Chapter Three – Training and Discovering a Destiny
By Kateen
Harry had quickly been accepted into a training program that combined the two courses, unusual for any person, even one of the three. He was three months into his life as a trainee Mage, and was expected to go on as such for quite a few months yet.
The two Masters had quickly offered him a place on both courses, saying that although similar, there were major structural differences that he would need to choose between, until Harry said he wanted to do both. He pointed out that there were advantages to both of them, and because he was likely to be the only Mage in his time, he should know both so that he could educate others.
He had then been asked to choose between one of three training courses. The first that was described was the Anera Anit, or 2A training. It was just like being at a normal school, with classes and practice times firmly in place. It was, apparently, extremely popular. The other course had been the Sraeps Yentrib, or SY, this was more difficult with missions that could potentially be life threatening, but at the same time, was safe. The training that Harry had chosen, had been called Isoroma Assenawa (IA) which consisted of no classes, but continual missions and fighting training. They were given horses, weapons and practices, but their training went all day, every day. The Instructors could attack at any time and send them on missions that there was a high chance that they wouldn't return from.
His first three months had been nothing short of hellish, and at times, all he could think of was how he would be torturing Sabina until she screamed for mercy, when he finally got back, but then he would remember something or other and would forget all about it. In reality, although hard, he loved it. He loved the work, and he loved the physical endurance required. What it was doing, was teaching him things that Hogwarts couldn't – Survival, Mental Strength, and how to use and control his powers.
Scars all over his body paid tribute to Harry's first three months, and he had no doubt that he would have an infinite number more by the end of the training. It was to last a year, or two, until he asked to sit the deciders. If he failed the deciders, he would not survive, and so he was working hard in order to sit it at the end of a year.
It was the first time in three months that he'd had a holiday, but there was a nagging doubt in his mind, that it was a real holiday. When he'd first joined the training, he'd been warned by the other two, of the three, Garma and another boy, Lathernet, that there was no rest and he would have to work really hard.
Harry quickly came to understand why. The instructors would creep in in the middle of the night, and hex their bedrooms, while they were asleep, or would attack them on one of their missions. He and the other two quickly set up some warning systems so that they were protected, even in their sleep.
It hadn't taken any of them long to understand what the Grand Master had been saying about the three. Garma was the Grand Master Mage of the present, or would be when he finished his training, Lathernet was of the near future, and Harry was of the distant future. The three had sensed an otherworldly connection when they were all together, and quickly came to realize that the connection was like that of soul brothers.
The three of them got on like a house on fire, and were quick to work out each others weaknesses and help to strengthen them. When they moved into their house, at the beginning of the training, they set up some base rules. They began to prepare wards and protection fields so that they didn't get disturbed by unwanted visitors in the middle of the night, and started organizing information networks to discover what was planned, as well as studying and preparing ruthlessly.
This was the first holiday any of them had ever heard of, and none of them believed it was a true holiday. Garma was sure that some mission would come up, and they'd be sent off to some godforsaken place to solve some mystery or other. Lathernet was positive that the house would be hexed, and rigged so that anyone who went inside was a victim of the infinite number of pranks that they instructors could do. Harry, on the other hand, thought that it would be an attack where they would assume that the three boys would be at their weakest, and would try and catch them, so that they could berate them more.
Today, he was relaxing in the field, where all the horses grazed contentedly. His senses were open and alert as he relaxed. He had a really strange feeling that he was about to be attacked, and called his shrunken staff into his hand. He didn't de-shrink it yet, but waited. They would slip up very soon, he knew, they weren't as good at hiding their movements.
He was a master at moving without a sound, but it came naturally for him, and only required a little honing when he arrived at the training. His companions, and teachers, with the exception of the Grand Master, and Masters were hopeless and generally slipped up.
A few moments later, he heard the soft sound of a foot pressing into moist earth. He smiled, this was one of the better instructors, he was sure. Only a good instructor could be that quiet. He remained where he was, but strengthened his shield and began to add more and more power to it until it was able to reflect almost any spell.
And then it began.
There was a shriek and some wild cursing from the direction of their house, so Harry assumed that Lathernet was under attack, and it sounded like he was winning. Some noises from the other direction indicated that Garma was also being attacked, but hadn't lost his cool and was tactfully telling them to leave him alone. Harry waited, calmly and ready. He knew he was about to be stunned (or, at least, they'd try to), but he'd wait until they made the first move.
"Stupefy!"
It bounced off his shield without so much as causing it to shudder, and Harry turned facing where he knew the opponents were. He rapidly deshrunk his staff and began to send waves of magical power at the opponents, hoping that the overload would knock them out. It did, and Harry laughed and telepathically called the other two:
Lathernet, Garma!
Yeah? Garma responded.
You sorted? Harry demanded.
Yup, Lathernet is unconscious though, and I think our house'll be in shambles tonight.
Bloody hell, don't they teach them anything in his era? Harry asked.
I don't think he is a War Mage. I think he is, or will be, a Grand Master Mage, whereas I will be a Grand Master War Mage, and you will be both. That makes him the least powerful of all of us, but still excruciatingly powerful.
You know, Harry said quietly, I have my three unconscious and tied up, how about you guard them, and I go help Lathernet sort out his three, and we can then prank them while they're unconscious.
Alright. Send them to me
Harry levitated his three instructors to Garma and then hurried towards the house. They weren't the only people in the training program, but they were sharing a house, and were soul brothers, meaning that they really didn't mix with the others often. In theory classes, they learnt from each other and discussed the latest prank that had been pulled on them, but otherwise it was a static relationship.
Letharnet? he called.
Harry, quickly, I'm pretending to be out, but they're setting traps.
Remember where each trap is. I'm coming to get you out, without blowing your cover. Start deactivating the traps, while I deal with the others, alright?
Affirmative.
Harry hurried inside the house, keeping low, watching for any spells that prevented them entering the house, or would prank them for doing so. There was a wall up, that hadn't been there before, but Harry shot the Reductor curse at it, and it dissolved enough to allow him to pass. The house had been changed into some sort of garden, but Harry merely smiled and waved his hand, causing all the decorations to disappear.
"Lacarnum Inflamarae!" he shouted and one of the instructors, bending over a chair was engulfed in flames. They wouldn't hurt him, but they wouldn't help him much either. Harry then shot bucketfuls of water at the other man, until he was drenched. The other man was dealing with a stunner from Letharnet who finally fell to the stunner shot at him.
All three of them finally overcame any curses that were on them and pulled out swords. Harry realized that he was going to have to fight against all three. Not showing any of the trepidation he felt at that thought, he drew his own sword and, in the middle of the three began to summon the power he knew he had inside.
It hadn't taken the three of them long to discover that they were Lightdancers, and powerful ones at that. He blocked several easy shots, and then it began to become more serious, with the Instructors throwing curses along the blades, between the three of them at him. His shield was strengthened until it was almost solid, and he was still parrying with them.
Finally he felt the power that had lain dormant in him begin to merge itself within him, and guide him through his movements. His arm flew back and forth, and light was reflected from the blade of his handmade sword (made by himself) into the eyes of the three, until they thought they were blind.
"Stupefy Multiplicus!" he shouted, and the three of them dropped down, unconscious. He quickly conjured ropes around them and woke Letharnet and the two of them hurried over to Garma who was beginning to worry.
"Well done, mate!" Harry grinned, as he saw Garma stun one of the instructors who happened to stir.
"Should we get the rest of the group in on this one?" Garma asked grinning evilly, "between the lot of us, we should be able to think up a suitable punishment."
Harry nodded, "Alright," he paused for a moment, "I had an idea last night. I'll tell you about it later, alright?"
Having disposed of the nine instructors, Harry decided that it was time he took his horse, Odin, out. He called to him when he left the building, and the horse appeared out of nowhere at his side. He smiled, "Roui muisto elani?"
Odin dipped her golden head, her black eyes glinting in the sunlight, as if to say she completely agreed with him. He mounted and the two of them sped off towards the Tægern mountain. Tægern was where many magical creatures lived, including the Tægern horses (like Odin) and Phoenix's. Harry had been getting a strange vibe from the mountain over the last few days, and even Garma and Letharnet had agreed that it was just freaky the feeling from the mountain.
So he had decided to go up and investigate. Odin needed a workout, so this just killed two birds with one stone (figuratively, not literally). He had changed into his formal robes, as were the rules regarding leaving the castle on anything except a training mission.
All the apprentice's of the Magi had been given three types of robes, and each of them was to be in good condition at all times. The first, plain black with silver edging and several runes, was for formal occasions, breakfast and lunch. The second, emerald green or sapphire blue with the same silver was for Dinner and ceremonies. The third was plain brown, no edging, for use in training.
Harry and Odin hurried up the mountain, not stopping for anything, but both completely aware of what was going on around them. Harry could tell when a bird alighted on a leaf a kilometer away, he was that good. Actually, he was the best that they'd ever had in the training. He'd beaten records over and over and then beaten his own, making him the one person who held more than five records at any one time. No matter how hard they tried, not even Garma or Letharnet could beat his records.
Finally, he felt the unease in his stomach reach epic levels, and dismounted, telling Odin to follow quietly. Odin was as good as he was at moving silently, it was something that they'd trained each other on. He pushed forward a few hundred meters and stopped dead, a tear falling down his cheek sadly at the sight he was greeted with.
A black pony, with fire enveloping his tail, mane, legs and horn that sat in the middle of his forehead: a Midnight Unicorn, lay on the ground, three small phoenix egg's lying against his chest, keeping warm, whinnying softly. Odin stopped and stiffened, and then turned and walked back to where Harry had dismounted.
There is a strange rivalry between horses and Unicorns, particularly the pure unicorns – the white ones. It is said that horses descended from them originally but did not keep their purity, and tainted their blood, thus losing the white perfection and horn that normally signified purity. Midnight Unicorns were different again, they were still pure and good, but fought against the dark and had more compassion for other creatures than the white Unicorns, who considered themselves superior in every way. Horses did not like to see Midnight Unicorns in pain or distress, that was why Odin had left.
The reason that the Unicorn was so distraught became plainly obvious when Harry stepped further into the clearing. There was a fully grown phoenix lying dead, nearby, and the eggs obviously had belonged to it, but there were many injured phoenix's who would need proper medical attention.
Harry sighed and walked over to the Unicorn, which looked back at him distrustfully, obviously it had been a human who had done this, he smiled reassuringly and bent down where he was in full view, "Hello," he said calmly, "I'm Harry. I am often called Lord Phoenix, or Midnight Unicorn. Are you hurt? You can trust me, if you'd like, but if you don't want to then I will leave."
He didn't know if the Unicorn could understand him, but it had fallen silent when he had started to talk, and hadn't moved or seemed panicked since then, he continued, "All the birds around you need healers. I live in the castle below. We have hundreds of healers that could look after them until they are well again. After that, they can return to their homes."
"But what about me, and the eggs?" The Unicorn whinnied. Harry almost jumped in fright, it had spoken to him.
"Did you just speak English?" he asked.
She looked amused, "foolish human, of course not. Our mouths and tongues cannot form those sounds. You, however, speak the language of animals. I can sense it on you. You can speak to anything you choose."
Harry blinked, "Oh, well, thanks. You are welcome to stay with Odin and myself. Odin was my horse, he will look after you. The phoenix eggs are also welcome. I'm sure that somewhere in our house, Garma, Letharnet and I can find somewhere nice and warm for them. Perhaps you would like to stay in the house with them?"
The Unicorn frowned for a moment, and before she could respond, one of the older Phoenixes limped over to him, "you are a kind human. We can sense it on you. It is unusual for a Phoenix to be injured and unable to help itself, but our tears do not work on other phoenixes. We take your offer of assistance gratefully, but how will you get us back to the castle?"
Harry thought for a moment, "I could create a platform that you could all sit on, then Odin and –" he paused and turned to the Midnight Unicorn, "what is your name?"
"Keonri," she said quietly, almost sadly.
"and then Odin and Keonri could carry it on their backs. I will walk alongside, and carry the eggs and keeping them warm. Would that be acceptable to you all?"
Keonri nodded, "I would be happy to carry this burden."
The phoenix dipped it's head respectfully, "We accept your offer thankfully."
Harry conjured up the platform and all the phoenix's that could walk, limped onto it, and began to sing their song. Phoenix tears have healing powers, but phoenix song can cure the weak hearted and strengthen the strong. It gave Harry hope after the bleak scene that lay in front of him.
He then lifted all the others onto the platform, and charmed them with basic healing charms, in the hopes that they would begin to recover on the way down. He then levitated the platform so that it was at the right level for the two horses, and all three of them began to walk down the mountain.
Over the three months Harry had been training, he had learnt that as a trainee of a Master, or Grand Master Mage, he was not allowed to use the healing center for himself or any of his companions. They were forced to heal themselves and, as a result, all of them became proficient in healing charms extremely quickly.
Students would normally network but, Harry insisted that it would be safer for him to learn all of them as he would not have company in his time. He would need to know them all, that much was obvious. However, he also knew that the animals might get proper treatment.
Garma, Lethernet, we have a problem.
Merlin be damned! Lethernet sighed exasperatedly, what now?
I'm coming down Tægern mountain and I have three phoenix eggs and over a hundred injured Phoenix. I also have a Unicorn and Odin. Someone purposely tried to hurt them all.
I'll speak to the healers and see what we can do.
Thanks, Harry smiled, hopefully the healers would meet him as he arrived, but there was always the possibility that they refused to treat the creatures on the grounds that it was a natural thing for creatures to die, and be killed.
But Harry knew that this wasn't true, only for some creatures – like phoenixes, who chose when they wanted to die. He felt that it wasn't fair for these creatures to be attacked by something like whatever this creature was. He sighed, ridiculous as it seemed, something was stronger than a hundred phoenixes.
Twenty minutes later, as Harry neared the castle, he got a message from Garma, Harry, we have a problem. The Healers are going on about how you weren't supposed to be up there, or some such nonsense. They won't help. Take them to our house and the three of us will work on them, alright?
Affirmative, I'm almost there. Meet me in the house ASAP.
As Harry pushed the gate open, he walked calmly over the lush green grass, alongside the Unicorn, Odin and all the phoenixes. Everyone stopped to stare and mutterings began to grow around him, until Harry was out of hearing distance.
He set the phoenixes down on the table, and place the eggs near the fire that was already crackling merrily, and told Keonri to watch the eggs. Odin had already disappeared into the forest, as he did every night, and Harry knew that he would be safe there.
"Lethernet, because you're not that great at healing, would you organize them into badly wounded so that we can begin to heal them properly?"
The boy nodded, his blonde hair glistening and Harry realized that he looked an awful lot like Draco Malfoy from slytherin, the same sneer was permanently in place, but it never bothered Harry because it wasn't directed at him. It was just a facial expression that prevented a smile or a frown from appearing.
Garma hadn't looked up once but instead had been concentrating fiercely on a red phoenix who Harry recognized immediately, "Fawkes?" he asked in surprise.
The Phoenix twitched but didn't respond, "Garma," Harry said, "ask that phoenix to stay when you're done, would you?"
"whatever,"
Harry bent over another phoenix who's breathing was shallow, and the silver blood phoenix's were famed for came out in a dribble. Harry cast a charm to maintain the life, and then began to work on the internal damage before beginning on the broken bones. It was going to take several weeks for most of them to learn to use their bodies again, and the attack had been a huge blow to both Harry and the Phoenixes.