open. He was standing in the middle of the crusher. Tears dripped down his cheeks as he thought back to her words. Don’t ever let this wicked world change you. Stay happy and sweet.
“I won’t let it change me…sis.” Saying that felt more liberating than he’d ever thought possible. No longer would he hide his turbulent past. He would embrace it. It made him who he was and his sister deserved better than to be shoved aside. From now on, he would live for her memory.
A flow of energy suddenly burst through his body. But this time he was no stranger to it. He welcomed the power as if were an old friend who had never left him.
Without a care, he let go of the rock. The slabs of spikes moved forward, but with a simple swipe of his hand they dashed back, where they remained firmly against the walls.
A golden dust drifted around him as he moved in a series of wielding poses. The earth under his feet crumpled and moved, joining him in his private dance. He inhaled and brought his hands down. Instantly, the rocks that had been so alive moments ago came crashing down at his command.
He smiled to himself as he realized the magnitude of what had just occurred. Finally he’d be free. He was an earth wielder.
CHAPTER 13
His companion slowly let go of his rock as well. He stared at Aadi in obvious awe.
“You seemed shocked,” said Aadi. “Isn’t this what you were expecting?”
Arajakata washed away his dumbfounded expression. “I was expecting you to earth wield, yes. But I wasn’t expecting the gold.”
Aadi thought back to the swirls of gold dust that had moved around him as he wielded. “Isn’t that what normal earth wielding looks like?”
The young man shook his head. “Er…no. I read enough to know it’s supposed to be brown. What you did was impossible. Or at least I thought it was until now.”
Aadi wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that. “Is that bad or good?”
“That’s very good. There are some ancient writings that relay news of an earth wielder who will grow immense in power. His wielding, the scrolls say, will be known because of the intense glow of it.” Arajakata looked at him with intensity. “I think you’re that legendary wielder.”
“Me?” He wasn’t sure he believed him. Surely Arajakata was simply jesting.
“Yes. It makes sense. I’ve never met anyone so keen of earth. You feel at home in it. You’re the only person I’ve met who actually prefers that flavorless mana over actual food.”
“The way you say mana, you would think it’s a disease.”
Arajakata nodded. “You are the embodiment of earth. It is no wonder the essence chose you as its champion.”
“Let’s just move on with some training, shall we?” said Aadi. All this Chosen One talk was making him feel uncomfortable. He didn’t want to be a champion or a hero for that matter. All he wanted was to help those in need and live a happy, peaceful life with his friends. Lucky for him, Arajakata seemed to take the cue. He stopped with the whole legacy talk.
“Very well, then.” He closed his fists and stomped the ground. “Let me teach you some earth forms and strategie
s I learned from the Sandoria scrolls.”
Aadi watched Arajakata and mimicked his movements.
For the next month they trained every night without rest. Aadi made more progress than he’d ever thought possible. Every new move he studied seemed second nature to him. Better yet, many of the forms he learned by himself. The most advanced moves he learned came to him during his sleep. It was exhilarating to learn something new every day.
“Never in my years have I seen anyone pick up new abilities as quickly as you do,” said Arajakata after one of their training sessions. Aadi had just learned a particularly hard form in a matter of minutes.
“You speak as if you’ve been alive for over a hundred years,” said Aadi with a smirk. “You can’t be a day over twenty-five.”
“Yes, you’re right. But even in those few years that I was free, I saw and read a lot.” Arajakata lowered his voice. “Speaking of freedom. Now that you have pretty much mastered earth wielding, I think it’s time you and I get out of here. The fire wielders left yesterday to get more prisoners. They’ll be gone for at least a week. It’s now or never.”
“I’m not going without the rest of the prisoners.”
Arajakata grimaced at the news. “That’s not a good idea. We don’t have enough time to organize a full-scale breakout. It needs to be just us.”
“No!” Aadi said with finality. “I’m not going to leave these men behind.”
“Fine.” Arajakata shrugged his shoulders.
On their last day in the crusher, the prisoners looked at Aadi and Arajakata with awe. Aadi couldn’t blame them. He and his companion had been in the crusher every night and had been given very little mana, yet they didn’t show any sign of their turmoil.
The warden too, looked as shocked as everyone. He refrained from saying anything, though, but Aadi could tell that he was going crazy over the fact that Aadi wasn’t giving in to his tactics.
“Work faster!” he ordered as Aadi halted to get a sip of water. It was the first time all day that Aadi had stopped for a sip. Water was running scarce and he wanted to save most of it for the rest of the men.
As the cool water ran down his throat, Aadi couldn’t help but notice the tremors on the walls.
“Warden,” said Aadi, concern in his voice. “These tremors are getting too strong.” As he spoke, pieces of the ceiling crumpled off and fell to the ground loudly. “We are getting too close to the worm nests. We should back off.”
“I’m in charge here!” Padstow thundered. “Not you. We will continue pushing forward as planned!”
“You may be in charge, but you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re never down in the mines.” He stepped face to face with the angry warden. “Don’t you think I know that you’re only here because of me? You’re trying to find an excuse to punish or kill me.” Padstow’s face grew red as he ground his oversized teeth. “You can do what you want with me, but I will not allow you to put these men in harm’s way.”
Padstow reached for his whip. “Work or else!”
Aadi held up his hands. “No one listen to him.” With his wielding he saw through the earth walls. He got goose bumps as he made out the silhouettes of two worms mere feet away from them. “Put your tools down.”
The men looked on. They seemed to be in inner turmoil. Part of them were scared of Padstow’s fury, but a more sensible part of them seemed to be fearful of the man-eating worms.
Linius provided the last push they needed. “Listen to Aadi, everyone. If he says that we’re being led into a worm nest, then that means we are.”
The men put their tools down.
“I’ll shall kill you all!” Padstow roared.
Aadi brought his finger to his lips. “Keep your tone down. Don’t you see that the worms are getting close with the ruckus we’ve been making? We need to remain silent.”
The vengeful man picked up a pickaxe and marched toward Aadi. “You’ll be the first to die!”
A sudden sharp sound blasted in Aadi’s ears, sending him to the ground. From his right, two worms exploded from the wall. One of them was light brown in color. The biggest one was a deeper shade of brown, almost to the point of being black.
Aadi’s heart raced as the light worm pounced toward him. He rolled out of the way. The largest of the worms went for the person nearest to him—Padstow.
The warden tried to kick as the worm took him in its clutches. There was an explosion of red as the creature bit down at the man’s torso. Padstow shrieked, his shrill screams bouncing off the walls.
Aadi got up and dashed at the worm, putting all his weight behind him as he rammed into it. The worm didn’t even flinch. But the attack must have annoyed it. It tossed the mangled man into the wall and turned its attention on the new attacker.
“Leave him alone!” yelled Linius. He tossed a rock at the worm. It landed harmlessly on its thick head.
“Get back, all of you!” ordered Aadi, though the men were doing a great job at running away without his urging. But just as they were about to run out the small path that led to the top, the smaller worm recoiled and shot forward. It landed loudly before them, covering their escape.
The men huddled together as the worms closed in from both sides. Their cries and wails flowed through the cavern.
I have to do it now! Aadi closed his eyes and reached out to the earth around him. The familiar surge of energy filled him as two large chunks of rock floated out of the wall. He punched the air. As he did, the rocks flew through the cavern. They landed hard on the heads of the worms, sending shockwaves through their unsuspecting bodies.
They roared as they turned their attention back to Aadi.
A golden dust surrounded him as he once again called on his power.
The worms emitted a whistling sound as they both opened their fangs. Pickaxes, rocks, and dust flowed into their mouths as they sucked in everything around them.
For a second the pull moved Aadi, but he quickly dug in his feet. He called on his power, making his body as heavy as a mountain.
After a minute with no success, both worms gave up. They turned to each other. Aadi could sense the confusion in them.
This is my chance. He encased each hand with a coating of earth. The hard gloves had long pointed speared tips. He drove forward ramming the sharp ends into the worms. Their hard skins protected them from any serious damage, but Aadi did manage to produce blood as he cut into both their bodies.
The worms emitted thunderous roars of anger.
They both drove their heads at him, searching for a bite. Aadi jumped between attacks. Once in a while he would wield chunks of rocks into his attackers to throw them off balance. As he moved, he sensed the growing frustration and confusion of both creatures. But there was another feeling he sensed. It was a warmness toward him that stemmed from the bond they shared. A bond that the worms had not sensed in a long time. That’s it! The worms were earth creatures. That was the only way to explain why he could sense their emotions.
Worth a try. He stood still as he focused his energy and reached out to them. A golden dust traveled from his fingertips and toward the creatures. It circled the worms and then dissolved into their bodies. In an instant the fury that had burned so fiercely in their soul, died out.
Aadi walked forward, staring into their black marbled eyes. There was a collection of gasps from the men as he reached out to pet the dark worm. It recoiled, and as it did Aadi sensed hatred toward humans. The worm had stopped its attack out of respect for the newfound earth wielder, but Aadi sensed too much hatred toward the humans who had invaded and dug into his home for decades. Hatred toward the humans who dared use fire on him and his kind.
“Go, if that is what you wish,” Aadi said out loud. The large worm roared as it disappeared into the hole in the wall.
Aadi turned to the remaining worm. It might have been slightly smaller then it’s brethren, but Aadi sensed that this was one was much quicker and far more cunning than its counterpart. It also did not
have hate or anger in her heart. In many ways, it reminded Aadi a lot of himself.
“Hello.” He waved his hand. “I’m Aadi, an earth wielder.”
Aadi felt a sense of pride and admiration toward him from the worm. She brought her head down and Aadi ran his hand over her skin. As he had expected, it was rough, almost grainy. Then he jumped on her back and stood tall on the neck.
“I’m going to have to give you a name if you’re going to be my partner.” He thought for a second. “Since you’re a female, I think Dharati will fit you just fine.”
The worm nodded her head, and Aadi knew he had her approval.
From above the worm he looked down Padstow, who was still alive, but the pool of red under him made it clear he was in his last seconds.
Blood gushed from his mouth as he looked up at his most resilient prisoner. “You’re an earth wielder? But h…how?”
Aadi did not entertain his question. “I told you six years ago that I was not destined to be bound by you or this prison. I’m only sorry that you had to die to find out.”
Padstow’s face was one of pure loathing. He tried to speak, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a gargle of blood. His eyes remained open as his body convulsed and then stopped moving.
Aadi sighed as he turned his attention to the remaining men. They were all huddled together at the end of the wall. Most of them seemed too shocked to speak. Some had their mouths wide open in awe.
“An actual earth wielder!” Linius cried. “I never thought I’d see the day. This means Va’siel can be saved.”
“One step at a time,” said Aadi, thinking back to the creature that he’d read about in the scroll. As long as it was still alive, Va’siel would remain shackled to its will. “First, let’s get out of here.”
Belio fell to his knees, sobbing into Aadi’s ragged robes.
“Thank heavens for you, boy,” he cried. “I never thought I would make it out of here. Now I can live out the few years I have left in freedom.”
Legacy Of The Golden Wielder: A Novella Prequel to the Void Wielder Trilogy Page 8
