The Gathering of Masters: The Bond Once Severed Book 1

30. The First Test

Natalia stroked the soft grass beside her absently before readjusting her crossed legs and straightening her back. Her body responded to the anticipation building in her heart with restlessness. Across from her, The Master sat in silence with his eyes closed, just as he had since they first settled. His body could have been a statue.

Her eyes darted around the quiet courtyard. Despite its proximity to the house, Natalia had never noticed it before. There were not enough plants to call it a garden, but a small fountain trickled quietly in the middle of a small copse of short trees. Grass lined the ground without any barriers or paths. The entrance lay hidden behind the kitchen, perhaps the kitchen staff usually enjoyed it, but today, it was her testing ground.

Natalia inhaled deeply and tried to calm her mind again, but it wanted to return to her questions and worries. Today, The Master would gauge her strength and decide if she could train to be an Earth Master. The failed Earth priestess becoming an Earth Master, the thought pushed a smile to the edge of her lips. Paulo's voice drew her mind back from where it had wandered.

"This space has a barrier around it, similar to that around the Vale, and is heavily shielded. Jiyun is here to augment it with her shield while I am testing. You can relax and let me help you find your powers." He opened his blue-green eyes, and the usual spark of levity that followed him everywhere had disappeared. For the first time, Natalia felt the similarity between Paulo and the Academy Masters who had trained her in her youth. With a reassuring smile, he placed his hands on the Earth on each side of him. Natalia copied the movement and opened her mind to the Master and the Earth.

"Good. Stay open but do not grasp as the priestesses do. Allow the Mother to come to you." The ground rumbled around them, making everyday speech impossible. With a strength Natalia did not know the Master possessed, he entered her Mindspace without touching her. They had never spoken this way before, but it felt natural.

"Reach down. Feel the Earth. Explore her vastness," Paulo instructed. She sat alone in the emptiness of her Mindspace. The Master spoke but did not appear, and she did not fill the space with any of her memories. It was dark and quiet; the Master's voice was the only sound. As he had commanded, she concentrated on the Earth.

The surface layer overflowed with life.

Further down, thick layers of stone slowly moved against each other.

Then, the heat of the liquid core flowing around its solid center pushed a bead of sweat to her brow.

She came back towards the crust, her favorite layer of the Earth. This was where she escaped when she couldn't survive any other way; the Earth Superior's accidental gift to her. The chains of power coursed through every level. She obeyed The Master and didn't pull at them but touched several and marveled at their presence. How often had she heard the priestesses speak of these chains and wondered what they were? The Priestess Superior was the only one who could use them entirely, but most priestesses could touch them and draw some rejuvenation from them. Without the use of the chains of power, Natalia could only be a prisoner of the Temple, yet now she could see them so clearly and feel the energy pulsing through every link.

At peace, she waited. She felt the silent presence of the Master, his power flowing through the Earth with hers.

"You have returned to us," a voice remarked before the Mother appeared before her. "You come to us willingly this time." 

With her, the Mother brought life to her Mindspace. Trees, grass, flowers, and then all the young forest animals came to view. 

"We have missed you, sister. So few can hear us as you do, and we are happy to talk with you again. We felt you each time you came to us to hide in our bounty, but you were not ready to hear us. You had needs, but you asked nothing of us," The Mother explained as sat on a rock fashioned into a small stool next to a silent Natalia. "We would have given you whatever you asked. Even if we couldn't speak with you."