by S. K. Ng
Slide chose to ‘gracefully’ leave the infirmary, before he became a target himself.
‘Fault _ it was...’ was all Ray could say before Master Matten cleared her throat loudly and gave him such a stern stare he felt his gut shrink.
“You!” said Master Matten as she pointed a finger at Stick.
Stick pissed in his pants … and then pretended that he did not.
“Brilliant _ Master Santlyn told me you were of this, and that you would make a great Elementhar one day, so how is it that you ended up behaving like this!?” she said while giving him the same stern stare as she had given Ray.
To both Ray and Stick’s surprise, Master Matten did not inspect their injuries like they thought she would! Instead, she dragged the both of them by their ear and made them stand in the middle of the empty field under the hot afternoon sun.
“Stay _ you will do of this until I come back and bring you in!” she commanded, and then she turned and marched off.
So there in the empty field and under the hot sun stood Ray, with a swollen eye and Stick, with a bruised stomach and wet pants.
“Feeling _ how are you of this, Stick?” asked Ray after a while.
“Talk _ do not do of this to me, you imbecile!” responded Stick.
“What?” said Ray in total surprise.
“Fault _ this is all yours of it!” accused Stick.
“What!? Fault _ how so is it mine of this?” objected Ray.
“Listen _ you do of this, you baboon! Given _ if you had just done of this of your place to Scorpion, then none of this would have happened; and we would all be in class where I can make all of you look stupid!” said Stick.
“What!” expressed Ray in surprise.
“Heard _ you did of this of me, Ray Iddell!” said Stick.
“Justice _ would it have been of this if I had given my place to Scorpion, Stick!?” highlighted Ray.
“Justice!? Justice!? Justice _ who the hell cares about of it, Ray? Doing _ what I was of this was dominance, supremacy! Idiot _ I made him look like of him in class, where it mattered, Ray, so that I can be the best Elementhar amongst us. Dominate _ I was doing of this by ruining his reputation amongst the masters, so that they would think him stupid and think me smart. Justice _ it’s not about of this, Ray! Impression _ it was all about of this! Justice _ thanks to your idiotic notion of this, my plans are ruined!” argued Stick.
Ray shook his head in confusion. Something was not right with what Stick was saying.
“Bad _ I can understand why you would want to make Scorpion look of it, for he treats you badly; but why all of us as well?” asked Ray in good faith.
“Competition _ life is of this, Ray; and for me to rise, all of you must fall!” answered Stick selfishly.
“Competition _ life is not of this, Stick; but it is about purification of our souls instead, so why can we not rise together?” Ray pointed out.
“Competition _ life is of this Ray; and there is only one ‘King of the Hill’, so to speak, and I intend to be him!” argued Stick.
“Happen _ and what will of this be to the rest of us?” asked Ray.
“Happen _ of this to the rest of you, you may rot for all I care; for I am the best and the world must know that I am the best; and everything else does not matter!” answered Stick.
“Confused _ I do not know who is more of this, you or Scorpion! Great _ as of this as you think you are and that you think I am not, at least I do not piss in my pants!” commented Ray.
Stick opened his mouth to respond, but no argument came out. As much as the ever so great and magnificent and all-mighty Mister Stick Dugs, ‘King of the Hill’, would like to deny it; the truth is, he did piss in his pants. And on this point, he could not argue against Ray. Damn you, Ray Iddell!
The sun was mercilessly hot and after a while, both Ray’s and Stick’s throat felt coarse and dry. They began to develop headaches. Ray was wobbling while Stick began vomiting.
Ray saw two figures approaching them. He wondered whether he was hallucinating or not. Then he heard Stick cursing and he knew that he was not hallucinating.
“Dellix _ those damn twins of them, what are they doing here!?” Stick said a little too loudly.
Bloom handed Ray a bamboo water container, and Ray drank from it greedily. Then Radiance handed him a piece of cake wrapped in large leaves, and he ate it up in two mouthfuls. Ray had then wanted to hand the water container to Stick, but Bloom snatched it from him.
“Doing _ what are you of this, Bloom?” asked Ray, surprised.
“Deserve _ he does not of this, for he said curses of us and I heard it,” answered Bloom.
“Deserve _ you are the one who is of this of damnation, not us, so too bad, Stick!” said Radiance as both she and Bloom walked away.
“Puking _ happy doing of this, Stick,” added Bloom.
Once again, Stick was at a lost for words. Ray had wanted to pity him. But Ray knew that his sympathy would be wasted on Stick. So Ray decided to teach him a lesson instead.
“Given _ they would have done of this of the water to you, if you had not been so proud and arrogant,” said Ray.
‘Need _ I do not ... auurgh!’ was all Stick had managed to say before he bent over and started vomiting again.
And all Ray did was laughed, and laughed and laughed.
A month after Ray had begun his training, his relationship with both Scorpion and Stick was as bad as ever. Scorpion made it a point to pick on Ray whenever he could, which was whenever he was not picking on Stick. Stick was as snobbish as ever, but particularly so to Ray. Then one day, Ray stepped into Master Santlyn’s office to ask him about them.
“Behave _ why do they do so of this towards me and the others, Master Santlyn?” asked Ray after explaining his problems to him.
“Behave _ they do so, Ray, for similar reasons; though through different ways. Bullying _ they are both doing of this, with Scorpion using his strength and aggression; and Stick using his intellect and diligence. Bullying _ they are doing of this to gain power and respect by not earning these the right way; and perhaps they felt themselves inadequate to be able to earn these the right way, and they chose to cover up their inadequacies,” explain Master Santlyn.
“Stop _ how do I do of this of them?” asked Ray.
“Stop _ of this, you could insist on Scorpion not treating you the usual way by firmly telling him to stop; and as for Stick, you could ‘out-study’ him to make him look foolish and perhaps then he would stop,” advised Master Santlyn.
“Advice _ thank you for yours of this, master,” said Ray as he got up, bowed and left the office.
Two months had passed, and the situation had not changed one bit. Scorpion was still bullying Ray and the others; and Stick was ever the more snobbish and arrogant. Ray decided that he has had enough of the both of them. So when Scorpion tried to pull Ray out of the queue during lunch time, Ray gave him a punch right in the nose. Scorpion yelled out in pain, and then he grabbed Ray by the collar of his shirt and beat the living daylights out of him. Scorpion only stopped when Slide grabbed his punching wrist and gave him a stare so stern that it sent shivers down his spine. Scorpion walked away without any food.
Slide helped Ray to get back up. Ray’s face was swollen. His nose and mouth were bleeding. But his spirit was high.
“Proud _ I am of this of you, Ray; for you took it like a man!” complimented Slide.
“Thanks! Ouch!” said Ray as he tried to smile.
“Showed _ you did of this to him, Ray; thanks!” said Cutter, who became Scorpion’s third favourite bully victim after Stick and Ray.
“Showed _ I think he did of this to me, not the other way around, but thanks anyway, Cutter,” said Ray.
The Dellix twins took one look at Ray’s face, freaked out and rushed him off to see Master Matten, so in the end, Ray did not get any lunch either. What was worse, Ray had to stand in the empty field under the hot sun again, and this time he stood there alone. As usual, the
Dellix twins came to his rescue with some drinks and snacks after an hour or two.
Scorpion once again tried to grab Ray and pull him out of the queue at dinner time. But this time, Ray punched him straight in the nose even before he managed to get close. And for good measure, Ray kicked him in the groin as well. Scorpion collapsed to his knees and whimpered like a scared puppy for a few heartbeats. But then he got up and came charging desperately at Ray. Both boys proceeded to beat the living daylights out of each other, with Scorpion fairing much better. And then came Master Matten, who grabbed both boys by the ear and made them stand alone in the empty field in the dark. As usual, she was not concerned with their injuries, just their punishment.
“Idiot_ you are of this, Ray; for why can you not just submit to my supremacy!? Look _ do of this of us now, cold and hungry and standing in the dark!” said Scorpion.
“Idiot _ you are the one of him, for if you treated everyone fairly and equally, and if you had not considered yourself supreme, then none of us would have to be here cold and hungry and standing in the dark!” replied Ray.
“Submit _ you could have chosen to do of this!” stressed Scorpion.
“Dominate _ you could have chosen not to do of this!” countered Ray.
‘Right _ it is mine of this to dominate all of … Argh!’ was all Scorpion could say before Ray’s fist landed on his jaw.
And a long and loud fist-fight broke out in the empty field in the dark of night. Came morning, and both boys were lying on their backs. They were not asleep. They were just too sore to move. They were all swelled up, bruised and bleeding. Master Matten was shocked when she saw the both of them, and fell to her knees speechless. Master Santlyn looked at them and shook his head. Senior Dencon, however, gave Ray a ‘thumb’s up’ sign when the two other masters were not looking. Ray afforded a feeble smile, and it was as much of a smile as his swollen face could afford him. Senior Dencon then called for some novices to bring a pair of stretchers.
Ray and Scorpion were given a few days off to recover. They were ordered to recuperate at their respective rooms to prevent them from fighting each other again. During this time, the Dellix twins brought food and homework for Ray. Scorpion had to go the mess hall to get food, and he usually went very early so that no one could see him. He did not want to be seen in his weakened condition.
On the morning of the third day after their last fight, Ray queued up for breakfast in the mess hall. Scorpion, as usual, came up to him from behind. Ray raised his fists to prepare for a fight. Scorpion stood still. He tried very hard to control his urge to beat Ray to a pulp. Suddenly, to everybody’s amazement, Scorpion backed away and joined the queue from the back. Everyone thought that Scorpion had come to his senses, until they saw him pour what was left of his breakfast onto Stick’s head. As usual, Stick stood up, made a bunch of threats and walked off in anger. Scorpion just pretended that nothing had happened. But he avoided looking at Ray. He did not want to spend another cold night in the empty field, lying on the grass all bruised and starving.
Lunch time was pretty much the same. Scorpion stayed away from Ray, but made it his personal mission to harass Stick. And Stick responded the same way he usually did. Ray had thought to give encouragement and advice to Stick, but then he realised that Stick himself was no better than Scorpion. He was different, but he was not better. So Ray just ignored the both of them, just like how everybody else did.
A year had gone by, and now Ray was of the age 14. He was doing well in his studies, and so were the Twins Dellix. The top spot for academic achievement, however, still belonged to Stick. He was as arrogant as ever. Scorpion was ranked the worst in the class, and was barely passing his examinations.
One afternoon, the class was at the empty field. They were practising the Heat Burst Spell. They were taught the spell a few months before, but on this day, Master Santlyn wanted them to practice the accuracy of their spells. So he had set up a bunch of fist-sized wooden target boards. The novices all took turns trying to hit the tiny little targets. They had lined up into three columns, and when it came to their turn, Master Santlyn would yell out a number and the novices up front would have to hit the targets that had the associated number painted on them. Ray and the Dellix twins were doing very well, hitting most of the targets that they were aiming at. Stick was also doing well, scoring one or two hits more than Ray. Scorpion’s score was just a hit or two below Ray’s. The rest of the class were also doing rather well. Slide Moltox, however, was missing most of his.
Master Santlyn shouted the command ‘seven’. Two out of the three targets that had the number seven painted on them exploded. One did not. Slide went to the back of his column and rejoined the queue. He was shaking his head and he looked really confused.
“Relax _ you need to do of this more, Slide. Accuracy _ it is about of this, and not about power; and too much anger would create a powerful Heat Burst, but not an accurate one,” Ray said to Slide.
“Relax _ right, I have to do more of this, because more anger means more power means less accuracy; and so I have got to cool down a bit,” acknowledged Slide.
“Yes,” said Ray.
Slide stepped up front. It was his turn again. Then he heard Master Santlyn shout the number ‘ten’. Slide drew in a deep breath, summoned up his feeling of anger and focused it on his fingertips. But he summoned up only three quarters of what he usually did. A Heat Burst had formed in his hands. He threw it at three quarters of his usual strength. He thought he had thrown it too feebly, and was afraid that the Heat Burst would fizzle out before it reached the target. But to his surprise, he saw the target explode. A smile broke on his face.
“Thanks,” he said to Ray.
Ray just smiled and nodded his head.
The next morning, Ray was seated at his favourite spot, which was atop the boulder at the end of the empty field. It was an off day. To his surprise, Slide climbed up the boulder and sat next to him. He had brought two bamboo water containers filled with orange juice and offered one to Ray.
“Advice _ thank you for yours of this, Ray, for I was really having trouble with the Heat Burst yesterday,” said Slide.
“Welcome _ you are of this, Slide,” said Ray.
“Feel _ how does it of this to grow up here, Ray?” asked Slide.
“Feel _ of this, it is lonely but at the same time it is not; I suppose; but I do not know because I cannot compare the life here with a normal upbringing outside the monune,” answered Ray.
“Understand _ I do of this, but I think you do not miss out much as compared to the normal upbringing outside the monune,” said Slide.
Ray took a sip of orange juice. Slide did the same. A gentle breeze blew and both novices took a few moments to appreciate the scenery of the forest below.
“Feel _ how does it of this to grow up and live outside the monune?” asked Ray finally.
“Different _ it is of this, but not necessarily better; for I grew up with parents who were too busy working to care for me, but I had my grandparents to do that for me, and I had my younger brother and sister to take care of; and also there were always house chores and farming to do, but we occasionally do get to spend time as a family; and I guess we were happy together, until a centipede demon killed them all. Loved _ I never got to say that I felt of this for them before they were all killed, and that was my one true regret,” answered Slide.
“Demon _ of it, now you want to learn how to hunt it down and kill it,” said Ray.
“Yes. Vengeance _ of this, it is all that I have left, Ray. Incidentally _ of this, the demon that killed my family was also the same demon that had killed Thunder’s wife and daughter; so he and I have made a pact to hunt down this demon together, and that we would torture it as much as we can before we kill it!” confirmed Slide.
“Understand _ I do of this, but as for me, I want to sail across the ocean one day and look for my parents,” expressed Ray.
“Luck _ I wish you the best of it, and may you gain the famil
y that I have lost, and may you not lose your family the way I lost mine,” wished Slide.
“Luck _ may both you and Thunder have the best of this in hunting down and killing the centipede demon, Slide,” reciprocated Ray.
Both novices took another sip of juice.
“Elementhar _ will you stay on and remain as one of him after you have killed this centipede demon, Slide?” asked Ray.
“Know _ I do not of this, Ray, for I have not planned that far ahead! Elementhar _ will you stay on after you have found your parents?” asked Slide in return.
“Elementhar _ I shall stay on and remain as one of him, for this is all that I really know in life, Slide,” answered Ray.
“Choices _ there could be of these later on,” said Slide.
“Choices _ indeed there could be of these later on, but this is my identity and it is a part of me, so how can I ever part with it?” said Ray.
“True _ what you say is of this, but the future does not necessarily go as what we have planned. Plan _ I did not do of this of having my entire family killed by a demon, and yet it happened. Luck _ but maybe, yours of this would be better than mine,” said Slide.
Ray sat silent. He had to admit that Slide was right. Ray would want to remain an Elementhar, but he did not know what the future had in store for him. So he decided that in life, he could only plan for things to happen; but he must never put hope that things would happen as how or what he had planned them. This way, he would not be disappointed if things did not work out.
One night, when Ray was of the age 15, he heard a knock on his door. He opened it, and was surprised to find Scorpion standing there. Not only that, but the Dellix twins, Slide and even Stick were with him.