07-29-2014, 04:36 PM
All eyes were on Tony as he knelt along the riverbank. Like his companions, a growing unease gripped Eli's chest. They suddenly realized how very alone they were in the country. They were six men capable of great feats, but off road and untracked, they were trapped on their island of self-imposed isolation.
One by one, swarms of power grew shadowing menaces around him as each of the men turned to Rage for aid. Eli himself resisted for the time being. Tony was swiping the snow from the ice and suddenly tensed. A moment later ice erupted in a fountain of shards and Tony fell backwards. The others rushed to his aid, but Elias rounded toward the riverbank.
Whatever broke the ice was gone, but he continued to stare into the hole left behind like he might view some other secret world through the watery portal. Veso radiated power that warped Eli's senses to stand so near wielded Rage.
Elias ignored their use of the power as light grew in the back of his mind. A volcano, long dormant, stirred.
He heard his name called from a far distance.
"Elias!"
It was Hans' voice. Distant. Why had the man ran away? Was he truly that cowardly?
Eli turned in a slow circle, confused. He was surrounded by a flat plain of undisturbed snow but the others remained on the riverbank.
He'd walked into the middle of the river. The other men were gaping at him.
Dan was poised as through ready to run out and get him. "Come back, kid! Before you fall through."
A bit of wind stirred the powdery snow around Elias' feet like a white dust devil and sparked the recognition of an idea. Eli's soul suddenly blazed in the cold air as he finally snatched the power of Rage by the throat and wielded its fury all around him.
A great wind came up and caught the snowy powder in enormous ropes of white that cycled away from their master as though pulled back into the clouds from whence they came. The crystals stung his face as the flakes roared upward and outward clearing the ice inch by inch.
His coat whipped away from his legs, and his hair lifted weightlessly on the erratic storm. But when it was over and the Rage subsided, the river was a perfectly clear sheet of glass.
Eli looked down but did not move. Without the snow, there was little traction to maintain steady footing, but his eyes darted none the less, seeking the darkness hiding beneath the ice.
"I sense you,"
he said quietly. "Show yourself."
One by one, swarms of power grew shadowing menaces around him as each of the men turned to Rage for aid. Eli himself resisted for the time being. Tony was swiping the snow from the ice and suddenly tensed. A moment later ice erupted in a fountain of shards and Tony fell backwards. The others rushed to his aid, but Elias rounded toward the riverbank.
Whatever broke the ice was gone, but he continued to stare into the hole left behind like he might view some other secret world through the watery portal. Veso radiated power that warped Eli's senses to stand so near wielded Rage.
Elias ignored their use of the power as light grew in the back of his mind. A volcano, long dormant, stirred.
He heard his name called from a far distance.
"Elias!"
It was Hans' voice. Distant. Why had the man ran away? Was he truly that cowardly?
Eli turned in a slow circle, confused. He was surrounded by a flat plain of undisturbed snow but the others remained on the riverbank.
He'd walked into the middle of the river. The other men were gaping at him.
Dan was poised as through ready to run out and get him. "Come back, kid! Before you fall through."
A bit of wind stirred the powdery snow around Elias' feet like a white dust devil and sparked the recognition of an idea. Eli's soul suddenly blazed in the cold air as he finally snatched the power of Rage by the throat and wielded its fury all around him.
A great wind came up and caught the snowy powder in enormous ropes of white that cycled away from their master as though pulled back into the clouds from whence they came. The crystals stung his face as the flakes roared upward and outward clearing the ice inch by inch.
His coat whipped away from his legs, and his hair lifted weightlessly on the erratic storm. But when it was over and the Rage subsided, the river was a perfectly clear sheet of glass.
Eli looked down but did not move. Without the snow, there was little traction to maintain steady footing, but his eyes darted none the less, seeking the darkness hiding beneath the ice.
"I sense you,"
he said quietly. "Show yourself."