“That’s… then what’s the brown? Life orbs are white, Lightning’s gold, Wind’s green, Water’s blue, Fire’s red, and Ice is… well, it looks like ice. Transparent. There’s no brown in there, Vir.”
Vir was puzzled by that too. “I know. I can see brown in rocks and things like that. Dunno what it means, exactly, but think about it. I see green and transparent within you. And transparent is brighter. Maiya, I think you might have affinities for Ice and Wind!”
“No. No way. One of my affinities has to be Fire,” she said, panicking. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’re seeing what you think you’re seeing. Like, don’t you think it’d be a big deal if people could see others’ prana? You could tell immediately what affinities they had! That’d give you a huge advantage in a fight. Mejai all over the world would kill to have that kind of ability, Vir. Everybody would know about it!”
“Hmm… Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
She had a point. There weren’t any orbs of the brown element. Not to mention the abyssal black inside his own body. What in Chala’s name was that?
Vir didn’t press the point. He needed more information before he could mount a compelling argument.
They fell silent after that, watching the colors of the sky give way to the stars that shined proudly. There was never much light in the sky at night, but from his vantage, with the sandy hills reflecting the starlight, he felt like he could see all the way to the horizon.
Vir contemplated revealing the details of how he’d been possessed in the Godshollow to Maiya, only to find himself unable to say the words. He still hadn’t gotten over how Ekanai wanted to harm her. He doubted he’d be able to divulge that secret until he had a way of fighting against Ekanai’s influence.
The two friends lay atop the sandy hill well after the night’s chill settled in, admiring the gorgeous night sky with Neel, who’d promptly nodded off. An hour passed before the cold finally got to them, forcing them to head back inside.
As they walked home, Vir made up his mind.
Tomorrow, he’d discover what these unknown colors he was seeing were really about.
15PRANA VISION
Vir sat cross-legged under the leafless tree that had quickly become his and Maiya’s ‘spot’. His friend was off doing who-knew-what, leaving him alone under the searing heat of the midday sun with his trusty four-legged companion. The bare tree did little to protect either of them. Beads of sweat dribbled down Vir’s forehead.
Life had become such a flurry of activity after arriving at Riyan’s place that he’d hardly even had time to reflect upon the events of that fateful day in the Godshollow. The day Rudvik died… The day he’d been possessed. He recalled only bits and pieces of those moments, but he did remember a name: Reaper Ekanai.
The one who’d tried to kill Maiya. Who’d spoken of some mission that Vir had no inkling about.
The warrior from his vision had been fierce and mighty. Invincible. Though Ekanai was clearly deranged, the sense of total confidence that filled Vir at that moment had been intoxicating. He’d felt nothing like it before… Or ever since.
The most tangible effect he’d carried forth from that ordeal was his altered eyesight. At first, he’d worried his eyes had been somehow corrupted. As time went on, he realized that wasn’t the case at all. He saw more now. More than he ever had in his entire life.
And what he’d gained was special. Riyan had confirmed it himself—not even the world’s strongest mejai could see prana. For the first time in his life, he possessed a powerful secret. Something no one other than Maiya knew about. Now, he had to learn how to leverage it.
But something worried him about the ability. The dazzling intensity of the colors he saw during the vision had dimmed significantly. He struggled to see the colors that almost nauseated him in the forest.
So instead, Vir shut his eyes and fell into his memory of the events back then.
He’d been separated from Maiya. Ran desperately to find her, where she was beset by two of the knight’s bandies.
Vir recalled the dread he’d felt at that moment. He’d been too far to help her. Then… then time had seemed to slow.
It rained that day. Black clouds.
No! That wasn’t true. Reaper Ekanai’s memories had bled into his own. There was no rain in the Godshollow, but it was raining in Ekanai’s memories. Vir focused on the image of rainfall, discovering that the rain in Ekanai’s memory wasn’t rain at all—it was falling ash.
Ash that fell eternally in a blighted realm.
Then came the lightning. So much lightning! A lightning storm, the likes of which he’d never seen. Vir had only ever heard of those. Brij never saw that kind of weather. The crack of lightning striking nearby startled Vir. He forced his eyes open, finding only Neel staring quizzically at him.
He took a moment to let the feeling pass over him.
You’re not in a lightning storm. You’re sitting here on a dune under a tree.
There wasn’t a cloud in sight.
He repeated this mantra in his head several times and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes once more.
The lightning from Ekanai’s memory was everywhere, scorching the soot-covered earth wherever the Reaper looked. Everything was so… golden. No! Not gold, but one of the new colors that bled into his vision afterward. The gold color appeared only when lightning struck and dissipated soon after.
Gold… for Lightning.
Despite Maiya’s rejection of his theory, Vir still suspected his newly gained sight allowed him to see prana. As he’d learned from her yesterday, Lightning Affinity orbs were golden. He’d initially thought orbs of the various affinities were dyed in different hues to help people differentiate them. But now he wondered whether they simply took on the color of the affinity’s prana itself.
Vir shook his head. It was too early to come to that conclusion. He opened his eyes.
He stared at the ground. There was a color there, but it was so dim, he couldn’t make it out. The problem he currently faced was that his new sight, whatever it really was, had significantly faded.
Vir had hoped that rekindling his memory of the events in the Godshollow would help restore his vision, but it was not to be. At a dead end, he did the only thing he could—test the other affinities.
If lightning strikes contained golden prana, and Riyan’s Life magic was white, then it stood to reason that the other affinities’ prana should show up in their respective elements. The simplest thing Vir could think of was water.
Vir went back to the homestead and dropped Neel off inside before retrieving Riyan’s Ash’va from its stable. He hopped on, not paying a single thought as to whether Riyan was okay with him commandeering his animals, and rode the beast a half hour southwest.
The abode was on the southern edge of the central desert. Near to there, the land turned from rolling sand dunes to plains with rivers that eventually led to the Godshollow.
Vir dismounted the Ash’va on the plains near a freshwater stream. He sat beside it and stared… and saw nothing.
Odd…
But Vir was not one to give up so easily. He remained steadfast, gazing at the flowing water. Minutes turned into tens of minutes, and he began nodding off. As his neck lolled, he startled awake, worried that some predator had snuck up on him. His heart pounded, but as he looked around, he realized it was just Riyan’s Ash’va. The beast’s loud grunt must’ve scared him awake.