The Albino

“…. Son of Terra…”

“….Awaken, Son of Terra…”

Benjamin awoke with a start but found himself alone. Neither Viola, nore Valtrya, were beside him as he sat up from in the bed. The room was the same ornate guest room he had fallen asleep in, but that was the only thing that was the same. The waning streamers of the evening sun streaked through the window, but the scene appeared both fluid, and frozen in time.

Ben’s eyes narrowed at another major difference and slipped out of the bed to walk towards the terrace door. Sol, the avatar of Earth’s Sun, stood upon the terrace of his room. She faced the west, gazing over the view of the forest. “Peace, Son of Terra.” She spoke without turning, but Benjamin could hear her as if she were right next to him. “You mind has been awakened, but your corporeal form still rests with them.”

Benjamin turned back toward the bed, struggling to comprehend as he observed his body appear in the bed, flanked by the Aereesin sisters. He could see himself breathing slowly, and he could feel his own body still there. It was a strangely muted sensation, like a tingling foot after it’s fallen asleep. “What the Hell.” He whispered to himself, oddly trying to keep from waking Vi or Val. “They cannot hear us here, Son of Terra.” Sol answered his unasked question, “We are in the realm between mine and yours.” Benjamin forced himself to turn and continue out of the terrace door, painfully aware that he was completely naked. He didn’t bother trying to grab his trousers, if he was really outside his body, it wouldn’t matter anyway. “Think it, Son of Terra, and be covered. Your mind is yours to control in this space.”

Benjamin raised an eyebrow as Sol once again responded to his internal reactions, and he imagined himself in his leather working trousers and green shirt. He felt a tingling sensation as a dusty gold glow enveloped him. The swirling mass receded, leaving him fully clothed; and Benjamin stepped up beside Sol who had yet to turn to face him. “So… what is this about,” Benjamin asked, leaning against the railing. He could feel the breeze, smell the gardens and the earthy scent of the forest, and yet he was not really experiencing them, or was he... “And why could you not just visit me normally.”

The glowing goddess sighed, “My daughters are not ready to see me, and I would cause them undo pain if I took you from them. We must talk, Son of Terra.” Benjamin raised an eyebrow, “You’re daughters? Does that make me your son somehow?” His scorn brought but a dainty laugh from the avatar of a burning star. “Goodness no. You, Son of Terra, would never accept me as your master; but they…” She nodded to the sleeping figures behind them. “They know me to be the reason you’ve been gifted to them. You told them as much. Is it wrong for them to wish to thank me?”

Benjamin only shrugged, “Gods and goddesses are not my cup of tea, but I see your point. Now, what did you really wish to talk to me about, or rather; what can you talk to me about.” Sol only sighed at his mildly annoyed tone. “You’ve existed in this…reality… long enough that your soul has attuned to it more properly. You have also earned my aid through your actions. Cosmos is not something easily survived, let alone mastered. The closer you develop your bond with Cosmos, the easier, and more freely, it is for me to speak with you.”

“The ‘Cosmos’?” Ben asked, “I haven’t been…. Oh.” A second annoyingly adorable giggle escaped the goddess, “He sees,” She said simply, reaching out to rest a hand lightly on his cheek, “Yet his journey is just beginning.” It was almost as if Sol was not talking to him, and he raised an eyebrow before gently removing her hand from his face. “Ah, I see.” She responded, taking a step back and conjuring a globe between them. “Your instincts were correct; the peoples of this existence do not know they failed in their war, and the H’mure have not been idle. I’m sorry… I cannot tell you much more… only that it was not only the H’mure that escaped in the final battle. Tread carefully, Son of Terra. Your women hold you in their heart, but you must protect their heart if they are to survive what is coming.”

Benjamin’s eyes narrowed, “What is coming?” He suspected she could not tell him even as he asked, but he asked, nonetheless. Sol slowly stepped up to him. She seemed to grow in height. The first two times she had shown herself to him, she was half a head shorter than Benjamin. This time, when she closed on him, her eyes met him on the same level; and Sol flagrantly ignored any concept of personal space, stopping only when he felt her chest bump into his. Sol seemed to revel in his awkward discomfort, her face mere inches from his. “Perhaps next time.” She mused, “Now,” She closed on him suddenly, locking her lips on his too quickly for him to react. She pulled away, licking her lips in coy satisfaction, watching Benjamin visibly fluster. “I return your soul to your body.” With that she gave him a gentle push. Suddenly, the dull sensation increased, and he felt reality shift around him. The feeling of a strained rubber band being released tugged at him, and he gasped at the unexpected yank.

“Benjamin?” It was Viola’s voice, Ben sat up straight with a jolt, panting heavily, covered in sweat. The earliest rays of light were just cresting the treetops outside, and Benjamin looked around in sheer panic, “What the fuck…” Valtrya sat up with him, kissing him lightly on the shoulder, “Dream…. Bad… Come back… Rest.” She whispered, and Benjamin smiled down at her before stroking her satin hair. “Ok, Val. Ok, maybe just a few more minutes.” Ben laid back down, easing back under the sheets as the sisters returned to their spots beside him ‘what the fuck was that a dream?’ He tried to make since of it. It seemed like a dream, but it didn’t fade like one. He pursed his lips before freezing. Benjamin slowly ran his tongue over his bottom lip, a light sweetness combined with fiery taste returned to his senses, and he recognized it instantly. ‘Whoa… not a dream’

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“Why Suelin, how far you have fallen.” A dark chuckle followed the statement as a pale, male figure materialized next to the Sun’s avatar, “Or should I call you Sol now.” Sol refused to dignify the newcomer with as little as a glance, choosing instead to glide out over what would be considered a high orbit above the glimmering green and blue Orb below. “Come now Lurinar, you and I have not been bonded since before the Divergence. Who are you to have a say with whom I share my lips?” Sol feigned an innocent expression, rounding her eyes at Lurinar, “Or are you afraid I’ll share my thighs as well.”

The pale grey male avatar of the moon openly laughed at the statement. He was Sol’s equal in height, presenting himself as a king. An Ivory crown adorned his head, and the same purest of white robes clothed him in a radiant glow. “You would render him to Cinders in second, or did you forget the last mortal you tried to bed.” Sol snorted at the last statement, “I did promise that one a blaze of glory, such a shame he could but last only a moment.” Sol mused fondly.

“And yet you tease this poor mortal,” Lurinar scoffed, “His control is not in doubt… yours, however.” This time Sol speared Lurinar with a mildly reproachful glare, “It matters not. I may possess his soul, but his women own his heart. It would be unwise for me to tempt him further.”

Sol turned to look down over the world once more, “I needed to be certain. A man easily guided by his stones can be no champion of mine, but I also need him invested in this reality. My champion will need an anchor, something in this reality he finds worth fighting for. I was willing to be that for him, but… He found his anchor on his own. I just hope they can be worthy of him.” Lurinar scratched his short, neatly trimmed black beard for a moment. “Does he know you own his Soul? For that matter, do those girls know that…”

“Enough!” Sol spat angrily, rounding on Lurinar. The avitar of the moon merely raised an eyebrow as She continued, “The die is cast. Divergence has been permanent for eons. Too many lives were lost when we tried to reverse it. Now we must ensure each existence’s population. The H’mure are the threat in this existence. They, unlike the rest, have been getting help from…. Somewhere. Someone has weighted the scales, and the cost will be blood.” Sol seemed to take a moment to calm down as a massive Solar flare roared out from the sun’s surface. Lurinar was no longer smiling, instead seemed to be as somber as she. Sol began again, her voice but a whisper, “There is enough suffering across the universe. So many existences are now lifeless wastes… destroyed by their inhabitant’s own hubris… This one… This one we can save, not just be forced to watch its obliteration.”

“Peace Suelin,” Lurinar said after a long pause, raising a single hand. “I understand. I even agree with you. I came here to tell you the Council agrees with you as well, at least to a point. Tread Carefully, my love; for I do not know where the tip of that point may be.” Sol spun to the avatar of Earth’s moon in shock, “Lurinar, I…” but he was already gone. ‘He hasn’t called me that in…’ She stared at the space Lurinar’s avatar previously occupied in silence. Eventually, Sol shook herself from her thoughts, slowly floating back down through the atmosphere that englobed Earth in its life-giving embrace. He let her avatar wander, generally watching the people of this existence live their lives until she reached the singular smaller continent on the far side of the world. From there, she saw a very different story unfolding.

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“AGAIN!”

Benjamin was exhausted, but at least he was not being actively pummeled this time. He retook his “starting position” swinging his wooden practice sword through a very basic attacking progression designed to get him used to attacking what he had learned were the four quadrants of an enemy’s body. His “opponent” was Val, and She performed an equally slow progression of basic defenses to his basic attacks. Vi was doing the same thing as him, only her opponent was Jukha. He had volunteered to serve as a reasonably sized training partner.

“Good! Reverse Roles! BEGIN!”

The almost ear-splitting bawling of Their Elvin instructor began Benjamin’s turn to defend from Valtrya’s slow deliberate practice attacks. It sucked, but Benjamin understood why he was to perform what Yilarran admitted were children’s drills. It was the same principle that guided his father to bring 9 year old Benjamin out into the middle of the forest with a large square target and a rimfire single shot rifle instead of a coke can at 1000 yards with a deer rifle. There was a beginning to everything, and Benjamin learning the absolute beginning of medieval melee combat. The last of Val’s progression ended, and they reset to their original positions, “How are you doing.” Ben asked, and Val responded with one of her sweet smiles and a nod. “AGAIN” came the call and she swung at him again. Her progression was still deliberate, but her swings were slowly gaining strength and confidence. Another sequence finished, “REVERSE, BEGIN!” and Benjamin began to “attack” Val once more.

Two more iterations of attack and defense later and Yilarran stepped into the practice area, “That will do for now. Mid-Day meal is here, Then We will move to Majik.” Benjamin and Val walked back toward the pavilion, Val shifting her wooden sword to her outside hand so she could take hold of Benjamin’s. Today’s provided meal was just as basic as yesterday’s. Instead of a boiled/ baked chicken, it was some kind of vaguely Pork flavored meat, with bread loaves and a vegetable, but this time a large salad with small clippings of fruits and vegetables accompanied the hot dishes. Benjamin grabbed a knife from the table, and quickly heated it red hot. He reshaped it with his bare hands into a usable, if crude, steak knife before ripping the heat from the blade again.

Then he began slicing up the meat as thinly as he could before using the same knife to cut a small bun/loaf in half. He then packed the slices of meat, and a healthy portion of the salad into the middle of the bun and squeezed it together. Benjamin took a massive bite from his ad hock sandwich. It was dry but compared to the almost tasteless affair of the previous day, he was in heaven. He looked up just in time to see the entire table staring at him, “What?” The Lancers were both confused and intrigued, Yilarran had her top set of arms crossed as she regarded him, “Ben, what are you doing?” Viola asked, and a realization thundered into Ben’s consciousness, “Your kidding… Do sandwiches not exist here?” he asked. Viola’s expression of confusion deepend, “What’s a ‘sandweech’. And why would you put sand in your food?” Benjamin choked into his water, pounding his chest to get the food down before, “No! Cough not sand..” Benjamin looked around at the bewildered crowd, “Its… I… Have you never put meat and vegetables between bread before?”

Viola slowly shook her head and Benjamin was about to continue when he felt a tug on his hand. Val had grabbed ahold of the arm holding his sandwich, and a new bite was missing from his meal. Ben raised an eyebrow at her, but couldn’t help but smile as her face brightened, “Good, is it?” He asked gently, and Val nodded vigorously, “would you like one?”. She nodded vigorously again, and Benjamin began putting together a second and third sandwich for the sisters. Soon He, Val and Vi, and about half the occupants of the pavilion were eating varying versions of a sandwich of their own. Yilarran stood as most everyone finished, “Alright, Alright. Breaks over. To the bays, everyone.” The group began walking to a set of dummies arranged several meters away from a what looked suspiciously like a firing line to Benjamin. Benjamin was wearing his pistol sword, and he picked his musket up from the lance rack. The lancers themselves took positions further down where the dummies rested at a greater distance.

Yilarran stopped the three of them at the closer targets, “Alright, before I begin my instruction here, I need to see where your baseline is.” The hulking ‘elf’ paused at Benjamins sudden waryness. “Come now, It’s not like I haven’t seen this before. I need all three of you to use Majik to hit one of those dummies.” Benjamin sighed heavily, pulling his musket from his shoulder and checked the priming. He was almost ready when Viola stepped past him to the line and level’ed the single shot pistol that was one of his first creations. She leveled the weapon with a two handed grip, and he watched as the barrel traced small circles in the air before steadying completely for just a moment. Violalet out a long exhale, and squeezed the trigger. The flintlock pistol bucked in her hand, belching fire and smoke as it spat its single round lead ball from its muzzle. Yilarran flinched before whirling toward the sound to see viola shrouded in acrid white smoke, grinning widely as she lowered her pistol.

“You!?! You’re bear the gift of Cosmos?!?” She exclaimed as the entire training area quieted. “I.. do not…” Viola said slowly walking over to Benjamin and taking a small pistol cartridge from him. She calmly began reloading her weapon as Benjamin used a metal pic to clear the flash hole on his musket. The crudely made weapon was never made to last, and the franticness of their escape and arrival had not allowed Benjamin time to clean it. The corrosive salts in the fired black powder residue were already beginning to leave rust and pitting all over the weapon. “These do not use Majik.” Benjamin said slowly. He stepped up to the line, noting Viola’s well placed ragged black smudged hole in the linen draped over the targets. He assumed the cloth was there to make hits easier to see, and he leveled his musket, lining up and pulling the trigger. A much louder clap of thunder boomed through the area. The range was exceedingly short for even a smoothbore such as his. The Dummies were barely 25 meters away, and the buck and ball load connected with all four projectiles. “I cannot say more.” He left his musket unreloaded, and He planned on rendering it down into base components later anyway.

“But you, both of you, wield death and hellfire.” Yilarran responded, “I.. I don’t understand. I saw you hold molten metal in your hand, you are touched.” Benjamin shrugged, “Where I come from great metal birds fly through the air, and lightning is used to carry people’s voices between realms. Yet, we have no Majik. We cannot break the laws of reality. I am touched, but I do not know how to fight with Cosmos, only build.”

Yilarran pursed her lips looking at the musket still in Benjamins hands, “I see. Well, show me what you can do, with just your mind, and your gifts.” Benjamin nodded, handing the musket to Val before stepping up to the line, and turned to see Yilarran standing right next to him. He returned his focus to the dummies, “You have a deep knowledge of the world around you, Benjamin” Yilarran spoke softly. “But you wield it as a ForgeMaster, not as a Maje. You must be able to use this existence as an extension of your will, not as resources outside of yourself. What are the dummies made of?” Benjamin focused on the dummies, feeling the old familiar feeling as information flooded his mind. He felt the iron screw holding the dummies frame together, he could slowly begin to taste the straw, feel the linen. “Wood, Iron screws, linen and straw.” He said slowly. “Good, but there is more, you must know your clay more than that to mold it.”

Benjamin stiffened, he had heard Vilora say that many times when he failed an experiment, “I don’t understand. What else is there. Iron is…”

Yilarran tapped him on the shoulder, interrupting him “Deeper Benjamin. See what is hidden inside the straw, the iron, the wood. They are just as similar as they are different. Every one of us is the same, if you look deep enough.” Benjamin looked at her for a moment, and the Towering Woman simply nodded, turning back to look at the dummies. ‘Deep enough that we are all the same. That’s insane. Nothing is the same, not until you… oh shit.’ Benjamin ‘looked’ the dummy second time, through the material structure and down to the lattice work of atoms themselves. ‘Jesus Christ… They flirt with Oblivion… and they have no idea.’ “I see it, the sameness. Now, what do I do with it.” Benjamin asked cautiously.

“That is what each maje must learn for himself.” Yilarran responded, and Benjamin realized that her voice was now some distance behind him. ‘ha, playing it safe. Ok, here goes.’ Benjamin returned his focus to the Dummy in front of him, finding what he was looking for, and began to pull. Viola’s voice gasped from behind him, but he ignored her. He could not break focus, and all the horror stories told to him by Qort and Vilora suddenly made since. He needed a structure for this, and as dumb as it sounded in his head, he reached out with his second hand. He began stripping electrons from the dummy in front of him before beginning to do so on the wood and linen. He concentrated on the point of the most intense positive charge in the center of the dummies chest as he drew his right hand back. He imitated the drawing of a bow, remembering the few bow hunts he did with his grandfather.

A heavy crackling sound drew everyone’s attention from their practice. Yilarran, Viola, and Valtrya watched on in not so mild concern as a straining string of white crackling lightning began to form between Benjamins outstretched left arm, and his right hand. She could feel the hairs on her arm stand on end like it had in a wild thunderstorm from her youth. Benjamin’s right hand was now even with his ear lobe in an odd three curved finger position. He opened his eyes, straightened his three fingers, and erased the Dummy from reality.