Manipulators

Manipulator 3: Aaron

Lake Tristi was one of the last remaining untainted beauties in the urbanised surroundings of Mortem - at least, Aaron thought so. His eye for the true importance in life had been vastly unnoticed, perhaps even ignored. Power was not everything, he had tried in vain to convince his parents - what good is the ability to have control over natural elements, even fellow humans, when you do not possess the simple gift of happiness and self satisfaction. Perhaps this was due to his infamous status as one of the rare children who was denied a power by the crater.

He often relived that fateful night - his nightmares were plagued by the mocking laughter of his peers, the look of pure disgust from the elders, his mother's pitiful tears. Eventually, his parents had given up hope of any glimpse of a power developing, and had lately denied him much more attention than a brief greeting. With two elder brothers in the prestigious Elemental Guard, Aaron had fallen short of his parent's expectations.

Now, he had been driven to the extreme, as he stood precariously on the cliff overlooking Lake Tristi. With nobody to turn to, Aaron had succumbed to despair. One final smile emerged on his face as he briefly observed his idyllic surroundings - the varying shades of green danced together in the diminishing evening light, which reflected off the placid lake surface in rich abundant blues, pinks and yellows. How Aaron would miss this natural beauty - human beauty was non-existent to him.

The concealed blade slid across his wrist in one sweeping motion, causing Aaron to finally lose his balance and topple clumsily into the crystal water below him. He was instantly winded as his back slapped against the lake surface, forcing Aaron to abandon his air supply. But Aaron did so willingly. Water gushed into his lungs, forcing him further from the dappled surface. A brief bump signified Aaron's arrival on the lake bed, which he believed would become his tomb.

Minutes passed. Aaron was puzzled that he had remained conscious, and even more confused to learn that the fatal incision had faded to become barely visible. On extending his arm, Aaron noticed that the outline of his physical form had somehow disappeared, stretching the realms of possibility - his body had become one with the water. With new found ease of movement, Aaron drifted and glided through the water, before surfacing with a leaping burst.

Aaron prepared to gasp, but found that even this was not possible - he realised that he had survived the ordeal without needing to breath. With a shriek of joyous disbelief, he raised his arms to the sky, savouring the evening breeze.

"I can't die!"

Now aware of the presence and nature of his power, Aaron was enlightened. Undoubtedly, there would be more aspects of his power to discover and conquer, but all in good time. Now it was time to return to Potentias and prove his worth - how jealous his brothers would be.