Chapter 3: Awakening

After his father had told him of the training, Vali ate and went to bed. He was awoken by his father walking into his room in the morning. His eyes opened wearily "What time is it?" he yawned. "Four." Zed said bluntly. "Come, it is time to embrace the shadows." Vali got out of bed and dressed himself. He wore black pants going down to his ankles and a plain grey shirt. Zed, dressed in his full armor, escorted him out of the temple. This time when they exited the grounds, the guards said nothing. Zed lead Vali deep into the forest. It took them thirty minutes to reach their destination. There was a clearing in the forest and they came upon a long skinny stretch of land with no trees. The trees circled around this area, so it almost made an arena. Zed stood at one end and commanded Vali to stand at the other. He took of all his armor and set it on the ground next to him. "Now, we begin." Zed said.

Zed charged Vali and began striking at him with open palms. He did his best to deflect these attacks, but his father was too strong and experienced for a rookie like him. Each blow hurting more than the last. He was struck in his midsection and had the wind knocked out of him. He fell to his knees. "Always protect your most vulnerable spots." Zed said. Vali got up. He began striking at his father, going on the offensive. Zed blocked all the attacks with ease, as if he wasn't even trying. Vali was getting annoyed. His father brought him all the way out here just to beat the crap out of him? "Hnnngg!" Vali screeched as he brought both fist cupped together down towards Zed's head. Zed picked up his right arm and blocked the attack, while kicking Vali's legs and knocking him off his feet. Vali hit the ground, hard. He ripped off his shirt, and turned on his stomach. He put both of his palms on the ground and began pushing himself up. Zed turned his palm to a fist and hit him with an uppercut straight to the jaw. Vali flipped up from the ground and landed on his back. His vision was dull, and his ears were ringing. "Just because you are down, your opponent will not show mercy. Never forget that." Zed murmured. Vali could feel the blood on his lips. He licked them, and again turned to his stomach. He began pushing himself up when Zed went for a punch straight in the back of his head. But Vali had wanted that. When Zed extended his arm Vali turned around with lightning fast reflexes and grabbed it. He used Zed's momentum to pull Zed down and himself up at the same time. He stood on his feet while Zed hit the ground. Zed was making a weird noise, one that he seldom ever made. Was that… laughing? "You are your father's son, after all." Zed told Vali. "That's enough fighting for today take a ten minute break and be back here for our next part in training." Vali nodded and walked off into the forest.

He soon found that there was a natural spring about fifty meters from the training grounds. There was a large pool of fresh water in the middle of it. A small stream was pouring water into it. The water was surrounded by rocks, so it made a bowl shape. Vali walked up to the edge of the rocks, took his shoes off, and dipped his feet in the water. It was pleasantly warm, and felt great. He relaxed and laid on his back. His eyes closed and he began daydreaming. The image of the pretty girl he saw in Amor yesterday flashed through his head. Who was she? He suddenly needed to know. If it hadn't been the fear of what his father would have done he would've gone down to Amor right then. Still, it was about five in the morning and the sun was just peaking over the horizon. None of the Ionian city folk would be up right now. He realized it had been about ten minutes and pulled his feet out of the water and put his shoes on. He walked to the training grounds. Zed was waiting for him, still without his armor. Vali observed him as he ate an apple he seemingly got from nowhere. He was a tall man with a decent build. He had long black hair that was in his eyes due to sweat. He had a defined jaw with a little stuble from not shaving over the last few days. His most notable quality though was still his eyes. Even when he seemed to be doing ordinary things they seemed angry. They cut right through you and peered into your soul. Vali turned his head away as Zed finished eating. "Now we run." Zed said as he took off into the forest. Vali followed trying to catch up. He had to use every ounce of his strength to catch up to Zed who seemed to be running effortlessly. After about fifteen minutes or so, Vali felt numb. His legs were weak, his lungs stiffened with pain. He still hurt from the beating he took earlier. The running continued for an hour. When Zed finally stopped, Vali collapsed to the ground. He could not feel anything. His head was spinning and he felt like he was dying from thirst. He turned his head to see Zed leaning against a tree nonchalantly. He looked like the running was no big deal. Vali got to his hands and knees and crawled to a river flowing about ten meters from him. He had no idea where they were. They must have run six or seven miles, and they were already deep in the forest. He got to the river and plunged his head under.

He was welcomed with refreshingly cold water. It felt amazing against his hot skin. He slurped up as much of it as he could. Zed allowed him to do this for about five minutes, then said "Break is over, now come with me, it's time for you to learn some hand to hand skills." Vali, having gathered some of his strength, got up obediently and followed him. They went up to a large tree. Zed showed Vali the positioning of his arm for a certain punch. "This is the standard way to punch a target, but the punch is only as strong as you can make it." He told his son "Use these muscles to lunge your arm forward and these when you collide with your target." He pointed to muscles while explaining. "If done correctly, it should look something like this." He pulled his arm back and brung it forward, his fist hitting the tree. His arm went straight through the tree, creating a large whole in the middle of it. Vali's eyes opened in shock. His father had just punched through a 3 foot wide tree. Zed went over the punch again along with kicks, jabs, stabs, and knees. After about an hour or two of teaching, Zed announced they were done and shadow stepped with Vali all the way to the temple. In the League, they have to tone down certain abilities champions have to make it more even among the battlefield. In the rift Zed could only teleport a short distance, but his true power allowed him to go very long distances.

Vali walked to his bathing area. He stripped off his clothes only to reveal his broken and bruised body. He fell into the bath water and embraced its warmth. He was exhausted and it was only nine in the morning. This training continued for several weeks. Each day, Vali grew stronger, faster, and quicker. He still could not fight Zed, but he got better every time. He knew Zed was holding back, but he didn't exactly have any problems with that. He soon realized how strong he truly was. This training was harder than any other he had seen around the temple. He was becoming a great fighter. He probably would have lost his mind while going through all the pain during it, but the thought of the beautiful girl in Amor kept his mind at peace. One day after training he decided to ask Zed a question. "Father, why are we training? Why now?" Zed responded "Vali, I cannot protect you all the time. The locals would gladly capture you if they knew you existed and use you to get to me. I know I cannot stop you from going to the villages. If someone ever found out who you were, I need you to be strong enough to defend yourself. Also, you're going to have to lead this order one day, I need you to be stronger than me, and let my legacy prosper." Vali nodded at this, and left his father. He put on some new clothes, and began walking to Amor.

He entered this time without being questioned by a guard. He walked back to the small, open square in hopes of finding the girl. Sadly, he did not see her. He sat on a bench and pondered to himself 'What am I doing here? If one of these people find out who I am, I'll surely be killed, or worse.' He looked up at the people crossing in front of him, when suddenly a familiar person sat down next to him. "Mind if I sit here?" said Sekuna, the girl he had been thinking about over the past weeks. "Of course not." Vali spoke as he looked up and smiled. "I didn't think you'd remember me, it's been awhile." Sekuna looked at him in the eyes and responded "Of course I remember you! How could I forget someone as handsome as yourself." She blushed as she said this. "Would you care to eat some lunch? I'm not from around here, so I'll need you to pick a place." Vali said. "That sounds great. I'd love to get to know you a little better." Sekuna said confidently as the two walked off. Vali felt truly happy in these moments, something he never had achieved before. It was as if his life would actually end up with a happy ending for a change. But following his father's footsteps, nothing good could stay, and he would soon learn that the hard way.

EDIT: Hey guys! I'd really like to thank you for reading this chapter. I know it took me a while to get it out but it's about twice as long as a normal chapter so :P. You can probably expect the next chapter by Tuesday or maybe even tomorrow if I have time. Also, I tried to point out some things I had previously not explained well enough i.e Zed's ability to travel large distances with his shadows. Leave a review if you like because I read every single one and they really do make my day better. Anyway thanks again for reading and have a wonderful day!