Pyrus (4 page)

Chapter 7: The Realization

I found myself once again in my subconscious. This time, though, there were flaming walls surrounding me. As I glanced around, I realized something about myself: I definitely needed to stop watching those action movies in which the hero gets caught in a flaming building; my imagination made everything involve fire.

“We meet again,” A voice called out to me. I turned around and saw my reflection, but he looked older this time. My long brown hair had been cut, and it was spiked at the front. It also looked as if I was growing a beard, and I was taller. I had to admit, I looked a lot better than I normally did, with my long, messy, uncontrollable hair.

“Tell me,” he continued, “have you learned anything since our last encounter?” He definitely needed to be more specific with his question because I had learned too much. I had learned about Kreysors and Kreydurs and magic. I learned that the Kreydur of Pyrus is gone. I wanted to tell him all that had happened to me, everything I knew. But, after thinking about how to approach the question, I then asked him, “What do you want to know about?” When I saw him smile, something inside me told me that I had chosen the right approach to his question and that maybe some of mine would finally be answered.

“Have you found a reason to fight for your beliefs?” he asked.
Well, that narrowed down the topic
, I thought. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to respond. The only fighting I had done since our last encounter was with Lyra, and even then we didn't exchange blows. Since he was technically me, my guess was he would know if I was lying. I decided to be honest with myself—no pun intended.

“I don't know,” I whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. He walked up to me, placed his hands on my shoulders, and looked me straight in the eyes. As I was staring at this older, more confident version of myself, it was as if his confidence was being transferred to me.

“You will know when the time is right.” He spoke to me in a sincere voice. “Until then, don't you dare die on me.”
Oh great, yet another person who wants me alive for their own needs
, I thought. He then started to walk away.

“Wait!” I called out. “Who are you?”

“Who do you think I am?” he asked over his shoulder and slowly faded into the distance. Well, he was me, in a sense. But once again, he left me with more questions than answers. As a matter of fact, he didn't answer any of my questions. The confidence that I had gained had disappeared as quickly as it came and was replaced by anger.

“Damn it!” I screamed at the spot where he had disappeared. “Why do you do this to me?” Back home, I always had a solution to every problem, but in Pyrus, I was so helpless and useless. Like I said before, logic had to be thrown out the window whenever you considered a problem there. I didn't know the laws. I didn't know the food. I didn't know anything.
Well, whose fault is that?
I thought bitterly. Y
ou haven't done anything to try and learn about Pyrus; all you cared about was surviving. You really are weak. No wonder Kris ditched you.
I clenched my fist and punched the ground. I tried to clear my mind of these antagonizing thoughts, but every time I tried, they managed to pierce through.
You don't deserve a friend like him.
The dark voice continued.
It would be better if you just roll over and die, rather than be a burden to him any longer.
But I did the right thing; I countered. Murdering someone because of their job is wrong. I saved a life, and that's more than I've ever done for anyone back on Earth. After that statement, the flames on the walls grew more potent. They began glowing so brightly that I had to close my eyes to keep from going blind.

I awoke to find myself in the recently deceased moth grove. There was a stream flowing by me, and rumbleberry bushes surrounded me. This place looked completely different when it wasn't covered by the black bodies of the moths. I was surprised to find myself covered in a fur blanket. I was definitely not next to the tree I fell asleep under. From the look of things, I wasn't anywhere near it. I heard a twig snap, and I was instantly on alert. The bushes in front of me began to shake and a jumble of voices began to get louder. Someone was coming towards me.

The rumbleberry bushes started to shake more violently. I heaved a giant sigh, now annoyed with all the excitement that Tereer had to offer. I had enough for a lifetime. I immediately sprang to my feet, ran to the bushes, and tackled the enemy before they could think. I was about to unleash multiple punches on his stomach when I was tackled and brought to the ground.

“You idiot!” Aquas screeched at me. “This is the thanks we get for saving your skinny ass.” It turns out my enemy was Kris, and I, yet again, almost injured him. Aquas got off of me, and we started to return to the grove. I just stared at the floor, ashamed that I tackled my only friend here.

“You had the right idea,” Kris said. “If I had been an enemy, though, I would not have made so much noise. Remember that; friends will make more noise than your enemies.” What he said made me feel better. Kris was really a nice guy—unlike Aquas. If Kris caught a cold , she'd probably accuse me of making a deal with the devil. Relieved that he wasn't mad at me, and feeling that that I could actually trust him, I took a deep breath.

“Kris,” I said, “I have something to tell you.” He immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at me.

“I'm not from Tereer,” I stated. “I come from another planet called Earth.” I then explained how I got here—from my encounter with the gang, up to when he found me. When I finally finished, he just stared at me.
I knew it,
I thought.
He now thinks I'm completely insane
. We walked in silence for a moment. When we reached our camp in the grove, Kris sat in a tree and watched the sun.

“Well, at least that explains why you know practically nothing about our world,” Kris said with a little chuckle. I smiled for the first time since I left Earth. I climbed up the tree, wincing as my arms absorbed the shock of being active, and sat next to Kris.

“The one thing I don't understand is why I was brought here.” I said.

“Well,” Kris replied, “maybe the answer will be revealed with time.”

“Not to change the topic, but can you perform magic?” I asked.

“Since I am from Tidran, I can only perform water magic and a little healing magic,” he responded.

“Then why didn't you heal my arms after my moth battle?” I pestered.

“Well, it is not something you make public,” Kris retorted. “The same thing goes for being a Kreydur; we are both feared and loved by the people.” I just stared at him.

“Oh, I am sorry,” he said. “I forgot that you are not from here—let me explain. Like I said before, Kreydurs are unique individuals. There is one in each of the twelve countries, with each Kreysor being the element of that country. While there is only one Kreydur in each country, the number of Kreysors per country is not known, meaning that there could be any number depending on the circumstances.”

Each country has a king or steward that the Kreydur reports to. Not every country has royalty because the line of the kings and queens died out, and no one can replace the royal family. We do not work for the government, but at the same time, we do not do whatever we please. We are in charge of protecting our country's borders and maintaining peace with the other countries. The king or steward keeps track of our movements, probably because they are afraid of us overpowering them.” I nodded in agreement; it made sense for the higher-ups to fear being overthrown.

“Why exactly are they afraid of you? What other powers do Kreydurs have that make you so feared?” I asked him curiously.

“Well, as you have noticed, Kreysors can become a weapon that we can use to fight,” Kris explained, “but they can also fight in their animal forms. They also heighten our physical and magical abilities.”
That explains why he can run and jump so fast,
I thought.
He could be jogging and still be faster than any normal human being.

“It is this very reason that we are shunned from society,” Kris continued bitterly. “We are hated for being different, yet they need us to prevent a war with all of Tereer.” I gave him an incredulous look, and when he saw it, he burst out laughing.

“It is true,” he said after calming down. “As a matter of fact, I should not even be here right now; it is against the law for Kreydurs of one country to be in another. It is classified as trespassing or treason, and the penalty is death. That is why the other Kreydur …”

“Lyra,” I interrupted.

“Right, that is why Lyra and I fought to kill. If she reports that I left my border to the head of her country, then I may have just started a war. Of course, the odds are very unlikely that she will because then she would have to explain what she was doing outside her own border.” That made sense. But something was still bugging me, and I knew I had to ask.

“Then why are you here, Kris?” I pestered. “Surely you knew the consequences if you left the border of Tidran.”

“That's true,” he replied. “But I was ordered by the king of Tidran to investigate certain matters here in Pyrus.” After that, he said no more on the topic. I jumped down from the tree and landed next to Aquas. She snarled at me but did nothing more.

“Kris,” I called up to him, “I have one more question. Can you teach me how to use magic?” He just stared at me as if amazed that I had the guts to ask the question. I returned his stare with a look of determination to confirm that I was serious.

“It will not be easy,” he responded. “Besides, your arms still need to heal.”

“Which you could easily fix by healing them yourself!” I retorted.

“You are not from Tidran … you are not even from Tereer … how do we know you even can perform magic?” he stammered.

“What's the matter?” I taunted him. “Does the mighty Kris have a fear of teaching someone who is willing to learn?” We held a stare for five minutes, and then we just burst out laughing. When we had finished laughing, Kris jumped off of the tree, walked up to me, placed his hands on my arms, and muttered something under his breath.

“Since you're going to be teaching me how to use magic, do you really need to mutter the words?” I asked him.

“Patience is a virtue,” was his reply. “It takes a long time to learn more advanced spells. Do not try to rush past your limit, or you may end up hurting yourself, maybe even causing your own death.” That thought made me freeze momentarily, but I didn't let it bother me too much; “no pain, no gain” became my new motto. I had a pretty good idea on what my limits were, so there was no desire to see how far I could go beyond them.

When Kris finished muttering his incantation and took his hands off my arms, they suddenly felt very tight, almost as if the bandages were cutting off the circulation. Before my left arm went numb, I managed to unwrap the bandage on my right arm. I was caught by surprise when I saw my arm, I mean, I knew he healed it, but it looked as if it had never been cut—actually, it looked better than before it was damaged. My left arm, numb from the tight wrap of the bandage, brought me out of my thoughts long enough to unwrap the remaining bandage. I knew what to expect, but I was still amazed, and I got even more pumped to learn how to cast magic.

Unfortunately, the training had to be put on hold. It turns out Kris was not kidding about magic taking its toll on your body. It looked as if he had aged ten years, and his eyes seemed clouded with worry. It was at that moment that I was truly afraid of what might happen if I tried magic that I was not ready for. All the excitement I had from learning magic was gone, and I was truly scared for my friend.

“You should have used my power to strengthen your abilities,” Aquas scolded. “You are drained from overuse of magic; let me restore your magii.”

“It is better that I strengthen my own magii rather than rely on you all the time,” Kris said, his voice raspy. He then turned to face me and said, “It's time for your first lesson.” It turned out I was wrong about putting the training on hold.
Well, Jack, welcome to the school of pain,
I thought.

“The main requirement for using magic is developing strong magii chambers. There are several in the body; two are located in the thighs; two are in the palms; one is located right behind your brain; there is one in the chest, and there is one big chamber in your abdomen,” Kris explained. “The main chambers are the ones in your chest and abdomen, which transfer the magic throughout the rest of your body in microscopic tubes. That is how I healed your arms. I transferred the magii from my central chamber toward the chambers in my palms.”

“So, how does Aquas heighten your magical abilities?” I asked.

“Kreysors are made of pure magii,” Kris responded.

“So that means that they transfer part of their body to your magii chambers?” I asked.

Kris smiled at me. “Correct, in a sense.” I looked at him, waiting for his response, until he finally said, “Since they are made of magii, transferring even a tiny amount of their power can double the potency of a Kreydur's magic. Kreydurs can perform magic that is far beyond their level of experience because of their Kreysor's energy. The main advantage of having strong magii chambers is that you can transfer the energy to your brain and increase your thinking speed, or you can channel it into more physical tasks like running or jumping. Do you understand?” It was a lot of information, but I had to commit it to memory quickly, because I didn't think he would have repeated it.

“So where exactly do we start off?” I finally said, my bravado making my tone sound confident.

“Well, first we need to discover the strength of your magii chambers,” Kris replied. And so began my training on magic, and believe me, it was not something I would like to repeat.

Chapter 8: The Training

After Kris and I rested for the night, the next six weeks were spent on training my magii chambers..

Kris, looking a lot healthier than he did the previous evening, quickly gathered rumbleberries off the bushes surrounding our camp. Pyre had begun to rise, so I assumed it was rather early. My arms no longer bothered me, so I was able to help Kris with his foraging, and we soon completed the task. We had enough food to last us for a couple of months, if not years. We then cleaned up the rest of our campsite, making sure not to leave anything behind that would create a trail, and then we set off. Kris walked ahead, and I was stuck being the pack mule. I didn't complain though; he was the warrior. I just hoped he knew where we were going, because I sure didn't. Aquas walked alongside Kris, and I realized that they were inseparable, even if their personalities were completely different. Where Kris was calm and quiet, Aquas was loud and demeaning. How they stood each other was still a mystery to me.

We continued walking for the rest of the day, stopping only briefly for food and water breaks. Pyre had almost set when we reached our destination. I dropped my bags and was shocked at what I saw. I was staring at a huge waterfall—its sapphire blue water crashing down like thunder. Its size amazed me, not even the Niagara Falls could compare to it. T.

“If you're done staring at the water, I'd like to start the training!” Kris said. I had been so fascinated by the waterfall that I didn't even notice that Kris had continued walking toward it.

There seemed to be a path leading to him, but it ended abruptly, then resumed two kilometers or so away, all the way up to the waterfall leaving a big pit between Kris and me. I was baffled as to how I could cross that, knowing that Kris probably channelled some magic to give him super jumping power.

I picked up the bags and walked as far as I could toward the gaping hole until my toes were hanging over the edge of it. I gulped nervously and shouted to Kris. “How do I get across?”

“This is your first test! Channel the magic into your thighs,” he replied.

“What?” I shrieked. He just laughed at me.

“I'm kidding,” he said, his voice wavering over the thundering falls. “Look down. There's a path leading toward me; you just need to find it.” The ever mysterious Kris then sat down on a rock and waited. The pit of doom was not getting any smaller, so I took his advice and started searching for a path. I looked down into the depths of the hole and saw only darkness. There seemed to be no bottom, so climbing down and walking through was eliminated. I then frantically started scrambling around my surroundings, looking for a hint that might help me. I was growing desperate for an answer, knowing that the only key to my survival was sitting on a rock across a gaping hole.

After making no progress, I finally surrendered and walked back to the pit. I then shouted over to Kris. “Can I have a hint?” He gave me another one of his shocked looks before quickly regaining his composure and replied, “The answer is right in front of you; you only need to find it.” Really helpful. He gave me no information aside from the stuff I already knew. I was really pissed off now. I turned away from the hole and sat down, waiting until Kris finally grew impatient with my childish behavior. I waited for a while, sitting under the glare of Pyro until my eye caught something. There was a rock no bigger than my wrist beside my left foot. The wheels in my brain started turning. I grabbed the rock, stood up, and faced the pit. I let go of the rock, waiting for the sound of it hitting the bottom of the pit, but the rock just hung there, as if suspended by space itself.

This is unreal,
I thought.
Pits do not defy the laws of physics, unless. …

“This is your creation?” I asked Kris. He let out a relieved sigh and finally got off his stupid rock.

“Technically, this is Aquas's creation, but yes, it is mine.” And with a snap of his fingers, the hole disappeared, replaced by the pathway.

“What was the point of creating that, and how did you do it?” I finally sputtered out, unable to contain my curiosity any longer.

“It was to test your knowledge of Tereer, but mainly it was because Aquas wanted you to prove that you are able to handle yourself in a situation without my guidance.”

“And I needed to prove myself to her because?” I asked, once again annoyed by her hatred of me.

“Well, she would kill you otherwise,” He stated bluntly. “As to how I conjured this illusion, Aquas and I went scouting ahead the previous night and found this location, which is secluded enough to proceed with your training without any interruptions. I then borrowed some of Aquas's magii to create the hole because I was drained of my own while healing your arms. Now that we are done with questions, can we begin?”

We then proceeded along the path until we were right in front of the waterfall. The noise was so deafening that I could not hear Kris speaking next to me. I resorted to the ancient language of grabbing his arm and pointing to my ear and then shaking my head. He looked confused, but then his eyes lit up, and he nodded in understanding. He turned to Aquas, they both nodded at each other, and Kris walked up to the water and said something. The water then parted around him as if welcoming him, and I knew why Kris thought here would be an ideal place to train. Behind the waterfall was a giant cave.

Kris motioned for me to go in and I quickly sped into the cave. Aquas then marched into the cave, and as soon as she passed him, he strolled behind her. As soon as he moved into the cave, the water resumed its steady fall, closing the gap he had created between the forest and the cave. It was now dark but for some red sunlight seeping through the waterfall. I could see Kris's outline, but I couldn't see anything else. Even though I was lacking in sight, I understood when the shadowy outline of his hand motioned for the supply bags. I threw them over to him and watched as he started searching for something.

When his hands resurfaced, the cave was illuminated by a blinding light. He had placed some of the glowing yellow flowers into the bag without me knowing. He then looked at Aquas, and she nodded as if she knew what he should do, and I was just observed the telepathic conversation. Kris said something, and then there was silence. The thundering falls abruptly stopped their deafening roar.

“Now we should be able to speak here,” Kris said. “Can you help me place the flowers around the cave? I do not want this place to look so menacing.” I sighed, knowing that this was an easy thing to do, but I was so tired from walking that I did not want to accomplish anything at that moment. I got off my lazy butt, and Kris handed me the flowers, telling me to place them thirty steps apart to have the best effect.
I guess when you say “can you help me” you really mean “do all the work”!
I thought bitterly, but I managed to create a circle of flowers to illuminate our camp.

When I had finished, Kris unpacked the food and water storage bag and placed the contents in a wooden container almost as tall as me. It looked really cool. It had a lever on the food side and when you pushed it down, a little door opened up in the middle and your food would fall down. The water side had a pull string, kind of like the ones you see on a lawn mower, and when you pulled it, a tunnel would come out and the water would flow down. You needed to place your mouth right near the end of the tube, or else the water would just flow to the ground. It required timing, and it was an amazing way to get a drink.

When we finished unloading all the gear from the bags, Kris went outside. I thought I should follow, but he never asked me to come along, so I waited until he returned. He returned quickly, carrying two giant rocks. My first reaction was shock at how he could carry them, but then I remembered the magii chambers in his palms. He placed the rocks down right in front of the waterfall on the cave side.

“Your first lesson,” Kris stated. “We are going to meditate on these rocks, and you are going to try to open the magii gate in your head.”

“Shouldn't you teach me how to open the gates?” I asked.

“You need to discover how to open them on your own. Each person's gates open differently depending on their personality.” I really hated how things in Pyrus had to be solved on your own.
Couldn't there be an instruction manual that told me how to do everything?

“How do you meditate properly?” I asked. Kris laughed, sat on his rock, crossed his legs, made his fourth fingers and thumbs on each hand make a circular shape, closed his eyes, and started to control his breathing. His breathing was very rhythmic, in through his nose, out through his mouth. I copied his stance, closing my eyes and controlling my breathing.

I continued meditating for most of the day, maintaining a steady pace of breathing, but nothing was happening. I felt no changes at all. I tried so hard to get something to occur, but nothing did. I finally opened my eyes and looked to my right, ready to tell Kris that I couldn't do it, but he wasn't there. I turned around to see him sitting at the camp, relaxing by the fire with Aquas. I got off the rock and fell down. My legs were so stiff, but I was only sitting down for a couple of hours.

“How did it go?” Kris asked me without even turning around.

“Nothing,” I answered. “Not even a tingle. How come my legs are so stiff?”

“That is what happens when you meditate for seven days,” he replied. My mind was racing—I think I almost fainted from shock.

“How could I have been meditating for seven days? I don't feel hungry or thirsty or anything!” I finally sputtered out.

“Whenever you meditate, you go into your own world; therefore, the time in the outside world has no meaning,” he said with a touch of sympathy in his voice.

“Can you at least explain to me how
you
channel the magii?” I asked, getting back on topic. He just stared back at the fire and didn't say a word. I walked back to the campfire and sat across from him, making sure that he couldn't escape this question by being silent.

“Picture the magii chambers throughout your body like the water holder,” he finally said. “The water being the magii, the container being the main chamber and the tube being where you want it to travel to.” His explanation made sense, so I started to get up to go back to the rock.

“Do not even bother trying,” Aquas said with a snort. “You are too incompetent to even learn how it works, let alone channel it.”

“Let me tell you something,” I said, walking straight toward her. She raised her head and glared at me until I was right next to her. My brown eyes faced her blue eyes, and I whispered in a quiet but serious voice, “I am fed up with you treating me like I am and idiot . I have done nothing wrong to you, and if you do not shut up, the first attack spell I learn will be used on you until I feel satisfied with how you're treated.” Her look of defiance changed to wide-eyed horror, but I just stared at her. I was amazed with myself, but also scared. Back home on Earth I could never utter a death threat to someone, let alone think of one, but here I spoke to her like it was something I had been doing all my life. This alteration scared me, but I felt it wouldn't be the only thing that would change over time.

“It seems I misjudged you,” she softly whispered. “I guess not everyone can maintain themselves in our world.” I was stunned. There was no threat, no anger, but what she said felt like a slap in the face. I said nothing more. I resumed walking toward the rocks, and then my knees buckled and everything went black.

I opened my eyes to find myself under my cozy fur blanket. I must have passed out, but for what reason, I didn't know. My head was lifted, and I tasted cold water flowing down my throat.

“You overexerted yourself,” Kris explained. “Even though you went for seven days without food or water, that does not mean that your body forgot that you needed it. Remember not to meditate for too long or you will die when you return.” It's funny how death usually reminds people not to go past their limits.

Once I had finished recovering, I went back to the rock. Kris protested greatly, saying that I was risking too much.
He's probably right too,
I thought. But I ignored my thoughts, sat on the rock, and struck up my meditation pose. I pictured the water container and imagined myself pulling the lever, letting water flow down through the tunnel until it reached the end. I felt strangely calm and relaxed. My muscles felt tense, but at the same time, I didn't need to flex them. When I opened my eyes, I could calculate how fast the water flowed just by looking at it, and I could measure the angle of the sun, therefore determining how much sunlight got through to the cave. I had succeeded in opening the magii gate in my mind.

I got off the rock and raced over to Kris. I didn't even have to tell him; the look on his face told me that he knew I had done it. I glanced at Aquas, and she looked away. I then heard my stomach gurgle, so I knew I must have been mediating for a couple of hours. I ran over to the food side of the container and pushed down the lever. Rumbleberries fell onto my lap, and I quickly pulled away their skin, gorging on the food like it was my last meal.

“Congratulations!” Kris beamed. “That is one obstacle out of the way. At least we now know that you can use magii.”

“What're the other obstacles?” I asked, my mouth full of berries. I was eager to learn how to cast a spell.

“Now we need to see whether or not you can learn the magic of Tidran. Then you have to master casting magic.” He continued listing the next steps, but I was too excited about passing my first obstacle to care. It was all so amazing. Suddenly my head started to hurt. It was agonizingly painful. I tried to lessen the pain, but it was searing through my skull. The pain in my arms was nowhere close to this feeling. I dropped to my knees, clutching my head and crying out to Kris for help.

“Cut off the magii flow!” Kris roared. “Aquas help me! I need you”

“It is his own fault that he is in this situation,” Aquas said. “I see no need to help him.” That really pissed me off more than normal. It seemed as if Kris was not up for her attitude either, because he did the one thing I thought impossible.