02 ~ Adriel and Theran

There was always something special about them - the brightest spirit and the darkest spirit. They were dear friends of mine.

At their formation they were given the titles Adriel and Theran, respectively.

They didn’t have names - not in the way you people assign names, and not in the way I’ve given myself ‘Adam.’

So we shall call them by their titles, but please remember, they were only that: titles.

The time before their formation was a period of considerable darkness. The empties had brought a fight to our Torig that had caused the spirits to lose a large chunk of what once was free land as well as many lives that were taken on that battlefield.

You see, very nearly all of the spirits Torig had made prior had been lost to the empties’ armies. All of the children he had sought out, given breath, and bonded with were lost, and he was alone.

Torig had been devastated that he could not protect his children and his home. Torig mourned for those he lost, and when he awoke from his long slumber he had fallen into what you mortals may call a depression.

Feelings for spirits are not so different from the feelings of you mortals.

Torig may be our creator, a godly being who shapes the world with his whim, but he feels as well. His feelings, however, have a much greater impact on the world around him.

He had moved across the barren, war-torn land and he grieved for those he had failed. The period of sadness seeped into the land and any who were around to feel it could feel his grief too.

Yet Torig was pulled from his grief by the shining of something bright in the distance - something brighter than he had ever witnessed before. He was drawn to the brightness, drawn away from his grief as he sought what energies could possibly make such a bright light.

As he approached though, he found himself bewildered by the smallest collection of energy he had ever laid eyes on.

Normally energy as small as this bright light would be absorbed by other spirits or… in a worse case… the empties. Energy this small could never form a spirit on its own, but this energy was different. This energy was more stable and formed than any other pre-spirit energy before it.

This type of energy would be valuable to have, and many beings had gathered to collect it and add it to themselves so that they might be stronger or in the case of the empties, more sated.

Torig felt an immediate sense of protection over the tiny energy and he was quick to make his presence known. Yet before Torig had arrived to the energy’s defense, the small energy had been repelling away the unwanted attacks with a dark shadow that enveloped it.

It was unheard of.

It was unseen.

And what was more peculiar then that? The energy had called to Torig when Torig was at his lowest so that it could help him.

Energy that was not formed had reached out when it was in need, not for help itself, but to help Torig. The energy had been guarding something important - something that it gave to Torig in that moment. A seed that would later grow into something far bigger than itself: it would grow into you.

Yes you, mortals.

Torig had looked closer at the energy that had uplifted him and realized it was not one set of energy, but two.

Remember how I said it was spectacular? It was impossible and incredible. I cannot even begin to tell you how impossible this should be. Energy, in close quarters, either repels other energy or attracts it to become one.

Energy should not be capable of sitting so close while maintaining two different forms, yet they did. The dark energy was much larger and it protected the small, bright energy. It could’ve easily been mistaken for an empty, but it was far too stable. It was energy that absorbed light and magic, but did not devour it as an empty would.

It is difficult to explain, so please believe me when I express it to be a very different entity.

The two sets of energy coexisted in perfect harmony. The dark energy would keep away the beings attempting to harm the bright energy and the bright energy supplied the dark energy with stability off it’s constantly-emanating radiance.

It was the first and only time Torig ever found two pre-spirits who belonged to one another already together without one absorbing the other first.

Torig's bond to the brightest energy he had ever met had lifted him and reminded him of his purpose, and for that he wished to repay the small, unformed being. Instead of just giving her breath - thus giving her form - he did something he had never, ever done before; something he would do only a handful times more after this point: he imbued a piece of himself into this spirit as he formed her.

She would be entirely stable and require nothing else to be so thanks to this technique. It is a taxing process, and Torig cannot use it lightly as there is only so much of himself that he can give away.

She was small, petite like her energy had been, but she only got brighter and brighter with her form. She was given the affectionate title Adriel by Torig himself. It means daughter of the king.

Daughter of the greatest king she absolutely was.

Of course, Torig could not simply form her without considering the energy that had kept her safe for as long as they had both existed. Torig imbued a piece of himself in this spirit as well, as gratitude for taking care of Adriel, and out of fondness for the dark spirit who was much different from any other.

He was given the title Theranadriel. This title means the one bonded to the daughter of the king.

I've shortened his title to Theran for simplicity, and because I think you mortals have a tale of Adriel and Theran. An incorrect tale, but I'm not here to split hairs. Hopefully you can see why I've stated these are titles and not names. Wouldn't it be weird to call someone 'the one bonded to my great leader' and that would be their name? I digress.

The energies of these two spirits were opposites, yet they were drawn together in a way that energy is not normally. They both were also gifted in a way no other spirit would ever be. Adriel emitted light and created energy from nothing. Theran absorbed light and energy - though not completely. Not like an empty with an appetite. He would store the energy within himself and could use it himself or return it to Adriel - his love - when needed.

Yes, they were quite in love, very deeply so. More than I've ever seen two spirits - or humans, for that matter - in love before. Though I suppose I probably looked similar when I met my other half, but that's another story not for today.

They were two separate, completely stable spirits. They did not require the other to survive, nor were the drawbacks horrible when they were apart like with most bonded spirits. Yet through their bond they were stronger than any other spirit - invincible, even, but we wouldn't figure that out until much later. Becoming bonded between two spirits meant great power, but also consequence when they were not together.

Adriel would become confused and forgetful or struggle with bouts of energy overload which would debilitated her for a time. She was usually fine, but the energy overload was never a pretty thing to watch. It'd be like having magic you cannot control bursting from you at any given moment. It was the drawback of being able to create energy from nothing - she couldn't control when it was created but it was usually emotionally driven.

Theran, on the other hand, would lose touch with himself after long enough apart - become unable to discern emotions apart from one another until he stopped feeling at all. The problem usually came when Theran stopped feeling the will to live without Adriel. He would be unable to feel or sense a situation being too dangerous, nor could he tell if he was injured.

Yet when they were together, Theran absorbed Adriel's extra emotional energy and magic - Adriel never had an energy overload and Theran could experience normal emotions and the benefits that come with them.
In a way, Theran was Adriel's strength and stability, and Adriel was Theran's will and heart.

They were the first two in Torig's Nine. The Nine. Torig's nine generals.

Remember how I said Torig would only imbue a piece of himself in a handful or so more spirits? Those were the Nine. Nine of the most powerful beings that ever lived; Adriel and Theran were the first, and they would lead Torig's armies. They would go on to create and defend the dimension you now call your own. They would give you life.

Perhaps now you're starting to understand why they're so important.
Torig, upon their creation, gifted them with the most powerful weapon in all of the realms I know: the Caldúath. The Caldúath is a staff of unimaginable power that can only be wielded by Theran and Adriel - and the staff reacts differently to both of them depending on who holds it. We will dig more into that later.

They were an odd couple to me. I got on well with Theran especially. I supposed if we used technical human terms, I would've been directly under him in rank within Torig's fighters. Theran was there when I was formed and let's just say that, if I were human, I would've been known for being the one who wins every bar fight. I would also be known as the one who instigates all of them too, but that's technicalities.

What? I wasn't just going to roll over and become a part of another being. Honestly do you think I could survive that? I would've had to do a hostile takeover, it wouldn't have been pretty. I simply brought the fight to others before they brought it to me. I knew their intentions, that's all that matters.

Ah, ahem. We were talking about…? Theran. Right.

He was quieter and calmer than most, his emotions were difficult to read, but I appreciated that as it's exhausting maintaining a state of awareness amongst spirits you’re in close-quarters with. Some others struggled to understand where they stood with him given he never revealed his emotional state outwardly, but honestly he really wasn't that difficult to understand. Adriel happy? Theran happy. Adriel sad? Theran not happy. See? Easy.

Adriel was another story entirely. She was much more open and energetic. Spirits don't speak like you mortals do, but let's say if we did, she'd be the one who talks a lot. Unlike her other half she was… well… she’s the kind of being you’re always aware of, like it or not. She couldn’t control how bright she was, or the fact that anyone within a mountain’s width distance could probably sense her joy, her sorrow, and her joy once again as she flashed between her emotional states fairly quickly some days.
Her empathy and compassion is what separated her, though. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone more kind or thoughtful than her. She’s the type to give to others beyond what is reasonable; if she wasn’t tempered by Theran looking out for her best interest she would’ve given and given until there was nothing left of her - not even dust, as she would’ve given that away too to some… poor sod that needed it.

I used to travel with them all the time - that’s how I really got to know them. Their “jobs” in the Spirit Realm was to… well I suppose you might call it patrolling but that just sounds ridiculous. They traveled and they never stopped, minus once after the Battle for Atalan which I’ll likely tell you about at a later point. They went from settlement to settlement, helping to build spirits or fight empties or protect smaller spirits. This was just what they did - what we did. I was always with them; it was usually Adriel, Theran, myself and Torig in the periods he was wakeful and not slumbering. We’d occasionally get others to tag along with us, but for the most part it was just us - and eventually my nyenni.

I guess… I should give her a name too? I mean… I can’t imagine she won’t come up considering what she means to me.

We’ll call her Myra.

It means precious one, so it’s only fitting of her. She is the most precious to me.

I actually met her because of Adriel.

She’s been gone for two human weeks - taken by a band of insolent---agh.

I just want her back, but I don’t even know where to look anymore, and Torig is not yet awake to help me find her.

It’s a complicated state of affairs but… maybe in a strange way this will help me find her. It’s certainly keeping me from losing my mind.

Any questions so far?
No? Good. Let's... let's carry on.

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~ Next Chapter ~