C3: Forion, the Golden Lion
"First off," said Baleiar, "I will teach you to use a sword. You have used one before, haven't you?" Arion nodded as he stared up and down the wooden blade of the sword. The sword he was wielding was a bastard sword. "Have you ever used one?" Arion replied, "Yeah, we had fencing classes- you practice with swords."
Arion looked better now. His face wasn't dirty, he was cleaned, his skin looked perfect again, and his hair wasn't frozen. His clothe were clean as well.
"Good, so you should know something about it." Baleiar grasped his wooden long sword firmly. He waited a moment before Arion stopped looking at the blade and noticed Arion was about to have a practice duel. "I thought I was learning to use magic," stated Arion. Baleiar told him, "You will. First you need to know at least how to use a sword. And begin-!"
Baleiar was too fast. He swung his sword high at Arion's right arm. It hit him and knocked Arion on the ground. "Rule one, you must always pay attention and always be aware of your surroundings." "Alright Master," Arion said as he jumped up and then swung his sword downwards on Baleiar's forehead. Baleiar made a sudden movement with his fist and punched Arion in the gut. Arion still grasped his sword but he also clutched his gut tightly. "Rule two, always be aware of what your opponent is about to do. Never assume you've won a battle. You may also use fists or kicking if it's the only way to survive."
Arion did something that very second that Baleiar wasn't ready for. Arion jumped straight over Baleiar's head and behind him. It took Baleiar a second before he realized what happened, but by then, Arion had already jumped behind Baleiar, he already landed on his feet hard, and he stabbed the sword right at Baleiar's back. It didn't go into his skin, but Baleiar fell to the ground forward.
"Rule three, master, always watch your back." Baleiar turned onto his back and smiled at Arion. "You win. But training with a sword goes on all day."
And that's what happened. They trained all day and nothing happened. Arion improved dramatically. At the end of the day, he was almost as good as Baleiar. Each time Baleiar won, but towards their last fights, they would go up to twenty minutes long. Baleiar saw how good Arion was getting and realized he'd be ready for learning magic the next day.
That night, they went back to their huts. Arion's hut was right underneath Baleiar's. Baleiar had gotten Arion a hut the previous night. So Arion took a bath and ate and he went straight to bed.
The next day he got up and ate and left back into the forest where they had been training. Baleiar arrived an hour after Arion made it. It was exactly dawn when Baleiar came, but Arion came earlier to start practicing meditating. Baleiar had mentioned that meditating is something important for a Magician. It teaches them to concentrate and learn more about around them.
"You're here early," stated Baleiar.
They spoke with each other for ten minutes and then Baleiar was getting ready to teach Arion magical skills.
"Magical abilities are hard to learn, yet, they harder to teach. You're going to have to do this. This is the most basic magical power. It is mind-reading. Now, a magical person can do this quite easily. You have only one magical talent though, and you don't know how to tap into it. I want you to think of my name, and concentrate hard on my name and to what you want to do to me- mind-reading. It should take you a few easy steps, but after that, you should master it."
They tried it once, and Arion tried hard to read Baleiar's mind. He sweated hard as he did that and he struggled. He thought this was a challenge. After several seconds, Arion stopped, opened his eyes, and started breathing hard.
"What happened?" asked Baleiar. "It was like something was trying to stop me," stated Arion. "No, no, no. No one or anything is doing that. You are making it a challenge for yourself. If you can just get your mind clear and only what you want to do, then nothing will be hard for you. Just concentrate and pretend this is very east. Now go."
Arion tried again, this time he didn't sweat and he wasn't trying hard. He tapped into Baleiar's mind and he read it. But there was something wrong.
Arion saw a woman. Obviously Baleiar prophesized this and it must have already happened. A woman was in a cell. She seemed familiar but he didn't see her face because it was in the shadows. But the girl seemed so familiar.
All of a sudden he found himself standing back where he was. Baleiar stood there looking at Arion with a smile. "You passed," he stated. "You are able to learn even more magic skills."
"Baleiar," said Arion, who still thought of that girl- who seemed to be about his age- asked him, "who was that girl?" Baleiar responded after a breath and said, "You will know soon enough."
"Baleiar," Arion exclaimed, "what is so important about knowing who she is." Baleiar stated, "Knowing that will get you in a bad spot when you're not even fully trained." Arion stated, "Then start teaching me again."
Baleiar started to teach Arion more magical techniques and Arion mastered them. Arion learned different ways to levitate items or people, how to see passed corners, how to understand every language, and how to hold his breath for more then ten minutes. At the end of that hard working day, Arion knew a bit over ten different magical abilities and mastered ten of them.
The next day was just a review of everything that Arion had learned, and Arion learned a new magical ability, which allowed him to levitate himself. With each new magical ability he learned, the next was always harder then the one before.
A week later, Arion had learned over seventy magical abilities and had mastered them all. Gwydion said that on the tenth day, the next day, Arion and Baleiar would have a magical combat against one another. None of the magical abilities Arion knew of could kill anyone- and Baleiar was only going to use the ones that Arion knew.
"Ready… set… go!" cried Baleiar, when their training with the magical powers had begun.
Arion and Baleiar had a good battle, but Baleiar proved to be the stronger fighter for magical wits then Arion and won. It only lasted several minutes, and Arion was forced to by the drinks. Arion was very tired when they got to the bar for a drink.
"We want two mugs of your finest whisky," said Arion who partly didn't know what he was saying. "And boy- you are fat!"
Baleiar grabbed Arion and he tore out of the bar running like mad. "I wasn't in the mood for a drink anyways," said Baleiar. Arion was slowly coming back to reality, but he still would doze off like a four year old child. They were heading back to Baleiar's hut again.
Once they got there, Arion was healed and he didn't doze off anymore. He looked up at the hut and asked, "Why are we here?" Baleiar smiled and said, "I have a friend who is going to help you train. And trust me- he is a good friend for a lion."
"A lion!" cried Arion. "Why is it a lion?" Baleiar responded, "He's not just a lion- he's a Golden Lion. His name is Forion. You two should get along well with each other."
They started walking up the stairwell that spiraled around the tree. They made it to the top and on the deck. Arion had to follow Baleiar towards the deck, just as a fowl wind swept through the air. It was going to rain. And before Baleiar could reach the door handle, it stared pouring down on top of them. The rain was hard and strong. So they walked inside quickly and there it stood- a beautiful Golden Lion.
As Arion came in last and saw the lion, he slowly closed the door behind him until he heard a crack which meant the door was closed. The Lion was indeed golden. It had golden fur all over its body, with fiery red mane, and the tip of its tail looked like fire, but it was just the color of the hair and the sharp.
"This is Forion," said Baleiar to Arion. "He is the only Golden Lion in existence, and is not even known about- he's a legend that no one will write stories about or record. Forion does a good job making sure that's the way it goes.
"Forion is different from all lions. He was created from the gods to help protect us, and Forion has done his duty well. He has three gifts that he was born with. He has great healing powers and a great immunity system. During battle- he will either choose the right side or the good side- he will make the sun shine upon his golden coat and blind the enemy, letting the army he is with to kill their enemy. And finally, when he runs as fast as he can, a wall of fire will burst out behind him coming from his tail."
Arion thought that was kind of interesting, but he had to ask something else. "If he was helping a side during war, why is it that no one knows about him?" Baleiar responded, "Because I make sure it is not recorded and that everyone there does not tell anyone about Forion. They do I'll wipe out all of their memories and their family's."
"I'm thinking that Forion will be your companion for the rest of everything that will happen. Tomorrow you will resume your training- we will have Forion teach you about the wild. He can't speak, but your mind-reading powers should enable you to get what he wants you to do." Arion nodded.
That night there was a storm, and for once Arion could see some stars through the window right by his bed. It was only for a few seconds, but that was long enough. Lightening fired through the sky, and a loud ripping sound followed right after the flash. Arion lay there, restless, thinking of everything that had happened and what might happen. It was like living in a nightmare, a nightmare that he was not going to survive. Then something in his heart told Arion that he would survive and that he would make it through. All he had to do was believe in him, and that he would have to understand that the darkest times were slowly approaching. And the more he thought about it, the more he understood. He was going to avenge Atlantis by killing the ones who abused the powers it gave them. And now, Arion's own people will be known as dark people who couldn't control their own power. He closed his eyes, and moments later, Arion fell into a deep sleep.
Arion woke the next morning and left back to their training spot. He saw Forion, and Arion had to fight the Golden Lion with a wooden stick- and he made sure during his training not to harm or kill Forion. An hour later, training was over for the day and Arion was given a break for a whole day. The next day Arion stayed home for the day and just relaxed for his day off.
The next day Arion continued training with magic and sword. The second week Arion had some bruises and cuts on his arms. That week he also learned how to use a long-bow and arrows. That took him two days before he mastered.
Originally it would take someone weeks or months or years to learn how to use a long-bow and arrows and a sword, but knowing magic can give the person greater knowledge, understanding, and wisdom to know what you are doing. It helps you learn to do something quicker then the average human-being.
The third week Arion continued learning magic. As he went he made a few friends, and he started to memorize the landscape and the city of Sapphire Village and he met many other people- his name became more popular with each day. But there were also people who didn't trust him because he was Atlantian. Towards the end of the week Arion started to learn to aim far distances with a long-bow. That took him a whole week.
By the fifth week, Arion managed to finish with the long-bow. He then learned how to use a dagger and throw a dagger. This was hard training for him. Each passing day- with each one getting colder- Arion was forced more pressure. He ate very little, and he noticed he was getting thinner. His abs was getting bigger and harder, he started to get more muscles as well. But Arion was having a bit of trouble lately concentrating for his lack of water and sleep. He asked, and the next day Arion was given a day's break.
Arion slept in, ate well, drank well, rested a bit, and sat down all day next to a burning fire. He went to bed early, and had a good night sleep. He woke up once that night when he fell of the bed- he moves around a lot. He went straight to sleep right after that.
The rest of the week, Arion knew almost every basic and medium skill possible. There were several hundred, and most were mastered by now. Baleiar noticed a dramatic improvement in his learning and his skills. Baleiar, Magician and Adept, started to realize that Arion, Chelas and Atlantian, was getting better and improving faster then what he predicted. Arion was someone who was always full of surprises, making him interesting.
The sixth week came along, and Baleiar was now teaching Arion some of the most complex spells ever. The first one was a magical spell called Green Fire.
"This spell is an Incantation," Baleiar stated, "and was created by Trewlar, the First Dragon Hunter, and the best, which was a magical-folk. He saved the world from Dragons taking over with fire and destruction. He created this to balance power between Man and Dragon, who now are companions, but once were enemies. The Green Fire is its name, and is going to link your mind to any Dragon's." Arion was standing right behind Baleiar, who was about to give a demonstration on the Green Fire.
Then Baleiar made a sudden movement. He pushed his right arm forward, turning his body with it, and spoke an Incantation:
Fire of a Dragon in my veins
Green of darkness is their bane
Unleashes power through thy soul
The Green Fire of Trewlar's goal
And with that, a set of green lights that could lighten the world sprang up into his palms. He smashed his hands together and aimed it at a tree in front of them. Then green flames in the shape of a sphere start to travel around his hands in miniature lightening bolt-shapes. Then, only a few seconds later, the Green Fire he spoke of fire out of his hands, but got enormous quickly. It was five feet in diameter, and gave off tremendous amount of heat. Arion was sweating: but by now, the Green Fire had shot off and destroyed everything in its path, but dissolved once it got half a mile away. The green light it gave off started to die away, and it started getting cooler again.
Baleiar finished this magical attack and turned around to face Arion. Arion saw that Baleiar was tired and sweating, and it looked like he had just been forced to pace around the world. Baleiar fell on one knee, and Arion ran to Baleiar, who was ten feet away, and Arion helped Baleiar up, with Baleiar's arm on the opposite side of Baleiar as Arion held the arm; it was to make sure Baleiar did not fall.
"That was powerful," stated Arion. Baleiar looked up at Arion, as if searching him as he looked him up and down, and said, "Yes, but it is very difficult to master. Not just that, but you need to know what your Dragon is." "What my Dragon is?" Arion asked, confused. He started to walk Baleiar back to the village, but they were going very slow.
Baleiar continued: "Yes, your Dragon- the nature of Dragon that is chosen for a human being at birth. The tricky part is you do not know what your Dragon is- which it is more like a birth mark- and there are twelve different types of Dragons. Mine is the Silver Dragon. Once you figure out what type of Dragon is yours, then you must picture it in your mind and only then, may you be able to use the Green Fire.
"There's something you have to know though," Baleiar said, as he slowly regained his strength in his legs. "There was once prophesized that one day, a person would emerge from a thief who was once a Chelas into a savior. It was said that when they learned the Green Fire, that theirs would be a blue Green Fire- called the Blue Fire. That person would be a hero or an enemy, and would be called the Blazed One."
"Why do I need to know that?" asked Arion as they started to hear the village coming closer. Baleiar responded with, "The answer is that the person should be coming out of hiding very, very soon. The person might already be out of hiding."
They walked back to Sapphire Village, and many people wanted to know what was wrong with Baleiar. He just said that training hurt his legs, which was true. They came back to Baleiar's hut after climbing the wooden spiral staircase and onto the deck, and then into Baleiar's hut. Forion was there to meet them, and he helped Baleiar to one of his very comfy, wooden seats. Baleiar took a seat, and took a deep breath. Then, unexpectedly, Baleiar made a loud laugh that caught both of them with surprise.
"Well, my lad," said Baleiar, as Arion took a big jump backwards, "you've passed one of my tests just now." Arion asked with a slight shrug of confusion, "What test?" Baleiar said, "Helping another. You were quick to my aid, and if you didn't notice (most likely you didn't) my legs weren't hurt, it was a fake. I was just making sure you were defiantly right to be made an Adept soon." Forion made a loud yawn that sounded more like a small roar, and then he lay down, but listened to what they were saying. "You have a good heart- very important- and you have great curiosity for what's going on- also important." Arion made a small smile, but he wasn't very proud for being those. Arion asked, "How soon will I be made an Adept?" Baleiar made a small chuckle (that sounded very menacing for Arion) and said, "By the end of the week. First you will spend some of the night memorizing the chant for the Green Fire. Then I will teach you how to tap into Spiriality- both will take you a while to learn. There are many more complex spells for you to learn- but with such power: I am the only Adept who was not evil, because the others had enough power to destroy the world- all of them, gratefully, died for a power overdose. And finally, the last day, you will face off with me. I will use everything I know on you."
"Then I still have training to do."
The rest of the week Arion trained as hard as he could. He never fully got the Green Fire, but the end of the second day he was able to make a small speck the size of a marble, but then he was partly paralyzed by all the energy that was drained from him. The third day of the sixth week was when Baleiar started to teach Arion to use Spiriality.
"Tapping into a potential that you received many years ago and never used until now will take you very long." Baleiar was telling Arion about his hidden power of Spiriality. "You received the power a millennium ago and never used it and will start learning now. This might take you about a month or more." Arion responded with, "Okay."
"You must first think of someone you love, and the person it is will always be the person- but that's only when you are good. I will not tell you how to use it if you are evil- I fear that it might happen to you, so I will not tell you how to use Spiriality if you're evil. It's that simple: think of someone you love, and he is the only person you can think when using Spiriality. So, before we start practicing, choose the loved person who you will always think of using this power."
Arion, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground with Baleiar on the cold and tarnished grass that was in the forest, responded instantly to Baleiar: "My father, Arkiazu." Baleiar smiled and said, "I thought so."
"And finally," Baleiar said, with the light of the morning son shining upon his dark face, casting a dark shadow behind him, "being frozen for a millennium will cause you to not be able to use Spiriality for years. You must meditate all day with me until dusk, only thinking of Spiriality, so that it may be easier to learn as well as quicker. It will only take a month if you meditate." Arion responded with, "I will."
The whole day they meditated quietly, with only the breeze of the wind, the rustling of the dead leaves, the scratching of the branches, the running animals, and the shadows coming now and then that the clouds cause with the sun. Forion came once to check on them, but not even Baleiar noticed Forion's presence, and Forion left quietly. As dawn turned to mid-day, Arion was starting to sweat of frustration and boredom, but Baleiar continued to meditate. Then as mid-day turned into dusk, it started to get cooler, and Arion was dehydrated. Baleiar took no notice of dusk until Arion had enough. Arion was the only one who noticed that it was dusk. Yet, he waited patiently, and he waited, and he waited some more, and he waited, and he waited until he felt like tearing off his eyebrows when he just opened his eyes and looked at Baleiar.
And Baleiar wasn't there. Arion didn't understand, but Baleiar defiantly was gone. Arion couldn't believe Baleiar ditched him, and Arion didn't even know it. So Arion stood up and walked back to Sapphire Village. When he got there, the huts were quiet, the lake was quiet, and it was very dark except for a few lanterns. Arion found his way to the hut, and then he walked inside where he fell on his bed and instantly fell into a deep and quiet sleep.
The next day Arion found out Baleiar was making sure Arion was in a good meditative state by disappearing. If Arion heard him disappear, then Arion was obviously was not in a good meditative state, and if he didn't hear Baleiar, then he was. Arion thought it probably was because he fell asleep a few times, but he didn't tell Baleiar that. The whole day Arion learned to tap into Spiriality, which was the first step. The next day he was ready to fuse his spirit with another living item- a piece of grass. It took him half the day to fuse his spirit with the grass, but when he did, Arion was very light in the air. He made sure to think of his dad. When he defused with the grass, he fell unconscious for a moment and woke back up. He took a break, and as it grew darker he did that one more time and this time he managed to stay awake. By night, they left back home. Arion was tired and dizzy, and wasn't much for a talk. But Baleiar was.
"Arion," he said, "have you ever heard of a Warlock before?" Arion looked up at Baleiar and nodded his head slightly and then looked back at the trail. "I've had five other Chelas in my lifetime- the first became a powerful person and made it to an Adept, and lived until he left to another realm. I never saw him since. My second betrayed me and died, my third also was killed during training. The fourth and fifth as well were killed by the Last Zeron. And now you, Arion, will be my last Chela." Arion slowly became more interested in this once again. "The reason I asked you about a Warlock is because you are a powerful Chela. And in my years, my other apprentices or even I haven't accomplished this much this quickly. You, by the end of this week, will be an Adept- but greater. A Warlock is even more powerful then an Adept, and if a Chela is able to defeat his master after training for less then one month and a half, then the Chela is automatically pronounced a Warlock."
"So, I may have a chance?" Arion asked slightly, keeping his head towards the road. "If you are able to defeat me in the last day of training- which no one will die in the training," Baleiar told him, just as a bitter breeze came and made Arion shudder. Atlantis was always much warmer than this 50 degree weather. Arion stated quietly, "But I don't know as much as you do in the knowledge of magic." "Does that matter? It's not how much you know, it's how you use the knowledge that you have. Just don't forget that just because I am old, it doesn't mean I'm fragile and weak, so do your best."
"But," Baleiar added, "No one has ever defeated their master in that short amount of time. And I am one of the most powerful Adept's in history, so most likely, you won't be able to defeat me," he said, as a mean smile sprang on his face. Arion chuckled and stated, "We'll see who the victor is."
Arion nodded his head respectfully, and for most of the week Arion just was reviewing everything he had learned. The Green Fire was not reviewed, for they did not know Arion's Dragon, but they reviewed Spiriality, and this time, Arion fused his spirit with a stone, making him very hard and heavy. Finally, the night before Arion's last day of training arrived.
Arion sat around the tree that Baleiar's house was on, listening to the low hums of the insects around the dark forest. He sat meditating, teaching himself to practice his skills without actually using them- it was something Baleiar taught him as one of the mid-powerful magic. It also allowed them to get plenty of rest as though he were sleeping. Now and again the sounds of the forest would awake him, but he would continue his meditation. Arion, in only several hours, would end his training and either become an Adept or a Warlock. He was ready. Arion was defiantly ready.