Chapter 17: Aurym

Zechariah squinted slightly. "You really don't know?"

Justin shook his head.

"You really are lost, aren't you?"

"What, you didn't believe me?"

Zechariah waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing personal; the only way to know truth is to entertain doubt. Tell me about your father. You said he couldn't take care of himself?"

Justin smirked. "You're very good at avoiding questions."

Zechariah snorted a small laugh. "Forgive me-you asked about the fire. Yes. Well." He cleared his throat. "What do you think it was?"

Justin shrugged. "Magic?"

"Magic!" Zechariah laughed. "Magic is just a word people use for things they either do not understand or are incapable of doing themselves-outside the realm of what they consider possible. I suppose you could be forgiven for thinking aurym is magic."

"Aurym?" said Justin, trying to pronounce it the way Zechariah had: ORE-im. "What is that?"

A sprinkling rain had begun to fall and hiss in the fire. Zechariah pulled up the hood of his cloak. After a few tries, Justin got his up, too.

"In a way, seeing it firsthand is better than any explanation," said Zechariah. "To understand aurym, you must first ask yourself: What is a person? Is a person his body? Is he his brain? Is he his bones, blood, muscles, and organs? The answer, of course, is no. The parts do not make the person. The person is what drives the parts. Some call it the consciousness or the mind. Others call it the spirit or the soul. Either way, it's what makes a human an individual, and it exists in a not-so-easily defined state."

"But you can make fire with it?"

"Patience, young man. Similarly, the physical world is built of measurable parts. Rocks, soils, plants, animals, air, and a billion parts within those parts. Through it all flows aurym, the essence of life. It is nowhere and everywhere at once, individual to everything. Apart from them, yet connecting them all. The spark in us-the human spirit-is made of aurym, and there is a bit of it in everyone, though the amount differs from person to person for reasons we don't quite understand. A stronger spirit means greater potential for aurym power, and the opposite is true also."

Justin hoped his face didn't betray his thoughts. His mother had taught him that you didn't have to agree with people's beliefs, but that you should always be polite to them.

Especially to the crazy ones.

"We are all born with a spark already in us," Zechariah went on. "As we grow, live, learn, and love, our spirits flower and bloom, and the power grows stronger. While a person's body reaches its zenith after adolescence and then deteriorates over time, a person's spirit can grow stronger throughout his or her entire life... Or it can fade. As we stray from our principles, make compromises, become embittered by woes, and lose sight of goodness and wonder, the power of the spirit can shrivel, die, and be lost forever.

"Aurym, Justin, is the measure of a person's inner strength. Their will, their faith, their compassion. If a person can tune in to his own aurym, he can learn to listen to the aurym around him. And feel it. But aurym is still more than that. It is an energy source. If one can learn to use it, it can do powerful things."

"Like make fire?"

"Like make fire. Aurym does not take physical form spontaneously, however. There must be a conduit. One must channel aurym through minerals called aurstones. What you saw Ahlund do today was release an active form of aurym energy through aurstones forged in the blade of his sword. He fed his spirit power through the stones, and his aurym took the form of fire."

"So, why didn't any of the soldiers today shoot fire back?" said Justin.

"Aurym ability is a rare gift," said Zechariah. "Few people have the spirit strong enough to manifest its energy. Far fewer have the discipline to sharpen and hone the talent. The form that aurym takes depends on two aspects: the wielder and the stone. Some people have great aurym power. Others have none. Different types of aurstones can unlock different potential powers. As for the wielder, it varies from person to person, just as any talent will. Some aurym ability comes with training, but a great part of it is as natural as eyesight or hearing. Even properly trained, I could never produce fire from Ahlund's sword. If someone else could, their manifestation might be some variation, or a different effect like steam or a wave of heat. Or, more likely, nothing at all. It is a great mystery. Even those who can use aurym may never come to realize their potential. The chance of a wielder finding a stone compatible with his or her spirit is slim."

"What about you?" asked Justin.

"The power I wield is a far cry from what you saw Ahlund do today. As opposed to willing a large amount of energy through the conduit all at once, I am constantly feeding a small amount of aurym through my stone, and it gives me a constant result."

"Which is?"

"Among other things: enhanced physical prowess, heightened strength and reflexes, and longevity."

"Longevity? Like, you'll live longer than somebody else your age?"

"Yes."

"How old are you?"

"Always so forward! Let me put it this way. I was already at an age most men never reach when I mastered an aurstone ability that made me feel like a young man again. Since then, I haven't aged a day for the last twelve centuries."