by Aaron Hicks
Uktesh said, “I know. You won.”
Ayala said, “You jumped off, you could’ve lasted longer!”
Uktesh said, “A few minutes at most, my hand’s really hurting.”
Ayala shrugged and pushed off from the wall. They all swam back to the beach and stretched out to dry off. Uktesh grabbed his towel, shook as much of the sand off as he could, and set it down next to Ayala. Laurilli set her towel down next to him and when he lay down. With the combination of heat of the sand warming him, the exertion of their game, and his nervousness about the play, he was soon asleep.
He woke up to Laurilli rubbing his shoulder. “Huh? Wuzit?”
Laurilli said, “We need to meet up with Esolc and Repus to train. You can sleep there.”
Uktesh yawned and blinked his eyes a few times, before sitting up gathering his stuff. Cimmie and Ayala were in the water and Cyala and Aoen were kissing in the shadow of the cliff. They shouted a quick goodbye and headed up the path out of the lagoon. As they walked back toward their house Uktesh asked, “Why do you think their parents named them Cyala and Ayala?”
Laurilli looked at him and said, “I have no earthly idea. Why do you care?”
Uktesh shook his head, “Name’s that close must have a meaning. Like in Beletaria everyone’s names start with either, ‘Bel,’ or, ‘Uk,’ because those are the beginnings of the names of our gods. Here they may use the end of the name to signify something. Didn’t we meet a Byala?”
Laurilli said, “Now that you mention it, I think we did. She was helping out with the play.”
Uktesh said, “I guess that will need to remain a mystery for another day.”
They passed the place where Pamfilo had been arguing with her father and Uktesh said, “I wonder what that fight with Pamfilo and her father was about. I doubt that it was just about her dating a ‘pale skin,’ cause we haven’t run into anyone else like that on this island.”
Laurilli said, “Maybe we haven’t because we’re together, but if we started dating islanders I wonder if we’d get a similar negative reaction.”
Uktesh said, “We’ll have to ask Esolc and Repus about it.”
Laurilli said, “I think we should just leave it alone. They’re all adults. If they need our help it might embarrass them to ask.”
Uktesh thought about what she said as he unlocked the door to their house and walked inside. He changed out of his swim trucks and into clothes that were more appropriate to training. Laurilli did the same. When he finished he lay on the bed and watched Laurilli finish getting dressed. “You’re so beautiful,” he blurted out. She smiled at him and finished pulling down her shirt.
Laurilli said, “You know that if my mother caught us changing in the same room she’d change the sleeping arrangements for sure.” She walked to the door, grabbed their practice weapons, opened the door, and waited for Uktesh.
Uktesh sat up, followed Laurilli out the door, locked it behind them, and said, “More incentive to make sure she never finds out.”
She handed him his practice sword, reached her hand out to him, and he held it as they walked to the beach they had designated for training. “Do you think I’ll be able to learn the perfect form?”
Uktesh nodded, “If you can learn balanced in a few months I’m sure you’ll be able to learn imperfect in a year or two, and perfect maybe four years after that.”
Laurilli said, “Six years?”
Uktesh said, “Six years would be amazingly fast! It took eight years for me to start practicing perfect form, and nine before I was able to do it consistently.”
Laurilli said, “But you were just a kid. How old were you when you start training?”
Uktesh shrugged and said, “At seven I started my official training, but all Beletarians, train once we’re old enough to want to win competitions. Trust me, we all want to win everything we compete in from an early age.”
Laurilli squeezed his hand, “That sounds horrible! You never had fun just being a kid?”
Uktesh said, “It’s all I knew, and I had loads of fun. It wasn’t until it became obvious that I was so much better than those my age that I became an outcast of sorts.”
Laurilli said, “You would think that people would want to be your friend if you were so much better than they were.”
Uktesh shook his head, “Beletarians are raised to be competitive and to train harder to beat their betters. Befriending them so that you don’t have to fight them has the opposite effect. If I were publically friends with you, then no matter how far apart our skills, when it was time for rankings, I would be paired with you so that you would be ranked either last or close to last. The only time this doesn’t work is when you have two people who are equally skilled. Then they can be friends all they want, because they’ll likely have to fight each other anyway.”
Laurilli said, “But if we fought, couldn’t you go easy on me or let me win sometimes? If ranks are so important a friend would take the social hit sometimes for the other friend, right?”
Not only had Uktesh never thought of that, but the idea actually insulted him. He contemplated why her question insulted him, considering that he was going easy on her when they trained. He’d had mentors who fought him, and didn’t try their hardest to beat him.
“It’s something that is so abhorrent to me that your question was insulting. I know you didn’t mean it as an insult, and I’m not taking it as an insult, but it immediately stuck a chord with me. I guess that the reason that doesn’t happen is because it’s not just my rank that is affected. If I do badly or have a low rank, it is a reflection on my parents. My failure is a failure on their part to pass on their strongest traits.”
Laurilli said, “What happens if a son or daughter achieves a higher rank than his or her parent or parents once they’re done training?”
Uktesh said, “That is a cause for celebration. If a child is better than both of his or her parents it means that the parents did their duty by producing an heir or heirs that are superior warriors. The child or children also did their duty by surpassing everyone in their path even if it was a parent. The only case where it isn’t a disgrace to fail to attain a higher rank than a parent is if the parent is or ever was a Beleshian.”
Laurilli said, “I don’t understand. What’s the difference between a Beleshian and a Beletarian?”
They turned onto the path that led to their training beach and Uktesh said, “Beletarians are anyone born in Beletaria. Beleshians are elite warriors, the best of the best. There are only a handful of Beletarians that earn the right to be a Beleshian.”
Laurilli asked, “You would’ve been a Beleshian wouldn’t you?”
Uktesh nodded and waved to Repus and Esolc, who were already stretching. Uktesh said, “Only five out of every one hundred are good enough to be Beleshians, and I would have been the youngest. Ever.” He couldn’t keep the disappointment out of his voice. He was happy with the life he now had, but a dream that he’d had for most of his life, one that he knew he would achieve, was forever gone. He smiled a smile he knew Laurilli would know was forced and said, “Let’s train away the unpleasant memories.”
She nodded and jogged ahead to join Esolc and Repus in stretching. Uktesh joined them and thought about the training they would have that day. He was still unsure which would help the two of them in the long run more. He could either choose balanced fighting practice, or more practice on Rushing for longer periods of time.
When they were done stretching Uktesh stood and said, “Okay, today’s going to be a light training day so that we’re not worn out before the play. We’ll start with Rushing races and then sparing.”
They all lined up about a hundred yards from a tree on the beach that was their designated turn around point. The goal was to Rush to the tree, stop, touch the sand, and Rush back to the beginning point. Uktesh said, “Today we’re going to do a set of three, then rest.” This meant to the tree and back three times, before resting. Uktesh found that Rushing on the sand was
a far more effective training device than Rushing on dirt or roads, as the sand gave way and made it harder to continue the Rush. “Ready,” the four took their positions, “set,” they crouched down further ready to Rush, “GO!”
They took off in a Rush down the beach. Uktesh had never Rushed with a group of people before he started training with Laurilli, Repus, and Esolc. He had found to his shock that Repus and Esolc were able to Rush faster than he and Laurilli, although he was still faster than Laurilli. They reached the tree and skidded to a halt before they Rushed back to the starting point. Repus slightly lead Esolc because he was faster, but Esolc being shorter was able to stop and start Rushing faster than Repus.
They reached the starting point ahead of Uktesh and Laurilli and Rushed past them as Uktesh and Laurilli stopped and Rushed after them. Uktesh realized that the longer the length of your step the faster you could Rush. He was glad he’d made this discovery before he needed to Rush away from someone who also knew how to Rush. They turned at the tree and Rushed after Repus and Esolc. He knew he could Soar, but this was training to help the others more than himself. He also needed to protect himself from trying too much before he was healed fully. Uktesh and Laurilli reached the starting point, stopped, and Rushed after the two ahead of them.
He was beginning to pull ahead of Laurilli because he was an inch taller than she was. He was glad that he’d finally become taller than her, but guessed that with two tall parents, she was going to be taller than he was once they were done growing.
They reached the tree only to see Repus stagger out of his Rush and back into it barely in time to win the race. Uktesh stopped Rushing early so that he and Laurilli finished at nearly the same time.
Repus, Esolc, and Laurilli were breathing hard and Uktesh said, “Okay. A two minute rest, then we’ll do it again.”
Laurilli gasped out, “That’s easy for you to say, we’re trying our hardest and you’re not even winded.”
Uktesh said, “We’re here to train you three and I’m gaining strength by practicing at your level before I go back to where I was before the tournament.”
Laurilli said, “I think you’re there, or at least close.”
He knew that his grip wasn’t, but he thought, she may be right about the rest of me. Am I afraid to push myself? If I am, I won’t be ready when I need to be. Then he said, “Very well, you three will continue Rushing, while I Soar. I’ll Soar for the same amount of time as Laurilli Rushes and we’ll see how that goes.”
Repus asked, “That’s Hawk Soars, right?”
Uktesh nodded and Esolc asked, “We thought you’d said not to attack continuously in imperfect, that it could hurt us.”
Uktesh nodded and said, “It’s true, but because I’m continuously using one skill it doesn’t have nearly as much recoil as if I would use Hawk Soars and then Rainbow Kick. I’m not actually sure why. I think it has to do with the amp up your body needs to go through to use imperfect. By not using a second imperfect and only continuing an already in use imperfect, I think it tricks your body into not amping up continuously.”
They seemed to accept that answer and Uktesh waited another minute before he started the race again. As he Rushed, then Soared past the three of them, he realized that he would need to extend the distance he ran as he’d already reached the tree. He skidded to a stop, turned, Rushed, then Soared, and raced down the beach until he felt he was twice as far from the tree as the starting point was. He did what he’d just told Esolc not to do and spun in the imperfect Leaf Falls and made a crescent mark in the sand to know where he should stop. Then he turned and Rushed, then Soared back toward the tree and noticed that Repus and Esolc had just reached the tree.
This is so much faster! It wasn’t this much faster when I was being chased by the Whitebridge thieves. Does that mean it’s a skill that I can get better at? Or does it mean that my leg injury was slowing me down during that whole run?
Laurilli reached the tree, turned, and Rushed at Uktesh as he skidded to a stop, turned, Rushed, then Soared past all three runners. He knew there wasn’t a perfect form like Bull Rushes Down or Hawk Soars, but thought, can I turn Serpent Strikes, a one foot lunge, into a continuous run would that make me improve all my other perfect skills? He continued to ponder how to Strike in such a way that it was continuous. He had just thought of a way when Laurilli reached the starting point for the last time and collapsed on the sand. Uktesh stopped at the starting point as Repus and Esolc staggered in and out of Bull Rushes Down to the starting point. They both collapsed to the sand and Uktesh said, “Well, you two were able to hold onto your Rush longer today, and today we’re activating it more often. We’ll do one more set before we move on to sparring. Laurilli, see if you can Rush until the end. Repus and Esolc, don’t push yourselves too hard. If you feel any strain, just stop. I’m going to be trying something new, so I may or may not join your race.”
Uktesh stagger-stepped from Rushing, to Soaring, to Striking a few times before he said, “Okay. Time’s up. One more race and we’ll move on to sparring.”
As they moved to the starting point Uktesh faced the other direction as there was more room to move that way. After he shouted, “Go!” he staggered from Rush, to Soar, to Strike, then began to Strike again, but felt the instant backlash build up and stopped himself from continuing. He knew that Serpent Strike was the wrong perfect skill to use. He next tried Cat Pounces, a jump forward lunge, which had the same result. Next he tried Cannonball Surge, a face first, jumping attack that used any piercing weapon to pierce deeply. Once again he failed to achieve his goal.
Next he tried Rising Knee, a jump in the air, that he’d ordinarily use to grab an attacker behind his head and bring the head into his knee. This time Uktesh tried combining it with Serpent Strikes and the combination failed to work as a perfect attack. He crashed to the sand and realized that the other three had finished.
He Rushed, then Soared to them and said, “Okay, I want you two to spar with Laurilli. You two are only allowed to use balanced attacks. If you attack and it isn’t balanced halt the attack and try again. Laurilli, practice watching how they’re attacking you and figure out the best defense for it. You’re not allowed to attack. Repus and Esolc, if you successfully attack in a balanced form and she can’t block it, pull the attack. Try not to hurt each other. I’m going to see if I can sustain other forms.”
For the next hour the three trainees sparred while Uktesh practiced. He found that there were only a few balanced and imperfect forms that could be sustained. In balanced, he found the two he could sustain were Bull Rushes Down and Shield of Air. In imperfect he found Hawk Soars and Tornado Path. He realized that if he was going to find a perfect movement form, he’d have to create it. The first thing he did was name it. Since it was faster that soaring he called it “Uktesh’s Bolt.” Now all I need to do is invent a new perfect form of moving toward the enemy. He spent the rest of the time trying and failing to move faster while in Hawk Soars.
By the time he was finished he was thoroughly tired and he had sweated through his shirt. He moved over to watch the three spar and found that Esolc and Repus were doing much better than they had in the past and were attacking in balance about one out of every three attacks. Laurilli defended in balanced each time, but was missing attacks either because she either didn’t defend correctly or because both Esolc and Repus attacked in balanced together.
“Great job today! I don’t want you to get too tired before the play so we’ll call it a day. This will be your training schedule until I get some free time from training with the dragons.”
Laurilli said, “I thought you were going to take it easy?”
Uktesh said, “Plans fail all the time. This was one that did.”
Esolc said, “What were you doing?”
Uktesh said, “Trying to find out why some forms can be sustained, like Bull Rushes Down and Hawk Soars, so that I could find a perfect form of moment.”
Repus’s face displayed his shock, “Did
you find one?”
Uktesh shook his head, “No, I’ll have to invent one, but that’s easier said than done.”
Together they started walking from the beach and back to their houses. Laurilli asked, “Do you think you’ll be able to create one?”
Uktesh shrugged and said, “Maybe, but I doubt it’ll be soon. I don’t know all of the imperfect forms, much less all the perfect forms. Don’t get me wrong, I know most of the imperfect, and a lot of the perfect, but I can’t be sure that one of the grand masters doesn’t already know the form I’m trying to create.”
Repus asked, “Do you think you should go home and finish your training?”
Uktesh said, “Sometimes I do, but with the war going on I doubt that able fighters are getting any more training than the practical training they get when fighting.”
Esolc nodded as they reached the main path and said, “Do you think that if you create a perfect form it’ll help you create a god form?”
Uktesh hadn’t thought about that, but said, “No, I doubt it. They’re too different. I can use perfect forms, I can’t and don’t know how to use the god form, if there is one.”
Laurilli asked, “If you train with the dragons, will that hurt your chances of inventing a perfect Rush?”
Uktesh said, “Maybe, but Riu was able to do some impressive movement skills and maybe learning those will help me develop one for the style I’m used to.”
They turned off the main path and on toward their houses. Laurilli said, “Do you think they’ll let you teach us their skills like the Beletarians do?”
Uktesh said, “Well, I doubt the Beletarians would be happy knowing I taught you anything. The dragons seem similarly secretive.”
They reached the split off for their respective houses and Uktesh said, “See you at lunch?”
Both Esolc and Repus nodded before they headed down to their houses.
Laurilli unlocked the door and walked in and Uktesh followed her. “You can have the first shower,” he said, but she shook her head, shut the door, and locked it behind them.