Ashborn Primordial

Chapter 26: Cloaks & Daggers

Vir carefully stepped onto the first suspended balancing beam, pausing only slightly to jump onto the next beam, and finally the third.

Both Vir and Maiya had braved Riyans dome of horrors every day, and while there had been broken bones and torn flesh, neither had taken grievous injuries Yet.

But that was only because the truly dangerous parts of the course came later on. Each platform housed a different obstacle, and of the twelve total platforms, Vir had only ever gotten as far as the third. It was forgiving in that waythe course started somewhat benign and became progressively more vicious the higher up you went. And of course, the higher you went, the worse your fall would be.

The first obstaclethe three balancing beams suspended by ropes on either endwas the only one Vir cleared with ease; the beams posed no issue to him anymore. But the second obstaclea series of rotating cylindrical posts with wooden blades embedded into it at varying heightshad left him bruised, battered, and broken, and that was after he'd convinced Riyan to disable the Sharpen Edge orbs on the blades. Apparently, even their mentor had realized that was too much for him at this point.

After painstakingly analyzing the course from the ground, Vir now had a general understanding of its layout. There were more rotating posts in store for him higher up, but unlike those, this one was more benign. It had fewer blades, rotated slower, and had more gaps between the posts, making it easier to navigate. At least, thats what it looked like to Vir; there was only so much he could see from the ground.

But even if it was easier than the later challenges, that didnt mean it was easy. Blindly rushing in was just begging to be hurt. Vir had determined that there was only one safe route through, and it only opened up for a split second.

Itd taken him hours of staring at the dang posts to realize that the blades werent evenly distributed around each post as they rotated. There were more blades on one side, and fewer on another. There were several such posts, so hed had to learn the characteristics of each.

The safe path relied on timing. He had to enter the gauntlet at the right time, and he had to maintain the correct pace through the posts. Too fast or too slow, and hed lose the timing and smash against the wooden blades before being thrown out.

The hardest part about this was that he had to contort his body in just the right motions, besides matching the timing.

Vir lunged into the gauntlet, ducking a blade that grazed his head, sweeping through his hair.

He wrenched his body through the gap between two rotating posts before jumping, bringing his knees to his chest to avoid two more blades. He didnt land on both legs, thoughthat would lead to him taking a sword in his left shin. Instead, Vir hopped on his right leg, narrowly dodging another blade.

Too slow!

After enduring this gauntlet endless times, Vir had developed an innate sense of the correct pace. He knew he was lagging. If he didnt want to be mulched by the wooden blades, he needed to do something, now.

His muscles protested as he forced his body to hasten, injecting more power into his lunges, dodges, and jumps. Through sheer willpower, he managed to regain the timing Barely.

Vir wasnt out of the woods yet. The final hurdle of this obstacle lay before him: a series of three more posts. Two on the right, and one on the left. The timing of this last hurdle was especially brutal.

Itd taken Vir innumerable repetitions and hours of staring at the posts to realize the trick: the timing changed every four rotations. Which meant that there was no safe path through half the time. He called them pattern A and pattern B.

This course told him more about the inner workings of Riyans mind than anything else the man had ever said or doneonly a sadist would come up with such a convoluted contraption.

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The worst part was how he had to enter the previous set of rotating posts based on the timing of the final set. If he started the course during pattern B, he was doomed to fail no matter how perfectly he executed his moves.

After endless attempts, hed learned. Painfully and brutally, he had mastered the timing. And even then, his breakthrough only came thanks to Prana Vision. The prana coursing through the inscriptions on the cylinders changed slightly an instant before the pattern shifted, giving Vir a precious indicator to watch for.

Vir ducked and jumped, clearing the obstacle and landing on a ladder that led to the next platform. Hed hoped he could rest on the ladder, but it was within the range of the rotating posts. There would be no rest here.

He scrambled up it as fast he could manage. It wasnt enough. One blade nicked his Achilles tendon, making him wince with pain.

He gingerly stood atop the highest platform hed ever gotten to.

The third challenge that awaited him was a series of enormous, swinging wooden scythes suspended from a horizontal log above.

But ordinary scythes would be too easy. No, these scythes motions were erratic and unpredictable. They didnt swing in arcs. They sped up, slowed down, stopped, jerked, and reversed.

This, too, was a trial of memorization, and Vir felt like he was finally beginning to grasp the feel of it.

The moment he stepped off the ladder, he was already in the path of the first scythe. Vir ignored the pain from his foot and jumped into its arc, knowing it would stop midair.

It did, for a split-second, which was all the opportunity he needed to leap past it. The issue with this obstacle, like the one before it, was that the moment he passed the first hazard, he was immediately thrust upon the next one. There were no breaks, no opportunities to pause and re-evaluate the situation.

Every self-preservation instinct he had screamed for him to move! To get out of the way of the scythe that swung for his head. But he resisted. The scythe would stop in its tracks and turn back around. He had to trust his analysis, because if he moved now, hed walk right into the next scythe in line.

The scythe stopped as predicted, and Vir let out a deep breath.

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But instead of turning around like it had when hed observed it from the ground, it continued its arc, crashing into his ribs and sending him flying off the platform.

Vir screamed as he sailed through the air and tumbled onto the sand below.

His instincts took over, and he automatically threw himself into a roll to soften the impact, but the third obstacle was higher than the rest. Even with the deep sand, the impact hurt.

Grah! He roared, punching the sand.

He was sick of this. Sick of being clubbed by wooden weapons. Sick of the scrapes when he fell onto the sand.

Vir took one look at the obstacle course and immediately abandoned any thought of attempting it again that day. He was done.

There had to be something he could do to give him an edge. He sat and closed his eyes, focusing on his prana despite the pain that throbbed from his stomach.

These meditation sessions were all that had kept him from suffocating under the immense pressure of their training regimen. The only thing that kept him sane. And it was while meditating that hed had a breakthrough.

He knew that black prana coursed through his body. After hours of meditation, Vir had begun to feel the circulating prana, to an extent. It was an incredibly subtle sensation, which was why hed never noticed it before. With practice, this sense had grown stronger and stronger. And with it came a realization.

Hed initially thought Prana Vision required his blood to operate.

That was wrong; it powered off of his prana, not his blood.

Though obvious in hindsight, the realization was subtle, yet profound. As far as he could tell, prana flow was synonymous with blood flow. Rather, it appeared as if his blood actually carried his prana. He confirmed this by observing the flow of prana within Maiya and Riyan. Both behaved identically to his own body.

Which meant two things. First, his bodys prana flow functioned the same as everyone elses, just that his particular affinity was unknown to everyone and wasnt present anywhere in nature. Secondlyand this was what made him giddy with excitementit meant that whatever affinity he had was powering Prana Vision.

It meant he could use magic! In fact, hed been using magic all this time. But that only gave him more questions. Magic required orbs to use. Everyone knew that. Riyan himself said that the amount of prana within the body was insignificantthat mejai channeled prana from the surrounding air to fuel their orbs. Yet Vir could somehow use magic without using orbs at all. And the prana within his body seemed sufficient to power his Prana Vision

There was something else, too. Hed missed it earlier, but now that Prana Vision had become more sensitive, he realized that the prana in his body continuously leaked out into the air and ground.

This happened at all times, regardless of what he was doing, but it leaked faster when he exerted himself. Just to be sure, he confirmed that the same phenomenon never happened to Maiya or Riyan, so it was unique to him.

He didnt quite know what to make of that yet. The biggest question mark in his mind was whether his prana was only good for Prana Vision, or whether it could be made to serve other purposes. He truly hoped it could, but thus far, hed been unsuccessful in manifesting any other powers.

So? How far didja get this time? Maiya asked, walking into the training dome.

Vir heard her stop on the edge of the sand, several paces away. He kept his eyes closed, concentrating on his meditation.

Second scythe. Same as last time.

Still, I cant believe youve gotten this good this fast, Maiya said. She herself hadnt been able to make it past the balancing beamsthe easiest obstacle of them all.

Vir shook his head with his eyes still closed. I wish. But I guess all those years of jumping through Brijs alleys helps out. Anyway, I think I know whats going on now. The scythes behavior changes depending on whether theres a person in the course or not.

What!? Thats ridiculous! Doesnt that make analyzing the course pointless?

Something was off about her voice, though Vir couldnt quite pinpoint what.

Yknow, she said, I cant help but think this all has a military feel to it. Isnt this how soldiers train?

Giving up on meditation, Vir finally opened his eyes and stared up at the obstacle course.

I dunno about that. You really think they go through something like this? Vir knew nothing about how soldiers practiced, but if that was true, he pitied every single soldier who had to endure this Ash-damned training.

Maiya approached him from behind and offered a towel, which he graciously accepted, wiping the sweat and sand off of his face.

Mmm who knows, Vir? But I do know that hurting yourself like this cant be good for you. Even with Riyans Life orbs, I dont think its healthy for your development.

Not much I can do about it, right? Besides, how can I just take things easy when Rudvik sacrificed his life for me? Working myself to the bone is the least I can do to honor him.

Maiya squeezed his shoulder. You are, Vir. You are.

Vir finally turned and looked up at her. Thanks Maiw-w-whawho!? he cried, scampering back on all fours.

The black-haired boy facing Vir burst out laughing. Took you long enough, you dolt! Said the boy, with Maiyas voice.

Whats going on? IsIs that you, Maiya? Vir said. Not only had her gender changed, but she didnt look anything like the Maiya he knew. This boy wore a small cap, a plaid shirt, and corduroy pants.

You look like a merchants son or something, Vir said, circling around her while she bowed. This is incredible. Did Riyan do this?

Maiya nodded. I guess he relented after seeing my glacial progress on the obstacle course. Hes been teaching me the art of makeup and disguise.

Something clicked in Virs head. Is that where youve been, lately? I thought

Maiya laughed. You thought I got depressed, didnt you?

W-well, yeah, he said sheepishly, averting his gaze. She hadnt been joining him on the course at all lately. He figured she just needed some alone time, so hed avoided the topic whenever he saw her. It made for some awkward conversations between them.

Well, youre not wrong. I was feeling pretty down for a while. But then Riyan started teaching me this stuff. He says I actually have a knack for it!

Virs eyes bulged. He complimented you?

It was rare for that man to say nice things. He wondered whether the world was ending. It was either that, or Maiya really did have some serious talent for it. One look at her told him it was the latter.

Im honestly shocked, Maiya. Even your eyes are a different color. No one would ever guess who you are.

Maiya giggled. If I fooled you, I guess it works pretty well! Its honestly still kinda awkward for me. Riyans been teaching me how to lower my voice, too, but I still gotta work on that.

So, is this just practice, or is there a reason youre in disguise? Vir asked, taking awkward glances at his transformed best friend.

Maiya tossed him a piece of parchment, which he caught and unfurled. Whats this? A list of supplies? Does this mean what I think it means?

Uh, huh. Riyan wants us to journey north to Saran to buy supplies for the next three months. We're finally gonna visit a proper city! she exclaimed.

A trip!? He agreed with Maiya; the thought of some new scenery made Virs heart pump, even if they were just doing the mans menial work for him.

But first, Maiya said, holding up a small brush, we gotta do your makeup.

Uh, Maiya? Why are you grinning at me like that?

Vir had a bad feeling about this.

Next time: 27 -The Northward Bound