Book of The Lightborn: Rise

Change

They ran for half a sun, their bodies barely holding themselves up. It wasn't that they didn't have energy, quite the opposite, the Lightborn possessed a lot of energy through their light. But the energy, it strained their bodies. While at the LInk, this strain couldn't be felt, as the light didn't continuously surged through their bodies, only replenishing them when needed. Now though, as the light was their lifeline and they depended solely on it, they couldn't let go of it. Usually they would rest their bodies and focus on minimizing the light input into their bodies, which usually took a few hours, now unable to rest even for a moment. Some were especially tired because of the additional lights they bore. Manna on one hand, had the tallest body, on par with that of Kilon, which allowed for more light to surge through and more mass to resist it's strain, but at the same time, she had to carry those still wounded, while swaying the winds for all her over one thousand six hundred siblings to fasten the pace, all of which required massive amount of energy from the light, adding a heavy strain on her body.

"We're not going to make it, not with her like this. And even if we do, she will be in no condition to protect us." Orvus thought to himself, healing a sister of his. His light focused on the task at hand, as he swayed the winds below him to float above the ground, his mastery ever so strong. "That is, of course...unless I do something about these injured siblings of mine." thunders following his line of thinking, the clouds not so far now, as only fifty of those gravely injured remained, ten survived and another forty died, Orvus's glow stronger than before.

Manna was breathing heavily, her run only managed to keep up with the others at the forefront because of her long limbs. "Felemous. Come here." she commanded, her brother at the left, ensuring everything was fine. He didn't hear, her voice drowning amongst the huffs of her siblings and that of the storm behind. So she cried louder "Felemous! Come here brother." Manna's voice now heard.

"Yes sister. What is it?" he inquired, his attention split.

"You caught one once right?" Manna asked.

"Catch what? You will have to be more specific." his mind trying to find an answer while swaying his hand, signaling his siblings to maintain ranks, so that Manna doesn't have to focus as much on her wind manipulation.

"The thick light. You once were amidst a powerful storm and caught one didn't you?" she explained. Her eyes trying to close on their own will. She was referring to lightning, Felemous was the only one alive to have attempted such a thing. 

For them, most of the times, catching or even manipulating lightning was pretty useless, as it wasn't really common in the Shivering Lands for it to strike. The basic method for surviving lightning, after the incident, was to simply feel the winds. One proficient at it, could tell if the air is more humid or charged electrically, something which some developed after the first expeditions beyond the Link.

Only once did it prove useful, when Felemous and a few other Lightborn were first exploring the lands. A storm enveloped them at that time, much like Kilon's first venture, except it was heavily charged with electricity. After attempts in swaying the winds and trying to escape, their failures led to half the group almost dying, being hit by lightning. Felemous, in an act of desperation, offered his body to the storm. He told his siblings to lower their bodies, as lightning was observed to only hit the tallest ones, and to wait. When it first hit him, he almost fainted into a coma. The second time however, Felemous was able to anticipate the lightning. Although he couldn't manipulate it or even properly discharge it elsewhere, he was able to deflect it, his hands acting as conduits through which the lightning coursed and allowed to be expelled elsewhere. The third time it hit, for a moment, he was able to control the lightning, but the first attempt heavily injured his body, while the second mainly injured his hands, so he had to let go of it.