Act II: Adolescence
Chapter 9: Electric Power Building
Party: Ryu, Nina, Trinil

Ryu looked up as Nina exited the tent. The fire flared suddenly beneath his feet, making him flinch as Nina called out to him. "Ryu! He's awake!" He smiled, trying to pretend that he hadn't twitched at all and hoping that Nina hadn't noticed. She didn't act like it, as she got to him and grabbed his hand in her excitement. "Now you can ask him where the Lightning Temple is!"

Ryu nodded. The Woren race were the Ascents born from Donara, who ruled over the element of Lightning. If there was anybody in the forest that could tell him where the Temple was, the guy in the tent was it. That did assume that he helped them out, but Ryu figured that since the Woren had fought them once and lost, he could be convinced to help out, even if that help was just to point in the right direction.

Nina sat herself by the fire, warming her hands. The air inside the forest at (what they figured was) night was much colder than the air on the plains. Ryu continued to check the surroundings for monsters that could surprise them, and after only one circuit of the camp, the Woren came out of the tent. He was obviously confused, but Nina was indicating for him to join her at the fire. He hesitated a moment, but then proceeded to sit down. Ryu joined them, and there was general shifting so that they were all facing the other two.

"Uh, Ryu, was it?"

Ryu nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

"I'm Trinil," the Woren said by way of introduction, before ducking his head, bringing him to the same level as the teens. "I'm sorry for… uh… earlier. I… don't have much control when Ascended…" He trailed off, blushing lightly.

Both Nina and Ryu were obviously rather disturbed by this revelation. "That's weird," Nina said, "I didn't think there were any Ascents that couldn't control their forms."

"I didn't either," Ryu said. "I guess we were misinformed, eh, Trinil?"

Trinil didn't respond verbally, his face instead fading more and more away from yellow and closer to red.

"Ah…" Ryu tried searching for something to say, but didn't come up with anything that worked. The silence stretched well into awkward territory.

"Perhaps you would like us to talk about something else, Trinil?" Nina asked kindly. She was rewarded with just the barest of nods, but it was enough that both Nina and Ryu felt like some of the awkwardness had been siphoned out. "What are you doing in this forest?"

Trinil looked up at Nina, obviously embarrassed about this question as well, but not as embarrassed, which seemed to be enough to allow him to answer. "I'm headed to the Lightning Tower. I… I am late for my test, but I heard that there was a Dragon on pilgrimage, so I might be able to complete my test when the Dragon gets there, and I… and…" he trailed off, noticing that his two hosts were laughing and desperately trying not to. "…What?"

Ryu managed to recover first. "I'm the Dragon. I guess that means we're headed to the same place."

Trinil blinked, then laughed himself, though his smile didn't reach his eyes. "I guess so! Something went right, then. Go figure."

"Do you know where it is?" Nina asked.

"Yeah," Trinil replied. "Once I'm able to figure out where we are, I should be able to lead the way there."

"Alright," Ryu said, nodding. "You get on that, but we'll be resting here for… a night, or at least as close to it as we can determine. You should rest too."

Trinil nodded. "Alright." He got up. "Sleep first, locate later." He walked into the tent.

Nina turned to Ryu. "Well, that seemed to work out pretty well."

Ryu nodded. "I'm still worried about his transformation. Especially if he can't control himself when he's in it. I mean, if the Test is anything like I think it will be, he might be a liability rather than a help."

Nina frowned. "Not that I know any details." She got up herself. "Wake me up for second watch." She also headed inside the tent.

Nothing happened on any of the watches, and eventually all three felt relatively rested and decided to break camp. Afterward, it only took Trinil fifteen minutes or so to determine where in the forest they were to his satisfaction and confidently chose a direction in which they should head. Unfortunately, the trip through the forest turned out to be much more eventful than the "night" before had. The combination of movement and the magical light that Ryu was using to make sure they could see seemed to be attracting the more unsavory denizens of the forest.

Trinil turned out to be rather useful in combat situations, using a staff to great effect. His focus was more on speed than anything else, having a somewhat limited spell selection. Only the basic Lightning spell was available to him, though thankfully Jolt had a rather large area of effect. Trinil's speed specialty was generally enough for him, however, being able to dodge and weave through as many as five or six packed enemies rather easily.

Worens were like Wyndians in that neither could pass themselves off as a human at all. Trinil was no exception, having yellow fur covering most of his skin. Not to mention a rounded furry tail. His coloring and patterns of fur matched that of the wildcat that he could transform into. Ryu figured that he wouldn't even be able to hide with a hooded large cloak. Even his face was too obviously not human. All the better that they hadn't met up with him in Tantar. That might have been just too hard.

The three managed to deal with the enemies that the forest was throwing at them with little difficulty. The only real trouble that came was in the form of zombies, which apparently never bothered those who remained on the path. Ryu's spells were especially effective against the undead, making him the best at dealing with them. They seemed to have little in the way of other weaknesses, much to Nina and Trinil's frustration. Ryu also didn't want to always be using his spells, as he needed to make sure he was never out of power when he desperately needed it.

It took them something in the realm of a half of a day to reach the Tower, though this was a guess based on the sunlight that they could finally see when they emerged in a large clearing where the Tower stood centered. It was the first and only break in the canopy they had seen since entering the forest, and Nina in particular reveled in the sunlight. The monsters that dwelled in the forest refused to enter the clearing, apparently afraid of the sunlight. Noticing this, Ryu suggested that they rest for a while before entering the Tower. This was deemed a good idea by both of his companions.

That evening, Ryu, Nina and Trinil entered the Lightning Tower.

The light within was an eerie yellow that contrasted with the golden color of the sunset that Nina closed the door on. There was a lot of metal, and were a lot of wires. Trinil led them in, having been there before, but didn't solve any puzzles. "I've already been through the Tower puzzles, after all," he remarked when Nina asked him why he wouldn't help solve the puzzles. "Ryu needs to do it now in order to earn the right to enter the Lightning Shrine." Ryu took the lead after that.

None of the puzzles were particularly hard, though they did take some time to complete and were required in order to get to the staircase that led to the floor above. The enemies were slightly more of a nuisance, though Trinil could shrug off a hit from any of the Lightning spells that they were throwing at the party. Neither Ryu nor Nina's spells were especially effective, so most of the time all three resorted to their armaments to dispatch the electric bugs, floating spheres and other assorted strange creatures.

There were ten floors to the Tower, each one containing its own puzzle. The tenth floor didn't contain a puzzle so much as a blockade. There were no obvious signs of a blocking of the path. The floor was a single featureless room. The unnatural yellow color of the walls was the only light despite the windows that were on this floor, as night had fallen. However, that light was plenty to see the door that was situated across the room from the staircase down to the ninth floor. It was obviously the same kind of door that led from the Fire Temple to the Fire Shrine: it looked just as out of place in the Tower as it had in the Volcano. The only difference was the symbol was not a flame, but a lightning bolt coming from a cloud.

Ryu made to cross the room to the door, but Trinil called out suddenly. "Stop!" Ryu obeyed. "I… I feel a presence," Trinil continued, cautiously passing Ryu. "A presence of a powerful Lightning creature." Nina stepped off of the top stair; instantly, the staircase was blocked off by metal sheeting that was glowing with the trademark yellow. The clamping shut of the opening to the floor below echoed in the chamber. "I feel it stronger now," Trinil said softly.

Ryu and Nina were warily searching for signs of the creature. Nina spoke softly: "Just like the salamander in the Fire Temple, Ryu. What's the Lightning equivalent?"

As if on cue, the center of the room was suddenly alive in crackling electricity, revealing a bird with the wing span of Ryu's shoulder to fingertips. It was a similar yellow to the chamber's glow, but not similar enough that it was impossible to see against such a background. Trinil was using the appearance of the threads of lightning to recharge his power, though how he would use it against such a creature, Ryu was unsure.

"I'll be of little use here," Trinil said, confirming Ryu's thought. "I'll act as support. Only your magics can damage an Animikii!" The bird had at this point collected its lightning threads into itself and called out a challenge to the party. Ryu and Nina readied their weapons, while Trinil prepared to try to take as many strikes as he could. He also had a trick up his sleeve. "Speed!" He cast the spell three times, allowing the party to move fast enough to meet the incredibly quick attacks of their foe.

The Animikii dove and swerved around, not following any pattern that Ryu could see, seemingly attacking the different members of the party at random. Ryu was unable to bring his sword to bear on the large bird as it went through the space he could reach too quickly, but Nina, with a lighter rapier, had more success. Knowing what was waiting for him beyond the cold silver door that was still on the other side of the room, Ryu was hesitant to transform and waste power that he could use more effectively later. Even the casting of spells was something he wanted to avoid if at all possible.

Trinil, having powered up the party, unlimbered his staff and began to take his own swipes at the hard-to-hit creature. He was also having more success than Ryu was, by virtue of having struck the creature even once. He was faster than Nina, landing more blows than she had even with the shorter time he had been attempting to strike the bird. Nina had gotten frustrated by this point, and had begun using wind spells to affect the bird's flight pattern and in an attempt to damage it more often. On both counts, she was successful. It was through her manipulations of the currents that Ryu was able to score a clean hit, and with the weight and power of his sword, this greatly affected the bird's ability to fight.

Through this system, the party wore down the Animikii until finally it couldn't move fast enough to avoid Ryu's systematic quartering, and the body exploded into threads of lightning that bounced off the walls and ceiling of the room. All three members of the party covered themselves with their arms and weapons to protect against the onslaught, and it gradually was absorbed into the metal that made up the floor of the chamber. The yellow glow, once they had reopened their eyes, had increased in the room, and the bird was gone. "I don't sense it any more," Trinil commented. Then the door across the room opened.

"Well done," a voice came before the figure. The figure which was revealed after a moment fit the voice, being female and slight. The robes even managed to look big on her, when Ryu knew that he probably couldn't have fit in them himself. He felt the kinship with her than meant that she was of his Clan. She had black hair and was somewhere in her thirties. Her standout features, however, were her kind grey eyes. She smiled at the three of them. "Very well done. I don't think that test's been passed with fewer than five people before.

"Trinil." So named, the Woren bowed to the Dragon Priest. "Ryu." The teenage Dragon followed suit. "You both may enter to participate in your tests." As the two of them made their way to door, leaving their packs behind for Nina, the Priest turned to the Wyndian. "I'm sorry I have to keep you out here, Princess, but I shall join you while the boys are… well, being boys." She stepped aside for the two young men to pass her, and then stepped around the door herself closing it carefully while she was on the same side of the Princess.

The Shrine looked nearly identical to the Fire Shrine. The dais was the same; the shape of the ceiling was the same. The differences were in who was present. As Ryu had expected, they were in the same positions. Ladon was the only one who was the same exact being in the same exact position. Ryu bowed to him, receiving a nod of the head as a response, before looking over the other two occupants of the room. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Trinil had done the same to the other God that was on the dais.

It was, therefore, not surprising to find that it was a translucent figure of a woman. The woman's body was obviously one that was fit and healthy to the point that it was a wonder that she could ever not be training. She was primarily yellow, and there were threads of lightning that licked up and down her robes, which were open to reveal much more revealing clothing. Her face was hard, but not nearly as hard as Agni's was. She could only be Donara, the God of Lightning and the Woren.

At the front of the dais, now stepping down, was the second priest. This one was also female, her hair gray and obviously a rather old woman. Her stature was none the worse for wear, however, and her dismount of the dais was graceful and full of energy that made Ryu doubt his initial guess of her age. Her face and energy were the only clues, her robes concealing the rest of her body, even the feet. "Who enters Donara's Shrine?" she asked, her voice ringing off the vaulted ceiling.

"I do," the two Ascents responded simultaneously.

"Ryu Gensu, of the Dragon Clan."

"Trinil Rait of the Woren Clan."

The woman nodded. "Dragon Ryu, you are here to complete your Test of Lightning. Your partner will be Woren Trinil. Is this acceptable?"

"It is."

The woman turned to Trinil. "Woren Trinil, you are here to complete your Final Test. Your partner will be Dragon Ryu. Is this acceptable?"

"It is."

"Then you may prepare," The woman said, indicating two water basins that framed the entryway to the Shrine. "Drink of the Water of Life and be refreshed before your test. You will need all of your strength, willpower and stamina to face the trial that awaits you." Trinil went to the basin on the left, while Ryu went to the basin on the right. After drinking of the water that was there, Ryu felt incredibly refreshed. Perhaps he didn't need to hold back as much right before getting to the Shrines. He certainly felt much more ready to fight than he had when he had walked in. He could see in Trinil's black eyes as the two walked back to the center of the entryway that he felt the same way.

The woman had stepped down from the dais and was beckoning for the two of them to come forward. As they did, Ladon spoke. "Ryu, this is your second test. It will be harder than the first, but not as difficult as the third, fourth or fifth." Ryu started, and Ladon chuckled. "Oh, you thought there were only four tests, four Shrines? The King of Wyndia told you that? He was misinformed. You will be headed to the Shrine of Earth next: Gaia's. Water and Air remain afterward. Gaia's Shrine lies underneath the sands of Arad. Find the central oasis, and the people there will guide you."

Ryu nodded, stopping at the edge of the dais. Donara then addressed her subject. "Trinil, your final test is at hand. While this will not return to you control of your powers, as that is something that I cannot do for you - that you must learn for yourself - it will grant you the ability to regain control, and the ability to find your other forms. While I call it a final test, it is really the first step on a journey. I know you have been ready for this journey for a while, so I will not insult you by asking if you are ready now; I know it.

"Step up, warriors, and face your test!"

Ryu and Trinil followed instructions, and stood ready on the dais. Ryu drew his sword, putting it in a ready position while Trinil did similar with his staff. The god and goddess faded out of view as they were washed out in a brilliant white light. Ryu didn't try to see through the transformation, instead looking away so that his eyes wouldn't be out of whack at an inopportune time. Trinil, obviously also used to this, was looking back at him. They grinned at each other in the shared moment, and when the light had faded, they both snapped front to regard their challenge.

Across from Ryu was Zilant, the Thunder Dragon. Across from Trinil was a tiger-human hybrid. Ryu vaguely remembered the description from his lessons, and identified it as a 'weretiger'. Both roared challenges at their challengers, and Ryu's form faded into white light and returned as Wyvern to answer the challenge with his own roar. Trinil instead was casting the speed increase that he had on the party when facing the Animikii. He just barely got the second spell off before having to jump out of the way of Weretiger's pounce. Unlimbering his staff, Trinil landed in a ready pose.

Ryu charged the instant he felt his speed increased. His Wyvern form was raw power, and he hoped that the speed increase would be enough to land a few solid hits. Unsurprisingly, Zilant easily dodged the first charge, but Ryu was ready for this and blocked the riposte cleanly before launching his own claw attack, which missed. Then, while he was lining up his next attack on Zilant, felt claws sink into his back. Roaring in surprise and pain, Ryu whipped his powerful tail around and swatted Weretiger off of his back. A couple scratches remained where it had latched onto him. So that's how they're going to play it, huh?

Trinil was able to keep up with his quarry, but Weretiger seemed to revel in trying to disrupt the concept of the double duel that had been set up. Ryu had responded in kind, sending flames over in Weretiger's direction whenever he had a spare moment and Trinil was out of the way. Using this to his advantage, Trinil would often get a significant opportunity provided by the dodges of Ryu's excess attacks. In return, Trinil attempted to fire off his Jolt spell a couple times, but it ended up just making Zilant laugh, so that stopped quickly. In the same way, any electric attacks from Zilant made Trinil scoff.

Neither duel seemed to be getting anywhere, despite the constant crossover help that each duel was attempting to give the other. After several minutes of this stalemate, both teams retreated to regroup a moment. "I've got an idea," Trinil said quietly to Ryu. Ryu's answer to Trinil's idea was to begin casting the requested spell. Trinil started casting his spell, and the adversaries became understandably wary. Ryu's spell went off first, surrounding Trinil with fire. Trinil felt the power of the flames flow into him as the visible fire danced around his form. He pointed and sent his own attack on the way, channeling into it all the fire that Ryu had granted him.

"Firebolt!"

From Trinil's outstretched hand came flying power in the form of a fireball that was laced with tiny lightning bolt threads that weaved into the fireball, resulting in the ball switching back and forth from fire with lightning to lightning with fire. Bringing that arm back, the other one shot forward to let fly another identical projectile, and it followed the first, heading straight for the adversaries. They both jumped out of the way of the projectiles, but the firebolts turned, intent on their targets. Surprise was evident on the Weretiger's face as it was struck by the firebolt, and Ryu was pretty sure Zilant was about as surprised.

The attack was draining, but Ryu hadn't thought it would be that draining, and he found himself reverting to his human form. Trinil also collapsed in a heap as the firebolts exploded in a rather impressive flash of light and accompanying boom. When the dust cleared, the god and goddess were on the dais again, replacing their avatars.

"Once again, you exceeded my wildest expectations, Ryu," Ladon murmured mildly. "You as well, Trinil."

"Very well," Donarah said. "I grant the both of you the full extent of my power."

But the only thought Ryu got out before blackness took him was Oh no, not again.

Author's Note: And now we return to updating on a ... semi-regular basis. I won Nanowrimo (53,233 words last month!), though that story isn't done yet. I figured today, though, you guys needed a treat. Thanks for waiting.

Also: The chapter title is directly lifted from something I am fond of in the Breath of Fire series.