Page 6 of One Last Promise
“What is the chance of a Dylin female’s sexual awakening arriving before her powers?”The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.Curiosity always got the better of me.
“Ithashappened before.You are of theDylin bloodline, Alora.Your power will be great and formidable.An ability like that takes time to manifest.”
“I hate feeling so useless.”Sulking was all I seemed to do these days.
“You are far from useless.”Gazing at me with her hazel eyes, Luz spread her fingers out towards the empty field in front of us.“You need to be patient.Things grow when they are meant to.You can’t force what you are.”One by one, tiny flower heads began to bloom up from the ground.I never tired of watching her use her powers.
I understood what Luz was trying to tell me, but it didn’t stop my impatient side.I wasone thousand, five hundred and six years old.Surely my powers should be starting to surface by now?
****
AS OUR TWO SUNS ECLIPSEDeach other, crowds began to descend towards the temple.The Blessing occurred every three days, when our great suns became one.Offerings were made to the Holy Ether, and those that did have power would all glow in unison, contributing their light to illuminate the temple for hours as a sign of respect.
“Stand up straight,” my father ordered as we made our way into the temple last.Everyone bowed as we walked past them.It was a mass of bodies, all standing as they awaited our arrival.Xavier was walking a few steps ahead of us, scanning the crowd for any signs of unease.“You’re a young adult now, Alora.You must hold yourself with grace.Slouching is no longer an option.”
“Sorry, Father.I will do better.”That was all I seemed to say to him these days.Lifting my head a little higher, I gazed around at all the eyes on me.Some had smiles on their faces, others watched me in awe.The Dylin princess in all her finery.My silver hair was curled and put partly up with diamond clips.In general, Dylins didn’t wear much clothing—our lands were extremely warm—but we were always modest in what we did wear.Today, I had a free flowing dress that was almost see-through, with a bodice and short skirt made of gold leaf and leather.It was important that royalty wore some form of gold to The Blessing.My father was in his usual gold armour.The way he held our race’s attention was mesmerising.There wasn’t a single Dylin not watching him.
“Kneel,” my father commanded as he reached the top of the altar.Nell, Elin, and Uri, our main priestesses and priest, were already waiting with the offerings of dried flowers, apricots, and wine.The sacred candles had all been lit and were giving off a small amount of heat as I reached my seat.Xavier sat beside me on the pew, giving me a small smile.“Praise Holy Ether, our Mother and salvation.”Everyone dropped to their knees, waiting for the service to begin as my father took the seat on one of the pews across the aisle from me.There were ten rows of pews near the altar, five on each side, facing each other.All were reserved for the hierarchy: those with the strongest powers and served my father in the palace.Noor was sitting behind me with Luz, Lito and my other friend, Fynn.
Uri, the highest priest, stepped towards the large, marble figure that symbolised Holy Ether.It was draped in gold cloth and held our suns in the palm of its hands.
“Holy Ether, please accept these gifts as a sign of our devotion.In your teachings, you made us pure.Our light is your light that gives us clarity.With your guidance, we feel no hunger.Your presence is all we desire.You are our salvation.PRAISE THEE, HOLY ETHER.”Uri used his light to bless all the items as he dropped them into the infinity pool that lay at the foot of the statue.Everyone began chanting ‘Praise Thee, Holy Ether.’
The high priest’s thin, agile body was deceiving.As a seeranda tracker, he was one of the most powerful Dylins.With someone’s essence, whether it be a strand of hair or an item of clothing they had worn, he could track them through space and time, through every veil in the Holy Ether cosmos.
Putting his hands through his short blond hair, he closed his eyes for a few brief seconds.When he opened them again, they were a shining, bright light.The seer was searching through time and space, checking that no dangers lay ahead in the near future.The Noxlin had their own seers and magical beings that kept their intentions from us, but Uri could sense any impending war.
“Let us give our light to Holy Ether,” Nell chimed.Her beautiful hair was as white as snow and dropped in ringlets down her back.She was in her priestess gown of pure white, like the others.Her silver eyes shone brightly as everyone in the room with powers began to glow, projecting their light towards the statue and infinity pool.
I bowed my head, feeling completely insignificant.What could I offer Holy Ether?Nothing!Looking around the space, there were a few Dylin like me, with no power, but most were a lot younger than I was.
I was sure that training with a light sword would help my powers to manifest.Each light sword had its power given by Silverlight, my father’s sword, that channelled light itself.Without my family’s bloodline, light would cease to exist, and the cosmos that Holy Ether had created at the dawn of existence would be lost.Wewould all be lost.
Silverlight was our prized possession.It was guarded in the secure tower by Nell and Uri when my father wasn’t using it.If it ever got into our enemies hands, we would all be destroyed.A thousand years ago, the last great battle we’d had with the Noxlin was because a small part of Silverlight’s power had been stolen.Burning their ancient city, Cataha, was punishment for taking what wasn’t theirs.
The Noxlin had their own dark sword, Firesoul, that was wielded by King Tamus.Xavier had been scheming for almost a century on how to get his hands on that sword.If we had Firesoul, we could extinguish it with Silverlight, destroying darkness and ridding us of the Noxlin scum forever.
It was easier said than done, though.We knew nothing of the Noxlin’s ways.Finding the location of Firesoul was impossible when we didn’t even know where the Noxlin settlement was these days.
After the Battle of Cataha, they retreated deeper into their lands, over their mountains towards their dark seas.Eallarim, the dark lands, was more of a myth than an actual place.It was a story told to scare young Dylin that would wander off too far from our lands.Don’t wander too far.Eallarim night creatures will find you and take you back to their lands, where you’ll be drained of light by the Noxlin, tortured, and then fed to their beasts.
It was a story that even I had been afraid of when I had been younger.Noxlin were animals: barbaric and impure.The complete opposite of my good, pure race.
As I watched the light continue to fill into the giving pool, my mind wandered, as it often did at The Blessings.All I could do was twiddle my thumbs for a few hours while light continued to pour.I had tried once to offer my light, but it was such a dull spark that it was embarrassing.
Maybe my pilgrimage to the Barren Lands to pay my respects to Nantu, goddess of moonlight, would help with my powers.Luz had told me my abilities were going to be great, but that I had to wait.Trying to help them along was against the rules.Depending on which warrior accompanied me, I might get to hold a light sword, though, to see if it stirred anything.
Looking down at my fingertips, I tried to bring the power to the surface, but that same crackling energy evaporated before it even reached my wrists.Why was it taking so long?I couldn’t wait to see if I gained light magic like my mother had when she was my age.My father had married her because of her power.Because he needed to make sure the Dylin bloodline was the strongest it could be, she was an easy choice.He bonded with her soon after her powers surfaced, and her abilities doubled with the bond.She could control everything from the winds, to fire.She could shape light into a weapon, take power from our sun’s if her energy was low, and control light beasts.There had never been a queen like her.I had a lot to live up to.
My father was light itself.He could harness its full power because hewasthe light.He was the strongest weapon we had.His power alone took down Cataha, the Noxlin city.By channelling Silverlight, he could directly aim his power.
This was why I wanted to wield a light sword so much.I was part of my father; pure light ran through my veins.A light sword had to be the answer to my problems.
****
“YOU SEEMED VERY DISTRACTEDat The Blessing,” Xavier observed, watching me carefully as we made our way out of the temple.“What is troubling you so much?Is this still about your powers?”
“Of course it is.It’s easy foryouto stand there and ask what’s wrong, when youhavepowers.A great power, at that!”Xavier could control fire.In the heart of battle, it was a very useful ability.It was how he climbed the ranks so quickly and became general of my father’s army.He was an amazing sword wielder, too.I didn’t know anyone more fierce when I watched them train.His power gave him the elevation that he needed.
