Quinn was running—from himself, from the fate of being useless, just like the unopened ability book that sat mocking him on the table.
What am I doing? he thought, his feet pounding against the wet earth. But I can't leave Vorden here… then again, why hasn't he returned yet?
He kept running, emotions boiling over, ignoring the danger of beasts appearing at any second. He didn't care. All he could think was, Sorry, Vorden… I can't go through this. It's too much of a burden.
The rain lashed his face as he tore through the storm, until a strange tingling sensation spread through his body. He slowed, glancing around. Something… was calling him. The pull was impossible to ignore. Against his better judgment, Quinn followed it.
It led him to a massive stone tablet, rooted deep in the ground.
"Wait… this is the same tablet I saw on the other side of the castle when I first came here," Quinn muttered. "Did I really wander this far?"
The sensation here was far stronger—overwhelming. Without thinking, he placed his hands against the cold surface.
In an instant, a brilliant blue light shot upward, piercing the storm clouds and illuminating the sky.
Quinn's heart pounded, but the longer his hands stayed on the stone, the calmer he felt. His rage and despair melted away, replaced with a strange peace. Why does this feel… familiar? Is this what everyone feels when they touch it?
A voice deep, male, and unfamiliar spoke directly into his mind.
"This young one has no power… yet there is something he can gain from me here." .
Startled he turned his head around, looking for where the voice had come from, but there was no one around who had uttered a single word.
he was worried if someone from the blade family was here but that was not true either. The voice echoed a bit, but out of curiosity, Quin tried to direct his thoughts at the tablet. 'Who are you?'
"You… you can hear me?" The voice asked in shock.
Yes," Quinn replied aloud. "But you still haven't answered my question."
"You're the first one I've ever been able to speak with," The voice replied, now curious why that was the case.
It seemed like, that the voice had access to his thoughts while he was touching the tablet. Since Quinn had only been able to hear the voice after touching the tablet, he could only assume it was either the tablet itself or someone or something left inside it.
'Are you the tablet?' Quinn asked as it was the fastest way to find out, instead of racking his brain.
"Do you really think tablets can speak or were you just born like this?" The voice asked in derision. Listening to it for a bit it sounded as if it might belong to a middle aged man, not too old nor too young.
"No, the tablet is merely a tool. I don't know how much you know, but all the abilities that humans currently possess originally came from me. At one point I decided that my time was up, and my final gift to the world was this. My mortal body should have long since perished, but I never expected to still be somewhat conscious when I gave up everything to be placed inside of here."
It was pretty hard for a person to believe, but Quin continued.
'Are you some type of God? How did you leave the world with so many abilities? Did you really come up with every ability?' Quinn wondered.
As to your question, no I am not a god, although I managed to become far stronger than any of the gods during my time." The man started to laugh.
This made him seem to be quite the arrogant person in Quinn's eyes, but it was interesting to talk with him.
Intrigued despite himself, Quinn asked, if all abilities came from you… can you give me one?
"What kind of ability do you have in mind?"
Quinn hesitated. You once had all abilities. Can you give me something like that?
"You're a greedy one," the voice chuckled. "No human can hold them all—but I can give you something similar, though limited.".
Soon an energy was felt flowing through the entirety of Quin's body.
The tablet spoke again, this ability allows you to steal attributes from others and add them to your own, and the people you chose to take will lose their ability, but they can still learn a new one.
Quinn's eyes widened in shock—and gratitude. "I… thank you. Truly."
'But why did you choose to speak to me?' Quinn asked, before letting go of the tablet.
"I didn't choose to speak to you. There was a reaction when you touched the tablet. It has never happened before. As I said, you are the first person to be able to hear my voice. As to why you? Your guess is as good as mine."
Quinn didn't know what really came over him at that moment or what answer he had been expecting, but he had thought that maybe there would be something to it. Perhaps he had read too many fantasy books about a Chosen One, or a prophecy that needed to be fulfilled to vanquish the evil of the world, but it was nothing like that.
And now you should hurry, the dragon is coming here, you should better leave now.
I don't have complete control over the dragon, but at least it listens to me somewhat. Although it's hard to say how much he listens to me and how much he just instinctively chooses to hunt down intruders on the island."
"But Before you go, I would like to ask you for one last thing. Since you're the first person who I have been able to speak to, it would seem rude to not even learn your name." The tablet requested.
'My name's Quinn…Quinn Talen.'
"That name…. it's a very good name." The tablet replied. Quinn had the feeling it had more to say, but it had apparently chosen to keep those secrets to himself.
Letting go of the tablet, the bright light dimmed down until it eventually disappeared. In the distance, through the sheets of rain, the dragon's shadow grew larger approaching fast.