Book of Knowledge

As Lionel stared at the word Enthraller carefully written on the page, his curiosity piqued. He repositioned the large book on his lap as he began to read the body of the page.

'Enthraller'

'Rare ability that some humans have. An Enthraller is a Human capable of summoning and subjugating beings from one of the other three known Realms. Beings from Realms other than the Realm of Man are known as Velthum. Enthrallers are able to use the Velthum's innate skills to perform magic. As Enthrallers subjugate more Velthums their mind's grow to be able to manipulate..."

After reading the first few sentences, questions flashed rapid fire in Lionel's mind. 'Was that a Velthum that I met on the peak? Does that make me an Enthraller?' As he pondered a realization came to him 'I stole the Velthum that the old fuddy duddy summoned'. guilt plagued him as he sat staring at the book in his lap. Drindle had treated him relatively good since meeting him. Sure he bound Lionel's wrists and threw him in his wagon, but he had power enough to make a wagon fly, power to light a fire with a glance, and power to make books float and food appear. He could have done much worse to Lionel if he chose to. Lionel realized that the old man sleeping in the chair was much more than he appeared to be. Drindle controlled all of the weather in the Wastrial Nation without so much as breaking a sweat. As Lionel stared at the old man sitting hunched in his chair, he saw two pale blue eyes open beneath the bushy brows.

Drindle glanced at Lionel and one large eyebrow rose on the pale face. "I am not some piece of meat, Ank. If you want to take my clothes off you need to take me on a date first" the old man spoke with a straight face.

Lionel couldn't contain his expression which quickly became mortified. He tried to stammer out a response. "Wh.. what!.... I.... No.....Gross!!!"

"Hehhehe hee!!!" The old man busted out in a dry raspy laugh. "Sometimes I miss having someone around" Drindle continued to laugh while wiping his eyes.

As Lionel moved, the book shifted in his lap and Drindle's eyes were drawn to its pages.

"So what do you think of Enthrallers?" he spoke with a serious expression.

Lionel could barely keep up. The old codger's expressions would change so rapidly it was hard for Lionel to get a read on his true personality. Was he just some eccentric man who lived for such a long time that his mind started to slip? That's where his thoughts led him before he answered.

"I didn't read too much but it seems they are rare, and can 'subjugate' spirits?" Lionel spoke with a questioning tone he didn't quite understand what subjugating a spirit was.

"Right, right, wrong" Drindle continued to speak with a serious expression. "Right, they are rare, I only know of 5 and I am one of them."

Lionel's curiosity piqued. "How do you subjugate spirits then?!"

The thin pale man looked straight into Lionel's eyes with a weighty expression for a few minutes before responding. "You don't"

Lionel stared at him in disbelief. "But..." the old man cut him off

"You don't subjugate spirits. You subjugate Velthums. I told you they were similar. Not that they were the same." understanding dawned in Lionel's mind as Drindle continued on with his explanation. "Velthums are summoned into the Realm of man. The Enthraller will perform a ritual to summon the being. Once the being has been fully summoned the Enthraller will take its Essence as their own."

"How many Realms are there?" Lionel asked when Drindle appeared complete with his explanation.

"Well there are four. The Realm we reside in is the Realm of Man. There is also the Realm of Heaven, the Realm of Daemons, and the Realm of Void."

"Where do they get their names?" At Lionel's latest question Drindle turned his head to look up through the hole in the roof. The Fire's smoke slowly drifted out of the opening, there was still a little light left outside. Silence continued to drag on as Drindle gazed at the opening.

Lionel sat impatiently waiting for a response when Drindle turned back to look at him.

"What do you want from this world?"

Drindle's sudden question caught Lionel off guard. Lionel had never even thought of that before. when he was a small child he dreamed of being a farmer. As he grew he wanted to be an explorer. Then an adventurer. He honestly didn't know what he wanted. He continued to think about all of the things he wanted to be in the past until he got to his most recent memories. Seeing his mother cut into chunks of meat still resonated in his mind. He felt moist tears forming in his eyes when he finally replied.

"To kill all the Gardgans." His reply was soft. Drindle continued to stare at Lionel. It felt like he was glaring straight through him. Silence reigned for a few minutes.

"Not good enough" at those words Drindle stood and the book in Lionel's lap rose and flew back to one of the shelves.

Lionel sat dumbfounded. 'killing the gardgans' felt like the right answer. From what he had witnessed just days ago he felt it was the only answer for the wrongs that happened. He didn't want anyone else to suffer from those vile creatures.

Drindle spoke again. "You can accompany me for a week as I head to the capital but no more. I will take you to a friend of mine to keep track of you."

"What? Why?" Lionel didn't know what he was going to do. He had just lost his parents and the only person he had met since then seemed to be a good enough fellow, albeit a bit strange. He was hoping to stay with him, for sometime at least, and maybe learn about being an enthraller. If he gained the powers that Drindle had he wouldn't need anything from anyone.

"I must move on. There is nothing more for me on this mountain. I have a reputation to upkeep as well." as he said that Drindle moved toward the back of the hut. The counter that ran along the wall, spread apart and a door appeared on the wall. "I am going to bed you can sleep in the hut or the wagon." At those words thunder could be heard in the distance. Drindle opened the door and left Lionel by himself.

Lionel sat around the fire for a little longer thinking. So much happened since he had first stepped foot onto the mountain. He sat thinking about what Drindle had said. He didn't understand what he meant by 'Not good enough.' It caught him off guard that the old man didn't want him around. It felt like something he said upset Drindle but he wasn't sure. He decided he would spend the next week trying to understand what Drindle meant. When Lionel concluded those thoughts, his tiredness weighed heavily on him. He hadn't realized how tired he truly was. So Lionel laid down close by the fire and drifted to sleep.