Fire was an agent of Lord Rukus. From an elderly woman like Grandma Betty, the Lord Master of the Palm of Fire didn't reside in the land. He was known to be immortal, and his habitation was with the demons. She had 60% assurance that the death of Akib's parents had come from him. Yes, Rukus was the one who used the Palm of Fire.
Grandma sighed.
How could Rukus have crossed his boundary to fight mere mortals? Why were they so important to have caused such intervention on the earth?
"Akib must hear this," she sighed again.
Everything in Akib yearned to see the other side of the world. There he would be fulfilled, and the power he craved would be given. Looking for the killer of his parents was secondary; he was not seeking powers for that. He didn't want to die and be wasted like them. He wanted to have freedom for his wife and children one day. The way out was to look for a way.
Akib loved to seek powers from people of his land, but somehow the tag of being the cursed one followed him about. Taking such a boy for training as an apprentice could jeopardize the master.
The authentic use of elemental forces must involve meeting with its originators. The Lord of Fire was Lord Rukus, the one in charge of water was Lord Komodo, and there was a lord attached to each of the powers.
Even if the accident that claimed their lives didn't emanate directly from Rukus, he would be aware of the perpetrator of the evil deeds.
"Akib has to face principalities," Grandma felt cold.
For an inexperienced Akib, this was definitely a suicide mission.
She looked through the door to see if Akib was in sight. There he was, talking with Raph.
"I brought these," Raph informed him.
Raph came with clothes and footwear. The two had the same size, just that Raph was a bit fat and his look was more mature. One by one, he checked them out.
"You are a good friend. Thank you," Akib showed his appreciation.
"It's okay, friend. I don't want you to have a misunderstanding with Grandma. Don't discuss the old building," he warned.
Some minutes after Raph's departure, Grandma Betty and Akib had another round of talk.
"You have to learn a lot of things before you embark on your journey," Betty said.
Akib shrugged, but he wasn't satisfied with what she said.
"The look on your face, I don't like it. Visiting Eskamay is not a child's play. I have to prepare you."
"What prep? You know how to get there—just show me how," he said impatiently.
"Explain to me, boy. You were thrown off the wall, isn't that right?" Grandma was rephrasing what Akib had told her.
"Yes! I already said that," Akib said angrily. He forced his anger under control.
"And you were blinded by the light?" She made a gesture with outstretched hands.
"Yes, Grandma," Akib said.
"Then, something caught you off?" Grandma Betty said. Her body raised from the seat.
Akib kept quiet, as these questions could have other interpretations. He was right. Betty had another interpretation indeed.
"I'd thought you were the chosen one, but I lied. You weren't," Grandma shocked him.
"Yes, I've heard that one too. Just letting you know what I experienced. There was a man, I saw a dragon, I even saw his weapon.
They're in there," Akib was letting her know all he encountered.
"Look, hear me," he moved closer. "I climbed a ladder!"
Confused, she fumbled her hand over her grey woolly hair as she didn't know how to comprehend his story.
"A ladder??" she exclaimed.
"Of course," he affirmed.
"You said Eskamay could raise a lion instead of a thousand sheep, is that not so?"
"I said so. But what are you talking about, son?" Betty asked.
His destination was obvious.
"Make me one lion quickly," Akib laid his request before her.
"I'll teach you something tomorrow," Grandma Betty said before she walked inside.
In the night, as usual, the moon manifested its influence over the land, piercing its sharp arrow across the dark by supplying its visibility to the surroundings.
Akib was alone this time because he just wanted to be. Today was hectic, and he felt he should just think. He closed his eyes and pulled his mind into one piece. He shut the world out. He had not done this before, but everything must have its beginning.
There was a long object beside Grandma's house. The light from it shone intermittently and at irregular intervals. This was a distraction as it cast its reflection over him, thereby cutting him off. He didn't want anything to disturb him, and that made him turn his back in that direction. Yet, the colored light flashed ahead.
"Let me see this," he got up.
He walked close to the place this was coming from.
"It's Bren's," he picked it up.
The object was the magical staff which Bren used during the day. Luckily, it had landed in his hand.
"Good, interesting." Akib swung it.
Akib didn't have the idea of its ideal use, but he could only swing.
"Mussifra-raff Afats-tair," he spoke in his own fashioned language.
Not seeing any change, he didn't get crazy about it. Why would he? He was only joking.
"Father said sorcery is deception. This should have a proper name," he joked.
In the morning, he planned to talk to Grandma about it. For now, anything would do.
Night practice was interesting. Unlike during the day when he had to be wary of the people, he was all alone. Waving through the wind, he found the sound from the magic staff endearing. Then he saw lights spring up. He realized that when he applied more force, the lights ran out and went in different directions, following the path where it was pointed. That was light shooting out like when a knockout was used during Christmas time.
"Aw aw-aw!" he screamed into the night.
He continued till late in the night before he retired. He didn't want Grandma to complain.
He headed for the house. A figure just left the entrance and ran inward. He could have seen the back of this person but for the darkness inside the room. The room, which was in disarray, was another factor that hindered his free movement. There was a curtain to go through and a door to open. Large pots and cutleries of different shapes and sizes for different purposes were all over the place.
"There's an intruder here," his mind skipped.
"Who's there?" he called.