I SEE YOU, EXISTENCE! I SEE YOUR FAILURE! I would laugh if it still made sense. Hear me... answer me Existence... please...

A noise in the void

For the first time since her arrival in this world, she felt good. Of course, everything is relative, she felt good as long as she was rested, nourished and if one ignored the nightmares that sleep brought her. She still didn't accept her situation but she was pragmatic enough to adapt to her new environment. So when the young Eldar came in the morning after a hearty breakfast served in the common room next to their room to ask her if she wanted to accompany her, she accepted, without even glancing at her comrades who were still present and were about to leave for their adventure.

Now she was walking in a corridor of the palace that was unknown to her and a heavy silence surrounded them. They had walked for many minutes, climbed many steps and descended just as many, enough for Leila to start getting tired. Neither of the young women had said a word since leaving the wing they had been granted. So Leila was about to awkwardly initiate the conversion when the Eldar caught her off guard.

- The other human told me that you have a passion for archery and that you are among the best in your class," said Zarune, "and I saw your interest in my bow.

Taken aback at first, Leila recovered and replied tartly:

- Is that what he said? Perhaps he should learn to talk less and shut up more.

As soon as those words left her mouth, she regretted them. She was supposed to make friends with her, not alienate her starting at their first conversation. But against all odds, far from glaring at her for her tone, she gave her a nice smile.

- I agree, he talks too much. Nevertheless, I am curious to see the level of one of the best archers of your people.

- That's an exaggeration, there are many people much more talented than me.

- Well, I suggest you give me a presentation of your talents, I happen to be a very good archer myself, so I suggest you test our respective skills.

Far from the cold looks she expected, she saw a flame shine in the silver eyes of the Eldar she knew well. It was the same one that shone in her own eyes before every competition.

- It would be a pleasure, there's just one little problem, I don't have a bow and arrow.

- That's not a problem, I have everything I need," she answered as she opened the door to the training room.

This one was much larger than the ones they had been allocated, it consisted of a large space in the middle of the room, with practice targets along the back wall facing the door. To the left were two large windows that afforded a splendid view of the majesty of the Eldar city. From the view, the training room must have been about halfway up the main tower. On the right wall, all along the wall, was an assortment of weapons of all kinds.

At first surprised, Leila pulled herself together and walked with Zarune towards this armoury-like arrangement of weapons. The entire right side of the flat was a motley collection of armour, swords, daggers, and artefacts of all kinds that Leila would be hard-pressed to describe or even give the exact purpose of, but most of all an impressive collection of bows of all shapes and sizes that covered half the wall from the corner of the wall to a door that opened into the rest of the training room. The room was otherwise occupied with some Eldar training. The same guys who had accompanied them to the throne room.

As they entered, they stopped to observe them, well, her, as if she might attack them at any moment.

- Don't mind the silver shields," Zarune said over her shoulder. They're like that with everyone. But be careful not to cut yourself on the weapons, they're sharp, pointing to the arsenal with her chin.

Taking care not to touch anything, Leila made her way through the junk that was this part of the training room. Once she got close to the wall she finally allowed herself to relax and observe this incredible collection.

- Choose the one that suits you best. I have a weakness for the Valasian," she said, picking up a longbow made of a shiny white wood that was unknown to her.

After these few words, Leila glanced at the many bows that were present, hesitating on which to choose. Well, it wasn't quite true, if she were, to be honest, she would have to admit that she knew exactly which bow would suit her. In truth she had spotted it from her entry in the training room, it was like a beacon on a night, it seemed to glow, a song she could hardly describe seemed to emanate from it, it was the same one Zarune had worn when they first met. As she approached it the song she heard as soon as she laid eyes on it began to trumpet, the closer she brought her hand to the bow the more deafening it became. And again she heard it, it was a song of pain and suffering, a song of what was and what will be no more, of loneliness and abandonment, of destruction and hate.

And finally, when she laid her hands on him everything stopped. It was as if she had just come out of a particularly painful, but a fascinating dream, one of those dreams which, with the frightening understanding one possesses just after waking up, provided the answers that a soul in perdition asks itself, an absolute understanding that quickly disappears, as quickly as an intense dream forgotten as soon as one is fully awake. And then she said in a whisper.

- This one, this is the one that suits me.

In the silence that followed these words, Leila turned to find Zarune looking at her intently with his strange silver eyes.

- Really? she said in a strange tone. When Leila nodded, Zarune added as if to herself, perhaps Lenael was not mistaken after all.

- What do you mean? Leila asked in a hushed tone, still reeling from the strange experience she had just had.

- This is Dune Fallen, the last of Leomer's handcrafted works. According to legend, it is made from the tears of despair of the God of the craftsmen when he saw the wonders of our people sink into the fire and destruction carried by humans. It is the last gift he gave us in the hope that the invaders would be repelled on their ship... Unfortunately, his wish was not granted.

At the icy rage she saw in the Eldar's eyes, Leila shivered, and gently put the bow down with a twinge of pain.

- If it's such a precious object of your people, then I'll...

- No," she cut her off. I told you to take the bow that suits you best, and if it's this one then take it. But be careful, it's an artefact of power and it's very powerful.

After a short silence, Leila nodded and took it back before thanking her.

- Well, thanks, I'll take care of it.

With a smile, Zarune admitted to her.

- I'm rather surprised you chose it, you see more than your untrained human eyes should. If you didn't have the gifts that Lenael lends you, you would have seen him as an ordinary bow, and a bad one at that," she added jokingly.

- Gifts," she asked in amazement. What gifts?

- You know," Zarune said carelessly. We talked about it yesterday, about you and your companions having an extended prism. Anyway, let's leave that to the Weavers, today you're going to show me your arching skills," she said, the flame of competition reigniting in her eyes.

*

The room was a cross between a classroom and a library with a dash of mad scientist's lair. Benches with tables were arranged in the centre of the room, which was surrounded by bookcases where maps and scrolls stuck to the walls written in different languages, which Jonah managed to understand to his surprise. But the strangest thing about the room was the presence of oblong, round and square-shaped objects that he would be hard-pressed to know both what they were for and how to use them.

- Perception of your surroundings is the key to mastering weaving. You must understand what is around you and what you can change, not by force but by guiding the flows that are already there. Like a farmer irrigating his fields, you are only opening a new road to the power of water. Water does not need a man to continue its journey, it seeps in where the path is open, accessible to it. Nature needs neither order nor limits. Its power cannot be contained, it can only be guided.

While declaiming her speech in a learned tone, Lenael walked slowly across the room, her right hand moving slowly in front of him like a conductor, an opalescent mist seeming to dance around him, following her every movement.

Jonah thought he perceived a sort of line that the mist followed, like a new canal that had opened its gates, leaving the water free to fill this new route.

- And that is the role of a weaver, to guide the forces that already exist to where he wants them to be. And so, achieve what you want. But first, you have to understand what you are looking for. Heat, or fire?

From his left hand was visible a haze of heat as seen in the hottest of summers, from his right hand a small flame was flying over his palm.

- Both can warm you up of course, but fire can also burn, while heat can suffocate and both can destroy. What do you want? If you seek heat but invoke fire it may burn you if you are not careful. Understanding what you want and perceiving what can be guided to achieve it will enable you to reach your goal. If you get it wrong you risk unleashing a power you did not intend, and this is often destructive.

After a short silence, he resumed, giving a sharp look to his two new apprentices. They were standing side by side in the middle of the room and were the target of the gaze of the dozen or so Eldar present, which to Jonah's surprise was not hostile for most of them but rather curious.

- Here, can you tell me how I was able to create this mist of warmth and this flame in the palm of my hand? Without forcing to be what is not.

The tone used reminded Jonah of his chemistry teacher when he asked them to explain why such a process had such a result. This made him very tense, he was not very good at chemistry.

But this worry was useless because her classmate, without taking exception, answered her very calmly.

- For the heat mist you have assembled the heat present in the room in a single point. The air-cooled as soon as it appeared. For the flame... after a moment's hesitation she said, I'm not sure but... uh... you burned the oxygen right?

- Oxygen? asked Lenael perplexed.

- Erm... The...

- An element in the air that allows us to breathe and that fire feeds on," Jonah said, coming to her aid.

Aurora gave him a grateful look, and understanding dawned in Lenael's eyes.

- Brilliant, very brilliant. I didn't expect you to understand so quickly," he said, impressed, looking at Aurora.

She blushed, and said with a big smile:

- Thank you, but it's not as if I saw what you did, well maybe a little. But it's mostly deduction.

- It's still impressive, though. And what exactly did you see?

- There were like wires coming out of your hand... I think.

- Yes," said Jonah enthusiastically, "I saw the same thing. But if I understood how the flame could exist, I don't know how it came about.

- Hmm... Well, you're asking the right questions. If you understood how I was able to sustain the flame to create it I rubbed the air, which created a spark that I fed with... oxygen. I guided through the weaves the different elements that allowed me to reach my goal.

After observing them for a few seconds, he said aloud with vague eyes.

- Is it because you have an extended prism that you can understand and perceive the workings of the weaving, or because you have the intellectual capacity? Hmm... Maybe both. Well, if you can already perceive the weave, it will greatly facilitate your learning, but the hardest part is to control it.

The rest of the day passed at lightning speed between frustration and mixed success, thanks to the help of Lenael and her students, who were as eager to get to know them as Jonah and Aurora were to learn about weaving. They ate lunch together and had a heated debate about how weaving works and how to use it, which evolved into a philosophical debate about how to use this power, to what end and what consequences its abuse might cause. Jonah understood immediately that playing with such power could have a catastrophic impact on his environment and Lenael confirmed this by telling him the story of Asha.

She was an Eldar weaver who had taken up residence in a distant kingdom and was so enamoured of her land and her king that when he, after several years of fierce drought which had destroyed both the crops and the economy of the kingdom, asked her to bring the saving rain, against all the rules governing weaving she called upon immense forces to bring salvation to this imperilled nation. With her power she guided the clouds to her land bringing the much-needed rain and for a time the kingdom lived in abundance, its crops green again and its meadows verdant.

But this water was not for them, the winds it diverted no longer accompanied the clouds to the surrounding kingdoms, which in turn experienced drought and lack of water. And when the news reached them that their neighbour had in abundance what they lacked to survive, jealousy, greed and rage grew in their hearts. What right did this kingdom have to steal their livelihood? Why should they live in misery when what was rightfully theirs had been taken away? A crusade was waged to recover what was rightfully theirs, and a destructive war raged. Asha's kingdom could not fight against so many enemies, and what allowed them to survive caused their end, the war-ravaged everything and when Asha saw the king she loved fall in battle she cast a final curse.

- May this water we fought for disappear from these lands, she screamed in grief and rage.

And so she did, the clouds cleared, abandoning the skies and no more drops fell in these lands. The kingdoms that fought eventually disappeared, their names sinking into the abyss of history. Their land slowly filled with sand and eventually became arid deserts where every moment was a struggle for survival.

- This is where careless handling of weaving can lead. Be careful and well aware of what you want. It is not an art to be used carelessly.

The silence that followed this story as its conclusion was short-lived, the number of questions they had was far too great.

- Professor?" asked Aurora, the word coming naturally to them. I'd like to go back to what you explained yesterday, you did explain that there was a big difference between magic and weaving, but what exactly is it?

- I would like to avoid teaching you this, but I understand that it may intrigue you, so I will only talk about it once and I would like you not to ask me any more questions about it. Magic, this barbaric art, as the creatures who are the source of it and taught it to humans, is an abomination that respects neither the rules of nature nor those of the gods. Every action has a consequence and every time magic is used it has upset the balance and brought chaos. Magic is about imposing one's will on the world with no regard for the consequences. Humans, who are the primary users but far from the only ones, believe that magic is all-powerful. They are mistaken, I grant you that it is much more spectacular than weaving, and it is this aspect that makes it so attractive, but make no mistake, the possibilities offered by the mastery of weaving are far greater than any magic can do. I saw what the Humans did with it when I was still travelling around the world, I saw their College and City of Magicians fighting for power and which school of magic was the most important. Nothing good ever came of magic, it only brought conflict and fighting and was often the source of chaos.

Seeing her disapproving face, Jonah didn't have the heart to tell her that he hadn't exactly answered the question, and seeing Aurora's discomfited face he was sure that the same was true of her. Seeking to bring the conversation back to safer ground, Jonah asked a question that had been on his mind for a while.

- Professor? I would like to know why we understand each other. I know, but I don't know why we speak a different language than we do," he pointed to Aurora and himself. And yet I can understand you, even better I can read what is written on the maps, the scrolls and even the books. How is it that I can read, write and speak Eldarii?

At these words, Lenaël's face closed and silence fell over the whole table. And it is with a cold voice that he resumed.

- I don't know, although I guess as to why. I have spent the last two hundred years travelling to collect and learn knowledge from around the world but I have never seen anything like this. And the knowledge I have learned has given me the wisdom to know that this is an answer you should not seek.

An uncomfortable silence followed these words. Jonah frowned, unsure how to take this remark. A great coldness came over him and all the camaraderie and thirst for knowledge he had felt disappeared to make way for a great emptiness. He had to remember that he was here in a foreign land and that despite all their benevolence, they were only tools for them.

Lenaël resumed with a benevolent tone that Jonah could not help but think was deceptive.

- Of course, if you can speak and write our language, that doesn't mean you can understand them," he said, putting special emphasis on the word understand. What I mean is that understanding a language is not just knowing its vocabulary, it is also a cultural process, you have to think in that language. Your mind will automatically translate what your interlocutor says but it may be incomprehensible to you because the thought behind the words is foreign to you.

The uncomfortable silence continues, although Lenaël's benevolent smile remains constant. And even as Jonah's discomfort reached its peak Aurora cried out;

- Last two hundred years? But how old are you?

- Ah, that's a tactless question, young lady," he replied with a reproachful look. Then he continued with a look of wisdom. I am approaching my three hundredth birthday, which is the average age of my people.

- Well, you're particularly well-preserved for an old man," replied Aurora, totally unaware of the indelicacy of her comment. I wouldn't give you more than thirty years.

Jonah had to make a huge effort not to slap his forehead with his hand at his classmate's insouciance. Always so disconnected from reality, he thought disillusioned.

Fortunately, it was in a caustic tone that Lenaël replied.

- Thank you, young lady. Unlike humans, we don't grow old after we reach full maturity, and so we don't die of old age as they mean it, when our time comes we just sleep more and more until we don't wake up.

Before Aurora could make another blunder Jonah hurriedly segued into the conversation and changed the subject.

*

The taste of blood in his mouth was strong and ferrous. But even stronger was his rage, as Mat strode with a determined step towards a destination only he knew.

His body was sore and protested vigorously against the fierce determination he put into every step. His clothes, covered in dust and mud, were battered in places, blood seeped from several minor cuts and his body was bruised and scarred from the blows he had taken.

They had played with him, their training proposal was just a trap to make him understand that he was not welcome here, a human. All they did was hammer him with their blows under the pretext of training, and they laughed, mocked him, having fun at his expense, striking, again and again, to make him suffer, to teach him where he belonged.

But the pain was nothing, he barely felt it, only the rage, a rage like he hadn't tasted in a long time. Yes, since that time, when he was still their toy, when they took her from him, the only one...

His left shoulder burned more painfully than any physical injury.

And then they had tasted his rage, his hate, oh yes. At this memory, a morbid satisfaction rose in him. He was not going to give up, he was going to learn to fight, whatever the difficulties, whatever the suffering, whatever the sacrifices and then... Then it would be their turn... They would learn. He didn't realise it but he was laughing, a cold laugh, of anticipated pleasure, and if anyone had seen him in that dark wood, if they had seen his look, heard his laughter they would have been terrified.