The Awakening (The Stones of Revenge)

by Sargeant, Justin

  “Wait, do you mean to say that the stories of the volcano having a personality are true, and that it was a demon?” Landon inquired.

  “Aye, as incredible as it sounds, that is the truth.”

  “But it obeyed me.”

  “That is because your ring has the ability to control it. The fiend must listen to you as it would its master.”

  “What do you know of my ring? Is it some sort of demonic weapon?”

  “I have searched and studied for these stones for many years. While others have sought to find them, I have sought to become an expert on them. The stone gives the wielder the power to control an element of nature. In your case, considering the way you handled the creature, yours would be fire. This is why I suspect your father had the riddle engraved on your ring. He wanted you to discover this secret because only then could you learn to wield the ring’s power. It must come from within you. You cannot be told about it, nor can you force someone else to wield the power. It is only something learned, controlled, and perfected from within. As to your second question, I do not know.”

  “But why did it happen now? Why haven’t I been able to control fire before?”

  “I suspect you have, you just didn’t realize it. Can you think of a time since acquiring your ring that you have been around fire lately?” Aldous asked.

  Landon thought about his life since getting the ring from Godfrey. There were numerous times he had been around fire. “Just prior to my leaving, my farm was nearly destroyed by fire from a lightning strike.”

  “And were you experiencing any strong emotions at this time?”

  “I don’t believe so. I was sleeping when it started; the fire woke me.”

  “Do you remember what you were dreaming about?” Aldous pushed. Landon thought hard for a moment.

  “It was a recurring dream that has been plaguing me recently. There is a hooded man who stalks me.”

  “Was there anything abnormal about this dream?”

  “Well, this time was slightly different. He attacked me during a lightning storm, but he was struck by lightning and disappeared. Then, I awoke to the sound of my barn on fire.”

  “Hmmm,” Aldous replied as though piecing together a puzzle. Have there been any other instances where fire and-or lightning have occurred?”

  “Aye, the night before Gavin and I entered the Arden there was another lightning storm which struck the edge of the forest.”

  “And were you experiencing any strong emotions this time?”

  “I was furious at Gavin for a discussion we had had. I went outside to compose myself, when I noticed lightning in the distance.” Landon paused. He suddenly remembered how quickly the storm had moved across the land. It reached the edge of the forest within a matter of minutes. He assumed the advent of the strong wind had aided it. He related this to Aldous.

  “And what was happening when the forest caught fire?”

  “I was thinking about my father.”

  “What about your father, specifically?” Aldous probed.

  Landon closed his eyes to remember exactly what he was thinking when the forest went ablaze. “I was mad at Gavin . . . I didn’t want him on this journey with me . . . I was feeling as though my privacy was being ripped away from me,” Landon muttered. “Then, the lightning struck the trees.”

  “Were you wearing your ring during both instances?” Aldous asked.

  “Aye, I have not removed my ring since it was returned to me with the inscription.”

  “From Godfrey no doubt,” Aldous interrupted.

  “Wait, how did you –”

  “I know many things. I am surprised he sent you to see Daxis before me. But that is neither here nor there. Please continue.” Landon felt a little uneasy relating his story to Aldous. It was as though the man already knew what he was going to tell him.

  “So, I wore the ring to bed the night my farm was burned. And the fire near the Arden was nearly a week later.”

  “Since you did not hold anything back, I know you are a man of truth. I will aid in your training. But you must always keep in mind that this training will not be easy. I will ask you to do things that may be painful at times, but you must master your ring if you are to save us from the coming danger.”

  “What coming danger?”

  “There will be time for talk later. Presently, we must begin your training.”

  “Wait! One last question: How did my father know that this ring would allow me to control fire?”

  “That is one answer I do not know,” he said with great sadness. He then walked over to a small candle sitting on the opposite side of the room, picked up a flint, and lit it. “You must sustain this candle. In about one minute, it will burn itself out. Your task is to keep it burning for as long as you can. Remember, your power comes from within. Emotions are your strongest ally, so use them. Anger and fear are the strongest emotions. Either may serve you in this task, but only you can decipher how to use them.

  And with that, Aldous blew out all the other candles and left Landon sitting alone with the faint light from the miniscule candle before him. Landon sat and stared at the tiny flame. How am I supposed to use fear or anger to keep this flame going? He thought. About a minute later, as Aldous predicted, the flame began to flicker. From the other room Landon could hear Aldous already asleep, snoring loudly. He thought back to the first three times he had controlled the fire without realizing it. First, it was the dream where he was afraid of the hooded man. Then, it was at the forest when he was furious. The last time had been in the cavern when he felt terrified.

  Both the first and last times he had felt fear. Fear seemed to work most often. Therefore, he thought perhaps he should try to scare himself. But how do you scare yourself? He paused for a minute, then shouted. It was so loud that it echoed many times in the small cave and made himself jump. From the bedroom, Aldous’ snoring halted briefly. A minute later the rhythmic breathing began again. The candle flickered, then went out. “So much for that idea,” he murmured. He felt stupid for trying it.

  Sitting in the darkness, he was resolved to make another effort. He knew that Aldous had left the flint somewhere on the table, but in the darkness it was impossible to see anything. He reached out to feel around. His hand first caught the edge of the table. Then he moved his hand slowly outward and felt the rough edges of the candle. It was surprisingly cool. Next, he moved his hands to the left side of the candle and stumbled upon two jagged pieces of rock. He grasped them and held them in front of his face. Firmly, he struck them together creating a spark. Then, he held them out over the candle and struck them again. The candle caught fire.

  Realizing that his last attempt was an utter failure, Landon decided to scare himself in another way. He looked at the open hallway toward the tunnels and pretended someone was watching him from there. He imagined eyes staring at him, following his every move, and an evil figure ready to attack him at any moment. All the while Landon stared at the flame. Then, suddenly, without warning, the room went dark.

  He felt around the table upon which the candle sat to find the flint once more. His hand landed on it, and he relit the flame. Setting the flint back down, he realized that while imagining someone watching him was eerie, it did not produce fear. This emotion did not seem to be working. Disappointed, he thought to try anger. He knew he only had a minute, but he quickly thought of all the things which angered him.

  He thought of Gavin and his views on life, Lord Malchus and his manipulations, Mordecai leaving unexpectedly, and Godfrey not being on this journey with him. Nothing really made him angry just irritated. In the midst of this realization the flame died yet again. Frustration was beginning to set in, and Landon relit the candle. He tried to focus on his frustration allowing his anger to burn inside him. He continued to think about everything about his life which really upset him. Lost in his thoughts, Landon realized that there was one thing about his life that bothered him more than anything else: his parents not being there. This though
t kindled his resentment and brought the worst emotions to the surface. He tried to hold that thought. He thought of all the events in his life that they had missed. They had not experienced his first words, his first steps, the day he learned to ride a horse, or plant his first field. He thought of all the nights they had missed singing him to sleep or telling him bedtime stories. All of the years of his life that they had missed burned a fury inside of him. He became enraged.

  Then, he thought of everything he missed with them, and his heart sank. It was true that they had missed everything, but so did he. His anger quickly turned into a deep sorrow. Immediately, he began to weep. Massive tears poured from his eyes. Emotions flowed through him he never knew he felt. He sat there crying for what seemed like hours. Eyes shut and wet cheeks he replayed in his mind what his life could have been. Finally, he regained some composure and opened his eyes. To his surprise he saw that the candle was still burning. He knew it had been much longer than a minute, yet the flame still stood. That was the key! It wasn’t anger or fear. He needed to channel his grief from missing his parents.

  Abruptly, the flame went out again. Landon had lost his feeling of sadness. His sudden excitement at how to use his ring had caused the flame to extinguish. Emotions were too fickle. He needed something more tangible than a feeling to use this power. If only there was an image he could hold in his mind, he wouldn’t be so dependent on them. The irony of the situation made him laugh. His father somehow knew of the ring’s power and wanted to help him find it, but it was only through his father’s absence that he did so.

  He brushed the thought away and tried once again to focus his energy on the candle. Once more he lit the flame and began to conjure up images of his past. He thought of the farm. He thought of being a child. He even tried to picture what his parents looked like. He dug deep into his memories to evoke every ounce of sorrow he had in his body to the surface. But it was all to no avail. He could not keep the candle lit. He tried once more, and again he failed as soon as his thoughts began to wander. A third time he lit the candle, but still he could not keep the fire burning for longer than a few minutes.

  He thought perhaps the proximity of the ring to the object might aid him. So, he lit the candle trying to test his hypothesis. He held his hand over the flame, palm down and hand flat. He closed his eyes and thought again of everything his parents had not been around for. Slowly, his emotions floated to the surface. He continued to pull from his mind as many images as he could and with each image Landon felt more and more wretched. However, the sorrow he had once felt did not feel so heavy. It was as though his tears from earlier had emptied his soul of sadness, and he could no longer feel it. He decided to give up for the night. He knew the direction his path lay, but how to walk it, he was still uncertain. He would leave those answers for the next day.

  Landon blew out the candle and headed to his and Gavin’s room for the night. As he opened the door, his eyes had already adjusted to the dark, and he could see Gavin still lying on his bed. He was lying on his stomach. Even in his state he had still managed to roll over. At least he isn’t dead, Landon thought. He wondered if that was still a good thing now that he knew of Gavin’s real mission. He proceeded to his bed where he slung off his belt, dropped his sword to the ground, and collapsed onto the bed. He would leave his training for tomorrow.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Tarn of Reflection

  Landon awoke from a restless sleep. As he sat up, his mind was still foggy from all of the nightmares and memories that had consumed him. He shook his head clear and glanced at Gavin. He was still lying in the same position. Landon moved over to him and checked his vitals. He was still breathing and the cut on the back of his head had clotted. But Gavin continued to lie unconscious. Landon left him to his rest.

  As he entered the main chamber he saw Aldous already sitting in his chair sipping some liquid and studying a long scroll. Steam rose from the cup in his hand. Landon watched as Aldous ran his index finger along some lines of writing, jumped down a few pages, ran his finger down a few more, then took a sip from his drink. He glanced up from his reading.

  “Good morning, young man. I trust your exercise last night was fruitful?”

  “Aye and nay. I believe I discovered how to use the ring, but I could not repeat it.”

  “And which emotion did you use?” Aldous asked calmly taking another sip from his cup.

  “The candle remained lit when I found myself crying over my parents.”

  “So, it is your sorrow that gives you strength. It is indeed an odd thing that something so incredible could come from something so cruel.” He set down his cup and leaned in close to Landon. “So, you know what to do, but you have not mastered how to do it?”

  “Aye. As hard as I tried, I could not cry again.”

  “It is not the crying you need, it is to capture and hold that emotion within you. Come. I have something I would like for you to see.”

  “Let me put on my sword first.”

  “You will not need weapons, today.”

  Setting down the scroll, Aldous stood to retrieve a torch from a hook in the wall. Then, he beckoned Landon to follow him into the caverns. As they strode from the room, the light faded into the long darkness. Landon felt a sudden cold as they rounded the corner and left all comfort of the dwelling behind. The last time he had come this way, it was against Aldous’ orders and with Gavin. Suddenly it occurred to him.

  “What about Gavin?”

  “His rest will continue. I shall endeavor to heal him.” Satisfied, Landon continued on. The two of them followed the dark paths turning left and right until they again found themselves standing in the round room with five doorways. Aldous stepped into the room and walked up to the fifth door. Landon followed and, as he approached, he noticed this doorway had a different mark on the cornerstone than the others. It was slight but apparent. Instead of a simple trapezoid the cornerstone consisted of a pentagon with five triangles arranged on the outer edges to form a star. He stopped to admire the craftsmanship Aldous must have used in order to design this.

  “We need not halt in this place,” Aldous’ stern voice came from beyond the doorway. Shaken from his thoughts, Landon continued to trail Aldous’ flame through the corridor. At about a hundred paces, they stopped. Landon looked around but all he saw was bare rock.

  “You’re sure we’re in the correct place?” he inquired.

  “Hush!” Aldous said. Then, he raised his torch high into the air as if inspecting the ceiling. He scanned slowly looking for something, then without warning he jabbed the torch into the ceiling and yelled, ”Ah ha!” At first, nothing happened. Landon stared at the old man as though he had lost his mind. Then, a loud crack at his feet reverberated in the tunnel. Slowly, a hole began to form as the rock slid upward creating a doorway. The doorway gradually opened as the rock moved upward beginning at Landon’s knees, then his waist, and finally, above his head. It stopped with a loud boom.

  “After you,” Aldous offered. Landon thought about it for a second, afraid of the unknown. Then, he decided that eventually he would need to overcome that fear. He stepped into the darkness, and Aldous followed.

  The room felt cold and damp. Landon shivered. As they moved deeper into the room, Aldous’ light began to illuminate why the room felt the way it did. The room was the same shape of the cornerstone they had walked through a few minutes earlier. The walls shimmered from myriad gems and jewels buried deep within the rock face. In the center of the room in the shape of a pentagon rested a large pool of water.

  “That is the Tarn of Reflection. It has existed for millennia under this mountain. It will give you the answers you seek.”

  “How do I use it?” Landon asked confusedly.

  “I cannot tell you that. The tarn works for everyone in their own way. Be honest and you will succeed. I must return to our dwelling. When all your questions are satisfied, you may return.” Aldous then turned and left Landon in darkness. Suddenly, Landon’s f
ear overcame him. He looked around at the void surrounding him and wished he was not alone. He desired to run, but he knew that this would be his only opportunity. He sat down in the darkness facing the tarn.“So, tarn, how do I use this ring?” he asked out loud. The only response he got was silence. “This is stupid! I’m talking to a lake.” He felt a small pebble next to him and tossed it into the water. He heard it plop and saw a faint shimmer as it sank beneath the surface. A beautiful light bounced off of a few gems. Landon was perplexed. If the water wouldn’t answer his questions, then maybe a bath might at least refresh him. Though, the thought of swimming in cold water did not thrill him.

  Landon removed his tunic and pants and set them aside from where he was sitting. As he scooted himself toward the water, he tried to move in a straight line so he would know where to retrieve his clothes. Slowly, he inched toward the lake not knowing exactly how much room he had left. Then, his foot touched the water. It faintly lit up again. Oddly, the water wasn’t as cold as he assumed it would be. Landon tapped the water again with his toe, and again, the soft-green light shone from beneath its surface. Curiosity began to overcome him. He moved closer to the surface and dipped his legs into the water. More light poured from its surface dancing off of the gems and partly illuminating the cavern. Finally, he lowered his entire body into the water. Immediately, a chill ran over him and the light disappeared. A minute later his body adjusted to the cooler temperature, and he began to let the water relax him. He waited for the light to reappear, but nothing happened. The darkness remained. Puzzled, Landon moved himself away from the edge of the pool towards the center keeping him afloat. Still nothing happened. He could not see the light. He wondered if it came from below the surface. Quickly, he dunked his head under water.