The world as we know it today would not be the same if it weren’t for the Seven. It is in their lives and people that we find the traits of the cultures we know today. The hardened people of the Ice Fields, the tribes from the Calm Waste, the islanders of the Archipelago… It’s almost as if we could split the realm up in seven parts, each with one of the Seven and the root of their culture.

Excerpt from Rise and Fall of the Seven by Maïz the Wise.

For the first time since arriving in Dadendam, Samos saw that the Conclave were nervous, shifting on their cushions and eyes darting from him to Yara and Asmund. The only one who didn’t seem disturbed by the sudden revelation that there were three people carrying four Talents was Ehli. She had an expecting air about her, as if she wanted to drag Asmund to the Eulium herself and start investigating him.

Aram was the first to break the nervous silence. “Serifé,” he began with a tremor to his voice, “we can all trust you when you say all three of them have all four Talents manifested?”

Serifé gave the tinniest of nods. She had demanded Asmund to give proof to his claims right there at the elivet. He had done so swiftly and without hesitation by crushing a rock in the palm of his hand before repairing it again and telling them its history.

When Samos showed Serifé Healing and told her of the visions he and Yara had experienced, she had guided them back to the Conclave without uttering a single word.

“Alright then,” Aram continued with a sigh as if he had a hard time believing what was happening, “let us begin with you, Asmund. Tell us about yourself and how you got here.”

Asmund moved to sit up straighter and smiled. “A long story that,” he answered, “so I will try to keep it to the important parts or we’ll be here till tomorrow’s sunset.

“As I’ve said before, I’ve come all the way from Eiriksfell far to the northeast where the Ice Fields lay. To be more precise, I come from a small fisher’s town just west of Eiriksfell called Hafr. We were a peaceful community. Life was harsh but fair and our nets were most often full than empty. When I was eighteen, a succession war broke out between the three sons of Osrark’s Highsword who had just recently died.

“One of the sons, Eydis was his name, who held many lands in the northern regions of the Ice Fields started recruited young and able men for his army, me being one of them. During my first fight, I manifested my Enhancement Talent after killing a boy maybe two years younger than me. It was then I decided I would never kill again.”

Samos watched Asmund’s expression grow solemn, his eyes pained with the memory of the first kill. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to kill someone who was essentially still a child.

“The Order has little presence in the Ice Fields,” Asmund continued, “so I was left to develop my skills mostly on my own. Sometimes a trained Enhancer in the army would give me some guidance and tips, but they would never stay long. It is my people’s belief that a man needs to make it on his own to proof his worth.

“During a patrol along a small canyon, we were suddenly ambushed as rocks and tree trunks rained down upon us from above. Instinctively, I raised up my arms to protect myself and somehow stopped some of the debris mid-air, saving several of my friends in the progress. When it came out that I had manifested Sealing as my second Talent, I was given a special place just under the army’s commanders. They might have kept an eye on my as an Enhancer, but they wouldn’t let a double Talented run wild just like that.

“Weeks later a patrol returned carrying with them many casualties. We had about three Healers among our ranks, but even they had a hard time taking care of all of them. So I did what every man in my position would have done, I tried. And it worked.

“The war lasted for a few more days when finally our army was victorious and Eydis took the position of Highsword at Osrark. Knowing of my Talents, he invited me at his court to become his advisor. Not that I was of any worth to him, all I was there for was to up his reputation.

“Then, one night, I was rummaging through the old dungeons of Osrark where many manuscripts and items had been stocked away and forgotten by neglectful rulers. There I suddenly stumbled upon a piece of taen metal, stashed away in a small box underneath old straps of leather. When I touched the metal, I was drawn into it and the world around me change to how it was before any human ever sat foot there.

“After doing the necessary research, I discovered this was my Wiser Talent that had manifested in a most spectacular fashion. From that day onwards, I knew I had to leave Osrark and the Ice Fields eventually. There was something that had begun pulling on me, tugging me to the south and to the west.

“I will safe you the details of the journey, maybe they will be a story for another time. Three months ago I left Osrark and sailed along the coasts of Hinsay and Asatori until I finally arrived at Hadifar aboard a trading vessel. A day and a half west of Hadifar, I found what you call a Waystone and I knew I had reached my destination.”

Asmund ended his story and the Conclave began to mutter amongst one another in their own language. Samos took the opportunity to talk with Asmund.

“You said you would never kill again,” he began. “Have you kept that promise since then?”

Asmund nodded decisively. “My… friends in the army mocked me for it, tried to get me to leave. In our culture, you’re not a man if you take no pride in your weapon. I made a vow to myself and I intend to keep it even it kills me.”

“You don’t kill, but you do fight?”

“I fight, yes. But never with a weapon.” He held up his hands and with a slight shock, Samos saw that they were littered with scars. How had he not noticed that before? “And only ever to defend myself, never to attack.”

Just as Samos was to answer, the Conclave halted their discussions and Aram spoke up again. “Asmund of Hafr, you are welcome to stay in Dadendam as long as you think is needed. Yet first we would very much like to hear of you what you are looking for here. You told us… something… pulled you here. What do you mean by that?”

“I’m afraid I’m not quite certain myself,” Asmund responded apologetically. “I have no doubt that the enormous taen rock holding up the city has a major role in this, but why or how I cannot tell.” He gestured at both Samos and Yara. “I had no idea I would find others like me, yet the fact that they are here tells me there could be more beyond just the three of us.”

“What about you, Samos and Yara?” Aram asked turning his attention to them. “Did you ever feel a pull to travel this direction?”

Samos shook his head. “It wasn’t until we arrived here that I felt there was something special about the city.” He hesitated, there had been something in the memories he had regained only yesterday. “But now that I think of it, I did make the decision to leave my village and travel rather quickly. I can’t recall exactly if that had something to do with this place pulling on me, but it might have played part in the decision.”

“It’s roughly the same for me,” Yara answered. “Once we got here I felt like I belonged here, as if I had just found something I had been missing all my life.”

“It must be the taen,” Ehli theorized. “It’s not uncommon for Talented to sense the presence of the metal even if stashed away underneath a pile of rubble. A rock the size of the one holding up the city must be like a beacon compared to that.”

“Then why didn’t more Talented find Dadendam?” Serifé retorted. “They should have been swarming this way if they could sense it.”

“Well, there’s the desert to take into account,” Ehli answered, “and maybe it only works for those with all four Talents manifested.”

“All speculation for now,” Aram interrupted, “and nothing we can be certain off. We will have to do extensive research and consult the history books to see if there is any other mention of this phenomenon.”

With that he stood up and bowed to the three of them before leaving to his room. An odd gesture, Samos thought, it almost seemed like a sign of respect towards them. The rest of the Conclave began to leave as well, talking and discussing as they made for their studies.

“Samos, Yara,” Asmund began as they stood up as well, “Come with me, there are things we need to talk about.”

Curiously, they followed him down the elivet and into the library where they found a secluded spot with none to overhear them.

“I have not told them everything,” Asmund began, peaking Samos’ interest. “There are… things happening to me I’m not sure anyone would understand.”

“You hear the voices?” Yara asked.

Asmund gave a surprised look. “Voices? No, I’ve heard no voices. Should that be something I would know about?”

Yara waved away the question. “We’ll tell you later, tell us of those events.”

He nodded briefly, the question still clear in his eyes. “How long has it been since the two of you manifested your fourth Talent?”

“Yesterday, I think,” Samos answered.

“A few days ago,” came Yara’s answer.

“I thought so, it’s still too early then perhaps.”

“Too early for what?”

Asmund hesitated and scrubbed his beard, thinking. “When I told those men and women that the taen rock pulled me here, I wasn’t telling the whole truth. It had its effect surely, there’s no doubt about that, but what pulled me here were the two of you.” He regarded them both with a piercing gaze.

“I knew I would found others like myself here. Some three or four days ago, that feeling grew more intense. I was already close then, but the sudden increase in the pulling was almost palpable. Then yesterday, when I had just left Hadifar, its pulling multiplied again. From what you just told me I would say it happened at the exact time the two of you manifested your fourth Talent.”

“I did feel something earlier today,” Samos responded, remembering the sudden tingle that had settled in the back of his neck, “and it overlaps perfectly with you arriving here through the Waystone.”

Asmund nodded. “My sudden arrival must have alerted you in some way. There is more though. At roughly the same time I began to sense Yara, there were two others that suddenly started pulling on me. One far to the north, the other almost straight west from here. I mean to find them.”

The way he said it made Samos think he had cut himself off early. What had he wanted to say?

“And you want us to come with you?” Yara asked and Samos realized that was what Asmund was going to ask.

A slow nod confirmed his suspicion. “I have no right to drag you away from this place chasing something that might turn out to be a fluke, so I will not ask it of you. I will leave tomorrow, it’s up to…”

“I’ll come.”

The words left Samos’ mouth before he could fully grasp their meaning.

“I’m coming too.” There was no hesitation whatsoever in Yara’s voice. “I want to know what is happening to me, to us. And staying here won’t provide us with the answers we’re looking for. We need to find those others.”

“I don’t know what makes me trust you to this degree,” Samos continued, “but I feel like this is the path we must take.”

Asmund gave them an appreciative look. “I plan to leave in two days, make sure you’re ready.”

I’m sorry Ralph, Samos thought with a stab of guilt, seems like you’ll have to wait a bit longer.