Chapter 5 - The Trial

The two of us came to a small clearing that was filled with more than fifty women of all ages. I was surprised, for there were no men around at all except for myself. I had no idea what it could mean.

The leader of the band was sitting in the middle of the clearing on a simple throwback chair. She signalled for me to sit down next to her, and I looked at her as intently as she looked at me. Her eyes were younger than the rest of her body, like she was trapped behind the face that adorned her body, and her hair had long since gone from her head. Wrinkles covered her face, and her body had become small and shrivelled from age.

"So Rylian. Where are you from? Tell me exactly where."

I looked around me, and I felt the eyes of everyone boar into me.

"Rylian?" the old woman said.

"Hmm?"

"Don't feel intimidated by this crowd. We just want to know about you."

I sighed and started to tell my tale.

"I'm from Jackwoods, it's a town in Ireland."

She nodded to signal that she understood, and I continued to tell everything, how I had been abducted from my home, that I had been kept in the cell and how I had ended up where I was now when I met Karon. The old woman was intensely interested so I kept on telling my story until every last detail had been covered. I raised my hands to signal that I was finished, and the woman nodded and got up off her chair, walking towards me. She placed her misshapen hand upon my head, and I felt a small burst of what felt like electricity moving through the inside of my head. It wasn't painful at all, and when the woman had finished she smiled at me with a glow I had never seen since.

"What Rylian has said is true. He is a true man, not of the nature of Kefka. He is untouched by this world also. We shall feast tonight in honour of our noble guest!"

The crowd around me cheered, and that point I knew that I had been accepted here. But was acceptance enough, for I knew I couldn't stay where I was. I had to find a way home, and I had to find it soon.

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The cliff above my head stood tall over the entire village. It was like a safety barrier, a protection for the fragile community that stood here. I now knew the plight of the people here. A man named Kefka ruled over this world, and had done so for the past twelve years. He had once been a kind, compassionate ruler, but when his wife died his feelings seemed to subside overnight, and he set his sights on world domination. And he had succeeded over the past four years in securing all six continents of the world, expect for the one where I was standing now, which was named Cyrain. The leader of this last kingdom was Kilbane, the man who I had been 'asked' about earlier by Karon. This was the last standpoint against Kefka. The town which Karon's people lived stood behind a ravine, which was the only point in which the invading army could make it to the capital city of Cyrain, Tirana.

Karon came up behind me as I stood and looked up at the sparkling blue sky.

"What are you going to do now then?" she said to me quietly.

"Don't know. I'm gonna have to make it home somehow, I just have no idea how. From what I've been told I'm not even on my home planet anymore. There must be a way."

"Well, you can stay with us for as long as you like. But if you do stay you're gonna have to train with us. And quickly too. We can't guarantee your protection if Kefka attacks again."

"But how am I supposed to train? I'm no fighter."

"Well, we have our ways." It wasn't Karon's voice that was speaking to me, and when I turned round I spotted Jessie standing behind us both.

"How do you mean?"

"We have a special technique that can grant you fifty hours of training for every hour you exist. It's a very helpful method, and at least you'll be able to get the basic skills you need to defend yourself."

I grinned, for the offer sounded good to me. I had been watching cartoons, television shows and films since my birth, and to be able to fight like these guys sounded like quite an offer. Jessie signalled to me to follow her.

"Oh yeah, by the way, that was a pretty brave move you made against that big guy back at the battlefield. Stupid maybe, but brave nonetheless. I have to say thanks on behalf of us all for your efforts."

I smiled at her.

"Yeah, I have the bruises to show how stupid it was, but thanks for the compliment."

We walked off towards the centre of town, and I was completely unaware of the magnitude of the 'training' that I was about to suffer.