Luck Weaver

8. Courage

Chapter 8

In anticipation, the teenager showed signs of nervousness for the first time to many of the other students.  The musty air of the room reeked with the scents of sweat and the iron scent of blood.  Looking around carefully, he could make out dark patches of some liquid on the wooden floor, otherwise quite clean.  Looking through the student’s he didn’t see promising signs.  Most of the students were smirking at him, a couple snuck glances at Alex and that other arrogant kid.  Alex himself smiled smugly back, and the kid just kept on staring at him.  The teenager had a gut feeling he lost, and felt something go numb inside him.  He wouldn’t allow that to happen.

The instructor strode over to a wall, slid a panel cleverly hidden from view, and revealed a lever.  Pulling it up, the whole wall on the opposite side in the back slid up without a sound.  No one noticed though because the wooden wall made no sound.  The ancient mechanism was still working as smoothly as ever.  A relatively simple design, it had been the marvel during it’s time.  Now, it seemed dated, but no one wanted to break the tradition.

Suddenly, something happened.  The instructor started bowing.  He never did, he was one of the highest ranking wielders ever.  Everyone watched the instructor quickly straightened back up.  It wasn’t a full bow, but it was a still a sign of respect, especially coming from him.  Too caught up at the sight of the instructor to notice before, they suddenly realized someone had to be behind them.

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The meph, though scared, put on an facade of bravado.  If he went back empty handed, he would be severely punished, though the glowing eyes made him wary of the unknown..  It was probably all show, or the sword's work.  It was a legend after all.  Recalling what almost happened to the spy, he shuddered and decided to bluff.  While the spy was an amazing fighter, he knew he didn’t have a chance.

"Tell you what.  I'll let all of you go if you give me that boy.  The rest of you can go in peace," the meph commanded pointing at Jay.

"No way.  Here, how about you go away and we won't have to hurt you," replied Alex.

In response to Alex’s retort, the meph charged.  

Time seemed to slow down for Alex.  He absorbing his surroundings, stepped a little to the left, and avoided the stab of the spear.  In a blur of motion, Alex slashed at the spear, cutting it straight through.  He then grabbed the shaft spear closer to him, and used it to knock the meph back a couple of steps.  Barely avoiding the shaft and the sword, the meph kept moving back, until it tripped over a root.

With the meph on the ground now, Alex turned away and said, “I expected better fighters, but I guess the tales were exaggerated.”

With newfound rage, the meph grabbed a sharp stone, and hurled it at Alex.  Alex, instead of dodging, flaunted his armor by letting it hit him without  a single scratch.  The rock hit the armor, and dropped, not even rebounding.

Now without a weapon, the meph knew it was going to die, but resolved to keep fighting.  Instead of fleeing, it snapped off a branch from the tree it tripped on.  Then, it though of its family, which gave it some new strength, before sprinting at Alex, who swung.

The meph saw the strike coming, and ducked just in time.  The blade whirred past his head.  Expecting the blade to become stuck in the tree trunk just past, he struck out with his branch.  It broke in two, chopped cleanly in half.  Alex still had his blade, and was grinning.

"What the h-” exclaimed the meph just before the tree fell on him, pinning his leg to the ground.  The sword had sliced through the tree trunk.

Still, it wouldn't give up.  Snarling,it was the equivalent of a cornered animal.  Alex felt his respect growing for the meph’s drive, but still, it was a meph.  Just then, the tree caught on fire.  The girl, with still flaming hands, repeatedly shot balls of fire into the tree.  The meph watched as they splashed, almost seeming liquid, before catching on the trunk.  At first, most of the fire went out, leaving charred wood behind, but some caught, and steadily grew.  

Refusing to beg for mercy, the meph took its fate with silence and acceptance.  It watched as the hungry flames slowly flickered their way toward him burning greedily through anything in its way.  It took its time reaching it, but once it did, it immediately caught on its cloak.  The whole cloak spontaneously combusted, leaving a flaming figure.  Jay felt a stab of pity looking at the burning figure.

Then, just before dying, its mind grew clear, for the first time in years.  It realized everything it had done.  Even more, it felt sorry for Jay, predicting his future.  Remembering what he once was, the meph wondered how Gree and the master possibly changed him so much.

Looking at the meph, Jay felt almost pitiful watching it burn under a large tree trunk.  The pain must have been unimaginable.  Suddenly, the meph's eyes, though clear, grew even clearer.  Looking at those eyes closely, Jay felt a pang of recognition.  The meph raised his eyes to meet Jay's gaze.  Jay knew he had seen it before, somewhere else.  His mind racing, he wondered where it was.  Suddenly it hit him, it was at the courts.

The meph felt a familiar presence in his mind.  It was the instructor, from so long ago.  Feeling horrified, the meph realized that he had actually tried to kill the instructor while under the master's control.  Reflecting, he became fearful of the master.  What was he?  His powers were so strong; they covered up the instructor's, a prodigy.

"Congratulations, you finally have broken free of him.  You are the first one ever to do it, be proud.  I am sorry that you will die soon, but that is what enabled you to break free.  Do I have permission to take control of our mind to give Jay a message?  It will relieve the pain you feel," the meph heard in his mind.  He mentally consented, grateful for the lapse of pain.

Jay, Alex, and the girl watched the meph as its eyes turned a bright glowing green.  In alarm, the girl shot another bolt of fire at the meph, but it stopped in mid air and collapsed to the ground.  The girl was about to try again when the meph spoke, but this time it was a stranger’s voice, though not to Jay.  Jay knew the voice very well, having lived with the owner for numerous years, before moving on.

"Jay, old friend, how are you?  Well, you’re not well,  because you face a deadly opponent, who wants to finish what he started hundreds of years ago.  He is what you are, defying the unwritten law with magic beyond what this world has ever seen.  You are headed toward great danger, but you have a slight chance to pull through, but it doesn’t seem likely despite your powers.  It’s not that you aren’t strogn enough, but you wouldn’t make those choices, I know it..  You will end up facing your opponent, but you won’t kill him, he will be betrayed by a family member.  In order to win, you need a weapon currently possessed by me.  You know where I am, come, and bring your friends also. They will also have roles in the upcoming events.”