The Summoner Series - Book One - DUALITY

Chapter 16: Cain - When the World Began to Crumble

In the past, before the world decided to tear itself apart, long before the start of the Final War, people lived in relative peace. There were some fighting between countries, but we mostly had an understanding for every other human on this planet. There were disputes about laws, arguments about society, and debates about what a human should be able to accomplish. However, these disputes paled in comparison the day the First Summoner was found. She was a teenage girl that was praised as a god like figure in the deserts of what was Africa. She could control every element that each Summoner can individually. She Summoned water from the moisture in the air, then froze that same water. She could set fire to the wood that was brought before her as sacrifice. She moved full dunes of sand into her own figure. She could Summon thunder storms with the snap of her fingers. And, she could bring life back from near death. The tribe called her Tsuni, Goddess of All Elements. To some, she was a person that could be weaponized, but to others, she was the savior of the misfits. The outcasts. The people in the back of the room who didn't think that they belonged to anyone else. She belonged to them.

Not too long after her discovery, other Summoners started to appear. The more that started to appear, the more the governments of the world were worried about what to do. They didn't know if they could trust Summoners to keep the peace, if they should turn them into a militia, or if they should kill every Summoner that appeared. While world leaders were debating what to do with the lives of people, the Summoner's numbers started to grow. Factions within cities were beginning to form. Soon, Summoners started to give names to themselves. Ice Summoners were Biters. Electric Summoners were Zappers. Summoners that could control the air were Aerols. Summoners that could control water were Hydros. Ground types were called Terras, fire types were Pyros, and those who dealt with life and death were called Floras.

But with these Summoners came those with the Gift. The Gift was something that couldn't be explained to those without it, but those with it say that it is specific sensation that they have to identify if there is a Summoner present. Most times, Summoners felt threatened by the Gifted because they were afraid that the Gifted would sell them out to the government that would kidnap them and force them to fight for their country. There were rare occasions that there would be a Summoner that falls in love with a Gifted and vice versa, but even if they tried to have a kid, it seemed impossible. They were unsuccessful or they were killed before they ever had a chance. There has been no recorded knowledge of anyone having the Gift and being a Summoner.

This pattern of hunting other Summoners and killing the Gifted continued until the Gifted learned how to fight against Summoners. Each type of Summoner had a similar style of fighting. For example, Pyros were more bold and brash, more straight forward. Aerols tended to dodge and weave and only strike quick and fast. This sparked the beginning of the Final War, which lasted for so long people stopped recording it. The world leaders finally decided that they couldn't decide on anything, and that the best decision would be to go to war and whoever came out on top would decide what to do with the Summoners and the Gifted. Some who hated Summoners and the Gifted were thrilled to hear that people were trying to eradicate a threat, but others believed it was immoral to kill people who were just trying to get through life. That's when the global superpowers decided to take over. Russian, China, and the United States of America took over large regions of other continents. No one can remember who decided to steal land first, because it happened generations ago. But one thing that was never forgotten was what each supercontinent power was fighting for. Russia wanted to militarize them, China wanted to save them, but America wanted to kill them. Many Summoners tried to flee to China, but only so many made it through.

The war finally ended when nukes started to be dropped. China dropped a nuclear bomb on Alaska, America bombed Russia, leaving a large crater in the center of it, and Russia slashed a canyon straight through the center of China all the way across the continent. Leaders of all three nations either were killed or faded into obscurity, and the war never really had a conclusive end. Some say the war is still being waged to this day. But after some nuclear fallout has dissipated, and the dust has settled, not much is remembered from a time before the Final War, only that nothing that had happened in the past compared to the level of destruction that occurred during those fateful centuries.

It's said that some powerful Summoners live longer than normal humans, but every Summoner would either be killed or fall off the face of the Earth. But the Temple of the First is where the most powerful Summoner of all still resides, virtually immortal, and untouched by time. Many have sought after it, but no one has been successful ever since the start of the war. Hundreds of years and countless efforts to find her and her tribe have been unsuccessful.

"Now, it is our job to find it before Kristy does." I finish. "Any questions?"

The room was silent. Every Summoner knows the story, but Bruce and Cece were left dumbfounded. Cece raised her hand. "How do we know that the artifact in Velvet Isle will help us find the Temple?"

Jazzy dropped down from the ceiling, holding two large burlap sacks. "Because the first people to discover Tsuni went missing but wrote down the location of the Temple. The only thing is that they feared exactly what's happening now with Kristy, and the broke the pieces of the map up among several different artifacts."

"They didn't want people like Kristy finding the Temple?"

"Exactly." Jazzy said as she opened up a sack to show the whole sack was filled with expensive looking clothes. "These are for the gala in a couple days. Do not stain them, we'll try on the clothes after breakfast." She closed the sack once again. She took the other and dumped its contents on the floor. "These are just some new clothes so we can change out of the ones we've worn since the other day. Help yourself."

Everyone started to dive into the small heap of clothes. There were mostly jeans and tees, but everyone took a new outfit and started heading upstairs. There was only one set of clothes left for me and Jazzy each. I took a pair of black jeans and a dark grey hoodie, almost the same as my old blue hoodie that had holes and stains from falling off a building.

"Thanks, Jazzy. I don't know what I would do without you."

"All in a day's work for your friendly neighborhood assassin." She responded. She grabbed the pair of black leggings and a red short sleeve t-shirt. "What room does Bruce sleep in again?"

"Third door on the left. Aren't you right across from him on the right?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure. I know where everyone else was sleeping, I just wanted to make sure that's where Bruce's room is."

"You don't need to keep tabs on these people, we can't do this heist without any one of them, and they know it."

"I know, it's just a force of habit."

"Well, maybe it's time to learn a little trust with these people."

"Yeah, maybe." She made her way up the stairs, presumably to her room to change. I sat there for a little while before going to my own room, making sure that no one was watching us.

"Just maybe."