Chapter 6:

Illusive Barriers

The Creator


"The main ability a Keeper uses, the ability that gets us employed, is the ability to caste barriers." The Keeper of the Bridge explained to JDG.

Saturday, it's the third day that JDG has known the Keeper of the Bridge, and it is the second day that he attains the role of apprentice for the Keeper of the Bridge. Today, JDG is wearing a more casual outfit, his shoes are much more comfortable, his slacks are made of a thinner and more easy material, and his button up shirt has a loose button on the top with no tie to go along. To JDG, weekends are the days of salvation.

"Our barriers come in all shapes and sizes, I make barriers different than my brother or my son would. If I teach you how to caste a barrier, your barriers may manifest differently than my own." The man paces around the room in the same fashion as before.

JDG this time stands before the man with his hands respectfully resting behind his back and his eyes following the pacing man as he moves around the small space before him. The man holds his hands behind his back as well as he speaks with his chin at an elevation.

"Once you've unlocked and opened your soul, casting a barrier is like projecting your spiritual energy from your body to the real world. You open the door to your soul to allow your soul to be brought here to the world, and then you manipulate it, thus creating a barrier for you to use to protect yourself or protect whatever you might have been hired to do so." The man ends his pacing and turns to look at JDG.

"What kind of barriers do you manifest master?" JDG questioned.

"My barriers are known to be the most brutal you can find throughout the planet. I inherited the same barriers as my father. He dubbed it the 'Barrier of Pain,' since anyone who tries to pass through it will have their entire nervous system compromised and experience a great sensation of agony throughout their entire body." The man looks up as his eyes point down to JDG.

JDG's eyes begin to wide, "How is such a thing possible?"

The man lowers his head, "Illusive Magic is seen as the lowest form of Magic, however it can do many horrific things. We unlock our souls, thus we are able to breach the souls of others and trick their minds and bodies into believing certain things that are not necessarily real." The man sighs, "My son can only create barriers using doors, he can trick other souls into the illusion that they cannot open a specific door or gate unless certain requirements are met."

"Your son's magic is very powerful." JDG commented.

"It is," the man sighs again, "it's the perfect magic for becoming the Keeper of the Council, yet my brother acts otherwise." 

"May I ask, how does your brother act?" JDG tilts his head.

"He acts as if he is superior to all," the man looks away and looks toward the ground, he then turns around, "He refuses to allow my son or even his own son to learn the art of being a Keeper of the Council of London. I trained both son and his eldest son the ways of being the Keeper of the Bridge, however, when the time comes for my brother to retire, or if he meets an early demise, there will be nobody to take his place."

"He seems rather arrogant for such feelings." JDG nearly grins.

"He is arrogant, he believes that only the strongest Keepers should inherit our family's customs and history. However, I believe that the art of Keeping should be taught to all those who have the desire to protect whatever they must love on this green Earth." The man turns his head toward JDG, "Let us begin the art of casting a barrier."

The man places his left arm in front of him as he turns toward JDG, "Every ability you will use as a Keeper starts off by unlocking and opening your soul. I will re-demonstrate the actions that I have taught you yesterday."

The man points his forearm toward the ceiling, creating a ninety-degree angle with his arm. The man then rests his left hand in a fist and swings his right hand around so that the back of his right hand rests on the wrist of his left. He slides his right hand down his forearm and lifts his head while doing so. He turns his right hand toward him so that his palm faces his biceps and his pinky is the last thing touching his arm.

"Now watch carefully, I'm going to pull my right hand away from my left arm while keeping my left arm locked in the same position that it is now. I will pull my right hand away as if I was slicing my left arm with my pinky and I will keep the fingers of my right hand straight. The motion must be quick." The man follows his speech with the action.

In the blink of an eye, the man 'slices' his left arm with his right pinky and swings his right arm so that it points toward the ground on his right side. Visibly it seems that nothing has happened, there is no visible result of the man's actions.

The man opens his eyes at JDG keeping the same position that he placed himself in, "I want you to try to walk towards me."

JDG then leans his head at the request but soon agrees to it. With slight hesitation, JDG takes a step forward with little threat. The second step he tries to take then warrants his reaction. A feeling of absolute overwhelming pain immediately consumes his entire body. JDG rapidly steps backward in response to the pain. Once JDG steps back to his original position, the only thing he feels is a little sore.

"That's the power of my barrier." The man stated.

The man then brings his right hand back to his left arm and closes his soul, "Remember to always close a barrier and close your soul afterward, if not you may end up becoming corrupted." The man takes a step toward JDG, "Now I want you to try to caste a barrier."

JDG then collects himself and stands straight before the man teaching him. JDG puts his left arm into position, he then places his right hand accordingly and slides it down his forearm to unlock the door to his soul. He then turns his right hand to open that door and takes a deep breath as he sees the same image he witnessed the day prior.

"Good, now in your mind," the man began instructing, "I want you to imagine that you are grabbing your soul." JDG imagines as if he was grabbing the walls of his soul, "I want you to take whatever you have grabbed and throw it out the door as you move your right arm."

JDG takes a deep breath, he then makes the slicing movement with his right hand and swings his right arm around from him, pointing it toward his right side. Following this, the man walks toward JDG.

"Try it again, you haven't casted yet." The man said as he stepped backward.

JDG resets his stance and opens his eyes at the man, he follows the exact same actions again, this time he focuses deeply imagining himself grabbing the walls to his soul and throwing it out the door.

The man walks forward once JDG completes his actions again, the man looks around as he does so and looks at JDG, "Keep trying." The man stated.

JDG then resets his stance. JDG completes the maneuvers once more and focuses even deeper into completing the action correctly.

The man walks forward, "It's not easy, I understand that, you need to stop thinking to deeply about it. Your soul is yours to control. Control it as if it is only natural. Feel the deep sensation within you to bring your soul to bear." The man steps back as JDG resets himself.

JDG follows the same action, this time he takes more breaths and relaxes his body to a much higher degree than before. His eyes are not closed as tight and his movements are less mechanical. JDG doesn't think deeply, he convinces himself that he is capable of completing this task. JDG then grins right as he swipes his arm to his side.

The man grins as well, he takes two steps forward and then is forced by his body to take two steps backward, "A heat barrier." The man said with a near whisper as JDG resets and opens his eyes.

"I did it." JDG said to himself with a breathless voice.

The man smiles and raises his voice to normal levels, "You did do it young apprentice, and I have discovered what kind of barrier you can create." JDG then changes to stands with respect, "You are capable of creating 'Heat Barriers' very similar to my pain barriers, anyone who tries to pass through will feel as if they were burning." The man then points his finger out, "in fact," the man reveals a burn mark on his index finger, "Not only will you trick their nervous system to feel as if it were on fire, but you are able to trick the entire body to feel that way, thus you can scar people with this power."

JDG's eyes grow very wide as he witnesses the finger that he had burned and scarred. He looks up at the man to see the man smiling about the ordeal. JDG then looks at his own hands and leans his head as he does so. JDG's eyes relax and he grows a slight grin on his face.

"Well I'll be damned," JDG commented to himself softly, he then looks up to the man, "I truly appreciate what you have shown me here."

"It was always in you, it's in everybody." The man walks up to JDG and places his hand on his right shoulder, "However, you're one of the few Creators who is willing to find this kind of ability within themselves." The man smiles at JDG, "I am proud of how quickly you managed to learn the basics of being a Keeper, I cannot wait to show you more about our ways." 

"I cannot wait to learn more." JDG said with a grin, "I am indebted to you." JDG bows to the man but the man stops him.

"No need to feel such a way," the man pats JDG's shoulder, "I enjoy teaching, and I enjoy sharing with others. In that regard, I am indebted to you for giving me this opportunity."

"How much further can I go with this barrier technique?" JDG asked.

"If you practice and train with it, you can create barriers as large as you could ever imagine. It took me many years to learn how to create a barrier large enough to block an entire bridge, however I sense great potential in you. I'm sure you can create barriers as large as cities one day." The man lets go of JDG's shoulders.

"Barriers as large as cities." JDG said to himself as he looks at his hand, "Maybe I can make one as large as the world." JDG grins.

-june-
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