Echoes of the Past

Chapter Fourteen - Part One

Chapter Fourteen: The James Island That Once Was - Part One

An hour after dinner, James was sat on a bed in the upstairs room that Tabetha had provided for them. An empty bed was against the opposite wall, with wooden shelves and drawers lining the walls. The low thrum of a slow-spinning ceiling fan filled the silence of the room.

He had cursed himself for being such a moonbrain and not realising his words would have affected Evan so badly. He hadn't even thought about enslaving people, and yet that's how it came out to Evan. He shook his head, telling himself that he should not be allowed to speak to anyone. Self-loathing thoughts of inadequacy sunk him into a deep despair.

A part of him now wanted to bite back at Evan, and stand up for himself. But James had never been a confrontational person. He had never been good with talking to people, even when it came to mundane casual talk. He had spent so long trying to hide his amnesia from the people he got to know, he didn't even know how to openly talk to someone, without fear of what they might think of him. Tam had often encouraged James to keep his head down and always mind his manners. That was all James knew.

Attempting to focus his mind elsewhere, James had decided to look over the magic book given to him by Tabetha. It had made him realise how thankful he was for still having the ability to read. He could have just as easily had no previous knowledge of any education - or even basic motor functions - along with his lack of training and personal experiences. He shuddered at the thought of waking up with the brain of a newborn child. He sighed and thought, I'm not that far off a two year old brain, from the way I acted at dinner...

The book was opened on the page that detailed the recognised classes of magic: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Earth, Wind, Restoration, Illusion, Light, Dark, Holy, Death, Time, Spirit, and Silk. It was a huge list that made his head spin just thinking about it all. A note mentioned a fifteenth class, which was covered in a later chapter.

When he looked over a summary of the fundamentals of magic, he read a passage titled Magical Realms. It told him that each magical class is derived from the powers of a god, and each god dwells in their own realm of existence. The Wind Realm, for example, consists of an endless, empty air space, and if someone were somehow able to enter the realm, they would end up falling forever, unless they had the power of flight, an ability only available to a Master of Wind Magic.

James read on. While there are considered to be hundreds of gods in the known galaxy, there are fourteen that are considered Universal Gods, also called the All-Gods. The most widely recognised gods in the galaxy range from Meilos, the Lord of the Gods and Holy Father, to his antithesis, Darsagoth, the Dark Lord of Evil, also known as the Devil.

He had read once about the many wars between the gods throughout the known history of the galaxy. He still thought of them as stories, even if something inside him felt that he already knew they were real. Maybe that's why he had trouble getting along with Evan, who was so adamant about his own faith and belief in gods.

Looking over more pages, skimming over subject headings and making mental notes of what to look another time, one section caught James's eye. A stylised image depicted a dragon up on its back legs, head raised and breathing fire. The passage, titled The Eternal Dragons, spoke of the ancient dragons that had roamed many planets millennia ago. Some, it mentioned, were even thought to be able to fly through space. They were considered colossal, magnificent beasts, unlike their evolved ancestors that lived in present day.