SS p7

research and results

I described to him the colossal orange trunked, purple leaved tree, the wildlife that scurried about, and the forest of healthy oak trees. I also relayed to him the serene feeling that came with the surroundings. To all of which he simply responded “Interesting. Well, you wanted to know what the rest of today was going to be about, so now I will tell you. We will now do research by delving into the books I have in my hut. The tree you described will undoubtedly be covered in one of the texts here and it will inform us of what elements your soul is most familiar.”

           

 

I nodded affirmatively on the outside, but on the inside I was terribly disappointed, I hated reading! But if it was for my betterment there was naught else I could do. Master Stuhl brought out what I presumed were all of his books, from a dusty chest located at the farthest point of the hut. For some reason he’d wrapped the few books in a pristine white cloth. When he’d removed the cover I could see about ten books, each just as thick as my thumb was tall. “Well let’s dive in, shall we?”

         

 

We sat before the empty fire place yet again, him in his rocking chair and me on the floor. Each of us had five books to examine, but due to my extreme detestation of reading my mind had decided to flow freely as if it were a river.  Then a question hit me, “Master Stuhl, I know this is irrelevant but how is it even possible that we are able to see in your hut when you have no windows, the door is closed, and your sun mini is soaking up sunlight outside?”

 

 

“The answer is in the books,” was all he grumbled as he flipped a page in the book on his lap.

           

 

Oddly it was this answer that forced me to scour the pages of the books I’d been given, rather than the obvious motivation of attempting to find out my own alignment. So I examined the pages of my five books. One book focused solely on light element, another on light paired with fire, the third on light paired with water, the next on light paired with air, and the last on light paired with earth.  I was quickly able to deduce I did not belong to the light alignment since, according to the books “The traveler shall witness only a blindingly brilliant white light and in this brilliance travelers cannot rely solely upon their five senses.”

 

 

That was not the only intriguing bit of information I picked up. The first book in its final pages described the power of a masterful wielder of light alignment as such; “Those who invest time into honing their skill of the elemental light will be rewarded with the awesome skill of manipulation of light. This means that a child of light may willingly increase or decrease the visibility in an area, the size of the area is in direct correlation with the manipulator’s strength. “

 

 

Essentially this skill could make your enemy believe that he or she was blind, leaving the person wide open to any attack. “Hah! I found out why this place doesn’t need windows!” I began, “You’re light aligned!”

 

 

“A bit overjoyed for the wrong answer. I obviously cannot depend on you to do anything remotely scholarly, but luckily I’ve already uncovered what elements you’ve an affinity for. You are dark major aligned, earth minor. Such a fairly common alignment I cannot believe that I’d forgotten what the symbols for it were,” Stuhl stated.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoy it. Lemme know what I should fix, specifically if I use a word or phrase too many times, if some things need more detail, if somethings should/can be left out. You know the drill. Thanks for reading too and I'll try to post parts in a more timely fashion.

Reviews

[Mioki]

The system of alignment powers really caught my attention. I haven't heard of anything like it; your story continues to introduce me to new ideas and creative aspects. Another thing I enjoyed about this chapter was Gale's dislike for books. For some reason, that seemed like the perfect quirk for him!

About fixing something, this chapter was a bit short. I think you could have expanded it with a few added paragraphs, but then again it's good the way it currently is. Other than that little tidbit of opinion, I have to say this chapter was well written and thoroughly explained. The reader was able to grasp the 'alignments'.

Wonderful chapter, I cannot wait to read the next. I wonder if any new characters might be introduced?~