Legacy of the Golden Wielder

Chapter 2

Hello. Hope everyone is having a good day!!!

----

CHAPTER 2

The next morning, Aadi and Zoen found themselves walking down the street, headed toward the library. Usually Zoen would have complained about going to the rich part of the city, but he knew that even he could not pass up an opportunity to visit the grand library.

Aadi walked slowly as he took another bite of the mana Zoen had heated into a bun. There weren’t many people out so early, which gave him a chance to admire the large mansions that flanked him from both sides.

“We should really walk a bit faster and quit all this gazing,” Zoen suggested. His eyes darted nervously to a group of people who moved toward them. “Anyone could be a spy for the royal guards.”

“You worry too much,” said Aadi. Usually he would have been more on his toes, but he knew that today was delivery day. That meant most guards were busy guarding the horse-drawn wagons that were scheduled to bring in provisions from Asturia. The brick streets were mostly empty, save a servant women who carried baskets of clothes down to the river.

“I have to worry,” said Zoen. He continued looking at every woman they passed with suspicion, as if at any moment the old ladies might jump in for an attack. “We can’t all be like you, taking life as it comes without a care in the world.”

Aadi waved his hands dismissively. “You’ll go bald with all that stress, Zoen. Look around you. Even in this rich district the bricks, homes, and windows are not as polished and pristine as they once where. Every other place in Va’siel is going to the gutter. Some even say that humanity is on the brink of extinction.” He yawned. “And what should I do about it? Fret over something I can’t control? No, I don’t think I’ll be doing that. I’ll just take life as it comes and make what I can of it.”

“Well, that’s certainly nice for—”

Zoen staggered back as a boy about his age bumped into him, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Hey!” Zoen shouted. He looked up as he wiped the dirt from his mouth. “Watch where you’re going.”

But the shaggy-haired boy was not listening; he pushed past Aadi. A second later, the boy suddenly stopped. He stood in place, his right arm and leg frozen in a forward lurch. It seemed like someone had stopped time, but Aadi knew that was impossible. He, himself, was still moving regularly.

That’s when the air in front of him spiraled into a whirlwind of circles and a man, wearing brown leather armor, walked out of the anomaly.

A wielder! Aadi mused. Wielders were easily recognizable by the polished, marbled emblem attached to the glove they wore on the back of their hand. The color of the emblem varied by the type of element the wielder had control over. This particular wielder wore a dark oval-shaped emblem. At the center of it were yellowish-white streaks of light dashing across. Those are shooting stars! Wow! It’s an actual space wielder. Aadi had seen a few wielders in his short life, but all of them had been wielders of basic elements like water, fire, mind, and void. He never thought he would get to meet a wielder who controlled an advanced element.

With his mouth wide open, Aadi watched as the space wielder released the gravity around the boy who fell to the floor, face first.

“You have something that doesn’t belong to you,” said the space wielder. For the first time, Aadi forced his eyes offof the man’s emblem and toward the man himself. He had a long dark mustache and a beard. His eyes were a deep brown. Like Aadi, his skin was a light tan. “I want it back.” He reached for the pocket in his ragged pants and pulled out a loaf of dry bread. “I…I really need food for my little n-niece, mister.”