‘Where are we going?’ he asked.
‘To the Kaeshan Chamber,’ said Adonis, his voice deep and powerful, but without any threat or anger.
‘What for?’
‘You are to receive the essence endobrace.’
‘The essence?’ Jaden echoed.
‘Yes, the source of our power. Somehow, you have been exposed to great quantities, and now your body is shutting down. That is why Noviahn expects you are ill.’
Noviahn, thought Jaden, that’s what they called his grandfather, like Tarsha had in Callibra. The different name made him feel his grandfather was not the man he had grown up to know. Perhaps he had not been completely honest with him. Jaden would learn the truth some day, but for now he wanted to know more about the Daijuar.
‘How will the endo-base help my illness?’
‘Endo-brace,’ Adonis corrected. ‘It is a brace that sits under your skin and attaches to your veins.’
Adonis stopped and held out his hand so that Jaden did not walk into him. Three steps below, he still managed to stand only a little shorter than Jaden. He then lifted his hand so that his sleeve fell down around his elbow.
‘This is an endobrace,’ he said, his hand and wrist now coming alight with the same white glow that had come from Blair’s hand.
Jaden studied the many dark lines under the man’s tanned skin. They looked to form a similar design to the loh-korah, except that they were below the skin as Adonis had said and could not be removed easily, if at all.
‘All Daijuar have been exposed to the essence beyond repair. We are now required to wear these so that we can release and store the essence as needed.’
‘What did the Daijuar do before the endobraces?’ asked Jaden.
‘Died,’ said Adonis bluntly, ‘as you will if we do not give them to you.’
‘Is that how you make the shields?’ asked Jaden.
Adonis gave a slight nod and then continued walking. ‘Many of us store the essence if we know a battle is coming. Our shields will remain strong only as long as the essence is within us.’
‘What happens when it runs out?’
‘We retreat, and wait for it to replenish.’
‘That’s why you can’t fight in all the wars,’ Jaden observed, ‘and why you couldn’t save my village.’
Adonis turned with his hand giving light once more, regarding him for a moment.
‘We couldn’t save your village because we didn’t know it was going to be attacked,’ he said calmly. ‘Presently Blair and I have enough essence stored to set up shields for several hours. We could not have saved your village alone, but we could have helped had we known.’
‘I saw one shield,’ said Jaden.
Adonis nodded. ‘One would not have been enough,’ he said, and continued down the stairway once more. ‘Once you have the endobraces, you will train to be a Daijuarn sentinel. We will need more help in the coming years.’
Jaden held his tongue. He had almost protested the idea of becoming a sentinel, as he had vowed to himself that he wanted nothing to do with the Daijuar, but remembered that Adonis would not have known of his intentions, or that his grandfather wished for him to remain inside the hollow for the coming years. And now that he had spoken with Adonis, he felt that he could have no gripe with the Daijuar for not saving his village. Perhaps his hate was misplaced. They were people, just like him. They were powerful, but still just ordinary people at heart. They couldn’t be everywhere. They couldn’t know everything. They couldn’t defeat entire armies alone. Maybe becoming part of the Daijuar wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
‘How did the essence cause my sickness?’ asked Jaden.
‘All life on Earth has evolved to accept the essence. That which rejects the essence will die sooner than other life. Your exposure is abnormal, so you have become ill and require assistance.’
‘So I will wear the endobrace. What happens when the essence runs out, how do you replenish the essence?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Adonis. ‘It simply happens. Some replenish gradually, others more quickly. It has been a topic of discussion among us for centuries.’
‘Even you do not understand the essence?’
‘Correct,’ said Adonis as he reached the bottom of the stairway. He then led Jaden through a room that was almost as dark as the stairway had been, lit by the same blue glow from the rock but also with a luminous white mist that hovered at their ankles. Jaden could feel the polished stone underneath his feet as he walked, but it was the only smooth surface around him as the walls and roof were all jagged rock.
‘This is the Kaeshan chamber,’ Jaden guessed out loud.