01-07-2014, 08:15 PM
The apocalypse. Had Jon heard Jensen -- or anyone, for that matter -- suggest the imminence of the end of the world just a year ago, Jon would likely have given the man a polite nod while inwardly rolling his eyes at the notion. The end of the world was always coming! The sun would eventually die and roast the earth, long before cosmic drift tore all matter apart and entropy won out against order. And chances were high that something would destroy humanity long before, be it an asteroid or cataclysmic tectonic activity, or through war or disease. Belief in the end of the world was like saying there would be a volcanic eruption on Mars. What difference would it make one way or another?
Now, though, Jon knew better. There were supernatural forces at work beyond his understanding. One could not discount old myths or legends as they obviously spoke of a time before history when people had greater understanding of these things. Something had happened to them and the knowledge had been lost, aside from hints and glimpses, like motion caught just at the very edge of his eyesight.
As Jensen pulled up the news story, Jon leaned forward with mild interest. He hadn't heard of his discovery. Inside, his the pit of his stomach went cold and he balled his fists to stop their tremors. A find of a prophecy from an antediluvian civilization not known to exist? That a preacher was willing to admit in its possibility of predating Eden convinced Jon of two things. Jensen was convinced of its authenticity, and more importantly, Jon was convinced it was a thing from a time when the Great Spirit and other things were indeed understood -- the same period from where Jon had gleaned his own secrets -- and as such had to be taken seriously.
And then Jensen brought up Jon and Nick Trano into the discussion, and Jon found it was quite another thing entirely to find out the volcano wasn't on Mars but instead in your own backyard.
Jon noticed Jessika's frown at Jensen's last question. Did she have any indication of what her husband was capable of? If she'd witnessed the use of the power as Jensen drove away the old woman, then the smoke had already slipped away from the signal fire. Why did the man seem so insistent on betraying secrets that weren't his to give away? The infuriating thing was that he didn't even seem to be aware he was doing it. Hopefully Jessika was smart enough to keep her tongue to herself about this power when around others. It seems three can indeed keep a secret if two of them are dead. He pushed that thought out of his mind. If Jon was correct about the suspicion he told Trano regarding the sheer number of people able to touch the power of the Great Spirit, it wouldn't stay secret for long anyway.
He chose his words carefully when responding to Jensen's question. What Nick Trano was capable of was still not Jon's secret to give. "I have spent some time in the company of Nick Trano,"
he said to Jensen. "And I can find it easy to believe he will have a role to play in forming the world to come."
He relaxed a bit -- just a bit, his back was still taut like a compressed spring about to be released -- and took a sip of water. His mouth was quite dry. "If it's confirmation you want, I can tell you that Nikolai Brandon does indeed possess abilities beyond the comprehension of most mortals. This is likely the reason behind his meteoric rise to power. I have been told this by those I trust in these matters."
Jon stretched out his hand and turned it so his palm faced the ceiling, seizing the force of the Great Spirit as he did so. Very well, if the fire had already been spotted there was no sense in covering it up. "There are separate but linked forces that comprise the power my peoples term the Great Spirit that flows through all living things. Earth, fire, wind, water, and a fifth somewhat hard to describe but may be called life or spirit in itself because it seems to be connected with a substance of living things. Jessika, this may be a bit of a shock to you."
He sent out weaves of fire, and a ball of flame appeared in his palm. It flickered and pulsated as he fed the weave. He let it vanish and without paying attention to Jessika's reaction continued on. "The ability to control this power is a thing from very, very long ago. A time before history, likely from the same time as that find you described. Yet this ability is manifesting itself in the world again. Why, I don't know. But it make it easy to believe in an old prophecy that foretells the end times. Something like this must have happened before or else this knowledge would never had been lost."
He put his hand back down and released the power. "An answer to one question spawns a thousand more. I can't claim to have the level of under standing of Revelation as you must have,"
he said to Jensen. " Revelation was written long after this other prophecy was mentioned. So tell me, what of it can be trusted of its accuracy? Is victory assured? And what should be done about it now? What are the signs to look for? There is so much I frankly don't understand."
Now, though, Jon knew better. There were supernatural forces at work beyond his understanding. One could not discount old myths or legends as they obviously spoke of a time before history when people had greater understanding of these things. Something had happened to them and the knowledge had been lost, aside from hints and glimpses, like motion caught just at the very edge of his eyesight.
As Jensen pulled up the news story, Jon leaned forward with mild interest. He hadn't heard of his discovery. Inside, his the pit of his stomach went cold and he balled his fists to stop their tremors. A find of a prophecy from an antediluvian civilization not known to exist? That a preacher was willing to admit in its possibility of predating Eden convinced Jon of two things. Jensen was convinced of its authenticity, and more importantly, Jon was convinced it was a thing from a time when the Great Spirit and other things were indeed understood -- the same period from where Jon had gleaned his own secrets -- and as such had to be taken seriously.
And then Jensen brought up Jon and Nick Trano into the discussion, and Jon found it was quite another thing entirely to find out the volcano wasn't on Mars but instead in your own backyard.
Jon noticed Jessika's frown at Jensen's last question. Did she have any indication of what her husband was capable of? If she'd witnessed the use of the power as Jensen drove away the old woman, then the smoke had already slipped away from the signal fire. Why did the man seem so insistent on betraying secrets that weren't his to give away? The infuriating thing was that he didn't even seem to be aware he was doing it. Hopefully Jessika was smart enough to keep her tongue to herself about this power when around others. It seems three can indeed keep a secret if two of them are dead. He pushed that thought out of his mind. If Jon was correct about the suspicion he told Trano regarding the sheer number of people able to touch the power of the Great Spirit, it wouldn't stay secret for long anyway.
He chose his words carefully when responding to Jensen's question. What Nick Trano was capable of was still not Jon's secret to give. "I have spent some time in the company of Nick Trano,"
he said to Jensen. "And I can find it easy to believe he will have a role to play in forming the world to come."
He relaxed a bit -- just a bit, his back was still taut like a compressed spring about to be released -- and took a sip of water. His mouth was quite dry. "If it's confirmation you want, I can tell you that Nikolai Brandon does indeed possess abilities beyond the comprehension of most mortals. This is likely the reason behind his meteoric rise to power. I have been told this by those I trust in these matters."
Jon stretched out his hand and turned it so his palm faced the ceiling, seizing the force of the Great Spirit as he did so. Very well, if the fire had already been spotted there was no sense in covering it up. "There are separate but linked forces that comprise the power my peoples term the Great Spirit that flows through all living things. Earth, fire, wind, water, and a fifth somewhat hard to describe but may be called life or spirit in itself because it seems to be connected with a substance of living things. Jessika, this may be a bit of a shock to you."
He sent out weaves of fire, and a ball of flame appeared in his palm. It flickered and pulsated as he fed the weave. He let it vanish and without paying attention to Jessika's reaction continued on. "The ability to control this power is a thing from very, very long ago. A time before history, likely from the same time as that find you described. Yet this ability is manifesting itself in the world again. Why, I don't know. But it make it easy to believe in an old prophecy that foretells the end times. Something like this must have happened before or else this knowledge would never had been lost."
He put his hand back down and released the power. "An answer to one question spawns a thousand more. I can't claim to have the level of under standing of Revelation as you must have,"
he said to Jensen. " Revelation was written long after this other prophecy was mentioned. So tell me, what of it can be trusted of its accuracy? Is victory assured? And what should be done about it now? What are the signs to look for? There is so much I frankly don't understand."