Just a Bystander

Freedom of Choice

I barely had time to wonder for the second time that day where the shy version of Ambrose had gone before I found myself being assaulted by a compulsion to flee from danger.

It was easy to trace what was happening now that I knew the mechanism behind it. Unfortunately, that didn't make it any easier to resist. Before I could stop myself, I was already on my feet, my heart racing furiously in response to a perceived threat. My body turned of its own volition and I found myself facing the exit.

I clamped down on the impulse with all the willpower I could muster to stop myself from dashing through the doors. Instead of going into a flat-out sprint, I ended up trundling forward awkwardly for a few steps before I sank to my knees. I let out a grunt of pain as I hit the floor with an audible thump. The compulsion vanished and I heard Ambrose's footsteps hurrying up to me.

'Caden! Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean-'

He stopped abruptly as I retaliated with a burst of compulsion of my own, mirroring the impulse to flee that he had thrown at me. He stopped short with a gasp of surprise. I was still on the floor as I turned around and saw him rooted to the spot, struggling to master himself. Then, to my utter surprise, he straightened up and grinned wolfishly.

I leaned into the compulsion, pouring more of my aura to warp the ambient arcana. The low humming noise filled my ears and I felt the familiar tingle across my skin. Ambrose's grin faded slightly and his eyes lost their focus as he turned his attention inward, but he managed to stay put. After a few seconds, I released my hold on the arcana. A sudden hollowness descended on me, and I knew that my auric arcana was almost completely depleted.

'Wait,' I rasped, holding up a hand to forestall any reprisal. 'I'm... I'm tapped out.'

Ambrose's grin vanished. He hurried over and knelt next to me. 'Vent all the ambient arcana, or you'll suffer serious overdraw.'

I nodded, my mind already turned to that purpose. The air rippled around me as I shed the arcana that had leeched into my system in that short period. I realised that there was a lot more of it, for some reason.

'There's so much more,' I murmured, maintaining a careful focus on the venting process as I watched the waves rising around me.

'The emptier you are, the faster the ambient arcana suffuses you,' Ambrose explained.

'How did you stop the compulsion?' I asked, dividing my attention with some effort.

'I had more time to think about the first time you pulled it on me. Back in the dorm I managed to stop myself from blurting anything out because I instinctively tried to block ambient arcana from entering my system. But blocking it isn't enough - you have to remove the contaminated arcana inside you at the same time. So that's what I did this time.'

'Damnit, are you always this quick on the uptake? You picked up Jerric's glyph sequences for the arcing bolts really quickly too,' I grumbled.

'I'd say natural talent or intelligence, or good training, but honestly, I don't know.' He shrugged, looking pensive. 'Maybe it's the Prophecy. You know, one thing that's hard about being the Chosen One is that I sometimes feel like I don't get to decide anything about my life, or even who I am. Did I choose to be interested in Thaumaturgy? Or was I forced into it without even knowing? If people are defined by the choices they make... then how much of me is really me, and how much of me is just the result of a Prophecy?'

I didn't know what to say to that. It occurred to me then that I had been very unfairly harsh towards him when I swore at him earlier. If being near the Chosen One was already changing my life and making me feel like I was losing control, then it had to be worse for the person himself.