Moonstones and Madness

Twenty-three

            Their first challenge was a relay including a mounted segment, archery skills, and an obstacle course. Junseo was quick to bow out of any riding, "I'll be better with obstacles, they don't usually have a mind of their own."

"But you are one of the better archers we have," Me San said before directing everyone to their respective stations.

Trouble began at the end of the first leg when their rider was thrown. He passed the baton forward but their team was well behind the others. Sie Woo scrambled at the start of the obstacle course and started dodging and weaving as he ran. Other racers tripped and fell over one another. Junseo touched the tiger's eye connection and sensed the energy spiking. He could not shield his teammate but he was better prepared for the pass-off when it came.

Junseo brought his bow up to aim for the button that would release the gate through to the next runner. He focused his perceptions to get off a solid shot only to watch it pushed off-course. He nodded to himself, studied the arrow closely. He used his thumbnail to make a notch just above the fletching then inserted a small clear quartz. Junseo took a deep breath to center himself before his shot. The balance was a bit off but he had enough of an energy connection to push the arrow through to the target. Fighting the energy bursts drained him and he could only muster a slow jog to pass the baton forward through the open gate. He retrieved his crystal from the arrow hoping his special effort would not be flagged by the race officials. When no whistle sounded, he climbed the viewing stand to watch the rest of the race.

Other teams struggled through the energy bursts on the second obstacle leg while one seemed stuck at the first archery station. Me San had the baton tucked into his belt while he selected an arrow for his first shot. His arrow nearly reversed direction. Junseo caught Sie Woo' eye and they climbed a bit higher into the stands to get a better angle to create a shielded channel. After a near perfect shot, Me San acknowledged their help with a quick wave and ran the baton forward. He stayed on the course to try to deflect some more of the energy bursts coming their anchor's way.

All the waiting riders struggled to steady their mounts in the overcharged atmosphere. Junseo worried as he watched his teammate's horse dancing and rearing before they took off down the course. The last part of the race the horse ran sideways and it was a struggle to get across the line. As the whole team gathered to celebrate their second-place standing, Junseo sensed another energy attack.

"Duck!" he called as he mustered up another shield. He felt a boost coming through from his teammates so widened the circle of protection. The shield dampened all the sounds around them for a moment but then the cacophony of the havoc around them hit. They looked around appalled at the damage to the other teams. Junseo worriedly scanned the crowd for San Jin. His friend gave him a quick thumb up before going to catch the loose horses.

"What the hell!" Me San stamped his foot. "The race was over."

Junseo was going to shrug but decided it would be a better idea to just sit down. He put his head between his knees hoping the world would spin less from that vantage. The healers were busy attending to the more seriously injured but he was grateful for the water and cool cloth when they were finally offered. He took off his bracelets to examine each stone in turn. As he suspected, one of his clear quartzes showed a new fault-line so he set about rearranging the order of his stones to give it more protection. He focused on his moonstones hoping for calm clarity and started a quiet grounding ritual. The rest of the team joined in around him and it wasn't long before he felt the tiger's eye warming and some of his energy return.

The warm sensation continued to grow and he leaned into it, opening himself to the comforting vibrations. This time when he heard the chime it recognized the call to prayer so sent his silent thanks to the whichever temple friend had tuned in on his stone. He then drew himself back to the arena and the young men in the circle around him.