Amity

Chapter 46: Darkness Stirs

Dre's eyes fluttered open later that night after he'd return home. He was laying on the lone island, staring up at the sky of the mirrored world, the same world that he'd met Hiro. Groggily, he picked himself off of the grass. The tree seemed to sway in slow motion, filling the still air with its languid applause. He looked at himself in the mirror-like ocean. His hair was straight, as if he hadn't been asleep. Despite this, he was still wearing his plaid pajamas. Was this a dream?

"Ah, you've finally arrived, Ke'Undre Wolf." Dre's head snapped behind him, seeing Hiro walked from behind the tree. "I've been waiting for you."

"Seriously, you've got to stop sneaking up on me like that. You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

"My apologies," Hiro chuckled. Hardening his face, he said, "As much as I wish it was for a friendly visit, I'm afraid that I have some grim news." Dre's heart pounded. Of course, it had to be bad news. "Since you've only known about your heritage for a month, I'll fill you in on some details." He rested a thumb on Dre's forehead, while placing his index and middle finger on his temple. Before Dre could speak, Hiro pressed down his thumb on Dre's forehead, sending him into a dark void. Hiro's voice carried out through the void. "There's a cult on our planet called the True Amians, and they're bad news."

A man appeared though the void, with a long braid draped over his shoulder. His hardened, green eyes stared unfocused at the void. His jaw was covered by a thick, blond beard. "The True Amians were originally founded by a man named Tidus Boltz. Tidus was as much of an evil man as he was charismatic. He theorized that the five Elder Sages brought up this world to keep us separated so we don't become too powerful to overthrow them. He went from town to town, with the sole purpose of amassing a grand army in his name. Not a lot of people took him seriously, at least, not at first. He managed to persuade five people in Ekaruke Town. Since then the group spread like wildfire."

In an instant, at least a thousand cloaked figures appeared with him in the void, each one with their hands behind their backs. "Many were executed who weren't purely a member of their elemancy genus. Of course, since the five elemancy factions united many lifetimes ago, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who was 'pure' in his eyes. However, there was one."

"There was? But how?"

"I'm not sure. I've asked Tryphosa, the Elder Sage of Spirits, about it, but she refused to mention it. I'll come back to that later, however. For decades, the number of True Amians have been in the millions. People were constantly paranoid about who was with them and who wasn't. Soon enough, it began to tear asunder the very fabric of Amian life. Finally fed up with it, the sages banded together to find any members of the True Amians and imprison them. Thousands were incarcerated, and the ones who wasn't went into hiding. All except for one man; Tidus. Being the ringleader, he had a Limiter placed on him, restricting him from using his elemancy. Eventually, he went mad and took his own life." At once, the figures all were swallowed by the void. All but one.

"Now onto the reason I've filled you in on this history. The second-in-command, Abraham Swordsworn has been spotted. He's a man that is purely a Spirit Elemancer, and yet, he is not. Whereas Spirit Elemancers has a peaceful aura, Abraham's is dark and chaotic, giving him the name Abraham Shadow-Dweller." The hood of the cloak pulled itself back, as if pulled by a string, revealing a man glaring back at him with dark, almost demonic eyes. His jaw was shielded by a silver mask. "Though he isn't as charismatic as Tidus, he has one thing that makes him a force to be reckoned with, something that would make a lone soldier petrify a whole army."

"What does he have?" Dre questioned.

"He has Aggaron." Suddenly, the mirrored world returned to him. Hiro stood, his hand placed on his katana strapped to his hip. Dre stood just as fast, looking around, as if Aggaron was in the world. He found nothing but an endless sky, connecting to the mirrored ocean. "Darkness stirs. It gives weak-willed people a false sense of strength. As the days pass, he grows stronger and stronger. It's now your turn to grow." He pulled the sword from its sleek, red scabbard, and held it out to Dre. "Take hold of this sword, Ke'Undre Wolf, and reap a small sample of your power, your right: the power of the King of Elements."