Manipulators

Manipulator 1: Kathryn (Prologue)

The pool of iridescent liquid began to stir violently, almost as if it could sense the procession approaching. Coloured lights of all shades penetrated the canopy, as the silhouetted figures lined up along the ridge of the crater - elemental guards held strategic positions along the ridge, and the remaining people clustered together, murmuring amongst themselves. The mysterious hole was an obvious blot on the landscape, and a definite focal point for the ritual that was about to begin.

An adolescent girl stepped down into the crater, treading cautiously towards the central pool. Her ceremonial gown billowed out around her slender form, the small silver stars clashing against each other on the deep indigo fabric. Around halfway down she hesitated, and turned for reassurance - her father smiled and nodded to spur her on, before he himself then turned to the three elders.

"Is she ready for this Pater Duc? I don't want to lose my Kathryn."

The lead elder's eyes never strayed from the crater, as he gave his ambiguous answer.

"That is for the crater to decide, my friend".

Kathryn lifted the hood of her robes, hiding the golden curls that fell about her shoulders. Her arm trembled as she reached towards the pool, which was now glowing with a constant dazzling golden colour. Now that she was there, she found herself overpowered by a new temptation - the liquid called to her, enticing her to bathe her fingers in its metallic moisture. The instant her fingers touched the shimmering water, her whole body erupted in a series of convulsions.

Kathryn's father lunged forward, but was immediately restrained by Pater Duc.

"No! Let the process take its course!"

Strange sinuous fibres enveloped Kathryn's body, forming a network of thousands of pulsating lights - as quickly as they had come, the seizures dissipated and released Kathryn from their torturous grasp.

"Now we wait until her power is chosen, we guard her as long as it takes...."

Pater Duc was interrupted by a hail of bullets from the surrounding trees, as several masked men revealed themselves from the shadows of the forest. Their ambush had been carefully planned, but for one flaw - they were dealing with the Potentii.

The nearest elemental guard flicked his hand with ease, summoning roots and vines from beneath the ground - they ensnared one of the attackers and, lifting him writhing and screaming into the air, shredded his body. Blood rained on the remaining men, who dropped their firearms and fled.

Pater Duc spoke sinisterly to the guards. "Finish them."

The guards tapped into their subconscious, and summoned their respective powers - balls of molten lava, jagged shards of ice, and rogue lightning bolts pursued the terrified men, killing them without opposition. As their decapitated bodies slumped to the floor, three gunshots echoed from behind.

One of the assailants had made it into the crater, and found a new target - the vulnerable Kathryn. The man's face was a portrait of sheer terror, as he realised his bullets had not reached their mark, and now in fact levitated just metres from his face. The golden fibres twitched into action, lifting Kathryn up, reminiscent of a puppet on string - her eyes glowed with a fierce intensity, as she clenched her fists.

Simultaneously, the bullets dissolved in midair, to form a single floating ball of bubbling molten lead - with a swift wrist movement, the blisteringly hot melted metal tore into the man's face. Screaming in agony, he began to claw at his disfigured skin, and fell down squirming at the intolerable pain. Kathryn's reanimated form fell back into unconsciousness, as a ceremonial dagger from Pater Duc mercifully ended the unfortunate man's suffering.

A common word arose among the crowd that had now gathered in the crater - "manipulator".

Pater Duc turned to address the Potentii that stood before him:

"The crater has shown us the fourth chosen one - it awakened her power in her time of need, this girl is truly special. The time has come...."