Book of The Lightborn: Rise

The good for all

"Not everyone is strong. That much I know." Orvus thought to himself, as he dismantled the tornadoes trying to form amidst the storm surrounding them. "It is why Kilon, the one who became our beacon of strength, had to endure the wilderness beyond the Link firsthand." his thoughts kept going, as the strain on his power grew. "It is why I was assigned to lead this group. But when I failed to serve as their pillar of strength, Manna had to take over. Now though, when she failed to provide her strength, I had to protect my siblings once more.". As he finished his line of thought, he looked at Felemous, tears in the form of sparks erupting from his eyes.

"I'm not weak. I know that, because it is I who came up with this plan, so that we may escape." Orvus now changed his gaze upon those injured, barely holding together at the center where Felemous's light could reach. "My body, however, cannot hold this strain for too long. And there is only so much my brother can do." his face twisted and frowned as he thought of what needs to be done. He couldn't think of any other solution.

Orvus, in terms of abilities, varied the greatest. He was able to cast rays of light from different parts of his body, which could serve as sensory organs, similar to the eyes and skin. He could manipulate other's lights in order to heal them, cast powerful bursts of energy and enhance his mind through the light, speeding up his thinking from seconds, to milliseconds. Much like Kilon and others like him, he could also manipulate the light outside his body to interact with living matter, and, at times, even critters. His malleability in terms of light manipulation, was the greatest.

These facts combined, allowed him to commit the first crime known to the Lightborn: stealing someone's light. By connecting his light from the short distance he was at from the injured ones, one by one, amidst the storm, he fueled himself with the light of his siblings. Some struggled against his will, but their precarious situation, disabled their struggles to mere frowns and growls. With each light stolen, each of them died, his own growing stronger and allowing him to push his body further.

Orvus felt sorrow, sadness, anger as he stole their lights. A Lightborn's light carries the knowledge and experiences those which possessed it had. So, Orvus could feel their intense rage and anger directed at him through their lights, weighing heavily on his mind. However, he couldn't let them drown him in anguish, he had to fulfill his duty, and he was ready to do anything in order to accomplish it, evident by his actions. "Sorry. Brothers, sisters. If not for you, we all could've been swallowed by the storm whole. I bear your lights, even if it destroys me." he thought to himself. His eyes now lighting up with the overbearing power of his siblings, sixty one in number, allowing him to continue what he had to do.

The storm kept going for a whole sun. By the end, besides the seven Felemous killed due to his distraction, and the twenty one gravely injured which Orvus stole their light from, no one else died. As everyone could finally rest, Felemous let go of their lights, except for the seven that now he had to bear. The Lightborn could now at long last rest. The storm went forward into the Gargantuan forest.

"We should wait here for a sun and a half. Let the storm pass by so we can then venture inside." Orvus told Felemous, although his brother didn't really listen. "The gravely injured were also killed by the storm, it seems that your light wasn't enough to protect them." Orvus continued, Felemous knowing all too well about that, even though it wasn't the truth. "I will keep watch over Manna and-"

"Can you stop? Just for a moment, I need you to stop." Felemous interrupted, his voice grave and sad, the lights which he bore weighing on his mind. "I know we must take care of our siblings, but I'm too weak right now to do so."

Orvus was obsessive in his behaviour. He wanted to do everything in his power to ensure the safety of his siblings. Not only that, the lights which he stole kept bothering him. It was like a steady pressure on his mind, not letting him rest properly, so he wanted to keep himself active. Those wishes, however, were cut off by Manna, waking up from her deep slumber.