Child of Time (53 page)

Riftor got up and continued up the mountain as he
thought about what Kiyan had said. “So you mean that I should think
about throwing it instead of actually throwing it?”

“Something like that.” Kiyan was trying to find other
words to describe the sensation. Riftor picked up a small rock and
let it set in the palm of his hand. Closing his eyes he focused on
the rock. The glow stone in his other hand flickered for a few
seconds then flashed with a bright white light. The rock in his
other hand shot out of his hand towards a giant slab of rock a
couple dozen paces away. The rock blasted into the granite slab and
left a deep pockmark where the shrapnel was imbedded. Out of the
corner of his eye Kiyan saw Sapphire's hair scatter as the wind
obeyed Riftor's will.

“I did it! I did it!” Riftor looked up at Kiyan and
the shocked Sapphire.

“Yes you did and you are still doing it.” Kiyan held
up a hand to shield his eyes as a gust of wind smashed into the
granite slab and sent dust in every direction as it spent itself.
When the dust was settled they heard a sharp crack as the rock
succumbed under the strain and split in half. “You are a better
bender than I had guessed.”

“Kiyan did you make that wind?” Sapphire had captured
her short neck long hair.

“No I didn't.” Kiyan had never heard of someone
bending two elements other than himself without additional
training. Riftor would become a powerful bender with training.

“You mean he is an airbender too?” Sapphire looked at
Riftor with a shocked expression. Kiyan watched shock, surprise,
confusion and excitement vie for control of Riftor's face. Finally
confusion won out and Riftor turned up the hill and continued their
climb. Kiyan sensed that the boy wanted time with his thoughts so
he followed in silence. Sapphire must have sensed the same thing
because she also was quiet.

The group finally reached the top and they set out
following a narrow valley up the hill. Waterfalls cascade down the
sides in areas but Riftor navigated it without failure finding the
best spots to cross. Short scrubby trees survived this high in
clusters here and there. The valley ended in a rock wall that
threatened to block the travelers. Undeterred Riftor promptly
proceeded to climb the wall finding cracks and crevices for fingers
and toes. Kiyan followed keeping an eye on the nimble elf above his
head. They achieved the top without incident however and continued
their journey. A couple high valleys passed and they turned up a
steep ridge on the side of the last one. When they reached the top
they found it wasn't the sharp ridge that they had anticipated but
was instead flattened out into a high shelf of some type. When they
had progressed further they found what looked like a collapsed
crater in the center. The sides dropped dramatically down to a flat
bottom. The oval shaped hole was rather large being a half mile
wide at its widest and only a little less at the narrowest. Near
the middle in a patch of trees and plants that looked out of place
on a mountain like this was a small stone house.

“That's the hermit.” Riftor spoke for the first time
in a while. “I don't know how to get down there.” Kiyan glanced
around the hole in the ground and didn't see a way to walk down. He
knew he could simply drop down the side or fly but he didn't want
to leave Riftor and Sapphire. Another part of him was concerned
wondering what sort of battle would await and if his friends would
be safe if there was a battle. While he was pondering these
questions he noticed a series of unnatural markings on the wall
below him. Triangular cracks with the flat side up could be seen
every foot or so descending down into the hole. Getting an idea
Kiyan spread his fingers and flexed his wrist as he attempted to
bend the rocks. In reward the triangular shapes slid out of the
wall and became a stairway. Kiyan and Sapphire jumped down to the
first one and looked back up at Riftor. The boy paused a moment
before he followed them. The rest of the descent was relatively
easy. At the bottom they made their way towards the dwelling.

Chapter Twenty: Light

“You're late!” The three of them jumped as they
passed a trees and the ancient voice shattered the stillness.

“We are here now.” Kiyan recovered himself enough to
answer the greyed elf that had addressed them.

“Indeed you are. Let me guess. You are here looking
for a challenge and then you will set out to vanquish the agent of
darkness.” The elf stood and leaned on a gnarled staff. If elves
aged slowly than this one had seen centuries.

“Yes?” Kiyan's answer was as much a question.

“Well I'm sorry to disappoint. You have already met
the chosen hero for the mountain tribe. If it makes you feel better
you met him in battle and defeated him. You challenged him to
become a better warrior and yourself learned much of yourself from
the encounter.” The corners of the elf’s mouth twitched up as he
watched Kiyan’s surprised expression. “I am Sorloc.”

At this Sapphire gasped. “Kiyan this is the elven
oracle that made the prophecy.”

“I think I would have remembered a battle like that.”
Kiyan hadn't seen a single mountain elf aside from Riftor and
Sorloc.

“Oh but you do. When we saw this day we saw every
moment and every action that led to this instant. To the day when
our people would balance between great potential and infinite loss.
I saw a girl consumed by darkness and an insatiable hunger. This
one would have laid waste to entire forests in her thirst for power
as the darkness raged in her. We saw the water elves slaughtered by
unnatural fish. We saw a young elf with a great destiny lost in a
tragic accident and no one mourned his loss. We then saw every
action that changed that future. Deep Current and I did things that
should never have been done in order to ensure our survival and
even yet I still haven't seen for an assurity what the future
before us holds.”

“Deep Current?” Kiyan began to realize that he had
been part of a massive plan. “Riftor was the mountain tribe
representative?” His head hummed with new questions.

“So many questions. Come with me and I will answer
some of them.” The elf turned and strode towards his abode. They
followed and found themselves inside a room lit by numerous glow
stones. Sorloc motioned them towards several seats and took one
himself.

“Yes, Deep Current. He was the other oracle that saw
this future. He sabotaged his ship so that the star drive would
fail. They were supposed to be rescued and sent to the world where
he would met you. I can only hope that we didn't doom them to a
terrible fate because of our actions. That brought you here. Deep
Current sent you to the location where you met Sapphire. You freed
her from the darkness and averted her fate. Our carefully crafted
prophesy led you to your encounter with the water tribe hero.
However your battle with the elf was not the challenge. He was
instrumental in attracting the real challenge. You fought and
killed the demon fish and you saved the water elf race. From there
you progressed on the path we laid out for you and came to the
elven settlement in the mountains.”

“So you mean to tell me that the prophecy of the
heroes challenging led me to landing in that fold and nearly
killing Riftor?” Kiyan still felt guilty over that near fatal
accident.

“Exactly. In the original timeline, Riftor was killed
last night in a rockslide on the other side of the mountain. I
built and gave the fold you found him in to his parents.” Sorloc
twisted his staff in his hands. “Each of these encounters gave you
a key that you will use in your final battle against the dark lord.
I only caught a glimpse of the battle. Sapphire was there as well
as three others.”

“What about me? Do I get to fight the dark agent?”
Riftor only understood part of what had been said.

“No, you have a different destiny. A great destiny
and a future protecting the stars but now you must learn and better
yourself. I can guide you on that path if you will let me.” Sorloc
leaned back in his seat and looked Riftor in the eye. “I can train
you in your use of both earth and wind. I can also pass on skills
that have been nearly lost to the ages that will help you in the
future.”

“Will I see my friends again?” Riftor looked between
them furtively.

“That depends entirely on you. Kiyan is already a
protector of the stars and you will meet him again when you take
your place. Sapphire's fate is hidden from me. I don’t know if you
will ever see her again. There are many possible scenarios.” Sorloc
intently waited for an answer.

“If I stay...” Riftor paused and glanced at the
people watching him. “If I stay, do I have to eat royk porridge?”
Judging by the look on Riftor's face it was clearly a deciding
factor.

“Only once in my unnaturally long life have I ever
tasted that abominable porridge. It hasn't befouled my table for
six hundred years.” Sorloc laughed at what he considered a trivial
condition. “So it is settled.” Sorloc gave Sapphire and Kiyan the
information needed to find the dark lord and any advice he felt
important.

After a few more questions, Sapphire and Kiyan left
the house to prepare for their journey back. “Just because you were
seen in the annals of time means nothing when it comes to your
battle. Your victory is not guaranteed. The glimpse I saw was not
enough to tell me that.” Sorloc held Kiyan's shoulder as he tried
to impress his point. “Sapphire, your future is veiled from me also
but I do know that not everything is as you think.” With that
Sorloc rejoined Riftor and walked with the boy back towards his
house. Riftor turned and waved before disappearing from sight.

“Do you think he will be happy with Sorloc?” Kiyan
had a good feeling about the old elf but he was still worried about
the boy he had become attached to in the last day.

“Sorloc has more to offer than anyone on this planet
can give Riftor. The legends state that when he experienced the
vision of the future he was granted immortality. He hasn't aged a
single day since then. If he saw something in Riftor's future, I am
sure he was right. What do you think he meant by protector of the
stars?”

Kiyan was silent for a moment before answering. “I'm
a member of the Protectorate. An organization that protects our
universe and less advanced races from threats from within and out.
That's one of the reasons I am here. These agents of darkness or
drakken are invading our universe and the protectorate is at war
with them.”

“The universe?” Sapphire's eyes widened at the
idea.

“Our fleets patrol the known universe.” Kiyan was
quiet as he thought about what Sorloc had said about. So Riftor was
supposed to join the protectorate at some point in the future if
Sorloc interpreted what he had seen correctly. Kiyan decided that
when the war was over that he would have to come back and check on
him.

“Do you want to fly back?” Sapphire turned to Kiyan.
They had been directed back to Sapphire's continent by Sorloc. They
had a long trip ahead of them.

“Sure if you are up for it.” Kiyan shook a couple
kinks out of his shoulders and quickly shifted into his draconic
form. Snapping his jaws released a satisfying pop. Sapphire rolled
her eyes before gingerly climbing aboard. Kiyan leaped forward and
shoved himself into the air. Spreading his wings and giving a
powerful thrust propelled him high into the air. A twist of the
wingtips and tail made Kiyan slide into a sharp bank before they
hit the side of the canyon. They were above the other side of the
canyon when they reached it. From there they turned and flew
towards their destination only having to dodge a couple peaks along
the way. Sapphire sucked in her breath as they flew off the edge of
the world. Below them could be seen the peaks of the lesser
mountains. Kiyan bent a strong tailwind and settled into a steady
beat. Feeling Sapphire leaning down in an attempt to avoid the cold
slipstream Kiyan bent a bubble of calm air over his back. The
distance melted under his wings as he drove onward. Despite the
level of bending that Kiyan was maintaining he didn't begin to feel
the drain until darkness began to settle. Blue flames trailed his
wings as the dark set in. Kiyan alternated between replenishing his
energy and powering onward.

The crashing waves below were the first indication
that they had reached land. Kiyan circled down and topped his
energy reserves from the ocean before he headed inland. He took it
easy until they cleared the mountain ring that contained the
jungle. Setting down on a ridge Kiyan shifted as soon as Sapphire
clambered down. The sun was already above the horizon by just a
hair’s breadth.

“You ready for this?” Kiyan looked Sapphire over.

“Are you?” Sapphire closed her eyes as her cloths
hardened into plates. Dart like spikes formed on her wrists and a
few vines formed into a bow. The last part of the preparations came
as she grew a new mask that covered her features. Lifting the bow
off her back a vine sprang out of one of her bracelets and hardened
into an arrow. She placed it on the bow and pulled the string back.
There was a soft twang as Sapphire released the arrow. A small
sapling nearby split in half as her arrow found its mark.

“I see.” Kiyan slipped into his ice armor and split
the air with his sword. Feeling inadequate compared to Sapphire's
arsenal he grew a few throwing blades and arranged them
conveniently around his body. A few spines along his forearm
completed the outfit. Kiyan slid his sword into place on his back
and turned to look out over the valley. This side of the mountain
wasn't covered in the lush jungle that sprawled the other side. The
few high clouds that spilled over the mountains quickly faded into
nothingness. The land over here that fell in the shadow of the
mountains was arid in the extremes. Kiyan found it interesting that
a jungle and a desert could exist so close yet still be so
different. The lack of rain painted the land drab shades as far as
they could see from this vantage. Foliage was stunted this high and
a few taller dry trees could be seen lower.