Book of One 04: A Child of Fire (20 page)

"No," he replied. "We do not have laws as you know them, merely things that must be done. He will be tested in the circle to see if he is fit to possess such power."

"And what kind of test would this be?" Zachary asked, looking skeptical.

"He will fight without using this power. If he survives without it, then he will live and perhaps, if he is worthy, he will come to know Ansari. But, if he uses his power, then he will perish."

"Interesting," Zachary said. "You would deny him the power to defend himself."

"One does not need true fire to defend."

"And what if I decided that your test and your circle are a waste of time and told you we were going to leave this place."

"That would not be very wise, mage."

"Zachary," Aaron said. "I will take the test. I have the feeling that we will need the help of these people if we are to stop what Cerric is doing."

"Then you've decided to do something about what's happening in the world?" Zachary asked. "That's good. According to the little goddess here, we are going to need your help."

"I don't know why I am so important," Aaron said, looking at Ehlena for a moment. "I would appreciate it if someone would just tell me."

"It is for the same reason the Ansari wish to test you," Ehlena said. "You are very powerful, Aaron and so is the god, Kenra, who has become Cerric."

"And my power destroys things," Aaron said. "The Ansari called me a destroyer, and it think they are right."

"You do not yet know your true power," Ehlena told him.

Ashan stepped foward, smiling briefly at Ehlena then turned and he walked over to where Aaron stood with Kasha, Lexi and Tash.

"Your power to destroy dominates you, that is true," he said. "But there are other aspects to you that you have barely touched upon. I would instruct you in some of these things, but you must first reveal them to yourself. The fire that burns within you blinds even you to who and what you are, thus I cannot teach you as you are now."

"So, if pass your test and fight without using my power then you will teach me about these other things?" Aaron asked.

"Yes, there are things I can teach you," he said. "There are those who might teach you other things, but you must first know yourself or you will never truly know anything."

Aaron nodded.

"Then we might as well get to it," he said and walked toward the ash covered fighting circle.

Ehlena pushed through the Ansari who were gathered around her and caught up to him and took hold of his arm.

"Aaron, this is not merely some test of your skill," she told him. "It is a test of your honor. If you fail, they will kill you."

Aaron turned and looked into her eyes, the same watery blue they had always been, but her expression was no longer that of the seemingly carefree girl he had met not that long ago. He could see the power of the goddess flowing within her, and the ancient knowledge that she had gained and he wondered if he would hear her laugh again. With everything Ehlena had gained, Aaron wondered what she might also have lost. It seemed that knowing the truth of things was much harder than not knowing, and he almost wished he could go back to not knowing the truth about himself, about what he had done, or what his power had done. He decided it was only fitting that he should fight without it, since his power had only brought trouble to his life.

"If they kill me," Aaron said. "Then that will be my fate. Perhaps it would be better."

"Aaron," Ehlena said, frowning and he felt her hand clutch his arm tighter. "I saw what happened. I saw the dream, your memories of what happened."

"Then you know," he said and his eyes suddenly felt raw as though the hot desert air was lashing scraping at him.

"I know it wasn't your fault," she said. "And I know who it was that was in the room with you, trying to kill you."

"How could you? They are my memories and I don't even understand them. All I know is that I burned them. I burned them all, Ehlena."

"No," she said. "You burned away the shadow, and it was the shadow that killed them. Your memories are from the eyes of an infant, which is what you were, but I saw them with the eyes of the goddess, with the memories and knowledge of the goddess, and I know that power all too well. It is the same power that now lives within Cerric, the one who now threatens all the lands and its people. If he had not tried to kill you, none of it would have happened."

"But it was my power that killed them, just like those fighters in the circle at Ba'shan," Aaron said. "It is too much power. If I can't control it, then I should not have it."

"It isn't about controlling your power, Aaron," Ehlena told him. "It is about embracing it as part of you. You cannot think of it as separate from yourself, from who you are. That is part of what the Ansari teach. Through the memories of the goddess, I am familiar with some of their ways."

"I understand," he said and he gently pulled his arm from her grasp. "I won't use the power of fire."

Aaron turned and continued toward the fighting circle and both Zachary and Stavros walked up behind Ehlena and Zachary put his hand on her shoulder.

"I could not have explained it better myself," he told her. "I only wish we would have had a chance to help him learn about his power before this. I don't like this trial by battle idea. There are too many things that can go wrong."

"I agree," Stavros said. "Aaron should have been trained years ago. I should have been more attentive."

"It matters little now," Ehlena said. "Aaron is untrained and he is about to enter a true Ansari fighting circle, with a true Ansari warrior. His knowledge is not what matters, but his resolve and the truth within him."

"You know our ways," Kasha said, looking over at Ehlena with an approving look

"I have some memories of them," Ehlena replied.

"Then you know why he must be tested," Kasha said.

"Yes, I understand it now," she said, though she had her misgivings.

"Aaron will be fine," Kasha said.

"You are very confident," Ehlena said.

"Of course, I am Ansari," Kasha replied then she turned and walked toward the circle.

Aaron unbuckled his sword belt and drew the blade that Tarnath had left to him, his last gift after teaching him so many things that hopefully would help him in the fight with the large Ansari leader, who now stepped into the circle and drew his own sword that hung behind his shoulder. Aaron noticed that the Ansari's blade was similar to his own two swords, its steel gleaming a silvery grey with a hint of gold in the bright midday sun. The hilt was also wrapped in leather, including the pommel, like his own and Aaron wondered if the Ansari blade was also jeweled at the end. Perhaps he would ask him about it after the fight, assuming he did not use his power and invoke the wrath of the entire Ansari people.

"You carry a sword of power," the Ansari said. "Like your blade, which is bound, so too shall you be bound in this match. You may not use the power of fire or you will forfeit."

"Can I use other magic?" Aaron asked, trying to think of what he might do with his power that did not in any way involve fire.

"It would be wise to do so," he replied. "You have fought in the circles, but you have never fought Ansari."

"I fought Kasha," Aaron told him and the Ansari leader laughed.

"You fought Kasha blade to blade, but you did not truly fight Kasha," he said then he placed his sword on the ground.

"Why do you drop your sword?" Aaron asked.

"I will not need it to fight you," he replied.

Aaron was not sure exactly what he meant, but he began to understand when the Ansari leader began to change shape right in front of him. His body shifted, growing larger and what looked like bone formed on the outer surfaces of his forearms and legs and around his square jawed face. Aaron saw that the tops of the Ansari's hands were also covered and what had at first looked like bone now gleamed almost like armor. The Ansari had also grown to over three times the size that he was before, into some kind of giant monster.

"What are you?" Aaron asked.

"What indeed?" the creature growled through a mouth full of fangs and he leapt forward with incredible speed.

Aaron barely dodged the swing of the Ansari's powerful fist as he charged at him. He brought up his sword in a counter attack as he danced to the side, but it clattered harmlessly off the Ansari's hardened forearms. Almost a blur, the creature spun and swung at him and Aaron barely managed to block with his blade in time, but the power of his fist, drove the flat of his sword into him and the impact sent him flying backwards. Aaron landed hard on his back, sliding on the dirt, winded from being hit with such a force. He coughed and spluttered as he rolled and pushed himself to his knees. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Ansari standing calmly a handful of paces way, watching him rise.

"You will not last very long if you fight in such a manner," he said.

Aaron staggered to his feet and stared at the Ansari. Even with his sword, he was being completely overpowered by the size, speed and strength of the creature. The obvious futility of his attacks angered him and he felt the fire flare within him but he calmed himself and let the flames recede, pushing past them and extending his thoughts to every part of himself. At Ba'shan, he had used a power that Kasha had spoken about as the element of water, and he realized that he could sense the water on the other side of the camp, in the oasis. His senses sharpened even more and he could hear the sweat trickling down his brow and falling on the dry, sandy ground at his feet, but he could not figure a way that water might help him, especially since there was so little of it nearby. Aaron also remembered using his power to add strength to his body when he had landed Malek's ship, something he had done almost without thinking about it. If he did that again, he might be able to increase the strength of his body to take the powerful blows from the Ansari and possibly throw a few of his own.

Aaron reached for the raw power that ran beneath the different energies that flowed within him like streams of color and he channeled it into his flesh. He could feel his bones and muscles becoming stronger and, the way he had darkened his appearance, he made his skin tougher as well. Aaron stepped forward toward the Ansari and he felt every individual grain of sand and even fine powder of dust beneath his feet move, attuned to his senses and another part of his power that he had not experienced. He felt like he could move the ground itself with it and wondered what he might use that to his advantage. He took another step forward and shifted the energy in the protective sphere around him, disappearing, then he stepped sideways, hoping his opponent might think he was still coming at him from the other direction, but the creature's eyes continued to follow him.

"I can still see you," the Ansari said with a grin.

"How?" Aaron asked. "You should not be able to see me now."

"I am Ansari," he said. "Very little is hidden from our sight."

Aaron shrugged, hoping his added strength would still make a difference.

"Come," the Ansari said.

At the side of the fighting circle, among the gathered Ansari, Tash and Lexi stood with Kasha, watching as Aaron slowly walked toward his monstrous opponent. He swung his sword and was sent flying across the dirt once more by a powerful swipe of the Ansari leader's forearm. Again, Aaron pushed himself back to his feet, dusted himself off, and resumed his attack.

"Do you think he can win?" Tash asked, looking up at Kasha.

"No," she replied. "Not as he is now, but this fight is not about winning."

"I don't understand," Lexi said. "Why fight if not to win or lose?"

"It is a test," Kasha said. "If Aaron can resist the power of fire that burns within him, then he will prove himself worthy to possess such a power. He must also prove the truth of himself."

"Why is it so important that he prove to you people who he is?" asked Zachary, who stood nearby with Stavros and Ehlena.

Kasha turned and gave him a hard stare with her eyes glowing golden.

"Mage, Zachary, you are known to Ansari," she said. "Of all people, you should know why we do not treat true fire lightly and why we seek truth from those who possess such power. Much harm can come from those who do not know their truth, who allow their power to overcome them. This, you know very well."

Zachary knew exactly what the Ansari woman was talking about. It was something that had happened long ago, and though he had many regrets in his life, what she spoke of was perhaps his greatest.

"I understand," he said. "And I agree. It's just that Aaron has had almost no training with his power. To expect that kind of control from him is unfair."

"And why has he not been trained?" Kasha asked. "Is it not the custom among your people to train those who are gifted with power? You are the head of the Council of Mages, are you not?"

"The Council of Mages is no longer," Stavros said, answering on Zachary's behalf. "Much has changed in the lands to the north. You must be aware of the priesthood and their allegience to this god of theirs."

"We have heard stories of this," Kasha replied. "Our contact with the kingdoms of the north has grown less of recent years." She looked at Zachary for a moment. "Still, we see many things, even from afar. A mage using the power of true fire is something we would notice and remember. It has been some time since you revealed your power, though there were tremors of it that we recognized several days ago."