The Talent

Vanitur knocked on the door ecstatically. What would the Elder think and say when he learned he had climbed the mountain? The door was ornately carved from a red wood. It had various sigils written around it, supposedly to protect the house it was attached to. The house itself was small, but well-built and colorful, covered in vibrant blue and green sigils on brown wood, a semicircle dome, cut in half by a cave system that shot out of the ground. Only through the elder’s home could one enter the Temple of the Heart. That responsibility made the house befitting only for the village Elder.

It wasn’t long before an old, stooped man opened the door. He hunched his weight over onto a cane, arching a hunch in his back. He had a long grizzly beard and a thin crop of wispy white hair. He had on beige pants and a blue tunic, both covered in various designs and seals.

“Oi, Van, good te see ye agin so soon. Why have ye come to bother te old coot agin? Have ye finally climbed yer mountain?” the old man laughed as he saw Van’s face. Despite his age, the elder was quite active and quick witted. He had already figured out why Vanitur was here.

“How did you know? I haven’t said anything yet!” Van exclaimed, as the surprise dawned across his face like the morning sun over the valley.

“It ain’t hard. Just looking at te giant grin o’ yers is enough. Ye ain’t too good at secrets, either,” the Elder mocked. “Well, come in.” The Elder ushered Van inside into a large but cozy room. The center of the room had a fire pit, surrounded by red and brown stones in an alternating pattern, and a hood chimney shot up through the house above the fire. There were wooden seats and tables throughout the room, most facing the fire. Toward the left of the room was a table and few chairs, including a larger chair customized for the chief himself. Toward the right of the room there were various screens, most likely used to separate the chief’s living spaces from the rest of the area. The walls were brown wood carefully and intricately drawn on, similar to their outward facing sides, and the ceiling was dark beige from the wooden shingles. The ground was packed dirt, with rugs and mats strewn about for people to walk on. Tapestries from various other villages and areas hanged from the ceiling, creating a beautiful array from different cultures. But it was the back of the room that grabbed Van’s attention most. There was a large map of the surrounding lands, covered with strings and pins to mark countries and villages, trade routes and dangerous places. However, behind the map stood a large intricately carved stone door. The dark blue stone was 7 feet high, being curved and rounded at the top to form a flat dome. There were designs along the door depicting people doing great things. Some seemed to fly, while others seemed to control fire, others shooting lightning from their hands. This was the Door of Talent, the only entrance to the Temple of the Heart. Newfound Skybreakers would enter it and receive their talents.

“Tis a beauty, ain’t it, Van?” asked the elder. Just now did Van realize that the elder was watching him, as Van was busy observing the door. “Ye will walk through te door pretty soon, m’boy. Just a matteh oh when now. I’m a thinkin’ tomorrow, but let’s not be hasty. When do ye think ye’ll be ready to enter into te temple?”

“Tomorrow works,” Van said with little hesitation. He had wanted to enter the temple all his life, and now he was finally able to. “No sense wasting time, right?”

“I see yer point, m’boy. Keep in mind, cause dis is such short notice, ye won’t have an intro ceremony,” cautioned the old man.

“I know. When should I come in the morning?” replied Van.

He didn’t sleep well, and having to wake up before dawn to return to the door didn’t help. All that ran through his head at the wee hours was “Why would anyone design a door that only opened at dawn?” Lumbering through the barren streets, Van’s excitement slowly overtook his lethargy, and by the time he reached the Elder’s house, not just did the sun appear, but so did Van’s happy mood.

“Yer late, Van. Ye need to sleep a bit less m’boy, ye aint gonna grow taller,” mocked the Old Man impatiently. “Now get ye into the temple. It won’t be open forever and I gotta organize yer party.” Van hastily walked through the house and around the fire pit and map, but hesitated at the door. It was different. The windows from the house were perfectly placed, and the dawn’s light flowed right onto the door, showing an odd protrusion Van didn’t notice earlier. Slowly, Van grabbed the door handle, and pulled it open to step inside.

The door led to a long, azure hallway with stairs going down deep into the earth. The floor was tiled with dark and darker blue tiles, and pillars towered overhead. Various gemstones radiated rainbows of colorful light, illuminating the hallway. A large room opened at the end of the hallway, like a cavern.

The room wasn’t a room, but a ravine glowing with the enchanting rainbows of the stones all along the sides. There was no visible bottom to the ravine, but an impressive cerulean stone palace floated in the middle, held in place by several golden chains spread out in multiple directions. The stairs descended into the ravine and connected to the sanctum’s main hall.

The hall was even more majestic than the temple, being illuminated from the various gemstones, and the rainbow light dancing through the bare windows along the walls. At the end of the hall were several doors, leading to the rest of the palace, but what Van needed stood before him. Pedestals were spread out throughout the room, each illuminating an object floating above them. No two objects were the same. One was a feather, another a small blue flame, and yet more existed. Some were large, such as the sword, while others (were) small, like a single bell. But none seemed to radiate as Van walked past.

The elder had told him that his gift would react with his talent when he got near to it, but he had yet to see anything. If anything happened, they shirked away from him, as if specifically denying his presence. He wandered around, watching as each gift failed him. The feather fell and he knew he wouldn’t fly, and the snowflake melted, warning him of his lack of cryokinesis. Van began to be disheartened. But suddenly, he heard a crackling behind him. Far behind him, at the end of the hall near the doors, was a small blue orb. It seemed to float upward, as if summoning him. Cautiously, he walked forward, and the crackling grew in volume and intensity. He had never heard of this gift before, not even in the records of past skybreakers. Not one person mentioned it. Still, he continued. As he stepped right in front of the pedestal, a burst of thunder shook the temple, echoing through the halls. Startled, Van slowly outstretched his hand. Almost immediately, a bolt of lightning bridged the gap between his hand and the small blue orb. Thunder roared from around him, and Van felt electricity span his entire body, coursing through his veins and into his heart. After that, the blue orb descended and rested on the pedestal, and the lightning stopped.

 Somewhat confused on what just occured, Van turned and punched the air. Instantly a burst of electricity shot out of his hand and arched through the pedestals and into the wall. Oddly enough, the lightning cackled but never broke into thunder. Needless to say, the palace quaked from the blow and began to sway slightly. “Woah, I could get used to this, now how to control it,” Van thought to himself as he turned back to the stairs.