ONE

… Taelynn

The knife felt foreign in my hand. Cahti was watching the rock- apparently, it was the entrance. In a few minutes, the Enforcers on guard would change shifts, leaving the entrance unguarded for one minute.

I felt a wave of determination and purpose. I would not fail this mission. I shuddered as the feeling left. My emotions had been acting strange recently, and a little part of me suspected something was wrong. But that part was buried beneath layers of emotions. 

“Go now,” Cahti ordered. She was already drawing a pectahlz to open the entrance. I nodded and ran to the rock, which lifted to reveal a sloping passageway. I ran down it and turned to the first left, following instructions Cahti had told me.

I found a door and slipped inside. A few seconds later I heard an Enforcer’s footsteps as they walked to their guard station. I was about to leave when I noticed what this room was for. It appeared to hold a bunch of random items, but something had caught my eye. It was my sand cloak, the one I’d been wearing the day of my execution.

I grabbed it and put it on, feeling the weight of its thick leather. It had been my father’s, before he left for the Oasis, leaving it behind for me. Without the sand cloak, I probably wouldn’t have survived on the streets as long as I did. It had kept the sharp sand off of me, allowing me to venture further from my home. Those without sand cloaks had to run inside when the winds started, or else it would kill you. 

A few black grains of sand fell out of it and I shook the whole cloak to rid the sand. I wouldn’t want to leave a trail behind me. I quickly searched through the rest of the room and found my scarf as well.

I silently opened the door and scanned the hallway, but it was empty. I left and walked down the hall, recalling the path Cahti told me to follow. Soon I found another door. Behind it would be Yuun, asleep. I turned the knob slowly, half expecting it to be locked, but the door swung open.

I approached the bed and saw Yuun sleeping there. I carefully placed the knife at his throat, and stopped. What was I doing? I was not a murderer. The Magicians were the murderers, and Yuun was their head. Surely it was fair that he die? He’d murdered Qorr, after all. No. I wouldn’t do it. 

I removed the knife and took a step back, trying to make sense of my thoughts and emotions. Ever since learning I was a Magician, I’d been so confused. Feeling things that I knew I shouldn’t have. I slumped down against the bed and inexplicably, began to cry.

“Thank you,” came a quiet voice from behind me.

I turned around abruptly. It was Yuun, sitting up in his bed. “For what?” I asked.

“For sparing my life,” he said simply. “Did Cahti tell you to do this?”

I nodded quietly.

“I would not trust her,” Yuun said.

“If you don’t trust her, why do you let her do things like this?”

“She is the Honored ONE. She far outranks me. And, the Pythos religion believes Cahti is a god. If I were to oppose her, there would be a revolt.” He shook his head sadly. “I believe you are a good person, Taelynn. And I do not wish to see you die at Cahti’s anger. You should return.”

I wanted to ask him more questions, but the old man was already back in his bed. I left his room quietly, retracing my steps back to the entrance. I was still distracted and didn't notice the footsteps behind me until a hand clapped my back.

“Nice jacket,” came a voice.

I jumped and spun. It was the Magician who'd caught me and watched as I was 'executed.' I punched him in the face.

“Ow!” He cried in alarm. “What was that for?”

“Sorry,” I said, sounding anything but sorry. “It’s those instincts I gained on the streets, you know, defending myself from people trying to catch and kill me Oh, wait! That was you!" I spun around and stalked away. He couldn’t arrest me or anything now, we were the same rank.

“Taelynn,” He said, catching up to me.

“If you care about your stupid face, you’ll refrain from placing it in my line of sight, or I’ll punch you again.” To my satisfaction, the Magician took a step back.

“Woah now, let’s not be hasty. Why do you dislike me so much? I’m the one that brought you here!”

“Was his execution real?” I asked coldly, not looking at him.

“Yes.” the Magician sighed. “Our Seekers sensed a strong Magician, but we couldn’t tell if it was you or him. We just happened to catch him first, and he wasn’t the Magician.”

“Well, the joke’s on you because I can't even do magic. Have fun with the thought of murdering an innocent man on your mind."

“He was a convicted criminal!”

“That doesn’t change the fact that someone loved him.” I turned and walked away, and this time the Magician didn’t follow me.

I left the Establishment and entered the treeline, where I found Cahti waiting. 

“Were you seen?”

I wilted beneath her words. “Yes,” I whispered.

Cahti cursed. “You were supposed to be stealthy! If they realize you killed him, they’ll immediately suspect me.”

I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, turns out you have complete control over the Council.”

“What did you just say?” She hissed.

“I can’t believe you sent me to kill Yuun. He’s a far better person than you, maybe he should be-” I choked off in a gasp. I felt an overwhelming sense of shame. Who was I to talk to Cahti, a god-like being, like that? I looked up and saw Cahti watching me with cold eyes. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. No, I’m not, I thought.

Cahti must be controlling me somehow. When I was away from her, I’d been myself. Now that I was back, I was different. I couldn’t place my finger on it, but somehow… 

I felt calm and happy. It washed over me like a warm blanket. I didn’t need to be mad at Cahti, she had saved me from the Outskirts. I didn’t need saving. I trusted her. I swore I would never trust again. Cahti was only here to help me. You. Don’t… need… The thought trailed away, and I barely remembered it. I didn’t know why I’d been so concerned. Cahti would never hurt me.

“Let’s go back,” She said softly. Cahti wasn’t mad at me, why should I be mad at her?

I watched as Cahti drew the pectahlz on the ground. The sight of Magic still amazed me. I didn’t know why I couldn’t do Magic, and I felt terrible every time I failed to please Cahti. Still, even being able to draw the pectahlz was pretty cool. The fact that I could at least proved I was a Magician- only Magicians could make the pectahlz glow. If a normal person drew one, it did nothing. Just a pretty pattern.

The walls of light rose up and faded, transporting us back to Cahti’s house in the forest. I still got the creeps thinking about the forest. It felt unnatural to be under the canopy. How could you see the sky with all those trees in the way?

“You should get some sleep,” Cahti said. “We will resume training in the morning.”

I sighed. Training seemed pointless. It was obvious that I could barely draw a straight line, let alone charge it with Order’s power.

The next day, Cahti said she’d gotten the news of Yuun’s death. No one claimed to have seen me though, and she was very proud.

I was only confused.

It had been nearly a year now since I became a Magician, and I still couldn’t do Magic. Still, I learned to draw new pectahlz.

Cahti was currently teaching me a pectahlz to make myself float. She knew I was discomforted by the forest, and probably thought teaching me this pectahlz would motivate me to use Magic.

“You have to think about it the right way,” Cahti said, hovering in the air. “You aren’t making yourself fly, you are forcing gravity to let go of you. The power of Order- also known as Control- gives you control over natural forces and laws. Break them.”

After the lesson, Cahti left me outside to practice drawing the pectahlz. I guess it was still important for me to learn them. If I suddenly manifested the ability to use pectahlz, I would still need to know how to use them.

From what I could tell, different shapes had different effects. The most common shape was a triangle. I’d tried asking Cahti to explain the shapes, but she’d insisted they didn’t matter. But if this Magic really was of Order, wouldn’t everything make sense? It couldn’t be random.

I sighed, looking across the small clearing at my glowing pectahlz in the grass, which now covered the entire space of the yard. I also struggled to draw them in the air. I knew it was possible, but my mind refused to let me draw pectahlz anywhere but a surface.

Just within the treeline, something moved. I stood up in an instant. An unfamiliar woman stepped out of the forest. I quickly drew a pectahlz that would attack whoever it was pointed at. In my desperation, I’d actually managed to draw it in the air.

“Take another step, and I’ll unleash this pectahlz on you,” I growled.

The woman waved her hand. “We both know you can’t.”

I clenched my teeth and reached to touch the pectahlz. The strange woman didn’t even flinch. She’d called my bluff. The pectahlz slowly faded away. I wished I had some kind of weapon, but at least the protection pectahlz around the whole clearing was still glowing.

“Good,” she said. “Now that we’re done with that, I need you to do something.”

“Why would I do something for you? I don’t even know who you are.” I took a step back.

“My name is Aeshen, and no, you don’t know who I am. But I’ve been watching you. And I know you don’t trust Cahti.”

The name was unfamiliar. I glanced in the windows, trying to determine where Cahti was. I looked back to Aeshen.

“So, I’m supposed to trust you?”

Aeshen shook her head. “I know you wouldn’t trust me. You don’t trust people you just met.”

“I trusted Cahti.”

She laughed, startling me. “Only because she made you trust her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded.

“Cahti has been manipulating your emotions, Taelynn.”

I frowned. It made sense. A small part of me had always wondered what had drawn me to trust Cahti. “How do I know you aren’t manipulating my emotions to betray Cahti?”

“I couldn’t possibly be doing that,” Aeshen said, but offered no further explanation. “Anyways. Next time you’re confused about your emotions, remember this.” Aeshen made a strange gesture over her heart. When she moved her hand, I saw glowing lines. It looked nothing like a pectahlz, but it was the same glowing paths. Instead of harsh, straight shapes, were gently curling waves. They faded away slowly.

“And remember, nothing is as it seems.” Aeshen stepped forward and kept walking until she was in front of me. The protection pectahlz didn’t affect her. Just earlier, I’d seen it disintegrate one of those giant bugs that was trying to crawl in.

“If you still have questions, just ask Cahti why she is the Chosen ONE.” Aeshen’s eyes flashed white, then she disappeared.

I let out a strangled breath of air. I still didn’t know who- or what- Aeshen was. I did still have questions, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to talk to Cahti at the moment. My curiosity overcame me and I headed inside.

“Cahti?” I called. After a moment, Cahti came into view.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re the Chosen ONE, right?”

“Yeah. I thought you knew that already.”

“Well, what is it you were chosen for?”