“You’re the complete opposite of your parents. They were more about just doing, doing, doing… I can’t recall the last time I saw Taharqa completely lay out all his options and think things through on his own. He was more of a ‘let's fight now’ kind of person, but you do share his calm demeanor.”
“Thanks, I think…” Bakari didn’t know how to feel about what Axyl had just said to him.
“Well, let me make preparations. Give me a few moments.” AiLeen got up from near the fire and walked over to one of the pods.
“Be careful with her. She's really crazy.” Axyl took a deep breath, thinking about Bakari who barely responded.
“I heard that.” AiLeen looked back as her eyes emitted a white light. She maneuvered the pods in a different position. “I am ready whenever you two are.”
Bakari took a deep breath as he got up and walked towards AiLeen.
“You sit here, and Axyl will sit next to you.” She pointed at the now conjoined pod.
Bakari sat down and adjusted himself as he steadied his breathing. “I’m ready.” He said cautiously, not knowing what AiLeen had in store. Clearly he could trust the both of them as they have both saved his life now so he had no worries. Axyl took a deep breath as he knew AiLeen was about to try something new on him.
“Don’t do anything that I will regret AiLeen.” Axyl said, walking over and taking his seat next to Bakari. AiLeen just smiled, not responding to his comment.
“Now, I will need you to close your eyes, Axyl, and visualize Zera and all of its beauties. The things that mean the most to you there. Its rivers, its seas…. anything you can imagine. I will serve as the link between you two so your memories of Zera and its beauties are visible in Bakari’s mind. This will be a very sensitive process so try to keep your thoughts positive.” She said, looking at the both of them. “Now, are you ready?”
“Ready.” They both answered simultaneously.
“Close your eyes and begin imagining. I’ll give you a few moments to get them all together.” She was giving instructions to Axyl as he was trying to organize his memories. “Now close your eyes Bakari.”
With both of their eyes closed, and preparations complete, she began the process. Raising both of her hands in the air, shouting words of Magick, she began emitting her light and trying to focus her energy to the task at hand. The flame burned brightly again as it emulated her power. After gathering her energy, she placed one hand on Bakari’s head and one hand on Axyl’s head as she hummed. Suddenly both Bakari’s and Axyl’s bodies both went into stasis while her light emitted symbols on their bodies. She tried to also make sure Bakari’s mind stayed stable. She didn’t know how it would affect Axyl if anything crazy happened.
Bakari could feel, see, hear, and smell the vivid images that were passing through his mind at a quick pace. They seemed like videos from Axyl’s mind. It was like looking through an old View-Master that Bakari had had when he was younger.
There were exotic trees that were strongly rooted and blossomed towards the sky, vibrant green grass that blew strongly with the wind. There’s a sun; fluorescent yellow, as it shined over the lands in the distance. It was so beautiful. Bakari took in the scene of the vivid images. Cycling from the beaches, the dawn skies, its exotic creatures of nature. Many different species that Bakari would of never have been able to think of. This peaked his curiosity as he wanted to know more, hoping that the images wouldn’t stop anytime soon. He wanted to feel its soil with his own hands, to breathe its air through his nostrils, and walk along its autumn beaches.
AiLeen moved her hands, breaking the link from Bakari and Axyl.
“That's all the time I could manage for you guys. That is an unpracticed technique and it took a toll on my body.” She said, wiping the blood from her mouth. “I’m going to rest for a bit. I hope you were able to see everything you needed.”
“Thank you! You were a great help. I’ve seen enough.” He smiled at AiLeen as she waved and walked away.
“She said unpracticed,” was all Axyl heard. “I told you that she was crazy. She’s known for just trying stuff on the spot.”
“Yet you brought me to her.” Bakari shot back at Axyl, who had no response. “Why does she cough up blood when she uses her magick?” Bakari mumbled ,trying not to disturb the resting AiLeen, and finally standing up stretching his legs.
“When she tries new things, she pushes her body way beyond its limits and forces it to adjust to the new things she’s just learned. She’s been this way since I’ve known her. She would exhaust her magick and still try to use more. When she forces her body to always go past its limits, she use up large amounts of magick. All of her magick in her body substitutes the mana for the blood in her body, which causes her to cough up huge amounts of blood to keep using more magick. The effects on her body can sometimes be long term because of this.” Axyl said, also standing up. “I tried to get her calm it down a little but she would always tell me nothing great was ever achieved by staying within limits.”
I like that… nothing great is ever achieved by staying within limits… Bakari repeated to himself.
“I’ve made a decision on what I will do about Zera.”
Axyl was all ears at this point.
“I will become its king if that means protecting my friends and family. This Droga guy will clearly not stop coming for me, as you said. For that reason, I, along with your help, will have to put an end to that. That way I won’t have to live my life in constant fear, and can eventually live in peace again.”
Axyl stared at him, realizing he was mature beyond his years. In that moment, he saw someone willing to do whatever it took to protect someone other than himself. That in itself was the trait of a true, kind and just king. Axyl drew his sword and walked towards Bakari. Wrapping two hands around the hilt of his sword, Axyl shoved it into the ground and kneeled.
“And I, Axyl Ruthamah, swear to protect and, guide your as best I can through it all.” He said, standing and pulling his sword from the ground and cutting his hand in one swift motion, completing his blood oath to Bakari as he had once done with Bakari’s father.
“Thank you Axyl. I know you will try your best. You have already put your life on the line for me multiple times.” Bakari nodded his head towards Axyl.
“Well, I’m not as dramatic as Axyl but, as I said before, count me in too. I’m tired of hiding out in this cave. I could definitely use a little bit of action.” AiLeen said as she went unnoticed floating in a distant corner, eavesdropping, “I have a lot of things I want to try out.”
“We would love to have you too, AiLeen.” Bakari smiled
Avi walked up, nudging the back of Bakari’s leg. “Ah, I wasn’t going to forget about you, Avi.” He said, petting the top of her head.
Bakari let out a sigh as he imagined being on the road with both AiLeen and Axyl. It would be like Kas and Nova all over again, but add in their fighting abilities, and in AiLeen’s case, her magick. It was probably going to be ten times worse.
It’s decided… time to become a king.
9
Bakari sat on the edge of the cliff above the cave, letting the light breeze gently caress his face. He was trying to open his mind and tap into his Vakin side again as he had done a few times before. It was becoming less and less difficult for him to morph into his inner self. Even so, he was far from mastering the form and the abilities that came with it. He still couldn’t see half the distance as Axyl, run nearly as fast, or hold his form for long periods of time. AiLeen told him it's because he was conflicted on what he wanted to be, and he hadn’t fully embraced what he was yet. Until he did, he wouldn’t be able to naturally stay in that form as long as he wanted. However he was nowhere near ready to give up mastering it. He would spend his time on this cliff everyday until he at least morphed once a day.
Opening his eyes, he felt different, putting his arm in front of his eyes. He no longer had skin as his rustic multi-colored orange fur was now vibrantly showing. Yes…
he thought to himself as he stood, feeling taller standing on his hind legs. His body felt more agile and strong. Now, let's try this again... He looked down from the cliff using his newfound vision to see how far down he could see. Squinting and scanning left and right, Bakari could finally see straight to the ground and judge how far he was from it. Subconsciously using his supersonic hearing, he could hear Axyl in the distance below honing his skills on the trees. Taking a deep breath while taking a few steps back from the cliff and taking off into a full sprint, Bakari ran towards the edge of the cliff and leaped in the direction where he had heard Axyl below. Midway in the air, he tried to loosen up towards the knees as the distance between him and the ground began to shrink, preparing to absorb the shock of his fall. He still felt the brunt of the pain as he landed. Pushing the pain of the fall to the back of his mind, he took off in a full sprint in Axyl’s direction. One leg after another, he was running faster than he had ever ran in his life as his eyes adjusted, showing him further distances. He got closer and could no longer hear Axyl’s movements or sense his presence. Before he knew it, he was in a clearing where Axyl would have been. Where the hell did he go? Bakari thought to himself before getting struck by something on his back, knocking him to the ground. Looking up, he saw it was Axyl in his normal form. Since they were away from society, they could freely walk around in Vakin form.
“Too loud, and too slow. Who are you hoping to surprise like that?” Axyl said, looking down at Bakari. “Good job actually changing forms again. You’re getting better, but far from being great.” Axyl reached his hand out to help Bakari up off the ground.
“How did you know which way I was coming from?” Bakari asked, confused.
“The moment you landed from atop the cliff, I felt your vibrations and heard the birds fly away from your location, giving you away.” Axyl answered. “A word of advice: stick to your strengths and in exchange, enhance your weaknesses.” He continued. “You are a very quick thinker, if you think things through you can make up for your shortcomings. I can guarantee it.” He smiled, looking into Bakari’s fierce yellow eyes.
“I’ll keep trying to find a balance.” Bakari replied. “I’m going to make my way back to the cave and see if AiLeen was done cooking that soup, then give it another go, but I think I'm ready to at least learn to defend myself.”
“Learn the basics first and we can discuss the next step. You must learn to crawl before you can walk. Don’t try to rush it all. Give everything just a little time to process and you will be fine.” Axyl said.
“Thanks.” Bakari sounded disappointed.
Bakari let out a sigh as he began walking back towards the cave. He didn’t think learning these things would take so long. He learned everything in his math class in one day and basically coasted the rest of his way through class, helping other people. Why was this so much harder to do? A question he couldn’t answer. Then he thought about what Axyl had just told him about using his strengths to enhance his weaknesses. Ever since he’d been trying to master his other side he’d been trying to use physical ways. Maybe if he switched it up and thought about his moves, he could then catch Axyl off guard.
Arriving back at the cave, Bakari saw that the soup was off the fire and in a bowl.
“Welcome back, Bakari.” She said, giving him a nod and turning back to her cooking. “How did it go? Did you finally catch Axyl off guard to move on to the next phase of your training?”
“No, he caught me and knocked me on the ground again.” He said sadly.
“Don’t let it get to you, Axyl means well and wants you to be ready.” AiLeen reassured him.
“He even said it himself that time is of the essence so why aren’t we hurrying?” he asked.
“Time is of the essence, but you don’t want to go in blindly. Isn’t thinking your strong suit? Think your way through this; maybe that's the real lesson.”
“Sort of the same thing he said.” Bakari sat on one of the pods.
“I’m sure you'll think of something.” AiLeen smiled as she walked out with Avi to get some materials.
Bakari kept going over what AiLeen and Axyl kept telling him about using his strengths and thinking things through. He thought about how Axyl has been going to the same place and doing the same thing for the past few days. Then he thought, what if he woke up earlier than Axyl and hid near his training site to attack him? He started thinking of more ways that didn’t involve him being physical. Finally, he had the perfect idea. He would enlist Avi’s help.
Bakari decided to go to sleep early that day. He had a lot of planning to do.
When he awoke, he tiptoed and woke up Avi. She gave a soft cry as Bakari shushed her.
“Come Avi.” He walked out slowly and as quietly as could. This time, he walked down the mountain instead of jumping as he still could only hold his form for short periods of time. He needed to surprise Axyl as quickly as he could so reservation was needed. Walking to the training area, he tried to give commands to Avi to fake as if she was injured. It took a few moments but she finally picked up what he was trying to say. Bakari prepared himself mentally as the hours went by. The sun finally began rising and Axyl was on his way to his daily training session. He went deep in thought again as he leaned up against the tree trying to summon his inner self. Finally, it came.
Axyl walked up to check on Avi laying there pretending to be hurt.
“What happen? Axyl asked out loud as he looked at Avi and bent down to look her over and make sure she was all right. “Looks like you sprained your leg Avi.” He said to her. “I’ll take you back to AiLeen to get looked over.” He picked her up.
With both of Axyl’s arms occupied, this was Bakari’s perfect moment. He ran out at the quickest speed he could, sneaking up behind Axyl. This time Axyl didn’t push him down because it was too late, Bakari’s claws were already at his neck.
“Finally!” Bakari yelled.
“Ha, you actually used one of your strengths. Even though you stooped to tricks, you understood the meaning of what I was telling you. Use your strengths and hone your weaknesses. You did some good thinking on this, but now the hone your weaknesses part comes into play.” Axyl said, dropping Avi, who he now knew wasn’t really injured He kicked Bakari in the gut and clawed his face.
“What the hell, Axyl! What was that?” Bakari was now, panting trying to catch his breath.
“Hone your weaknesses!” Axyl pursued Bakari relentlessly.
Punch after punch, claw after claw, Axyl was punching Bakari. He was trying so hard to defend himself but Axyl was just too fast, strong, and experienced.
“What do you do when faced with overwhelming odds? Do you cower? Do you give up? How many times do I have to say it? Use your strengths but hone your weaknesses!” Axyl was shouting at Bakari as he overwhelmed him with his fierce battle skills. He knocked Bakari to the ground and walked in circles around him. “What do you do? Droga won’t give you this opportunity to get back up and fight him.”
At this point, Bakari was getting so angry and frustrated that his rage took over and his instincts kicked in. He charged Axyl with such speed and strength that Axyl was taken back. Axyl had to actually heighten his senses and be quite alert to dodge Bakari’s attacks until one got through, and he slashed Axyl right across the chest, letting out a vicious growl as he did so.
“This is your answer? Go mindless in the face of fear?” Axyl said, now kicking it up a notch.
He charged back at Bakari, dodging all his attacks, and landing multiple attacks of his own. Again he knocked Bakari on the ground, and hovered over him, letting out a loud growl.
Meanwhile, AiLeen heard the commotion in the distance and decided to go and see what was going on. As she made her way to the area, she saw Axyl constantly knocking a mindless Bakari to the ground. He relentlessly clawed him, wounded him and scaring him. She decided that this was enough training for today. She walked out of the trees “That is enough, both of you.” They kept going, not paying her any mind. “I
said ENOUGH!” She raised her voice a bit. Still they didn’t stop, being fully engaged in the fight. “I SAID ENOUGH!” AiLeen was now shouting, and mumbled, summoning her power. She tapped her staff on the ground then waved it in their direction, sending an invisible force to separate them, knocking them both to the ground. Bakari got up with her in his sights now, walking towards her and snarling. He had completely let his instincts take over. This wasn’t Bakari anymore. It was a wild Vakin who had just been unleashed.
“Bakari, if you’re in there, stand down.” AiLeen was calm as Bakari snarled at her.
“Have it your way, if you must then.” She summoned her powers again, emitting light from her hands. She placed her palm towards Bakari and shouted some words. He fell to his knees, growling, and wasn’t able to move. She balled her fist, which tightened her invisible restraints on him.
“SLEEP!” She shouted as she pointed her staff at him, causing the orb at the tip of the staff to emit a light.
Sleep overcame Bakari.
“What was that, Axyl?” She looked at him. He was shaking his fur off from his fall.
“I wanted to keep pushing his limits, that's all. He needs to know that things aren’t going to be as easy as we have been making them.”
“I think you’re being too hard on him.”
“He made his decision to become the king. He will have to experience worse.”
“Not everything is done through the physical aspect of things, Axyl. You have to find the best course of action in training him. I mean, I know training him to fight requires physical actions, but sometimes you just have to see what will best suit him. You’re not using your strengths or honing your weaknesses.” She smirked, but Axyl didn’t think it was funny at all. “Let me take time to clear his mind tomorrow. A change of scenery should be good for him right now.”
Zera_Dawn Of The Redborn Page 7