The birds sang out in the morning which was veiled by the calm darkness before dawn. It was cold and the dew settled down on the plants which in turn dropped the condensed water onto the ground. In a grassy field near a river, far away from the house, stood Alsi…shivering like hell just froze over. He had now fully recovered and his arm was fine again. It had only taken him almost a week to be back in shape. He let out breaths of air to warm his hands as he stared out at the horizon waiting for the sun's rays to come out and warm his skin. When he turned around, he saw Ceal seated on the ground and Agyro stretching.
"What the heck are we doing out so early!?"
"Don't you know? We're here for your performance, which you're really good at by the way. I mean you're shaking it like there's no tomorrow…" Ceal teased Alsi.
"You better watch your mouth peasant, and don't think I forgot what you did to me back there!" Said Alsi.
"That's enough boys, Ceal can you give me that necklace?" Said Agyro as he finished his stretching and approached his son. Ceal removed the necklace from his pocket and handed it over to Agyro. Agyro took it and held it out. He observed the crystal and the chain.
"This is a normal but quality silver chain. As for this crystal though…'he took a closer look at the crystal and brought it to swing close to his face,' oh my goodness. There's more to this than what Serena read in her book."
" And what is that?" Asked Ceal.
"Have you ever heard of the Kalliroi labrynths?"
"The Kalliroi labrynths?" Alsi repeated.
"Yes, these are basically the greatest sources of energy.These labrynths contain what they call Kalliroi crystals.' Agyro paused and took a look at Alsi and Ceal, Alsi was still shivering helplessly but paying attention, Ceal was seated on the grass staring at Agyro.
' it is said that these crystals are directly linked with the energy of the gods. There are 4 labrynths with crystals that have a direct link to gods whose existance have been lost to time. Even their names have been forgotten the only testament to their existance are these labrynths. However because these gods are not worshipped and they're not known…not anyone can utilize these crystals to their advantage."
"Wait…so you're saying you wouldn't be able to put that on even if you wanted to?" Asked Alsi.
" You're right. Apparently one has to have some kind of connection to the lost gods in order to be able to make use of the Kalliroi crystals. Anyone who dares to harness their energy dies from kine backflow…or they might just explode."
"Wait a minute…people keep saying kine and gods repeatedly, what do these gods have to do with my energy?" Said Alsi.
" Well Alsi, our world is naturally full of kine energy. It's every where, even in the lifeless rocks we kick around. But if we want to be able to utilize and control kine energy we must offer worship to the ones who give it. When we worship our gods we establish a connection to them that in turn enables us to gain more energy and use it in different ways."
"-sigh- I've heard this before, but I'm not the type who sings praises to people in the sky who I never knew existed till a few weeks ago."
"Well if you want to be able to gain more control over your kine energy, you'll need to have a connection to atleast one god."
"Can't I just put on the necklace so I don't have to go through all the trouble. It's clear that I'm already somehow connected to the god who made those things isn't it?"
" Well Alsi, if Ceal was able to put it on, what makes you think you're the only one who is capable of possessing that thing?" Alsi failed to answer that question. He knew that Agyro had a point there…
"Alsi, there are a variety of people in this world of ours', as Agyro said this, the first rays of golden light started to reflect off of his eyes and the water droplets on the grass began to sparkle. Alsi noticed the slight warmth embrace his skin and he turned around to see the sun rise. Ceal simply turned his head in the direction of the beautiful phenomenon beyond the river that shimmered for it, the birds awakened even more to celebrate its arrival.
``There are a variety of beasts in this world of ours, places we've only dreamed of, anomalies we have yet to witness…evils we have yet to face."
Ceal finally stood up from the position he held firm…
"To depend on one single item in a world so unpredictable, would be beyond stupid. We can't prepare for everything, but we have to be prepared for anything." Said Agyro as he stared at the sun that was still rising. Serena was coming from a distance, she had a mild smile on her face that signaled gladness or calm.
"So father, what do we do to be prepared for anything?" Agyro looked back at his father, his white greyish curly hair glistened in the sunlight. Alsi had the same expectant look in his eyes. This was the first time he was willing to listen to someone, he usually never gave an ear to his teachers because he already knew what the next sentence to emerge from their mouths would be. Agyro looked back at his curious students…
"Well Alsi, Ceal, Serena…' Serena had just arrived and she stood next to her father as he continued to speak,' before you can be prepared for anything, you must be prepared to protect the ones closest to you. When you're willing enough to lay your life down for your comrades, for your family, the ones who put their trust in you. You will do what it takes to never let them go."
Agyro's words left an air of enlightenment over his students. A silence reverberated as the wind blew gently. They remained silent for a few moments until Alsi broke it…
"Ha! There's no way I'm gonna die for you useless pieces of trash!"
"You have some nerve…" said Ceal.
"And if it's you, dying for you would be the equivalent of tripping over a bar of soap!"
" With an attitude like that and a weak body like yours, I wouldn't be surprised if you died fighting a cockroach…"
At this point Alsi and Ceal started to move towards eachother,
"Hah! I can easily squish a cockroach, you'll believe me once I'm done squishing you!"
"Oh I see, you're the tough guy now eh?"
Alsi and Ceal started to force their foreheads against eachother.
"ENOUGH!" Agyro boomed at them and they both stopped bickering…
"If you two are going to have a throw down then there's going to be some rules."
"Wait you're seriously going to let two kids fight?"
"What do you think I meant when I said we're going to be training every day?"
"I don't know, I thought you guys were fishermen or something!"
"You can be an idiot-"
"Shut your freaking mouth!" Alsi shot back at Ceal.
"No, Alsi we're not fishermen…now here are the rules. Number 1! Nobody kills anyone of course. Number 2! No use of kine, this is a test of your base strength and skills and finally Number 3! No use of objects such as rocks and stuff like that! Is that clear!"
Alsi and Ceal both nodded their heads. Serena slipped on her gloves as she joined the boys…
"What do you think you're doing?" Alsi questioned Serena.
"Ummm, getting ready to fight?"
"Hahaha! I'm sorry, what was it…Serena? Yeah so you're just going to get hurt."
"Oh you don't have to worry about her, she's been Ceal's training partner for a while now. It might do you some good to learn from them both." Said Agyro.
"If you say so."said Alsi.
"Ready!' Ceal and Serena assumed their stances, Alsi just put his hands up. 'Go!"
Meanwhile, in a place far away, where the green grass danced to the rhythm of the wind. A young man wandered across a hill, completely absorbed in his book. He took a moment to look away from his book and observe the large vegetable fields to his right. He could see people digging and watering the fields. A carriage carrying a bunch of soldiers passed by him. All his observations proved that he was in the right place.
He closed his book and took a deep breath.
' It has been a while, so long that I almost forgot. You can be foolish sometimes Marx." He thought to himself.
In about 20 minutes he stood in front of the main entrance of the familiar town that sent back memories. He looked on and then spoke under his breath…
"Hello old friend."