To Train A Warrior

"Again." Mombi ordered, and I stood up, and tried the combination again, and again until the witch was satisfied. This was the third time today I had been practicing. Gert and Glamora would be up next, teaching me magic. I didn't want to do any of that. I wanted to go outside and play. But this was no time for that. Bad things were happening in Oz, and they needed me help. I owed them, Mombi had said many times. They had taken me in when no one else would've. "Nox, where is your head, boy! Focus!" The witch was exasperated now as I toppled backwards.

That's okay. I was frustrated too. This was no life for a child my age. I stood back up, and managed to land a hard kick to her gut, and she was pushed back a bit more. "I don't wanna do this no more." I told her plainly. "When can we stop?"

"When you're ready, and you're not yet. Now, go on to Gert." Mombi said.

Grandma Gert, as I liked to call her privately, was waiting for me when I limped my way to the widest part of the caverns. "Tough lessons today?" She asked quietly. "I can't teach you anything all beat up like that. Go get a bath."

"I'm fine." I said through gritted teeth. It hurt to even talk, let alone move. I had a feeling that she'd gotten my jaw a little harder than she'd intended.

"Nonsense." Gert said. "You can barely move. I really must speak to Mombi about going too far." She led me gingerly to the spring, and clothes and all, she guided me in. "Under with you." She ordered when I just sat there.

"Don't bother. She won't listen." I said before allowing my whole body, head included, to be submerged in the spring. When I came back up for air after a full minute, I felt much better. I had to admit that the spring was a welcome treat after being beat up by your maternal figure. I climbed out, and before I could even think about drying off, I was dried. I offered Gert a rare smile.

"Now. We're still working on you sensing magic, so lets run through some drills, alright?" The magic training could be just as taxing, but Grandma Gert was much more patient about things than Mombi ever was. The drills were a series of short "games" that Gert played with me. But I didn't play like normal children. I took them seriously, and learned when I lost. That's what made them training exercises. Her favorite was a cruel version of keep away that forced me to practice materializing items from one part of the room to my hand. I hated that one the most.

I eventually did get the hang of summoning things with my own will, but it still wore me out. I couldn't wait for training to be over, and for me to be the warrior that everyone wanted me to be.

Glamora came into the room just as Gert was about to show me how to move about without actually moving. Glamora's magic was more about blending in, and feeling the part. I knew it all too well. One thing I was good at,though used rarely, was glamouring. I preferred to combat my enemies in plain view of them where they could see my quickly growing arsenal of moves.

But I knew my duty to the Order was to follow everyone to the letter and do as they ask. So I tried really hard not to sigh as she approached. "Can I stay for five more minutes? Gert was about to show me something important."

"Five more." Glamora conceded before stepping back to give Gert the room again.

I backed up, too, in case Gert needed the room. "Okay show me!"

"Patience, boy! My reflexes aren't quite what they used to be. Now, I'm going to show you how to move from one end of the room to the other without moving your feet. Watch closely." She closed her eyes, and for a moment nothing happened. Then she was gone, and when I glanced to the other eend of the room, there she was, looking more winded than I expected.

"Can I really do that?" I asked incredulously.

"Why don't you try it and find out. Send yourself over here." Gert said. She stood with a great effort, and I really worried about her continuing to teach me such physical magic.

But I schooled my features so as not to show that I was even remotely worried. There would be time for private thoughts later. Besides, she could, and did read my mind frequently. Gert and I had no secrets. Instead I closed my eyes and focused on being somewhere else. Anywhere else. When I opened them, I found myself outside the caverns of the Order, and on top of them. Crap. I frowned. I wasn't surprised when Gert herself appeared. "Sorry. I didn't mean..."

"What's to be sorry about? Other than not coming where I told you to. The bigger picture is that you did it!" Gert patted me on the head affectionately. "But you'd better get back in there and work with Glamora some before she has a tizzy."

"Yes, Gert." I nodded seriously before sending myself back to the training I loathed the most. I almost wished Mombi had kept me longer, ousting any time Glamora would've had.

Glamora's training was more of the same. Etiquette, keeping appearances, and trying to tame the hair that refused to lay flat even when she spelled it. The only thing that would happen then is that it would change color. This infuriated her, even if she didn't think I noticed the frustration. When I proved that I could dress in style, she finally concluded that she would have no more lessons for me.

Finally it was time for supper and bed. I took both in my room alone where I could process and practice the day's lessons over and over again. I had learned long ago that the witches did expect me to do that on my own as much I did with them. By the time I was crawling into bed, I was exhausted, hot, and ready to do it all again the next day. This was how a warrior was made. That's what Mombi had taught me. And I wanted nothing more to make her, at least, proud.