The last few rays of sunlight struck the crumbling columns and dilapidated walls of a long forgotten temple. The light carried down the broken steps and to the cloud of dust and debris that filled the temple's courtyard. The air below was thick with the scent of blood, the sound of battle, and the eerie glow of the lost souls being drawn to the area. Three figures slowly became visible as the cloud of dust settled. One lay off to the side, a man wounded and breathing with difficulty; the other two, both women stood facing each other with deadly intent. It was then that the smaller of the two standing figures wondered just how it had come down to this.
"You can't continue on this way," She pleaded desperately with her enemy as the last laceration to her leg healed almost instantly. "You can release them and everything can return to the way it should be. If you don't, you will go mad."
Eclipse quivered as she saw the other girl's face darkened almost tainted by the expression of mixed fury and betrayal.
"Thanks to you this is the only way I can get what I want." The other girl said vehemently and in that exact moment Eclipse realized that she was too far gone and stopping her would require drastic measures, "And you are going to help me one way or another."
She braced for another attack from the raven haired girl across the courtyard; she managed to dodge the blast of fire sent her way with ease and attempted to get a hold on her opponent to only to bounce off of her force field and the sudden pulse of incredibly strong energy threw her against a wall that trembled from the impact. Before she succumbed to unconsciousness from the force of the blow she could see more of the lost souls being absorbed by the other girl. However she was unable to stop the process and the girl from becoming more powerful as the darkness overtook her and left her at the mercy of her opponent.
Eclipse stood with her arms across her chest as she watched her father speak with the other man. She had been told it was time for her to begin her training. That it was too dangerous for a nethermancer of her caliber to be left untrained; and while she couldn't argue with that logic it did not comfort her about the situation or how obvious it made the lack of control she had over her abilities.
Around the larger form of Fujin she could see the man she had been introduced to as Namtar. From the way he carried himself she knew he was much older than he seemed; the passage of time was just as visible in his stance as in his eyes as she watched him. Much to her surprise she had felt a pulse of sympathy that emanated off of him directed at her.
Sensing the turn in their conversation she took a deep breath and made her way over to the two men ready to face her new master. Eclipse stopped when she reached her father's side and glanced up at the human in front of her. He looked down at her with an unreadable expression and she returned it with a mask of confidence.
Her father placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and gestured at the man with the other as he spoke to her, "Eclipse this is Namtar. He has agreed to teach you how to manipulate the nether properly."
The young demi-goddess and her new master kept up with their stare down as he continued, "I am sure he has a considerable amount to teach you and you have will need to learn it all before you can master it completely."
Finally Eclipse broke off eye contact to look at her father. She had already said her farewells to the family before they had traveled to meet Namtar but she knew that it would be quite some time before she saw her father again and she latched herself to his much larger frame.
"You sure you aren't just trying to get rid of me for a while?" She mumbled into his torso.
"Eclipse, I can promise you that you are in capable hands," Fujin said as he returned his daughter's embrace. "All I ask is that you follow Namtar's lessons and before you know it I will be back to check on you."
She eventually looked up at him and said with only a little hesitation, "I'll have to make sure you have something to look forward to."
The first few weeks were some of the worst she had ever experienced. Eclipse had been used to daily swordplay and hand-to-hand sparring and ever practicing her summoning; but she had not been prepared for the kind of instruction that Namtar had in store for her. The first thing he had done was to take her gloves from her. The gloves she had been forced to wear for the past five years in order to keep her powers in check.
"You need to learn control," he had said, "These will not teach you to rely on your own strength."
Without the familiar feel of leather on her hands she felt almost helpless and afraid to touch anything. He had told her that she needed to form a barrier of protective energy around her hands. She could feel him watching her and despite her efforts she could not focus and after a short while of just going through the motions with great trepidation he had grabbed her hand and was forced to watch as the flesh underneath her hand began to slowly decay.
"Control requires discipline. To be disciplined you must learn focus your energy and push away your self-doubt," Eclipse managed to look away from the display to his stoic face. "Stop being afraid of your powers and make them to obey you."
"I'm not afraid of my powers!" Eclipse retorted stubbornly as she tried to pull away and stop the damage she was doing to him, "I'm afraid of what will happen if I use them! It's a completely different thing."
"Is that right? And do you think letting that fear consume you is the best way to handle it?" He asked with a blatantly unconvinced expression and when she made a face of defeat he continued, "I did not think so. Now do as I said and try to command them."
The redhead's expression changed to a look of skepticism as she made sense of his before she returned her gaze downwards to her hand and focused on it. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the feeling of dying flesh beneath her fingers. With a deep breath she pushed all the dreadful thoughts to the side and began to revel in the idea of how nice it would be to touch things without worry. She could feel a rush of warm energy run over her normally frigid hands and settle inside her fingertips. With only a little hesitation she opened one emerald green eye and then the other as she stared in wonder as the flesh of Namtar's arm stopped its deterioration.
When he finally released her arm she continued to gaze at her hand in disbelief until he spoke again, "That is only the first step."
Eclipse looked up at him and watched as the arm she had nearly destroyed began to mend itself, "Once you learn to control your ability to steal life-force I can teach you how to give it back."
She stood there feeling dazed as she considered the possibility when carried on, "Your father mentioned that you are an empath. Is that true?"
The demi-goddess tilted her head to the right unsure of what his meaning was, "That's what my mother believes, yes."
The man looked away from her and off into the distance for a moment before turning back to the young girl in front of him, "Then you should know that your emotions will always reign over your powers. If you truly mean to gain control over them then you must also learn to use all of your emotions to your advantage and fear is only ever going to hold you back from your potential."
It was only after a few months of intensive energy manipulating training had gone by that Eclipse was introduced to the other student Namtar was training. The demi-goddess had been so busy practicing breaking down the life-force of small plants and then trying to recreate them that she did not notice their presence until they were nearly in front of her.
She was brought back to her senses when a small darkly tanned hand waved in her front of her face and she tumbled back onto the sandy ground in shock and the flower she had been creating shriveled into dust. The owner of the hand laughed and Eclipse was forced to put up her own hand up to block the glare of the sun to see its owner. She was surprised to see another girl around her age smiling mischievously down at her.
"Eclipse, this is Aziya," he said as she gestured to the girl at his side, "She has been my student for the past year."
"Aziya has just returned from an individual study of her spiritual senses," The older man continued, "and since you seem to need to sharpen on your own she is going to assist you."
The dark haired girl's smirk widened and her golden eyes twinkled as she nodded and he began to walk away, "Yes, master Namtar."
Eclipse pushed herself off the ground and dusted off her pants before she met the other girl's eye again, "I suppose I should ask what he has in mind for training…?"
"You would do better to just follow me and with some luck you will figure it out as we go," Aziya answered as she walked away from the training grounds and out into the open landscape of the desert.
"Well, are you coming or not?" She called out to the paler girl.
Eclipse rolled her eyes and tried to dispel the uneasy feeling in her gut as she knew she had to learn one way or another. She did not expect to wind up lost without a clue as to where the other girl had disappeared to.
"Aziya!" She called out to the emptiness of the surrounding desert and sound of wind. "Are you kidding me? How is this even training?!"
She looked in every direction for any sign of tracks or trace of where Aziya went but she found nothing and she started to venture further into the sand. She continued her search focusing on what she could see and she felt a rush of excitement when she caught a glimpse of the girl at the top of a dune in the distance. Eclipse started dashing toward the sight only to find nothing but sand and the empty feeling of failure.
"I'm getting really tired of this mirage business…" grumbled to herself.
The redhead wandered aimlessly for nearly an hour with no luck until she finally gave into frustration and just threw herself down onto the hot sand and placed an arm over her eyes. She just laid there for a moment and allowed herself to relax and to think more clearly about her problem. When she managed to center herself she started to feel a weak but slightly familiar pulse of energy not too far away from her current position.
"Training my senses huh? Good one old man." She said to herself as she closed her eyes and focused on the source of the energy. With enough concentration Eclipse managed to pinpoint exactly where the pulse was coming from and when she opened her eyes she could see the outline of the hidden girl.
With a sudden burst of stamina she righted herself and quickly managed to conceal her own presence to draw out her prey. She watched as the other girl materialized before her eyes and looked around.
"Oh no, she had better not be lost…He's going to be so angry with me if I lose her…" Aziya said to herself as she began to frantically look for Eclipse.
The girl in question watched her pass by before she dropped her own glamor and pounced on the other girl sending them both onto the sand with Aziya on her back.
"Took me a while but I found you," Eclipse said very pleased with herself as she soaked up the surprised and slightly embarrassed look on Aziya's face.
The demi-goddess eventually stood and offered a hand to the other girl who reluctantly took it and replied, "S-so you did. It certainly took you long enough."
Eclipse sensed the other girl's hesitation but ignored it and instead made a face of indignation, "Hey, at least I figured it out. No thanks to you by the way."
"Right, let's just get back before the master comes looking for us," said Aziya as she collected herself and slowly made the trek back out of the desert. Eclipse stared after her and threw her hands up and made a noise of frustration before she shook her head and hurried after her so that she would not be left behind again.
A short while after Aziya's introduction she became a regular fixture in Eclipse's training routine. The two would spend their mornings playing their own game of 'hide and seek' and target practice before Aziya would leave for her studies and Eclipse would join Namtar for her own.
She met the older man outside in the training ground and they bowed to each other before assuming their stances.
"You have done well over the last few months," He said as he gestured for her to begin, "You have made more progress than I had expected you to make."
"Thank you, master." Eclipse replied with a pleased smile.
Namtar nodded and he generated a ball of vermillion dark energy in his right hand and sent into her direction. Eclipse dodged the flare by leaping to the side and returning the attack with a blast of her own green energy.
The older man vaulted the energy back at her and she brought up her arms to form a quick barrier around her and the blast bounced off the field of energy and fizzled in the air. In their previous sessions she had not been able to finish the next step but today she felt more confident than usual and mentally readied herself for the upcoming phase.
Namtar raised his right arm and began to an orb of energy like before but this time he held onto it and it began to flare into a much larger size. He observed his student and then he released the blast of energy towards her.
Eclipse felt more than saw the energy move closer to her and she focused on its presence as it came nearly close enough for her to touch. At that point she held out her hands to grasp the ball of energy and closed her eyes and allowed her body to move with its force. She nearly lost her nerve when it flared in reaction to her but as she slowly continued to sway with the ball it began to change from its dark red color to a shade of green until she returned to her previous position and volleyed it back at Namtar who caught it and dispelled it with a pleased look on his face.
Eclipse began to jump around in place at her success and stopped abruptly when she heard the sound of clapping behind her and turned to see her father and uncle standing off to the side of the training arena. Her green eyes widened and she dashed over to the gods and latched on to one and then the other.
"Did you see that? Wasn't it awesome!?" She asked them barely containing her excitement.
"Yes, we came in shortly after you began sparring." Fujin said as he ran a hand through her bright red hair.
"You have learned so much since I saw you last," Raiden continued when she finally released him.
The young demi-goddess flushed but was pleased to grab bother of their hands glove-free since she was five years old and beamed up at them.
"I can control it now," she said as the simple touch did not have the usual drastic effect. Equal looks of astonishment spread on the two gods usually stoic faces.
"That is an incredible development," Raiden finally said as he looked down at their joined hands.
She released their hands when she heard her master approach, "Well, I can mostly control it. If I get really upset my control over it slips," she said bitterly.
"That is still a very remarkable improvement," Fujin replied in an attempt to offer some comfort.
"That is what I told her," Namtar offered, "Control is something everyone must deal with.
Eclipse looked from her master to her father and rocked back and forth on her heels and decided to change the subject, "So what have I missed since I've been here?"
"When I last visited your brother he was training in Seido," her father replied, "He seemed to be having a tough time as the guards remembered the last trip the two of you had there."
She allowed a devious smile to spread across her face at the memory of tormenting the guardsmen, "Tch, what else is new? How are the twins?" she asked thinking about her younger siblings.
"They are growing fast like most infants," he informed her, "Your cousins have been keeping them company."
The look of longing to see her family was evident on her face as she looked back down at her hands and considered her decision to stay.
Following the short visit from her father and uncle, Eclipse became even more determined to make the most of her time. She was pushing herself, nearly to her breaking point and each day she left herself increasingly more exhausted and as the weeks went by and it was beginning to show in her ability to focus.
Eclipse was practicing alone in the training arena one night when Aziya decided to approach her about it. The redhead was focused on the lifeless form of a shrew she had found. From what Aziya could tell the other girl was attempting to bring the animal back to life but being unsuccessful.
"You should probably get some sleep before you wind up like that shrew," she called down to Eclipse as she descended the steps to the arena floor.
"Believe me it would take much more than exhaustion to kill me," the demi-goddess answered far too seriously but stopped her resurrection attempts and placed her face in her hands.
When Aziya reached the other girl she kneeled down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I know how you must feel. Being away from your family is hard for me to deal with too."
Eclipse took her head out of her hands to look at the other girl, "Really?"
The raven-haired girl nodded at her and continued, "Yes really, while I was on my last away study I managed to sneak in a visit to my family."
The redhead smirked, "Lucky you, I wonder how long I will have to wait until I get my chance to do that."
"I doubt you will need to wait much longer," the other girl said bitterly, "The master is really impressed with your progress. He might just let you take a break."
Eclipse felt the feeling of hope bubble up inside her at the thought, "You think so?" she asked tentatively.
"I'm pretty sure of it, although postponing that reunion by running yourself into the ground would be a terrible alternative," Aziya said as she got to her feet and stood beside the other girl.
"Just get some sleep already," she said to the seated girl, "your lack of concentration has been noted."
Eclipse listened to Aziya's retreating footsteps until she could no longer hear them and then she turned her attention back at the lifeless body in front of her.
She made one last attempt to bring the animal back to life and couple with the sudden rush of hope from the thought of visiting her home again she managed to regenerate the dead tissue long enough for its spirit to refuse with the body and she watched with bated breath as the shrew sprung back to life and scurried back into the empty desert.
The months following that night seemed to pass easier for Eclipse and she was able to concentrate on her purpose again. She also began to feel closer to the other girl and when they weren't training they would spend their time exploring the temple and stargazing.
"Any idea what we are looking for?" Eclipse asked as they rummaged through the temple's extensive library.
"Anything that can teach me how to commune with spirits," the other girl answered, "The master refuses to show me how. He says that I'm not ready."
The redhead made a face of disgust and turned to her, "Why would you want to talk to dead people? Have you any idea how creepy it is when they follow you around wanting your help."
The raven haired girl dropped the thick tome from her hands in shock, "You can see spirits?"
Eclipse shrugged her shoulders, "Well yeah, since I was about four and let me tell you it is not as fascinating as you may have heard."
"But that means you have the ability to find them." Aziya responded in disbelief.
Eclipse raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "Why would I want to find the spirits of dead people?"
"You can learn all sorts of things from spirits and sometimes get them to do what you want." She replied hastily.
The redhead was still skeptical of her friend's intentions, "I wouldn't have to look hard for spirits anyway. They always end up finding me first."
Aziya tilted her head in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Eclipse flipped through another old text before she answered, "Well, after I started seeing spirits they began appearing around me fairly often and I ended up asking my mom about it." She stopped when a page caught her attention, "She said that spirits are drawn to me because I am a magnet for the dead seeking passage from this world."
The other girl kept quiet for a while as she absorbed the information she had been given and looked down at the book in her hands when she felt Eclipse move over to her.
"Aziya," Eclipse said in an uncharacteristically serious tone that got Aziya's attention and when the two made eye contact she continued, "Manipulating spirits can be very dangerous. I would hate it if something terrible happened because of it."
The redhead looked the other girl for a while before she placed the text she was holding into her hands at a page open to the art of summoning spirits.