It was night when Seth awoke again though it wasn’t natural as he was instead shaken awake by a firm hand. Derrick stood over him when his eyes opened, his face barely visible in the light from the bugs outside the window. “Hey sleepy head.” His friend said with a grin. “Lorten wants us to meet him in the training yard. He’s the trainer your mother assigned.” Seth sat up slowly expecting pain to greet him but surprisingly the bruises were gone already. It took him another moment to realize someone had taken the liberty of removing his clothes and repositioning him correctly in bed.

Chase, most likely. Just what had almost happened between them?

“Let me get dressed. I’ll be out in a minute.” Once Derrick left Seth searched in the dark for the clothes he’d been wearing. He eventually found some clean ones folded on the foot of the bed. Dressing quickly, he hurried outside with mixed feelings. I want to learn more about these people and their world, he thought, but not at the loss of my freedom. Midnight stepped out of the shadows when Seth exited the house as if he was born from them, startling Derrick. Seth could only grin in some small silent satisfaction. He could always tell where Midnight was now and despite the wolf’s ability to hide it would never startle him.

“I think he did that on purpose.” Derrick apparently didn’t like being surprised in such a way by the wolf but Seth didn’t care.

“I had worse things planned for you myself. I’m still not happy you’ve lied to me for so long.” Seths voice was iron, and Derrick had the decency to appear abashed. To Seth it looked like the subject bothered Derrick as well. “But for now I’ve decided to just let it go. I understand you were trying to protect me. But you have to promise from now on you’ll never lie to me again. If you’re supposed to be some kind of protector that’s connected-“

“Linked.” Derrick interjected.

“Linked.” Seth was annoyed with the correction but managed to keep from snapping, “You have to promise me. Otherwise I’ll find a way to break that connection and find someone else.” He had no idea if any of that was even possible but when Seth saw how upset it made Derrick he knew he’d at least gotten the reaction he wanted.

“Fine, I promise I will never lie to you again.” Derricks voice was surprisingly soft, and his demeanor appeared somewhat dejected as his eyes dropped to his feet.

Seth let a few heartbeats pass, letting that silence really dig into Derrick, before finally saying, “Alright then. Lets go.” Having seen the training yard the previous day, Seth and Midnight left Derrick behind and hurrying to catch up.

Seth had not noticed in the darkness of the room, nor even fully when they were just…’talking’. Derrick was dressed in all black with a sword at his hip, as well as the long one over his shoulder. The way Derrick carried himself made all of the gear seem natural on him and Seth was grudgingly impressed. Silence followed them for a time before finally Derrick asked, “When the hell did you get so bossy.”

“When I found out my entire life was a sham.” Seth’s voice was calm as he spoke, which surprised even him. “I’m not going to just sit back anymore. If I’m going to have to live a new life then I’m not going to let anyone or anything push me around again.” In truth Seth was afraid he’d get swallowed up by this new world if he didn’t appear strong, but he didn’t dare admit that out loud, not even to his friend.

“I never knew you had this secret dark side.” Derrick was trying to get Seth to relax, he knew. It wasn’t working. “Next you’re going to tell me you’re a ninja or something.”

“No,” Seths voice was dry, “I don’t lie.” He enjoyed how easily one word made Derrick uneasy. There was so much more he wanted to do to get back at him, and he had started mentally plotting, but before he could get a coherent idea together they were at the training yard. It was empty besides an old, weathered man that sat in the middle of the yard on a low packed dirt…stool?…that seemed a part of the ground itself, and that Seth could’ve swore wasn’t there before.

The old man’s eyes were closed as they approached and Seth started to wonder if he was sleeping…or worse, dead. However, as they approached the old man raised a hand to halt them. Seth stopped, watching the old man curiously. Derrick stepped away as did Midnight, leaving Seth standing alone in front of the old man. Seth had turned to ask what they were doing when he had a sudden uneasy feeling and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

Seth felt something touch his leg and looked down to see green vines having sprouted out of the ground and tying his feet up. There was no time to react as the vines jerked suddenly forward, sending Seth to the ground roughly and knocking the air from his lungs. More vines appeared around him and started forming over his body in an apparent attempt to smother him. Seth was frantic in his reaction as he pushed himself to his knees and ripped the vines away before they could wrap around him. He grabbed the vines around his feet and ripped them free, then rolled forward just in time to avoid more of the trapping vines creeping out of the ground.

Seth was on his feet quickly as his kendo training kicked in. Vines of various sizes rose in front of him waving slightly as he looked for help. Where was Midnight? Where was Derrick? They weren’t far but as Seth looked to them Derrick only looked on apologetically while Midnight laid on some grass appearing bored. It’s a test, Seth realized. But what was he supposed to do?

The vines continued to dance in front of Seth as he looked around for something to defend himself. He didn’t have time to find anything as he felt something he couldn’t explain, yet he knew instantly what was happening despite that. The half breed jumped sideways and rolled as more came from behind to strike at his prior position. There were so many and more kept appearing. Seth stepped backwards as they shot out of the ground and something emerged that caused him to trip and fall on his ass. A root was sinking back into the dirt where he’d just tripped. Yet even as the root disappeared the vines kept coming at him and their numbers grew. This was it. There were too many, there was nowhere left to go, he didn’t have a weapon to defend himself. Whatever the test was he’d failed badly.

Seth hit the end of the line as his back hit something unexpected. A small tree. A small tree he didn’t remember seeing there before. He was used to knowing his surroundings during duels and when this odd battle had started that reflex had kicked in. Expecting some sort of new threat Seth half turned to look over his shoulder - and froze. The tree was no more than a few feet tall with a thick trunk. But it was glowing, pulsating slowly with a soft blue hue. The threat of the incoming vines seemed miles away as Seth turned, mesmerized, to put a hand on the trunk of the strange tree.

Everything dropped away instantly. The world was gone, the people were gone. There was nothing but Seth and the tree floating in a void of darkness. The tree kept him hypnotized with its pulsing and he slowly turned to place both hands on it. The tree was warm against his skin and its very existence brought a calming feeling to Seth that he’d never felt before. There was nothing that mattered. There was nothing but peace.

As he stared into the tree the darkness around him exploded causing him to raise his hands to shield his eyes. Seth slowly lowered his arm as the light quickly faded and was replaced by all sorts of small particles that dispersed in different directions. One of those particles he followed without intending to. It went past others and was passed by some until finally it smashed into a larger grouping of particles. They swirled and shifted as others connected with the larger mass and after what seemed like moments they had formed a planet. Not Earth but a foreign planet. Something shot away from the alien planet and smashed into another grouping of mostly formed particles to create a new planet. The creation of the Universe, Seth realized. But what are those little specks. The process sped up and repeated over and over again a dozen times or more until finally one last particle shot out and things slowed again. This time Seth could see this was his planet, Earth, before it had fully formed. No, see wasn’t the right term, he just knew. There was a flash of something that was gone almost instantly, leaving Seth unsure of what he’d seen. It had almost looked like a demon.

“This is the birth of the Planet and its journey to creation. Take hold and know the Planet as it knows you.”

Seth couldn’t tell where the voice came from, or whether it was spoken or in his mind. Yet he was drawn to the planet and he reached out to take it in his hands. As he did he soared at and through the planet surface to what lay beneath. Not physically beneath, but what the Earthen could see and control. Life coursed through the Planet from the smallest bug to the largest creature. Even rocks and streams had life going through them despite always being considered dead. It was astounding and showed him so much more than he ever knew existed by seeing how alive the Planet truly was. Seth saw the Planet from core to surface at every angle and he suddenly knew the planet inside and out as if he had created it himself.

As quickly as it started it ended. The world reappeared around him and he was back as he had been with one hand on the tree. Seth could feel though not actually see the vines still coming behind him and without knowing how or why he caused a thick slab of earth to sprout up behind him. It was just a reaction. The vines smashed loudly into the hard packed dirt, the sound increased by the sheer volume of what had attacked him. Shaking, Seth looked over his shoulder warily and the world was different. No, he just saw it differently. Everything was alive and he could still see it as he had when the planet had spoken to him. Life touched everything and it filled him with a new energy.

The vines slowly retreated back into the ground as if they’d never been disturbed, yet even once they were gone from his physical sight he could see them spider-web beneath the entire Haven in natural patterns. With the vines gone the slab of earth sank back down and joined the ground where it had erupted from cleanly.

A booted foot stepped into Seth’s line of view and he slowly looked up to see Derrick. “Don’t get mad at me. I didn’t lie to you. I just didn’t tell you what was going to happen.” Derrick looked like he expected Seth to be mad at him but the half breed was busy recovering from what he’d seen.

“Derrick, it was…” Seth was lacking words to explain what he’d seen, “Incredible.” Derrick gave him a hand up and Seth turned to look at the tree, shocked at how it had grown without him realizing it. It was now as tall as any other tree in the Haven yet it was the only one pulsing a bright sky blue.

“That’s your Earthen Center.” A warm voice said from behind the pair. The old man had come upon them while they’d been distracted by the tree, though his eyes were still closed. “It’s what connects you with the Planet. It is what lets you be an Earthen.” It wasn’t until then that he opened his eyes and Seth realized he was blind. But how…? “Now that you’ve found your Earthen Center it’s time for you to learn how to control and harness that power.”

***

The sun had begun to rise by the time the old man, Lorten, finally let Seth go for the day. Seth was more tired than he had ever imagined possible, but he had learned so much in so short a time. Seth had realized shortly after they began that he was being crash coursed in what it was to be an Earthen. When he’d been by the training yard during the day younger Earthen certainly weren’t being attacked, nor had most of them had any type of Earthen Center. But then Lorten had explained they had no time for finesse. He had to prove for the Council he could access and control what he shouldn’t even have. His tree had disappeared when they were done and while Seth had been worried, the old man had explained that it was a reaction as natural as breathing. Since he no longer needed it, it was gone. Once he was more adept with the Earthen abilities it wouldn’t even appear unless he called it. Despite the trees disappearance his new view of the world remained. One of the first things he’d learned to do was to turn on and off his Earthen sight. While Seth had been working with Lorten, Derrick had training of a different sort. Another swordsman had shown up to train Derrick shortly after Seth had begun working with Lorten and the Planet.

Now that they were done they split from the training yard and Seth walked back to Chase’s house without thinking. It wasn’t until he arrived just out the door that he realized where he was and had stopped. Should he be staying here? After all he was displacing the owner. But then where would he go? He was still a stranger here with no place of his own and he really didn’t want to be near his mother yet. The hangings over the door parted for him as he entered and Midnight slipped in as well to make himself comfortable on some blankets that Chase had apparently set out for him.

Seth told the wolf mentally while at the same time calling out, “Chase?” There was no answer and Seth assumed the Guardian was still out. He went to the bedroom and stepped to the window where the leaves blocked out most of the sun. Seth raised a hand slowly to the leaves level, then mimed lifting the leaves up and they did as bade, opening to let in more light and staying that way. Seth could only laugh to himself. “I wonder if I’m dreaming all this. It’s too weird to be true.”

“So you had fun?” Chase had silently entered the house and was in the doorway to the bedroom, smiling brightly at Seth and he could only guess the man had heard him. The Guardian was as quiet and sneaky as Midnight it seemed. Seth looked over to Chase and could see the other man looked as tired as he felt. He was also covered in a thin layer of dirt as if he’d rolled around on the ground all night.

“Not sure that’s the way I’d put it. It was enlightening however. And really tiring. And I really need to take a shower or something.” Seth hadn’t bathed in any way in many days and he’d worked up a sweat through the night. Chase motioned for Seth to follow him and went to another room adjoined to the bedroom. It was a bathroom of sorts. There was a toilet shaped object with a layer of moss across the top. A cushion? He didn’t want to know where the waste went. However, that wasn’t the best part about the room as Seth’s attention soon turned to the shower causing him to forget his thoughts on the weird toilet.

For the first time since he’d been here he saw something familiar. A modern day metal shower head with plumbing connected to a foot pump and a stone floor that ran off under the house. “It’s only lukewarm but it’s the best thing next to the public baths.” They had passed those on the tour but they’d been blocked off from view by passersby. “The baths are kept heated by some hot springs.”

“This is perfect. How did you get it?”

“I had Derrick bring me most of it the times he came to visit or train. I was able to make the rest with a little help from some Earthen. I hope it meets your approval.”

Seth was just happy to see there was flowing water and some soap. “More than I ever expected.” Chase left and Seth undressed and stepped in, pumping the shower a few times and enjoying the feel of the warm water as it hit him. After almost a minute Seth decided he shouldn’t waste any of the water since Chase would likely want to shower as well. He scrubbed himself down with the soap and pumped the shower a few more times to rinse off. The water was dark after it left his skin at first but it cleared up after the rinse. A towel had appeared just inside the doorway along with some clothes. He hadn’t heard Chase bring it in, but he was getting used to that.

After drying off he donned the pair of shorts and a loose fitting shirt then stepped out. Chase was half laying on the bed, his legs hanging off of the end as he waited patiently. As soon as Seth stepped out Chase sat up and smiled tiredly, “My turn.” Seth instantly felt bad for that first bit of wasted water. It must’ve shown because Chase grinned at him and said, almost teasingly, “Don’t worry, I’ve bathed much more recently than you. And you can’t have used very much of the water by the short time you were in there.” The tone, the way Chase had looked when he said it, it made things flit around in his chest.

Seth was sitting on the edge of the bed when Chase finished and quickly stood when the Guardian exited the bathroom. The words he’d been planning on saying were lost briefly as he stared at the shirtless man. Chase was all lean muscle. Unlike the bulging muscles of Derrick. Chase was thin and toned in a way that Seth could only dream of. “I don’t want to keep taking your bed from you.” Seth managed to say after the momentary lapse. “I can sleep on the floor or…something.”

“I don’t mind. And, well, the bed is big enough for two so if you don’t mind sharing I don’t.” Chases words set Seth’s heart pounding quickly before he shook his head.

“Uh, no. I don’t mind if you don’t.” Seth managed to pull himself together and he shut the leaf blinds from where he stood without even looking at them before climbing into the bed. Chase climbed in the other side and Seth held his breath to calm himself as he closed his eyes, breathing out slowly.

Midnight sounded amused despite his words and Seth could only send a confused thanks. It was only then that he realized what he’d done with the blinds without even thinking about it. Between that knowledge and hearing Chase’s breathing in the bed, next to him, Seth fell asleep with a smile on his face.