I had known from the moment I saw it; I was destined to heed its call. The man had come to our village when I was a young boy. The elders called what he did mere tricks, but I knew better. I could tell that there was more to the man and his tricks. But like every other visitor to our small village, his time with us eventually ended. He left, never to return, leaving me with nothing but a fading memory and a deep yearning to follow in the man’s footsteps.
That yearning remained with me and when I came of age, I left the village behind and carve out a new life for myself. I travelled the world for years in search of the man and others like him.
In time, my perseverance bore fruit, and the Brotherhood of the Emerald Tower took me in. It was here that I found my true calling, and I threw myself into acquiring the knowledge that would grant me that which I sought.
I discovered an ancient tome deep within the catacombs of the order, locked away. It called to me, and I knew that this was where my yearning had brought me, this tome was my path.
I enquired with the Brotherhood why the tome did not reside with the others in the Great Library. Their response was that they deemed the tome too dangerous to explore and, as such, had put it under lock and key.
I begged and pleaded with them to allow me the opportunity to study it, and that I would willingly accept the consequences that it might bring. Yet they still denied me, telling me to leave it be.
Weeks passed and with them, my hunger to learn the tome’s secrets intensified until it was all that lived within my mind. I could feel my mind slipping. If I did not act, I would lose my sanity.
I stole into the catacombs one night and, using what I had learnt, released the tome from its shackles. With the aged black leather bindings in my hands, my mind felt at peace. I returned to my chamber and studied the tome.
What I found within its pages transcended beyond our meager existence and was the key to the cosmos and the ancients that lived beyond our mortal realm. Upon finishing the tome, I went into isolation so that I might meditate and come to better understand that which I had discovered.
I sat in complete silence for what seemed like an eternity. Cut off from the outside world and left in complete and utter darkness.
It was something that I felt I needed to do. No… it was something I had to do.
The rest of the Brotherhood found it strange but thought nothing more of it as we each had our own methods of contemplation and left me to my own devices.
When I removed myself from isolation, I felt changed in ways I could not comprehend. Something had taken root within me, had stolen a part of me, and in exchange, had given me immeasurable power. I could feel it within me as if lightning coursed through my veins.
I tried to control it, to harness it. It surprised me to find I could with ease. A spark danced from one finger to another as I watched in euphoric bliss, indulging in the sweet nectar of accomplishment.
I paused in my jubilation, noticing that my brothers did not share my mirth but gazed at me with eyes filled with terror and disgust. I felt my anger bubble to the surface.
Why did they look at me with such disdain?
Was I not the perfect student, the only one who had managed to control the power?
All those before me had failed, succumbed to those ancient beings we sought to touch beyond the veil.
It was my turn to watch in horror as my sworn brothers closed in on me, brandishing the crude ceremonial blades of our order.
Did they mean to strike me down?
Cut me open and examine me?
I felt outraged at the thought. I sent my hands skyward, as if beseeching the omnipotent to come to my aid.
It started with a rush.
The breaking of a seal deep within the very essence of my being. An untethering from that which anchored my soul. I allowed my mind to be swept along with the current, going where it wished me to go.
I brought my hands down and held them out, warning my brothers to come no closer. They did not heed my call and thus forced my hand.
I struck out with all that I could muster, becoming a true vessel for the power that flowed through me.
I watched as my brothers fell to the floor one by one, their bodies withered and leeched of life. Red tendrils of blood flowed freely, crossing the space between me and those that still drew breath, like a spider’s webbing, converging at my open palms.
And then I was alone, surrounded by corpses. I felt a shift in my mind, an alien thought that was not my own. It cooed and caressed my psyche, saying that I was the one it had been waiting for. All I needed to do was give myself over to it unconditionally.
I did not hesitate.
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