Chapter 3: The Lessons Continue
It had been four years since that first day in the tower and Trevor and Johnathan's battles hadn't lessened in intensity. In fact, they had grown in intensity. As fire, ice, lightning, and earth clashed, Irving looked on at the duel. Trevor launched a ball of fire at Johnathan only to have him block it with ice and launch a lightning bolt back at him. Trevor held his hand out and caught the lightning bolt. Cupping it in his palm, he held it up and said, "That all you got?"
"You've been practicing." Johnathan replied.
"Of course I have." Trevor said. "Have you? You seem kind of sloppy today."
Angry at the comment, John launched a bolt lightning at Trevor and used it as a cover to launch ice at him from both sides. Trevor didn't fall for it. Surrounding himself with a ball of fire, he melted the ice and stopped the lightning bolt, then brought his make shift shield into his palms and launched it as a ball of fire at Johnathan. Caught off guard, Johnathan got knocked off his feet. Getting up, he was pissed and launched a lightning bolt at Trevor. Trevor tryed to catch it but wasn't quick enough and got hit and launched back against the wall. Getting up he was angry, a hard feet due to his control over his anger, and became even more angry when he saw the smirk on Johnathan's face. He began to gather fire all around him, and pulled it toward his hands. Sweat brimmed on his brow and he drew more power from his anger. More power. Not more control. Slowly he raised the fire up and began to launch it at Johnathan. Only to lose control of the fire as he launched it causing it to come back at him as well as go toward Johnathan. Trevor panicked. He realized what he'd done and that he was too drained to stop it. As the fire began to lick his skin, he realized it wasn't hurting him. In fact, the fire was more of seeping into him, the energy of it. The place on his chest where Johnathan's lightning had hit him healed up. He was no longer exhausted. He actually felt better than he had all his life. All of this happened in the blink of an eye and then Trevor heard the scream as fire advanced at Johnathan. Pulled from his thoughts, Trevor began to attempt to stop the fire only to realize that someone was already doing so. Irving launched into the fire moving quicker than a man his age should be able to. As he shielded himself from the fire, he dispeled the magic until finally all the flames were gone. Walking to Johnathan, he knelt and began examining him. Slowly, Trevor approached to look. As he got closer he could see that John was physically fine but he had a look of complete fear on his face. Irving began to speak softly.
"Johnathan. It wasn't real. Come back to us."
"What do you mean not real?" Trevor asked.
Irving jumped startled. "The fire you conjured was not ordinary fire. It was soul fire. It—"
"Shows you what you fear most." Johnathan and Trevor said simultaneously.
"I never knew it was real." Johnathan said.
"You think I make these things up." Irving said. "It's very hard to conjure and even harder to control. Some of the most powerful mages in existence haven't been able to control it."
"And I just conjured it with my control nowhere in sight." Trevor said feeling suddenly disgusted with himself.
"It's not your fault. Just be happy it didn't cause a permanent effect." Irving replied.
"What do you mean?" Trevor asked.
"Sometimes, it can cause the fear to become real." Irving said.
"So if someone had a fear of dying, then they'd die?" Johnathan asked.
"Yes. Did you see anything Trevor?" Irving asked.
"No. Not that I know of." Trevor answered.
"Well, if you did. Then it was probably a future fear. Hence the reason it wouldn't affect you." Irving said.
"That can happen?" Johnathan asked.
"Yes." Irving answered. "Now. I think that dueling time is over. Spend rest of the day studying and relaxing."
An hour had passed and Trevor had spent all that time looking up everything he could about soul fire. He had discovered that no one had experienced anything like he had. No sudden bouts of healing. No sudden boosts of power and strength. And energy. So much energy. He kept having to resist the urge to challenge someone so he can test his powers. He finally decided to return to what he'd been working on for the past year. Pulling the now worn book from the stack he had sitting in front of him, Trevor opened it to the now familiar picture. The picture was of a set of Elven Armor. Ancient Elven Armor. His ancestors armor. He had found it while going through books about Elven history. Immediately he had recognized it, and began his search for clues to where the different pieces of the armor lay. There was a riddle with the picture that when decifered revealed the resting place of each piece. So far, he had discovered that the boots were in the care of the chantry in Lothering, though they didn't know their true value. He had also discovered that the chest piece was in a ruin in the Brecillian forest. He still didn't know the location of the gauntlets or the helm. Sighing, he looked up and using a little magic, he figured out about what time it was. He was surprised to discover two hours had passed.
"Another time lapse?" Someone said coming up behind him.
"Hey Cullen." Trevor said to the new templar. He had only shown up a week ago and he was pretty young, but Trevor liked him so far. "Yeah, it happens every time I try to decode this riddle."
"Well how far have you gotten?"
"No further than when you first got here unfortunately."
"Well where are they?"
"I told you, I'm not telling anyone that."
"Well then hopefully one day they'll let you leave and collect the pieces."
"Hopefully."
"Well, there appears to be others who wish to talk to you. I'll make myself scarse." Cullen said, walking away as David and Laura walked up to the table Trevor sat at.
"Come on man. Work time is over. Time to play." David said. "Jowan is working with Irving for another hour. That's all the time we've got."
"For what?"" Trevor asked.
"Come with us and you'll find out." Laura said. "We need you in order to do it."
"Do what?" Trevor asked again.
"You'll see." David said. "Just come with us."
Reluctantly, Trevor followed them back to the apprentice dorms and into a back corner that contained their bunks. He sat down on David's bunk and asked, "Ok. What is so important?"
Suddenly, both David and Laura were nervous. After a few seconds, David spoke up. "We want you to tell us our true names."
"Are you crazy?!" Trevor said, suddenly wanting to be somewhere else.
"We trust you." Laura said. "We just figured that since you have more experience with this stuff, you might be able to help us."
Trevor thought about it for a moment, and decided to help his friends. "All right." He said, "I'll help you guys. But I want you to understand that I will never use your true names without permission. Also, I need to make sure you understand the severity of this request."
"We understand. We've discussed this for a while." Laura said. "We want to know."
"All right then. Let's start. I'll start with you David." Trevor said. He turned to Laura. "We'll need a little privacy. It's not necessary but it makes things easier if you don't hear each other's true names."
"We know yours though." Laura said.
"Not really. You don't know the definition of Treyvar. That definition is my true name. Even if I told you my true name, my knowledge of it allows me to make it so you don't remember it if I tell you. It also allows me to let you remember if I choose to." Trevor said.
"Then shouldn't you forget our true names after you help us discover them?" David said.
"No. Since you don't already know it then you can't prevent me from knowing it. I either have to want to forget it, or..."
"Or what?" Laura asked.
"Or I have to die." Trevor finished.
"Well that's grim." David said.
"And on that happy note, let's get started." Trevor said, placing his hands on each side of David's head. He then closed his eyes at the exact same time as David did. His hands lit up and he spoke. "Laura. Please leave. I'll call you back when I'm done with David."
Laura left and Trevor went to work, using his magic to assist him, he searched. He felt. After a few minutes, he removed his hands. David opened his eyes and looked at Trevor. "So did you figure it out?"
"Almost. You're hard to read. At least your brain isn't fighting me. That would make things harder than they already are. Just give me a moment to rest." Trevor said.
After a moment of resting, Trevor placed his hands back on each side of David's head. Closing his eyes, he went back to work. After a few minutes, two words in Elvish passed through his lips. "Uth Falon."
Removing his hands from David's head, he repeated the words to David. "Your true name is Uth Falon."
"What does that mean?" David asked.
"It means eternal friend in Elvish."
"But I'm human."
"Yes, but it came out Elvish in my head."
"Really." He paused thinking. "Eternal Friend." A strange breeze blew through the bed. "What was that?"
"You now truly know and understand your true name." Trevor answered. "To invoke it without being careful is to invoke powerful magic... dangerous magic. You must be careful."
"Thank you Trevor. I'll try to be careful." David said, getting up. "I'll send Laura."
"Thank you. I may need to rest first." Trevor said.
David left to get Laura and Trevor closed his eyes to rest his mind. Normally he'd need an hour or two to rest after figuring out a true name but after the events of the day... things were different. He heard someone pull back the curtains covering the bed and went to speak only to hear the clink of armor as someone sat down. He opened his eyes to see Quentin Arcturus, templar of the circle tower and former Knight-Commander. He had given up the position the day Trevor arrived. He should have retired but he cared for his job too much to stop. The 60 year old templar (a rare thing) was looking at Trevor. "Can I help you?" Trevor asked.
"What are doing over here? I can practically smell the magic." Quentin asked.
"Really?" Trevor said smiling. "Are you sure you're not just smelling the whole tower?"
"Oh, I know the difference between the tower and you lad. The tower is old magic. You are new magic." Quentin replied. "The strength of your magic is still fresh. This tower's on the other hand, is not."
"Well, then I must admit I am using magic." Trevor said still smiling. Him and the old man had had pleasant conversations over the years.
"Yes. Especially since you'd never win the argument." Quentin replied.
"You know. For such an old templar. You seem the most human." Trevor said. "Or at least you seem nice."
"Well don't tell any other templars that. They might try to get rid of me for it." Quentin replied. "Just be careful with whatever you're doing. If there's one thing age teaches you, it's that magic CAN be dangerous. Even if the person wielding it isn't."
With that, Quentin left the corner only stopping to say hello to Laura as she walked in the room. She said hello back and continued into the room. Reaching the bed, she sat down and closed the curtains. She turned to Trevor and found his eyes closed again. She went to speak when his eyes shot open. He took a deep breath and released it. "Are you ready?" He asked. "I need your mind relaxed."
She looked at him as if he were crazy. "I've been preparing myself since I stepped out of the room. Of course I'm ready."
Trevor just stared at her before speaking. "You know why I ask."
He continued to stare at her until she finally turned away from him. "What happened isn't a big deal. I'm ready."
"She forced her way into your mind. That's a big deal." Trevor said. "She tried to force you to reveal your secret name to her."
"I'm fine. Just start before I change my mind." She said.
"Okay. Close your eyes."
And so things started the same way as they did for David. Trevor put his hands on each side of her head and started looking. That was when things changed. Laura's mind began to fight Trevor's. As time passed, a sweat broke out on his forehead. He needed to find a way to turn things around. "Laura, your mind is fighting me. Relax it."
A few seconds went by and the fight laura's mind was putting up didn't lessen. Trevor was about to tell her again, when suddenly a thought of hers came through and before he could do anything, she was kissing him... and holding his head... and relaxing her mind. Suddenly, his connection to her mind was as strong as it could possibly get. Within seconds he had her true name. And more. He began to see her memories, and feel every emotion she'd ever felt, and see every thoug—. Suddenly, his connection to her mind was broke off. Opening his eyes, he could see her sitting as far across the bed as she could. He suddenly realized what had happened. "I didn't see anything you haven't already told me abo—" Suddenly, he was sobbing and his eyes were filled with tears. Her emotions were still present in his mind but so was something else. "Eternal Beauty. That's your true name."
"I know." She replied. "I knew once you knew."
"I'm sorry if I intruded. The connection was stronger than anything I've ever heard of. Things just started pouring through." Trevor said.
"It's okay." She replied. "Sorry for... well you know."
"Don't be. It was quite genius." He said.
"Yeah. Sorry for making you cry." She said.
"It's okay. It's just all those emotions. I'll be fine in a little bit."
"Well that's good. I'll let you have some time alone."
"Yeah. It's probably best if we don't get seen together walking out. People might get the wrong idea." He said with a smile.
She smiled back and left the bed. Once he heard her reach the hall, he let loose the breath he had been holding and began crying again. These tears were not caused by the feelings he had absorbed from her but rather, the ones he had from himself. For he had just lied to her. Just as his was longer due to his owning of two names. Laura's true name had already grown longer. On top of Eternal Beauty, her true name was also Broken Iris.
Trevor was hiding something. Of that Laura was sure. If she hadn't freaked out, she might have seen what he saw. But while his side of the road was empty and easy go on. Hers was blocked by an army and bumpy. He was strong and good at keeping people out of his mind. Just as she realized it had something to do with her true name he had started to feel all her thoughts she'd ever had. She couldn't let him see that. One day she decided. She'd tell him one day that she knew he was hiding something and ask him about it.
Trevor was walking out of the apprentice quarters when he saw Johnathan. Flanking Johnathan were his two best friends. James McLeary and George Claxy, were probably some of the dumbest people in the tower though they made up for it by having lots of raw power. Immediately, Trevor knew he'd better be ready. Johnathan was wearing a cocky smile on his face. Suddenly, Trevor wanted to be elsewhere. He knew what was going to happen and with his emotions as unstable as they were now he couldn't afford to deal with it. Unfortunately there were no templars nearby and his friends were off contemplating what they had learned. So he did the only thing he could. He braced himself for a fight, should it come to that, and clamped down on his emotions. Johnathan walked right up to Trevor. "So did I tell you guys how I kicked this twerps butt earlier?" He said.
"If you count getting scared to the point where he peed his robes kicking my butt, then yes he kicked my butt." Trevor said. Immediately he regretted it.
Johnathan gave him a glare as his friends smirked. Until he turned the glare on them that is. "Didn't I tell you to watch your back?"
"Didn't you learn any manners when I kicked your butt earlier?" Trevor said. He silently cursed himself for the remark.
"Didn't you learn any last time you pissed me and my friends off?" Johnathan retaliated with. He was really angry and Trevor was pretty sure he saw a vein popping out on the nine-year-old's forehead.
"That's great buttercup. Unfortunately, your friends don't seem to angry. In fact, they seem to find this funny." Trevor said.
Johnathan's head swung around so fast that, had Johnathan not been pissed, it would've been funny. The moment his eyes settled on his "friends" they froze in terror. He turned back to Trevor and was surprised to find him smiling. Trevor knew that was a mistake, but even with Johnathan pissed it had been funny. Trevor knew he was in trouble now but he didn't care cause it had been worth it. Johnathan prepared to punch him and Trevor prepared to take it. Suddenly, Jowan came around the corner, walked by Johnathan, and said to Trevor "Irving's looking for you."
"Okay Jowan." Trevor answered. "But you may want to move."
"Why?" Jowan said, turning around to see Johnathan. "Oh. I see. Sorry for interrupting." He said backing away.
Trevor smiled. He was a good friend but Trevor knew he was a bit of a coward. Trevor turned back to Johnathan ready to take the punch that was coming. Johnathan pulled his arm back and Trevor closed his eyes. Johnathan's arm flew forward and... nothing happened. Trevor opened his eyes and found that someone had caught Johnathan's fist. Trevor turned ready to tell whichever of his friends had caught the fist that it was no big deal only to see the one person he didn't see often coming to his rescue. Standing there, holding Johnathan's fist with an unhappy look on his face, was Greagior. "What are you doing Johnathan?" He said.
"Nothing that concerns you. Greagior." Johnathan responded, tearing his hand from Greagior's grip and glaring at him while filling his voice with enough malice to make it noticeable.
"Trevor, I've been informed Irving is looking for you. Please head to his office. Owain is waiting to accompany you." Greagior said. "As for you three, come with me." He said grabbing Johnathan by the arm and directing them away from Trevor.
Trevor stood there for a second before saying, "You can come out now Jowan."
Jowan came out from around the corner he was hiding behind. He walked up to Trevor looking back and forth. "Are they gone?" He asked.
"Yes they're gone." Trevor said. "Why'd you have to go and get Greagior?"
"I didn't." Jowan said. "You really think I'd risk my life like that just to have Greagior save your butt?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on how much of a coward you feel like being at the time." Trevor said.
"I'm not a coward." Jowan responded.
"Whatever you say." Trevor said. "I have to go speak to Irving."
Trevor walked away and started toward the second floor. Upon reaching the door, a problem popped up in the form of a templar who wouldn't let Trevor pass. "Second floor is off limits to apprentices right now." He said.
"Irving sent for me." Trevor replied.
"I'm sorry but without confirmation—"
Suddenly, Owain came through the door behind the templar. "There you are Trevor. Irving sent me for you. If we could hurry, I have to get back to work in the stockroom."
Without looking back, Owain started walking away and Trevor ran to follow him. Only stopping to stick his tongue out at the templar that had impeded his progress. He may have been advanced for his age, but he was still a kid. Owain led him down the hall to Irving's office. When they reached the door, Trevor heard Irving talking to someone quite loudly. Owain opened the door just as Irving was putting a black book into a chest. He turned back to Uldred who he was talking to and stopped before he said anything else when he saw Owain and Trevor. "We'll continue this later Uldred." Was all he said and then he turned to Trevor and Owain as Uldred walked out looking angry. "Thank you Owain though maybe next time you should knock."
"Of course." Was all Owain said. He then turned and left the room.
Normally, Trevor would have been fine in Irving's office but considering the days events and that black book, he was pretty uneasy. Irving sat down at his desk and gestured for Trevor to also sit down. After Trevor was seated, Irving spoke. "I'd like to talk about what happened earlier today. You're not in trouble but the soul fire is a rare ability and therefore we have no one who can teach you how to control it. I asked around though and there is a mage who can teach you. Unfortunately, he's in Kirkwall and cannot travel here to do so. Do you get what I'm saying?"
Trevor sat still for a moment thinking and then realized what Irving meant. "No." He said.
"Trevor, this may be the only person who can teach you to control this power." Irving replied.
"You're not sending me away."
"All right, all right. But you have to be careful with it. It's dangerous even with control over it. You should be glad it didn't do anything permanent to you or Johnathan. It's been known to make what you fear most real. It's also been known to do the same with what you fear most in the future. Maybe that's why you weren't scared." Irving said. "Whatever it showed you, you aren't afraid of yet."
"Maybe." Trevor replied. "Either way, you're right. If I'm gonna use it, I need to learn to control it. I'll work my way up to it instead of just using it over and over to improve my control of it. It's too dangerous for me to just jump straight to it."
"I think that's wise." Irving said. "Now return to your studies. Talk with your friends. And just relax. I'm sure you need a break after the events of today."
"You can say that again." Trevor said as he got up and left the room. As he walked down the hall, he realized he had just lied to a second person. He felt fine and ready for another fight with Johnathan. He decided it would be best if he kept his newfound abilities to himself. He'd tell certain people one day but for now... it was best he kept it secret. Looking down, he saw the ring was glowing red very slightly and that it was a little warm.
Irving knew Trevor was lying about something. After all, he knew how the ring worked. He knew that since it was glowing red Trevor had lied because he had once worn the ring... and lied. The only question was what had he lied about. Thinking back, Irving couldn't think of anything wrong. Then it hit him. He couldn't think of anything wrong. Which shouldn't have been the case. He should have been exhausted and beaten. Yet he was energetic and in perfect health. Irving was flabberghasted. Even he would have been exhausted. He decided he would keep an eye on these developments. Starting tomorrow morning he'd be doing the one thing he never thought he'd have to in any way. Keeping an eye on Trevor.
Author's note: This chapter is coming on the heels of the prologue of my Halo fanfic. I'm hoping to have the next chapter in my Mass effect story up next but it might not be next. We'll see. This will be a short author's note apparently. By the way, 100 points to the first person to figure out what has happened to Trevor. One more thing, they're like Whose Line points. They don't matter.