The First Age

The question was one Gio had never considered before. Michael asked if he felt like an abomination, not if he was one. It got Gio thinking maybe all of the things Gio had been taught by the Atharim was wrong. Gio listened to Michael explain how he had killed someone. That was something they shared, and in both cases it was a mistake. It didn't change the fact that he was being hunted.

"I never questioned that before. I've was always told that having these powers were wrong and those who can channel must be destroyed. Then I figured out that I could. They sent my brother after me. In my fear, I struck him down with a lightning storm. Since then, I've been on the run from them."
Gio sighed. It felt good to get it out.

"You are a smart man, I'm sure you can put the pieces together. It is something I've not told anyone before. You need to know that they will not stop hunting me. If you are ok with that, then I accept your offer. I don't knkw if I'm an abomination now. It is the first I've questioned it. But no matter what, its better for all if I learn to control it.

Giovanni was a mystery. He was apparently an abomination, but he managed to assess the situation calmly. The man's decision to accept help in spite of everything earned him respect.

Giovanni's convictions certainly made sense now. He was one of them. Or had been, before they decided to kill him instead.

Michael wanted to shake his head, but remained motionless, focused on Giovanni. An interesting man indeed. Killing his own brother must have been even more traumatizing than becoming the very thing his kind despised, how unstable was he?

And he called the power the ability to 'channel'. That would imply an outside source of this power, not a physical anomaly. It seemed that the Atharim woman was mistaken, or she had lied. Both were possible, but he was not bothered if she had kept it from him. Her situation was perhaps more precarious than his.

Although the information was useful, it presented far more questions than it answered. What was this power? Was it good? Evil? He would save those questions for later.

Michael was not phased by Giovanni's warnings about the Atharim. In fact, his appearance was a gift. Someone who could tell him about the Atharim without restraint...

"Then you are in good company,"
he said, although there was little humour in it. "They have tried to kill me me many times. They failed."
He watched the man for any reaction, a spark of sympathy for his old comrades, before continuing a moment later. "You can stay at my place, if you have nowhere else to go, and you will be taught to control your power. In return, you can tell me everything you know of the Atharim."
Michael sat back, intent, waiting for his answer.


Edited by Michael Vellas, Oct 1 2013, 09:27 AM.

Michael wasn't phased by the fact the Atharim were hunting Gio. In fact, Michael even stated that he had avoided them and hinted at maybe killing some of them. Michael was quickly earning respect in Gio's mind.

Michael's offer was very generous and Gio knew he would accept. Gio wanted something else though.

"I accept your offer, but I would like one more thing. You've apparently have had run ins with some of my...friends."
Gio said the word with acid in his tone. "I want you to teach me how to protect myself from them. That training, along with housing, and I will tell you as much as I know about them. I will let you know, however, I was never fully initiated into their order. I don't know everything."


Gio's eyes began to dart across the room as the feeling he was being watched came over him. "Perhaps we should discuss that in a more private location though."

Michael instinctively double-checked his web of Wardings around the area. He hadn't felt anything breech his defences, but Gioavnni's sudden suspicion made him hesitate. Besides, he had barely developed the technique - he wasn't sure what the correct term was, if there was one at all - and he wouldn't stake his life on it, not yet.

After a pause, when they were not assaulted by a hidden ambush, Michael nodded. Talking to Giovanni was proving to be taxing, his apparent mood swings set Michael on edge as nothing had before. It was not fear, not precisely. It was more...disconcerting. The man was a product of Atharim dogma and persistence. Take someone with a less...placid...demeanour and perhaps they would create a monster.

As it was, he couldn't tell if Giovanni was going to weep or strike out at him at any given moment. He controlled it well, to his credit, but it was evident under Michael's enhanced-senses' scrutiny.

"Of course, defence will be the first thing you learn. I wouldn't waste my time teaching you things to have the Atharim cut you down the second you leave."
He wasn't sure if his words were too harsh, and didn't care at the moment. The chains of stress had strung themselves tight around Michael's mind, he had little room for patience.

He stood up, pulling in more of the power as he surveyed the street beyond the shop. "Come on, let's not waste any time. I need to pick up a few things, then we can start.
"

Updating thread movements.

Continued in: Learning