Gaiagon

Chapter 16: Jeffry's Trial

The mountain top began to split in half as Seth, Sylva, Fang, and Flare we separated from Jeffry, Onyx, and Drake. Seth and Sylva’s half floated into the air and shifted into flying bleachers. Jeffry and Onyx’s half expanded into a large, smooth plateau. When the mountain was done moving, Drake looked at Jeffry and said, “After seeing Fang, I am guessing you have heard all of this before, so I will go straight to it. I will be personally giving you three tests: a test of the mind, a test of the heart, and a test of the spirit. Pass all three tests and you will be rewarded. Are you ready?” Jeffry and Onyx nodded in unison and Jeffry replied, “We are ready!” “Very well, young Jeffry. First, you will be given the trial of the mind. My body shall be altered so that I am completely invincible, but one specific part of my will become my alkali’s heal, if you will. In order to defeat me, you must discover both my weakness and a way to strike my weakness. Get ready, get set…Begin!”

Drake’s Arch-Mougon body became completely pitch black, and Jeffry could faintly hear a sound of skin and scales shifting. When Drake was no longer pitch black, he ran after Jeffry and Onyx. Jeffry jumped up on Onyx’s back and leaped over Drake. Onyx help position and challenged Drake, buying Jeffry some time to quickly scan for Drakes weakness. “I don’t see anything!” Jeffry yelled right before Drake turned around attacked him. Jeffry loaded an arrow and tried to shoot it through Drake’s lower chin, the common weakness of Gaiagon and Arch-Gaiagon alike. Not even making a scratch, the arrow was deflected and Drake continued his attack unhindered. Jeffry jumped back last minute and ended up falling to the ground. Onyx pounced Drake and tried to claw at his face, trying to see if that would do any damage, but it turned out the same way as the last attack.

“I see you understand the trial now,” Drake said as he threw Onyx off of him. “I guess I should stop holding back so much.” Onyx quickly got back on his feet and ran at Drake again. Drake took a deep breath and roared so loud that the earth in front of him shook in a wave pattern as if it were a large wave of water, causing Onyx to trip and fall. Drake noticed that Jeffry was loading another arrow and turned to face him. He lifted his left claw and stomped it on the ground, causing the earth below Jeffry’s feet to throw him backwards. “Ha, maybe I’m fighting back too hard,” Drake said in a taunting voice.

“You know Jeffry much better than I do,” Sylva said to Seth from the floating stone bleachers, “what do you think of the fight so far?” Seth sat in silence and looked at Jeffry, then Onyx, then Drake, and then back at Jeffry. “Jeffry’s fighting style is quite common for archers,” Seth began. “Jeffry is very acquainted with taking down melee enemies before they can reach him, and he’s an accurate shooter, but he’s facing an enemy that doesn’t need to approach him anymore. It’s like he’s fighting another archer, but the other archer is much more versatile in attack than him. Jeffry used to love to hide behind a tree, load his bow, and quickly jump around the tree. He would catch the enemy off guard and he would aim at his enemy very quickly, normally shooting before they could jump out of the way. With no rocks to hide behind and no need for the enemy to approach him, I’m not going to say that this is good.”

“What do you think about the trial?” Sylva asked. “Well, this is only because I’m on the outside of the fight looking in,” Seth began to answer, “but I notice that Drake is taking a lot of care to make sure he’s facing the biggest threat at all times. When Onyx is down, he faces Jeffry. When Jeffry isn’t ready to shoot, he focuses on keeping Onyx away. I think the key to the fight is something on his back, but with Drake keeping his strategy going, they may not get any chances to check Drake’s back.” “Good point,” Sylva said as she turned back to the fight. “Hey Fang, what do you think of the trial and the fighting so far?” “Now that I’m an Arch-Gaiagon,” Fang started, “I have a better understanding of Drake’s potential. In other words, I can easily guess how much he’s holding back, and he’s holding a lot back. Despite that fact, Jeffry and Onyx are getting a run for their money.”