Chapter 7 Spring Equinox - Rosier Academy

~* Late morning of the Spring Equinox, Rosier Academy. *~

Orderly rows of apprentice Savants sat at their own desks. These halls were lined with dark wood and were much too tall for how narrow they were in comparison. Uncomfortably out of proportion. So tall, that even with his head tilted all the way back, it was difficult for Ashwin to see the very peak of it. Sometimes doves roosted inside and he could pick out their white feathers against the distant dim of the roof. Not today.

The shape of the hall, Ashwin was informed, was meant to harness 'all that was good with air' down to those working below. Ashwin always felt it wasn't like a lightning rod pulling in power, but instead like a large upside-down funnel that pulled their powers up and away from them.

In tilting back in his chair Ash caught the glance of the Lead Scholar. The Lead Scholar wore the same cassock robes Ashwin did, but unlike Ashwin, he had a fancy hood. The Lead Scholar also wore a frown of disappointment. Ashwin righted himself and focused on the parchments in front of him. With a flick of the wrist, Ash brought them upright and at attention around him. Ashwin didn't bother reading many of the symbols, despite being fluent in most written languages. The symbols glowed a pale yellow until they separated from the parchment and arranged themselves in the air around him.

"Like little fireflies." Ash mused to himself before stealing another glance to the now occupied Lead Scholar. A huge mischievous grin flashed on Ashwin's lips before he restrained it.

Ashwin pretended Seeking took him much more effort and time than it did. When Ashwin had tried, just once, to do his best with his powers, he was told it was "too much". Using powers "too much" resulted in three days of isolation to guard against "Sourcing". The irony here didn't escape Ash, one wasn't meant to Seek from the Source. Ashwin did as he pleased anyway, and never spoke a word of what he could or couldn't do since.

The threat of Sourcing was a joke to Ashwin, especially since they could never, not once, produce a single scholar who was trapped in an endless coma. For how often they warned against Sourcing there were no rooms of catatonic Savants who learned 'too much' or 'purged too late'. They didn't exist. Ashwin played along, and in kind the Lead Scholars ignored him. Slow, steady, paced, and weak as everyone else. Sometimes Ash wondered how many other Savants pretended as he did, but he could never be sure. Ashwin boldly expanded his focus beyond the symbols directly in front of him.

He had already, and not by any fault of his own, Absorbed all the information in the room. He could do that in his sleep. His mind was made for it, and so as he grew in the Academy he quickly realized he Knew any symbol that anyone brought up, as long as he bothered to pay attention. Ashwin had already Absorbed most of the information in the room before he started. Brushing his fingers against his palm he got bolder and resorted to picking through the parchments and closed books - subtly - a warm stir in the air that barely was detected. As far as he was aware everyone was oblivious to his unsanctioned Seeking.

"Only focus on the information before you!" Ash heard the Lead Scholar remind the room like clockwork. He mouthed the warnings along with his 'teacher'.

"Only Seek to know, not to understand! Knowing does not require understanding."

And then,

"Only Seek in Knowing what is provided."

Ashwin had heard the warnings so many times they had no longer had any meaning to him. He disregarded their attempts to limit his abilities. So, in spite, Ashwin whipped his mind around the room twice. He Knew it all, already. Nothing new. Ashwin curled his fingers into a fist. The symbols in the air around him shuddered and vanished. The visual was pointless, but somehow they people at the Academy needed to see it. That or they didn't trust his Absorption and Knowings. Each Savant was expected to finish the pile before them and compile their Knowings in a comprehensive report before the festival. Ashwin begrudgingly scribed the information.

Working swiftly, amusing himself that he was, very literally, the foremost authority in the world on Inheritance Law, he limited what he scribed to just what was in the parchments before him. While this did amuse him, it also frustrated him a bit. If the law makers bothered to consult the laws that already existed, before cavalierly drafting additional laws, they wouldn't need to Seek through them. If they had any sense of consistency, or at least less conflict with one another, the time would be his. He could use it to learn about everything else in the world. The worst part was scribing the inconsistencies, but his role was not to think or process.

Ashwin sighed, taking time to lament to himself. He merely needed to be assigned. He already was a Savant. The best Savants were employed directly by the rich, but Ashwin didn't dare present as the best. But they knew he was good. Good enough to join nobles on ambassador trips, or sit in tense negotiations of trade. The Savants would provide information, immediately, from anything they had in their Knowings. Culture, history, finance. It was the least disgusting job Ashwin could do and be trained in his powers.

Ashwin sat waiting until about half the room had completed their scribing and then turned his into be processed. He drew his lips into a disappointed line as he handed over his work. The Lead Scholar watched the frown until Ashwin paused as he handed the paper and forced a boyish smile to his lips,

"Just in time for the festival!"

With a nod, he was dismissed. Ash passed the other Savants still diligently working. Some as slow as one symbol at a time. Once he reached the door he turned left instead of right. After a few corridors, he ascended the back stair to the very top. There he tucked into an unused office, shut the door, and cracked the window. He hesitated at the casement resisting every a very strong urge to just hurl himself out and fly away.

"Only fools try to fly."

He pursed his lips and calmed his heart. Unlike the warnings about the Sourcing, Ashwin had witnessed Savants who had thought that they could fly. Perhaps they hadn't wanted to fly at all but wanted to fall. To crash to the ground far below. Ashwin peered down the near vertical walls of the academy wanting to jump. Just to see if he could make it. He forced his eyes from directly below him to the small hamlet and just beyond that another village in the hills. Ashwin wasn't confident he could fly, but he knew he could float, jump, and skip. He bit his lower lip and turned his hazel eyes skyward. Boundless. Blue.

Ashwin hopped out of the window to the narrow ledge and shimmied along the outside of the building. He reached a steep steeple and hopped up, clung on, slid down, leaped over, pivoted back, landed gracefully, and even used currents to navigate to his favorite spot. The peak that framed The Dean's window. He picked it on purpose. Leaning back there he lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the midday sun. He could hear faint notes of the festivities far below him in the courtyard. He studied the light as it filtered through his fingers and noticed a single feather drifting toward him. He reached out his hand and caught it.

Ashwin didn't have opportunity to examine his find. The rest of the bird suddenly flung itself against the roof beside him with a wet and crunchy slap. This didn't startle Ash nearly as much as what he saw next. Something massive. Something that defied every bit of Knowing he had. Something dark, and blocked his view of the hamlet and village. Out of the clear sky was a funnel descending downwards.

Then came the thunderous BOOM. The impact from the sound alone sent Ashwin flying from his perch. He collided with the roof once before freefalling to the ground. Ashwin unfortunately confirmed to himself he could not fly, but he did try. He pulled his cassock taught. The fibers groaned and started unravelling as he tried to generate more air resistance beneath him. While floating like this he veered straight toward the tornado. Debris whipped around him, punching holes through his clothing, threatening to punch holes through him.

Ashwin spouted every obscenity in every language he Knew.

Ashwin prayed, because he Knew Annonen had to be involved.

Soon as he did he was surrounded by an air bubble, an incomprehensible calmness in the wind that surrounded him and controlled his descent. Hanging in the air Ashwin watched the tornado cleave the academy in half. He witnessed shreds of scholars ribbon themselves up into the relentless churn of airborne rubble.

Ashwin prayed harder.

"Aaaah! Great Annonen? Hey, uh, there's a huge tornado at the academy. It's going to destroy everything!"

Ashwin heard the voice of a god.

~ It looks that way. ~

Ashwin tried to halt his panic. He remained safe by no account of his own. He reasoned swiftly but in disbelief replied,

"Oh. Okay. As long as you ... are aware. Um, just, how about stopping it though?" Ashwin tried to peel his gaze from the horrors unfolding before him. There was nothing but silence in his gently bobbing bubble. Then the voice of Annonen again,

~ I cannot. I wish I could. You must do it, Ashwin. ~

"HOW?", shrieked Ashwin before he calmed himself. He said, "Sorry, sorry. Just please tell me what I need to do. Tell me, and I'll do it."

The voice of the god was pained to reply,

~ We do not know how. But you must do it. You can. You will. ~

Ashwin felt it immediately. He became aware. He Knew. He understood. He felt the precious breath of life fill every creature's lungs. He felt the air trapped far beneath the water of the seas. Plants exhaled the air cycle. The edges of the air pressed away from the planet, desperately upward trying to escape. No. More than that, to expand. To become limitless. It grew wider than the horizon before him, he realized was still blocked by a rotating mass moving toward the hamlet. His village beyond.

"I understand now!" Ashwin shouted and dissolved the bubble. Air arced around him with lightning and created a fully closed halo. Ashwin glowed a pale yellow light. Closing his eyes, he inhaled sharply and spread his arms as if to embrace the disaster in front of him. The tornado halted progress and started to loudly GRIND the earth below it into a destructive donut.

Once his lungs were full, when he couldn't hold another bit of breath, he shouted. He released his fear, his insecurities, his anger, his desire to be free, and screamed at the tornado. The sound travelled slower than the merciless blade of of air that pushed out ahead of it cleaving the wind in half. The writhing pillar of wind simply dissolved. All the debris that were just trapped in the endless spiral, suddenly flung themselves along their trajectory back into the ground.

Ashwin hovered in place, above the distant eyes that watched him from afar. He lowered himself gently to the ground. The power started to withdraw itself from him, so he chased it. He chased it with as much passion and power as he could. Ash was fast. He instantly started to Seek a Knowing about the god before him. The speed was so impressive that Ashwin caught a glimpse of the source. Rather, Ashwin was allowed a glimpse of the source as he had earned it. A smiling face bathed in a soft yellow gold greeted him. The face spoke to him,

~ Well done, Ashwin. ~

Ashwin pushed in further trying to learn more. Elated, his heart was elated. "You're him!" He realized then in that glimpse, that Annonen was shut out and away. Ashwin felt the power seal itself away from him and his body beckon him back. He called after the god, "You're trapped!" and after that, black, unconscious, sleep.