Keeper's Knowledge (Balancer's Soul cycle)

by Lee Morgan

  “Is this true, Hatchling?” Sorono looked at her directly.

  “It is. The first time we met I was a teacher at a school and he was a student. I asked him a single question and his peers mocked his perfect answer. It wasn’t until we fell in love did things…change.”

  Connor suddenly altered the current subject and his voice changed to curiosity. “Sorono, why were you so shocked to see me if you knew I was already a Harmonizer?”

  Sorono chuckled. “Because I wasn’t expecting our meeting to be so soon. Since you were the first human Harmonizer, I wasn’t expecting for us to meet for another eighty or a hundred years.”

  “By that time I would have been an old man or even died of old age.”

  Sorono shook his head slowly while keeping eye contact. “You are wrong in your assumption. You would have been the very first immortal human. I know you liked exercising as you grew up, much more than anyone else. I was the exact same way. Your body was undergoing a catalytic process and it required the perfect and ultimate body. Your instincts knew what was going on, even if you didn’t. You had gotten to the point where extensive and difficult exercises had become as easy as breathing, otherwise you wouldn’t have lifted a Changer so easily at the young human age of thirteen. That is why your muscles are so extensively developed.” Sarah couldn’t help but look at the extremely large muscles wrapping around her. “Your body was preparing for your gifts to come into fruition, but this process would have taken decades to blossom.” The large hazel eyes of the Head Elder looked down at Sarah. “You, my dear, caused his powers to evolve within months rather than decades. When you blended your soul with his, you developed his unique abilities as powerful as his are. His physical strength and energies have been balanced in you so your soul wouldn’t be destroyed. Unconsciously he gave his powers over to you so you wouldn’t die from the burden he would have put on you. The only true difference between your gifts is that his instinct cannot be duplicated as you can already attest.” Her heart was thundering at this news. Her throat was dry and the only comfort was being so close to Connor. She couldn’t have believed how ignorantly dangerous it was to be mated with her one true love.

  Head Elder Amphrite stood and her green eyes looked confused. “Head Elder Sorono, I’m confused. You said a moment ago that this, Chil…Connor would have been the first immortal human. What about us? Didn’t Balancers Evolve to become immortal?”

  Sorono glanced at Sarah’s mate and he said “I’ll let Connor tell you since he has already figured it out.” They looked to see Connor’s knowing smile looking at the Head Elder and former Greek Goddess of the sea.

  “It is relatively easy to figure out by just watching how everyone reacts with one another. But it wasn’t until the story we heard that my hypothesis makes sense. Like you, normal Keepers have certain affinities to certain elements. Their strengths are just a little bit more and they can use all the elements to an extent, but some elements can be used easier than others. The differences are more binding for you Balancers though compared to them.”

  Connor’s voice became lecturing and everyone was hanging on his every word. “When the First Keeper up at the mouth of the mountain sent out the Keepers Call and he took his bond back once we entered. I figured Keepers can give over their abilities as well as take them away. Since I have also seen the Keepers manipulating the elements themselves I’ve hypothesized that during the time when Keepers guided humans they became lonely because of how short the human lifespan was during those times. So they probably decided to give their power to the first woman who became a Balancer. It could be possible because everyone’s origins originally stemmed from the Hallowed Mother and would be compatible to an extent. All of the women here are her descendants.” Sarah looked around and saw every single female Balancers jaw hanging. “Whoever it was who did this to the woman, literarily changed her body and those of her descendant’s. Haven’t you all wondered why you are all hairless from the neck down?” Sarah felt her features flaring with heat at his boldness. “You have all evolved physically so your bodies can use their special abilities. That means getting rid of as much excess as possible and adding to certain strengths. It is evident on how your men become hairless once they become bonded to you, after you fuse their souls with yours. Or about how you and your mates can only breed daughters? When you fused souls with your mate’s, you physically changed them so they can only give you more daughters. And finally how come you die the very moment your mate does? Because you have all become limited to evolve to a certain extent.”

  “Connor, everything that you have said is completely true.” It became so quiet that a feather landing would sound like an explosion. “But there are only three pieces of information missing from your explanation.

  “Firstly, there were originally two women and they were the most loyal to our secrets. It was one and a half million years ago when they were given the gift of immortality. Two Keepers gave up their lives over to the two women. One life was a tragedy and two wasn’t a coincidence. Since then I have outlawed the use of granting Immortality at the cost of another’s life.

  “Secondly, those limitations you spoke of were a byproduct of the transfer. The ones who lost their lives couldn’t give everything over otherwise the human’s bodies wouldn’t have been able to contain the surplus of energy and the result would have been four casualties, but even with the missing transfer the Keeper who transferred their power became unstable and died hours later.

  “Thirdly, we had to choose women because if we chose a male he would be too impulsive in his mating requirements. Females are more choosing in who will be their eternal mates and their children would have a better future. As you also said when a male becomes mated he gives only daughters to their mates. How did you figure that out?”

  Connor laughed and Sarah could feel it reverberating through her. “Easy enough to explain; It has been proven that the father determine the sex of their offspring. Balancer women only have daughters, so I knew that they physically change their mate’s sperm to only give daughters. It is as simple as that.”

  “Simple? You and I have been the only ones to recognize that trait. Look at all of the mother’s in this room.” Connor looked around and could see their shocked expressions. “Look at them. They have been searching for a logical answer for their entire lives. You have just given them what they have needed.”

  “Alright, but I need you to clarify something. I know Balancer’s and Changers cannot become one, but why is that? Aren’t they also descended from the Hallowed Mother as well?

  “Yes and no. Yes they have roots to her, but their virus prevents their spirits from being removed from their body. We can use our abilities to affect the world around us, but Changers can only alter themselves from within. We will be eternally blocked from blending together because their virus prevents it and an unmated Balancer must blend her soul upon her first mating or else she won’t survive the surge of energy without finding her balance via the mate’s soul. It is tragic, but impossible.

  “Now may I ask a question?”

  “It will depend on what you want to know.” Sarah said defensively while her husband was reflecting on what he learned.

  Sorono grinned. “Alright, I would like to see the extent of your current abilities. What can you do that no other Balancer can?”

  She sat straight up and spoke evenly. “That is an acceptable question. You have all seen my mate use all five elements. Well I can as well.”

  Sarah reached down and grabbed Connor’s armguard and slid out one of the metal plates and sat the rest back down. She manipulated the metal over the palm of her hand, shaped it into a bowel and returned it back to its natural state and slid it back into his armguard. Next she pulled the moisture out of the air and into a small water ball over the palm of her hand. Connor tilted his head back and she gladly dropped the water down his gullet. Jillian giggled at that. She then made a small ball of fire and made it dissipate back into the air. She collected t
he dust and small bits of sand from their surroundings and made a small mound of dirt between them and Sorono. She stood up and used Pressure to lift herself a foot off the ground and dropped back down to return sitting back in Connor’s lap.

  “Our sonar is on a new level as well. Connor figured out how to bring it to the next level after being only shown once.” She looked up at Connor and smiled. “Should we show them together?” He smiled back.

  They both sat straight up with their eyes open. In her mind she made her sonar pulse rapidly. Her vision turned from color to black and white, but instead of seeing only what was in front of her she could now see in every direction all at once. She then felt Connor’s pulses hitting her body. It felt like the most subtle of breezes caressing her skin. Everything above and below her in the room was revealed, but she only concentrated on seeing this room. She could see the heartbeats of everyone picking up speed once they saw their eyes. Sarah knew their eyes were glowing vividly. Some moved uncomfortably while others remained frozen in place. Her family was watching them with a playful smile, but it was a little offsetting to actually see their facial muscles pulling the skin to make a smile. It was so strange, but amazing to see such details. Sorono watched them patiently and there wasn’t a hint of surprise in his heartbeat; from what she could tell. She then stopped the pulses and so did Connor.

  Color returned to her vision and Sorono was still waiting for more.

  “Also our mental abilities are unique. We have the ability to use our telepathy together. We can hear each other’s thoughts and communicate that way quite often. If we push deeper we can hear what the other can. And we can meld our minds together so that we are both in our bodies and in the others at the same time. It feels really weird because when we do that I can see through his eyes, feel how he draws breath, how his muscles move and the weirdest part is when he speaks. I feel his lips moving and the vibrations of his voice and it’s almost like I say it, but I don’t. It is an off settling sensation.” She said and Connor placed a hand gently over her lower abdomen. She knew he was referring to the first time that she was able to see their child through his eyes.

  Jillian’s jaw dropped. “Sarah? So you can see from his eyes now! Why haven’t you told me?”

  Connor came to the rescue by saying “Because it is very intimate and it was a personal secret.”

  Sorono interrupted looking astonished for once. “The two of you can really read each other’s minds? And you can blend minds? What is the range of your telepathy? How long did it take to develop these abilities?” He was getting excited and his toothy grin shone brightly.

  Sarah answered every answer as quickly as possible. “Yes I can read my mate’s mind and he can mine. We know it has never happened before between mates. Yes we can actually blend. The last time we tried ranging our minds we were about twenty miles apart. And your last question is a little sensitive. He was able to read my mind in about two minutes after we finished…the um…ceremony.” Most of the women in the room began giggling and Sarah’s face flamed even more.

  Connor entered her mind and said “Their just jealous that you found the strongest man and are loved by him. They are green with envy that your more beautiful than they will ever be.” She couldn’t help but look back at him and burst into laughter.

  Just about everyone jumped at her little outburst. Sarah put her hands to her lips to stifle any more outbursts, but she started shaking against the laughter. She waved her hand at everyone and said “Sorry about that. It was just something he just said.” For the first time since getting the shocking news did Kara smile.

  Sorono looked up just like Connor does when he processes the information he was given and formulates ideas. They all waited patiently until he looked back down at them still holding his pleasant smile. “This is quite amazing. It seems like your abilities are already quite close to perfection. Have you discovered any secret talents that a Balancer has never been capable of? For instance a new elemental form?”

  She saw Kara’s ears perk. She looked right at Connor. “Brother? Does he mean like the way you brought me back to life?”

  Sorono’s eyes squinted as he looked at all of them, but his mental voice remained silent. Connor instantly picked up on his sister’s thoughts. “Yes, I believe he does.”

  “Connor, can you please show us a demonstration? I gather when Marcus here introduced his blood into his mate, her body was unable to stand the pain and her heart stopped. Am I correct?” Sorono finally spoke.

  “Both answers are a yes.” Her loving mate said conversationally.

  Sarah felt his leg muscled tense and she quickly stood up. He stood and looked as muscle bound as ever. He turned around to the few Elder Keepers who sat behind them. “Excuse me please. For what I have to do, requires room because it is highly dangerous. I need to go over there.” Connor pointed to an empty space on the floor, away from everyone.

  They scooted over and made a path which he took to the isolated area. She heard everyone shifting so they could see what her knight was up to. He stopped and turned around to look at everyone. Sarah said in warning “Everyone, don’t look directly at him otherwise you will be temporarily blinded for a few minutes.”

  A surge of energy erupted from Connor as he stood motionless. His exposed chest and every inch of exposed skin started glowing brighter and brighter, almost to the point of having a miniature sun in the room. Once he was the brightest thing in the room the light flowed from his body and collected into his hands. They gave off a pure white light and his hands moved in front of his body. Sarah knew what was going to happen next so she averted her gaze and watched with her peripheral vision. At first their came the sound of buzzing, like a swarm of bees, and then saw the first arc of electricity began jumping between his palms. The frequency and intensity of the white and blue lightning increased moments later. The sound alone began to make the entire room begin to vibrate. And then Sarah began to smell ionized air and recognized the scent of ozone from before. He then stopped the flow of his power a minute or so later and the electricity ceased. Connor’s first attempts left him completely drained, but now it became as easy as using any of the other elements.

  Connor’s smile was a bright as the lightshow he just performed. “Is that what you meant, Sorono, about a new elemental form?”

  “Indeed it does.” Sorono threw his head back and roared out another laugh. Until he finished laughing Sarah saw that many people didn’t take her advice and looked directly at the lightning. They were rubbing their eyes, blinking, squinting and some used sonar until their vision returned. “Connor what you have just demonstrated was the ultimate form of Pressure. Have you discovered the other ultimate forms for the other four elements?” Sorono shot Connor a playful grin.

  “I believe so. When my sister and Mark were attacked by three Changers I found I can manipulate blood as easily as water.”

  “Connor, you can manipulate blood?” They all turned to look at Jillian. Her golden eyes were wide and her lips parted. “Not a single Liquid Balancer in this room can manipulate blood. We can only manipulate liquid that has a higher saturation level. Blood is mostly water, but it isn’t pure enough for us to manipulate. Some of us can manipulate the oxygen in the air because it is a liquid, but that is the most difficult thing we can manipulate.”

  Looking around the room there was shocked nodding.

  “She is correct, Connor. There are only three Keepers in this room who’s affinity is Liquid and they have a difficult time with blood, but they can do it. But Liquid’s forms encompass more than blood. Anything with liquid properties can be manipulated. What is the most beneficial about being able to manipulate blood is if your heart is pierced you can consciously circulate your blood till your body naturally repairs the damaged heart, but the subtleties will elude you for quite some time… Now can you manipulate Magma?”

  “I’ve never been close enough to try.” Connor admitted to everyone with a playful smile. “What is the ultimate form of Met
al?”

  “The final form of that is where you can alter the molecules to make the metal denser and lighter, without adding other elements like carbon or mixing together another metal type.” Sorono’s head cocked to the side and he raised a scaly eyebrow. “Even I have little use for it because it drains the most energy compared to the other ultimate elements.”

  “Would this be the next level of fire?” Sarah asked innocently and raised her hand. She concentrated on conjuring a dark blue flame around her hand. She felt her power surfacing and her hand quickly began to warm up.

  “SARAH NO!!!” she jumped in shock from Connor scream. She turned to look at where he was before, but he was already beside her and she felt his power rising rapidly. His features took on a deadly serious set. His arms weren’t at his side and when she followed them, a scream trapped in her throat.

  She looked at her upturned hand and saw Connor’s hands on each side and even more shocking were Sorono’s huge claws right beside Connor’s hands. Sorono was up on his knees and hunched over. Her dark blue flame was out of control and they were both holding the expanding flames back with a large orb of solidified Pressure. Both of their faces were strained as they held back the flame. She started stopping the flow of energy until she heard Connor’s strained voice. “Don’t release your power yet or we’ll all be in bigger danger from a Back Draft explosion. Keep it burning.”

  Then Sorono’s mental voice came out as a painful shout. “Someone open the doors! NOW! We have to get her out of here or we are all dead!”

  The Elder Keepers were the closest to the gold doors and two of them finally managed to pull the doors wide open. She could barely hear Connor voice over the roaring blue inferno as he said “Sorono, I can hold it for six seconds by myself, grab both of us and run us outside of this room…hurry.” Sorono could hear every single word her mate uttered.