Chapter 8: The Candle Ignited – Chapter 8

Seda rose relatively early given the events of the previous day. As he stripped the sheets from his body, he took a moment to remember where exactly he was. Then, upon recalling that he was, in fact, at the bottom of a crater that dug itself into a cliff of which he had no recollection of climbing, he got out of bed and stretched. As he lifted his arms into the air, he inhaled, exhaling as he put his arms back to his sides.

"Woah!" he jumped back with fright, having just noticed the man, who still sat on the bench as he was doing the night before. "Did you sit there all night?" he asked.

The man shifted his head and blinked a few times, his eyes straining from staring at the flames. "Is it morning already?" He got up from the bench and let out a sigh. Then, he began walking over to his predecessor, who still lay in bed.

"Did you not sleep at all?" questioned Seda.

"No, no. I don't need it," replied the man.

Seda rubbed his face, "Yeah well, I guess I should've expected that given the rest of your powers. Do you mind making a big pitcher of water for me? Oh, and a glass too?"

The man checked the breathing of the woman, "Of course." Sure enough, as the man swished his finger through the air, a pitcher of water complete with an intricately patterned glass materialized onto the wooden bench.

"Thanks," said Seda, pouring himself some water.

The man continued checking for signs of consciousness, but still, they eluded him. He shook his head in dissatisfaction, then proceeded over to the woman he had personally created and performed the same checks. This one too, remained asleep. He then did the same for his created man, who, yet again, was not to be roused.

As he walked back into the crater clearing, he began to talk with Seda, who was continuously refreshing himself with water, "It's no good," the man said, "none of them even move, though they all still breathe."

"I wonder when they'll stir," replied Seda. "After all, I need to get back home to my family, and unless you have the power to do that, I'm stuck waiting for her," he nodded towards the man's predecessor.

"She will wake eventually," said the man, "even if the others don't. She just needs time to recover."

"If she doesn't," replied Seda, "then you're going to have to figure out how to send me back."

The man paused mid-stride and peered at Seda, "You know I can't do that," stated the man, "You will stay until she delivers unto me your purpose."

"My purpose?" Seda retorted, "What if I don't have a purpose. Maybe she just happened to grab onto me while in that crack you were talking about."

The man replied adamantly, "No, you have a purpose. Before she created the crack, she told me she was going to show me how burdensome it was to affect a universe not her own so I would learn."

Seda rolled his eyes, "Well she sure accomplished that, didn't she?"

"Why are you so impatient all of a sudden? We were sat around a fire enjoying a fine meal but a few hours ago, what happened while you were sleeping to make you like this?"

"I'm a product of my circumstances. Certainly, what we did was enjoyable, you showed me things I had never seen before, things I never thought were even possible, but I have my own responsibilities. I can't just sit here for days on end waiting for that woman to wake up. I have a family to feed and take care of. If I'm not back within the week, they're going to starve!"

"You have a week then!" argued the man.

"That's not the point!" shouted Seda, "I need to know that I can be back there before they perish. A week is the limit, not the minimum."

The man considered Seda's words, but still pressed on, "Yet I cannot offer you the reassurance you seek. I know not how to affect a universe not my own, nor create a crack in one like she did. I cannot even change you, as I lack the capabilities to do with you what I please. Yet, you still insist that I seem to be some kind of powerful creature, capable of all things, a monkey to dance around as you wish, a servant to fetch water when you thirst, a waiter to cater to your every demand. I am not. I am a Keeper, a newborn one, but a Keeper, nonetheless. I cannot guarantee your return in a timely manner, but I can guarantee your return after you have served your purpose, whatever and whenever that may be."

The two men paused in their arguing, both taking into account the other's perspective, neither fully understanding the either, but with enough respect to set aside the topic, at least for this particular morning.

The man, as he had done for Seda, summoned a glass of intricate make, this time the water already in it. As he drank from the glass, Seda spoke, "Then, what are we to do in the meantime? Sit around the fire telling stories for however long it takes?"

The man waited to answer, finishing his glass in one set of gulps before pausing to stare at his predecessor. After a few moments, he turned back to face Seda and answered his questions, "It depends on what you wish to do. As you've seen, I can make it so. If you desire a hunt, I can make the animal to hunt and the weapon to hunt with. If you desire to fish or farm, I can do those too. As for me, I will continue my training and one day create a man fully like yourself – living, breathing, conscious, talking, arguing."

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"Fine, it's not as though I was expecting much else anyway," Seda responded. He paused, thinking about what it was he desired. "Make me a grand lake, filled to the brim with all kinds of fish, varying their size and strength greatly. And give me a boat with which I can row to the center of that lake, whereby I can sit atop a whirlpool and remain completely still and undisturbed. Make the wind gentle, and the Sun bright, without a predator to hunt me – a place to fish and rest in peace."

"Then come," replied the man, making his way towards the stairs. "You are going to judge my creation¸ and specify it to be changed as you wish."

Seda followed him, "You accuse me of treating you like a servant, yet you implore me to use you as I like."

The man paused on the steps and turned back to face Seda, "If I must be a slave to improve my skills as a creator, then I would do so." Seda acknowledged the words with his silence, and both men continued up the crater, reaching the cliff's peak in short order.

As the men stared out over the world, the man swung his hand across his body, gesturing to the land below, "The lake is yours to place. Where would you like it?" he asked Seda.

Seda walked around the overlook, taking in the whole of the world as he considered the spot to be made his own. He skirted along the edge of the crater as he gestured and talked to himself, trying to determine the best spot for the lake.

After a minute or two, he had completed his round and again looked out over the town and the alpine forest in which it resided. "There," he pointed, "to the left of the town. That way I get to see some signs of civilization on my way over and give future townspeople an immediate place for food and relaxation."

The man raised his arm, holding it broadly over the entirety of the view. Then, he swept it across in one, gradual motion, making a grand lake appear as he did so. "It is made so," he said, "the lake at least. I still have to create the fish, but that shall be done when we arrive." He kicked his leg out over the edge of the cliff, a wide staircase appearing as he did so, which stretched all the way to the forest floor below.

While the man set on the journey down, Seda remained at the top, taking in the man's seemingly unlimited power. To him, it appeared as if the man could come to do anything, except return him home, in that regard, he didn't even seem willing to try.

After a minute or two of peace, Seda shouted down to the man, "Is there no easier way to get down?"

"For me, yes," he responded back. "For you, not safely."

"What? How would you get down in a way that I could not?" he asked.

"Like this," replied the man, as he sat down upon a step. With a stomp of his feet, the hundreds of steps that still remained below him transformed into smooth stone, turning into a kind of slide which propelled the man downwards.

As the man grew further and further away, Seda just watched from a distance. "I see," he said to himself. After a few seconds, the slide was transfigured once again into steps, which Seda used to begin his way down.

By the time Seda had reached the bottom, the Sun was already high in the sky, and he was dripping with sweat. The man, meanwhile, sat idly in the shade of a tall fir tree, having watched Seda's descent.

Seda stumbled over to the man, "Water…" he mumbled, his voice cracking as he did so, "I need water." The man stood up from his shady spot and flicked his wrist. With a splash, a large puddle of cold water came splattering down on Seda, drenching him. The weight of the puddle was so heavy on his wearied shoulders that it caused him to drop to his knees, "That's not what I meant you bastard," he said, adopting a half-joking tone.

The man stood above him, raising his hand as if preparing to hit him. He swung his hand down next to Seda's face, causing a full waterskin to appear beside him.

"You are in quite the mood today," Seda said, catching his breath.

"Thanks," the man replied, "I'm going to need you to stand up."

Seda slowly lifted his head to look at the man, then did as he was told, taking the waterskin with him. As the man snapped his fingers, a strong gust of warm wind blew across Seda, beginning to dry him.

"I guess I doused you better than I thought," the man said. Seda ignored him, continuing to drink his water and shuffling around as necessary to dry each and every one of his parts.

After a few more minutes, Seda became satisfied with the state of his wetness, and the pair began their walk towards the lake, the man leading them.

As the men walked, Seda adopted a confused look. The terrain was flat, strangely so. And even though the floor was littered with leaves and bushes, the forest itself felt abandoned of all life. Not even the buzzing of insects could be heard as they trekked on, and only the wind ever dared to interrupt their silence.

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