They ran for half a sun, their bodies barely holding themselves up. It wasn't that they didn't have energy, quite the opposite, the Lightborn possessed a lot of energy through their light. But that energy, it strained their bodies. While at the LInk, this strain couldn't be felt, as the light didn't continuously surged through their bodies, only replenishing them when needed. Now though, as the light was their lifeline and they depended solely on it, they couldn't let go of it. Usually they would rest their bodies and focus on minimizing the light input into their bodies, which usually took a few hours, now unable to rest even for a moment. Some were especially tired because of the additional lights they bore. Manna on one hand, had the tallest body, on par with that of Kilon, which allowed for more light to surge through and more mass to resist it's strain, but at the same time, she had to carry those still wounded, while swaying the winds for all her over one thousand six hundred siblings to fasten the pace, all of which required massive amount of energy from the light, adding a heavy strain on her body.
"We're not going to make it, not with her like this. And even if we do, she will be in no condition to protect us." Orvus thought to himself, healing a sister of his. His light focused on the task at hand, as he swayed the winds below him to float above the ground, his mastery ever so strong. "That is, of course...unless I do something about these injured siblings of mine." thunders following his line of thinking, the clouds not so far now, as only fifty of those gravely injured remained, ten survived and another forty died, Orvus's glow stronger than before.
Manna was breathing heavily, her run only managed to keep up with the others at the forefront because of her long limbs. "Felemous. Come here." she commanded, her brother at the left, ensuring everything was fine. He didn't hear, her voice drowning amongst the huffs of her siblings and that of the storm behind. So she cried louder "Felemous! Come here brother." Manna's voice now heard.
"Yes sister. What is it?" he inquired, his attention split.
"You caught one once right?" Manna asked.
"Catch what? You will have to be more specific." his mind trying to find an answer while swaying his hand, signaling his siblings to maintain ranks, so that Manna doesn't have to focus as much on her wind manipulation.
"The thick light. You once were amidst a powerful storm and caught one didn't you?" she explained. Her eyes trying to close on their own will. She was referring to lightning, Felemous was the only one alive to have attempted such a thing.
For them, most of the times, catching or even manipulating lightning was pretty useless, as it wasn't really common in the Shivering Lands for it to strike. The basic method for surviving lightning, after the incident, was to simply feel the winds. One proficient at it, could tell if the air is more humid or charged electrically, something which some developed after the first expeditions beyond the Link.
Only once did it prove useful, when Felemous and a few other Lightborn were first exploring the lands. A storm enveloped them at that time, much like Kilon's first venture, except it was heavily charged with electricity. After attempts in swaying the winds and trying to escape, their failures led to half the group almost dying, being hit by lightning. Felemous, in an act of desperation, offered his body to the storm. He told his siblings to lower their bodies, as lightning was observed to only hit the tallest ones, and to wait. When it first hit him, he almost fainted into a coma. The second time however, Felemous was able to anticipate the lightning. Although he couldn't manipulate it or even properly discharge it elsewhere, he was able to deflect it, his hands acting as conduits through which the lightning coursed and allowed to be expelled elsewhere. The third time it hit, for a moment, he was able to control the lightning, but the first attempt heavily injured his body, while the second mainly injured his hands, so he had to let go of it.
"More like I redirected it! A thick light is nothing to take lightly, I almost died trying to catch one, and the one time I felt like I could control it, my body was almost destroyed. Now I barely have one hand." his face frowning in pain, as he explained, his body never forgetting the feeling he had that day.
"Orvus then. I'm sure he can do it..." her voice lowering as the strain reached a new peak.
"Sister? What's happening to you?" Felemous shifted his focus solely on her. He didn't pay much attention, only now thinking on how much strain she must be under. "You should let go of us. We can do it on our own, you don't have to push yourself so hard." he suggested, his eyes trying to grasp the severity.
"They're all tired also. If I let go, some will fall behind, I can't allow that..." Manna explained, her voice just as weak. She didn't want to leave any more of her siblings behind or for death to claim them, the weight of even another light, could crush her soul.
Felemous didn't want to call upon Orvus, but their options started to get limited. While the other were getting weaker and tired, he, for some reason, was fine. While it was understood that once one receives a light, their own body grows and, for a short period, experiences large amounts of energy and power, it eventually leads to a strong strain on the body, requiring rest. Orvus, however, even after forty lights absorbed, was restless, his body not growing as it was supposed to be after receiving the lights, only glowing stronger. He withheld some crucial aspect about the lights that he had yet to tell anyone. So, he approached his brother, trying to find answers.
"Orvus. Are you fine?" he asked, a rhetorical question of course.
"The strain of the light is starting to get at me a bit, but I'm overall fine." Orvus responded, his focus on the healing for his sister.
"Is that so?" Felemous asked, slightly changing his tone, letting some of his suspicion get out.
"You're thinking about the other lights, aren't you? Why am I still fine? Even after so many lights were combined with mine." Orvus asked back, his tone unchanged, as well as his focus.
"I guess that was pretty obvious. So, what are you not telling us? You're not growing, only getting brighter, why is that?" Felemous asked curious, the facade falling down fast.
"I'll answer you with a question of my own, do you know brother, what strains our bodies?" Orvus's question carrying a deeper meaning than he would let be seen.
"The light of course. It courses through us, like the sun courses through the living matter. If too much courses through, your body, much like the living matter, can't use it, so it withers, or in our case, strains our body. It is why they need the night and we need the rest." Felemous diligently responded, his knowledge sparking through.
"Precisely. Now, the light provides us with energy, that much is obvious and known by everyone. The problem with this energy, is that it's usually too much. We, of the bluer or whiter glow, grow our body's strain faster because we can't control the flow properly into the body, while our mind strain grows slower, since we can maintain the flow more efficient. For those of a more red or yellow glow, it's the opposite. You simply have to wonder as to why is that." he paused a bit, as he finished healing his sister, letting himself down from the gust of wind, going to the next sibling, prompting the gust of wind once more, Felemous following.205Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRY43jZPwv
"One could say it's the way we were born, or the way we approach things. Horned rabbits are more attracted to starstags, while clawbears would find it easier to share a large portion of meat with some walking orcas. Both are fair ways to look at the matter. But it actually runs a bit simpler. Instead of prey and predator, or the way we're born, you can look at us as "thinkers" and "feelers"." Orvus explained. His lecture shining light over the matter.
Felemous listened to every word, his understanding widening and prompting a fair response "So, by that you mean that some of us experience the world through our minds, while others through their bodies." his response concise and good at summarizing, "If I were to guess, it is due to how we spent the time with the Creator, isn't it?" his question prompting a slight smile from Orvus.
"Yes. That's exactly right. The way we spent our time with the Creator, asking and feeling the light which bathed us, is what determined our glow and the way our bodies naturally behave." Orvus responded in kind, his response leaving Felemous guessing, his habit showing once more.
"Naturally behave. I don't think I fully grasp what you mean, if I were to guess, you mean the way our bodies behave in resonance with exterior factors." his response showing promise, but not close enough.
"Almost correct. It's exterior and interior factors." Orvus's answer making Felemous feel a bit bad for not thinking of it, "Now, the issue at hand is how our bodies and minds are strained. One could simply think that, by learning from the other, they should be able to decrease the strain or even achieve perfect efficiency. However, that train of thought is only true until you confront yourself with the first dilemma. Our bodies are basically ingrained with the idea of how to resonate with these factors. So, how do you change, what could also be called, the basic instincts?" his further explanation showing the predicament.205Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaQPzfhEaO
"There is also another dilemma. Even if you say, manage to teach your body again what it's basic instincts are, wouldn't that overrule your previous instincts? Basically, by trying to re-learn your basic instincts, you would have to denounce the first ones."
Felemous now had the clear picture in mind. Which prompted the following questions even harder "Then how did you do it? If it's impossible, how did you achieve the impossible?"
"I didn't achieve it, I cheated around it." Orvus responded, once more, leaving the details to be wanted, a sense of misery behind his words.
Felemous, with a tired tone, asked back "Cheated around it, how exactly?"
"I simply "borrowed" the instincts from our siblings." Orvus's response, deep in tone and sorrowful, leading to a grim realization.
"You mean, you used the death of our siblings, to further yourself?!" Felemous now asked angrily, his eyes sparking with light.
Orvus didn't like his shift in tone "If you want to be angry, why aren't you angry at our sister? She has more lights than I do and uses what our siblings left to her, doesn't she?" his line of questioning resounding with Felemous.
"She didn't want that! Those lights are onto her because of you Orvus! Or have you forgotten?!" his question also resounding strongly with Orvus.
"And do you think I wanted this brother?! She placed the responsibility to carry those lights over me! Now I'm supposed to just sit and-" before he could continue, the winds behind them shifted, as Manna fell over at the front, her tall, slim body, hitting the ground with a lack of control.
"Manna!" Felemous cried in response, his face in shock and panic, as he immediately rushed over to her. Orvus on the other hand, simply stopped himself and caught his injured brother from falling, others catching the remaining ones.
As Felemous grabbed her with his right arm, with the missing one, thinking he still had it, tried to lift her. After a short realization, he turned her over with his right arm, struggling a bit but managing. The other Lightborn hurried over to her, while some remained to keep the injured ones suspended in the air. Orvus quickly ordered them around, placing the injured ones around him so he could use this opportunity to heal them faster.
"Orvus! Hurry over, you must help her!" Felemous cried, his distress showing through his words.
"I have about fifty more I should take care of." Orvus calmly responded "Besides, there's little I can do, she needs rest, I can't help her with that." his point clear and reasonable.
Felemous let Manna on his siblings' hands as he rushed over to Orvus and grabbed at his shoulders "Do what you did yourself to her. Help her surge the light efficiently like yours." Felemous's desperation showing through, his concern for what's good or bad no longer viable.
"I can't." Orvus simply responded.
"Why?! You could do it, she can't because she isn't like you or because you hate her?!" Felemous's questions trying to find a way to a better answer, although he knew wiser.
"Don't be stupid. I won't put in danger our group because of some dispute we already got over. It's just not that simple. First and foremost, she needs to be conscious, which is already ruled out, secondly this won't alleviate the strain, it simply makes it much slower, what she accumulated through the past suns since we left. In case you didn't notice, she didn't let go of her wind manipulation since we left the Frozen Passage with two hundred gravely injured at her back." Orvus explained in detail, with each reason Felemous understood better the predicament she placed herself into.
"Is there nothing we can do to bring her back up? Without her, how are we going to make it through the forest?" Felemous now defeated asked. The forest only half a sun away.
"That shouldn't be our worry. That storm, it will be upon us before reaching the forest. Even if Manna recovers in a sun motion, it will put us behind just enough for the lightning storm to catch up, and she's not getting up for at least half a sun." Orvus explained further, showing worry only with a slight frown.
"You're saying we're simply doomed to fail and die?" Felemous glanced hollowly with his eyes as he asked him.
Orvus pushed Felemous's hands away, starting to heal a few siblings at the same time "If we were, do you think I would even bother healing anyone anymore?" his face bearing a slight smile, his eyes sparking with ideas.
"What is there to do? You see what that storm does don't you?" Felemous continued asking, his will crushed by the predicament, but some hope started to gather in his eyes.
"I'm going to do what I did to our siblings so far, but the other way." Orvus responded, leaving room for guessing.
Felemous caught upon what he meant "If you need to take over their light, to tell it where it should heal, then you can tell the light to follow yours for instance, like our siblings did for Manna, but without completely taking the light over, right?" his face lighting up upon this answer.
"Yes Felemous!" Orvus responded excited, for the first time after a while, as he had confidence once more, that his discovery, will lead to salvation. Although, deep below, he tried to hide the other facet. Where, if Felemous arrived at a different conclusion, like killing their half dead siblings to take over their lights and empower one of them to shake off the storm, he wouldn't have hesitated to approach it. For now Orvus no longer thought of the individual, but for the group, a dangerous way of thinking.
"Then, what do you need? Tell us and we'll help." Eraanel appeared from behind, his eye shining with hope. The other Lightborn agreeing.
"I only need to heal the remaining ones. Every bit of power should help." Orvus responded, then looked at Felemous "You are the key factor here. You have attempted to control the thick light before, so you'll be crucial."
"I told Manna already, I didn't attempt to control it, I merely redirected it!" Felemous responded, showing a bit of frustration but also starting to get a glimpse into Orvus's plan.
"That will suffice. Even if you miss an arm, all you will have to do, is stand tallest and it will come to you, yes?" Orvus continued, focusing on healing those before him, now being able to heal pretty fast.
"Yes, that's correct, although I still don't see how-" Felemous responded, before he could continue Orvus explained further.
"They will channel their lights into yours. Even if you don't have prior experience, all you have to do is use the lights to amplify your own, channel it into the arm and guide the thick lights away from all of us. Our lights combined should be enough to resist any amount of injuries the thick lights could inflict. The winds and tornadoes, I will handle." Orvus finished his explanation, confidence showing in his words.
"That makes sense. But if I fail even once...a lot of you could die, isn't that right?" Felemous asked, grasping at the risks.
"Which is why I didn't want to do this, unless necessary." Orvus explained himself.
After everyone understood the plan, Orvus kept healing his siblings, managing to heal another twenty before the storm came, twenty one remaining in critical condition. The other Lightborn started forming tight circles, distributing themselves evenly. So that, when they converge their lights, it won't overwhelm Felemous to such a degree that the lights will place a sudden strain on him, acting in tandem.
Unlike Kilon's approach, this method relied on all of the Lightborn giving up control of their light to Felemous, where as in Kilon's case, they were still handling the commanding part. Felemous had to command all of them at once, the other Lightborn were only able to command it whether it converges or not. Manna, amongst the gravely injured, were placed at the center most of the formation, Felemous's light acting as the Link in a way, providing protection against anything.
The storm approached. The winds were the first to be felt, then the slight shaking of the ground. Then, the winds started to blow so strong, some Lightborn started to feel easy on their feet. Orvus promptly acted, letting go of his "borrowed" skill and using the full power of his lights now, swaying the winds and preventing tornadoes from being formed. If one would form nonetheless, he simply dispersed it from inside out, showing mastery over his skills.
The harsh part though, began when the lightning started to catch up with the winds. At really small intervals, lightning stroke the ground. The frequency of the lightnings so high, that the ground continuously shook now, akin to an earthquake. While the clouds darkened the area, the lightning lit it back up, each strike drawing closer and brighter.
Each circle of Lightborn converged their lights, one by one. Felemous connected to the first, then the second converged and him to it shortly after, and so on. This step by step approach allowing him to adjust to the levels of power. It still was hard, but less harsh. Every Lightborn, except Felemous and Orvus, stood on their knees. Felemous stood tallest, his right hand raised for the skies, as Orvus swayed the winds around and encased the area where they stood in a windless barrier.
Then, lightning struck, Felemous feeling some of it before it came from the sky, his sensitivity now amplified. He slightly swayed the first one towards him, as it followed a path towards the other Lightborn, then repelled it. Orvus was impressed by his first performance, although it was merely the beginning.
Once it started, it never stopped. Dozens and dozens of lightning strikes came in minute after minute for them. Felemous was holding fine, the rush of power keeping the strain at bay, while Orvus was feeling the strain on his body that was now catching up to him.
Amidst this storm, Felemous was starting to understand the lightning, it's random, complex patterns, the way it coursed through the air, the energy it possessed, all of it was coursing through his mind. And, as he stood there, taller than all, he clenched his fist, raising a single finger. Lightning once more descended from the skies, this time, he simple touched it and the lightning followed his command. Surging through his body, swirling and behaving erratic. He was mesmerized.
"Felemous! Snap out of it you fool!" Orvus cried. For a moment, Felemous didn't pay attention. It was all it took, three lightning strikes simultaneously hit seven Lightborn, the power of one larger than three of those in the Shivergin Lands.
As he came in touch with reality once more and let go of the lightning, Felemous realized the mistake he made. He wanted to help his siblings, but lightning was still striking everywhere, so he had to keep redirecting it, as his siblings simply struggled. These seven tried to reach for Felemous, crawling between the others, but not being able to reach for the light which they forfeit to him. Felemous couldn't even watch them as they died, only small glimpses as his focus had to be to the task at hand. "Sorry. I'm so sorry." he cried, his eyes sparking with power and sorrow, the ones who felt them crawl between them, crying also, prompting looks from everywhere. Soon, a cry for their dead siblings made itself known in the harsh storm.
Orvus looked at what happened, he was the only one not crying. He simply thought "I guess this will change some things."205Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UjafNTYiR
