Power

Lionel felt the worry on his face. He was concerned that he did something wrong. He didn't want to disappoint the ancient being. The man had taken him in, so to speak. Lionel was begining to feel a sense of loyalty to the strange being and didn't want to let him down.

Drindle spoke over the crackling fire. "You did nothing wrong, Ank, so stop worrying. I have something important to say but I need you to try to keep the questions to a minimum and listen. Can you do that?" The bushy eyebrows rose as he finished his question. He was waiting for a response from Lionel.

Lionel nodded his head at the serious old man. He was truly concerned now. The geezer told him he did nothing wrong but it didn't help his fears. He sat impatiently waiting for Drindle to continue.

"I have been around for more years than I care to count, and I have seen many a mage. But.. and this is a big but.." The old man held up his finger as he spoke. ".. I have never seen a mage able to use magic in less than two weeks, like you have." He pointed his raised finger at Lionel. "The closest anyone has come is 9 months."

Lionel perked up, he wanted to ask many questions. Was there something wrong with him? Was he some kind of freak?

The old man continued. "You have a gift for magic as well as a gift for being an Enthraller. Who knows just how strong you will become in time." Lionel stared at the old man awestruck. "But because of your power and your potential, people will try to use you. They will bind you if you let them." the old man stared deeply into the fire as he spoke. It seemed he was lost in some thoughts. "Never let yourself become a weapon to be disposed of when you're no longer useful..."

Lionel sat looking at the tired, haggard face of Drindle. Minutes passed as the old man remained in a fixated state. Lionel finally spoke. "Why was I able to use magic so quickly?"

Drindle's eye's focused at the sound of the question. "I am not quite sure but I believe it has something to do with your ability to wade in your Vervane. Most mages would kill themselves by swimming in their pool of energy... you on the other hand.." The ancient countenance stared deeply into Lionel's eye's. "are able to bathe in your life force like it is a walk in the park." The old man's eyes never moved as he continued to speak.

"Why would they die from it though? I don't understand." Lionel felt a quizzical expression on his face.

"Boy.. you don't get it.." A slight smile appeared on Drindle's face as he spoke. "When you touch your life force with just one finger" he held up his index finger and continued. "you are pulling all of your energy to one single small spot" He shook his index finger. "Because the surface area you are absorbing into is so small the flow of energy is restricted...."

Lionel could feel his expression growing even more confused as the geezer spoke.

"hrhm..." Lionel could tell Drindle knew he didn't understand. "Look Ank, if someone else were to bathe in their Vervane like you did they would absorb all of It's energy in a matter of seconds. What I am trying to say is that your Vervane is so dense that you were able to stay submerged for more than 30 minutes!" He got louder as he spoke. "Not only that but you nearly burnt off my eyebrows to boot!"

Lionel looked down at the fire and then back sheepishly toward Drindle. He felt bad for singeing off the geezer's eyebrows, although he had to admit they did look better.

"I'm not quite sure what you are Ank but, you must be careful with your abilities. You shouldn't tell anyone you are able to submerge yourself in your Vervane." Drindle's solemn expression spoke volumes to the importance of this conversation.

Lionel sat thinking of what was said. He was worried about people trying to use him. He wasn't sure why but Drindle had seemed to hate the idea of anyone being in control of the geezer. To top it off, he wasn't sure what binding someone would do or how you could even force someone to do anything they didn't want to. He was going to ask Drindle about it but was cut off as the ancient man spoke.

"I am bound to this country by an oath I took a very long time ago." Lionel saw Drindle staring back deeply into the fire. "Just as I subjugate Velthums there are ways to enslave mankind. you will learn them soon enough." When he finished speaking Lionel saw a softness in his face that he hadn't seen before. "Lionel, just realize you are special in more ways than one. I don't know what impact you will have on this world but I can see that it will be monumental. Now I need to get some rest" He stood up with a few popping noises and walked to the back of the wagon. Lionel could tell the old man had stayed up to speak with him. It was the first time Drindle had used his real name. It worried him that there was something more going on.

'I wonder why he is so worried about me.' Lionel liked the geezer but from what he'd seen of the man he wanted little to nothing to do with most people. Lionel didn't feel like he would be much different in Drindle's eye's.

Lionel looked up at the clear sky. He saw that the stars were shining bright. The moon was nothing but a sliver in the distance. He looked back towards the wagon and saw Harthling was asleep near the wagon.

'I guess I better try to get some sleep too.'