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 Eruption:
His grandmother had asked the other capoeira schools to gather, and have a street roda, one of the
last she would probably live to see. She knew that capoeira, with it's intense physical demand, the music, the clapping and
singing would be the best thing for Elías. He needed the energy that a roda produced to get him to remember his mother's life
and not just her passing.
When the roda arrived Elías was still distracted, he sang and clapped, but he was not playing
his best. When his turn came again, he knelt in front of the berimbaus, to enter the ring and start playing, he watched the
two players in the ring, he would be playing against a woman next, she was playing against the capoeirista he would cut in
and replace in the roda. Her moves were very smooth and she was very fast, she was much better than he was, but Elías was
not one to back down, he pushed aside the his grief and entered the ring. He played much better against this woman than in
any of his other games, but still she had much more experience, he could tell by her colored cords that she was close to being
a maestre.
The singer ended his song, the music started moving faster, the berimbaus, drums and clapping signaled
the players to halt and get to the back of the line. Elías began to jog around the ring to the end of the lines of people
forming the circle. The next song would be much faster, the play would be more dangerous and violent, the players would be
more acrobative, more of a chance for someone to get hurt, and a harder challenge. Many of the younger players stepped out
of the lines to allow the best players in to the ring, but Elías felt great after playing that woman, he was recharged and
he couldn't remember when he had felt so good.
His entire body felt energized, he could feel his nerves almost pulsing
with the beat of the music, his blood burning throughout his body. A throbbing started in his head, a strange ringing increasing
to unbearable levels, his vision swam with stars, becoming dizzy, he swayed loosing his balance. The throbbing became
shooting pain, fire errupted at the top of his spine shooting down to his tail bone, his back arching as his vertebrate lengthened.
He screamed as the bottom of his spine erupted from his skin, blinding white hot pain shooting up his spinal cord, his eyes
sightless as his world faded from his mind. The people around him were thrown back by a white pulsing circle that surrounded
Elías, around him every berimbaus metal string groaned, then snapped; watches stopped, every electronic device within 200
yards shorted out, its electrical components fried.
Then it was over, he was on the ground, his shredded
white pants covered in blood, but he was not bleeding. He rolled over to sit up,and flinched as pain stabbed at his tail bone,
something slapped his arm as his body shifted his weight to relieve the pain, then he saw it. Shaped almost like a spear head,
the same color as his skin, connected to a flexiblecord that ran under him, he slapped at it with his hand, then flinced again
as a sharp pain came from his tail bone. Like a ripple he began to feel a totally new sensation, coming from his tail bone,
and radiating up to the tip of the strange spear shaped appendage, growing from the bottom of his spine. The ringing
that he had heard was barely audiable but he could still almost feel it, calling to him from the broken berimbau strings,
watches and other metallic objects.
Voices, whispers all around him, coming from no where but felt as though they were
surrounding him, then they came in to focus, each voice grew louder and more singular, unique. Thoughts flooding into him
each from a different person, things he knew about people they would never tell anyone else, even themselves. As he stood
up he glanced around, and for the first time he saw he was standing surrounded by people, but everything was almost translucent
and tinted a bluish-grey color, and everything was, not moving frozen in time. He blinked, and everything started moving,
the strange colors disappeared and became solid, people shrieked as though he had surprised them.
The roda had stopped
everyone was staring at him, he could hear murmering, reaching out with his mind he could sense surprise and shock from everyone
staring at him, but also wonder, and awe. He heard the word "nova", and could "see" pictures in his mind, like a tv program,
people with strange powers called Novas, with superhuman strength and abilities. Then he heard his friends calling to him,
with uncertainty in their voices, recalling him back to everything that had happened.
It was surreal, the next few
weeks, like everything was new, and different. Rumors and stories spread around Rio de Janeiro, and he became something of
a celebrity around town, people would stop and stare when he went out, he tried to hide his tail but it wasn't very easy finding
clothes that were comfortable with his new appendage. Some people treated him like he was a monster, forcfully running him
out of stores or chasing him in to the street, calling him devil and demon. But Elías took it all in stride, he knew he had
been gifted by something, for some purpose, and he was not going to let anything stop him from finding out what that was.
A few weeks later he was stopped by a man from the "Aeon" society, he offered him ten thousand dollars if he would listen
to him for ten minutes, how could anyone say no to that?
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