Beyond One
Key Terms
Bonded: When a god or Goddess was born, they were chosen by a mage animal. Usually the animal resembled that being in away, be it either on mind, strength, attitude, courage, or looks. An animal and his/her chosen are bonded and connected mentally, physically, magically, and emotionally. Whatever one experienced so did the other. A bonded pair can see through each other's eyes and mindspeak.
Mindspeech: This is the mental way of talking to someone, whether or not they can mindspeak themselves.
Elements: The five spirits of Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning and Earth that created the Universe. In their creating, they left great tides of their power to sustain the great abyss. Mages learn how to use the left over energies to do their workings.
Mage: A mage is someone or something that can use and or control the Elemental powers that come from the Element spirits. However, they can only use one at a time.
~Adept: The highest level mage. They are able to use all 5 of the Elements
~Master: The middle level of mage. They can use 2-4 of the Elements.
~Journeyman: The lowest level mage. They can use only one or two of the Elements.
Working/Spell: A working is when a mage uses the Elemental power to cast a spell.
Second Sight: The second sight is where a mage can switch their vision from seeing the physical world and energies, to seeing the magical/Elemental world and energies.
Scrying: Scrying is a mental way to see someone or something far away. Only mages can scry using a mirror, bowl filled with water or ink or by looking at anything that reflects. An upper class mage can scry using only their mind.
Prologue
There was once a place where gods, Goddesses and their life bonded animals resided; a world all of it's own. It was a place of power and domination; a place where less powerful beings were mocked, ridiculed, abused and eventually driven to suicide no matter what their bonded said or did to help. A place where the powerful fed on the weak. Some of the weak managed to escaped from the hell hole that many had come to call Douleur, by finding a hole in the shield that protected Douleur from the interrupted Elemental currents that would tear their homes apart. Only the bonded animals could get their weak chosen out, and that required a great deal of will and control on their part.
There was one such case of abuse and torment with a young girl named Raena. Her parents died in the Great Accident that killed so many of the Adept mages and a few of the higher-ranking Masters. Almost all of the Adept mages had been called to repair a hole in the shield that protected their world. In the process, one of the Masters became wary and faltered in the working, causing the balance of magics to change. The mages, the spell and the shield were all connected, as was the common in large workings, and the shield backlashed to the mages causing a big explosion of Elemental powers. Reana's parents were of the highest level in that particular working and had been in charge, many of the victim's families blamed Raena for something completely out of her hands.
At the time of their death, she was only 7. No one offered to take her in to their home and raised her. She grew up with only her bonded tiger, Athena, for friends and family. Before that accident she was a happy child, however, she was seen as exotic, and was treated differently than every other citizen of their world. She was small even for a child, and had extraordinarily strong powers, even for a Goddess. Having long curly sunset blond hair kept half up in a bun that was secured with a circlet of star shaped diamonds and eyes the blue of a crisp fall day on a fair skinned elegantly slender face, didn't help either. All the others had dark brown or black hair that was kept straight and back in a braid or cut short above the eyebrows; eyes that were purple from the time of birth till the day they died. After her parents died she changed her name to Gaea and gave up most of her powers for good. At least she thought that she had given them up, Athena had sent them into hibernation instead. She was a clever cat and had many gifts, she had sensed that Gaea would need them in the future.
After that, Gaea was seen as weak, she now had powers the equivalent to a semi-trained journeyman. She and Athena received weekly, if not daily, torment sessions. There was nothing that they could do to get away from it. Since Athena and Gaea were connected mentally and physically, Athena felt and saw everything that happened and vice-versa. Their case was very unusual because normally, a basher would leave the bond animal alone. In this case, Athena was also seen as weak and therefore made a target. She, like her chosen, was for small, even for a female. Also, like Gaea, she was of abnormal coloring. The animals, bonded or not, were of a great many different colors, and were never all one color. Especially the tigers, the Elemental Spirit's most highly favored creation. Athena was completely white with silver stripes and a silver band across her eyes. Her eye color matched that of her chosen also, making them a prime target for abuse.
The abuse and torment went on for years, till one day when she was 16, it stopped…completely. There were weeks without even a catcall. This was strange, and made the two even more tense. They would sit up at night and wait for a surprise attack. But weeks turned into months and no one so much as bumped into them. They both finally relaxed and lived their lives in peace. Little did they know, their vacation of serenity was about to come to an abrupt and frightful end…
Key Terms
Bonded: When a god or Goddess was born, they were chosen by a mage animal. Usually the animal resembled that being in away, be it either on mind, strength, attitude, courage, or looks. An animal and his/her chosen are bonded and connected mentally, physically, magically, and emotionally. Whatever one experienced so did the other. A bonded pair can see through each other's eyes and mindspeak.
Mindspeech: This is the mental way of talking to someone, whether or not they can mindspeak themselves.
Elements: The five spirits of Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning and Earth that created the Universe. In their creating, they left great tides of their power to sustain the great abyss. Mages learn how to use the left over energies to do their workings.
Mage: A mage is someone or something that can use and or control the Elemental powers that come from the Element spirits. However, they can only use one at a time.
~Adept: The highest level mage. They are able to use all 5 of the Elements
~Master: The middle level of mage. They can use 2-4 of the Elements.
~Journeyman: The lowest level mage. They can use only one or two of the Elements.
Working/Spell: A working is when a mage uses the Elemental power to cast a spell.
Second Sight: The second sight is where a mage can switch their vision from seeing the physical world and energies, to seeing the magical/Elemental world and energies.
Scrying: Scrying is a mental way to see someone or something far away. Only mages can scry using a mirror, bowl filled with water or ink or by looking at anything that reflects. An upper class mage can scry using only their mind.
Prologue
There was once a place where gods, Goddesses and their life bonded animals resided; a world all of it's own. It was a place of power and domination; a place where less powerful beings were mocked, ridiculed, abused and eventually driven to suicide no matter what their bonded said or did to help. A place where the powerful fed on the weak. Some of the weak managed to escaped from the hell hole that many had come to call Douleur, by finding a hole in the shield that protected Douleur from the interrupted Elemental currents that would tear their homes apart. Only the bonded animals could get their weak chosen out, and that required a great deal of will and control on their part.
There was one such case of abuse and torment with a young girl named Raena. Her parents died in the Great Accident that killed so many of the Adept mages and a few of the higher-ranking Masters. Almost all of the Adept mages had been called to repair a hole in the shield that protected their world. In the process, one of the Masters became wary and faltered in the working, causing the balance of magics to change. The mages, the spell and the shield were all connected, as was the common in large workings, and the shield backlashed to the mages causing a big explosion of Elemental powers. Reana's parents were of the highest level in that particular working and had been in charge, many of the victim's families blamed Raena for something completely out of her hands.
At the time of their death, she was only 7. No one offered to take her in to their home and raised her. She grew up with only her bonded tiger, Athena, for friends and family. Before that accident she was a happy child, however, she was seen as exotic, and was treated differently than every other citizen of their world. She was small even for a child, and had extraordinarily strong powers, even for a Goddess. Having long curly sunset blond hair kept half up in a bun that was secured with a circlet of star shaped diamonds and eyes the blue of a crisp fall day on a fair skinned elegantly slender face, didn't help either. All the others had dark brown or black hair that was kept straight and back in a braid or cut short above the eyebrows; eyes that were purple from the time of birth till the day they died. After her parents died she changed her name to Gaea and gave up most of her powers for good. At least she thought that she had given them up, Athena had sent them into hibernation instead. She was a clever cat and had many gifts, she had sensed that Gaea would need them in the future.
After that, Gaea was seen as weak, she now had powers the equivalent to a semi-trained journeyman. She and Athena received weekly, if not daily, torment sessions. There was nothing that they could do to get away from it. Since Athena and Gaea were connected mentally and physically, Athena felt and saw everything that happened and vice-versa. Their case was very unusual because normally, a basher would leave the bond animal alone. In this case, Athena was also seen as weak and therefore made a target. She, like her chosen, was for small, even for a female. Also, like Gaea, she was of abnormal coloring. The animals, bonded or not, were of a great many different colors, and were never all one color. Especially the tigers, the Elemental Spirit's most highly favored creation. Athena was completely white with silver stripes and a silver band across her eyes. Her eye color matched that of her chosen also, making them a prime target for abuse.
The abuse and torment went on for years, till one day when she was 16, it stopped…completely. There were weeks without even a catcall. This was strange, and made the two even more tense. They would sit up at night and wait for a surprise attack. But weeks turned into months and no one so much as bumped into them. They both finally relaxed and lived their lives in peace. Little did they know, their vacation of serenity was about to come to an abrupt and frightful end…