The Apple and the Tree

This past year since my assassination attempt I have been keeping an extremely low profile. I may have been a little too rash in my actions, but whats done is done. There have been no further attempts on my life, and hopefully it stays that way.

In the five years since the lightning storm incident my powers have stagnated. Both the increasing power of my body, and fire has completely stopped. It seems I have reached some sort of limit that a mortal just can't exceed. I continue to regularly practice my abilities working to increase my response times and develop new uses.

Two years without any progress has started to weigh upon me. Though my mind still remains sharp. It seem that my daily meditation under the rising sun was not just purifying and strengthening my body, it was doing the same for my mind as well.

That at least has not hit any sort of limit, and i have been able to continuously improve my thinking speed, and memory retention. I'v found myself able to learn different subject matters much easier than before. But it's all a very slow progress, which is why I hadn't noticed it until recently.

Ever since i tried to gain control over the power of lightning I have been able to sense when a storm is about to form hours before there is ever any sign. It's a constant reminder of my failure from that night, and the shackles that bind me from greater power.

Even now I can feel them, always present. If I try to make the slightest connection to lightning they constrict around my powers in warning. I fear that if I try to force it I may very well lose my life from the backlash. It seems the first time is the only warning I will get. There are some things mortals should just not meddle in i suppose.

One day I will bend the very storms to my will, but until than I must be patient.

Since the day I first moved to Zakros I have been constantly searching for rumors of any individuals or groups of people with even a hint of supernatural abilities. Through my wife's family I have made connections with many traders who have been to locations all throughout this side of the world.

I've heard many stories, but that's all they were, just stories. None of them with enough information to justify going on a who knows how long journey to verify.

Until now.

Just recently from my wife's very own uncle Echemus I was told of a tribe of people who live on the island of Rhodes. They are said to be extremely close to nature, living in the woods among the wild animals, but never suffering any attacks.

Many years ago on a trading voyage, they made a short stop on Rhodes. Echemus swears that while there he witnessed a young boy sit down with his eyes rolled back into his head, and the next instant the sheep next to him did a silly little dance for the surrounding group of children. The boy was apparently quickly scolded and taken away by a passing adult.

The island of Rhodes is very close to Crete. Just to the North East, about a months voyage total there and back.

Even if the rumors are false I wont be loosing anything in checking them out. But if they are true, I could stand to gain a lot.

I will have to make some arrangements with my family first, but it seems that I have some travel plans to prepare.

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I leave tomorrow on my journey to Rhodes.

Three months is the time it took to arrange for transport to Rhodes. In that time my wife gave birth to my first daughter, I named her Thaleia after the mother I never knew.

During these three months I have spent more time with my children than I ever have in their entire lives. I must admit I have grown slightly fond of them.

I have also discovered something wondrous.

Aniketos, my oldest son has demonstrated abilities of a sort.

I discovered when playing a simple game of hide and seek that he was always able to find me no matter the difficultly of my hiding spot. Every time and immediately with no hesitation he would make his way directly to my position as if he could sense me.

I hid objects around the villa for him to find. The same results. As long as he has physically seen something he is able to find it.

There are of course limits, his range is extremely small barely covering the villa, but I believe with training this can be expanded. And if he goes to long without seeing his target he can no longer find it. For example, if I show him a toy, and then the next day I hide that toy without showing it to him again he will not be able to locate it. It seems he must "refresh" his mental image of the target every three hours.

Without a doubt he is a classic tracker. One of the most common abilities in the Twilight world, and equally as useful. With what he has already manifested as a human, if he is turned he will be a very powerful tracker, maybe the most powerful, and that's not counting all the training I'm going to put him through before hand.

It seems abilities do in fact pass down genetically, but not in the manner I was expecting. Instead of receiving a similar power to myself, it's as if Aniketos inherited my potential to manifest an ability. Though what determines the ability formed I have no idea. Yet.

He makes me hopeful that my other two children will be the same. But then what of their children?And their children's children? Will that potential weaken, strengthen, or stay stagnate over time.

So many possibilities, it makes me excited for the future.