Saving Neba

𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐗: More than just connected

Herald never predicted anything, not verbally at least. "I don't believe it."

"That I thought you'd end up in Asterion? Ez, it's easy. You have grasgi-hi de Asterion, nes-hi de Asterion. Asterion is your blood, evidently. That's why it'll feel normal, even though you've never been here before."

I wished I could tell him that I had been here. I wished I could tell him that if you turned your left and walked further, you would get to the spot where a cat-dog would chase you and someone would save you. If only I could tell him that the river we were standing beside was no new thing; that I've swam in the calming water twice.

The sand underneath my bare legs was somewhat hot. Not scorching at all, surprisingly. "Are you not afraid of being here?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" He stood in front of me, his pointed nose closer to me than any other thing. "I train you, you learn, we leave. Nothing lives here anymore so don't be scared."

"It's not about me, it's about you." I sighed. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Let's see your pejyora-hi again." He instructed. I put my palms together and shut my eyes. And then I breathed out.

I hated this. I hated having to remember every single thing that had hurt me and every single person I'd hurt. Oddly, I thought about Tujan. I thought about that day I'd blurted about knowing that they were Asterion and Tevessa got so mad and blamed it all on Tujan. I thought of how I was scared of Tevessa I had been and how I stood there sheepishly. Tevessa had ordered that we leave and we just left through those bricks put up as a disguise.

It was the first time I had gone to Nesylone river.

I opened my eyes. My palms were there, rubbing against each other. Nothing was happening. Nothing at all.

I looked up. Herald was standing gentlemanly, waiting for me to show him the fireball. I breathed out and tried again. I rubbed harder, harder and harder.

My palms got hot, sure enough. But that was friction, the kind that was explainable by any normal human being. I pushed my palms apart. Herald was quiet and observing. I could imagine him rolling his eyes as he watched me rub my palms stupidly.

"It's not working."

"Figured," was his simple reply.

He walked closer to the river, sat by the bank and brushed his fingers over the surface of the water. He gestured for me to come to sit beside him. I sighed, sat where his hands were patting and crossed my legs till I was comfortable.

"Think of yourself as someone with a fire element. Immerse yourself in a river and imagine you're swimming around the fire. Except for this time, it's not burning you. It just feels normal and yera, like you and fire, are enosa."

"What's enosa?" I breathed in deeply, the sharp rain scent of water feeling my nostrils.

"Enosa, together, as one. Combined, a part of you. Cirile is whatever you want it to be." He hummed a song, it was soft, rhythmic and calming. "Fire, too, it can do whatever you want it to... if you can control it."

I tried to materialize his words. Ocean, fire, immersion, enosa. My body was heating up and I wasn't thinking of anything hurtful. I opened my eyes. Herald was brushing his fingers over the water surface, patiently waiting for me to get through it. I sighed and brought my hands closer to the water.

The tip of my fingers met the water. The contact made the area lit up. I moved across the surface. A glowing line began to form. What! I looked at Herald. He was smiling positively; I knew he was impressed.