Thomas found himself once again behind the bar, flames licking up and over the edges of the large wok that was filled with sizzling bits of meat and vegetables and talking with the first fellow human, well he figured she might not be one hundred percent pure human, but eh, he figured with all the secret project crap the government released, he doubted there were many pure, unmutated humans around anymore in any case.


    He scooped out two large piles of stir-fry onto plates and slid them across the bar to the two Arvo who stood flanking Sera. He watched their nostrils flair, taking in the scent of the freshly cooked food and saw them begin to drool slightly, but they didn’t make any move to touch the food until Sera nodded.


    “So,” he said to Sera, “you call them your bodyguards, how did that happen? Our only experience with the Arvo has been hostile.”


    “They are an unruly bunch, and yes, hostile to pretty much everything with one exception” she replied, “they respect strength.”


    She continued after a slight pause to sample one of the drinks Thomas had placed on the bar, “They can think, even have their own language. They can be cunning, but prefer straight forward displays of strength. It''s how they determine their place in their tribes.” she explained, “the strongest rule, that''s the only quality they, as a whole respect.”


    Sera smiled a feral smile, “so I beat them all and took my place as their ruler.”


    Thomas let out a chuckle, “I bet that is one hell of a story, I''m guessing your powers must pack quite the punch.”


    She nodded and several glasses in front of her began to levitate off the table.


    Thomas leaned in and began studying them, observing and noting a faint warping in the air around the glasses.


    “That is so cool,” he said excitedly, “we always wondered if psionic powers could exist, but could never find definitive proof.”


    Thomas looked from the glasses to Sera, “were you born with them? Or did you acquire them through some other method?” he asked.


    “Nope, you’ve had your question, it''s my turn now” she said, waving an index finger at him in a scolding manner.


    Thomas sighed and gestured for her to go ahead.


    “What''s your story?” she asked bluntly.


    Thomas tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling as he gathered his thoughts. His first instinct was to be honest. It had worked so far, at least with Delviks people, but then again she is the self admitted leader of a tribe of violent, carnivorous alligator people. After a moment of debating the pros and cons, he met her eyes.


    “As you have probably guessed, i''m not really from the wasteland. I was a scientist a long time ago, and there was an accident, and when I woke up, I found myself here” he said, trying to choose his words carefully.


    She looked at him with disbelief on her face and he held up a hand to stop any questions, “Every word is true, Delvik can confirm my arrival out of nowhere over a month ago. With my knowledge of where things were before everything got blown up, I was able to make friends with Delvik and build up this place.”


    Sera was quiet for a moment, “Is that all? You are terrible at storytelling.” she said with a laugh


    Thomas just shrugged, “I guess being a time traveling scientist from before the apocalypse just isn''t that impressive to someone who can control things with her mind.”


    Sera laughed as she replied, “no, no, no. It is quite impressive, I guess I was just expecting a more grandiose tale, something with flair and not just straight facts.”


    Frowning, Thomas began to reply only to be interrupted as Delvik shouted across the room, “You really are terrible at storytelling Thomas, and I say that as a friend.”


    “Allow me to show you how it''s done, oh mighty time traveler” She said, moving her stool to the side so she could see the entire crowd.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    She settled herself into her seat before gesturing to her two bodyguards. “You asked about how I came to have the Arvo as my bodyguards’, and then about the origins of my powers.” she said, and Thomas nodded affirmatively, and she continued, “well, for your information, like all of the Touched, I was born with them.”


    Looking out over the gathered people, she smiled and with flourish of her hands, she began to speak, deepening her voice and projecting her voice to the gathered crowd.


    “Long ago, before my Fathers, Grandfathers time; when the world was yet unbroken, my people lived in a great underground sanctuary. It was a place of great works, where scholars, great shamans and oracles sought the secrets of the earth and heavens.” her words echoed across the room. “Areasi was its name, and it was a paradise for my people, and yet it held within its sacred walls a secret that would doom the world.”


    Sera pulled out an old piece of cloth bearing an old symbol and writing that none save Thomas recognized, and he felt a wave of goosebumps crawl up his arms.


    “Peace and paradise, two things that are sadly fleeting, and as in our current age, so it was in the ancestors. The end of paradise began with a great triumph, a meeting with those from beyond the heavens.” she said as her eyes began to glow faintly and shadows began to appear on the wall behind her, acting out her words. “Messengers they were, heralds of a greater people who came looking for those that had been lost.”


    The shadows behind her showed strange figures standing before many smaller, more human looking figures. They reminded Thomas of the pictures he had seen of ancient depictions on Egyptian tombs, but less detailed.


    “The messengers both rejoiced in having found their lost people, but were saddened to learn of their fates. The ancestors trembled with fear that the messengers would punish them, and to their surprise, they were rewarded, for the messengers were above such things.” her words causing the images behind her to change, showing the small figures cowering before the others, before shifting to them all holding hands.


    Sera’s voice took on a tone of sadness as she continued, “for a time, paradise glowed brighter. The heralds requested that all tribal leaders and warlords of the world be called to a great meeting of chieftains, and they came one and all for the messengers could not be denied.” she said while the shadows shifted again to show figures gathered before the strange ones before she continued the tale, “The ancestors and chieftains of the world listened to the words of the messengers. They spoke of lifting humanity into the heavens to join them, of partnership and sharing of knowledge; a great plan was begun to ascend to the heavens.”


    The shadows shifted once again, gaining in detail and showing the human figures working side by side with the others, of strange symbols and mathematical equations.


    “The ancestors found themselves at the height of joy, and it is here that the light began to dim, as greed and jealousy began to infect the ancients. A treachery and betrayal of the messengers by a group of ancestors, thieves in the night who rebelled against their chieftains and stole an artifact that the messengers had shared with the ancestors.”


    Her voice took on a darker tone as the shadows shifted again, growing darker and sharper in contrast between light and dark.


    “The messengers were angered and demanded the stolen artifact returned and the thieves punished, for they said the peoples of the world were not ready for their gifts yet. The great chieftains swore to right this treachery, but the greed had begun to infect them as well, and the great plans that the ancestors and chieftains had worked for began to crack and splinter.” she said somberly, “The messengers were not fooled, and soon they had gathered my ancestors who remained loyal. They spoke of great calamity to punish the greedy thieves and treacherous chieftains. For their loyalty, they would receive a gift directly from the messenger''s hand, the Touch. A mark of respect for loyalty.”


    The shadows showed a group of kneeling humans, a glowing nimbus surrounding their heads as the others touched them.


    “With the gift, my ancestors were able to drive out the disloyal traitors and greedy chieftains from Areasi, and seal the entrance as the messengers had commanded them to do. With their task done, they returned to the messengers only to find they had vanished, and a great sadness swept over them at the loss.” she said, “and as they mourned the loss, they felt the divine punishment of the messengers as the earth began to shake and tremble. The great oracles witnessed the cleansing of the world before their seeing crystals went blank.”


    Sera took a drink to wet her throat after speaking so much, and continued.


    “The ancestors remained safe in Areasi, only leaving once supplies had begun to dwindle. Upon the surface, they found the desert sands that surrounded their paradise had turned to broken glass, and found similar destruction and devastation as they began their wanderings east, until they came upon the Desolate Plains which became their new home.” she said as the figures on the wall were shown wandering, their numbers slowly growing.


    “As the tribe grew and split apart, the gift was passed down, but not all who are descended from the ancients receive the Touch. It is considered a mark of fate, and those who are born Touched are raised to become leaders of the tribe, or powerful shamans and seer’s.” she said, concluding her tale.


    Sera smirked at Thomas, “That is the tale of my people and the origin of my power, and an example of how you tell a story Mr. TIme Traveling scientist.”


    Thomas slowly closed his mouth that had been hanging open at the story,


    The inside of the building was silent for a moment, until Thomas shouted with incredulity “You''re telling me that it was Aliens all along that started all of this!!”