The Emerald Legend (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Seven Vortexes

The morning air carried cold and chilled gusts against Amalia's pale face. It sent shivers down her body and out through her toes.

They sat in the center of the plateau where Osirian had shown her the stars the night before. She was given a thick rug to situate herself on while Osirian was accustomed to sitting on the dense gravel. He wore a dark brown coat that stopped just above the knee and also had a pair of puffy dark pants to match.

Amalia looked up to the sky before they began, hoping that it would calm her like it did the night before. Looking up she could see the moon that rotated around their planet. It looked enormous at this elevation and it seemed to be bigger than the sun. It looked blue and transparent during the daylight hours; it was an incredible sight.

Seian sat under the large oak tree a few feet from them and watched lazily them from a distance. He was usually stimulated by Amalia by means of a toy or training but he was rather exhausted from the long journey up the mountain. Amalia sat straight and focused directly in front of her as Osirian began to speak.

"Listen closely now," he said placing the palms of his hands over his knees. "Today we are going to start off with the basics of all that I will teach you." Amalia gulped with anticipation. "I will teach you the most basic of all the techniques which will soon be used as the foundation of everything you will learn."

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I'm still not exactly sure how this is related to me finding my true kin," Amalia said as politely as she could.

"Finding the truth is a long and difficult path that you are ill equipped to take. What I am offering you is knowledge and skill to prepare you for such a journey." Amalia sat still, wondering what could possibly lie in store for her.

"You must pay close mind, for there is much to learn," he paused. "First, I want you to relax your body. Start from the tips of your toes and let all the feeling go. Then move up to your feet and your calves, up to your legs and hips, and so on." As he spoke, Amalia instinctively closed her eyes and took a deep breath and began to relax, starting from the bottom and working her way up.

Osirian watched her intensely, she felt his eyes on her, noticing each part as it become more and more relaxed. After a few moments of silence, she became completely still and they were both surprised at how naturally it came to her.

"Your energy seems to respond to your command quite easily," he said.

"How can you tell?" Amalia said losing her posture out of curiosity.

"I can see all that is hidden, as well as your soul," he spoke softly. Amalia brought her gaze down slowly to look at him. His eyes were darting back between hers and then scanned down and back up along the center of her body. Amalia shivered a bit as if he had somehow reached out and touched her.

"You can see me?" she asked almost breathless.

"I can see your soul, the energy flowing in endless cycles all around you, the patterns your thoughts produce. It's quite beautiful to see the soul of another." He did not take his eyes away from her. Amalia's eyes were locked on him as well as if somehow there was some unbeknown, beyond-time connection between them. Her whole being felt like little prickly spikes were dancing up and down it. It was almost like fire but it did not burn and she wondered if Osirian felt it too.

"But," he said, gently snapping her out of her small trance, "we should continue with our lesson."

Amalia's exhaled heavily and nodded. "Yes, of course," she said trying to seem as unaffected as possible.