"First things first, you need to learn how to hide your mind." Angela had given them all lunch before settling down to teach Faris.
"Hide my mind?" Faris asked, "You mean defend it?"
"No, hide your mind, erase your existence, pretend as if you aren't actually in the area."
"How would I do that?" He inquired.
"You slowly reduce your thoughts, but also don't focus on anything, move yourself into a barely conscious state." Angela gazed forward, eyes glazing over for a few seconds. "Reach out to my mind.
Faris did, and to his surprise, felt nothing as he sent his conciousness out, he stretched it as far as he could, moving throughout Angela's area, he couldn't find her, fed up, he crawled over, touching the hem of her skirt to find that she wasn't an apparition. "…How…"
"It requires a different stimulus for different beings, but once you find the correct emotional impetus, it's easy to empty and hide your mind. I want you to try now."
Faris began quieting his thoughts, but as he tried emptying his mind, he began having flashes of horrible thoughts, horrible feelings of anger and inadequacy that pulled him out of his waking thoughts. "What was that!"
"That was very impressive." Angela began, "You emptied your mind of surface thoughts, which allowed you to begin contemplating the inner thoughts, thoughts and feelings that are more dreamlike in appearance, you'll have to empty those too, which will be a much harder endeavor than what you went through to empty your surface thoughts."
Faris kept at it for 5 more hours, the only reason he stopped was because it was time to scry his parents. He almost scowled, as he felt he almost reached it, but the excitement of seeing his parents made him quickly crawl over to the basin of water Angela set up.
"…Hi honey!" His eyes widened in excitement as he saw his smiling mother and father.
"Mom! Dad!" He smiled.
"Are you eating enough! Are you drinking enough milk! Angela! You bathe him, regularly right?!"
"It's only been 12 hours Haya." Angela lightly remarked.
"12 hours too long!" Haya declared. Faris giggled at that, which caused his mother to smile, then she frowned. "Honey? Is something the matter?"
"No? I'm doing good mom." Faris continued.
"No, there's something wrong, you seem a little sad baby."
Faris was about to reassure her, when he felt Damien. "Oh no mom! I must just be tired; I haven't had nap time yet."
"Oh!" Haya glared at Angela crossly, "Let him sleep!" Bergan only smiled and shook his head. As the connection cut out, Faris entered his mind.
What's wrong with you! Don't interrupt my time with my mom and dad!
They're my mom and dad too! Like it or not I'm part of you! Damien retorted, his grief flooding through their psyche.
NO, THEY AREN'T! Faris's mind seemed to rear up like a tidal wave, smashing down on Damien the same way Angela had done, Damien, with no recourse, could only curl up like a ball, focusing everything to a single point. Faris continued his onslaught until mental exhausting took him. As he lost focus it seemed as if Damien slipped out of existence.
"Oho… good job." Angela said suddenly, "Part of your mind is slipping out of you, pretty soon you'll be able to master it."
"But… It wasn't." Faris began.
"Technically it was." Elva continued, "You made him feel small, and, well he's surpassed you in the lesson, isn't that funny?"
Faris scowled, and redoubled his efforts, but even after a month, he couldn't hide himself.
"Why can't I do it?!" He yelled two days before his 7th month of being born.
"It may be because your mind is in disarray, though it is likely going to take a bit longer, you aren't too slow."
Faris was cross, to make matters worse, he couldn't feel Damien, while he hated the latter's presence, he had been intwined with him long enough that him missing was uncomfortable. The worst part was that alongside Damien's disappearance was his memories. What Faris could recall with pinpoint accuracy became hazy, and with his young mind, he could feel his psyche begin to slip and regress to a younger age. It was slow enough that Angela didn't notice yet, and if Elva knew, she hadn't brought it up.
"I need to learn it soon." Faris was only really interested in learning how to hide, if he could, he wouldn't need to learn anything else from Angela, and he could return to his parents, he thought her lessons were dumb and stupid anyway, and that she was probably a bad teacher.
"That seems a little selfish, then again, given your age, that makes sense."
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Faris yelled.
Elva simply smirked. "I learned that trick in a week, Angela in three day, and it took Solembum the better part of half a day to get it down pat. But it's taken you a month, and you still don't have a clue, the one you think is fake is better than you are. Which tells me who the real fake is."
"Elva!" Angela flicked Elva on the forehead, but the damage was done.
Faris felt angry, but as his emotions got the better of him, hot tears fell down his face. Faris the boy who inherited the memories of a teen from earth was replaced with Faris the 7-month-old baby having a tantrum. As he cried himself out, he sat there, in silence. Eventually, he could feel something within himself. As he reached towards it, he realized it was Damien, still curled up, dead to the outside world.
How! How did you do that?! Faris demanded.
Why do you care? you said you want nothing to do with me.
You! Faris attempted to strike at Damien, but he found that he couldn't even reach him. Come out! Face me! Coward! Idiot! I hate you!
NO! Damien retreated further inwards, and Faris was threatened with the prospect of loosing sight of him once again, and if he did, he feared he wouldn't be able to learn how to hide his presence.
Wait! Come on! At least! Teach me how you do it! Even as he cried out, he felt his competency degenerating, his mind was physically undeveloped, so without whatever force allowed him to have Damien's memories, the information he had learned was slowly seeping out. He might slowly recall them later, when he was old enough to retain the complex information, but it will be too late by then! He screamed inside his mind, eventually quieting down as despair seemed to fill him. I… I actually need you… As he lay there, silent, a familiar voice echoed back.
…That feeling, that despair. That's what you need to disappear like that.
Faris looked up, in his mind, his toddler form looked at the teen with the sad face.
The teen continued, that's right, that's how we hide, imagine yourself sadder than you've ever been, that you're insignificant and worthy of neither love nor respect from others. That feeling, you realize it now, that hating me is the same as hating yourself.
…Is that how you disappeared? By hating yourself? Faris continued.
No, because eventually you reach a point where you simply disappear, where once you've reached that bottom, you simply spill everything out, exhale without inhaling, then hold your breath forever.
Let me see. Faris begged. He reached his small hand out to Damien, who took it, sharing his memories and the feeling. Oh… I'm so sorry…
Faris opened his eyes, tears streaming down.
Angela paused, then turned to look at Faris, she smiled grimly, "You've done it."
Faris looked up at her, "We're sorry Angela-Svit-Kona, I was failing you, and failing myself. We're ready to learn…"
Like that, 4 more months past without too much incident.
"Purple eyed-asshole"
"Frequent Shitter."
The only real incident was Faris's rock bottom relationship with Elva, which seemed to devolve the longer they spent time together.
"How much longer are you going to wallow in your ridiculous self-pity."
Faris scoffed, "Well how about you stop bullying my people."
"The fact a barely 11-month-old baby has to be the rock for a 16-year-old boy in order to defend himself from an 11-year-old girl is more than a little sad, wouldn't you think? Then again, it's not like Damien was ever a proactive person, a yes-man all his life, and the two times he changed his mind, well we know the second time killed him."
Angela smacked the back of Elva's head, "That's enough of that for today."
Darn her! Faris stewed as he slurped down Angela's rabbit stew. He had mastered hiding his presence, and had moved on to learning the ancient language and mental training, both in attacking and defending, while by no means a master he was quickly becoming proficient.
It's okay. Damien attempted to soothe him.
No, it's not, she doesn't respect us at all, and Angela won't do anything to help, Solembum never steps in, and all you do is just sit there all quiet! He calmed down as he felt Damien shrink in somewhat, then exploded again. First of all! What's wrong with you!? Why are you such a coward?! What?! Scared to fight her because of what you know about her power? It's not like whatever she says or does bears any real meaning, Angela's already perused your memories and Solembum taught us how to memorize them, so he'd know most of them anyway!
Even so, she might say it in a way we can't handle. And… I'm a little scared.
Faris sighed in exasperation.
What bothers you now human kit? Are you having a spat with your littermate?
Solembum, would have been nice if you assisted me.
Oh, but I've known her longer, even if you're interesting I can't pick you over her, now can I?
Faris swore but Damien piped up, erm… Solembum.
Yes? The cat asked with its deep gold eyes.
Do you know the spell Angela used to keep Elva from hearing her fears?
Yes.
Could you tell it to us?
I could, but I won't.
Faris blinked at his multiple word answer. "Okay, fine I guess."
Don't do anything stupid.
Faris merely smiled. Later that night, just before Angela went to bed, she heard Elva shout. Getting up she saw the spark of magic wrapping around Faris, reaching out her mind she gave him stamina, joining her mind with Elva's and Solembum's to provide enough magic. After a few tense seconds Angela marched up to the child, who was too weak to even get out of bed.
"What in the blazes did you do?!"
Faris merely smiled, "Ask Elva…"
Angela turned to Elva, who shook her head, "That idiot… he… cast a spell."
Angela nearly fell over, "What?! Faris?! But how? While you have your strong mental capacity, I haven't taught you how to feel magic yet…"
"Its… it's because of Damien, when you… tried to destroy him… well, that part that makes him was pushed back to the same part of me that I reach into to wield magic." He smirks at Elva, "It was his idea to cast this spell anyway."
Angela turned to Elva, who was rocking back and forth a bit. "Elva?! What's wrong?" She grabbed the girl as she saw tears fall down her face.
"I can't feel his pain anymore, I, I can feel…" Elva cries.
"She can feel the pure unadulterated joy a child experiences with its parents, with its friends, that a teen experiences when accomplishing something, the euphoric high of finishing a long run, or getting a great grade, every positive aspect of my lives, so far, and she'll continue to feel it when she's near me." Faris sighed, "I didn't think it would kill me, and Damien let what she said about him enjoying the suffering of others get to him, and to me."
Angela said a few words in the ancient language, causing Elva to faint. Afterwards she leaned down over Faris, who flinched in fear.
"That was stupid, but also ingenious, and… kind of you."
"Huh?" Huh?! Faris and Damien said in unison.
"This was, a test on my part, for the week it would take us to travel back to your home, Elva was to subject you to various levels of discomfort verbally and mentally. I would have considered it a passing grade if you had endured, but I would have passed you if you had fought and won an actual argument, as I believed if you gained the mental fortitude to face your flaws whilst you were still young and still had the wits to fight back, you'd become an outstanding mental duelist, but you surpassed my expectations, in the oddest way too."
"I still don't fully follow, but that means you knew it was bothering me!" Faris yelled.
Angela gave an apologetic smile. "I had to, if this much cracked you, then you wouldn't be prepared for the worst-case scenarios that life throws at you. As it was, you used magic, but not only to hide your fears from her, which not even Galbatorix with all his wards could do, but to do what not even Eragon could do, and let her experience joy. I had to put her to sleep because the euphoric vigor you made her experience half had me fearing she was about to pounce on you and accidentally squeeze you to death. Like a pimple."
Faris paled at that. "Oh, hahaha, oh my god…"
"You not only defended yourself, but you even had the time to extend her such kindness, with her being so cruel to your insecurities, what made you decide to extend this kindness?"
Faris closed his eyes, "Again, it was Damien, but I did agree to help. I didn't like her hurting me, but…" He opened them, looking resolute. "I was doing the same to Damien alone, yet he didn't lash out at me, and he even helped me, so… I thought it would be bad if I was hypocritical."
"That's some major philosophizing from someone not even 1 year old." Angela smiled.
"Don't dragons mature, like way faster?" Faris retorted, "It takes about a year for them to reach mating age/adult hood, when they can breathe fire."
"In that regard, you never did reach adult hood." Angela's smile turned sad.
"Well, we've got this time around to make it, and I'm feeling optimistic."
Angela glanced down at Elva, who slept with an uncharacteristic smile on her face. "…Yes, I can feel optimistic as well…"