Time is a cruel mistress. It uses things and leaves them behind in the sea of what once was. Eidola, (plural for eidolon) fits into this category. The phenomenon comes from a singular area of the world, the ancient city of Troy. Warren doesn’t know it yet, but he is a descendant of the first eidolon wielder, Helen of Troy.
Nerea covered her mouth and whispered a prayer. Plume continued to watch the bestial energy as Warren walked out of the circle. “Warren how are you feeling?” Plume shouted.
While the eidolon provided Warren with enhanced attributes. It came at a terrible price. The eidolon, starved for life, grappled with his mind and he fell to his knees thick beads of sweat dripped down the pale forehead, “This thing wants to wear me like a suit. How do I turn it off?” his hands clapped the side of his head, and he grimaced.
Nerea shook Plume in panic, “How do you make it stop?”
Plume’s voice warbled in pitch and cadence as Nerea continued to shake him, “Let go, and let me do my job, Ms. Vasquez. I can’t do anything with you shaking me like this.” Plume disengaged Nerea, and stepped up to the wall of light, “Warren, you have to walk back to the circle, I can’t do anything with you outside of it.”
“Easy for you to say, weakling. You are not the one locked in mental combat with this thing.”
“Do you want to be trapped behind the aura?” Plume shouted, his fists clenched with hope. “You can do it,” he whispered under his breath.
The eidolon fought to keep Warren in place, “It was you in the darkness, the whole time wasn’t it?” Warren's leg shook violently as he raised it and took a step forward. The effort left him drained. He took several deep breaths before he managed a second step. “I was here first. I own the property, you are paying rent,” On the last word, he raised his left leg in a Herculean effort.
The sneakers touched the cement, the eidolon attacked anew. Warren took a knee and gathered his strength for the next step. “My life belongs to me,” the impossible weight of his legs and shoes made him falter halfway through the next big push forward.
Nerea smacked Plume on the shoulder, “We have to cheer him on. Melanie always said he loved the roar of the crowd.” She cupped her hands over her mouth. “Come on, Warren, push to the goal.” She punched Plume in the shoulder again, “Well don’t just stand there, help.”
Flawless hands cupped over Plume’s bow-like mouth, “You can’t let it win. Do you want to spend all your time looking human while acting like an animal?”
The eidolon crashed against his thoughts desperate to gain control. Warren’s ragged breaths stopped and he grunted with all of his might. His foot landed in the glowing circle. Big stains appeared in the armpit area of the t-shirt. “Just a couple more steps.”
“Do you quit on a breakaway, Warren? Do you pass the puck when there’s an empty net? It’s all your quality, finish the job,” Nerea cheered as loud as her voice allowed.
“I have no idea what you just said, but it’s exciting,” Plume said as he raised his fist, “Warren you are so close, don’t give up, fight on. Two more steps, that’s all you need, two more steps.”
Their words encouraged Warren to press on against the impossible odds he faced, “I know you helped me try to save mom. We would be so much stronger if we worked together.” He could feel the Eidolon ease back a little, just enough to allow him to take the next step.
The aura began to shrink. “I’ll start the chant,” Plume raced to the line.
“What if he doesn’t make it?” Nerea’s voice went beyond worry.
“I have seen two eidola in my three thousand years. One was taken immediately by the aura beast, the other died trying to gain control. Warren has exceeded them both. He will make it.” Plume stood on the translucent line and cried out, “Come on Warren, finish the job.”
Nerea raised her voice with plume, “Your mother is looking down from heaven, what would she tell you if she were here.”
Warren took a deep breath and prepared to move, the eidolon clawed at his mind desperate to find a foothold or even a toe hold. He stared at the center of the circle, one step felt like a thousand miles. “She’d say: Anything worth having is earned, and if necessary hard fought for.” With a great heave, he threw his body forward and fell prone into the center of the circle.
Plume slammed his foot down on the line, the circle glowed bright and the eidolon let out a shriek powerful enough to shatter windows. Little by little it returned to whence it came. The barrier of light faded. Great tendrils of steam rose off Warren’s body, and his clothes felt like they were on fire.
Nerea cleared the barrier and cradled Warren in her arms, “It’s okay, guapito, I have you now. You scared me there for a minute.” She ran a hand through his sweaty locks and kissed his forehead, tears glistened in her eyes.
“I have some bad news for you both,” Plume’s tone sat on the edge of self-hatred, and he frowned as he spoke. “The eidolon is an S class magical ability. S class abilities are considered too dangerous to be trained in a human city.”
“What does that mean?” weakness took over Warren's young body. His legs wobbled worse than jello, as he rose to his feet.
Nerea glared at Plume, “Why didn’t you tell us when we walked in?”
“I suspected Warren was an S class, I had no proof until the eidolon revealed itself. You saw how much of a struggle it was for him. Eidolon is considered a magical entity and falls under Seelie jurisdiction. Since the eidolon is attached to Warren, the law includes him.”
“Where will you take him?” Nerea asked in a fierce tone, her fists were raised.
“He will be taken to New Avalon city on the west coast, where the finest spell crafters will help him control his magic,” Plume did not sound happy about it.
“I am coming with him,” Nerea’s voice left no room for argument, “I will deal with the consequences.”
Warren gave a weak smile and said, “Road trip.”
The Dodge Charger rolled through the Caribou Interior, of British Columbia. Nerea decided to take Highway Sixteen. Once upon a time logging trucks and heavy machinery ruled the area. Government legislation changed all that. The logging industry took a nasty downturn in the ’90s and many towns suffered the consequences. The highway itself was a curiosity. Among the hills and valleys, ghostly figures floated on the shoulder of the lonely stretch of road. Their incorporeal bodies mimicked their death state. The visceral display added a heaviness to the interior. The engine revved into high gear and Nerea sped up. Plume gripped the handle on the roof. His knuckles were white, “Why did you have to take Highway Sixteen?” The Seelie spent much of t
The roads made Plume queasy. Warren and Nerea teased him a little about it before he passed out. “Wake me up when we reach Houston,” He curled up in the backseat and passed out. The trip took longer thanks to dense fog. The headlights barely penetrated the thick wall of mist, and Nerea grew more frustrated with the lack of vision. “What is with this fog? When will it end?” her teeth were clenched, and her head practically rested on the steering wheel. Warren placed a hand on Nerea’s arm, “What is with you? Ever since we left the gas station you’ve been different.” He hated seeing her like this. It reminded him of his mom lounging around in her sweatpants. “I hate this whole trip. I used to tease Melanie that she bra
Day came to the small town of Houston the only thing good about it was the world's largest fly fishing rod. At one time people came from all over just to fight a steelhead trout. With the economy on the decline and the town with boarded-up shops and dirty streets, no one wanted to come anymore. The motel diner was not the cleanest, and not a single employee wore a uniform, just black pants, and a black T-shirt. On the wall pictures of semi-famous people who passed through the town. Above the bathroom doors a small sign read, “We have run out of toilet paper, please use the spotted owl beak side down.” Today Warren and his two companions would board the ferry to New Avalon in hopes Warren could gain better control of the eidolon. Plume trusted the spiritual be
The wind whipped Warren's hair around as the massive boat carried them onward toward a group of islands off the coast of Vancouver. White shoals crashed into the boat, a pod of killer whales put a show for the handful of people watching from the deck above. They oohed and ahhed as the black and white mammals played in the waves. “Are you Warren Vandal? I can barely tell you, humans, apart, you all look the same to me.” A female voice asked. “There’s no need to make that face, it’s just a question.” Nerea and plume were off talking in the passenger area. She had questions for Plume about New Avalon. At this point, Warren welcomed someone else to talk to, “I’m Warren Vandal,” he said as he raised his hand. &
Warren found it hard to believe New Avalon was new in any fashion. Fully formed buildings made of wood and stone stretched to the heavens, paved roads and primitive street lamps dotted the sidewalks. Seelie people of all shapes colors and descriptions carried on their day. The sight of the Dodge Charger got more than a few finger points and astonished looks. Warren waved to the people outside the vehicle, “How is this possible? New Avalon was just formed the other day.” Vasilia laced her fingers in Warrens, and gave them an enthusiastic squeeze, “Time moves slower where we are from. We had time to prepare for the big change. It’s the reason why humans had to be careful how long they spent in our realm.” “Yeah one guy came to a wedding, it lasted a week, he returned to the earth realm, and thirty years passed, he returned to our realm and lived
The eidolon took to the queen almost immediately. Images of a knight kneeling danced across his mind. “I get it already,” Warren said under his breath. He knelt before the queen, “A pleasure to meet you, my queen.” Elphame touched him lightly on the forehead, “Please rise. You flattered me with your actions,” She scowled at Vasilia, “I thought we agreed the choice was his Vasilia. You walk a thin line, Daughter.” “I only wanted to make sure he didn’t get lost on the way to you,” Vasilia replied with a smirk. Vasilias' words fell on deaf ears. Elphame saw Nerea and motioned her forward, “Please don’t kneel. I get enough of that from my people.” She clasped both of Nereas hands in hers, “Welcome, I wish more parents would come to see their children off.” It started with narrowed eyes and ended with Nerea pulling her hands free, “I intend to remain
One would expect many things if they were to visit the land of Seelie. Winged people, strange hairstyles, odd skin coloring, and of course magic. One would not expect to see a fully loaded armored personnel carrier in the middle of a Seelie castle, and yet in front of warren, sat a fully loaded armored personnel carrier. Queen Elphame flourished her hand, “Project Scald Crow is our response to human fear,” she said proudly. “The Arcane Seekers will help solve magical problems all over the continent, thus raising our profile with the United Nations, we were denied entrance into those sacred halls.” Warren marveled at the sleek design and the crow's head painted on the hall with large glowing red eyes, “What does this have to do with me?” Nerea once again protectively stood in front of Warren, “Yes please explain it to us in English, and slowl
The events of the day weighed heavily on the mind of Warren Vandal. He wasn’t ready to make adult choices. He always pictured his adulthood somewhere in the nebulous future. A future where he played in the NHL and signed autographs for his fans after the games. He never dreamed of dealing with beings like Archon, or meeting Seelie queens, and armored personnel carriers. Nerea backed off and let him think things over. The queen graciously allowed them to dine alone to talk things over. The beeswax candles lit the elaborate table. Warren couldn’t help but look at the empty chair and wished his mom filled it. He’d give up all the magic in the world just to get her back. It was but a dream, because Seelie had tried to put things back, but failed. Great tension ruled the dinner table. The sounds of Cutlery on wooden plates and the crackle of the fire kept the maddening silence at bay. Nerea poured a glass of