Chapter 7: Training

  "Follow me," Neifion said, rising from his chair. "It is time."

  "For what?" I asked.

  "Your first lesson." He said nothing more and paused only to swirl a dark cloak around himself, fastening it with a scallop shell clasp. Then he swept out of the room like a dark storm cloud.

  I gulped with sudden apprehension and jogged to catch up with my teacher. "I heard you're an artist..." I began, hoping to break through his tough shell. "I'm an artist too. Whoever made your clasp must've been a skilled artisan. Were you the one who made it?"

  Neifion strode down the hall, apparently unfazed by anything I had said. "No questions. Only silence. It is a rule you will have to learn, and learn quickly. It is impossible to teach someone who prattles on forever."

  I shut my mouth, a little offended, but mostly subdued. Well, no use trying to make conversation with someone who obviously didn't want to talk. Instead, I focused on where we were walking and tried to figure out where we were in the Manor. I had thought I had a good grasp of its layout, but then we took a turn and went down a hall I hadn't been down before. Unlike the other hallways, this one was almost charred to a crisp, and its sides had large chunks taken out of them, almost like they had been attacked by some large, stone-eating monster. All the halls had the scars of battle, but this... this was damage on a whole other level.

  Neifion pushed open the double doors at the end of the hall, and warm light flooded past him, dancing in the air and highlighting tiny dust motes. "The Arena won't wait forever, you know!" he called over his shoulder, then disappeared through the doors, shutting off the light and leaving me in the darkened hallway. I ran up to the doors and shoved my way through, like a true Fire Elemental would. No thought, no consideration, just action. But when I saw the Arena for the first time, I was stopped completely in my tracks.

  The Arena wasn't like any other, either in size or in style. It was built in a strange shape, with nine sides, each painted a unique color and with a wooden emblem hanging on it. I saw a wall of the Arena painted a deep red, similar to the reds in my outfit, and its emblem was clearly of coiled flames. I wondered if each side represented an element. Along the walls, there were stands for an audience to sit in while they were entertained by whatever happened in the Arena, but the stands were empty for the moment. The ceiling was strangely tall, maybe eighty feet above me, with large lanterns hanging to light the room and a pattern of tiles that was too small to be deciphered from where I stood. The floor was only packed dirt, marked with scuffs from either battle or training, but there were different obstacles correlating with the different sides. Most of the obstacles were dusty and unused, but a few seemed to be new and clean, like the piles of rocks by the dark brown side, or the tall pillars by the silvery side.

  When I had finished gazing at the room in wonder, I realized that Neifion was waiting for me in what looked to be the exact middle of the arena. I approached him and bowed respectfully, bending at the waist. "I am yours to command, teacher."

  "You were never anything else." Neifion pointed to a wobbly line that had been scratched in the dirt. "Stand here and close your eyes." I did as instructed. "Now, what do you see?"

  "I see darkness," I said promptly, not sure what else I was supposed to see.

  "Not with your actual eyes, boy! What do you see with the eyes of your heart and soul? Reach out and become one with the world."

  Wow, points for being preciseness. I rolled my eyes, but since they were still closed, my teacher couldn't see me doing it. I tried to "reach out," but felt nothing other than empty air around myself. It didn't help not to know what I was even looking for in the first place. "This is impossible," I stated, my eyes snapping open. "How am I supposed to reach? What am I reaching for? This is crazy!"

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "We have many more lessons ahead of us, and it would do you well to treat them all with respect. The lessons have been chosen for a reason," Neifion said, his complacency starting to drive me a bit nuts. "However... this is your first lesson, and it might help you to have more direct instructions. Have a seat." I sat on the dirt ground with my legs crossed, and he sat across from me. His sharp, icy eyes felt like they were penetrating my very being. "Close your eyes again, but this time, try to see the light," Neifion told me, his tone softer than before. "Look for the warmth in this world. If you can't see it, try taking deep breaths and being here more. You can't control the elements of this world if your mind is always elsewhere."

  I perked up. This was the first I had heard of the Amulet's potential. "Teacher, will I be able to control fire? Is that what the Amulet does?"

  "Yes, but only in the hands of one who has mastered all the lessons there are to learn. Now focus!"

  I closed my eyes and tried to see the heat, but it felt as if ants were crawling in my clothes. I just couldn't relax. I took deep breaths as Neifion had suggested, trying to calm the excited thumping of my heart, but it didn't work. I had almost run out of ideas when I remembered the fountain in my teacher's bedroom. I brought to memory the steady, measured pace of the water streaming down its rocky edifice, and my nerves settled down. My breathing steadied, and it was almost as if I became more... present. The background noises that constantly filled the Manor sharpened to a strange clarity, and the dusty, musky scent of the dirt floor pricked my nose. Then I saw a flicker of light. I had to double-check that my eyes were still closed, and they were. So what had I seen? I continued to take deep breaths, waiting patiently, and it happened again. The light blinked into view, as red as a newly-polished apple. The little red light strengthened gradually, turning into the vague, blobby shape of Neifion, lit up like a lantern. I held my breath. Was this it? Was I seeing the heat?

  But then the cycle of breathing in and out was broken, and my concentration faded, along with the light. I slowly opened my eyes and barely avoided being blinded by the brightness of the Arena. It seemed as bright as the sun after minutes of pitch-blackness. "I think I did it," I said, resisting the urge to stretch out my legs and ease the soreness within them. "You were glowing red."

  Neifion's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Really? An apprentice being able to See after scarcely half an hour of practice? Impossible!" I couldn't tell if he was talking to me or to himself. He muttered a little longer, turning away as if to make sure I couldn't eavesdrop. I just sat there, waiting for his guidance.

  "Firth!" he shouted suddenly.

  I snapped to attention instantly, as if I hadn't already been hanging on his next words. "Yes?"

  "We're going to do a little test, you and I. You will close your eyes, and then I will stand somewhere in this room. It is your job to see my body heat and point to where I am standing. Are you up to the challenge?"

  I gave a shaky nod. "I'm ready." Needing no further prompting, I closed my eyes and pictured the fountain. I was one with the water, drifting and gliding through life. Nothing could harm me, because water cannot be hurt. The idea lent me more peace than I could've imagined. I was always so afraid of being ostracized or humiliated, and it was so freeing to be able to put that all behind me, even if it was just for the moment.

  The red light flickered into view. I could see the blobby glow, which I assumed was Neifion, bobbing in place about fifty feet away or so, based on its size. But this time, there was more than one light floating in the realm of darkness. Miniature red dots floated above me, swaying just slightly from side to side. Determination welled up within me. Somehow, I had cracked the code to this "seeing" thing, and this challenge was going to be as easy as breathing. With this swell of confidence, the lights brightened and sharpened into focus. Neifion's blob became more like a person-shaped lamp. I raised one arm, though I couldn't see it with my eyes closed, and pointed it in his direction. I watched his light stride around the Arena, and my arm followed in his tracks.

  "Very good, Firth. You may open your eyes."

  Brightness splattered my vision as I blinked back into the world of light. It didn't blind me as much this time, probably because my eyes didn't need to be closed for as long. "Did I pass the test?" I asked eagerly, hoping for some sort of congratulations from my teacher.

  "You passed the test with flying colors," Neifion said gruffly, sounding reluctant to hand out praise of any kind. "That was the fastest I've ever seen someone learn to See. You did better than simply pass the test. You have completed your first lesson."