Chapter Twenty Two
Andrew was awakened early the next morning by a sharp rapping on his bedroom door. He was momentarily disoriented, and wondered where he was and why he was being awakened so early. Then it all rushed back to him. Become the Champion... risk your life... drink from the Pool. Today.
He quickly got dressed and rushed downstairs. The dining hall was empty, save for Timelen.
"Teltibane has already eaten. He has instructed that you are to meet him outside the Citadel in five minutes time."
"Okay, thanks." He hurriedly ate breakfast.
Andrew sprinted through the castle hallways and across the courtyard to the Citadel. Teltibane, Kiara, Finor and Greybeard were already there, waiting.
Kiara wore a black robe trimmed with mustard yellow, and a yellow belt. Teltibane was clad in a grey robe, with several gold stripes on its arm. Finor was dressed all in white, Greybeard in maroon.
Andrew got to see the Citadel up close. It was a tall, spindly structure, some thirty stories high. At its top was the Prism, where all the beams of Color converged every day. Black, grey, and white stone, in a spiral pattern, climbed to its top.
"Okay Andrew," said Teltibane. "Procedure to become a Champion of the Light is simple. I will draw a glassful of Light from the Shimmering Pool. You will drink it. If you are a worthy Champion, the Light will infuse you with newfound strength and enhanced reflexes, as well as greater resistance to injury. You will begin your training with Kiara right away. However, if you are not a worthy Champion, the Light will be too much for your physical body to bear, and you will most certainly die. You have agreed to accept this risk, and, the signs do point toward you being the true Champion."
Andrew nodded.
"Good. Then what are we waiting for? Let's ascend the tower stairs to the Pool."
They entered the dark base of the Citadel. A spiral staircase snaked its way around the walls to the top.
"The Pool is at the midway point," said Teltibane. They climbed the stairs, occasionally passing by closed doors. Apparently there were rooms in between the inner and outer walls of the tower. Midway up, the staircase opened into a circular room. The floor of the room sloped gently downwards towards the center. Andrew looked up and could see the Prism, which was more than a hundred feet above, and above that, the open sky.
In the center of the floor was a round pool filled with a shimmering substance. It seemed to move like it was a cross between gas and liquid. It swirled and spiraled around the pool in hypnotic circles.
Andrew stared. "What is it?"
"Fragments of the Light break off from the main beam. Some of the more solid pieces land here. Others land in various places throughout the Realm of the Light, where they are harvested by the people of the Light to make various potent magical items." Teltibane's clear voice echoed strangely around the hollow tube of the Citadel.
Teltibane produced a clear glass, and proceeded to dip it into the Shimmering Pool of Light. He drew it out, and it was filled with Light, which swirled around and around it. Teltibane held it up to his face, and Andrew could see his bushy white eyebrows through the glass, with a tint of silver.
"The ritual calls for me to recite something at this point. Immediately afterwards, you are to drink from it, Andrew, before it evaporates."
"Okay," said Andrew. He might be dead in a few minutes. But he had already made his decision, and at least it would be a noble death, for a just cause.
Teltibane held up the glass full of Light, and recited in his deep voice:
"Drawn from the Pool of the Shimmering Light,
Enter the hero, for all that is right,
Give him the strength, and ability to fight,
And provide us a Champion, who will Colors unite."
Andrew took the glass in hand and drank it down in two gulps. The Light slid down his throat. It didn't really taste much like anything. Which kind of made sense, given that is was a spiritual entity; more spirit than solid. Andrew then felt his arms and the rest of his body being drawn upwards to the heavens for a moment, and he even rose a few inches off the ground before settling back down. A numbness flowed through his limbs, and then he felt a pain that began in his chest and spreads throughout his body.
"Do you feel any pain?" asked Teltibane.
"Yes."
"Good." Teltibane smiled. "That is a sign that it's working. It hurts to change. And it didn't kill you! This is superb. You've passed the test, and are a worthy receptacle of the Light. Not many can claim that distinction."
"Umm...thanks." Andrew wasn't sure what to say to that.
"Congratulations, Andrew Cilifax. You are now a Champion of the Light. The Light is present within you, and it will both bolster you and guide you, if you only allow it to. Let's go to the front courtyard. The pain will subside in a few minutes."
Andrew wondered for a moment what exactly that meant. How does one allow it to work, or not? Is it within his control? But his mind was on the training that would begin shortly.
"Do you feel any different?" Greybeard asked.
"Um, not really," Andrew answered. "Should I?"
"Oh, he wouldn't yet," said Teltibane. "You don't change into a Champion just by drinking from the Pool. Rather, it is what allows the change to happen. It may be said that it changes you into a creature who is receptive of change. But you must also change yourself, by fortifying your spirit and resolve. This can, and will, take time."
They walked down the spiral steps and out of the Citadel to the large stone courtyard in front of the castle. Day one of training was about to begin.
"All right, Andrew," said Teltibane. "Now that you are the Champion, we should begin your training immediately. It is my firm belief that the best way to learn anything is through hands on training. You already know a little judo, and you are quite skilled with the katana sword. But it will take more than that to defeat King Vallidius Blue, a powerful being, if one ever walked the face of the Realms. Much more than that, I'm afraid. You will need to become a Master of the martial arts. To do this will at the very least require weeks of hard training, even in your enhanced state, which allows you a better capacity for learning new things quickly. I myself have practiced and studied the martial arts for thousands of years, constantly refining my technique, and I still feel that there is always more to learn. If you will become a master in such a short time, it will be a miracle in itself. Keep in mind, that the martial arts are the language of the body. Aside from the martial arts, we will also be studying a little battle-oriented magic."
Andrew's ears perked up. Magical fighting. Mmmm.
"But that will not be the main focus of our lessons here," Teltibane continued. "Experience has shown me time and time again that mortals are much more adept at the physical style of fighting than the magical."
Andrew glance at Greybeard, who winked. It would be dwarf style, all the way.
"Kiara is highly trained in most forms of martial arts," said Teltibane.
Kiara gave a small bow.
"You will fight her. You are nowhere near her level yet. And in strength, it is all but impossible to match her."
Really? That slim girl? Andrew was skeptical.
"But you will learn from her."
Learn from a girl how to fight? Please.
"You will add many kinds of kicks, jabs, and punches to the repertoire of grappling techniques that you already know through judo. Without further ado, let us begin."
Teltibane went to the side of the courtyard, and took up the yoga position that he was in when they first met in the mountainside forest, floating serenely several feet off the ground.
Kiara stood ten feet away from Andrew. She took up her fight stance, right foot forward, fists clenched, weight shifting constantly back and forth between both her feet. Knees bent slightly for a lower center of gravity. Her long black hair and matching black robe rippled in the breeze. She stared at Andrew coldly. Determination and focus were etc
hed across her face.
Andrew wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do now. He should hit the girl? It went against everything that he was taught.
"Go on!" urged Teltibane from the sidelines. "Attack her!"
So it's official orders then. Well, this should be easy. She was probably half his weight, with no muscle apparent. He approached her the way he was taught in judo class. Hands open, ready to grab and throw, or grab and choke. He got closer, but Kiara didn't move from her spot, neither towards him, nor away from him. He came even closer, close enough to put her into a hold and end the fight, when...his world turned upside down, and inside out.
All Andrew was aware of was that he was soaring through the air, fast. What had happened? One second he was going to grab her and put her into a hold, the next second, this. It was so quick, it took some time to register in his brain.
Now it came back to him. With a high pitched yell, Kiara had hit Andrew with an incredibly powerful roundhouse kick to his midsection. He was sent soaring for no less than twenty-five feet. He struck the stone floor hard, and he made three full backwards somersaults before coming to a stop. He would take a throw from Roger, his judo instructor over this any day of the week. This was brutal.
Andrew lay on the stone. His entire body ached. Gingerly he rose, feeling if anything was broken. Miraculously, nothing was. No bones were broken, but that didn't mean that there was no pain. He had impacted with stone at high speed, and the pain was present in bucket loads. He shuffled back to where they were fighting, favoring his bruised right leg. How did she do that? So Teltibane hadn't been exaggerating about her.
It was a paradox. An average, slim girl, possessed of all that strength. Andrew wondered what kind of being she was. Was she human, or was she some kind of magical super-girl?
Kiara one. Andrew, zero.
"Again!" Teltibane commanded.
Andrew approached her again, more warily this time. She punched at his stomach. He tried to catch her hand and turn it into a judo throw, but she was just too strong, and too fast. Her fist hit his stomach, hard. Andrew forced himself to take the pain, without doubling over into a compromising position.
Then Andrew took two more quick punches to the head, followed by a hard elbow jab to the nose, and a kick to the knee.
Andrew blacked out. Light enhanced strength or not, Kiara's sheer power was just too much.
Andrew came to twenty minutes later, with Finor waving smelling salts under his nose. Blood poured out from his nose and the side of his head. He felt like it was high time for a nice long break, and some recuperation. This training session had to be over already.
"We will wait five minutes, and continue," called Teltibane. "You are hurt, but you will heal quickly now. And your resilience will only continue to grow. With every blow you take, you become stronger.."
'Five minutes?!' thought Andrew incredulously. 'I could use more like five days. I just got taken apart. By a girl. Get me a medic, shoot some stuff into my arm, and wake me up again when I can blink my eye without it hurting.'
Five minutes passed, with Andrew lying on the floor of the courtyard.
"How do you feel?" Teltibane asked.
Andrew lay on the floor. He didn't even know if he would be able to stand. Would his injured legs support him? "Can someone please help me up?"
"Andrew, stand up," said Teltibane simply.
"Are you serious? Without anyone's assistance?"
"Just trust me. Please .”
"Okay, sir. But when I collapse again, don't be surprised."
Teltibane chuckled.
Andrew pressed his hands to the floor, and heaved himself up. Whoa. How can this be?
"Can you stand? Does it hurt?" Teltibane asked.
"Yes, sure I can stand," said Andrew. "No problem. And I'm feeling great. Yeah, it hurts a little. But overall I'm feeling just wonderful! How is this happening? What about those huge injuries I just absorbed?"
Teltibane smiled warmly. "Andrew, it's like I told you. Your strength is enhanced, and your healing capabilities as well. Welcome to your new Light enhanced body."
Andrew felt his fingers, his toes. Everything just felt so great, so incredible. The Light was a part of him now, and would bolster him. Awesome.
"One last round for now," called Teltibane. "Then I will fight Kiara myself, to demonstrate good fighting technique. Begin."
Andrew was humiliated at the way Kiara had so easily beat him in the first two rounds. The feeling was bordering on anger towards her. He forced himself to focus through the pain. To read Kiara, and beat her.
This time Andrew caught the barely perceptible shift of Kiara's weight to her back foot. Which could only mean that in a millisecond she will kick. He got ready. Her foot lashed out. He sidestepped, and caught it. She rolled over twice in the air before hitting the ground, as he gave her foot a hard twist.
In a flash Kiara was back on her feet. She threw a punch. Andrew deflected it, and countered with a punch of his own. She caught his arm, twisted it around so that her back was to him, and flipped him over her shoulder in a te guruma throw.
Andrew landed hard on his back, and she pounced on top of him, ready to punish his face with her fists.
"That's enough! We will need our Champion's face intact, I'm afraid."
The fighters get up from the floor.
"Even in this short time, you have improved, Andrew. Though you may not have notice it yet. And you will only continue to improve. Now, I will fight Kiara. I have spent thousands of years perfecting my technique. Watch, and learn."
Andrew moved to the side to watch the fight between the old man and the slim girl. But Teltibane was no ordinary old man, and Kiara was no ordinary slim girl. Either of them could handily beat any Master back on Earth.
Kiara started off the fight with a high punch to the head. Teltibane dodged, and countered with a jumping high kick. Kiara blocked it, and went into a combo. A punch to the left, a punch to the right, followed by a hard mid level kick. But Teltibane was fast, and he dodged the punches, and blocked the kick.
Then Teltibane leaned in and struck as fast as a viper. He landed two quick punches on Kiara's side and head.
Andrew observed Teltibane's style. It was very smooth. He flowed easily and effortlessly from one move to the next, from defense to offense and back again. He made fighting into an art form, his twirls and leaps as graceful as the ballet.
The fight was a contest between Teltibane's superb technique and Kiara's sheer power. She didn't manage to land many blows on him, but the ones she did were devastating.
Kiara and Teltibane fought three matches. Teltibane took two, and Kiara took one. Andrew tried to learn and absorb Teltibane's excellent technique.
Then Andrew fought Kiara once again. He tried to incorporate some of Teltibane's stunning moves into his fight. But without practice, they couldn't do much for him. Again, Kiara took all three matches. But this time Andrew managed to catch her with a few punches in the second round, and in the third, he even got her into a judo hold, which she broke free of after a few seconds.
It was frustrating. This slight girl was beating him in every fall.
Teltibane stood. "Very good, Andrew. Let us break for lunch. After you will continue to train with Finor, who is a superb martial arts instructor. He will teach you many useful moves for empty handed-combat. Eventually, we will move on to weapons as well. Andrew, you did well for your first day."
"Thank you sir."
Andrew walked back to the castle with Greybeard, discussing the fights, breaking them down move by move.
"Did you see how hard she kicked me...then I caught her foot...took her by surprise then, socked her hard on the jaw."
If nothing else, Andrew had come to respect Kiara as a fighter. He had no more qualms about trying to attack her in a fight. But he was also determined to beat her, whatever it took.
They walked through the maj
estic front hall and into the dining room. Lunch's main course that day was a delicious rabbit stew. Teltibane explained that in the Realm of the Light, the custom was different than that of the Realm of Green's; hunting animals for food was permitted. Mass slaughter of animals is not allowed though.
"Teltibane, will I be fighting you?" Andrew asked.
"I think it would be dangerous for you to fight me at this time. We should wait for you to grow stronger. But you have enough on your plate as it is with Kiara, I believe. Beat her, and we shall see about fighting me."