Zarias sat on a branch in the hills near Olympia, watching the city before him. It all gleamed with night lights and flashes of cars driving through, the sky gold and purple as night began to fall. Most people thought that was pretty. He didn't care in the slightest, still reeling from his last encounter with Andie. His electric blue eyes scanned the horizon thoughtfully, his fists clenched in frustration as the wind brushed through his dark hair. How had those children eluded him yet again? Could that possibly have had a power he had no knowledge of? An abandoned paper lay on the bench below him. He hoped down, meaning to look at it to see what new idiocy the human world had thought of, when he paused. October 26th. It was his birthday. He had never celebrated so his only clue was a bracelet he'd kept from when he was an infant. He wasn't even sure how old he was exactly.
From his calculations, no older than twenty or so. He wasn't surprised his father had never cared to make the occasion memorable. He was immortal, he could celebrate birthdays when he wanted. He'd chosen to focus his attention on Zarias's training. And Zarias would always be grateful that he had. He was strong, powerful... unstoppable. Like his father had wanted. He didn't need to know exactly how old he was. He would soon be immortal like his father. And then, age would no longer matter. Zorak had never spoken of his mother, he knew very little of her, just her name. Marie Galloway. But since he knew nothing about her, he didn't miss her.
He'd once found a picture, but it hadn't aroused any interest in him to know that she had long dark hair and blue eyes, not unlike himself. But then, it was only natural for children to inherit certain physical traits from their parents. For example, her mother had a soft olive skin, whereas his father didn,'t and neither did Zarias. He had no reason to know more about his weak, plain, human mother who had left when he was barely a year old. The fact that it was his birthday had Zarias thinking back to all the time he'd spent with his father in the Demon Realm. He wasn't nostalgic. No, that was for the weak. Merely reminiscing. That was all... Reminiscing... nothing more.
A six year old boy was jogging around a circular dungeon, his shirt flapping against his skin, his feet cold on the bare stone.
"Come on, faster!"clipped a sharp voice.
Zarias hesitated only a second. He was already going just about as fast as he could, but his father would be furious if he didn't push himself even harder.
"Yes, father," he gasped.
"Be quiet, concentrate on your running." Zorak snapped.
So Zarias ran faster, trying hard to ignore his small lungs' protests. He didn't much like these long running sessions, but his father insisted upon them, that strength was the key to success. And no son of his would be anything less than the strongest of all.
"Good, Zarias," said his father. "Now, the obstacle course."
Zarias, still gasping for breath, wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea. So little, in fact, that he found the courage to speak his mind for once.
"Oh, father, must I? I've been running for an hour..." he pined.
"Are you arguing with me?" Zorak asked warningly.
"No, no, father, but..."
"You will do this exercise for another hour and then, you may rest." Zorak interrupted.
An hour seemed like an eternity to the poor boy, who was already exhausted, but he preferred it to his father's wrath.
"If it is your wish, father..." he said, trying to keep the resignation out of his voice.
YOU ARE READING
Four Elements Book 1 - Hidden Powers
Fantasy#70 in Fantasy Fire. Water. Earth. Air. The four elements are not just elements. They are incarnated by four people. Four teenagers. who were chosen by the original masters of the elements. But of course, being the incarnation of the elements isn't...
