Crown of Thorns, Chapter 5

For the first time in days, I had a normal reason to be grumpy upon waking up, as it was just too early. The dinner with my family yesterday had been rather long, so Sandra and I had only managed to return to her place shortly after midnight. At the same time, her idea to make if from Springfield to Denver in a single day meant that we had to leave at around oh-dark thirty and arrive in Denver twelve hours later after around thirteen hours of driving, thanks to the magic of timezones.

When I got into the kitchen, Sandra was there as well but she looked just as tired as I was. So, I sent her to take a shower, while I prepared some breakfast and made coffee as she had asked me before staggering off. It was only partially altruistic, having her alert and awake before going for a long drive was something I was personally interested in, as I would be in the car with her. Moments after breakfast was done, Sandra came back, looking more alert but still tired. We sat in silence and tucked into the food, while Sandra gulped down multiple cups of coffee. Coffee was something I was not a fan of, preferring tea instead.

When we got out to the car, the sun was just coming up shedding light on a new day, seeing us off with a glorious display of colours.

“I’m afraid we will need to talk at first, or I risk falling asleep.” Sandra told me, as we drove off.

“Well, then talk. Why don’t you tell me about metahuman-powers? Considering that I am one, I should get some real information, not just the things on the internet, I have no idea what is real on it and what is just some urban legend.” I asked her with a groan, as I had looked forward to catching some more shuteye.

“Oh, dear, when you ask questions you don’t go for the easy ones, do you? I don’t think that there is a singular subject more studied than metahumans and what makes us tick. I mean, there are multiple university level degrees just about metahumans, from specific psychology, which would be interesting for you, to power-classification and that is without going into the nitty-gritty of metahuman power-mechanics.” Sandra said while laughing a little.

“You wanted something to talk about. If it is so encompassing, we should not run out of material, right?” I countered, smiling as well. 

“Right, but how long will you be awake, while I drone on?

Anyway, the simple answer to the question, what are metahumans, is answered by the force that powers us. Every metahuman is a product of what we call Universal Essence, the essence of the world around us, but not only our world but every plane we had contact with. It is believed that the Universal Essence is the reason for the rips that sometimes occur, some other world trying to take in our world’s essence.” She stopped for a second. ”Wait, that makes it sound as if planes are conscious and we have no indication of that. Think of it more like water-basins, one with a lot of water, the other with less water and rips are small cracks that form between basins and the creatures coming out are trying to get into the basin with more water. Yeah, that might be a better analogy.” Sandra stopped again, going over her words to make sure they made sense. 

“I’m sorry, but what are planes in that context?” I asked, slightly confused. 

“It is the currently used term for the other side of rips in reality, different planes. We simply don’t know enough about them, just that they appear to be other worlds but it is highly doubtful that they are in the same, well, universe as we are. So, they are not just limited by distance, they are also limited by something else, so we call them planes. Universes is just too strange of a word to use, you know?” she stated with a grin. 

“Now, Universal Essence, we can get detect it using technology, but there are no current ways, that I know of, to use it, other than metahumans that is. And it has been tried, often. At first, people tried to control and harness metahumans themselves, either by claiming them messengers from god or the gods, depending on religion, indoctrinating them into the local cult or by doing the opposite, calling them evil and to be exterminated. Often both at the same time.

Nowadays, such actions are frowned upon, at least in most of the western world but that just means that the powers that be try to control Universal Essence without the metahumans as intermediaries, using technology. Or rather, trying to do so.”

As Sandra was talking, I realised that she was rambling a little. “metahumans and their powers?” I asked, prompting her back to my question.

“Right. So, every metahuman is the product of Universal Essence. The ability to use it generally emerges, after sexual maturity but before full maturation, so normally between the ages eleven and eighteen, to give a rough idea.” she explained.

“Wait, what about those mutants I read about on the internet? They have their power from birth, right?” I blurted out.

“Yes, those are a special case. In their case, the one who should technically be called metahuman is not the child, but the mother. The current theory, backed by some observational data, is that during the later stages of pregnancy or during the birthing process the mother draws in Universal Essence and uses it to change her child with her desires. For example, a mother who wants her little girl to be the most beautiful of all might change her daughter to be exceptionally beautiful, according to her mother's idea of beauty. Similarly with strength or intelligence. Those altered, as they are commonly called, gain that trait but don’t have any real power themselves. They are overall rather rare but gained a lot of notoriety when the Germans tried to create so called Übermenschen during World War two.”

Mentioning that sent a chill down my spine, Grandfather had heard the stories from his father, not about the european war but about the war in asia and Grandfather had passed on a lot of that to me, trying to help me understand what had happened to my father. It also carried on into his lessons on correct behaviour and honour.

“Anyway, back to the start. metahumans and Universal Essence. Simply put, every metahuman uses universal essence to do whatever it is they do. I, as a mystic, use essence to craft my spells, but mystics are a slightly special case, but more on that later. Others, for example a fire manifestor, draws in essence from around him, allowing him to create and direct fire.” she looked at me with a pointed gaze.

“Again, others draw in essence and use it to boost their strength or durability, often even without the need for conscious thought. Those are some simple examples, there are tons of different powers and even some that look the same but are fundamentally different, making classification such a fun subject, you know?”

So, judging by her explanation, I was a fire manifestor? I had created fire after all but somehow, those hadn’t been normal flames, well, for a given value of normal. For all I knew, rock-melting, purple flames were actually the norm for fire manifestors but I had a feeling that they were not. In addition, there was the fact that I had spoken in a strange language, not really knowing the words but knowing what I had said all the same. I was rather hesitant to tell her about it, for fear of what it might mean. Thinking about things, I went quiet, looking out the window into the fields that were rolling by.

“Are you still with me?” Sandra asked, checking if I had nodded off.

“Yes, I’m still awake. I was just wondering where I am in that scheme.” I answered, hoping for more information. 

“I have only seen you do one thing, throw fire. Well, and hop like a bunny, so two things.” she said with a smirk.

“Throwing fire makes you either a flame manifestor or a mystic with a knack for fire-magic, either is possible. Or, you could be an Avatar and the spirit you host gives you fire-abilities, that could be possible as well. Increased physical ability is just too common, at least at a low level, so it is just that, the thing that everyone has. It might even just be a strengthened body, without universal essence needed to fuel it, I don’t think your hopping was actually super-human.”

“Well, we have time, why not explain all three of those?” I asked, by now we were on the interstate and had a lot of road in front of us. I wanted to know more about spirits without it being too obvious. 

“Sure, why not. Let’s start with avatars, as they are the easiest. Simply said, the metahuman ability of an avatar is to host and nourish a spirit. The spirit in turn can allow the metahuman to use its abilities which depend on the spirit itself. Essentially, avatars have someone to explain their powers but that can also limit them, as they can just use what their spirit can do, so if they want to learn something new, the spirit needs to learn and they are often hidebound in their ways, not changing at all. After all, they have done it their way for uncountable years, so why change?

Avatars need to be compatible with their spirit so they are basically a team, sharing a body and being each others friend. That can make them a little strange, but what is normal anyway.” she finished with a chuckle.

So, I might have someone else in my body, some spirit-entity? Out of curiosity, I tried to contact the spirit, thinking to myself and getting no response. Not that it really meant much, but if I was an Avatar, shouldn’t there be some sort of communication?

“Flame manifestors are just that, they can make and control fire. The details change with the individual and, if we weren’t in a car, I might sit you in front of a burning candle, letting you try to manipulate it but if you think I let you light a candle in my car, you have something else coming. Honestly, I don’t know too much about manifestors, never interested me.

“And last, but certainly not least, there are mystics, such as yours truly. As you might guess, mystics are a special class in and of themselves, we can do magic.” she announced pompously, making me laugh at her antics. Luckily, she had only gestured with one arm, not both or we might have suddenly become a traffic statistic.

“Adulation, adulation!” I said in a flat voice, making my absolute lack of amazement known.

“Hrmpf, you’ve just never seen my genius.” she answered, throwing her hair back over her shoulder. It was amazing how comfortable I felt with her after only two days. Not even that.

“So, enlighten me, mystic one.” I joked.

“Mystics are metahumans that are able to draw in universal essence and store it.” she announced, as if expecting applause. There was none.

“Sounds boring, right? It isn’t, at least not for a competent mystic. You see, mystics can learn to shape the essence into whatever they want. I can, for example, cast a spell that gives me increased strength and durability or I can cast the classic fireball, or I can use a bowl of water to reflect something far away, allowing me to look into things from afar.”

With her explanation, it sounded like mystics were the most powerful, but at the same time, I was dubious and it must have shown on my face. I would have to work on my emotional control some more.

“With that flexibility, there are some problems. For example, no mystic is as efficient or fast as a natural with their power. We can get close, with enough training and effort, but never quite there. So, if I make myself stronger, a paragon of the same grade will be stronger than me, no matter how much I train. And he is stronger without needing time to cast the spell. And spells only do what they are crafted to, for example, if I make myself stronger, I don’t get the rest of powers most paragons have, for example their spatial bracing.”

“Their what?” I asked, confused by the completely unfamiliar term.

“Spatial bracing. Little mental exercise, practical application of physics. Let’s assume, we have a metahuman who can punch with a force of ten kilo-newton, that is equivalent to a ton or two-thousand pounds. Not ridiculously impressive for strength-focused metahumans, but not shabby either. Now, our puncher punches a door with all his strength. What will happen?” Sandra asked, playing the teacher.

My first impulse was that the door would break, after all few doors were made to take such a punch. But I remembered something Grandfather had taught me in martial arts, that bracing was the key. Newton’s third law he had called it, action equals reaction. So, if our hypothetical paragon punched out with a ton of force, he would be pushed back with the same force and unless he had been anchored to the floor in some way, he would just push himself back.

“It depends on the bracing, right?” I asked and just as I said those words, the original term sprung back into my mind. Spatial bracing. 

“Exactly. If the paragon stands on normal floor with a normal pair of shoes and does not weigh abnormally much, he will simply be pushed back. The initial shock might damage the door, maybe even put a hole in it, depending on the material, but most of that force will be wasted or push him back. Spatial bracing means that he will not be pushed back because his powers anchor him to space itself, at least that is our current understanding. Normally, physics shouldn’t work this way but hey, metahumans are sometimes allowed to break even the laws of physics.” Sandra laughed.

“And punching really hard is not the only thing that does. For example, I’ve heard of a paragon who pushed that ability to the point that she can apply it to empty air, or rather, to the gasses that make up our atmosphere, allowing her to step on air and jump.”

Now, I was just goggling at Sandra in disbelief, it sounded so utterly alien, like something out of a video-game but she presented it in all seriousness. Was I being punked?

“Before, you said something about mystics with a knack, care to elaborate?” I asked to mask my disbelief.

“Pretty much every mystic learns one sort of ability almost without effort, it is what we call a knack. It is rather common for mystics to learn their knack before anyone really knows that they are metahumans so sometimes mystics are mistaken for a metahuman with an ability that is similar to their knack. For example, a mystic with a knack to strengthen themselves might be mistaken for a paragon. Or a mystic with a knack for fire might be mistaken or a fire manifestor.”

“So, what is yours?” I asked, curious what it would tell me about her.

“That’s… complicated.” she hesitated. “You know, I think I can remain awake from now on so you can catch some more sleep, if you want.” she suggested, changing the topic with the subtlety of a charging bull. But I was still craving sleep and it would be rude to dig deeper, so I tried to get comfortable and closed my eyes.