Page 25 of Cerulean Truth
His intense, penetrating gaze bore into me, sending a shudder down my spine and making my heart race in an instant.
Detecting the shift in my demeanor, he briefly squeezed my hand, causing my breath to catch in my throat and a tingling warmth to spread through my body.
This man and his effect on me.
“Did something like this ever happen before?” he inquired gently.
I averted my eyes from his scrutinizing gaze. After what seemed like an eternity, I glanced back up at him, my cheeksnow flushed with embarrassment. In the obscurity of the night, it seemed unlikely he could discern the color on my face, yet he nodded and softly murmured, "I thought as much."
I sighed deeply. “I have had…weird things…happen in the past whenever I was in real life danger or something like…” Why I transformed into a stammering, tongue-tied mess in his presence, I did not know, but it was flapping frustrating.
For heaven's sake, would you talk coherently?!
With another deep breath, I swallowed my anxiety and pressed on.
“But nothing like this!” I assured him. “And it only happened twice before.”
He nodded once more, and for a moment, I anticipated a series of inquiries about the specifics and occurrences of my previous encounters with translation. However, he seemed to reconsider.
“I know you must have a million questions,” he proceeded, “and I can’t answer them all tonight. But let me give you the gist.”
I nodded in agreement.
He sighed contently and began to explain. "What we do, what we have—these powers? They are, simply put, an energy that erupts when we, magi, experience emotions. We feel something, and we use that feeling to project, or to translate our energy. It's a form of expression, really."
He gazed at me for a moment, searching my expression for signs of understanding. With a nod, I silently urged him to go on.
"It's a manifestation of yourself. For example, if you want a car, you translate your desire to drive it into the appearance of a car. And if you want it fully fueled, then you have to know what kind of fuel goes into it. You can't simply think, 'fully fueled.' There's no outer source backing you on this; it only comes fromwithin you. Which is why education is so important: the more you know, the more powerful you are. And controlled.”
He paused, taking in a deep breath.
"We spend more than half our lives learning how to translate right, and our training begins almost from the day we're born. We stumble on Humanborns like yourself more often than you'd think, but it's almost always when they're very young. Mostly when they're still little tots. Hell, sometimes, it's right from the get-go, at birth."
“So I’m exceptionally old to be found in the Human World?” I asked, far from thrilled.
He nodded.
“Great,” I muttered under my breath.
“Don’t worry, though. You’re still very young. You’re not even twenty-five yet, right?”
I shook my head, and he continued.
“At the age of twenty-five, we all get the ability to age at will. We all live for at least 200 earth-years, or two cycles, as we call it. The first cycle or century, if you will, consists mainly of education and specialization. During the second cycle, we focus more on our duties and procreation.”
I blinked.What?
“So…you all look twenty-five?” I asked, confusion lacing my voice. James looked distinctly older.
“No, we don’t, though we have the option.”
I frowned. “So how old are you?”
“I’m a first cycler and in my thirtieth year on earth. That is the age you’re observing, as I’ve decided against rejuvenation for the time being.”
“Why?”
“Because I will have a certain position that will need to command respect, and I feel a younger look may complicate that.”
