The Beast and The Brain.

We took off running after we were sure Gwen had made it safely back over the border. The shouts weren’t getting any louder, but that didn’t ease our fears. We pushed on with a renewed sense of determination. I wasn’t sure how much land the Wisdom owned; I didn’t know where the boarders of his land ended or began. I wasn’t sure how far we had to go until we would finally reach his home, but J never slowed down, so I didn’t either.

By the time J finally stopped I kneeled with exhaustion. My lungs heaved for air and my sides were aching with stitches. We took a few minutes and caught our breath. “I don’t hear anything anymore…” I gasped. J just nodded her head.

“We still have a few miles. Come on.” She finally stood up straight and headed off at a fast walk. I quickly got to my feet and followed. Already I could feel my body rejuvenating, but I could feel my energy sapping. I needed to eat more.

It was late in the night when we finally came to a small river. J stood on the bank, “It’s shallow enough to walk across, watch your footing.” J went first, she slid down the bank and the water instantly swallowed up her calves. She shuffled her way across the slippery rocks I waited until she was half way across before I followed. I slid down the small bank and splashed into the water. My boots were high enough to keep my feet from getting wet but the rocks were slick with algae. J was just at the other side when her food slipped I reached out, like I could actually catch her from this far, but a hand shot out of the darkness and caught her for me.

I grabbed my sword and it sang when it was released from its sheath. “My father told me I would find you here.”

J was helped onto the bank and I came forward quicker but still careful of the rocks. “But the sword away Asher, it’s alright.”

I stopped and sheathed my sword. “Who are you?”

A young man stepped out of the darkness of the woods so I could see him. He wore gray clothing with a knife at his waist. “I am the Wisdoms son, come, I will take you to him.”
I finished crossing the river and J helped me up the bank and finally got a closer look at the Wisdoms son. He was young, younger than I thought he would be, maybe sixteen, he had long blonde hair and hands that had seen hard work. His face was thin and all angles. He held his hand out to me, a peace gesture. I took it. We had enough enemies.

“I’m sorry for startling you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I muttered

“If you follow me, my father is expecting you.”

He led us through the woods without any clear path, but he didn’t hesitate once in his steps. But it wasn’t long before the familiar smell of wood smoke filled my nose and the faint hint of light twinkled between the trees. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting of the Wisdom and where he lived, but this wasn’t it. The hut was small, and in a poor state of repair. The mud was cracked and the smoke poured out the top from a small hole and the small circular windows had no glass, just wood shutters to close when it got to cold.
I looked at J, but she was didn’t notice, she was focusing on the Wisdoms son. “My father will see you now.”

I stepped forward but J held her hand out. “No, I’ll go alone.”

“I’m sorry J, but Asher was expected as well.” J raised her eyebrows, she obviously didn’t expect that.

“Very well…”

We stepped into the hut. It was surprisingly bright from the dozens of candles all around and the fire in the middle. J bowed at her waist and I did the same, “That is unnecessary J, please sit down, help yourselves to some stew.”

“We aren’t hungry, thank you.” J took a seat on an open bed and I sat next to her. The Wisdom was sitting in the shadows across the hut and suddenly my stomach was full of nerves. But why should it be? J said this man wasn’t our enemy. I enhanced my vision so I could see the Wisdom, but before I got a change he held up his hand.

“There is no need Asher Cole, I have nothing to hide from you.” He stood up and came into the light where we could see him. My mouth dropped slightly, the entire time I pictured the Wisdom to be a bend old man with silver white hair and knobby hands, perhaps even blind or slightly insane. He was none of these; he was maybe forty years old. His hair was blonde but even in this light I could tell it was turning gray. Even though he was young, there were signs of stress in his eyes and features. His clothes looked like he hadn’t found time to mend them in a while.

“You know my name?” I probably shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Of course I know your name, I also know your horse’s name, your family’s name, and you’re first pets’ name. But that isn’t important.” He sat down at the small table where a cluster of candles were lit. He looked at J. “It’s been a while since I saw you last. You were a little older than my son I believe when you dragged yourself to my door begging for help.”

I glanced at J but she was looking intently at the Wisdom. “You would know.” She said tightly.

“Yes I would, and now you have come back for my help again.”

J laced her fingers together tightly. “I didn’t have a lot of options.”

The Wisdom snorted, “Oh you have plenty of options, just none that you want to accept. You came here hoping that I would give you an answer you have not seen yourself, but I’m afraid you will be disappointed. What you seek cannot be found while the leader of the Cult lives. You’ve always known this. I told you as much that day you came to my doorstep, you refused to listen then and the question is will you listen now?”

J looked away into the fire but I kept my eyes on the Wisdom, there was something very intimidating about him, like the secrets of the world has been laid at his feet for him to see. “I don’t know what else I can do.”

“Then listen.” The Wisdom said simply. “I told you when you first came to me that if you ran they would hunt, and they would never stop. But you refused to listen, so you ran, thinking you could outsmart them. What has that brought you? Nothing but misery, and now you’ve come back, hoping for a different answer, but I tell you this now. The leader of the Cult must die before you find the happiness and peace you seek.”

J bowed her head. “How is that possible? It doesn’t make sense.”

“It doesn’t make sense to you right now because you haven’t let go, you haven’t opened your eyes and seen what is right in front of you. Until you clear your head, until you let go you will not see it.”

J’s hands balled into fists. “What you ask is impossible, even if I wanted to how would I get into the swamp?”

“Excuses; if you wanted to you could find a way.” The Wisdom looked at me then smiled sympathetically. “Well Asher I must say I do not envy you or pity you. Your destiny is greater than any I could have imagined and the most difficult, yet I know out of anyone you have the heart and will to overcome the odds.” He glanced at J. “You’ve stuck with her all this time without realizing why. You’ve put up with the lies, the schemes, and the insults. You’ve been kept in the dark and dragged around like an animal and yet your heart remains steadfast and strong. I think it’s time you’ve gotten some answers. You’ve deserved them since the day you escaped from your tower.”

I straightened up, that was exactly what I wanted. “First I will start with the basics that you have been curious about. I am what everyone calls the Wisdom, there is only one of us alive at any given time, and it has always been the power of my family, straight back through the generations. When I die, the power will awaken in my first born son. My power allows me the knowledge of the world, all the way back through the history of the generations. I cannot read minds like J, but I know the actions and history of every person at any given time. All I have to do is focus.”

I tried to wrap my mind around such a power. What would it be like to know everyone’s move at any time? I could know my enemies plans as they made them, even from across the world. To know all the history of the past, it would be too much.

“Is it a burden?” I asked.

He nodded. “When my father breathed his last breath I knew the power would awaken. I had been taught and trained up until that moment, but nothing could have prepared me. To hold such a vast knowledge takes a toll on a man, in both mind and physical. My brain feels too big and stretch for my skull every moment of the day. Sometimes the information pours in so rapidly that I cannot even move, there are even times that I am unaware of my own life around me. The stress of it all has aged me more than I care to say, and on top of the knowledge of the world around me I knew what happened hundreds of years ago. To hold such events in my head, well, I cannot accurately describe it.”

I nodded my head. “So…” I swallowed. “If I asked, what my family was doing right now…?” I couldn’t even finish my sentence, the thought of being able to ‘look’ into my family’s life each day. I could scarcely even hope for something like that.

The Wisdom gave me a sad sort of smile, a few seconds passed then he finally spoke. “The twins had their birthday yesterday, nine years old. Your father gave them each a horse, which today he was teaching them pointers on how to ride and treat them. He gets frustrated with they don’t listen and fall off, but he cannot stay angry at them for long. Your mother watched them from the window in the kitchen that overlooks the back pastures. There were leftovers from the birthday dinner yesterday but she was making your fathers favorite desert. When she watched the twins and your father she touched the necklace around her neck and whispered the name of her eldest son…”

Tears are streaming down my face and dropping onto the floor. I’m not sure when they started falling but I don’t make a move to wipe them away. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said anything.”

I shake my head. “No, thank you. I-I wanted to hear…”

“I will continue then. The next thing I wish to tell you has to do with the two of you, and in order for you to understand I must first tell you a bit of history. You see Asher; you are the first Beast to be able to turn into a dragon for almost three hundred years. It is a rare and powerful gift and you are the perfect person to have it. A Beast is a powerful ability to hold, and some are more powerful than others. This you know, some turn into birds, others turn into predators, some into animals of prey, and each person must choose what to do with their gifts. To be able to turn into a dragon, well, that is the most powerful creature of all. A person with a black heart could choose to burn the forests and destroy villages and cities, but a person like you, a person with a surprisingly kind heart could use that gift to change the world, and bring peace.

“But you also know that Beasts have weaknesses, particularly to metal. No one knows why, not even me, why chains can withhold a Beast from being able to transform. You also must be well nourished to keep your strength and to be able to turn, without nutrition your body becomes weak and your power all but useless. Perhaps its fate that gave Beast and Brains their weaknesses, knowing that if they had no limits they would become too powerful.” The Wisdom gave J and I glace then continued. “What you don’t know, is something that has nearly been lost through history. When a Beast and a Brain join, their powers begin to connect, and when they finally do their powers strengthen and grow into new heights, only achieved through one another. It is a connection that is both feared and longed for, because if unsuccessful, the results can be devastating, even fatal.”

“What are you trying to say?” J demanded.

“I’m saying that if and Beast and Brain’s powers connect, they will become even more powerful than they can imagine. But if they cannot, then they could die, or be left with nothing but a ghost of their powers. It’s a dangerous connection, and few are hardly ever made.”

J and I looked at one another, was it possible that J and I were…? I shook my head. “Are you telling me that J and I could connect powers?”

“No.” The Wisdom said simply and I let out a sigh. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to feel relieved but I didn’t want that kind of thing held over my head. “I’m saying that you have already begun.”