Allyra wasn’t much of a drinker, but even she could appreciate the quality of this brandy. It looked like liquid gold in the glass and taking a deep breath – the complex aromas swirled around her, heady and sharp, a mixture of plums and grapes with the spicy tang of old oak. She took a cautious sip – as expected, it smelt better than it tasted – it burnt its way down her throat, before settling through her as a gentle warmth.
While she was taking her test sip, Master Marais had already finished his glass and was pouring himself another, his face a picture of deep appreciation. “So what can I help you with?” He asked, contented.
“I don’t know if you know who I am –“
“My dear child – everyone knows who you are. Opening a Gate – that’s something quite unprecedented.”
She jumped in, “Well that’s it exactly – you call it unprecedented, but I don’t understand why. I feel like I don’t know my own history.”
Master Marais nodded sagely, taking another long mouthful of brandy. “Yes, yes – the future cannot be written without a full understanding of the past.” He said importantly. “You were quite right to come to me child, history stands above all else. What would you like to know?”
“Maybe if you could start at the beginning – why the opening of the Gates have been forbidden?”
“That’s a rather long story…” Master Marais replied and heaved himself out of the armchair, starting to search around in his messy bookcase.
“For something that had such long reaching consequences, the story starts with a single family.” He murmured from under a pile of papers.
“Ah – here it is.” He exclaimed, settling himself back into the armchair as it groaned under his weight. He handed her an old, dusty scroll. “Open it – it’s a copy of the family tree of one of the most powerful Gifted families in history.”
She opened the scroll carefully. The paper was delicate under her fingers – thin enough that it felt like it might crumble if she wasn’t gentle enough. It was an extensive family tree, with multiple branches reaching across the entire width of the paper. She followed the branches carefully towards the bottom as Master Marais continued his story.
“It starts with three brothers. The Cairns family is one of the oldest in Gifted history – generation after generation they produced powerfully Gifted children. But power is rarely enduring, and the various branches died out. The last of the family were three brothers.”
Allyra nodded, her fingers landed at the bottom of the tree, where it broke off into three sets of initials, all of them written in blue to signal brothers; T.S, A.P and M.M.
“The eldest of the brothers was named Timothy Simon Cairns – and he didn’t disappoint. He – like his parents was born an Elemental, and as expected, he won his Elemental Trials with ease. But as powerful as he was – his younger brother outshone him in every way.
Alexander Patrick Cairns was a prodigy, in every sense of the word – it is rumored that one of the legendary Living Weapons chose him when he was only twelve years old.”
“The Living Weapons?” Allyra asked, and he nodded at her approvingly – the question was expected.
“They might only be legend – certainly no one has seen any sign of them – not for over a hundred years, perhaps never at all. Legend tells us that they take the form of tattooed animals, which can form themselves into metallic weapons, as the owner requires. They were said to be carried by the Five themselves and would choose whom they served.” He snorted magnificently. “Some of your generation have taken to tattooing themselves with animals in reverence of this legend.”
“And one of them chose him?”
“Yes – the Dragon Swords – “
“Just one of them?” She asked urgently.
Master Marais looked a little annoyed at the interruption – he enjoyed expected questions but not random intrusions. “Yes, of course. One is rare enough – two would be utterly unheard of.”
He paused – taking the time to pour himself some more brandy, shaking the bottle at her to offer her a second glass. He continued when she shook her head. “History tells us that by the time Alexander Cairns won his Trials, he was widely accepted as the most powerful Elemental known for many generations. But that was not all he was. Beyond his Gift, he was also intelligent and charismatic. He possessed that special magic that made people trust him and want to follow him. Three years after winning his Trials he was elected as the Elemental High Master – the youngest ever.”
Allyra’s heart plummeted, and ice blanketed over her, sinking deep into her bones. Her heart felt brittle and fragile, as if it might shatter. She could barely hear Master Marais, his voice was replaced by Alex’s in her head: The Elemental High Master of the time – he led all the Elemental in a revolt…
What he’d neglected to tell her was that he was the Elemental High Master in question.
Master Marais was still speaking and she struggled to haul her mind back. “And perhaps that was the mistake – perhaps he was simply too young, too easily corrupted. He convinced an entire generation of Elementals to follow him into the Between, with the aim of destroying the Veil.”
“Why?” Allyra exclaimed, aghast. She couldn’t help it – she wanted to believe there was a reason, that Alex didn’t betray everything he’d taught her. “Why would they do that? It goes against everything the Gifted stand for, against the most fundamental
