Chapter 1

Temple Life

"Do not see the air spin Omera. Instead, imagine it spinning. Feel the strident rush of the winds rushing inside your head. When you can do so in any circumstance, then you are ready!" said Darpey with an old muffled voice. Darpey was Omera's Air bending master. He began teaching Omera how to Air bend ever since Omera was just a little boy. Some say it was Darpey's way of teaching that made Omera such a great Air bender, especially for his age.

"Are you prepared for the test this afternoon?" asked Darpey. "Yes, Master Darpey. I think I am." replied Omera. "You cannot be ready if you do not even know you are ready." said Darpey with a tinge of worry. "It's just that I'm feeling very nervous about today's test." replied Omera.

He had every right to be nervous. That afternoon Omera was to sit for his test to graduate to the class of monk, from his current position as temple acolyte. If he was to succeed, he would earn himself an authentic Zurmana amulet (monk symbol) to signify his indubitable discipline to the temple order. If he failed, he would have to wait two more years before he could have another shot at becoming a monk.

The test was simple and unembellished. Omera was to make his way into an old cavern; find an Amplyn stone (used for energy) and return back to the temple with a sample of it. Aided only with directions to the cavern and knowledge of certain dangers, Omera was to accomplish his mission unassisted.

-

Omera was an average sixteen year old with the determination to become a monk just like his father. Omera was an only child and was only two when his parents passed away when they were attacked by a rabid bear; at least that was what his master Darpey had told him. Ever since then he had been living in the Akascia Temple of Air bending, formerly his father's old training temple.

Since the temple believed in solitary training Omera never had the chance to socialize with others. Even though there were many others just like him all he would do was train and meditate in the temple shrine.

-

Omera was resting in his room and recollecting his thoughts. He focused his mind on the unpretentious aim of the test and was running through his Air bending techniques while doing so. His physical gesture illustrated confidence but inside, he was anxious and nervous.

The time had come for him to set out on his trial. He wore his traditional sleeveless outfit revealing his muscular arms and packed his requisites into a little cotton sack which he tied around his well-built body.

Before he set off he bid his master farewell and was accosted with a mysterious phrase from Darpey, "Beware the coming of the storm. When faced with tragedy, pick yourself up and surge forward. Never give up Omera." Omera pondered upon this as he made his way through the thick forest surrounding the temple. "What did he mean by the coming of the storm?" wondered Omera.

-

After several hours of walking and chopping stray branches, Omera finally arrived at his destination. The cavern entrance was covered in greenish yellow algae and gave off a faint odour. The cave was entirely aphotic as it went underground thus Omera lit himself a torch and headed inside.

The cave was humid and misty. The light from his torch barely even proliferated a meter ahead of him. The aspiring acolyte made his way further down into the catacombs for what seemed like hundreds of meters, sometimes startled by bats that awoke abruptly from getting line shone into their beady eyes.

The path was getting narrower as he ventured further inward, spiraling downwards. It began to get much more humid and stifling. After exploring for what seemed like an hour, Omera saw a tinge of purple light a straight ahead of him. As he scoped in towards the light it began to shimmer and sputter purple glows.

"That must be it. The Amplyn stone!" he thought to himself. He took out a small chisel and was going to chisel himself a piece of the immensely large crystal. "Now if I could just get a…" His thoughts were cut short by a loud growl that came from the left of him. He placed his chisel on the ground and picked up his torch. He inspected the area to the left of the stone. After finding nothing he hears another growl. It came from the right of the Amplyn Stone and much louder than the first. He spun a round hastily and had his fists at the ready. His mind lay silent as he waited for something to happen. Droplets of sweat began to form on his forehead.

"Rrrrrrr…" He looked behind him, turning his head then his body. Directly in front of his face was a set of two inch by four razor sharp teeth. There was a huge reptile creature snarling at him.

In shock he jumps backwards and falls to the ground. The creature, agitated, lunges towards Omera, roaring loudly with its mouth wide open. Omera instantaneously faces his palm towards the growling creature and releases a gust of wind towards its face knocking it back for just a few inches, buying him time to get out of the way.

He darts towards the right and takes cover inside a small crevice in a wall. The creature aggressively charged towards the crevice, stuffing its face in attempting to get a bite out of Omera. "What is that thing!" he thought to himself. It was too misty and dark to get a clear view of what the creature was.

Omera reactively darted out of the crevice fiercely punching its nose and stuffing the flaming torch down the reptile's throat. He releases a blast of air towards its stomach temporarily stunning the vile beast. He darts back a couple of steps to ready his stance and struck the creature in its eye just as it got up while coughing out the torch, sending it to the ground, writhing in pain. Hoping he blinded the creatures eye Omera lunged forward and kicked the creature upwards slamming it hard against a rock. As the creature attempted to get itself together from the rush of violent attacks, Omera jumped backed towards the Amplyn crystal to retrieve his chisel. Upon collecting his weapon Omera jumped straight towards the reptile and pierced the chisel through the reptile's skull. The pressure caused some of its blood to gush out onto Omera's face.

"This must've been what they meant by dangers..." he thought as he remember the warning given to him by his master Darpey. He picked himself up and dusted off the dirt coating his knees and elbows. He pulled out the chisel from the reptiles skull and headed back to the crystal to complete his task.

Upon collecting a sample he re-lighted his torch and made his way out of the humid cavern. The journey out of the cavern was going to be much tougher than when he was going in. He was exhausted from the encounter. However, stamina training taught him to purge forward even under great fatigue.

Finally, after another hour, he reached the cavern opening. He took a deep breath of fresh air; a relief from the stifling humidity of the cavern. He rested on some rocks for a while then set off towards the temple.

His feelings of anxiety were long gone. It was replaced with excitement. "I did it. I passed the test. Dad, I hope I can be just like you some day." he thought to himself. The success lightened up his nonchalant expression by replacing it with a slight grin.

-

After a long walk, he had finally reached the gates of the temple; meaning the completion of his test. To his horror, the entire temple was in turmoil. Fire's had burnt down the main pagoda. Other structures seemed to have been destroyed by huge waves and ice spikes. The rest were crushed by quakes…

End of Chapter 1

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