"look into the waters Reyn!"

"I did, I saw nothing!"

"Try harder, see your reflection…the fluidity and strength"

"All I see is the ground underneath, this pool is too shallow!"

The elderly Merian shook his head wearily, his eyes half closed in
exasperation.

"Fine then!, as always, you do not try hard enough!"

Tears of frustration and restrained anger slowly made their way down the young
Viscanti's cheeks as he exclaimed:

"I am trying, Vendel! but why won't you realize that it is too shallow?!"

With that, Reyn violently plunged his hand into the waters in an attempt to
touch the surface beneath. Searing pain shot through his arm, almost burning
him as he screamed in agony and pulled his hand out.

"The taint grows daily within your breast, uproot it or die trying"

With that, Vendel turned his back on the young Viscanti. He departed the
chamber and left Reyn alone, as always.

Reyn sat silently and scolded himself. Why did he allow his anger to swallow
him so? He should have gotten used to it by now… it has been the same for years
on end.

With a pang of regret the young Viscanti reminded himself that the only reason
he still drew breath was because the Aquamancers took pity on the child they
found on the southern highroad, a bruised child on the berge of starvation.
Vendel took in the wounded child, a child whose parents abused and eventually
neglected him.

The exhausted Viscanti got up to his feet and made his way to the entrance of
the chamber, suddenly recalling that his hand wasn't even close to touching the
bottom of that "shallow" pool.

Reyn was already used to the stares and whispers made when he went by. But he
could not help but feel a small twinge of pain nonetheless. Kids running away…
women and men staring, their eyes bulging out of their sockets. Some things,
cannot be disregarded, much like a Viscanti walking through the streets of New
Celest- the city of light.

He had no friends to speak of or with; he could not befriend those who rushed
away upon seeing him. The adolescent Viscanti had learnt his lesson a long
while before: he had no one but himself. Aye, he was grudgingly accepted as an
apprentice Aquamancer, but he would never obtain a rank or truly become one of
them. He was there because there was nowhere else to go.
This feeling of not belonging was further amplified by the light which radiated
from the Star of Celest. It blinded him and often burnt slightly - almost as if
he sat too close to the fire. He had no home, but he made himself a small
sanctuary of sorts.

Eyes fixed on the pavement, Reyn trod the Old Imperial road, entirely
disregarding the beautiful scenery that surrounded him. It vexed him that the
birds should chirp, that the sun should continue to shine even as his whole
world toppled over him on an almost daily basis. The world moved on as always:
ruthless, relentless.

He stopped suddenly and squinted, seeking the place which he fondly named home.
Once he identified his destination, he stepped off the road and headed to the
northwest and into the Oleanvir valley. It was not long before he got to his
cave. Recognizing the entrance, Reyn stooped to crawl through the tunnel which
was at the size of a wild-boar in diameter. Upon smelling the musty, dank air,
the Viscanti's heart lightened, he was at home, he was safe.

The short tunnel led to a large underground chamber. Upon the cave's wall, a
single torch was fixed- Reyn made a mental note to bring a new one for this one
was close to extinguishing

It is here that Reyn came when he needed time to rest, to relax and ease his
mind. The Viscanti sat beneath the torch and gazed at his surroundings. The
small shards of crystal never ceased to amaze him, glittering in endless
colours as the little available light flickered upon their surface.

His eyes traveled to regard the great chasm that laid further into the cave.
He once tried to see what was there and threw a torch in. No sound of wood
hitting floor ever made its way up, and the glow of the fire was swallowed by
the darkness therein.

He shifted his gaze to consider his cupped hands

It was odd, in a way… why did he feel such attraction to the element which the
Aquamancers were taught not to trust? Why, did he see in every pool the ground
that lay beneath?
Water Begets life - that was the teaching and he trusted it to be true, and
yet… How could water stand without an Earthen frame? Or without a bowl made of
one mineral or another? Even the great oceans are nothing (he thought) but big
holes in the ground, filled with water. If it is so, then isn't Earth the
foundation of the Basin?.

Reyn pressed his fingertips to his temples and massaged them. He knew that such
thoughts were an affront to his teachings and the light. Yet he saw no fault to
his logic and that angered him even more.

The taint is a curse upon the land, it twisted and raped the land and the
planes of Shallamar and the Earth plane. Giving birth to monstrosities such as…
himself? Even if he was the monster they claimed him to be, could he not
transcend his nature Earn some measure of redemption?

Quietly he spoke: "Am I to believe that I am a monstrosity? A cancer upon the
basin? Why was I so cursed, did I have any choice upon birth?"

The young Viscanti searched his surroundings, half expecting some reply.
Of course, none came.

His exhaustion weighted heavily on him and so he allowed his eyes to close as
his mind drifted to the land of dreams.

His dreams were always the same. A great cave, much like his own can be seen in
the distance… and he is flying at its direction in an alarming speed, the
scenery is naught but a blur as the cave draws nearer and clearer.

A sense of exhilaration wraps him like a warm blanket and even though
everything turns pitch dark, he is unafraid. Suddenly within the void, an
Earthen pillar rises and grows. Great skeletal fossils and mineral clusters are
embraced within its nooks. He comes to land upon its surface. Upon that pillar
and around him, three smaller pillars grow: a column of flame, a whirlpool of
water and a whirlwind- each representing the three remaining elements- Fire,
Air and Water.

"What remains, when the foundations crumble and fall?"

With that, cracks appear throughout the Earthen pillar as it dissolves and
crumbles. The other three pillars fall and collapse into nothingness around him
and he remains to float on a small isle of rock.

"The truth is within your blood" the voice whispers before the rock gives way
as he falls deep into oblivion.

With a start, Reyn woke to find the torch extinguished. He wiped the beads of
cold sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve when he heard a soft
chuckling sound.

"Who is this?"

A soft whisper echoed through the cave: "A friend"

"I have no friends, nor do I desire to name those who lurk in the shadows thus"

"How about those who dwell, rather then lurk?"

A single loud word echoed through the cave as the extinguished torch was
engulfed with a roaring blue flame. A blue and eerie light illuminated the
chamber and the heavily cloaked figure which stood near the great chasm.

"What do you want? if this is your home I did not know of it"

The figure chuckled softly, the hood entirely covering its face.

"Nay… this is not my home, it is ours"

The figure moved its hands to remove the hood to reveal a fiendish face of a
noble looking Viscanti.

"F… father?"

The chuckle turned into a harsh laughter, merciless and sharper than any blade.
"Nay you are not my son. Not that I am aware of, at least."

"I…apologize, I have not seen one of my kind for… gods know how long"

The laughter abruptly stopped. "I apologize. Funny as this situation may be, I
have failed to grasp just how far were you from knowing who you are"

He drew away from the Chasm and approached to regard Reyn silently.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I know your father, or, more correctly, I knew him"

Reyn turned his back to the Viscanti and said through clenched teeth "So you
knew the scum of a man who turned his back on me, who mutilated and abandoned
his son?"

"Silence!" the Viscanti roared. "How dare you speak thus?, because those
pathetic would be mages told you so?. Do not speak so in my presence!" The
ground beneath shook and the tremors brought Reyn to his knees.

The Viscanti drew a deep breath; the tremors came to a sudden halt.

"Your father did not abandon you. In fact, last I saw him, he was fending off
those damnable Celestians as they attacked us on the Southern Road. You were
never mutilated. I doubt he cuddled and spoiled you, but your parents were
Geomancers of great stature"

Reyn blinked stupidly, his face going slack as his mind was whirling.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Vendel has been playing you for a fool!. Do you think it's proper for an
Aquamancer to find solace in caves?. I had my eyes on you for a long while, I
know what you see when you look at the water, no matter how deep it runs. The
truth runs in your veins. Are we monsters, you and I? And let us assume the
worse and consider ourselves so, is it our fault?. Are the Gods so cruel as to
create us so with no chance of "Redemption"?.

The Viscanti spread his arms and opened his hands in a gesture of peace.

"We are condemned only in their eyes, because the so called 'Light' accuses us
of it. That which they fear, they name Tainted. Have no doubt, we are tainted-
but is that a curse?"

With a sharp shake of his head he continued "Those who teach you of being good
and right were the ones who attacked your family only because they were
'tainted Viscanti'. 'Convert or die', blindly killing without even considering
their own paradox- The "Light" spills blood to further its goals, just like any
other power in this Cosmos."

Reyn opened his mouth to retaliate, to defend everything he ever knew… but the
words tasted like ash in his mouth. The words rang of falsehood in his mind.

"You can feel the power of the Earth around us, can you not?. The Earth is the
foundation of everything, not water. The taint served to change it, making it
much more powerful then before. The Taint enhanced, not cursed us. Can you not
feel the calling in your blood".

The Viscanti turned his back on Reyn as he spoke

"Vendel was the one to lead the attack on your family, he took you in and
blinded you to the truth. But the through the blood which runs through your
veins, you shall feel the pulling of the Earth until the end of your days. Deny
it as you wish, my work here is done. I did that which I have for the sake of
your father. Stand up and make up your mind, but you deserved the right to have
the blindfold removed before doing so. Now, as you stand before the chasm, will
you be brave enough to step through?"
The torch flickered and was suddenly extinguished, leaving the cave dark once
more.

Reyn stood up and used his tinderbox to light the wooden shaft which remained
in the torch's stead. Thankfully, the wood took light and Reyn was not
surprised to find he was alone once more.

With his heart hammering in his chest, the young Viscanti hastily made his way
back to his chambers within the Aquamancers' guildhall. As he opened the door,
he was greeted by his mentor.

Vendel was regarding him with a soft smile upon his face as he spoke "You have
gone for quite a while… I was growing slightly worried."

Reyn grunted and sat on the chair facing his desk, as if oblivious to his
mentor's presence.

"I apologize if I have upset you, but you are relentless in your disobedience
and you refuse to accept the teachings. I have told you already, you are what
you are and that cannot be helped. But you need to change who you are if you
are to have any chance of redemption".

Reyn stood up suddenly to face the Merian, speaking with suppressed anger.

"Redemption? Why? Have I spilled blood? am I to be blamed for being born a
Viscanti?.

The merian shook his head wearily "The seed of the Taint grows within you and
darkens your vision, you must uproot it!"

"Answer me this, old man!. Did you attack my family on the southern road
because they were, as you call it, 'Tainted'?"

The merian's face froze suddenly "Where did you hear that? Speak!"

"It matters not, answer me!"

Vendel's eyes flickered, suddenly a glow with an eerie light

"Yes! I have attacked and killed many of those I found with you that day. I
have spared you because I foolishly thought you could be converted. It is
obvious now that I made a mistake".

Vendel raised his hands in the air, chanting softly as water flowed into the
chamber, slowly flooding the room.

"You will not take me alive!, you killed my family, you butchered my youth. But
you shall not rob me of my future!.

Reyn made a sharp gesture with his hand as a huge boulder detached itself from
the floor and exploded upon Vendel, tearing flesh and breaking bones, leaving
behind a broken and bleeding corpse, endless daggers of stone jutting from
bleeding gashes.

His mind swirled as a sharp voice rose from its depths "Think later, now- Run!"

Shouts of alarm were already rising within the building….and he ran.

He ran to the only place he ever felt safe in. The cave was as dank as ever but
oddly enough, a new torch was placed and it burnt with a blue flame, much like
the one which roared when he met that odd stranger.

Reyn called out: "Are you there? I have need of answers… please."

When no answer came, Reyn stood to face the Chasm and shouted "I have been
blind! Now I see what I have lost all the more clearly and the pain is tearing
me up from within!. I stand before the chasm, let me through!"

A tremor shook the chamber around him as a groan bellowed from the Chasm "You
speak bravely but have you the wisdom and heart to tread the path?, speak to me
the truth. Speak to me the true meaning of the Light and its waning"

"What are you?"

"I am an Earth Elemental bound to this place, now speak or die"

The ground began to shake more violently, boulders started falling around the
young Viscanti as he tried to figure out this odd phrase.

With a dawning comprehension did Reyn finally give in to his nature, he stood
up straight and his voice carried throughout the chamber: "Blight!, the 'truth'
of the light and its demise!"

"Well done youngling"

The tremors stopped as upon the walls of the chasm a spiral of stairs started
to form itself, creating a descending stairway.

With a glance backwards, Reyn bade farewell to the past as he mounted the
spiraling stairs. After a long descent he came to a clearing. A crumbling
archway of stone loomed a head. Upon it, rune carvings were etched, glowing in
the darkness eerily. The ground started to shake once more. Huge boulders
detached themselves from the walls as they rained down around Reyn and
shattered loudly.

"The time has come, step through or die!"

And so Reyn stepped through the portals of fate, to embark on his journey with
his eyes, finally, open wide.