Chapter 21: The Path of Learning
Author's note: From this chapter onwards, Layla's name changes to Aisha to match the Nieckelodeon's version. I already changed her name in the previous chapters.
Tecna stood there in amazement, watching the hologram that just mentioned her. No, it wasn't just a mention, it was talking to her. Could it be possible? Could the Master Craftsman predict that Tecna would open his last will? She didn't remember anything about him being able to predict the future.
"You know, you look like you've just seen a ghost," said the projection.
"E-excuse me? Are you talking to me?" asked Tecna, overwhelmed by surprise.
"I don't see anybody else here. Do you?" asked the Craftsman.
Tecna's amazement grew each moment. That thing was alive!
"What are you?" asked Tecna. Her natural curiosity soon replaced her astonishment. "Are you an artificial intelligence?"
"Not exactly. I'm something much more complex than that, but yes, it's similar," replied the Craftsman. "To put it shortly, I'm part of the Master Craftsman's essence converted into a virtual file. I inherited most of his memories and personality, but I'm still an artificial being."
"Amazing..." said Tecna. "Hey, how did you know my name?"
"The hardware I've been stored in has information about you. By the way, it's nice to see a fellow Zenithian." said the Craftsman. Tecna smiled in return.
"I see. You're also able to learn new things," said Tecna. "Anyway, what kind of information do you possess?"
"I know almost everything the Craftsman knew. His life, works, deeds..."
"The Forge of Wonders?"
"...yes, the Forge too. Are you interested in the Forge?"
"Very!" replied Tecna, totally enthusiastic. She opened her mouth, but no word came from it. Tecna realized that she had so many questions that she didn't know where to start. She was all in a flutter, which was something very unlike her. Her mind was a total chaos.
"I'm sorry, this is rather overwheming. Let me take some time to formulate what I want to know," she said at last.
"I'll be here," said the projection.
She switched off the badge, and went to sleep. Maybe the next morning she would be more relaxed and would know what to ask to the Master Craftsman.
…
After the Winx girls and specialists spent some time relaxing and recovering their strength, it was time for training with Arthaia. The white haired woman told the the girls to be at the inner training grounds right after breakfast. They were already there, in their fairy forms.
"Girls, the training is about to begin," Arthaia said. "As I said when you first arrived here, I'll teach you new ways to use your powers, as well as ways to improve your imagination and creativity and apply them to your magic skills. For starters, we'll work on reinforcing your connection to your world."
Bloom raised her hand. "Excuse me, but how's that supposed to help us?"
"As you probably know, every fairy is linked to the world she's born to, that's why you need to save somebody from your world to earn your Enchantix," Arthaia explained. "However, a fairy can form a link with another planet if she spends a significant time living on it," she added. "Now, sit down, and close your eyes."
The girls did so.
"Now, I want you to think of your world as a whole. Think of its fauna, flora, population, culture, past..."
While Arthaia talked, the girls visualized their home worlds in their minds, seen from space. Bloom tried to think of Domino, but for some reason, she could only think of Earth.
"Now think of your town. Your house. Your school. Your childhood friends. A place you loved to go. Think of all the good moments you had there," Arthaia said.
The senior fairy could feel how all the girls were gathering energy, and their bodies emitted a glowing aura.
"Now, I don't want you to think, but to feel your world. I want you to feel how the world's energy flows through your bodies as if you were part of the same being."
The girls' energy grew so much that it was released at once in the form of a non-destructive magic pulse that crossed the whole castle. Upon noticing this, the girls opened their eyes.
"What was that?" asked Aisha.
"I think it was us," said Musa.
Yeah,. I could feel our energies growing and mixing with each other, like when we execute a convergence spell," Tecna confirmed.
"And... we did that?" asked Stella in awe. "It was amazing!"
"I could feel Linphea like I was there," gushed Flora "The whisper of the wind, the scent of the giant flowers, the tweets of the birds... I could even see my family!"
"What you've experienced is the true power of the Enchantix. By doing this brief exercise every day your connection with your home planets will be reinforced a little more each time, and thus you'll become stronger," explained Arthaia.
"How is it that we didn't learn this stuff at Alfea?" asked Bloom.
"Alfea may be the best school for fairies known, but it's just a school after all, and they don't teach absolutely everything. Besides, what I teach you here is something only Enchantix fairies can do. Well, that's not exactly true, since any fairy can draw power from her home world, but to a much lesser degree than an Enchantix fairy. Also, just because you graduated from Alfea and earned your Enchantix doesn't mean that you can't learn more things. In fact, a fairy's learning never ends."
"So... this is all the training we're going to have?" asked Mirta with doubtful expression. Arthaia smirked at her.
"Of course not, Mirta. Your enthusiasm is really moving. This was just a mere warm up. Let's get to the real training. Enchantix!"
The girls watched Arthaia transform into her Enchantix form. In this form, Arthaia's hair was much longer, with several short braids on the sides of the head. Her clothes were a multi layered glittering white dress with golden trim that came down to her knees, long gloves and golden, strappy barefoot sandals, and a golden tiara decorated with an ankh crowned her head. Shimmering sky blue translucent wings sprouted from her back.
"You know, this has to be the first time I've seen an older woman transform into her Enchantix," commented Aisha.
"Let's test your fighting skills," said Arthaia, resting her gaze on the girls. "Why don't you go first, Bloom?"
Bloom walked in front of the white haired woman, waiting for more instructions.
"Okay, attack me," Arthia instructed.
The fiery headed girl summoned a fireball in each hand and shot them at Arthaia. The Lumyon fairy erected a protective shield and stopped the attack.
"Not bad," she said. "Now attack me again, but this time I'm going to attack you back, so be ready."
Bloom nodded and cast two more fireballs at Arthaia, which were blocked the same way as before.
The other then raised her hands, and summoned two glowing white circles. The white circles flew at Bloom and wrapped around her wrists, and like they were pulled by an invisible chain hung Bloom in mid air. Bloom struggled to break free, but to no avail.
"What the hell is this?" asked Bloom, still struggling against the magic handcuffs.
"And here is your first lesson," said Arthaia. "Figure out a way to break free from my spell."
"But I can't! My arms are immobilized, I can't cast spells!" Bloom protested.
"Come on Bloom, use your imagination. If you can't use your arms, you have to use something else," Arthaia said. "Why do you think the Enchantix does not include shoes?"
"So people can admire our beautiful toenails?" asked Stella, and the rest of the girls chuckled. It was good to see her old self slowly resurfacing.
Arthaia snapped her fingers, and released Bloom from the spell.
"When you cast a spell, you channel your energy through your arms and release it from your hands. At least, that's what you're used to doing," Arthaia explained. "However, as all of you can see, there's a way of preventing you from using magic. But if you learn other methods to channel your powers, you won't have such a disadvantage. "
"So, what are we supposed to do in such situations? Channel magic through our feet?" asked Musa.
"Not just that," Arthaia replied. "You can use your eyes, mouth or even the whole body. For example, Bloom, try to exhale fire from your mouth. Be a dragon!"
Bloom channeled her energy through her throat, and tried to release it from her mouth. However, when she opened her mouth, only smoke came from it and Bloom started to cough.
"Don't worry, I didn't expect you to succeed the first try. You'll improve through practice. Come on, let's go to the next exercise."
…
The Man in Black walked towards a full-length mirror made of obsidian. He turned one of the ornaments of the frame, and saw Gaul reflected in the mirror.
"Oh, master," said Gaul, bowing before him. "What can I do for you this time, milord?"
"I want to know about your progress with your newest project," said the Man in Black, who made little effort hiding his skepticism.
"There's no need to worry, milord. Everything goes just as planned," replied Gaul, confident as usual.
"Still, I'm not sure about the planet you chose to set up your laboratory," the Man in Black said. "It's not a safe world."
"It's all part of the plan, master," said the Lich. "The inhabitants will provide a perfect test once the project is complete. Besides, it's highly unlikely that our base will be discovered by the locals."
"Hope you're right, Gaul."
"You need to have a little more faith in me, master," said Gaul. "I already proved that I'm no incompetent."
A moment of silence.
"Did you want something else, sir?" asked Gaul.
"Now that you asked, yes, one more thing," said the Man in Black. "I think it's about time you tell me about your underlings."
"Don't you trust them? They proved to be valuable minions," said Gaul.
"I have no doubt about their capabilities. I simply want to know them better. Remember, knowledge is the key to power," said the Man in Black, reciting one of the Coven's mottos.
"As you wish. This is a long story that begins shortly after the Coven's defeat," Gaul began. "After several years, I was able to contact several members of the Coven, and discussed rebuilding it with them. Some of them, like Mandragora, where easy to convince, but others were reluctant due to our dwindling numbers and lack of new blood. This was one of the first things I worked on."
"We were able to locate the offspring of many deceased members, as well as kidnap some other kids that showed proficiency in the magical arts. We set up a base on a secret planet and trained the kids to be future members of the Coven. Some of them weren't able to... survive the trials we put them through, but most of them did. We sent them on missions to recover artifacts and spellbooks that belonged to the Coven but were now in the possession of the Company of Light. Even if we were extremely weakened, so was the Company of the Light, with their founders missing and their remaining forces tracking down and taking care of the few survivors of Domino. Some of them succeeded while others didn't."
"However, things went awry. It became more and more obvious that the idea of a Coven without the Ancestresses' power and guidance, or at least a strong leader, was doomed to fail. There were numerous internal fights, and finally one of the members betrayed us and revealed the secret location of our base to the Company of Light."
"The base was razed by the Company of Light. They outnumbered us, and the kids weren't ready to fight. All who tried to resist were killed, and the children were taken away by the Company. I decided to take everything I could and make my escape. However, I noticed two girls hiding in one of the warehouses I was looting, Neyra and Mirage. They asked me for protection. I decided to take them with me and train them, since they could be useful in the future."
"Kharel is a different story. Years later, my search for several magic talismans and spellbooks took me to Andros. They were in the possession of an aristocratic couple. I spied on them and studied a way to get the items. I learned that they had a son, but unlike his parents, a fairy and a wizard, the son was born without magic abilities, and this affected their relationship. The boy was a top student at Red Fountain, but they were profoundly disappointed by his lack of magic powers."
"Soon I realized that I could use this to my advantage. I met the boy, named Kharel, and gave him a small shard of my powers. Even if that was the first time I saw him, I knew that it was the first time he was really happy. When my shard of magic faded, he asked me more. My original plan was to make Kharel to steal the items I needed and then gave him another shard of my power that would vanish in less than a week, but I thought that I could make better use of him, since my small group needed a powerhouse, and he was a fine fighter. Instead, I promised him an even greater power if he passed a test: I ordered him to kill his parents. Before midnight, they were dead. I got what I wanted, plus I took Kharel with me, and gave him the Sword of Bane, one of the artifacts I was able to save from the Company." Gaul finished his tale, waiting for his master's reaction.
"You really have a knack for manipulation, Lich. I'm certainly impressed," said the Man in Black.
"Well, you can always make people to do whatever you want if you know what they want," Gaul replied.
…
During the next several days the girls trained under Arthaia's watchful eyes, and the senior fairy could tell that her new apprentices showed great skill and were quick learners. Which in itself wasn't a surprise, given how many dangers and threatening foes they had to face over the years.
For this exercise, Tecna, Aisha and Musa were in the middle of a room, surrounded by several columns each with a hole at waist level. The rest of the girls watched from a balcony above.
"These columns will fire rubber balls at you. You'll have to dodge them without using magic," Arthaia explained.
"Sounds easy," said Aisha. She was happy to see that the training also included some physical exercise, aside from all the meditation and learning new ways to channel magic they were doing the past days.
"...while blindfolded."
"It doesn't sound easy anymore," said Tecna.
Arthaia waved her hand, and a blindfold wrapped around their eyes, rendering them completely blind.
"Get ready," said Arthaia.
The exercise began, and the columns started firing rubber balls at random intervals, and Aisha, Musa and Tecna pretty much were unable to dodge any of them. Musa tried to hear the balls being shot to identify where they came from, Tecna was trying to figure out the pattern of the shots (until she finally realized it was completely random), while Aisha moved as swiftly as she could with hopes of dodging the balls. Arthaia halted the training when she saw that the girls were badly bruised.
"Just as I expected," said Arthaia.
"We can't dodge the balls! They're too fast!" complained Musa, frustrated. She took off the blindfold.
"True. None of us has enough speed to dodge a ball shot with such power, especially if we don't know where the shot comes from," explained Tecna more calmly.
"Well, that's what this training is for, isn't it?" said Aisha.
"You're failing because you're following your physical senses. Your eyes and ears can deceive you. That's why you have to learn to feel the attack before it happens,"
"And how are we supposed to do that?" asked Tecna.
"By being in touch with your inner magic. If you're able to ignore the rest of your senses, you'll be able to hear your extra senses warning you of dangers before they even happen," said Arthaia. "To put it simply, you need to shut down your brain."
"It isn't that simple," replied Tecna.
"Come on, try again. I know that you're aching and tired, but I want you to realize your true capabilities."
The three girls sighed, returned to the center of the stage, and put back on their blindfolds.
"Now, imagine yourselves in an empty space. There's nothing around you; only you exist. You don't see anything, you don't hear anything, you don't even smell anything... now look inside yourself. Feel the presence of your magic. Hear the voice of your instincts."
Three balls were fired from three different columns. However, this time, Musa, Tecna and Aisha dodged them beautifully. The rest of the girls cheered in unison.
"Did you see that? We did it!" said Aisha triumphantly.
Then she was knocked down by another rubber ball. The other girls couldn't help but laugh.
…
Riven was looking at the falling snow through the window of one of the lounges, since it was all he could do. He wasn't allowed to leave the castle since it was too cold outside, and he had nothing else to do. He used to spar with the other Specialists to fight off the boredom, but in the end he grew tired of that as well. And there was that dream with Matlin. He wanted to talk with somebody about that. Maybe Bloom, since she had some experience in dealing with dead relatives.
Upon placing his hands in his pockets, Riven noticed a small round object in one. It was that crystal sphere he stole from the Forge. He thought that maybe the sphere and his dreams were connected in some way. Could it be possible?
"Hey," said somebody behind him. Riven turned around, and saw Nabu. "They told me you were here. Since the girls spend so much time training, this place becomes more boring each day, doesn't it?"
"Totally," Riven replied. "I know I sometimes say that Musa is a pain in the neck, but I really miss her."
"Yeah, I know how do you feel. I also miss Aisha. When she isn't training with the other girls, she's so tired that she isn't in the mood for anything. I wish we could spend more time together," said the wizard. "But we can look on the bright side: when we see each other again, our meeting will be more meaningful."
"Optimist to the core," said Riven dryly.
"Hey, if I wasn't so optimistic, Aisha wouldn't be my girlfriend," said Nabu with a smile.
"I don't think so, since both your parents arranged your marriage," said Riven.
"Touche," chuckled Nabu. "But it wouldn't be the same, since she'd marry me out of obligation, not love, so my point still stands."
"I don't know why they have to train so much. I thought that they already had their Enchantix," said Riven.
"True, but that doesn't mean that they've reached their potential. The training in magic is very long. As a wizard, I know what I'm talking about," said Nabu. "By the way, I think it would be a good idea if we trained too, so we can be of more help when that man in black strikes again."
Riven muttered something the wizard couldn't hear. Nabu's expression darkened.
"Riven, you look more aloof than usual. Is there something wrong with you?"
Riven wanted to say no, that he was fine as usual. But he also wanted desperately to talk with somebody, and Nabu seemed the best option.
"I had a dream recently," Riven began. "Well, not a dream exactly, but a... vision. I saw Musa's dead mother."
"I see," said Nabu, thoughtfully. "Did you have any dreams like that later?"
"No, it was only once. But it never happened to me before," said Riven. "Although..."
"Yes?"
"Uh, Nabu, can you keep what I'm going to tell you now a secret?" asked Riven. Nabu frowned, and watched the maroon haired Specialist to pull a small spherical object from his pocket. "I think that this may be the cause of the dream." He held it out in the palm of his hand.
Nabu picked up the small ball, and examined it closely. It was completely transparent, but suddenly a purple whirlpool formed inside it.
"I don't know what it is, but I can feel strong magic energy from within," said Nabu. "Where did you find it?"
"In the Forge," said Riven, fearing how Nabu would react. He didn't want, didn't need, another reprimand.
"Do the others know about this?" asked Nabu, although he already figured out the answer, since Riven wanted to keep it secret.
"No, just Musa. She made me promise that I'd tell the others about it at some point," said Riven.
"Well, my advice would be to ask somebody who knows more about spirits than I do. But if you do, you will be forced to reveal that you took an artifact from the Forge without knowing what it could do. Am I right?"
"Completely," said Riven.
"Regardless of what are you going to do now, you made the right choice by telling me this," said Nabu, trying to sound reassuring. He returned the object.
Riven smiled, and felt thankful for having such a good friend as Nabu. Now he didn't feel alone with his problems. It was time to seek the meaning of the dream he had, and those that were to come.
…
Another training session. This time, Mirta was alone in the training ground while the rest of the Winx watched from above. Arthaia was about to explain the basis of the exercise.
"As you probably saw, a necromancer's main battle tactic consists in raising numerous corpses and swarm their opponents. For this exercise, you'll have to fight against a growing horde of undead."
"Real undead? Are you serious?" asked Mirta, incredulous.
"Of course not. The crystal above you will generate illusions of undead that are completely harmless but will serve as well as any real undead for this exercise.." clarified Arthaia. Mirta and the rest of the girls looked at the roof, and saw a blue crystal above them. "The goal of this exercise is to test your ability in fighting multiple enemies at once. You won't be able to fly nor use fairy dust."
"What? But that's very unfair!" protested Aisha
"I know, but you need to learn to fight without relying on certaing powers an abilities. Imagine, for example, a situations in which your wings broke, or you had to face an enemy whose magic cannot be broken with the fairy dust," Arthaia said."Let's start!"
A dozen skeletons appeared around Mirta. Despite being illusions, they looked very real. Shoving her fear aside, the half fairy transformed into her Enchantix, and began to fight.
She fought the skeletons by casting her standard attack, a beam of destructive energy. The undead attacked her from all directions, so she had to turn around quite often. The number of undead slowly grew, and Mirta realized that, for each skeleton she destroyed, two or three more appeared. How she was supposed to pass this exercise, if there was no apparent way of winning?
When the number of opponents tripled, Mirta began to use both hands to cast two beams in opposite directions. However she wasn't making any progress, since the more skeletons she destroyed, the more joined the battle. As the number of undead grew, so did the the redhead's agitation. Even if she knew that it was a simulation and that there was no real danger, another thought gripped her mind: the rest of the Winx were watching her, and she couldn't let the others see her as a weakling. Although, deep inside, it wasn't the Winx she wanted to prove her power to, but herself. She wanted to know that she wouldn't be a liability again, and this was her trial.
Mirta stopped attacking and raised a protective bubble around herself. The undead started to hit it with their weapons.
"She isn't going to make it," declared Aisha. "She's losing her cool."
"Besides, what is she supposed to do?" asked Stella. "Whenever she destroys a skeleton, more appear!"
"Come on Mirta, you can do it!" cheered Flora.
Mirta looked upwards, and saw the Winx looking at her with dubious expressions (except Flora), and Arthaia, who gave her a piercing look.
"Okay, calm down, this is just a simulation. It's no big deal if you fail," Mirta thought. "Now, what would the Winx do? Tecna would suggest to think of a strategy. But what can I do? I'm completely surrounded. Both fairies and witches are ranged combatants, so I need to push the attackers away."
Remembering the very first lesson, Mirta tried to draw energy from her planet. She rekindled her best memories of it, which included the good times she had with Lucy as kids. The half witch soon felt a surge of energy flowing through her body. She used that energy to cast a shockwave that pushed the skeletons some meters backwards.
"Very good, Mirta!" cheered Bloom. "You're doing fine!" The rest of the Winx joined Bloom with the cheers.
Mirta felt extremely motivated by those words of encouragement. She looked upwards, and smiled them in return.
"Mirta has overcome a desperate situation, but she just returned to square one. She didn't complete the exercise," said Arthaia.
Returning her attention back to the skeletons, Mirta planned her next move. She only had a few seconds before being completely surrounded again.
"Okay, what can I do now? If I keep attacking them, there will be more, but I can't win if I don't attack them. What alternatives do I have? I can't create an illusion, since it won't work on undead. Then what should I do? Come on Mirta, think!"
A bunch of undead got close to her. She summoned a red ball of energy in her hand, but instead of casting it like a beam, she waved it like it was a melee weapon, which allowed her to destroy more enemies at once. She repeated that several times, and the last time she even spun on her feet for a 360º attack, but she couldn't do that for long. Then she got an idea. She summoned another energy ball, and made the ball spin around her, hitting any undead who dared to came close. She then summoned another ball, and then another and another. The four balls spun around Mirta at a frenzy speed, forming an unbreakable defense. Suddenly, all the undead vanished.
"Very good, Mirta," praised Arthaia. "You have a creative mind, and you can come up with plans under great pressure. You should feel proud of yourself."
Mirta couldn't help but blush, while the Winx cheered her.
…
Meanwhile, in an unknown location, Gaul was looking at his latest creation. It was a glowing cocoon that was the size of a big car. Through its thin layer of skin, the Lich could see the creature that was sleeping inside.
"Just a little more," whispered the Lich. "Just a little more time, and the world will witness my greatest creation!"
Author's note: Hoped you liked this training chapter. Besides improving their fighting skills, I always wanted the girls to use her magic for something more than casting beams and create shields. There's a lot of potential for more esoteric use of magic, which I will expand in the futurte.
Gaul's little story was based on a Trix story titled Wicked Legacy, in which the younger Trix were introduced to dark magic for first time. Kharel's back story wasn't included. However, I cancelled the story after two chapters upon realizing that I didn't like the Trix that much to the point of writing a story about them.
Anyway, hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and hope to see your reviews.