Chapter 222 – Floor 38: Part 1

  Floor 38: An Unimpressed Mentor.

  You have been tasked with learning more of the Celestial Language by Unyielding Declaration. You may not move on to the next Floor until you are deemed ‘Acceptable.’

  Reward: N/A

  Perched on the edge of a cliff, the Celestial abode Mathew had been given for his stay was strikingly alien. It had an organic shape to it, resembling a giant seashell of elongated pod.

  Its surface shimmered in rainbow hues that reflected the indigo sky above. Glowing patterns pulsed naturally along its exterior, creating an attractive display of light in the evenings. The entrance to the home was a curved opening in the stone exterior, leading to an airy interior filled with soft furniture that mimicked the natural forms of the surrounding landscape.

  But the best feature was the large, panoramic windows that provided a breathtaking view of the sprawling landscape around it. The vibrant flora were a multitude of colours, deep greens, bright blues and vivid reds.

  The atmosphere on this newly restored planet was serene and peaceful. But also completely empty aside from Mathew and his mentor.

  He had been here for a few weeks already, and, aside from the Female Celestial, he hadn’t seen another living soul. Mathew knew they were out there, somewhere, but they avoided coming anywhere near him as if he were a pariah.

  The Celestials didn’t seem fond of outsiders. That was especially true of his mentor, his tutor who had volunteered to teach him more of the Celestial Language.

  Lunara, that was her name in English. It was impossible for Mathew to pronounce it in the Celestial Language, and she had mocked him for even trying. As far as he could tell, she was a leader amongst her people, but he hadn’t been able to decipher her relationship with Unyielding Declaration.

  She was above him in some way, that was clear from their interactions, but she refused to provide any personal information.

  Mathew let out a sigh as he watched the sun rise from the eastern horizon. His lessons would begin soon, and Lunara would never be late. Every day was the same, and he began to dread their interactions. Not that she was abusive or hard to understand, quite the contrary, Lunara was a good teacher.

  It was the content of their studies that was making him depressed.

  The Celestial Language was incredibly difficult to understand, and he had quickly learned that the words he had been given as rewards from the Tower were the most basic parts. Lunara had described his efforts to use it as little more than barbaric grunts and hisses to her Celestial ears.

  Like always, the Celestial simply appeared in the center of the room as if she had always been there but Mathew had just been unable to see her. She was already in the middle of speaking before Mathew could turn away from the window.

  “Begin by demonstrating your grasp of ‘Burn.’” Lunara instructed, her black eyes boring into Mathew’s as she waited impatiently for him to perform his task. She placed a small, unlit candle on the ground in front of her.

  It was the same routine every day; they worked on his basic understanding of the Words of Power before moving on to new ways to use them.

  Before Mathew had begun his instruction, he had taken the Words of Power at face value. Burn meant to ignite something, to light it on fire and let the object be consumed. But Lunara told him that his thinking was too basic.

  Burn meant to ignite and be consumed by flame, but it was also a form of transformation, of an object turning from one state to another. It was a release of energy. It was a Word that could lead to many others, but for now, Mathew was working on his control.

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  Taking a deep breath, he focused on the candle wick and whispered the Word of Power gently.

  “Burn.”

  A small flame flickered to life, merrily burning on top of the candle. Mathew let out his breath in relief that he had been able to control his power. When he had first started training, he had nearly burned down the entire house when Lunara had ordered him to light a candle.

  “Tolerable. Now, grasp the flame.” Lunara continued, gesturing for Mathew to step forward and continue where they had left off the day before. He winced slightly in remembrance.

  The goal was to completely control the flame, to not allow it to burn anything but the intended target. So far, he hadn’t been able to grasp the concept. Stepping forward, he reached down slowly and picked up the candle.

  Flicking his eyes toward Lunara, whose displeasure at his hesitation was all but visible on her alien face, he grabbed the flame with his right hand. He immediately felt his palm burn, and he dropped the candle in response.

  “I’m sorry, I just don’t understand what you want me to do.” Mathew admitted, shaking his head and rubbing his hand where he had burnt it. A whispered word from Lunara had it healed, but the memory of the pain remained.

  “Perhaps it is time for us to approach this matter in a different way. I had thought to teach you our language by building upon the words you already knew. But you don’t not understand the meaning of those words, you are just mimicking the sound without comprehending why. You think of ‘Burn’ as ‘Make Fire,’ but it is so much more than that.”

  “There Words of Power. I thought that’s how they were supposed to be used.” Mathew replied and Lunara shook her head slowly.

  “That is where you are mistaken. They are not ‘used.’ You do not speak the word ‘Burn’ and expect it to make fire, like rubbing two sticks together.” Lunara explained, only to confuse Mathew more.

  “But that’s exactly what it does!” Mathew exclaimed in frustration, running his hand through his hair. The Celestial was unfamiliar with the cause of Mathew’s frustration, she had difficulty comprehending how someone could not understand something so basic.

  To the Celestials, the Words of Power were a part of them, like their hands or eyes. How could you explain to a child how to see, how to hear or feel? They’ve been doing it all of their life; they were born with the ability.

  “The Celestial Language isn’t just Words of Power to create Fire or destroy your enemies. It’s a way of communing with the Universe, of joining your voice with the Song of Creation. You are a Speaker, Mathew, but you haven’t given a single thought to what you are speaking.” Lunara explained.

  “Yes, Burn means to ‘make fire.’ But it also means to consume an object with flame, to create heat and light, a release of energy. A word is just an utterance of sound, but the meaning behind it is more important, the intention of the word.” Lunara paused, before pointing at the candle on the ground that Mathew had dropped.

  “Burn.” She whispered, her voice vibrated through the air, and reality shifted at her command. A flame flickered to life on the candle, burning against the stone floor of the house. She picked it up slowly with her long, pale fingers to show Mathew.

  “My word ‘Burn’ was a way of beseeching the Song of Creation to interact with reality. I asked it to light this candle on fire, but, in a way, I was the one who created this flame. So, as the creator of this fire, how could it ever harm me? How could it ever ignore my commands? I should be able to do whatever I want with this flame because I willed it into existence.” Lunara clarified, her hand hovering over the candle.

  To Mathew’s surprise, she placed a finger into the fire without being burned. Then, she proceeded to ‘pluck’ the flame from the candle like a petal from a flower. She held it up, still burning brightly between her fingers as if it were still attached to the candle.

  “A Word of Power, as you call it, isn’t a ‘word’ at all. It is a call to the Song of Creation. When you say ‘Burn,’ you aren’t truly saying that word; you are asking the universe to create fire, or consume the object, or create a flame for light.”

  “So many different meanings for a single word.” Lunara mused, holding the flame up to her face before blowing gently. The flickering flame was immediately extinguished. She looked down at Mathew with her dark, black eyes that lacked irises and Mathew was struck again by just how alien these Celestials were. How much power they had.

  They had never stepped foot inside the Tower, hadn’t received their abilities from Blessings, or Disciplines, had never even made use of Aether aside from the crystal that they used to regain their physical forms.

  Yet this person in front of him was as strong as any Apostle that Mathew had ever met, as strong as anyone in the Tower.

  “I will teach you our language, Mathew Larson, even if it takes you a thousand years. You will learn the true meaning of ‘Burn,’ along with ten thousand other words. Then, when you have learned the basics, you will join your voice with the Song of Creation.” Lunara promised, and Mathew shivered at the statement.

  He knew that he wouldn’t be allowed to leave this place until she was satisfied with him.

  “Now, let us continue. Use ‘Burn’ to create a flame on this candle. Study it, feel it. Understand everything about it. Entreat the Song of Creation to change our reality, to respond to your desire. Remember, you command this flame; it belongs to you. As its creator, it is yours to do with as you please.”

  “How can this flame ever think to harm you?”