Bent World: Chapter 19 Whining Like A Boy

Chapter 19

Whining Like A Boy

Pain.

Indescribable pain coursed through my hand and by extension my entire body. It felt like I was getting a tattoo performed on my body by an easy bake oven light that had been set to hundreds of degrees too high.

I tried to pull my hand away, but I couldn’t. It was as if electricity was coursing through my body, locking my body into place, all while I was being tortured.

The effect of this light was almost instantaneous, for I could see, yes see the inside of my hand. All the bones, the veins, and then I could see the light seemingly burn something there into my palm. An image? It looked almost like a stylized letter ‘P’ that quickly got added to with a number of glyphs and images. Glyphs and images that then seemed to glow greens, yellows, silvers, and golden colors, before merging into the darkened outline of the stylized ‘P’.

Then finally, a blue and green orb seemed to appear to the top right of the stylized 'P’ and I instantly knew its look and shape. It was Earth, or this version of Earth. The planet seemed to glow brightly, but then only a small portion of the planet glowed. If this was the world conquering game, I’d swear that the glowing portion was in what looked to be the eastern portion of America somewhere. Well a stylized version of eastern America that was separated by a giant ocean running down the center. No clue how that got there. There were other changes to the world as well, all seemingly minor, but all ultimately causing this version of Earth, or rather Earth07 to be slightly different.

Finally, after a long painful burn, the sensation finally left and I was able to relax.

Collapse.

I passed out, at least I think I did. My mind was racing from everything it saw and I tried to comprehend what just happened.

A dense hollow feeling.

It was hard to put into words what my hand now felt like. I could still bend and flex my hand as before, but now it was as if there was an open cavity within my hand that simultaneously felt empty and full of an unseen gravity.

“You okay?” Auntie called out, her hands out as if she wanted to help, but then seemed to stop herself as she just stopped a foot away.

Her words were the only thing that pulled me back to reality. Only after hearing her words could my mind begin to process what had just happened. I was collapsed on the ground, my left hand seemingly burning, all while being stared at by some of the most powerful family leaders and future family leaders for this continent. A continent that I now knew was in what would have been the eastern portion of my United States.

The entire process seemed odd, but I just nodded my head.

At that, Auntie came over and I felt firm hands grab me and help me to my feet.

“Did you see?” Auntie began.

I didn’t quite know what she was talking about, but I just nodded and held up my left hand. A hand that still burned with a dark ‘P’ at the center, but now had a glowing blue green dot to the top right, just below the knuckle for my left pointer finger. Auntie seemed to stare at the image for a moment, before realization struck her. At which point she immediately acted.

“We have it, our first true Pathfinder!” Auntie declared as she grabbed my wrist and held up my hand for all to see.

With her strength, there was nothing I could do to resist. Also, I was still trying to at least partially recover from what had happened earlier. In all, I was slowly recovering, but it still took a moment.

Finally, Auntie let my hand go, before she started addressing the crowd. I used this time to slowly regain my balance and be able to stand on my own two feet.

“As you can see, not only has the Pathfinder’s slab been revealed, but we can now see the Wayfarer’s slab as well,” Auntie continued while pointing to an area that was far to my right. Too far for my right hand to reach but clearly showed a mirroring slab that had a slot for the right hand to be placed.

In all the slab for the right hand had to be at least twenty feet away from me. Close enough to clearly be seen, especially after the growth of vines had been burned away, but way too far for me to place my right hand there, while having my left hand active.

“Now, to do the tests. It is said that the Wayfarer’s side will only work with a Pathfinder present, but lets test it out.” Auntie began.

What happened next was a slow string of Auntie first placing her right hand on the slab, only for nothing to happen. Then slowly one by one each of the other Doctor’s placed their hand on the slab, followed by the heirs apparent to each house, only for nothing to happen. Out of curiosity, people also tried touching the Pathfinder’s slab as well, only for the slab to remain completely dormant.

Even the shifting colors that had been dancing earlier at my approach seemed to disappear from the slab. It was clear that each of the Doctors truly wanted to have the pain of being a Pathfinder carved into their hands. While the children all seemed to do so reluctantly, then all looked relieved at the fact that nothing happened.

“Okay, I think we have proven that this slab cannot be activated without a Pathfinder present,” Auntie concluded after all testing for both dormant pads was completed.

I was grateful for this time to myself as I used it to mentally and physically recover from what had just happened. While there were no lingering senses of pain, I still felt oddly tired from the entire ordeal.

“Now then Pathfinder, will you do us the honor of placing your hand on the Pathfinder’s slab again?” Auntie asked while gesturing towards the slab. It was spoken as a request, but I understood it to be more of a commandment at this time.

Nodding my head, I silently got up and began moving forward. As I moved, the lights of the monolith began to glow brightly.

“Whoa!” Everyone cried out in unison, momentarily forgetting that they were all to remain silent while Auntie spoke.

“Go on, place your hand on the slab,” Auntie’s sweet voice cried out, as if she could somehow sense my hesitation.

Still, I did as was requested.

I knew that whatever this was, wasn’t trying to kill me. Also, I hoped that by doing this and other activities I might finally open my mind up to the system. It was this last thought that pushed me forward, my want to be able to use and wield magic was something I could not resist trying for. Deep down, I knew Auntie also wanted the same outcome for me too. Though her motivations might be slightly different than mine, I still understood that for this moment, our goals were clearly aligned.

WHOOM!

There was a rush and surge of energy as I placed my hand on the slab, causing the entire monolith to light up. This time I could see a current of energy flow out from my template, up over the odd flowing texts in the long-forgotten language, then go down and ultimately light up the Wayfarer’s slab.

At the lighting of the right-handed slab, the Wayfarer’s slab, Auntie’s eyes went bright as a smile crested her lips. This was her gotcha face, the face that indicated that she had gotten exactly what she wanted, and more.

“Yes, as you can see, the ancient texts were true. A Pathfinder was needed to shepherd the Wayfarers across space and time.” Auntie spoke, reciting the lines from a long dead religion. A religion that had long since fallen out of favor by the masses, but was still considered to be acceptable to know and study, at least from a historical perspective. “Now behold, what it means to be a part of a new era.”

Auntie then went over and without hesitation placed her right hand onto the slab.

Nothing.

Or at least nothing seemed to happen at first, before finally, a jolt of electricity jumped out, and seemed to burn its way into Auntie’s hand. Her eyes glowed brightly for a moment, and just like me, I could see her body lock into place as the final surges of energy seemed to go through her, causing her entire body to glow with a golden sheen for a moment, then finally it stopped.

Seeing her in this state, I wanted to go to her, but I couldn’t. For I was seemingly locked into place. Only after the moment had passed and whatever hold the slab had over my body was gone was I finally able to move. After which time, I found myself running over to Auntie.

Though it seemed that my concerns were for naught, as she just held up her left hand to stop me, then slowly regained her composure. Within a matter of seconds, she was back to her feet with a calm poise that showed she had an air of superiority to her.

“As you can see the effects are intense, but ultimately pain free. And behold,” Auntie declared as she held up her right hand. A right hand that had what seemed to be a lowercase stylized ‘w’ and the same glowing blue green orb. “I too have been marked as true wayfarer.”

At this, I could see the rustling of the audience. It was clear that whatever this was, it was huge. As everyone seemed to be steadily creeping forward. Auntie noticed this and held up her hand to stop the oncoming crowd.

“Stop, as is right, this Pathfinder belongs to house Andry. As such, it is house Andry who will get to go next. While we do not know of how many Wayfarers can go with each Pathfinder, we know the number is not infinite. I suggest you use this moment to talk amongst yourselves to see who will go next and which member of your party will go.” Auntie declared.

With her words being spoken, everyone looked like they wanted to protest, but apparently thought it was better to work it out amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Auntie frantically gestured for Pandaline to step forward to the Wayfarer’s side.

Seeing that it was once again time to act, I placed my hand on the slab and could see the trail of energy going over to the slab where Pandaline just looked momentarily confused. It was clear that for whatever reason, she couldn’t see the glowing lines of energy coming straight for her. Then just when it looked like she was ready to step away, that’s when it happened.

WHOOM!

A surge of surprise energy coursed into and through her body as her open mouth seemed to let out a giant golden light. She was clearly caught in the middle of a scream. A scream that was choked off and stopped mid motion.

Then finally, the surge ended, and the glowing golden light that had been holding Pandaline in place suddenly released its hold on Pandaline, causing her body to relax slightly. While her muscles once again began pushing air through and past her vocal cords, causing a deathly scream to be heard.

“GAHHHHAAARRGGHHHH!”

Her cry was so intense that I just found myself momentarily shocked. All I could do was stare on in slack jawed amazement at what had just happened. Auntie was the first to recover and chose to go to humor to mask the awkward situation.

“Oh come now, there is no reason to whine like a little boy now is there?” Auntie declared, insulting both Pandaline and me in one go.

Chuckles.

Pandaline looked shocked at first then seemed to straighten up in defiance at Auntie, all while everyone else laughed nervously. Fortunately, the comment managed to perform its intended effect as the tension that had been rising suddenly lessened. Before I had a moment to be outraged for both myself and Pandaline, I was distracted by Lady Amherst stepping forward and being the next Wayfarer to be defined.

FWOOM!

Gasps!

There was a slight cry of surprise that came from Lady Amherst, but it was quickly cut off by the surge of energy that coursed through her and held her into place as the same stylized ‘w’ got imprinted onto her right hand. From there Lady Jaupry followed by Lady Oteranski went one after the other.

Of course, there was just one problem. While I didn’t notice it at first, I could feel myself getting more and more tired after each use. I didn’t know exactly what was happening, but I did feel that part of my energy reserves was being depleted after each use.

Finally, once Lady Oteranski had her mark applied, I felt the strength completely sap from my body as I collapsed to the ground.

“That makes five Wayfarers to a first time Pathfinder,” Auntie declared, her words seeming to say what was a fact that had finally been proven. It was clear that the Pathfinder religion as I was now coming to understand this whole process was very near and dear to Auntie.

“You did this on purpose!” Doctor Amherst cried out, gesticulating wildly at the glowing right hand of Auntie.

“Of course I did. Besides, it was I who proved to you that this was true, that the ancient scriptures were right. That with this, we can always find our way home, so long as we are with a recognized Pathfinder.”

“What about us?” Doctor Jaupry hissed.

“What about you? You do know that there were texts that prove that a singular Pathfinder could eventually grow their group, to expand their party. But only after they had proven themselves worthy, by going and closing multiple rifts with their team.” Auntie began, and as she spoke, I could feel her machinations of power manifesting themselves. With sharp masterful strokes, she had us all moving to her rhythm. A rhythm of power that proved why House Andry was a powerhouse now and would be so in the future. It also proved why Auntie was able to lead these expeditions, and why her words carried such weight in our world.

Hearing her words, the other three Doctors all stopped and stared at each other. There were words, and entire conversations that were had with but simple glances, head tilts, and nods. Then finally, they all seemed to stop and as one turned back towards Auntie.

“Okay,” was the one-word response that all three Doctors of the respective households all spoke in unison. This wasn’t about them, or about their egos, this was about increasing the power of their dynasty. And so far, the only way to do this was to follow Auntie, who had been leading them to greatness so far.

“Then it is settled, we will begin ramping up our training, focusing on going into and through rifts to close on the other side, and see if we can find more monoliths,” Auntie stated.

There was a lot to unpack in that statement, again this was where Auntie’s expertise on the ancient Pathfinder religion came to play as she clearly knew more than anyone should know about this intended subject. Still, this was not the time for questions, especially as I would easily blow my cover as a boy. Though, looking down at my glowing hand, I realized that there would likely be an easy to find out that I had been doing things I shouldn’t have. Particularly with the fact that my marking was much larger and seemingly more ornate than the simple ‘w’ that each Wayfarer received.

Auntie as if able to read my mind, looked down at my left hand and seemed to come to the same conclusion that I was now having.

“Also, I think it is time that we fully embrace the old ways,” Auntie spoke.

“The old ways? What exactly are you referring to?” Doctor Oteranski questioned.

“I am referring to the tradition of an entire family wearing the gloves of concealment. This goes for everyone, every servant, every orphan under protection, every underaged daughter, and even the males should all be forced to share the family’s power. A sign that we all not only believe, but that we have a member who has been recognized by the old ways.” Auntie declared.

Hearing her speak, I felt a shiver run down my spine, as this was brilliant, for it meant that if I wasn’t mistaken, I would be forced to wear gloves. Not just any gloves, but gloves that would purposefully conceal my branding as a Pathfinder.

“Only while on missions would they reveal their true status, and even then it was only to members of their own group.” Doctor Amherst replied, her eyes going up and to the left as if recalling a memory of something learned long ago.

At this, the fellow wayfarers all stared on, letting the stewards of each noble house look at each other. Only after a few minutes did Doctor Oteranski seem to have an aha moment.

“You are only doing this so the identify of your Pathfinder will remain a mystery,” Doctor Oteranski began. Auntie never missing a beat responded with the obvious.

“But of course, just as you all will now want to conceal the true power and capabilities of your future family heirs concealed from foreign powers, using the gloves of concealment and covering our faces continues to give us the protection and anonymity that we need.”

Hearing her speak, I couldn’t help but be moved. Apparently, I was not alone in this thought, as it took only a few moments for the others to turn to us and nod in agreement.

“We agree, house Amherst will follow the old tradition and force everyone, and every servant, woman, child, and even man to wear the gloves of concealment in solidarity of the cause.” Doctor Amherst spoke.

“House Jaupry will enact the old ways as well.”

“As will House Oteranski.”

“So say we all.”

And like that, the future that had been slowly manifesting itself took a turn I had never expected, nor prepared for.