A boy lay prone among the dirt and snow, eyes sharp, surveying the forest before him. He resisted shivering despite the chill of the snow and winter air. His breathing was steady, quiet. Then, amidst the bare trees, he spotted his target.
A young doe, large enough to make several meals but small enough that he could carry, had been separated from its herd. It wandered slowly, unaware the boys presence. He rose to one knee, revealing a bow within his grip, a quiver at his side. He raised it, aiming steadily toward the creature. One breath in, one out. The twang of the bowstring as he released the arrow served as the only warning to the doe. His aim was true.
The boy spent another breath and rose to retrieve his kill. It was at that moment that a pack of four wolves emerged as if from nowhere. Three of them went straight for the carcass while the last faced him, teeth bared, black lips in a snarl.
The boy backed away slowly. He had spent days tracking this doe, but he was willing to give it up and walk away. Unfortunately, the fourth wolf did not feel the same about him. It lunged. He ran.
Weaving among the trees, the boy tried to distance himself from the creature. But the frost made the ground slick and he soon fell. He had just enough time to turn and use the bow to keep the wolf from tearing at his throat. He fought, but would not hold much longer. Panic rose. He was going to die.
I don't want to die!
As he fought, the boy could feel something building inside him. It gathered in the struggle, begging for release, like the bowstring pulled taunt. Without meaning to, he obliged.
The ground around the two figures began to churn and shift. Thin columns of rock erupted from beneath the snow, catching the wolf, pushing it away. It flew many feet away before landing with a heavy thud on its side. Shaken, it rose and fled with a whimper.
The boy breathed heavily, air rising as steam from his mouth. First he was confused at what happened, but then he lay back, exhausted.
The boy was Mathias. This was the first time he showed his power.
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Life continued in a town at the edge of a relatively isolated northern forest. It was not large by any means, most of the space dedicated to the functions of a factory, christened “The Forge” by those who worked there, where manufacturing of components took place. These parts were then shipped to various cities under Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. Beyond that there were homes for the people, a city center of sorts with a town hall and market district, a medical center, and a school.
While it was not the most prosperous town, the people got by well enough. Buyers paid handsomely for their manufacturing, or more often, traded for any goods the people needed as a whole. Isolation was the only issue. Shipments only came and went several times a year, so any other time, the citizens had to be self sufficient. This resulted in a mishmash of customs and technologies on hand. For instance, most people visited the market for their food, but almost all of them hunted, or paid someone to hunt, in the local woods as a supplement. Some owned guns, but to conserve ammunition, they tended to keep modern bows as well. On and on, televisions in log cabins, modern plumbing, electricity, but also smaller generators when the power was cut after a storm.
This was the environment where Mathias first learned to use his powers. It had been two years since he discovered the ability, and he experimented in secret ever since, trying to learn what he was capable of.
It was more than he imagined. With force of movement and will, he could manipulate the elements. He would levitate rocks over his palm, rotating them about an invisible axis. With some effort, he could create small waves over otherwise still waters. With difficulty, he created breezes over grasslands, or held flames in his palm for seconds before they flickered into nothing.
He had no explanation for these abilities, so he never revealed them to anyone. He just went on about his life as normally as possible, albeit spending more time than usual alone in the woods, returning tired and hungry. His father once joked that Mathias should stay inside more.
“Skip on the exercise every once in a while son. Maybe then you won't always tear through your food like a rabid camel.”
Now he was 16, a man by the standards of his community. He would begin to work at the factory himself. He might not be able to leave and practice at his skills anymore. It was something he didn't want to give up. But Mathias was proud of his parents and the work they did, his father in The Forge, his mother as a teacher. If there was one thing he was willing to do, it was to take the next step into manhood, find his place in the community, and see what would come.
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Mathias and his father were walking home after a long day at the Forge, joking and enjoying each other's company.
There was an explosion, one so strong that the ground trembled beneath their feet. Together they turned. The Forge was aflame, walls of brick and metal collapsed into a raging inferno. Black smoke billowed up in thick, twisting columns, covering the light of the setting sun.. The alarm horn erupted over every part of town. Mathias' father spoke to him.
“Son! I need you to go home. Go home and get you mother and the children out!” A crowd of people emerged, some fleeing the scene, other rushing towards it.
“What about you?” Mathias shouted over the noise.
“I need to go back, people could have been hurt, they may need help. Now go! Get the family and take them to the clearing! Stay there until I get back!” His father embraced him before melding with the crowd.
Mathias lingered only a moment longer before turning towards home. By the time he arrived, his mother had already gathered his brother and sisters. They went with their neighbors to a clearing within the woods, out of sight of the town but close enough that the animals would leave them alone.
When he knew they were safe, Mathias returned to the factory. The fires still raged, but that was not the only problem. There were people at least two dozen people firing at anyone who tried to approach the complex. The town guards were fighting back, but in disarray.
Mathias rushed about and saw his father behind cover, grouped with others, seemingly planning something. He called out, and his father heard the sound.
“What are you doing here!?” his father shouted, but Mathias could barely hear him above the noise of the firefight.
The father left cover, approaching his son.
He took three steps before he stumbled, a glazed look passing over his eyes. To Mathias, he fell to the ground in slow motion, blood seeping from wounds in his back.
It couldn't happen, Mathias wouldn't accept it. But as he ran to his father, he knew it was so. He did not stop when he reached the group pulling the body back behind cover, but instead kept running forward, anger building. The attackers took notice and fired upon him, but he had just enough time to dive behind debris. He was close, they were approaching. He struck. As he stood, Mathias flung his arm out, palm pointing towards the nearest man. A brick rose from the ground and shot towards the target, knocking him backwards with the force of its hit. Another stone hit an attackers face, blood streamed from the hole it made as the man collapsed. The others began to take notice. They steadily backed away while raising their weapons. They drew close to the flames. With another movement, Mathias caused it to erupt in a great belch, singeing those closest.
Now they fell back in full retreat, but still Mathias carried on. Launching another brick at one, hitting him in the knee, knocking him to the ground. The boy stood over the man, a stone gathered in each hand. If the attacker pleaded, Mathias did not hear it. He roared with rage and pain as he brought the stones down.
He was spent. The town guards still fired at the retreating attackers. Emergency teams were finally able to approach the building.
Mathias cared nothing of this. He turned to where he knew his father lay and fell to his knees, the edges of his vision darkening. He was unconscious before his head hit the ground.
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Instead of the medical center, which was damaged in the fires, Mathias awoke in his own home. His room was filled with machines and other equipment, monitoring his condition, pumping fluids sluggishly into his veins. He had been out for three days.
Initially, there was a flurry of attention from technicians, but once it was clear that he was fine, if a little weak, they allowed his family to remain with him. But it was not long before others came. They were those present the night of the attack.
Exactly those he wanted to see.
They told him of his father, whom they already buried with the others who fell. A service would take place when the situation calmed enough.
Mathias asked about the invaders and was furious to hear that many had escaped. Despite his weakness, he shouted a curse and called for the others to rally together and hunt the strangers down. To exact justice. So preoccupied he was with his own anger, Mathias was shocked to find that others did not feel the same. But once he realized this, he saw that it was clear from their nervous glances towards him, only to look away rapidly, the shifting of weight, the silence, that he was the cause.
Many of them saw what happened that night, the powers he displayed. There was no explanation for it, no view of their life where something like that is possible. In some ways, the power made them fear Mathias more than the invaders themselves. He hung his head in understanding. These men would not follow him anywhere. He would go alone.
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It was the night before his departure when The Master arrived. Mathias' family was reluctant to have visitors, but welcomed him anyway, showing what hospitality they could. Mathias himself never left his room, there were more important things at hand.
He was gathering the last materials for his pack when his door opened.
“There's no reason to run from this,” a voice stated. Mathias turned. There was The Master, entering the room, looking side to side, pulling a wooden chair to sit.
“I'm not running,” Mathias retorted sharply, “It's the opposite, I'm going for justice.”
“Maybe not justice,” The Master replied quietly, “Maybe vengeance.”
“So what if it is!” Mathias shouted, “Maybe vengeance is justified against people like this, who attack our homes, kill the people we love!” In spite of himself, the power of his emotions brought tears to his eyes. He did not understand what about this stranger drew and repelled him.
“Who are you?”
The Master was as calm as before.
“Perhaps it is neither justice nor revenge that you seek, but oblivion. There are many paths you can take, but you choose the one that leads to certain demise. You cannot win this battle.”
“You don't know what I can do!”
“Oh but I do,” The Master answered, “I know full well what you are capable of. It is the reason I am here.” The master stood.
“I offer you a choice. You can leave alone in a futile gesture of false bravado and stupidity, or you can come and let me teach you, bring you farther than you could ever reach by yourself.”
Then Mathias was alone with his own thoughts.
It was not until the next morning that he emerged from his room and approached The Master.
“I will join you.”
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The first weeks with The Master were strange for Mathias. They traveled to eastern mountains, to a secluded temple built within them. Before, Mathias thought his home was isolated, but compared to this place, it was the hub of civilization. Although there were towns near the mountains and even small villages within, the temple was difficult to reach. However, it contained everything they would need to be self sufficient. A garden grew their food while the forest supplied animals for meat. Water came from an old fashioned well, as pure as the student could hope for. Beyond that, the temple complex itself held many rooms where people could sleep, dine, or study. There were also large grounds where Mathias would train in various forms of combat. He would meditate in a glade not far off, listening to the running of a brook, feeling the ground beneath him, the breeze in the air, and the warmth of the sun.
Most importantly, The Master instructed his student in the finer nuances of his powers, teaching Mathias to manipulate the elements in ways he had never imagined. Mathias even progressed to control two elements at once, requiring a greater drain of strength and concentration, but resulting in devastatingly powerful or versatile techniques. At each challenge he had to overcome, he was driven first by his wish to simply become powerful enough to accomplish his goals. He had not forgotten the anger he felt, the reason he was there. The Master for his part said nothing of his student's intentions, only continued instructing. But the training itself affected Mathias' outlook. The hours of mediation, feeling the flow, the connections of the world. The studies, the physical exertions, they drew him from his thoughts of revenge, allowed him to view it as if from outside himself. As he grew more powerful with each passing month, he began to question what it was he wanted from his life.
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Mathias was not The Master's only apprentice. A girl named Noel had already been training in the temple for months when he arrived. She was energetic, quick-witted, always with a smile on her face. He remembered seeing her on that first day, training with knives, long brown hair streaming about as she weaved between forms and throws.
Initially, he was withdrawn, only really talking about their work, communicating during sparring. He would speak, listen, occasionally joke, but he always held back. He could not be distracted from what he hoped to accomplish.
But as time wore on, Mathias gradually dropped the barriers he placed around himself. He spent much of his time in Noel's company and enjoyed it immensely. They grew to know each other more and more, and eventually enough trust built that he told her of his past. When she knew of the events that brought him there, she did not react with pity or regret, but instead carried on with him. She even told of her past, the wonders of a large city, showing him a silver medallion she received from her mother when she left.
In the years at the temple, Mathias' training tempered his grief and rage. But it was his bond with Noel, one greater even than mere friendship, that healed him.
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Mathias experienced five years in the temple before it was attacked. By the time he realized the danger, it was too late. The Master was run through, many attackers advanced. There were heavily armored in mechanical suits, faces covered in helmets, weapons drawn.
Mathias led Noel through the corridors, fighting many along the way. But Noel was hit, a shot to the leg, and could not continue. He would not accept this. He would use the last of his strength to get them out if needed.
Noel had other plans.
“Go!” she ordered.
He should have expected this of her. Ignoring her next words, he made to lift her away.
She resisted.
“Take this,” she told him, revealing the amulet she carried, “hold onto this until we meet again.” Her words faded in and out.
“You can't do that if you die here today!”
It was the hardest thing he had ever done, and he wouldn't have if she didn't make it clear that she wanted, no, needed him to leave. To live.
She had helped him in so many ways, and this would be the last. Her final gift.
So he listened to her despite his wishes to the contrary. He did as she asked, carrying with him the amulet, and the dream of a hope that they would meet again.
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He escaped to the outskirts of the temple, to a cliff overlooking a river, before they caught him. They might have expected him to fight, to make a last stand. But he understood his responsibility, and it was not to end it here. He eyed the cliff, then faced the invaders. With a step back, he plummeted.
Immediately, Mathias worked with the air, trying to slow his descent before he reached the bottom. By the time he hit the water, he had slowed enough to survive the fall, but not so much that he wasn't hurt by the impact. Quickly he pushed, creating a single wave to propel him faster. He drifted downstream, away from the temple.
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It was several miles before the river calmed enough for Mathias to reach the bank. Small mercy that he never approached a waterfall. He staggered onto the ground, tired, but knowing he had to keep moving.
He traveled as far as he could down through woodland before he rested at the roots of a tree. It felt like no time passed before he awoke to an animal sniffing at his face. A dog, gray with a white face and paws, eyes blue as ice, triangular ears upward. At first Mathias thought it might be a wolf, especially when the dog howl filled the air. There was a shuffling in the bushes, the sound of someone running. Mathias tensed.
An old man emerged, hair mostly gray, but with streaks of red remaining, with thin rimmed glasses over kind eyes. Despite his apparent age, he seemed only slightly out of breath from whatever exertion it might have taken to cut through the bushes. Two more dogs emerged as he took notice of Mathias.
“Well then, are you whats got Ama all riled up?” he exclaimed.
Mathias rose to his feet, body stiff. His ribs pained him, either bruised or broken. His right arm hung at his side. The man looked concerned.
“Now I don't know much about doctoring, but it seems to me that you could use someone who does.” he said as he helped Mathias to his feet.
Mathias considered the stranger for a moment, weighing his options. In the end, he decided that he wasn't going to make it out of this forest alone, so he accepted the stranger's help.
The old man, named Jeremiah, drove towards a city at the base of the mountain. He was a talkative fellow, offering his story as they traveled.
“It's a good thing I was out here,” he said with a chuckle, “only meant to go a bit of a ways, instead let the fresh air lead me up. Lucky thing huh?”
“It was little Amaterasu who found you, barely six months old and already showing great instincts. Not that we can't expect a thing like that with huskies. I'm just surprised old Argos here didn't smell ya' first,” he referred to a hound in the backseat. “But I'm not at all surprised Rush didn't catch you, most useless, lovable dog I ever saw.”
On they went, Mathias learning that Jeremiah once was a barber, but now trained dogs in his retirement. He was in this part of the country visiting his daughter, as Jeremiah described her, the finest chef in all the world. In no time at all it seemed, they arrived at a hospital. Mathias' injuries weren't major, but he would have to rest for a while. Of course Jeremiah insisted that he stay with the family.
They were gracious hosts, and Mathias showed his appreciation as he could, but they respected his wish to spend time alone to think. Much of this time, of course, was spent lingering on what happened. In all the years that passed, nothing had changed. Those important to him were in danger and again he could not save them.
He would shake himself out of these thoughts, needing to focus on the next course of action, to move on. It was amazing that the attackers had not already stormed this city. Part of him wanted them to come, to have the chance to pay them back.
But when he held Noel's amulet, he knew things had changed. He could no longer be blindly driven by raw anger or cold vengeance. He knew that whoever was responsible had to be stopped before they hurt anyone else. This was his path, and it could not be accomplished if he died in a hail of fire, leaving nothing gained.
It was evening when he reached this realization. Petting Amaterasu, who always joined him during these contemplations. He stared off into the distant sunset, deciding he would leave the next day, travel the land, and find out what he could about the organization responsible for the temple. It was dark when he told Jeremiah of his departure.
So he set out the next morning, pack filled to the brim with supplies and delicious food for the road. He would walk for now, but perhaps find new transportation in the next town, or the one after that. Not that he could drive anyway, never having had an opportunity to learn. Maybe it was time, his training was yet incomplete.
Most surprising was that Amaterasu followed him. Sprinting ahead and back again, but always within distance that clearly showed she was joining him. At first, he made to return her, coaxed her to stay home.
Jeremiah called out, “Take her with you, I don't mind. I think her going along might do the both of you some good.”
So Mathias walked the path away from their home, Amaterasu by his side. Together they journeyed from town to town, wandering from place to place.
