Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter Twenty-Six: Entrusted Truths

Arian took in a grounding breath before he began to explain. "I lived with the Fearbringers for a long time... I was created around the time that Mersall came to power in the group. Their numbers were skyrocketing because of his promise that anyone could be part of his army. He wanted nothing more than to create a few incredible soldiers that would be able to help him conquer Daragon. This was back before he started his invasion of Daragon, but he was trying to prepare to the best of his ability," he said. "I was his first attempt at making a perfect soldier."

"I see," Jubilee commented, crossing her arms. "The two of us aren't so different then, if you think about it. I mean, I was created by an older generation of Fearbringers that had good intentions even if they pushed me too far. You were made by a new generation of Fearbringers that didn't realize what they were being dragged into. There was no dramatic story behind the ones who dragged me into this, but it seems like that's where we're set apart."

Arian nodded. "Yeah... The one who gave me power and life was a spirit. His name was Odysseus, and he wanted nothing more than to find a place in the land of the living. That was where this had come from, as a matter of fact. He was trying to find a body, and Mersall longed to make a fighter who was powerful enough to give him a physical form for him to inhabit," he continued. 

Jay resisted the urge to shudder at his words. She didn't say anything, but she could tell that everyone was wondering why she was so tense all of a sudden. Of course they had noticed. Given that she was one of the people being called out for this situation, they had to keep an eye on her. They all trusted each other, but the quiet curiosity still bothered her. Jay wanted to curl up and hide away from the rest of the world, but she supposed that this was what had gotten her into this situation in the first place. 

"I was with the Fearbringers for a few years since I didn't know any better. I didn't exactly have years of youth because I was roughly this age when I was created. Mages age slower than most people, and since I was introduced to life with the body of a teenager, I was given the chance to keep this appearance for a really long time to make up for the early years that I had missed out on," Arian told the members of the group. 

Jay winced at the realization. That was why Arian had looked so exhausted when they first met. She had been confident that there was something more to him, and there was no way that he was simply sixteen the way that he had claimed. This explanation made much more sense, though the tragic pull behind it wasn't lost on her. She could only imagine how awful the Fearbringers had been to work with for someone like Arian who hadn't been given much of a choice in the matter. 

Then again, she supposed that Arian was far from being the only one who was dragged into the group without their consent. In fact, there were many others who had been born into the cult either during the war or before it had started. That left them forced to fight for a cause when they hadn't ever been given the chance to understand the rest of the world at large. It was a dreadful thing to think about, so Jay did her best to shove it out of her mind. The last thing that she wanted to do was get distracted when this was meant to be about Arian. 

"I eventually had enough of it. I wasn't even given the chance to fight out on the battlefield, instead only training constantly. Mersall didn't want to risk anything happening to me because he needed me to be used as a vessel for Odysseus. I got sick of it, so I ran away as soon as the chance presented itself. I don't even know if the Fearbringers looked for me, if I'm being honest. I was in hiding for quite some time because I knew above all else that I just couldn't go back to that no matter what happened," Arian went on. 

"And then you wound up as part of our group... You were basically immortal because you were an artificial existence that had been given power by a source with too much magic for one person," Lana concluded. "What happened after you left the Fearbringers? Were you just in hiding for a long time before you left it behind when you concluded it was safe?"