IABD 55: A Test of Affinity

Matthias silently climbed from his bed roll, tiptoeing through the dark hermit house, passing his sleeping sister. Bregindoure’s bed roll was empty, and the young greatfolk could hear his mother in the kitchen, preparing breakfast.

The scent of porridge was mixing with the miasma of Windstone.

Not long ago, the combination of odours would have disgusted him, but now, the miasma was weak in the background of his mind. The strongest odours he was smelling were the sweet aromas of warm honey, hot porridge and frying bacon.

A perfect meal for a fall day.

The air’s chill normally came early in Evalmera, it had already arrived; in a few weeks, his breath would be misting in the air. Soon after that, frost would envelope dry leaves carpeting the forest floor.

The first meal on this particular day, was not only going to be a good one for a fall day, but it would be a good one for a very special day.

It was either going to be a tasty meal just prior to a victory, or one to soften the sting of a failure.

Which one it would be, would depend on how Bregindoure’s test went today.

Matthias slipped on his boots and cloak, stepping out the front door of the hermit house.

There, just in front of the outer wall, was his brother.

Bregindoure’s enormous body towered above the surrounding stones…yet, this morning, he somehow looked smaller.

Nervous.

He was watching the abbey; his body bearing the stillness of stone, he never moved as Matthias came up beside him.

“Are you ready?” the young greatfolk asked him.

Bregindoure flinched, his eyes never leaving the abbey. “Look up there,” was all he said.

Matthias followed his gaze to the highest floor of the abbey.

The ghouls were huddled by a window, crouched low, trying to hide from view.

“There were more of them earlier,” Bregindoure said. “But some left when I came outside. They look unsettled to me; do they look like that to you?”

“I don’t know,” Matthias said. “It’s hard to know if ghouls can be unsettled.”

“Hmmm, perhaps I am simply projecting my own state of mind onto them.” Bregindoure turned from the window.

Matthias elbowed his older brother in the ribs. “You, unsettled?”

“I am, but it does not matter.” Bregindoure raised his hands, looking at the Runes burning on them. “What happens, happens. I already have a source of power to draw from…though, I would like two, but I do not need two. Necessarily.”

“I hear a ‘but’ in your voice?” Matthias said.

“But you and Dagma have two sources of power. She has the Gift and Life Enforcement, and you have Two Towers and whatever that shadow power is. I don’t much care to be left behind, and I want to learn the advanced techniques of the Way of Stone, just like you, mother and Dagma,” Bregindoure’s voice was low.

Matthias patted him on the back. “I’m sure you have an affinity for Life Enforcement. Mother has an affinity for Life Enforcement, Dagma has an affinity for Life Enforcement…even father has an affinity for Life Enforcement. I might have had it too, if…I wasn’t touched by death in the way that I am.”

“Hrm, maybe if I don’t have an affinity, I can try Divine Breath, like you…no, never mind, the Runes and Divine Breath do not mix,” Bregindoure grunted. “Life Enforcement is my one chance; I tried developing the Gift over and over again, when I was younger…and I know that path is closed to me, I don’t have the right talent or mindset for it. But this, I hope I can do this. I don’t want someone to be always guarding me—”

“Morning,” a yawning voice said from behind them.

Both brothers startled, turning to find Dagma coming toward them, rubbing her eyes. “Mother told me to tell you that breakfast will be ready soon.”

“We’ll be in shortly,” Bregindoure said, forcing a smile.

Dagma watched him, stretching. “Stop looking scared.”

“Hm?” Bregindoure flinched as though slapped. “What do you mean ‘stop looking scared’?”

“You look scared, now stop it. You’re worried about today, right?” she asked him. “Stop worrying, you’re going to have Life Enforcement. I just know it. So don’t be so scared, be excited. I know I’m excited.”

Bregindoure blew out a breath. “If only I had your confidence.”

“Stop it.” She rolled her eyes, patted him on the leg, yawned and went back inside.

Matthias shrugged. “Well, you heard our sister: welcome to Life Enforcement!”

Bregindoure burst out laughing. “Save that for if I pass the test.”

###

“Kneel,” Beggahasta commanded Bregindoure under the morning sun.

Taking a deep breath, the towering giant knelt on a blanket in the hermit house’s tiny garden. His head was down, his eyes closed, his breath calm.

A clay bowl partly filled with water distilled in an alchemist’s lab, and brought from Dagger Rock by Mistress Polla, was in front of him. It was pure, and ready to conduct life energy.

Beggahasta stood across the bowl from her son, while Matthias, Dagma, Polla and Ellian watched from the side.

Matthias observed the scene with knots in his belly.

How many times had he been told to kneel in front of a bowl of distilled water, waiting to have his affinity tested? How many times had he failed? How many times did he have to endure the pained look on his mother’s face, the disappointment in his father’s eyes and the growing pity in the gazes of the others who were present for those tests.

Merely looking at a bowl of water—a bowl used to test affinity—catapulted him to the past, to remembering all the pain of those early years.

‘Way of Stone,’ he told himself. ‘Those days are behind you. This is not another day where you must prepare for failure. This is a day where you will witness your brother’s success.’

He knew the next step like he knew his own name.

Bregindoure would place both hands in the water, while their mother would use her energy to examine her eldest son’s life force. Then, her energy would stimulate Bregindoure’s life pathways; the process was delicate, calling for complete calm on the part of his brother.

If he had any affinity, his channels would begin to open, and he would be ready for Life Enforcement…but agitating his energy during the test could have dire consequences. Things could also go badly even if he did not have an affinity; Matthias remembered the agony of the incompatible energies rampaging through his body, causing him to seize and foam at the mouth, his body contorting in agony.

‘That won’t happen to Breg,’ he told himself, checking on his sister.

She was watching their elder brother, the image of calm and confidence, as if she didn’t have a single doubt in her mind that he would succeed.

Matthias wondered where that strong confidence came from: was it simply because of her love for their brother, or was she drawing on her own experiences? Dagma had passed her affinity test for Life Enforcement with ease, and then gone on to unlock her potential for the Gift on her very first try.

She was talented, just like their mother and father, so maybe she was only projecting her own expectations of success on Bregindoure.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

Whether she believed in him or not, it would not change the outcome.

Matthias wished he could have her strong confidence, though.

“Bregindoure Stonebreaker,” Beggahasta said. “Take time and meditate. Achieve serenity. Tell me when you do.”

“Yes, mother,” the eldest Stonebreaker sibling said, eyes still closed.

For a time, a hush came over the garden; Bregindoure took deep, slow steadying breaths. His face was calm, his body still. Seconds passed. Then a minute. Then two.

Then more.

His breath slowed, becoming slower and slower.

Until finally. “I am calm, mother.”

“Good,” she said. “You have come to me today to test your affinity for Life Enforcement. To seek the second Pillar of Power. To climb it by joining your life force with that of nature, drawing on the energies of the world to reinforce your own.”

“I seek the second pillar,” he said.

Matthias remembered saying similar words during his many tests throughout the years.

“Why do you wish to learn Life Enforcement?” she asked him.

Matthias wondered how his brother would answer.

“To build my strength and climb to further heights,” Bregindoure said. “To gain power aside from the power that comes from an unknown god. To gain a new road to mastery. To join two paths of strength together as one. To follow in your footsteps. To protect myself. To protect my family and any loved ones that I might shield in the future. To crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and hear the lamentations of their kindred.”

“All good reasons,” his mother said approvingly. “Are you ready for this path’s dangers?”

“I am.”

“Are you willing to take on the risks of the test?” she asked.

“I am.”

“Are you ready to climb this pillar through all your days, seeking its heights, throughout your life?”

“I am.”

“Are you prepared to have the measure of your life extended, outliving those around you—even those that you love—and striding into a long future in a world that will keep changing all around you?”

“I am.”

“Are you still calm?”

“I am.”

“Then let us begin.” Beggahasta knelt in front of the bowl. “Please, Bregindoure, place your hands in the water.”  

The eldest of the Stonebreaker siblings took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, placing his enormous hands in the chilled water.

With whispered words of encouragement to her son, Beggahasta raised her hands above the bowl. Matthias grimaced, remembering the many times he’d seen his mother, father, and others perform that exact same motion when they’d begun his tests for Life Enforcement.

Beggahasta closed her eyes, pressing her palms to the water’s surface, she and Bregindoure went still. Matthias wondered what thoughts were going through their minds. What were they thinking about to calm themselves? Each time he’d taken the test in the past, he would think about good memories from early in his childhood to settle his racing heart.

Yet, as time had gone on—and his failures had mounted—those good memories had been harder and harder to come by.

‘Will Bregindoure have made enough good memories to draw from?’ Matthias wondered, watching the water. If it churned, it would likely mean he lacked an affinity; if it remained calm, there was a good chance of having the affinity.

‘Please,’ Matthias thought. ‘I’d love for you to have this, Breg.’

Bregindoure and Beggahasta were silent.

Between them, the water remained still, hope sprang up in the young greatfolk’s chest.

…right until Bregindoure’s Runes flared with harsh red light.

With a hiss, like an angry serpent, the water boiled.

“Mother!” Matthias cried, his heart sinking. “Breg, take your hands out!”

Beggahasta growled. “He’s not finished yet. The energies of the Runes are interfering, but they’ve not ruined the process. Remain calm, Bregindoure. You can do this.”

The eldest of her children kept still; his breathing slow and steady.

Writhing and boiling around their hands, the water churned in the bowl as the Runes burned brighter.

“Isn’t this bad?” Ellian asked.

“He has the Rune of Clarity,” Polla said with certainty. “It will help him to remain calm and keep focused.”

“He doesn’t even need that,” Dagma said, her eyes fixed. “He’s my brother. He’ll do it; the only reason why Matt couldn’t do it is because he was meant to have Divine Breath. If Bregindoure doesn’t get Life Enforcement, he’ll get Divine Breath, but he will do this.”

Matthias watched, wishing he had Dagma’s unshakeable confidence. ‘Come on, Bregindoure. Stay calm. You can do this.’

Like miniature suns—reminding Matthias of the Rune of the Berserker that illuminated his brother’s nightmare world—both Runes burned.

His brother’s breath stayed steady, his face peaceful.

Slowly, the water began calming, the boiling easing, all hissing dying away.

As the churning stopped, all sounds were replaced by silence.

‘Come on,’ Matthias thought, fists clenched, mentally encouraging his brother. ‘Dagma’s right. You can do this. I know it. Don’t be like the way I was. Get everything you deserve, brother. Then we’ll crush anything that comes at us.’

###

Bregindoure Stonebreaker was calm.

Steady.

Certain.

He had to be; if he wasn’t, how could he rely on himself? How could his siblings rely on him?

The eldest of the Stonebreaker siblings had overcome the rage of the Berserker with his brother’s help, but that rage had come from a deity’s rune.

 But fear?

Trepidation? They came from his own heart.

So, he would use his own heart to defeat them.

His mother’s energy coursed through the water. Her life force moved through the liquid, spreading over his hands, pushing against the Runes. Their energies were burning brightly, trying to block her life force from passing through them.

Bregindoure kept calm, remembering Dagma’s certainty, his brother’s supportiveness, and his mother’s faith.

The giant fell deep into the Way of Stone, repeating the mantra, but he did not fight his Runes. Going down that path was a mistake. Fighting the nightmare-knights in his dream had only led to endless torment; it was only when he’d banished them, realising they were nothing, that he’d become free from them.

And so, he would not fight these Runes.

Their resistance was nothing; they might be unruly, but eventually, they would calm.

They were his, after all, and no one else’s.

As he came to that realisation, the water calmed…as did the Runes, allowing Beggahasta’s energy to flow.

Pathways in his body, that he’d felt before, sprang to life.

For a heartbeat, his life force touched Beggahasta’s.

Something shifted.

A burning, wrenching sensation came over him as his life channels expanded with new energy; it coursed through his body, pooling in the pit of his stomach. Something burst, seemingly coming to life. His form shuddered.

More of that wrenching sensation followed as liquid shifted in his gut.

His stomach filled, feeling like it was bursting.

“Aim for the soil beside you, my son,” Beggahasta said, her voice filled with joy.

Nauseated, Bregindoure leaned to the side, spewing a thick line of black filth on the ground.

“You’ve done it!” Beggahasta’s triumphant tone cut through the air. You’ve—”

‘Another battle has been overcome,’ words echoed in Bregindoure’s mind. ‘Power has been claimed. Be rewarded, instrument of war.’

And he roared, standing tall as a red light suddenly surged across his back.

###

Author's Note

Hello folks! And so we hit a lil' cliff. Sharp Fool readers might notice some similarities between this scene and Theresa's awakening to Life Enforcement. I wanted to make sure they didn't contradict each other.

Well, that's it for the week! I will see you all Monday and remember, starting next we go to the 3x/week schedule!

And to those of you who celebrate easter, have a Happy Easter!

- Cya