Auroan Syn - 3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Elios’ body ached with a pain like no other. He had been shot off the top of Manna Cannon while trying to save his 6 year old brother. The man, who shot him, flew off, literally, with Colin, his brother. Now, he couldn’t even return to Noewn. His face was plastered all over the Doen Empire by now. So now, he was stuck looking for his brother with a band of rebels.

Elios shifted; to move out of the glare of the sun. He could see them talking about whether they should bring him with them. He rested against a tree; a familiar feeling circled his body again. He looked at the tree behind him, it was dying. He was draining it Manna, a few more seconds and it was dead, standing out against the rest of the healthy trees. He stood to his feet, using the tree for support. He closed his eyes and focused the Manna to find water; it did, only a few yards. He started walking in the direction of the small pond, uncaring of the patches of dead grass that resembled his foot.

                                                          *   *             *

“That boy is not Auroan!” Laurel nearly screamed. She never saw a power like that, so destructive and, a child wielded it.

Ben looked at Elios, sitting against the tree. “He’s clearly Auroan. He’s the son of Syn and March.”

She gasped at his words and looked harder at Elios. He did share a strong resemblance to Syn. “How could they create something so…vile, so unholy.”

“Unholy?’ Edmund stammered at his words.

Laurel turned to him. “He takes in Manna like a human but he twists it, reshapes it, it’s not natural.” Edmund had never known for Laurel to be so harsh about a person.

“She’s right Edmund, he’s a freak.” Darien, the Talos Mage, added. “I mean, when have you ever heard of an Auroan as strong as a young Febit, fast as a Draco, and steals life from living things?”

“It’s not like he can help it, guys.” Edmund felt bad how people judged the boy so early. “He was just trying to save his brother.”

“And he nearly caused us to fail the mission.” Darien countered.

Edmund grinned and shook his head with pride. “But that’s it; he took down the cannon single handedly. Do you know how many more people we could save with that type of power?”

“I would rather die than be touched by that tainted magic.” Laurel murmured to herself.

Ben smiled, thinking of the cannon’s barrier falling apart so easily. “That blade thing was cool.”

Edmund agreed and looked outside. “Shit, he’s gone!” They all went outside, staring at the sudden change in scenery.

The tree and 5 feet outwards around it was dead with footprints walking deeper into the forest. “He couldn’t have gone far in this heat. We can just follow in Death’s footprints.”

They followed the dead grass to find Elios at the pond with his back to them. They all felt his power wash over them. The air danced around them like a wary predator. Laurel called her spirits to push the power back but they were helpless, they never encountered power such as this before. The rebels moved closer to see Elios clutching his head with a pained look on his face and his other hand thrust into the pond. It was showing them watching Elios.

Edmund saw the blood dripping from Elios’ nose. “Elios-.”

“Stop!” He demanded. His eyes rolled back then forward, focusing on nothing. He convulsed, coughing up blood. He had pushed himself too far.

“But-.”

“No, Edmund!” Both Laurel and Elios said. “Look at the ground around him.” Laurel pointed out the dead grass and the partially frozen pond. “He’s absorbing the Manna.”

“But he’s hurt, we have to help him.” Edmund plead. “You have to heal him.”

Laurel sighed and gritted her teeth. “Fine.”

Elios jumped back and stumbled into a tree trying to get away. “Don’t come any closer!” His words were slurring.

“I’m just trying to help you, child.” She said aggravated.

His eyes were getting heavy. “Try it and you die.”

She smiled deliciously. “Is that a threat?” He wouldn’t be able to protect himself.

“No, it’s a promise.” He realized how he sounded threatening. “You’re right, I’m absorbing Manna unconsciously. If you try to heal me, I’ll absorb all of your Manna. I can’t control myself right now.”

Ben stepped forward, pulling Laurel back. “Then how do we help you?”

“You don’t.” He stood up, his legs almost buckling at the pressure. He turned to the pond and let his body drop. Everyone except Laurel screamed and tried to rush in after him but she willed the spirits into a shield.

“Let me through!” Ben roared, slamming on the shield with both hands.

“Look at the water.” And they looked; it had frozen save one small part.

Elios lifted himself out of the water, wiping his hair out of his eyes. The luscious green grass was not affect by his touch. He turned to Edmund and said. “I’m okay.” Edmund started to move closer, “Don’t! I still don’t have much control.” Elios stood again with stable legs and wiped the hair from his face. “Do you have a Med-bot?” Ben shook his head. “Damn, I’ll have to this the old way, I’ll be back soon.” Before they could say anything, he bounded off into the trees.

                                                                         *    *             *

The room was furnished with bright furniture, soft and comfortable. It was created to make guests feel relaxed but its effects didn’t work on the child. Sorre tried to comfort Colin in every way but he wouldn’t stop crying. Sorre didn’t want this to happen. Elios was stubborn. If only he would’ve said yes, they would be happy. He missed holding the smaller boy at night when it was too cold. His soft lips, the exciting moans, his laughs, and his sparkling eyes. Sorre was just tired of being on the bottom; being cold and hungry, seeing the people he cared about dying in front of him.

The hair on his neck stood up and he aimed his gun at the door. “You fool.” The old mage spouted. “You think your gun could hurt me?”

Sorre bowed immediately, “Sorry, Lord Ian.”

The mage brushed passed him. “Child, are you still crying?” He asked disgusted. “Stop your crying!” He snapped, magic flaring out at the barrier. Sparks flew but did nothing; only a Hymn would stop it. “You waste your tears on the dead.” Silence filled the room. “Your crying does nothing for the dead.”

“You’re lying, Elios isn’t dead.” The little boy barked.

“Oh, really?” Ian snickered. “Can you feel him? Has he answered any of your calls?” Colin didn’t reply. Ian turned to the shell shocked Sorre. “Have him ready tomorrow.”

Artemis waited at the door, staring at Colin. He waited until the door was close to address Ian. “He could be alive.”

Ian raised a gray eyebrow. “Do you doubt your own skill?”

Artemis rolled his eyes at the commit. “His brother is different. He took down the Manna Cannon by himself.”

“Yes, I know that.” He said nonchalantly. He heard of many Auroan’s with spirits that powerful.

“Without spirits?” Artemis watched Ian’s mind slowly churn.

Ian shook his head. “How?” He asked without turning around. The mercenary retold the whole event, not forgetting the blade that ripped through the barrier. “I’ve never heard of anything like that. Fast as a Draco, strong as a Febit, absorbs Manna and changes it into a different energy.” Ian searched his desk for the old coarse paper. “It says nothing about his brother, only the Spirit of Red Dawn and the boy.”

Artemis looked at the parchment over his shoulder. “How strong is this thing?”

“Red Dawn? I’ve only read of such a spirit.”

                                                                          *   *             *

Edmund waited until night covered the forest before he truly began to worry. Elios was still hurt. He was shot in the back. The man mistook Elios for human, shooting him on the left side of his chest. Auroan’s hearts were on their right side and tougher than humans too, but he was still hurt.

A twig snapped to his right, his faced it with his gun ready to aim. “Elios?”

The Auroan stepped out of the shadows, his clothes dirty, his hair tousled. “Yeah.” He was better but not back to his normal standard. “Sorry, I had to uh, feed.” He hadn’t felt like this before Colin was born. “Where you waiting long?”

“No,” He lied, “I just came out when it got dark.” He wondered how exactly did Elios ‘feed’. Was it like how he simply ripped the life out of a man with ease? They were silent, staring at each other. “We should get inside.”

They walked in together, eyes set on Elios. The wave of emotion came next; he flinched slightly like he had been hit. Disgust was the strongest emotion there. A few bits of curiosity, fear, and excitement flowed but disgust was there. He was used to it, when people saw his power. It didn’t matter, he was leaving.

He bowed, “I just wanted to thank you for saving me.”

Laurel made a face and snarled, “Edmund caught you.”

Elios turned to Edmund and stuck out his hand. “Thank you.” Edmund grabbed it, fear raced through his veins. Elios fought to snatch his hand away. “Where are we?” He addressed Ben.

“A few miles from Claymore city.” It was good for Elios, he knew a few people there. “Why?”

“I know some people there. I can stay there until I find Colin.” He said, a feeling of safety filled the room.

Ben stood up, Zeke told him to keep the boy safe. “Are you sure you’ll be okay there? I’d rather you stay with us.”

Elios forced a shy smile. “I don’t want to cause any more problems than I already have. Did Zeke give you my pack?” Ben tossed the small black bag to him. “Thanks.”

“But you have to be tired after,” Edmund had to chose his words carefully. “What’s happened. You should stay here for tonight.”

“Yeah, you should.” Darien said, feeling sorry the little freak.

Elios almost hissed at him. The colors of his robes signified his ties to Talos. “No, I’ll be fine.” He pulled a black sphere from the bag, tapping on one side to reveal a holographic map of the area. “I’ll make it before sunrise.”

“Well, I guess, I’ll see you later.” Ben said, regretfully.

Elios smiled, “No, you won’t.” He bowed again and left.

Edmund just stared at the door in awe. “Why didn’t you stop him?” He asked to no one in particular.

Dav’yd gripped his shoulder. “It’s not our job.”

Edmund shrugged the hand off. “I thought we were supposed to help people?”

“Key word “people”, that…thing,” Laurel spat. “Isn’t worth helping.”

“Then I don’t want to be a part of the Force anymore.” He said heated. He joined to help everyone without prejudice.

Darien smirked and folded his arms. “And how will you take care of Cassandra?” Her name triggered his reason to join the Force. “Isn’t she still sick?” Edmund grinded his teeth, he wanted to say something. “Besides, you would throw away all the good we do for one thing?” Darien was right, it was only one person.

                                                          *   *             *

Elios reached Claymore City with the sun beating on his shoulders. He estimated his Manna level wrongly and had to hunt for a few hours. He only fed on big animals, usually monsters and fiends that no one would miss. Now, he reached the outskirts of the city of Fire and Metal mages. He and Cole lived here once after Zeke threw them out when Cole had his first tantrum. Elios came here after hearing about an errand but even though the city was the most liberal in the new Doen perimeter, Auroan’s were still treated harshly, but Elios had a disguise. The errand job eventually turned into monster hunting for the Black Wings. He hoped that someone in the organization heard of the winged man.

Before he reached the city gates, he grabbed the black sphere and tapped it. It burst into black particles, clinging to Elios making too small Bio-Armor. He gasped at the small fit. Elios brought the broken Armor Sphere two years ago. He got a man to fix the body configuration but not the armor abilities itself but his powers more than made up for it, giving the impression it worked. The armor was made with fabric like substance, appearing to be normal clothes. The torso plate was a simple high collared black vest that reached, now, to his navel making an arrow pointing to his face and the baggy pants clung to his lower hips, exposing his “V” and stopped snuggly on his calves. The armor for the arms was destroyed on a run. The visor used to cover most of his face but now it bit into his cheekbones almost showing his eyes. As soon as he entered the city he would have to buy a new one.

He would get in the city with a fake name. The race sensor would simply classify as a black human since his Manna level was far below that of a normal Auroan.

The highest rank guard, a staff sergeant, stopped him. “Hold.” Elios immediately got nervous. He wondered if they created a new sensor. The guard didn’t seem too pleased to see him. “You’ve got quite a Manna level there. Ever thought of going to the Academy to be trained as a war mage?” His breath relaxed at the recruiter.

Elios laughed, “Yeah, I actually I have.”

The guard nodded and smiled, holding Elios’ bare arms. Envious was the man. “That’s great, we could really use someone like you. With some training, you’ll have a high position just like that.” He said, snapping his fingers.” You get to travel, have all the girls you want, everything you could want.” Elios already considered going to the Academy to track down his brother but they would realize when he used Manna that he wasn’t normal.

“Yeah, I’m going to join, it’s just that I have some things to take care of first.” He said, walking past the guard.

“Alright, just come find me later, name’s Connor.”

Elios nodded and walked to the closest Armor Shop.

                                                                          *   *             *

“It’s a fire spirit?” Artemis asked as he finished the last line of the parchment. “It would have to be to set the sky ablaze, right?”

Ian sat adjacent from the mercenary. He was dressed in robes of the Royal Academy of Dean. Ian had been the Headmaster of the Academy for thirteen years, but he did not teach. The original role of the Academy was research; it was how he discovered Colin Nirum Syn.

Princess Amelia appeared in his office on the late autumn day her father died. She was truly a devastating beauty. Her face sharp face with high cheekbones and a pretty red mouth all framed by her even darker long auburn hair that shimmered in the light. Her soft brown eyes were red and wet. In her hand, clinched tightly was a tattered parchment.

“Your highness,” He bowed deeply, feeling the waves of anguish roll off her. “You should be with her mother, grieving.”

She threw the paper of his desk with a flourish. “Duke Aquine approached me after the healers pronounced Father dead. He asked me to succeed the title to him and in return he would make me his bedmate, but if I fight him.” Her emotions were clear in her voice. “He would turn me into the whore I should be.” Ian unrolled the parchment. “When the Shrine collapsed, we sent an excavation team and they returned with this.”

Ian skimmed over the page. It was neatly written with long strokes of a quill in the Ancient tongue, Auroan. “Is this-?”

“The Script of Zion, yes.”

He heart hammered in his chest. The paper in his hand was over 5000 years old written by the son of Zaude before he made his journey to other worlds. “What do you want me to find?”

She pulled another set of papers from her robes. “In the Script, Zion prophecies the birth of the Child of the Full Moon in the fourth order of the sun. ‘The Child of the Full Moon shall call upon the most sacred of all spirit to set the sky ablaze at the time of the Calamity of War.’ It’s only been called once by King Brunellus to end Civil War on Aurous. I need this child to keep my title.”

Doen was a warrior country, what you kill you keep. “How will we find the child?”

She pushed the papers to him. “These are the bloodlines of the Brunellus, Godfre, Torr, Maxwell, and Syn. Torr and Maxwell were killed during the invasion. Malachi killed all the Brunellus. Father killed the last Godfre at the Shrine. Syn is the only bloodline left of the royalty. I need Colin Nirum Syn to be alive.”

“Are there any siblings?”

“No, March only had one child. He should be an easy target, he’s six.”

Artemis’ tapping snapped Ian out of his flashback. “No one really knows what type of spirit it is, but Fire is a good start. We’ll take him to Gados Caves.”

“Strong Fire spirit, how many men should we take?”

“A small unit, sixty people, makes twenty of them mages.” Ian sat up walking to the Diplomat room where Colin was held. “We’ll leave in three days.”

                                                                         *    *             *

“And this is the Crimson edition, constant map updates, built communication nodes, guard scanner, search apparatus, the whole works. I’m selling it to you for 3000 credits. And since it’s you, I’ll even let you use that broken armor to knock some of the price off.” Rafiel, the Draco salesmen offered. The Draco was a dragon faced people reaching the normal height of 7’3” with scales on their forearms, legs and backs. They had very small grasp of Manna but they made up with knowledge, speed, and longevity. The Draco lifespan was 50 human years equaled a Draco year. But in all four years of Rafiel's life, he never met an Auroan like Elios.

Elios had come to know Rafiel giving him errand jobs before he became a hunter. “And what is the normal price?”

“3,500 credit.”

“With my armor?”

“With your armor, 2,900 credits.”

Elios smiled lightly. “You’re still making great deals.”

Rafiel bowed, deeply. “You know me well.”

Something glimmered behind the Draco. “What is that?” He pointed to the armor behind the glass. The armor looked like the rest. Completely black with silver plating and stitching but this one had wings.

Rafiel looked at Elios’ face through the reflection of the glass. “I’m sorry you can’t buy that.”

“Why?” He asked, not looking away from the glass.

“It’s only for Dracos. Your physiology couldn’t handle the suit.”

“Are sure you no one else has one?” Elios faced the Draco almost opening his Empathy but Gifts didn’t work on Dracos.

Rafiel slatted his eyes at Elios, “No, I had this made personally. For my son.”

He took another look at suit. “Um, I’ll take the Crimson edition.”

“That’ll 5,000 credit.” Elios glared at him. “Okay, 2,900.”

“Just give me the suit.”

Elios stood half naked, mindlessly rubbing his chest for the new installation of the bio-armor. The new models needed direct integration with the body. Rafiel stood a few feet away holding a thin piece of metal.

“I will warn you; this will hurt like Remys’ Sorrows.” Rafiel had only seen few Febits wield the Crimson Armor before. It killed most humans and Auroan’s were too delicate. “Are you sure?”

Elios tried to stop his heart from pounding. “Yes.”

Rafiel stepped forward and typed into the small black rectangle, inputting Elios’ measurements. The rectangle became liquid instantly and stuck to Elios. He gritted his teeth as the thing ripped through his flesh to his heart. His vision became cloudy, his head started pounding. He couldn’t help but think if the armor was killing him. All he could see was the Draco’s long sad face staring at him.