The Awakening: Artifact of Creation

by D James Larsen

  “I had to save you. I had no choice.”

  “Asher… I… would have rather died.” She choked out the words, still struggling to breathe.

  “What do you mean?” Asher asked.

  “She means, boy, that you have given me almost absolute power. With this artifact I will gain the power of creation. Once all seven artifacts have been collected, I will then gain the power of the gods. Immortality will be bestowed upon me and then, I will resurrect my brethren, those of the fallen bloodlines....” He paused, his voice changed to a low whisper. “And then this world will burn.”

  Suddenly a whir of shadow cut through the gray light and crashed into Elixir and knocked him to the ground. A cloaked man arose. He held a staff in his hands that pulsated with a blue light. Amid the pulsating light was delicate designs carved within the staff. The gray cloaked man turned to Asher and Kayla.

  “Run!” He commanded. “Go now!”

  Elixir arose to his feet abruptly; black energy began to pulsate more violently about his body. Fits of electricity arched across his frame.

  “Gaphii’el,” Elixir said. “How is it you still breathe the air of this world? You should have died centuries ago by the hand of my brethren.”

  The man smiled beneath the cowl of his cloak. “I guess your little cult are not as fantastic as you seem to think.”

  With that, Elixir let out a vengeful cry and lunged forward at the gray cloaked man. Black energy gathered around Elixir’s closed fist. Just before he landed a blow, the energy exploded outward from his fist and crashed violently into the cloaked man, and sent him soaring through the air. Upon impact, he skidded on the ground from the shear force and momentum of the attack. Elixir leaped high into the air and then fell downward, leading with the heel of his boot aimed at the wind pipe of the man.

  Gaphii’el spun out from under the attack, and jabbed forward with his staff into the gut of Elixir. Elixir crumbled to the ground with a grunt. Gaphii’el sprung to his feet and swung downwards with the end of his staff, a large wave of blue energy erupted from the staff and engulfed Elixir. Elixir howled from the searing heat of the attack, it’s strength pushed him sprawling backwards. Once more, Gaphii’el released a wave of blue energy which shot forward and crashed into Elixir, but this time Elixir was prepared.

  Elixir held both of his hands in front of him to keep the energy at bay. It pulsated around him with a incredible ferocity, he struggled to keep the energy contained. Then he reached deep inside of himself and uncovered a hidden strength. Dark purple energy gathered once more about him accompanied by fits of electricity that arched across his arms. In a massive effort, he heaved the blue wave of energy away, sending it crashing into a nearby tree causing it to set on fire. Elixir then, countered by casting a sphere of purple energy at Gaphii’el. Gaphii’el rolled away from the energy as it erupted on a rock just behind him. Then, Elixir pounced and launched a series of furious blows. Gaphii’el tried desperately to duck away from his blows, but Elixir landed a quick knee into Gaphii’els diaphragm, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Gaphii’el slumped to the ground, bleeding and gasping for air. Elixir picked the man up by the throat. The haze of dark energy emerged from Elixir being once more and it seeped into Gaphii’els mouth, he began to choke and gag.

  Asher, Kayla, and Alby watched in horror as the mysterious man struggled for his life. “I can’t sit here and watch this.” Kayla muttered to herself.

  “Kayla, there’s nothing we can do to help him, we need to escape while we still have a chance.” Asher grabbed her by the arm to pull her towards the hill, but she pulled away.

  “No, that man, Elixir …. He killed my parents when I was a little girl. I can still hear their screams when I sleep at night. My dreams are filled with memories of watching their bodies melt away to sacks of bones and skin by that man.” She turned to Asher. In her eyes, he could see her hurt and pain. The heir of strength and self-reliance she portrayed when he first met her in the forest, gave way to vulnerability and doubt. “He drains the life from his victims. He drained the life from my parents.” She continued. “I will fight or I will die, I am tired of running.”

  Asher watched as Kayla rose to her feet. Her hands were out stretched, palms facing upwards. Suddenly a whirl of wind gathered around her, her hair rose and whipped about. Spouts of electricity danced around her slender frame, as it had with Elixir. A haze of white energy, erupted from her body. It pulsated like the flames of flickering fire caught in the wind. Orbs of white light emerged from the center of her palms and continued to glow brighter.

  Elixir turned his attention from Gaphii’el, and watched the girl, she was glowing with a furious white light. The light, spurted and flared, she looked as if she were consumed by white flames that licked around her very being. He stepped back and released Gaphii’el. Gaphii’el struggled to keep his consciousness, he crawled away still choking. Rage grew within Elixir. “Impossible!” He shouted. “She cannot be one of them…!”

  With a scream, Kayla let the orbs of light burst from her palms. The light erupted and crashed into Elixir and sent him sprawling into the ancient stone building behind him. His body struck with such force, that the ancient structure collapsed, and buried him beneath a massive heap of rock and stone. The light then dissipated from Kayla’s hands and she collapsed to the ground.

  Asher and Alby ran from their hiding place to Kayla. Asher quickly felt for a pulse on her neck. It was faint but it was there. Gaphii’el hobbled over toward them. Blood and sweat masked his face.

  “She’s barely breathing?” Asher said to the man.

  “We need to move now!” Gaphii’el spoke hurriedly, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of Elixir.

  “What about the artifact?” Asher asked.

  “Leave it!” Gaphii’el said and scooped Kayla into his arms.

  Gaphii’el pointed the glowing staff at Asher. In seconds, the staff disappeared into thin air. “You are a fool to think a couple of rocks will stop Elixir. He is among the Fallen, one of the most powerful bloodlines of the Awakened. He will rise again. Now Move!”

  Chapter 5

  It was late into the afternoon when Gaphii’el decided it was safe to rest. They cleared the rim of the forest and rested in a field of tall grasses and sage. To the east the mountains rose majestically above the land, in hues of purples and blues, their peaks scraped the bottom of the sky.

  Gaphii’el set Kayla on the ground, her breathing was shallow but stable. Asher studied the soft features of her face. She was young like he and in their short time together, he had grown strangely attracted to her. Somehow her smile dulled the ache of losing his family. Her presence replaced the void within his heart with hope. And after watching her mysterious power overtake the masked man, he soon realized that there was a way to defeat Elixir and save his family, if it wasn’t too late already.

  Asher watched Gaphii’el walk away. The man produced a mysterious orb from within the folds of his cloak. The mysterious orb was glowing with yellow light. Gaphii’el seemed to stare into the orb intently. Then Asher’s attention was turned to Alby, who scurried on all fours next to him. Asher returned his gaze to the man, the glowing had vanished and Gaphii’el returned the orb into the folds of his cloak.

  “Alby wants to know who that man is?” Alby asked. He gently rubbed a long crooked finger over Kayla’s hand and wiped away a tear that trickled down his cheek. “Alby’s heart aches for my Mistress, she is Alby’s only family. Will Mistress be alright?” Alby looked at Asher expectantly, hoping for some form of reassurance, a reassurance that Asher could not give.

  “I don’t know. But I think we can trust him.” Asher said. “He saved us after all.” The elf nodded its head and returned his gaze upon the unconscious girl. Asher watched the elf for a moment before continuing their conversation.

  “Alby, have you seen Kayla use those powers before?”

  Alby shook his head. “No, Alby has never seen such powers before.”

 
Asher was not surprised. By the look of how Kayla had handled the mysterious power, he expected that was the first time she had used her powers, she probably had no idea that she was capable of such things. Asher left Alby and approached Gaphii’el, he stepped lightly, the dry ground crunched beneath his leather boots, as he approached. In the light of the fading sun, Asher could distinguish strange insignia’s on the back of the man’s traveling cloak. The cloak was a deep grayish blue, and the designs, seem to swirl and spiral about the man’s broad shoulders. Asher recognized the designs to be the same engravings on the man’s staff. Odd, Asher thought to himself. I wonder what they mean?

  “I could hear you from a mile away.” Gaphii’el said. The man turned to face Asher, his hood was still drawn about his head. Asher could only see the bottom portion of the man’s face. There was fierce insignia’s tattooed across the man’s jawline and wrapped down the visible portion of his neck. His presence was forbidding and intimidated Asher. “What is it you seek boy?”

  “I want to thank you.... for saving us.” Asher said timidly.

  Gaphii’el turned his back to Asher and stared off into the distance. Finally, after several minutes of silence, the man sighed. “I was merely a distraction. She is the one we should be thanking.”

  Asher glanced over his shoulder at Kayla. Her condition had not improved but it also did not worsen, which was some measure of reassurance. “Will she be okay?”

  Gaphii’el shrugged. “She obviously has some latent power within her, she used some measure of her life force to energize her attack. It was brave, but incredibly stupid,” Gaphii’el said and pointed to a large cliff face that jutted from the valley below them. Atop of the cliff face, was a lone building. “I fear if we do not get her to that temple, the Temple Anin’Nar, by nightfall she will lose her life.”

  The possibility of Kayla dying had never truly sunk into Asher’s heart until now. The thought of losing another person that he cared for was almost too much to bare. But whatever feelings of hopelessness he felt, Asher buried them, instead he chose to rely on the strength of hope.

  “What did that masked man mean when he spoke of pure bloodlines and the Awakening?” Asher asked.

  Gaphii’el continued to gaze into the valley, he watched birds fly above the tree tops below them. “It’s clear you do not understand the legends from the old-world.” Gaphii’el folded his arms in front of him and turned back toward Asher. “Long ago this world was inhabited by another race of people, our predecessor race. According to legend, these people were a highly advanced civilization who were able to alter their physiology in such a way that they could control and manipulate various forms of matter and energy. This new power became known as the Awakening.”

  Gaphii’el reached within the folds of his cloak and produced a small leather bound booklet, laced together with fraying twine. He thumbed through the booklet and stopped on a page with a sketched design of circles and connecting lines. He handed the booklet to Asher.

  “This is the Codex of the Awakening.... It is a map of all the known bloodlines of the Awakened. It was written by our predecessor race and translated by the order that I belong to, the Druid Order. The symbols you see are the runes of each bloodline. If one uses the power of the Awakening, then a rune will glow on the user’s skin. Through the ages, each insignia has been recorded and preserved along with its specific usage and power.”

  Asher gazed upon the manuscript, he tried to memorize each symbol. He noticed the curious writing on the manuscript. “What about the writing? What does it say?”

  “The darker writing is the language of our predecessor race. The lighter writing, is that of the druids who have interpreted much of the manuscript. There is still much to be learned from the Codex.”

  Suddenly, yellow light dispersed from within Gaphii’el’s cloak. Hurriedly he retrieved the glowing orb. Asher watched the expression on Gaphii’el’s face take on a hard edge, as if the orb revealed some measure of unfortunate news.

  “What is it?” Asher asked, while trying to glimpse at the glowing orb.

  Gaphii’el turned his attention to Asher. Asher could feel the intensity of the man’s eyes. “Something has risen, something from another time and age. Its species was cast into the Forbidding many centuries ago. Elixir has set it free and they are hunting us. If they find us, we will not survive.”

  “Then we run,” Asher offered as a solution.

  Gaphii’el shook his head. “The thing that has been released from the forbidden will track us and kill us.”

  “What about your powers? It was the power of the Awakening, was it not? Surely you can protect us.”

  Gaphii’el set the orb on the ground and placed his hand on Asher’s shoulder. “I do not possess the power of the Awakened. I am a Druid, a wielder of magic. Magic is used to manipulate time and reality; the Awakening is a weapon made by the user’s life force. You must learn the Awakening.”

  Asher shook his head. “No... I don’t have the power of the Awakening...I…” The Druid placed a hand over Asher’s mouth to silence him.

  “I am not sure if you have the bloodlines within you but we must try, are you willing?” Asher nodded yes, his mouth was still covered by the Druid’s hand. “There is a small possibility that you can tap into the lower energies of the Awakened. If you are successful, then we might combat Elixir, just enough to escape. However, I must warn you…”

  “Warn me of what?” Asher asked with concern.

  “If you try to access the lower levels of the Awakening and you do not have the bloodlines of the Awakened, then your body will be ripped apart by the disruption of your life force.” Gaphii’el could see the fear in Asher’s eyes. “We do not have a choice, are you ready?”

  Asher thought a moment longer, not responding immediately. His life was on the line and that was enough to make him want to run away from the Druid. But then his mind caught hold of his grandfather, and how he was unable to save him. He remembered his mother and sister. Asher decided that he had to try. If there was the slightest possibility of saving them, even at the risk of his own life, then he needed to take that risk. Finally, Asher made his mind up. “I will do it.”

  Gaphii’el nodded and flipped a page of the Codex. “Long ago, a person could only become Awakened by being brought to the brink of death. If the person possessed the ancient bloodlines, then the Awakening would arise and transform the body, making it cable of great power, and bring the person back from the point of death. Their bodies would then be forever transformed. However, centuries ago, the druid’s discovered within the Codex, that the Awakening could be achieved without being brought to the point of death. By accessing the lower levels, a person could slowly grow into the powers of the Awakening. It is still very risky, but it is our only option.”

  The Druid began to wave his hand in various directions, while whispering incantations that Asher could not decipher. This went on for several minutes and then flashes of light began to emerge from the Druid’s movement’s in the air.

  “Asher, I need you to close your eyes, and recall the worst pain you have ever felt. Try to harness the hurt you felt. Do you have it?”

  Asher reached deep into his mind and remembered his grandfather, mother and sister. He could feel the hurt and anguish rising inside of him. His mind went deeper into his past and he could remember the pain he felt from when he first learned about the death of his father. The rage and anguish began to rise within him.

  “Asher push your pain to the surface, do not keep it buried.”

  Asher continued to focus his mind. His memories repeated over and over. With each iteration, they became more terrible to relive.

  “Focus your mind. Feel the Awakening stir within you.” Gaphii’el shouted. He continued his waving motions with his hands. Gaphii’el watched Asher focus, the boy’s eyes were closed tightly. The boy was sweating profusely. And then he saw dust began to swirl and twist around the boy’s body. Electricity danced about the boy’s shoulders,
hands, and feet. “You are doing it Asher. Keep pushing.”

  Asher opened his eyes. His fists were clenched tightly and he saw wind circling about him, accompanied by occasional spurts of electricity. It reminded him of Kayla, when she attacked Elixir. He pushed harder and focused his mind and energy. Then brilliant white light began to emerge from his closed fist. He opened his fists and examined his palms. At the center of his palms, a glowing insignia emerged, similar to the designs inside the Codex.