Chapter 9 - Undiscovered Talents

We arrived back in the village standing beside Jaria once again. I had thought before I was transported to veil my power, as I guessed that some of the villagers would have the same skill that I now did. I wanted to keep it under wraps.

However, this wasn't enough to deceive Jaria herself, and she stood up once we had both arrived.

"Rylian. I think we need to talk. I want you to come along as well Jessie. "

Jessie understood well, although I didn't, and we both walked towards the hut where Jaria signalled us to enter. As I walked inside I noticed that there was no furniture, and that it was completely bare inside. I stood beside Jessie as Jaria stood in front of us. I was amazed that she could stand so easily, for with her body she looked as if she could collapse at any second.

"Ok then, I wanted to know how the training went Jessie." She said quietly.

Jessie proceeded to tell all the details of our sparring in the wilderness, and a couple of times Jaria even looked shocked. And these times were when she was talking about me. I was starting to fear what was going on. It was just too crazy.

When Jessie had finished Jaria looked heavily at me and sighed. I decided to finally ask.

"What is going on Jaria? I need to know!"

Jaria folded her arms in front of her, and looked me straight in the eyes. It was an unnerving feeling.

"You have a gift Rylian. It's what we tend to call the Feared Power. Only Kefka's top bodyguards have been able to unlock such power up until now. In just over four days you've become as powerful as Jessie here, and more powerful than all the villagers. They've been fighting and training for years, and you've bettered them all in four days."

I couldn't speak. it was all too much. Jaria spoke up again.

"We're going to have a Lorento challenge tomorrow."

Jessie looked at Jaria as if she had taken leave of her senses.

"Jaria, is that wise? I mean, we can't afford to be fighting a tournament at the moment. What if Kefka's men turn up, or even worse Kefka himself? We'd be."

"Jessie, it won't happen, trust me." She replied. "We're going to have it tomorrow, and I want you to announce it tonight."

Jessie nodded her head.

"As you wish Jaria. I will announce it at dinner tonight."

Jaria looked to me and smiled warmly, and my stomach nearly fell to the ground. I excused myself and almost ran back to the hut where I had lain earlier, so as to escape the reality of what was happening. It seemed too much. Far too much for me to bear.

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"Rylian, come on, wake up!"

I heard Karon's voice beckoning me from slumber, and although I tried to lie on regardless there was no point, for the annoying shouts of the kid started to nearly fly through and shatter my normal good spirits. I got up, still fully clothed, and got to my feet in front of my friend.

"How are you feelin' Rylian?"

"A little sore, but I'm fine."

I stopped as I heard the noise outside, the hustle and bustle of the town around me. I looked down at Karon.

"The tournament?"

"Yup. You'll be fighting pretty soon, against a guy called Tomona. He's not a bad fighter, so you'll have to watch yourself. How did the training go?"

"Ha. I was a little surprised."

Karon smiled at me.

"I'm not surprised at all, that's what most people say. although by the looks of it Jessie was pretty surprised as well. Did Jaria say anything to you."

I started to speak, but at this point Jessie walked into the room.

"Rylian, you're up. Ready to fight?"

"I suppose so, let's go for it." I stammered. The whole thing still seemed ridiculous to me.

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The shouts and screams that were coming from all the fighters almost deafened my senses as I stood in the hastily constructed ring that had been made the night before. The young man facing me looked as if he knew what he was doing, and that he had been in many battles previous. he had the marks upon him to prove such theory. I focused upon him, but I couldn't feel his energy, as he had cleared his mind in preparation for the battle. Now I knew that I had a fight upon my hands. Suddenly, Jaria stepped into the ring, her hair flowing down her back as she walked majestically towards the centre of the arena. She looked completely different than she had done yesterday, her face lit up and bright.

"Everyone, we have decided to hold a tournament to test the ability of Rylian, our visitor to this town. We want to see if he is capable of fighting alongside us in our war against Kefka. However, as you all know the Lorento challenge is no normal tournament. Simply put, Rylian will fight everyone until he is defeated. Once he loses the battles are over. Now, shall we begin?

The arena was hushed and anticipating the upcoming fight, whilst I was stuck in the middle of it all. There didn't need to be shouts or cheers, for the atmosphere was more tense than I had ever known. Suddenly Jaria disappeared, and I realised that this signalled the start of the fight.