As the sword test continued, Bhran viciously swung his sword at his partner.
"Bhran, chill out! We are just sparring! It is not a competition."
"Everything is a competition you fool," Bhran said as he whacked the sword out of the kid's hand, who fell down and was now facing the tip of his wooden sword.
"Aha, you lose!"
"Bhran!" Mr. Borsch yelled as he made his way to them.
"How about that Mr. Borsch? I won!"
"You brat! Do this again and I will fail you, do you understand?"
"As if you could," Bhran said under his breath.
"What was that?!"
"It was nothing."
"At least you know when to back down if nothing else. Everyone switch."
Bodhi stepped up to Bhran.
"So it's you."
Bodhi remained silent.
"You think you are so special, don't you? Let's see what you got."
Bhran lunged at Bodhi, putting a lot of force into his moves. Bodhi effortlessly parried them with swift movements.
"Hey, you are cheating again! What's with these moves?"
"Same moves, just with minor improvements."
"Ah I see, so the time you spent going into the forest last year paid off a bit huh? It doesn't matter, you are still going down! Aaaah..."
Bhran went in for a finishing blow. Bodhi tapped his sword as he moved his back leg and body in a circular motion and with a flick of his wrist Bhran's own momentum sent him flying.
"Damn it! What are you doing?!"
"What do you mean?"
"You are supposed to block the attack!"
"I did."
"Not like that!"
"Bhran!" Mr. Borsh yelled out. "What did I just tell you?"
"Bodhi is the one who overdid it, not me!"
"Do you take me for a fool?! I saw your blow. If Bodhi had simply blocked, it could have seriously hurt his hand and wrist. Is that what you wanted?"
"Maybe," Bhran replied.
"You little…"
"That's ok Mr. Borsh." Bodhi jumped in, knowing full well that Bhran could have his father cause trouble for Mr. Borsh if he wanted. "What is done is done. And we are both fine."
"Fine my ass!" Bhran protested.
"What seems to be the problem here?" Thelos inquired as he approached them.
"Oh, nothing to worry about Thelos, just talking some sense into these brats." Mr. Borsh replied.
"Same moves huh?" Thelos said as he looked at Bodhi sideways.
"Oh haha, yeah," Bodhi replied with an awkward smile.
After the remaining tests were done, the kids waited for a week to learn who would get invited to join the Royal Academy. And at the end of the month, those who had were now gathered at the edge of town alongside their families, waiting to depart for the Capital.
"Hello kids," both council leaders Michael and Sophia said as they greeted Bodhi, Vana, and Raj.
"You guys seem in good spirits," Sophia remarked.
"Yes council leader Sophia, we are ready to go!" Raj said as he darted his hand in the air pointing in the direction of the Capital.
"Ahahaha." Both Michael and Sophia chuckled.
"Vana, may I speak with you for a second?" Sophia asked.
"Of course aunt Sophia," Vana replied to her mom's older sister.
As Vana accompanied Sophia, Michael approached the boys.
"I have a gift for each one of you."
The council traditionally gifted each youngster a parting gift before they embarked on the pilgrimage to the capital.
"Think of it as a gift from the town so your journeys may be bountiful in both knowledge and experience, thus benefiting us all. Raj, this is a sketchbook with high-quality paper and sketching tools. May your horizons broaden and your artistic talents flourish."
"Thank you so much, Michael! This is perfect!"
"Bodhi, this is a small handheld telescope. May it help you see far and wide as well as bring your goals into greater focus and your destiny ever closer to fulfillment."
"Thank you Michael! I shall cherish it!"
From a distance, Bhran looked on as the boys received their gifts.
"Who do they think they are? How come the head of the council is the one giving them their gifts and mine is given to me by a second-tier bureaucrat? And to receive a stupid book about the merits of Seven Virtues on top of it! Not that I need anything from the council, but this is just ludicrous!"
"Calm yourself down Bhran. As you said, you don't need anything from the council. Let the peasants relish in their thrifty gifts." Bhran's father, Vaughn, said.
"Yes, father."
"Here, this is a family heirloom, take it." Vaughn handed a ring to his son.
"Thank you father!" Bhran said as he admired the shadow stone on the ring.
"Say the word blend while touching the gem."
"Blend." Bhran did as instructed and witnessed the gem turn into a black shadow before blending into the metal. "Whoa, where did it go?"
"It is still there, but this way you won't get meddlesome low borns asking questions."
Vana walked back towards Bodhi and Raj.
"Vana what did Sophia say? Did she give you anything?" Raj asked.
"Yes, she gave me a small box with a few vials of restorative oils and healing concoctions to aid us in the journey. And she talked to me about some of the herbs and plants I may be able to find in the royal garden if I am ever able to see it."
"The royal garden?"
"Yes, my mom always spoke to me of the royal garden. It is a famed garden tucked away somewhere around the inner tower and is full of wondrous medical herbs and plants that can't be found anywhere else. Or so the legend says."
"Did your mom ever get to see it?" Raj asked.
"Well, we can ask her now," Vana said as their parents approached them.
"Mom, Raj was asking if you got to see the royal garden when you went to the capital?"
"Oh my dear, I did not, unfortunately. Only a few people have ever seen it. Hopefully, you will be one of them Vana." Mary replied.
"I hope so mom."
"What about you guys, what do you want to see when you get there?" Rhon asked of the group.
"I want to see the royal gallery dad! It is said to have amazing works of art from all corners of the kingdom." Raj said.
"That's great son! What about you Bodhi?"
"Well... "
"That's ok son, you can tell them," Eldred said.
"I want to see the inner tower and get an audience with the king and queen."
"Very ambitious Bodhi, very ambitious indeed!" Rhon said.
"I agree. As far as we know, no youth has ever been granted an audience with the king and queen." Mary told them.
"That may be, but I know that Bodhi will achieve any of his goals if he sets his mind to it," Eldred said with a swell of pride in his chest.
"Thanks dad, at least one of us is confident," Bodhi said as they all laughed.
"I am son. Just remember. Your thoughts influence your feelings. Your feelings influence your actions. Your actions influence your results. So be mindful of your thoughts and your actions will lead you to your goals."
"I will dad."
"Alright kids, we are heading out," Thelos announced. "Still your nerves and muster up your courage. We have a few rough days ahead of us, but I am sure the mettle you kids possess will see us all the way to the Capital. Just make sure to follow my and Knight Russ' every command." Thelos said as he led the group into the Great Forest.
It would take them two days to get across it and onto the Great Valley. After that, they had a few more days before reaching the Northern mountains and the Capital. After a few hours of riding through the forest, Thelos told them to stop and make camp for the night.
"Alright, who is ready for some of my mom's famous wild chicken stew?!" Raj asked
"Yaaaay," the kids cheered.
"Ok Raj, choose a couple of helpers to prepare the meal and the rest of you gather some firewood, and set up the tents." Thelos told them.
After their fireside meal, most of the kids were exhausted, falling fast asleep. Bodhi was about to join them when a pair of eyes peering through the trees set their gaze on him. The hairs on Bodhi's neck crept up as he felt the strange sensation of being watched.
"Who or what could it be?" He thought to himself as he looked around.
He then the pair of eyes staring right at him. The head they belonged to slowly came into view as it cut through the brush, faintly illuminated by the full moon. It was the head of a wolf.
"Okhan?!"
"Master Audra?"
"Yes, Bodhi."
"You never told me what exactly happened that day with the wolf?"
"What do you mean?"
"You said something about maybe it had done what it had come to do and left it at that."
"Well, that was all there was to say about it."
"Come on Master Audra, there must be more to it."
"I suppose there is. That wolf is the Great Forest's Guardian Spirit."
"The forest's Guardian Spirit?"
"Yes, or you can simply refer to it as a Guardian."
"A Guardian... Yes, I read about them in the Books of Old. I guess I figured they weren't real."
"Oh they are real alright," Audra said as she smiled. "Okhan, why don't you show yourself?"
Brush began rustling and the face of the wolf emerged.
"Oh wow! Yup, there you are!" Bodhi said after being startled by the sudden appearance.
"Hello."
"Whoa, I heard you! You spoke! In my mind! How is that possible?!"
"He can speak directly to your mind Bodhi. That is called mental transmission."
"Whoa, I remember reading something about that as well."
"Right now you can only hear others who have mastered it, but eventually you will be able to communicate back as well," Audra remarked. "Like this." She ended with a transmission.
"Wow, cool."
"Okhan, what are you doing here?" Bodhi transmitted his thoughts.
"Come."
"You want me to follow you?"
Okhan nodded. Bodhi silently moved towards Okhan, careful as to not wake anyone up. He followed him into the forest.
"Where are we going?"
"Temple"
"Temple?"
They walked for some time under the moonlight. As Bodhi pushed some heavy foliage aside, he was startled when suddenly confronted by a huge statue head.
"Whoa!"
The huge broken head was laying on the ground with vines wrapped around it.
"Must be really old," Bodhi remarked as he reached out to touch it. As he did, his mind was flooded with images of a city with exotic buildings and objects as well as people and clothing Bodhi had never seen before.
"Amazing. That was Object Reading just like Master Audra talked about. That's the first time I ever experienced it so clearly. Was that the lost Ancient City of Old?" Bodhi asked and Okhan nodded in agreement.
After a few more steps the heavy foliage cleared out and he gazed upon the city from atop a hill. It was well lit by the full moon, but unlike the images he had just witnessed, it was deserted and in ruins with trees and vines growing out of most of the buildings.
"Is this what you wanted to show me?"
Okhan didn't reply, he just continued moving towards a structure a short distance away.
"Temple."
Okhan said as he turned around and walked away into the forest.
"Hey Okhan, where are you going? How am I supposed to get back?!"
Okhan had disappeared behind the tree line.
"He likes being so enigmatic, doesn't he? Then I guess I will just explore for a bit and hopefully I can make my way back on my own."
As Bodhi stepped into the temple, he saw a beautiful tree growing out of a big circular pond of water. Its canopy made its way out through the dome ceiling above it. Bodhi could see the night sky and the stars as he looked up.
"Beautiful."
He stepped closer and saw how the roots of the tree traveled deep into the water and many stretched into the walls of the pond.
Bodhi then noticed a statue at the back of the room. It was a figure sitting cross-legged, seemingly in meditation. The writing above its head read:
"The treasure you seek does not lie on the surface. If you want to find it you must dive deep within."
"Maybe I will just sit for a bit and practice as Master Audra taught me." Bodhi thought as he remembered Master Audra's words.
"Your goal is not to battle your thoughts and emotions but to witness them. They can be transformed or cleared, and meditation is a means to transform or clear them... Begin by noticing your breath. Follow the sensation of the air as it goes into and out of your body. Follow it gently for a few moments… visualize a beautiful waterfall of liquid light as you feel it flowing into and through you... allow it to flow... notice the top of your head and feel as if any tension dissolves away... relax your face… neck… shoulders….arms... hands…. chest… abdomen... hips... allow it to flow through you down your legs and through your feet."
"Visualize roots deepening and widening beneath you as you ground this flow into the earth… allow these roots to grow deeper, wider and brighter... feel as the earth responds with a flow that moves up these roots and through you as if flowing up a tree... visualize yourself like a tree growing taller, stronger as the canopy reaches higher and opens wider… follow your breath as you allow both of these flows through you at the same time... from above and below…."
"Relax your whole body as you allow your torso to naturally sway back and forth ever so gently like bamboo in the breeze… follow your breath... feel the flow... and sway... allow until the swaying naturally stops and you are breathing in stillness… any thought or emotion that comes up just witness it and allow it to dissolve and flow away... be aware of your breath… allow your mind to settle as you gradually feel fuller and brighter in this flow... feel as you expand and radiate waves of light in all directions..."
As Bodhi sat feeling the expansion, he could not help but notice a soft glow that shone through his closed eyelids. He gently opened his eyes to find that the light was emanating from the pond as subtle sparks of light were swirling around the tree.
At first, he fugured the writing referred to diving within himself but as the soft light shimmered from the water he thought, "is it saying I should literally dive in?"
As he approached the pond he noticed the light was shining from submerged crystals protruding from the walls of the pond as well as from a fairly large crevice towards the bottom of the pond. "Does it lead somewhere?"
Bodhi didn't give it a second thought and followed his feelings. He jumped in and swam to the opening. Once he reached it he could see a short tunnel with more glowing crystals on its walls. He mustered up the courage and began swimming through it to the other side. He swam upwards to emerge out of the water into an underground cave.
"Phew... not sure I could have gone for much longer."
The soft light was still emanating from crystals protruding out of the walls and some shafts above allowed a bit of the full moonlight in. He noticed all the treasure scattered around.
"Wow, so much treasure!" He said aloud as he made his way out of the water. He then noticed another piece of writing on the wall next to him:
"Welcome to the Cave of Inner Treasures. You may choose one. Choose wisely."
"I can take something with me?!" He looked around, overwhelmed by the number of valuable items, including mounds of pieces of gold and silver as well as scattered gems. "I am sure some of these must be magic gems! How could I choose only one? And I can't leave without something for Vana and Raj... What if I took more? Who would even know?" Bodhi thought to himself.
"I would."