O Saga: Part One: Book of Origins
Chapter Nine: Lessons

Malum grew accustomed to his straw bed and new surroundings. For the first time in his life, he eagerly anticipated each day. Now that Kiron and Thea pledged to tutor Malum on how to link to the O element and his powers, every day was more exhilarating. Malum almost overlooked why he had to run away from home.

Malum burst with the glee of a child at the thought of wielding a sword. Although he never considered himself a hero, heroes had swords in all the stories he knew.

“You’d like to hold one of these swords, wouldn’t you?” Kiron asked.

“Yes, I really would,” Malum said exuberantly.

“Good, that means it can be a motivator.” Kiron reached into his pocket, pulled out a book, and set it beside Malum. “Start with this first. Read a couple of chapters, then get back to your tasks.”

“I thought we were going to train. I thought you were being serious?”

“I am. To wield the power, you need a most serious mind. To start with, you will inquire and discern. You will consider the philosophy and the spiritual side of the connection. It is more important than the warrior. A mighty body without a reasoned mind is like giving a weapon to a storm. It will destroy us all. The mind is the foundation for a masterly warrior.” Kiron walked away and headed out to do his duties.

Malum picked up the books and glanced at the pages. He tried to concentrate and understand the words, but Malum’s education needed polishing. Malum taught himself to read, but his skills were finite.

Thea had finished with her chores and probably observed him struggling.

“Would you mind if I joined you?” Thea asked.

“Is it allowed?”

“Indeed, helping to train is fundamental. A student is a teacher as much as the teacher is a student. The Master is always the unity of opposites. Do you understand me?”

“Honestly, no,” Malum said.

“You will in time.”

Thea was of medium height, athletic build, and figure. She had long, black hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin. Thea had a round face but an angular chin. Malum found it challenging to be comfortable around her, even as she tried to help him.

Thea reached over and read the book title.

“‘The Path and The Way’ is a challenge for anyone to understand. Would you mind me expounding?” Thea asked, asking for permission.

“Not at all. I need all the help I can get.”

“The book is a set of eighty teachings presented like poetry. It’s trying to get you to think like nature and simplicity, to observe and cling to ideas. Start by meditating on that.”

“I’m not used to reading or meditating. It wasn’t a priority in a mining town.”

“If you’ll let me, I’ll gladly help you if I can. We can go over each lesson, one per day.”

“I’d appreciate that. Is there something I can do for you?”

Somehow, the question embarrassed her in a way that Malum wasn’t understanding.

“Just keep an open mind and don’t give up; that will be reward enough for me.”

“I can do that.”

They quickly reread the first lesson, as it was only about a page long. Thea quoted from the book, “The Source of All Things has no true name, and a name has no true source.” “So essentially, this is just talking about being limitless and infinite. If you define something, you limit what it can be. If you don’t define yourself or things, you and they are limitless.”

Malum thought about what Thea said, “That makes sense, I guess.”

“There is no good; there is balance. There is no evil, only imbalance. Illness and cure are a part of the whole.” Thea quoted the book again.

“What is considered balance?” Thea began to see she had his attention. “Balance is not a fifty-fifty permanence. Existence is in constant motion. In true harmony, everything is weighed from moment to moment. What is true now is not always true a second from now. It was ten O’clock, but now it is a minute passed.”

“So far, I’m with you,” Malum said.

“Opposites form wholes, and wholes form balance. For example, anger and calm are opposites. You can’t have balance if you are angry half your day and calm the other half. Anger almost always imbalances, and calm almost always balances. Eliminating anger entirely or always being calm is also unbalanced. ”

“Why?”

“There are times in life you need to be angry. If you see injustice, anger can motivate you to help. But anger can’t be held onto.”

“The concept of balance is slipping from me.”

“The difficulty is having to unravel everything you have clung to in your mind until now. To build a new house, you must tear down the old one. It would help if you woke up every morning and clear to zero. Letting go of the past and moving forward. Things that linger will cause imbalance.”

“You’re starting to get over my head. My mind is crammed like a water barrel after a heavy shower.”

“That’s OK, we have many days and lessons to discuss. It will become clearer each day. Those who receive lessons today, teach them tomorrow.”

“I have to teach tomorrow?”

“Don’t panic. It means retention. The best way to retain something is to teach it.”

—-

The next day, Kiron added exercises to the reading. Malum was required to run and lift stones. But he wasn’t alone; Thea joined him in these routines. Thea challenged him to run further and lift more. Malum was learning to remove limitations.

Thea was a much better runner than Malum, but he was getting better by the day. He could lift more weight than she could, but Thea was more agile. The fact that Thea was better than him at most things pushed him to be his best self.

Malum had never challenged himself before and was surprised to discover all the dormant abilities he had. Working in a mine had made him physically strong, but little more.

Kiron was always watching from afar, but his keen eye didn’t miss anything. Kiron would correct mistakes made by Malum that were impossible for him to have seen. Malum thought Kiron must have eyes in the back of his head.

Korin called Malum’s training the building blocks, the foundation. Each day, another layer gets added until he has built the house of a true Master.

Malum savored his training because he was learning incredible things. The foremost part was being able to spend that time with Thea. Thea’s beauty from the start enraptured Malum, but each day unfurled new reasons to revere her.

Each day, they were doing more and more intimate routines. Korin was adding sparing into their workout. Thea and Malum were boxing and wrestling each other. Thea was quick and decisive, but Malum discovered he was competitive and determined to be better than her. Malum started to win on occasion, but Thea was the more cunning fighter.

Sometimes, he’d get lost in her eyes as they lay on the ground in unintended positions. Sexual tension filled the air more and more each day. Kiron must have noticed the growing attraction as he was perceptive.

Kiron started to spar with Malum more. Malum thought he’d have to go easy on the old man, but he’d be proven wrong in painful ways. Malum knew Kiron’s injuries from being stabbed with a poison blade were affecting him, but he did well to hide it. Now and again, Kiron would wince in pain, but he was a proud man who didn’t like people to see weakness in him.

What little Malum knew of Warlocks, he thought that years of using dark magic would have made him evil, but Kiron was a tender man. Every once in a while, Malum would see the dark in Kiron, which was frightening enough.

In the evening, Thea and Malum would go on walks and talk about philosophy, but they would talk more and more about personal things. They’d talk more about their pasts as well as their futures. They’d speak of their fears and desires, and their futures seemed to include each other more and more.

They hadn’t kissed or been intimate, but they both knew the longing for it was there. Perhaps out of respect for Kiron or fear of exposing their vulnerability, kept themselves apart. It also could be addicting to come close enough to flame to feel the heat but turn away at the last second. It posed a danger, though, for one of the times you feel the heat, you may not turn away. You might let that flame consume you.

—-

Korin had added horse riding and medicine to the training. Korin told Malum he needed to know how to heal more than how to injure. Adding Art, science, and meditation would expose Malum to new areas of his mind. Thea and Malum would have to race through their chores, which Korin had to do the bulk of more and more.

Thea was very close to the horses, particularly to one named Morgan. She had a gift for riding, but her connection with them was deeper. Kiron told Malum it was due to the O element. One of the powers was the ability to link with animals’ minds. Each individual connected better to certain animals than others, though. For Thea, it was horses. Kiron said he was good at charming snakes. Malum didn’t know if he was joking.

Korin gave directions, but Thea was his guide. She helped him overcome every obstacle, even when he was sure he couldn’t do it. She believed in Malum more than anyone had ever believed in him, even himself.

As helpful as she could be, she had a dark side. Being the daughter of a Warlock and Soror would do it. Sometimes, when she would lose, she’d lash out in an aggressive manner that shocked Malum. Then she’d collect herself and resort back to the Thea he knew.

—-

The time had finally come; Korin would let Malum use wood swords. Malum’s inner child was reveling in this. As a kid, Malum would grab fallen tree branches, head to the woods, and pretend to be a knight.

Thea and Malum were going over the movements slowly and then tried to speed up a degree. Each time they repeated a sword position, it had to be faster and faster. Luckily, Thea had plenty of training, so it helped that neither of them was hurt.

Thea and Malum were doing their routines when they noticed Korin was acting funny. They both came over to attend to him, but he dismissed it and told them to return to training. It started to happen more and more that Korin would have little episodes like that, which worried both Thea and Malum.

“You have the proper foundation to learn about connecting to O element,” Korin said with a smile.

Malum had no idea what to expect but was nervous and excited. He hadn’t seen either Korin or Thea use their powers very often. He had almost forgotten about them.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret, Malum. It is not your first day of using and learning to connect with The Source of all things. You’ve been using it in all of your training. When you are in the fog of a fight, deep in pensive thought about something you’ve read, of still mind while you meditate, or focused on the act of creating Art. You are tapping into the intuitive mind. It only happens when you let go of what you would call “the self” and surrender to something greater.” Korin instructed.

Korin placed the amber rock Malum had found in the mine all those days ago in front of him.

“You are joining two worlds together- your mortal being with your immortal being. You will replace an infinite circle of balance, time, and energy when you are one with everything. You will no longer be floating on the river; you will be another piece of the river.”

“I don’t need to teach you every power and everything you can do because that is infinite. How can I teach Infinity? I can only teach you to unlock the restrictions in your mind. Then, you will discover that you can levitate a mountain or a ship. You can shield yourself with energy or send that energy towards something or someone. You can see others’ thoughts, even the thoughts of space and time, as they reveal the future and past.”

Thea was meditating next to Malum as Korin was speaking. Korin had started meditating now as well. Malum thought he should, but before he could, Malum saw that they both were levitating objects in front of him.

Thea was lifting her horse, who didn’t seem to enjoy it. At the same time, Korin was lifting a large boulder; Malum just sat in amazement. The horse and the boulder gently found the ground again. Thea and Korin were staring at him.

“You turn,” Korin said.

Malum cleared his throat and suddenly felt nervous. He closed his eyes but had trouble focusing, and his thoughts raced around.

“Try picturing a small object near you in mind. Focus. Realize that the rock isn’t separate from you, that you are both a part of the Source of all things. Let go of the concept of you and it; be empty. Flow with the empty space.” Kiron instructed.

Malum concentrated on being empty. He pictured a small stone beside him. He tried and tried, but he was not feeling anything. Then, as if his mind was being tickled, he sensed the stone. Not in a big way, but he could see the stone wiggling in his mind. He couldn’t lift it, but there was movement. He opened his eyes to reveal that he was moving the stone for real. But he soon lost the connection.

“You see, all this time, you didn’t need me. You only needed to remove yourself.” Korin said and then walked away.

—

Malum and Thea were taking their usual walk in the evening. There was a lake not far from the house that they often sat by to watch the sun go down. The air was comfortably warm, and the bugs were all gone by this time of year.

Thea and Malum could let their guards down on these walks. They were very comfortable with each other by now. There were no secrets between them; everything was out and open. The one exception to that was how they felt about each other.

The young couple’s every action was filled with affection for each other. How they walked with each other, looked, talked, and even fought with each other was laced with longing. They expressed their love for each other in every way but verbally.

Thea was in Malum’s thoughts every second of the day. She was his everything.

“When I first met you, I thought you were a bit crusty,” Thea said as they walked the trail to the lake.

“When you met me, I was a bit crusty.”

“I think you’ve come a long way since then. Might even say you’ve been impressive.”

“Does it hurt a little to say that?” Malum said playfully.

“Like a lot.”

“You’re right; I’m probably the best there is.”

“Wow, Said you were impressive, but not as impressive as me. I can still beat you in a fair fight.”

“Guess I’ll have to cheat.”

“You’ll try, but I’ll still win.”

“Probably.”

Malum and Thea flirted as they played and fought. They reached the lake and found their favorite spot. They brought a pack with some blankets as it got pretty cool by the lakeside.

They came to see the sunset and would stay until the first couple of stars were out. They would hold hands and cuddle a little, but they had yet to kiss. They had to assume Korin wasn’t blind to their trips, but they’d been innocent. If Thea and her father had discussed it, Malum wasn’t privy just yet.

“I hadn’t seen a lake before when I first met you. I hadn’t seen anything of the world. I could barely read and write. Now, I can expound on things like ‘The Infinite Scales’ and contemplate the universe. All thanks to you and your father,” Malum said with pride.

“Since you brought it up, class is in session. What are ‘The Infinite Scales’?”

Putting a finger to the side of his forehead, Malum stood next to Thea and spoke mockingly, “‘The Infinite Scales’ are the name given to the balance in the universe. All things are measured. The weight goes up and down because of the law of opposites. If you put something on the scale, you balance the weight by the right amount of the opposite. The balance is on a sliding measure. Time, place, and object are just some weighed factors.”

“Is that silly voice you’re doing supposed to be me?” Thea queried, a little offended.

“You mean this annoying, nasally, arrogant voice I’m doing? Then yes.”

Thea punched him in the arm as Malum sat back on the blanket. They were now sharing the second wool blanket as the temperature was dipping. Malum had his arm around Thea, and she was leaning into him. He kissed her on the top of the head almost as a reflex. She turned her head to look at him. She stared into his eyes, and at first, he was caught off guard by her look. They were gazing at each other for what seemed like hours. Thea was leaning in towards him, and they kissed.

They kissed slowly at first. With delicate and tender care, they embraced, but they were still holding back a little. Malum wondered if she’d pull back at any second and admonish him. But no censure came. There wasn’t a recrimination or doubt lingering.

Malum released all his longing and passion for Thea like a flood. They were almost attacking each other like wolves now. They were no longer scared of the flames of desire. They no longer noticed the cold air or crickets in a chorus. All of their senses were consumed by each other.

Malum reviled in the taste of Thea’s skin and full lip. The smell of sweat and lust lingered in the air. After the initial explosion of raw emotion, their touches became more deliberate.

Malum and Thea ripped their clothes off even in the cold and studied each other’s faces like perfectionist artists studying a canvas. They lay side by side, their legs intertwined and arms locked in full embrace. The warmth of their bodies radiated with passion. Malum never wanted this to end.

—

The following day, when Malum opened his eyes, Thea was still beside him. The top of her bare back was exposed slightly above the blanket they shared. Her long hair had fallen to the side, revealing her graceful neck.

It was the happiest moment of Malum’s life. Not that he had finally had sex with Thea, but that he finally had someone who loved him. He knew he loved her with all his soul. His whole body and soul wrung with the most positive resonance. He almost vibrated with physical joy and happiness.

They spent the night at the lake; they should head home before Korin replaces out. Malum gently woke Thea up.

“We’ve got to get back. Don’t know what your father will think about this.”

Thea didn’t say anything; she just started to put her clothes back on. They rushed back to the house, hoping to get there before Korin noticed they didn’t sleep in their usual places. They both jumped into doing their chores, and it seemed Korin hadn’t seen them sneaking in.

The day was full of the same routines, but Malum couldn’t help smiling all day. He’d be standing there like an idiot, just staring at Thea. She’d catch him and roll her eyes. He’d snap out of it, only to do it again.

Korin watched as they practiced their sword techniques and told them adjustments. Korin had been a little more quiet than usual. Malum had wondered if it was due to him knowing about last night.

Korin was still unhappy with their adjustments and came to show them what he sought. After Korin seemed satisfied with their elbow position, he returned to his usual spot.

Korin started to wince in pain and seemed to be in distress. Malum and Thea stopped what they were doing to attend to him. This is where Korin usually told them to leave him alone and return to their training, but he didn’t. Korin collapsed to the ground instead.

Thea went immediately to his side. “What’s the matter?” Thea pleaded.

Korin shook his head and said, “You can do nothing. The little bit of poison that has remained was always going to kill me.”

“No, you said the power is limitless; let me try to heal you.” Thea sobbed.

“Yes, maybe both of us together,” Malum said, kneeling close to Korin.

“You need to let me go, both of you.”

“No,” Thea said, shaking her head and tears streaming.

Korin looked into Thea’s eyes with deep love. “Thea, my dear, light of my soul, look after him. I see the way you look into each other’s eyes. It is the same way I used to look into your mother’s eyes.”

“You knew?” Malum asked.

“Of course. Even if you were standing in the mountains, you could see your love for each other. Thea, Malum, continue your training. Help each other. As for me, I go to see your mother again.”

Korin grew weaker and weaker. He was not responding to their words. His eyes slowly closed. It was the first time someone had died that Malum loved. He had never known pain like that.