Percival fell forward, only just catching himself on the door frame. He clutched tightly as he looked up, his eyes adjusting to the light emanating from within.
A woman stood infront of him, shorter in comparison, with light brown hair that reached her shoulders, and a friendly smile plastered across her face. She had sweet looking eyes, drowned in a beautiful blue hue. Her cheeks rose, and a little plump.
"Oh my, what a surprise!! I came here to let Clover in, but we have another guest, how nice to see a fresh face!" She almost seemed to scream as she spoke. "Oh, my names Lisa, welcome to Finns!!"
From behind the young girl, a much deeper and controled voice sounded. "At least try to keep your guard up Lisa, nobody merely stumbles into a place like this.
He must have come for a reason
"Isn't that right lad". Percivals mind went blank, Unable to speak he merely nodded. Which seemed to say enough for the man in the back didn't continue.
The room inside was lit up brightly by both the candle on a table in the centre, who's brim was wide enough to fit a buffet, as well as the hanging lanterns from the ceiling which reached about 4 metres in height.
The room looked tidy, unlike the state of the bar upstairs. The walls were lined with wood, the lower half jutted out which made the room seem much more luxurious, the room had many cupboards and drawers, a clock hanging on the back of the wall, as well as closets lining the back corner.
Paintings were nailed to the walls, not too many but not too little, and the floor was made of a dark red carpet, which pulled together the whole room into one.
As Percivals eyes met the man behind Lisa, his pupils seemed to dilated, almost in a state of shock.
Before him was an old looking table, scattered with both cards and glasses, seemingly holding a dark liquid to the left, and a clear liquid to the right.
Sitting at this table, on a thin wooden chair, was about old man, who's smile seemed to remind him of youth, his eyes, a shimmering hazel that seemed to hold many unsettling stories, the wrinkles climbing out of his eyes grew towards the side of his head. His hair was grey and he was balding around the top of his head. Yet he slouched over leaning against the table as if it was all that was keeping him up.
The man that sat infront of him, was the man he had seen in his dream who had given him the blue orb.
Unsure of what he should say, he couldn't help but stare at the man seated at the table.
"Is there something wrong lad? You seem to have entered a state of shock. It seems as if there was a reason you were brought here after all." Calm words exited the mouth of the gentleman.
These words brought Percival back to reality.
"I've seen you before, In a dream I had, well.. more of a nightmare if im being honest". Without even thinking, he blurted out too much.
Would I seem like I was crazy? Would they lock me up for life? Why did I even say that?
Before Percival could explain any further, the man looked deep into his soul. " I know the struggles you've been faced with over the last 2 days, you see, I'm not as ordinary as you might've originally figured I was.
"I'd love to explain these things to you, as I'm sure it would greatly benefit you. However I'd like you to come sit down first and try to relax your nerves. It won't help you when it comes to what you're about to hear". Once again the old man talked slow and calmly, bringing Percivals nerves down a little.
But there's only 2 seats..
The young girl from earlier light grasped his shoulders and guided him to the other seat, which she had obviously been sitting on not too long ago.
Reaching forward with an open palm, the old man looked towards Percival. "Alastair. That's what I'd like you to call me for now".
Percival took his hand, firmly grasping onto to it, he echoed the words "you can call me Percy, it's a pleasure to meet you".
Alastair's voice crept again once again," Lisa would you please bring our dear friend Percy a cup of tea?".
"Of course, that won't be long sir". She had almost broken into a jog as she rounded the corner.
Clanking of metal could be heard as the two at the table seemed to simultaneously relax their arms.
After what felt like too long, Percival broke the silence. "You mentioned the past 2 days, although you couldn't have known any of that. How is it that you know what's happened?".
"You and I, the same can be said for Lisa, are a very special type of.. person. Born from the ashes of fallen societies, somewhere deep in the past, who's names never echoed across the pages of books, or through the whispers of tongue.
"We can do things others have only dreamed about, whether we are aware of these abilities or not. We call people like us, Awakeners. Awakeners have been around for many, many millennia, hiding in plain sight, amongst the crowd, rarely seen, and even rarer to be spoken about". Alastair paused, not to think, but to let the information permeate its way inside of Percivals brain, who was very clearly struggling to focus completely. He continued.
"Each Awakener has a different ability, very rarely, there is one other who shares the same ability. I, for instance, can peer into somebody's past, giving me very vivid visions, as if I'd been there to experience them myself. Of course I can control who I use it on, and without making it seem obvious. There are 4 main branches that Awakener powers can be sorted into.
"The first is physical powers, anything that has an effect on how you physically appear, or how you physically affect another. An example is physical protrusions where there shouldn't be, or being able to wield elements at will". Percival felt Alastaurs gaze, as if waiting for confirmation of understanding. He nodded. He wasn't having too hard of a time grasping the concept of Awakeners. It was just the idea of how many abilities could be out there.
"The second kind can be sorted into the branch of Emotion. These are powers that can help perceive or affect emotions. My ability falls into this category, however some percieve the emotions of the soul, or can sense certain breaks in will and mental strength. An example of the other type would be someone who is able to convert your emotions from one to another at will. You wouldn't notice the change as an outside force, merely a mood shift".
Lisa returned, steaming tea in hand. As she walked over, the smell of the carefully brewed tea wafted through the air, bringing a relaxing tingling sensation that crawled across Percivals body.
He took a sip, the flavour seeping into every crevice of his mouth. He had never tasted tea brewed so skilfully. It was truly a masters work.
"The third ability is form shifting abilities. It is as straight forward as it sounds. Shape shifters, some can shifts only parts of their bodies, whilst others can shift their whole body. So much as it's not sorted into types of this ability, it varies in strength. Very rare cases, people can even completely change themselves, looking more naturally themselves whilst in their given form. However the backlash from this ability is immense. It causes mental strain the longer they are shifted, slowly turning an abled mind into something deranged.
"The fourth and final type of ability, which is also the rarest known branch, are the people who hold control over dimensional abilities. Portals, gravity, mass changers. The woman who you met on that rainy night was of this category-" Percival interrupted as if he'd been waiting for her to come up.
"You mean you know who she is?! Did her ability have something to do with the time stoppage around me?
"I haven't been able to figure out what could have possibly caused that to happen, but it makes a lot of sense actually.." once Percival got his mind on something, he couldn't seem to contain himself, however, as soon as he noticed the look from Alastair, he brought himself to a stop, returning the silence in favour.
"I understand why you would think that, however her ability is something a lot more mind warping.
"She possesses the ability to hold atoms in place, initially this seems like a very good ability, however it is something that takes extreme practice, otherwise she might end up ripping the fabric of space open completely.
"The area in which she can hold atoms is, however limited, she is not all powerful in that regard."
Percival chimed in, seemingly more comfortable after drinking his tea and hearing what Alastair had to say. "When she saw me, she came up to me and stuttered over her words, she seemed to know who I was, before she changed the subject to something else. Do you know if she would have any connection to me?"
"I'm sorry young lad, I'm not sure myself what her connection to you could be, I've only just met you for the first time myself. However I have a feeling she mightve sensed the awakeners ability inside of you, and regarded you in such a manner." Alastair spoke with certainty, yet it seemed as though there was something else he wished to add, but held back.
Brushing it off, something else came to Percivals mind. "If you don't mind me asking, I'd like to know what her name is. Would you tell me?"
"Her name is Eliza".
Eliza..? It sounds very familiar, almost as if I've heard that from somewhere, perhaps I have met her before, and it just failed to come to mind..
Before anything else was said, footsteps could be heard from the stairwell, solid, intentional, certainty seemed suddenly to seep from within every step taken above them.
The wood creaked as if letting out the shivers of pent up fear.
An ice cold atmosphere arose in the room around Percival, and silence followed suit. It was as if the world around 'Finns' had stopped.
Alastair ushered Percival to hide in the closet close by the back wall. He walked slowly, making sure not to alert the visitor, he closed the door and turned around, facing back into the room.
From within the closet there was a single crack on the door, just enough to see out into the space in front of him.
Knock. Knock.
"Come in!!" A high voice sounded as Lisa stood up and opened the door, just as she had when he had arrived, although this time, the person who had entered hadn't staggered in, and there was no uncertainty in what would lie behind the door.
For the one who had just stepped into the room, was the one who had started Percivals search. Eliza, with her gauze hat, long black hair and Piercing gaze had just stepped through the door, bringing with her the cold and icy atmosphere.