The Traveler's Descent

Until that night, Leshan did not believe there was anything left that could surprise him. The Lady Tara had set out with twenty of her personal guard, the Rangkaiti, towards a magical disturbance in the woodland to the east the night before. Such violent ripples had not been felt since the fall of the Titans two ages past. He had been prepared to guard their home in the Ghebar desert for weeks but had spotted her entourage the following evening.

Watching her descend from the sky in her draconic form was as watching moonlight glide to the dunes below. The flow of her pale scales and claws were broken only by a pair of bright violet eyes. Shifting to her Terran form as she landed in the sand, Leshan became aware of the small boy in her arms. The shifter made long strides towards her fellow elder. She brushed the boy’s hair from his face and sighed as though she had made up her mind about something. As she passed the unconscious child to him, Leshan could see that the boy had her likeness.

“It would seem the change is…permanent.”

Her solemn tone carried a note of relief.

“He’s one of ours now.”

The woman’s gaze never strayed from the young boy as she recounted her tale of his discovery. They investigated a crater at the edge of there domain and found nothing but a few magical traces and the two Terran. The boy had been found in the arms of an older Terran that had succumbed to a wound in his side. Before she picked the child up, the child had been hairless and malnourished with rounded facial features. However, when she held him, his body began to twist violently and change from the husk she found into the boy that was now in Leshan’s hands. His face had angled features; his hair was white as milk and fair skin that seemed to glow in the moonlight. His ears now came to a slight point as well. Leshan suspected that the boy's eyes now also resembled those of the elder dragon. The entourage moved past him, carrying a body wrapped in cloth. The elder wrinkled his nose. An age since the last war had engulfed Adentia and surfacers still continued to kill themselves. Before he had the chance to inquire about the victim, Tara and the Rangkaiti disappeared into their oasis beneath the sands.

“I leave him in your care, Fire Weaver. May he entertain you until you return to the Cycle.”

The elder's jaw hung open in silent protest and looked back at the boy to find two violet saucers staring back at him. Damn that woman. The least she could have done was explain things to the boy. Leshan set him down and ran a hand through his matted, crimson hair as he knelt in front of him. Looking at him now, Leshan never would have guessed that only a day ago the child was nothing but hairless skin and bones.

“What is your name boy?”

The child took in his surroundings before answering.

“Na~me? Wh~at…na~me?” The boy exaggerated each sound as though he were saying them for the first time.

“Your name. Who are you?” Leshan poked the boy in his chest for emphasis.

The boy only smiled back and shook his head. Of course, the strange child spoke not a word of common Terran. The elder rubbed his eyes content to give himself to the Cycle and be done with this cruel joke when he heard the boy speak up.

“What? What?” The boy pointed towards the large sphere in the night sky. The man chuckled.

“The moon. Or one of them anyway.” The boy then pointed towards several more objects. The stars, the sand dunes, a bush and a lizard. He continued for a few minutes before pointing his finger towards the older man.

“What?”

“I am Leshan.” The boy’s brows furrowed together. There was a moment where he thought the boy misunderstood before the boy spoke again.

“Lisha~n. Le~shan? Leshan…Leshan!” The boy broke into a large smile as he mastered the pronunciation. The pair shared a lighthearted laugh before the boy pointed his finger back towards himself.

“What?”

He spoke with the same cheery curiosity, but his eyes bore into the elder. Leshan was intrigued by his cunning. He couldn't be more than five years old. He was in foreign lands, unable to speak the common Terran speech and yet was still able to conceive of a way to obtain what he wanted: a name.

The man looked towards the night sky. Leshan had never considered himself to be a good role model, never mind a father. He felt that the moment for such a life had long passed him by but seeing the boy in front of him now, how could he refuse the call? The man placed a large, calloused hand on the boy’s head.

“Seren. You are Seren.”

The boy stared for a moment, taking in the sound of his new name before he began bouncing under the man's hand.

“Seren, Seren. I am Seren!”

Leshan scooped the boy up and proceeded through the barrier hiding the entrance beneath the sands. He wondered when he would next get a chance to see the stars again as Seren hummed a tune throughout their decent. The boy observed his surroundings with intense focus until they reached a landing illuminated by a soft, silver light. He jumped from his guardian’s arms and ran to the nearest archway. His breath caught as the castle carved from solid rock came into view. Large tree roots stretched down towards the top of the castle and cradled a large glowing orb. It bathed the subterranean world with a warm glow. The city districts flowed from the base of the castle like a red winding creek until they reached the farmlands along the bottom of the cavern. Woodlands and a lake marked the end of their territory, pushing into even more caves beyond what the boy could see.

“What?”

The word pushed past the boy’s lips as he took in every detail of the world hidden beneath the sand. Leshan kneeled down next to him and waved his hand from one end of the sanctuary to the other.

“Home, my boy. Welcome to Tokuna.”

****

Two years to the day and Leshan still found himself stunned by the boy’s development. Children in Tokuna were granted a measure of freedom in choosing how to spend their early years before receiving mandatory martial training. All of Tonuka's denizens are expected to live on the surface for a year, recording the ongoing events in every territory. Seren devoted his time to learning. He had complete mastery of the common Terran and the ancient Tawkore languages within a year. With his greater understanding of their vocabulary, he took an interest in the land's history. Not just of Tokuna but of the surface lands as well. He would spend hours sometimes days in the archives, devouring every tome and scroll of Adentia’s recorded history.

He had also taken an interest in the various craftsmen in Tokuna. He would sit so still that he would often startle the artisans when he finally departed from their workshops. The last several months however, he had spent his time watching the martial instructors demonstrate various fighting techniques for the elder children.

Every few years, some children in Tokuna will display great potential and among those only handfuls demonstrate a capacity for shifting. This made them possible candidates for training with the Rangkaiti and representatives of their tribe. Seren had not shown any significant magical talent and thus had not garnered much interest from the tribe leaders. Leshan was from the Tribe of Lions but no longer had the influence to be Seren's patron. Rather than push the boy towards a sponsorship with another tribe he decided to raise him as an outsider, unaffiliated with any single patron. He had thought it would be for the best given Seren's interest in the surface world. The boy could have joined the kaitūtei , and send information back to Tonuka while he traveled from one nation to the next. However, it seemed the child had other plans and he started challenging initiates to sparring matches.

Disputes between youngsters were not uncommon and were often settled with a sparring match. An instructor or elder would preside and ensure the duelists did not suffer any severe injuries. However, Seren never seemed focused on winning these matches as much as he seemed interested in observing a particular skill. Often, he would simply retreat mid-fight and hide in the woodland until his opponent gave up their pursuit.

Leshan rubbed his forehead and sighed. This made the third time this week that he had to apologize on the boy’s behalf. It would be so much simpler if the boy would just win the fights he started. No need to apologize for the boy being a better fighter. Many of the instructors knew he was capable of it. He had gone through an impressive growth spurt and now stood at just over a meter tall; just above average for a child his age and his lean muscles were perfect for his acrobatic fighting style. For all his lack of mystic skill he made up for with martial prowess and many students experienced that skill firsthand.

Seren never left an opponent with more than a few bruises, but it was always how he chose to strike his opponent that impressed onlookers. A well-timed leg sweep, or hip throw would not down his opponent, but it did open them up to further attacks. Attacks that never came because Seren had chosen those moments to retreat. While there may not have been any decisive blows, he had wounded their pride and among some tribes that was a greater insult than losing in combat.

It was already evening when the elder arrived at the training halls. Leshan noticed several children had gathered at the far end of the room. Simatra and Cernu, talented twins from his tribe, were among them. Cernu was the largest and strongest among Seren’s sibling unit or teina, in terms of raw power but did not have great control over his magic. On the other hand, Simatra had greater control of her powers but lacked the same level of raw strength. The children shot to their feet as he approached.

“Tamariki, what’s going on here? Where’s Seren?” The children looked at each other, unsure how to respond.

“We are collecting these.” Cernu stepped forward holding out his hand. In it were several smooth pebbles.

“Kahore said he needed-” A sharp jab from his sister interrupted him.

“He’s not a nobody, Cernu, we just don’t know where he’s from.”

“Well, someone with no magic from somewhere with no name should have a name to match.” Leshan plucked the boy up by the front of his shirt and bared his teeth.

“Hear me, runt. I will allow you your petty name calling on your own time but now you waste mine and don’t forget that I named the boy. To insult his name is to insult me and I believe there’s a record or two of what I've done to those that crossed me.”

Cernu’s usual golden skin was now drained of color and his lips were shut tight. While Leshan's exploits were not shared in the same light as Lady Tara’s everyone knew he had fought in every conflict since the fall of the Titans two ages ago. Simatra tugged on the elder’s sleeve. He looked down to see the girl bowing, her copper hair hanging just above the ground.

“I apologize for my fool brother, kaumātua, his mouth gets ahead of him, but he meant no disrespect.”

Leshan scoffed. Of course the boy meant what he said. He was just a fool to say it in front of him. He dropped the boy onto the floor and turned toward his sister. She may have been a head shorter than her brother but that did not seem to deter her spirit. Were they to survive their awakenings as shifters, the twins would make formidable allies.

“Where’s Seren now?”

The girl pointed a long finger towards the woodwork above them. Leshan looked up to find Seren leaping from one supporting beam to another…with a blindfold on.

“What are you doing up there boy?!” Seren turned to his guardian with a smirk. Leshan groaned. The boy was scheming something. Again.

“I’m training.”

“And the rocks?”

“Also for training, but because they will make it interesting.”

As though proper training needed to be interesting. Leshan turned to the other children and bade them to leave. Seren plopped onto a crossbeam six meters above the ground and sighed.

So close.

He had spent the last several days trying to manifest his magic. Getting hit with spells, intense exertion in training, chanting in Tawkore, nothing worked. All he knew was that to awaken his dormant abilities he’d have to make contact with his ‘reflection.’ Dozens of books theorized what the ‘reflected self’ was and how it manifested in a person but very little existed that could be used as a guide for a young practitioner.

The closest clue he found was a text on something called battle meditation. The practitioner would fall into a half-waking state while maintaining control over their body. This state allowed them to connect with their ‘reflection’ and harness greater powers. He retreated into his memories of the night sky two years ago. He so wished to see the surface again. It was too peaceful in Tonuka. Too isolated. He never truly feared for his life and so tried to artificially create danger in the hopes of awakening his potential. Perhaps it was time for a different method. It was then that Seren realized that Leshan had been calling out to him.

“Well, are you coming down or do I have to retrieve you myself?” The elder’s words sparked something in Seren’s mind making him flash his canine teeth.

“Can you, koroua?”

The words had barely left his mouth before he felt the hand pull him down from the beam by his collar. His elder held him at eye level, forcing him to stare into the man’s twisted face.

“Poaka iti. Never forget that no matter how big you get I’ll always be able to take you down."

Neither the fall nor being held two and a half meters above the ground seemed to have instilled any fear in the brat.

"You can read all the books in the world, but they will never teach you respect. How many times have I said to find a path meant for you? Walk it with pride and even the Cycle will acknowledge your abilities. You don’t need magic for others to care about you.”

“Mother seems to think I do.”

The boy’s face was blank, but Leshan could see the shadows hanging over him. The man set Seren down. There had never been a mother figure in his life not even among the women meant to care for the teina. Tara had given him new life and then rejected him. A being so close to divinity should not have been so cruel but it never occurred to Leshan that the boy even acknowledged her as his mother.

Leshan had thought that he was sparing the boy from a life of isolation. To awaken as a shifter and join the Rangkaiti is to devote oneself to guarding Tokuna and Lady Tara. He had hoped that the boy would one day travel on the surface without the anchor that came with being a guard dog. He had not considered that the boy was motivated by more than the power that came with wielding magic.

“Ko te raruraru anake. Fine.” The boy looked up at him with two violet doe eyes.

“I can teach you how to use the magic you have locked away but to do more would put your placement in the tournament at risk.”

“What tournament? I thought children weren’t selected for the Rangkaiti until they were fifteen?”

His mentor laughed.

“Ha! True but first you have to earn your right to fight in the Whaka mo Rangkaiti and for that you need a recommendation.”

“Why can’t you recommend me?”

“Besides being your guardian, I’m no longer a member of their ranks.” Leshan’s emphasis was something Seren made a note to bring up later. The pair made their way outside and saw the orb above the castle had dimmed signaling the end of another day in the subterranean sanctuary.

“Let’s go home, boy. We’ll start in the morning.”

****

Within weeks of Seren living with the older elder he had come to realize that Leshan was as much an outsider as he was. Leshan had fought alongside the Lady Tara for tens of thousands of years. Most notably during a conflict called the Godless War and was idolized as a war hero ever since. A title the man felt was a grim reminder of the lives that were lost during that time.

On that pedestal, it was impossible for him to engage with the average person living in Tokuna. One day he left his position among the Rangkaiti and chose a life of seclusion making weapons and tools for his people. Eventually, people stopped visiting him altogether and he was left alone in his workshop. His guarding of the secret entrance to Tonuka on the night Seren was found was the first time in two thousand years that someone had asked for him.

Seren never understood his mentor’s decision to give up using magic but as long as he was willing to train him now, he didn’t care. The boy rushed through his morning wash and soaked in the first rays from the Haruru Stone above the castle. It was not a sun but that did not diminish the comfort its warm light brought him.

The sound of hammer on metal rang out from the forge while smoke stretched lazily towards the top of the subterranean vista. He ran out to the workshop behind their small hut. Leshan had fallen into a rhythm hammering out a heated ingot. Seren always enjoyed watching craftsmen breathe life into a block of metal. Knowing that every tool or weapon was once little more than a rock gave him hope that he could be something useful to someone one day too. He waited until his mentor set the metal back into the fire before approaching.

“So, what will we do first?”

Leshan glanced at the boy bouncing between his feet before working the billow.

“I will be working on my craft while you,” he gestured to a stool in the corner of his workshop, “will be working on yours.”

The boy looked back at him with raised eyebrows. The elder led Seren to the corner and picked up a wad of clay, squeezed it into a ball and set it down on the stool.

“You’ve read everything in our archives, yes?” The boy nodded.

“So, what is the one thing magic cannot touch?” Seren closed his eyes and turned thousands of pages in his mind. In a few moments he turned to reply.

“The earth. Magic cannot directly change the earth.” His instructor nodded.

“Yes, so then, I should not be able to do this.” The elder held his hand over the ball of clay. Seren watched it transform into a flat disc before folding in on itself, resembling a bowl with flower petals covering its surface.

"How was it done?" Leshan waited as Seren pondered.

“The air and…the water in the clay. You used magic in two forms to change the earth.”

Again, the elder nodded.

“Now, what two limitations do all magic users face?”

“How much magic they can use at any time and how long it takes to restore what they’ve used.”

Leshan picked up the bowl and created a small pool of water in the base. “To use magic, you need a vessel to hold and contain it. Now let us imagine that this bowl is your vessel. Its size represents your potential, and the water is how much magic you currently have at your disposal. If the vessel is too small and your magic overflows, then you will lose control of your magic." On cue the water spilled over onto the ground.

"If the vessel is too brittle,” Leshan drained water from the bowl, drying it until it collapsed in his hand, “then it will crumble, and you will be unable to use magic at all.”

Everything had made sense to Seren so far but how did his 'reflection' come into the mix? From what Leshan said, it didn't seem like using magic required anything except this vessel.

“What does my reflection have to do with this vessel? I read that magic comes from a bond with one’s reflection.”

“First you must meditate and find your soul cairn located in your heart. Making contact with your whakaata means finding this sacred space and gifting it a vessel. The form it takes depends on the person, but every shifter forms a bond with theirs eventually. It’s not always easy and most aren’t able to communicate with them, but your bond will come in time. That bond will reinforce your vessel so that you can hold greater mystic strength."

Seren mentally kicked himself. All he had to do was meditate? Why didn't everyone use magic if it was that simple? He made a mental note to write his own manuscript on awakening magical talents later.

“What happens if the vessel is too weak? Can't I just make a new one?”

Leshan grunted and glanced back at the crackling embers in his forge.

“You can when you are a young practitioner but eventually, your magic will become too strong for your body to hold without a vessel. It will leak from your body and weaken it until it finally dies. You can fortify your vessel to prolong the process but eventually it will kill you. Then you return to the Cycle and begin again.”

The elder retrieved the glowing ingot from the forge and resumed hammering.

“Find your cairn, craft your vessel and then we’ll see how much time we have left to train you.”

Seren was quiet, soaking in every detail of what he had learned. He wanted to know more.

"Leshan, how will I know my reflection when I see it? What does your reflection look like? What about mother's?"

His mentor slammed his hammer down on his anvil and sighed.

"Boy, knowing your reflection is something only you will be able to tell. As for me; mine was a lion, wreathed in flames. I will not speak for Lady Tara, you can ask her yourself. Now focus on your task and leave me to mine."

Seren moved to sit on the stool and closed his eyes. He would have to make the most of his first visit to his soul cairn then.

The first step was to slow his breathing. He focused on the rhythm of his heartbeat. Slow, deep breaths and exhaling slowly. Thump, thump. After three breaths, his muscles relaxed. Now all that was left was to let the world around him fall away. He pushed away the rustling of the trees, the crackling of the forge and the hammering of metal. Thump, thump. His only focus was finding the seat of his soul. Outside thoughts were trivial and breathing was minimal. Thump, thump. He could feel his world shift as his body went limp. Thump, thump. All that mattered was finding the path leading to his soul cairn. Yes, all that mattered…thump, thump…was finding…thump, thump…his soul.

Thump, thump.

When Seren opened his eyes, he was no longer inside Leshan’s workshop. The circular room was illuminated with dim white light from an unseen source. The surfaces of the walls appeared almost organic, like coral. Alien. Looking around he noticed two large, stone doors that stretched up towards an impossibly high ceiling. He took a step towards it. The floor was smooth and cool like carved marble or granite. Coming closer to the door he felt a low hum resonate through the space. The seal on the doors broke as they swung inward.

Chilling water rushed past the boy’s feet reaching up to his knees. When the water flow had settled, Seren pushed forward past the doors and entered a long hallway. These walls were made of natural stone and rounded from what seemed like centuries of erosion. They reminded Seren of the caves hidden throughout Tonuka. Stalactites littered the ceiling until the hall opened up into a large chamber. A ghostly blue light illuminated the surrounding water casting shimmering patterns across the stone walls. At the center of the chamber was a stone dais three meters in diameter and floating above it was a lone, emerald flame.

The flame flared to life as Seren waded through the water. When he climbed onto the stone slab, the flame started to sway as though it was cheering words of encouragement. It danced around Seren’s head before returning to its place in the center of the dais. Before the boy had taken two steps, the stone lit up with countless lines of the Tawkore language. He was able to read only a few words, ‘soul’ and ‘master’ before they began to spiral towards the eager flame.

I’ve been waiting, atu haurua.

The voice seemed to be both heard and echo in Seren’s head.

“What do you mean ‘other half’? Are you, my reflection?”

The flame flared and twisted until it resembled Seren though its expression seemed warped and exaggerated.

‘Reflection’…hmm…more so a part of a whole than an imitation of you.

Seren’s cheeks flushed. Did he really look like that when he smirked? The figure turned over midair until it appeared to be walking on an invisible surface.

Does my form bother you? I can change it you know.

With a twirl, the figure began to change shape until it resembled Cernu from the training hall.

Or if that’s not personal enough…

Seren’s eyes narrowed as the flame flared into the shape of Leshan.

No? Too much? Then perhaps…a goal?

The figure changed again and this time Seren flexed his fingers and bared his teeth. Before him stood the Lady Tara looking down at him with a broad smirk. The boy’s rage poured out of him in a roar as he lunged at the flame. His fingers raked through the image before it hopped away chuckling to itself.

Oh, what fun! Honestly, what took you so long? I’ve been waiting forever~.

“Fun?” Seren growled. “I was told I needed to make a vessel for my ‘reflection’ if I wanted to learn magic. I didn’t come here for games. And change into someone else.”

The apparition became a blur of green flame as it came to a stop, centimeters from the boy’s face. This time taking the form of his younger self from two years ago.

A vessel? You are going to give me a vessel?

The flame beamed.

Well, what will it look like? How big will you make it?

This was very different from what Seren had imagined. Leshan said that he may not even see his reflection let alone speak with it so why was his here and so…talkative?

“I’m…not sure. What do you want it to look like?” The figure shook its head.

No, no. That’s not how it works. You have to tell me what you want from your magic and then we form a bond. That bond will take the form of the vessel. So, tell me, what do you want?

The elemental continued to blur into different forms and creatures as it made suggestions.

Do you want to summon lighting from the skies? Cut through the Abyssal Seas with a wave of your hand? Or perhaps you’ve been taken by the traditions in Tokuna and would like to change your form? Hmm? A hawk? Maybe a lion like your master? Oh, oh, what about a dragon? That’s sure to impress mother.

Seren flinched at the mention of his mother. He understood her position came with responsibilities but to completely abandon him, to pretend that he didn’t exist? That was…unforgivable. He went back to every legend and tale he had read in the archives. Creatures that would make men scream and beasts cower. Beings that would make heroes kneel in reverence. He looked at every word on every page, searching for the one that could hold dominion over a dragon. And then he found it. He looked back to the child. It was hovering over him with a knowing smile.

Oh, I like you.

The flame snapped its fingers sending a torrent of emerald flames throughout the chamber. Seren was thrown through the air and back into the circular room. He heard the flame’s last words as the doors closed behind him.

When you hear my call, our bond will be complete, and you will have your magic. We are going to have so…much...FUN!