The Gathering

[Koli]

"Don't slow down now Jalaphar, we're almost there!"

"What do you mean Koli," Jalaphar puffed from beside him, "The gorge isn't even in sight yet."

The sun peeked through the budding trees as Koli and Jalaphar trotted through a large wheat field, causing their shadows to stretch far into the horizon. Beautiful budding and blossoming trees lined the edges of the field, and a tiny treeline slowly grew larger and taller as they approached. The spring marked the beginning of training preparations for the combat comprehensive exam which the two teens would take at the close of the coming autumn. They still had plenty of time to prepare, but Abbas Amo designed their training plan to push them to their limits early to prepare them for combat rather than a test. The comprehensive marked the culmination of every youth's life work at the sanctuary; it signified their rite of passage into the brotherhood. Upon completion of the week-long evolution each brother gained eligibility for deployment on missions.

This particular morning, the head priest sent the two brothers down to the gorge and upstream through the wilderness until they reached a colossal waterfall. The journey took about a half day's trek. Upon reaching the waterfall, they had to meditate until sunset. Following their meditation, Koli and Jalaphar would return, but one had to carry the other on his shoulders the entire time. Koli could endure more out of the two, so he would carry Jalaphar for 30 minutes or so, and Jalaphar would carry Koli for about 15 minutes at a time. On top of it all, this was to be done under a Black Fast, meaning they could not eat or drink anything for the duration of their training mission.

"We're almost there," Koli repeated. "Look for the light at the end of the tunnel. If there is none there, you will create some."

Koli kept his breathing slow and controlled as each foot hit the dirt. Neither the weight of the young man on his shoulder, nor the urgency that drove him towards the port city bothered the priest. Koli always found a calming sense of structure in the face of chaos. After dropping the boy in an inn, Koli could search for medical wares from a vendor, or make them from ingredients in the wild.

As the sun set and the moon rose, a non-celestial bright white light illuminated the night sky. Something about this all too familiar light drew in Koli's attention and attracted his spirit like a magnet. Its location detoured Koli slightly north of his westbound course.

As the priest approached this light, his energy rejuvenated, and his spirit began to swell, as if he teamed with power. Koli now traveled off the path and through the trees, pushing through tall vegetation and leaves. He sensed the energy nearby radiating life into the world. Without initiating it, his eyes changed into a shade of icy blue which sent him into an adrenaline rush. He accelerated into a dead sprint, as his heart started to pound in his ears. Faint chanting all around him grew louder and louder, and the icy phantom forms of 2 monks conjured next to him, sprinting with him on either side. Finally, he pushed through the last bit of vegetation and into a small clearing.

In the center of the clearing, a large geyser of some sort of magical energy spouted from the ground. Plasma-like energy that radiated bright white light with streaks of blue and red spewed up into the sky and dissipated into the atmosphere. The trees surrounding the geyser grew taller before his very eyes, extending several more feet in the air with each moment. New leaves grew back and the geyser blew them clean off with the power that emanated. Koli closed his eyes, and cleared his head.

Slowly, he extended his mind toward the geyser. As he drew closer, his spirit swelled uncomfortably so. The heat of the energy swelled in his body, and his mind clouded with trouble and discontentment. Focusing all of his willpower, Koli cleared his mind further and pushed on. In the split second before he touched the energy, time froze. Koli opened his eyes to find the entire scene halted. An eerie silence plagued the landscape. The auditory illusions of chanting that the energy created through Koli had ceased, both of the spectral monks had stopped dead in their tracks, and leaves had frozen in midair on their descent.

And then Koli's mind reached the energy.

Instantly, Koli felt the magical power channel through his entire being as if he was an extension of an endless pool of eternal energy that was left untapped for centuries. All of it attempted to escape at once, and Koli's head reared back in pain as he tried to shout. The magical plasma shot from his eyes and mouth, and his body became invisible. His eyes rapidly changed between many different colors ane he took on the effects of all the different colors at once. Swords and staffs conjured without his doing, and illusions cropped up without his creating them. Wolves and buildings, monuments and spectral priests cropped up all throughout the clearing. Koli heard a thunderous beating of wings from high overhead, and the leaves of the surrounding trees all flew to the ground, leaving the surrounding rainforest bare. The illusion of a mighty ancient dragon flew overhead. It opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar, before incinerating everything on the other side of the clearing. The heat from the flames singed Koli's eyebrows, and burned the skin on his face.

On his shoulder, two bright golden wings extended from the boy he carried. They shimmered and gleamed in the glow of the magical plasma. He started to convulse, and seize on Koli's shoulder. Koli heard the dragon beginning to swoop down towards him from above, causing a rising sense of panic to form in Koli's chest. Closing his eyes, he drew upon all the willpower he could muster and tore himself away from the magical energy source. All of the illusions faded as quickly as they came, and the conjured weapons dissipated. The magical geyser gave one last spurt of energy, and faded down into the ground. A massive crater remained in its place, and a deafening silence rang through the night.