by Owen Crane
What an idiot. He thinks I’m asking because I’m some spoiled Princess. Why won’t
he talk now, what’s wrong with me? Is the Light in everyone else but me? Have I failed even before I’ve started?
“Now, as I was saying,” continued Magatha, “could the reds please stand?”
Theia, Indio and Joachim stood up.
“The natural impulse of red Light is to advance, to attack, to gain ground. It
is aggressive and impulsive. Red Light wielders tend to be ambitious and
competitive. They prefer action to planning, heart responses over rational
thinking. As with all three colours we seek to help red Light users curb the
weaknesses of their personalities while maximising their strengths. You may sit.
Can those of the blue Light please stand.”
Eleazar stood up with Phoebe, Eugenie and Felix.
“The blue Light is in many ways the exact opposite of red. Whereas those of
the red Light prefer to attack, blue Light users natural response is to defend.
They are the protectors, the ones who shield those around them. They tend to be
diligent planners, cautious in their approach and unwilling to take risks. They
serve as a wonderful balance to the red Light users. Part of your training on The
Journey will be learning to work together and appreciate the strengths of each
other’s Light.”
Indio laughed, “sounds like blue Light users are good for staying at home
and guarding my lunch while the reds go and get things done.”
“Really Indio, is that what you think? Do you not like your hair?” smiled
Malum as he spun a ball of blue Light in his hand.
Indio slapped one hand over his mouth and the other over his burnt fringe, a
pained look on his face.
Jaron and Eleazar stifled their laughs.
“Finally, can those of the green Light please stand?” Asked Magatha.
Esther and Jaron stood.
“Green Light is all about growth,” said Magatha. “Life and vitality are found in green Light. They tend to be the most carefree of Light users.”
Indio burst out laughing.
“Karlov!” He laughed. “Carefree? Has there been a mistake?”
Green sparks flew from Karlov’s hand and Indio’s fringe started
smouldering. Eleazar grabbed a cushion from the nearest armchair and beat him
with it, a desperate attempt to extinguish the flames.
“Yes,” answered Magatha, “carefree,” he smiled as the flames on Indio"s head
went out but Eleazar continued to repeatedly whack him with the cushion.
“Green Light carriers are our best healers. They generally lack the ambition of
reds and the careful planning of blues. They are loyal friends and provide a
much needed balance to the other two colours.”
“That covers it then,” said Magatha. “Today was just the beginning,
identifying your Light doesn"t teach you how to use it. For that you must study,
listen and practice. It"s going to be a steep learning curve.”
“Alright everyone,” said Karlov, “get yourselves some lunch and then it’s out into the training area this afternoon.”
That’s it? What about me? What about someone who’s Light can’t figure itself out?
Indio and Eleazar stood up with a muttered “I"m hungry”, “You"re always
hungry”.”
Ariella stood and headed towards Malum.
Time to get some answers.
But before she got to him Karlov stepped in front of her. “That"s enough for
today. Go get some food.”
“But…”
“That’s enough for today.”
And with that, he turned and left with Malum and Magatha. She looked at
the rest of her Knot waiting around for lunch to served; each of them had a clear
colour.
They all fit, they belong here, but what about me? The girl of no colour at all.
Chapter 12
For three months the daily routine of the Knot remained unchanged. Wake
up, breakfast, weapons training, lunch, Light training, dinner. The only variation
was in the evening where Karlov drilled them in what ever discipline they were
faring worst at.
Although monotonous, their skills were growing. By the end of those
months each of the Knot could handle a number of Lalea"s weapons. Swords,
axes, maces and the other weapons held by the Assistant Master of Arms.
Ariella had finally grasped the long bow and, although not anywhere near Jaron
or Theia"s ability, she could hit the target at a decent range. She still favoured the light rapier that she used back in Lightharbour but there was an edge to her
fighting now. It was no longer practice for fun, now she fought to win.
During the last combat session she had deflected Eleazar"s spinning knives
before feigning injury. She had then tripped him and slammed the hilt of her
rapier into the back of his head, flooring him. Eleazar groaned, blinking, trying
to get rid of the bright stars he was seeing from the impact.
Karlov applauded her, “you"ve finally learnt to fight dirty, I love it!”
Indio had, at last, settled on a battleaxe small enough that he could wield
effectively and Jaron had taken strides in his ability to use a longsword. Even
Felix could now use a weapon without endangering himself and those around
him. After several mishaps requiring Karlov"s healing skills the Knot Leader had
made him choose a mace, rather than a sword as his primary weapon.
“Less chance of accidents.” Was all Karlov said as he handed Felix the mace.
Training in the use of the Light had not gone as well. Magatha was patient
but they were slow learners. Most of them could draw out the Light in
themselves to some degree. They could form small glowing balls that could light
up a room; Felix could even throw his, although this didn"t please everyone. He
got carried away one day and was a little casual with his aim. A ball of blue light
exploded just beyond Theia, singeing the tip of her ponytail and causing her to
leap in fright.
“Idiot!" she screamed, gripping her burnt hair and advancing on Felix who
was back peddling.
Indio and Eleazar didn"t help calm the situation; they had both collapsed
into each other with howls of laughter as they mimicked Theia"s startled
expression.
“I"ll snap your fingers if you ever pull a stunt like that again,” she growled.
“Chill out, will you?” said Jaron, “Where"s your sense of humour?”
“That"s what it is to you isn’t?” she shot back, “A great big joke. You behave
like kids, you make me sick.”
“Careful,” laughed Indio, “If you"re sick on the floor, Karlov will have you
scrubbing the stones with your toothbrush.”
Theia"s face grew menacing.
“That"s enough guys, leave her alone,” said Ariella, stepping in front of the
boys.
Theia lifted her chin and stared into Ariella"s green eyes. “I don"t need your
help Princess.” she spat. Turning on her heel she strode away
“What a smashing person she is, such a delicate soul, don"t you think?”
asked Eleazar
“Definitely,” nodded Indio.”
“That"s enough,” called Magatha. “Get back to your training.”
“Come on,” sighed Jaron, “Let"s get this session finished.” Jaron"s shoulders
had dropped after Theia"s words.
He’s ta
ken that personally. Is he soft? No, not soft, gentle. Not what I expected in a Guardian. I guess it takes all sorts.
“Hey, check me out,” said Indio as he span a small red ball of light over in
his hand.
“Not bad,” nodded Eleazar, “Can you throw it?”
“Easy as pie,” he said and flung his hand out but the ball of Light simply
leapt a few feet straight up and exploded.
“Not again,” he moaned as he frantically banged his hair trying to extinguish
the flames.
Eleazar and Jaron leapt at the chance to whack Indio"s head and rained down
slap after slap, long after the flames had gone out.
“Get off!” yelled Indio
“I think it"s out,” said Eleazar, a serious look on his face
“No kidding,” said Indio, “You two nearly knocked me out.”
“Just trying to help,” smiled Jaron. “That"s what friends are for.”
“Well let"s see if you guys can do any better,” said Indio, “I"ll stand back, and
only laugh a little bit.”
Eleazar frowned and furrowed his brow as he formed a pulsating blue ball of
Light in his hand.
“Not bad,” smiled Indio. “Now give it a throw.”
Eleazar gave him a nervous look and threw his hand out. The ball of light
wobbled in the air for a moment and then dropped to the floor and imploded
with a hiss.
“Ha!” laughed Indio, “top job.”
“At least I have all my hair,” said Eleazar.
Indio shut up as Jaron created a green light ball. His was calmly pulsating in
a gentle rhythm.
“That"s beautiful,” said Ariella.
Jaron smiled at her but his concentration was lost, the ball starting to deflate
like someone had stuck a pin in a balloon.
“No, no, no,” said Jaron, trying to grasp the ball but he only succeeded in
squeezing it into nothing.
“Sorry,” said Ariella, “I"ll shut up next time.”
“Your go Ari.” said Eleazar, “Let"s see what you"ve got.”
Her mouth suddenly went dry.
“It"s okay, I think that"s us done for the day, don"t want to over do it, do
we?” she said.
“You"re kidding?” said Indio.
“Come on Ari,” urged Jaron.
“Don"t be such a Princess,” goaded Eleazar.
“Alright,” she snapped, “just to shut you lot up.”
She swallowed, took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind.
You can do this, just some Light, it’s in you remember, that’s what Malum said.
Yeah, but what colour do you think will come today? I wish you would just make up your mind. Are you talking to the Light now Ari? Yep, I guess you are. Oh hell.
She opened her hand a soft red light began to form into a small ball. But just
as it got to the size of an orange it flickered, crackled and collapsed.
“You can do this,” said Jaron.
Shutting her eyes, she opened her hand again, willing the Light to form.
“Nice colour,” said Indio.
Opening her eyes, she gasped. The ball of Light was blue. Before she could
react it flickered and collapsed again.
No one said anything. Ariella shook her shoulders, opened and closed her
fists, then opened her left hand, closing her eyes again.
For a few moments there was silence, then she felt the warm glow in her
hand. She opened her eyes. The ball of Light was red again.
“Will you make up your bloody mind!” she yelled, startling the boys and the
rest of the Knot. All eyes were on her as the ball of Light collapsed.
“That will do for today,” called Magatha, “We"ll have another session
tomorrow.”
Tomorrow wasn"t much better, or the next day. Ariella"s Light couldn"t
settle. The others were progressing well, all except Joachim. His red Light only
emerged during his fits of rage, which were common, but he lacked any control
over it. He kept his distance from the others in the Knot.
“I wonder what his problem is?” Asked Ariella after a particularly
expressive fit of rage from Joachim. It ended up with him throwing his hands in
the air causing his red Light to explode out of his hands and shatter a window
high up in one of the towers.
“We"ve no clue,” replied Jaron. “We"ve tried to include him, to get him to
talk but he just grunts. He"s not interested in anything but food and the next
session of weapons training.”
Indio nodded “He"s a pain in the arse. The other night Eleazar was juggling
with apples. He didn"t realize that one of the apples was Joachim"s and it turns
out Joachim doesn"t like people juggling with his apples. I thought he was going
to kill him, he"s nuts.”
“Killing Eleazar? Maybe he"s not so bad after all,” said Ariella.
“Ele"s not so bad Ari, you should give him a break,” replied Jaron.
“Give him a break? After the stuff he"s pulled on me! I"ll give him a break, I"ll
even let him pick which arm I break… I"m a generous girl.”
“Come on Ari, admittedly the rat in your pillowcase was pretty harsh,” said
Indio. “But I laughed when he swapped the cream on your strawberries for
mayonnaise.”
“Did you Indio? That"s great to know, I"ll tuck that thought away for
another day.”
Indio was suddenly nervous. “Did I say laugh? It wasn"t a proper laugh; it
was more of a snort or a cough than a laugh. And you know what? Once I"d
thought about it I realised it wasn"t funny and that Ele should be punished for
it.”
“Nice back peddling Indio, real slick,” said Jaron.
Before Indio could protest any more an intense blue Light flared in the
training area causing them to shield their eyes. Karlov had the Knot fighting
each in pairs to develop their team skills. Theia and Eugenie were attacking
Esther and Felix. The girls had both targeted Esther trying to take her out of the
fight before they focused on Felix. They had her pinned back with their swords
while Esther was desperately holding them off with her long bladed spear. Felix
had tried to come to her aid but his hand-to-hand combat skills were no match
for Eugenie. She nonchalantly disarmed him before smashing him to the floor
and turning her attention once again to Esther. Esther"s defence grew more and
more desperate and eventually she buckled under the onslaught, her spear
knocked to the floor. But before the final blow could land Felix reacted.
The blue flare had exploded out of his outstretched hand and formed a wall
of Light in front of the frightened Esther. Just as Felix"s Light had held Karlov"s
sword on their first day it now held Theia and Eugenie, their faces fixed in shock.
“Bloody hell,” said Indio
“Felix, hold it there,” said Ariella as she approached the Light holding the
two girls.
Eleazar picked up a small pebble from the courtyard and tossed it into the
light. It bounced off with a soft thud. Ariella drew her sword and poked it at the
light. It was like hitting a wall.
“Wow,” said Eleazar “That"s amazing.”
Indio went and stood in front of the frozen Theia and Eugenie and began
waving with a big grin on his face. “I think we should keep them like this, it"s an
improvement.”
“That"s enough,” called Karlov. “Let them o
ut Felix.”
Felix dropped his arm, dispelling the light, the startled girls collapsed to the
floor. Eugenie looked embarrassed but Theia was swearing loudly.
“That"s it for today, go hand your weapons into Lalea and grab some lunch,”
said Karlov.
As they approached Lalea"s weapons store, the Assistant Master of Arms
was walking out to meet them.
“Keep the weapons,” Lalea called. “You"re going to need them.”
She pulled Karlov to one side and they whispered together for a few
minutes.
“Keep our weapons? This sounds like it"s going to be fun,” smiled Indio,
swinging his axe.
Ariella rolled her eyes but she couldn"t stop grinning.
At last we get a break from the continuous training. May be Indio’s right, this could be fun.
“Gather round everyone,” called Karlov. “We"ve been given a job to do, our
first, so let"s make sure we nail it.” He gave the Knot a look hard look before
continuing. “There"s an orchard an hour ride from here that"s got a particularly
bad case of Thunderhead infestation.”
Felix groaned, Eugenie laughed, the rest of the Knot looked confused.
“Thunderhead,” muttered Joachim “What are they?”
“He speaks,” whispered Eleazar. Indio tried to stifle his laugh.
Karlov ignored them. “Thunderheads are unique to Trevena, apparently it"s
the soil here they love. They are about the size of a small dog but don"t be fooled
in by their size. They are heavily armoured balls of murderous destruction.
They live in colonies buried underground all over the countryside of Trevena.
Normally the colonies are small but occasionally they reach infestation stage and
then they can destroy whole farms. Lucky for you lot we have a full on
infestation to deal with so you get test out the skills you"ve learnt over the last
three months.”
Joachim cracked his knuckles, Esther winced.
“Report to the stables for your horses and meet me back here in ten
minutes.” The Knot hesitated. “Go!” yelled Karlov
Five minutes later the Knot was assembled on horseback in the middle of the
courtyard.
“Single file.” Commanded Karlov. “Stay close, let"s move.”
He nudged his horse into a trot out of the gates and into the streets of
Stonegard, the Knot following behind. A few minutes later they were amongst
the fields of Trevena, an autumn breeze blowing in their faces.