bound to this world. Your connection to this place binds your spirit to the very heart of the earth. Use that connection to attain your true power, and none can stand against you.”
“How do I do that?” Gewey felt the touch of his father. It felt as if love it was a tangible thing he could see and taste. Only his bond with Kaylia could compare. “Can you teach me?”
“No one can teach you this.” He withdrew his hand, reached inside his robe, and pulled out a small silver chain with a medallion the size of a gold piece attached. On it was carved the symbol of Gerath. “In a few moments I will empty myself into this. From that moment on I will cease to be, yet my power will remain. Wear it, and my strength will pass to you.”
“What do you mean ‘you will cease to be?’” he asked.
“The part of me I left behind...its will and its mind will be gone.” He handed Gewey the medallion. A light flashed and a table appeared beside him. On the table rested a bow, a dagger and a staff, all gleaming white. “Take these. They are the tools of Vismal, crafted by my own hands. Give them to those whom you love and trust, and your power will aid them. But choose carefully, for once given they will only serve that master.” He smiled a sad smile. “I have little else to give you. Most of what I am has been trapped by the betrayer. What you see is a shadow. But even the shadow of our kind carries great power. Use that power so that you may better understand what you must do.”
“Why not just tell me?” he cried. “Why not show me?”
“I cannot,” he replied. “Or all will be for naught. You must discover your power on your own. I can only say that you have begun rightly. I sense mortal teachings within you. They can give you what we never could.” He staggered back. Gewey reached out to catch his arm, but his hand passed as though a mist. “My time is short. The moment you stepped within these walls, I began to fade. My knowledge does not extend beyond the moment I was put here, and that slips away from me with each passing second.”
“But I have so many questions,” said Gewey. “Please, I must know more.”
Gerath's form began to ripple and fade. “Know that you have your father’s love, and that I await you even now.” He gave Gewey one last loving smile. “I have only one more thing to give...your name.”
“My name?” Gewey's mind raced.
“Yes,” Gerath replied. “It is the name given to you by a father whose worst crime was to sacrifice you to a world of peril and hardship, in order to undo what he cannot.” He faded completely. “Darshan.”
Gewey stood in stunned silence for a moment. “Darshan,” he whispered.
He approached the table and examined the weapons. The dagger was sheathed in an ivory scabbard, etched with the symbol of Gerath. The hilt was wrapped in white leather and crowned with a single diamond. The bow, short and impossibly thin as to be certain to break if drawn, though Gewey was sure it would not. The staff was as long as he was tall, and three snakes had been carved to coil their way up its length. Gewey reach down and gathered them in his arms. The table faded, and he found himself in a large, empty room. A glow radiated from bronze plates on the walls and he could see the silver door at the far end. Carefully cradling the weapons and holding tight to the medallion, he walked to the door, and pulled it open. There stood Pali and Aaliyah.
Aaliyah beamed and threw her arms around him, nearly causing him to drop everything. ”Thank the Creator. When you vanished, I feared the worst.”
“We may be facing the worst,” said Gewey. “If what I was told is true.”
“What are those?” asked Pali, pointing at the weapons.
“Gifts,” Gewey replied. “Gifts from Gerath.” He recounted his experience, leaving out that he was the son of Gerath, as he was unsure how Pali would react.
“Darshan?” asked Aaliyah, when he finished. “You are called Darshan?”
Gewey nodded. “I know you call me Shivis Mol. Have you heard this before?”
“It means ‘the bringer of knowledge,’” Aaliyah replied. “Shivis Mol is more a title than a name, given to the one who will bring healing to the world.”
Gewey