Keepers Clan: 2

Khaldor thanked the three empyrians for the assistants and asked if they would like to help teach some of the younger members of the clan. He explained to the trio that they tried to encourage their young members to be curious about the world around them. Griffith and Aule were more than happy to help, while Oeric was concerned he wouldn’t have much to offer. 

“Nonsense,” Khaldor exclaimed as they walked towards another section of the clan. 

“You can teach them about finding their spark,” Aule offered. 

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea either,” Oeric cringed when he thought about some of the emotions that caused him to ignite his spark. 

“You’ll do fine. You’re older now, you can explain it differently,” Griffith, who had been around during the young years of Oeric’s life and knew his struggles, added. 

Oeric wasn’t convinced, but he didn’t want to dwell on the subject as he reluctantly agreed, “We’ll see how it goes.”

The leader led the trio of friends only a short while longer before they entered another space nearly identical to the first just smaller in size. Khaldor introduced the empyrians to the small gathering of pups and explained what they would be doing there. Many of the Haedian pups had stars in their eyes at the possibility of learning magic. It led Aule and Griffith to change what they were going to teach. Now all three of them would try to teach them how to harness the spark. 

“I want to go with the orange one,” one of the pups whined and surprised Oeric. 

“No, I want it,” Another one pushed the first. 

Khaldor chuckled, “You both can, just be polite.”

There was a chorus of noises that affirmed the young ones had heard him. Khaldor stepped back and let the empyrians take the lead. Griffith sat down to get comfortable and directed everyone to sit in a circle in front of him. The young haedians were eager to start so they rushed, tripping over each other, to sit near the empyrians. Aule and Oeric sat on either side of Griffith. When everyone was settled they got started. 

“I’ll start,” Griffith said. 

“Why can’t Orange go first?” The first young one whined again. 

“I’ll go last,” Oeric replied roughly as he tried to be gentle with his tone, “So pay attention to these two first.”

Aule smiled at Oeric’s attempt but remained quiet as Griffith got ready. 

Khaldor was settled near the opening of this room. He was prepared for any misstep or problem that might arise. If the young needed protecting, or even if the topsiders did. He was prepared, so he watched to see what he could learn to help future generations. 

Griffith could feel Khaldor’s eyes on him, but he focused on the task before him. He started with a demonstration. The air swirled around the little Haedians causing some of them to giggle. The current of air swept around everyone to finally swirl in the center of the circle. Griffith explained his power was related to nature and specifically air. 

“I first discovered my spark by accident,” Griffith started, “I was staring at some leaves above me and I wanted to see them fly.”

Griffith laughed to himself about the memory, “I wished for the leaves to fly so badly that I managed to manifest a little bit of magic to make it so.”

Aule and Oeric smiled as they envisioned how the memory might have played out. Neither were there, but they knew Griffith well enough to practically see it happen in front of them when they closed their eyes. Griffith moved the air around again as he went into more detail about the specific feeling he had when the magic awakened. The young pups were fascinated by the ability to move air. 

“I’ll go next,” Aule’s deep voice echoed through the chamber unintentionally causing the pups to silence their excited chatter about Griffith’s air.

“Some might have seen earlier, but my power is also nature-related. It’s closely affiliated with water, but cold water or ice is closer to what it manifests as when I use it,” Aule explained. 

Khaldor sat up a little straighter at the mention of ice. He was momentarily concerned the pups might be in danger from a rogue ice shard. However, the longer he listened to Aule explain his magic he knew the giant empyrian had extreme control over his power. Khaldor settled when he was certain they were safe. 

“I discovered my spark under some more... Life-threatening circumstances,” Aule said with a chuckle to keep everything light, “I was lost and managed to get myself stuck in Thedale. I was young and with my long thick hair it was too hot in the desert climate.”

There was a brief moment as Aule was explaining that he realized the Haedians didn’t know what Thedale was. He quickly filled in the gaps explaining why it was dangerous and how deserts worked. The tangent took longer than he was expecting, but once he was satisfied he quickly came back to the story of his spark. 

“So with all that in mind, I was hot, I needed to cool down,” Aule explained, “It felt like something unlocked or clicked into place and then suddenly the air around me was cold.”

Griffith and Oeric were shocked to hear his story. When Aule started, the pair realized they never knew what happened to their friend in his younger years. The pups looked at Aule with a little fear in their eyes. To them, awakening your spark was supposed to be this magical moment. A fun memory like Griffith’s. Khaldor saw their expressions and then noticed Oeric shift uncomfortably. 

“My story is similar,” Oeric said, “Aule is my counter. Where his magic is ice cold, mine is as hot as a fire.”

“I was born in Vitalus, but at a young age I wanted to explore so I found myself trapped in the perks of mountains where it was nothing but snow. I met Griffith there, but my magic came from a desire to warm.” Oeric gave a short summary of the true story.

The three empyrians took turns demonstrating their magic. The air Griffith moved around the room turned hot and then cold based on who was affecting it. The pups had a blast playing with the air and learning more about the sparks. Though, it wasn’t long after they were done with their stories and demonstrations that the young felt tired. 

Khaldor approached them and thanked them for their help again. He directed them away from the young who all wandered off to their respective homes. 

[1113]