TCO: Chapter Eighteen

Just as Malik rounded the corner to store away Gyan's goblet, Gyan heard voices outside the classroom door. Brogan entered first, rubbing his shoulder where he had jammed it into the door seconds before. He was followed by Hoshi and the other san warriors.

Gyan met Hoshi's gaze. He mouthed a silent apology for his earlier outburst and placed both hands on his neck as if to choke himself. He used the same gesture when they were children to indicate that she was driving him crazy.

She glared at him for several moments until she gave him a small smile. It seemed that she could never stay mad at him for long. It was one of the things Gyan liked about her. Even after numerous pranks he and Aderes played on her when they were little, only a short time would pass before Gyan had her laughing again.

After everyone had settled into a seat, there was a soft knock at the door. Malik opened the door with a wave of his hand, and Elder Master Syam entered.

"Wish I could do that," Brogan muttered, mimicking Malik waving his hand at the door.

"Ah yes," Malik turned to the group. "Our guest teacher has arrived. I bid you farewell for now…I am off to Gawl Forest."

Without another word, Malik swept past Syam and up the outside stairs. The warriors stood as Syam closed the door to grant him a proper greeting.

He bowed in return. "Greetings, young sans," Syam said as he sat in Malik's chair. "I am eager to be a part of your training today. If you would, please catch me up on the topic Malik was discussing in your last class, and I will begin from there."

Although Gyan enjoyed being in the presence of the old star wizard, he was pleased to have a chance to learn from Syam, hoping the elder master could satisfy the lingering questions Gyan had on the capacity of a warrior's power.

Lorcan gave Syam a recap of what Malik discussed in their last session.

"Have any of you given more thought to your charisma or remembered an event from your childhood that yielded an unexpected ability?" Syam asked.

He looked at each of the warriors before his eyes came to rest on Aderes. "San Aderes? Something to share perhaps?"

The warriors turned to Aderes, who held Syam's stare for several seconds before dropping his gaze. He cleared his throat. "I can manipulate thought."

"What do you mean?" asked Valora.

"I can make someone think specific thoughts," he replied.

"You mean you can implant a thought into someone's mind?" Lorcan asked.

Aderes paused before answering. "No, I don't think so. I have never tried to create or erase one's thoughts. I can just make someone re-experience specific thoughts or relive their best or worst memories."

"You have done this?" Gyan asked.

"I have," Aderes quietly replied. "I think I was the one who persuaded my mother to finally attempt to leave Kraundor before I came to Yevani. She refused to leave my dán's side but was torn between being loyal to him and seeing us suffer. While she slept at night, I willed her to recall some of her favorite childhood memories so she would be drawn to return to Yevani since it was where she grew up. I don't know how, but I knew I could do it. I wasn't sure if it would work but it was only after I attempted to bring forth her memories did she prepare to leave Kraundor."

Syam nodded. "Thank you."

He did not pressure Aderes to continue with the part of his story where he had found Aderes standing over a Kraundor soldier many years ago, his hand opened wide on top of the soldier's head. Tears of anger and sorrow streamed down Aderes's face as the soldier died with a look of terror in his eyes from the thoughts Aderes had caused him to remember.

When Aderes expressed surprise and confusion regarding his ability, Syam explained that the reason the soldier died was because the body realistically experiences what is happening in the mind. The soldier's thoughts had been dark enough to lead him to his death through his thoughts alone, but Aderes did not offer any more insight about his story.

Syam's gaze swept the classroom. "If no one else has recalled any information about their charisma, let's continue discussing your ability to manipulate vibration. As Sir Malik has told you, everything in existence is vibration. How you interpret these vibrations influences a large part of your reality. These vibrations also respond to the will of an individual or system. Therefore, everything in existence serves as a response to a need or desire. Given this, one can claim that an individual's—especially a warrior's—very existence is in response to the needs or desires of a planet and its inhabitants.

"A warrior's incarnation, as we understand it, is in sync with what is occurring on a planet before your birth. Events across civilizations either increase or suppress the existence of warriors or those birthed to ensure that the needs of a planet can be satisfied. If, for example, civilizations are more at peace, people are harmonious, and life is fairly balanced, the need for a warrior isn't amplified. As a result, a group of warriors may not be born for many years.

"Just as your very existence has occurred in response to the need for balance across civilizations, your charisma and other abilities will develop and expand in proportion to the need of present circumstances. Understanding that this is how your power expands will help you to comprehend the capacity of your power and why the power of a warrior continually progresses."

"I'm sorry, Elder Master," Aderes cut in, an edge of frustration in his voice, "but this all seems very vague."

"Go on," replied Syam.

"Well, you and the other training masters speak of our skill capacity in a general way and that we will know and use our power at the time it is needed, but what about the specifics? I mean, there seems to be little direction in how to use our abilities. I think most, or all of the elder masters, already have an idea of what our charismas are, even if we do not, but there is nothing told to us about what is already known about them or how to use them. Also, the masters certainly know more about ways to manipulate light than they have told us. Why not just tell us how to get our charismas to surface or show us more of what we can do with our power?"

"Well, I suppose I could tell you many things, San Aderes," Syam answered, "but there are many beneficial reasons not to. You must consider whether it would serve you more if you were allowed to discover the answers you seek or if someone told you exactly what to do."

"What do you mean?" asked Aderes.

"If you had the opportunity to learn what has already been discovered or take learning beyond where it currently is, which would you choose?"

"Take learning further," Aderes replied. "But what does that have to do with the masters teaching us what they already know?"

"The two processes can be combined, Aderes." Syam nodded. "Indeed, you have already been taught much of what the warriors know regarding your physical skills. Learning what has already been discovered will continue as you study more about different civilizations, fighting styles, and meditative processes. However, when it comes to your ability to manipulate light and expand what the masters already know, sometimes discovering exactly what can be done on your own proves less limiting."

"But how can knowing more by learning the knowledge of masters limit us in learning more?" Danika questioned.

"Excellent question," Syam stated. "Can any of you answer?"

No one spoke as each of the warriors pondered Danika's question.

"Think about it, discuss it if you like, and I will return momentarily." Without further explanation, Syam stood from Malik's chair and exited the classroom.

The warriors sat quietly for several moments. Gyan was lost in his own thoughts about what Syam asked when Jarek spoke aloud.

"I'm hungry."

Danika rolled her eyes. "You're always hungry."

"So…" Jarek defended. "A warrior has gotta eaaa—" Jarek's words stretched into a shout "—Aye! What's happening?!"

Ropes had appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and were wrapping themselves tightly around Jarek's body. Part of the bindings gagged his mouth. His eyes wide, Jarek struggled against the ropes as he rose into the air and flew across the room. He gasped as his back slammed into a wall, causing books to fall off the shelves near him.

Classroom chairs were knocked aside as the warriors jumped to their feet, staring awestruck at Jarek. Only seconds passed before the team moved forward to help.

Danika suddenly yelled as more ropes appeared and quickly wound themselves around her. Like Jarek, Danika rose in midair. She began to sway as she struggled wildly against the ropes.

The warriors looked in confusion and alarm as they whipped their gaze across the room for more threats of danger.

"Hoshi," Gyan commanded, "see if you can find Elder Master Syam."

Hoshi rushed across the room to the door but found it sealed shut.

"I can't get out!" she yelled as she tugged hard on the door handle.

Gyan attempted to calm himself so he could think clearly. The more Danika and Jarek struggled and the more the other warriors attempted to pull at their ropes, the tighter the binds became.

"Stop moving!" he ordered the two of them. "No one touch them."

Jarek and Danika stopped struggling but continued to breathe heavily.

Gyan felt a slight pressure on his skin, and his body automatically tensed. Without another thought, he threw himself in front of the other warriors. Light emerged from his hands just as more ropes appeared from nowhere. The ropes fell harmlessly to the floor, unable to move past Gyan's shield of light that surrounded everyone.

"What the—?" Brogan started.

"Be ready!" Gyan warned as he released the shield, and the light around them faded.

Aderes grabbed two swords that were hanging near the warrior paintings on the back wall and threw one to Hoshi, who caught the sword by the hilt. The warriors stood with their backs to each other, anxiously surveying the room.

Gyan felt a change in the surrounding air pressure again.

"Aderes!" he yelled.

Aderes instinctively swung the sword up in front of Valora and cut the ropes that spontaneously appeared before her. The fragments of rope fell to the floor as they failed to reach their target.

Jarek and Danika screamed as their bindings suddenly caught fire. Both frantically struggled to maneuver out of the burning ropes.

Lorcan yelled in desperation as he rushed forward to help Jarek.

The halo encircling Jarek's irises began to glow bright red. Blue-white light sparked and grew in brightness as Jarek took in a long, slow deep breath. The fire encasing him immediately disappeared into his skin and the charred binds fell to the floor as he broke through them.

Valora and Lorcan grabbed Jarek as he dropped to the floor.

Danika's eyes lit up with the same glow as Jarek's. Her burning binds fell to the stone floor as her body disappeared before them.

"Danika?" Hoshi questioned.

A loud noise coming from a shadowed corner in the front part of the room caused the warriors to turn swiftly.

Danika emerged from the corner.

"How did you get there?" Lorcan asked.

Danika shrugged as she strode over to the others, nervously glancing around the room. "I'm not quite sure; I just focused on being over there rather than where I was." She gestured to the place where she had been bound moments before.

"Are you both okay?" Gyan added as he held his stance, unsure if the danger had passed.

The rest of the warriors, still on guard, remained together in the middle of the classroom with their backs to each other. Several minutes passed without another incident before they heard a voice outside the door.

"Blasted door," Syam mumbled as he entered the classroom. He stopped short as he observed the alert and focused look on the warriors' faces.

"Is there a problem?" He brushed several leaves off his robes. "Have you been discussing the answer to our question, or perhaps…" he looked at the group questioningly, who were all still huddled together in the middle of the room, "…acting out the answer?"

Everyone started talking at once.

Syam raised an eyebrow.

"We were attacked by some—" Hoshi stated loudly "Hey! How did you get in the door?"

"The door?" Syam glanced back at it. "Oh, you just sometimes have to give it an extra shove is all…very stubborn, that door—not sure why Malik doesn't fix it."

Syam took a sip from a cup of tea he was holding and stepped further into the room. "Well?"

The warriors looked at each other and then back at Syam in confusion.

"Did any of you come to a new understanding of our topic?" Syam inquired again, dismissing the fact that the warriors were standing together, on guard, with two of them holding swords.

The warriors remained silent, some still wearing bewildered expressions.

"Elder Master, was this attack a set-up?" Gyan asked, realizing that it was more than a coincidence that Malik and the elder master both left the classroom before the attack.

Syam smiled, his eyes glinting. "Clever you are, San Gyan. This classroom is funny like that—full of secrets…"

"Are you serious?" asked Jarek incredulously.

"Yes, I assure you, San Jarek, that I am serious." Syam watched Jarek with an amused expression. "This classroom has always had its nuisances."

Aderes suddenly became agitated. "Something could have gone wrong!"

Syam took another sip of his tea. "You will find no remnants of your struggle, San Aderes," he said reassuringly. "It was merely an illusion. Look around…ask your teammates how they feel."

The warriors looked around the room. Everything was as it was before. Except for the scattered classroom chairs and fallen books, there were no apparent signs of a struggle. The burned remains of the rope and the stench of smoke had disappeared.

Gyan peered intently at Danika and Jarek, who both shrugged.

"I feel fine," Danika said.

Jarek nodded his head in agreement.

"Good. Now that we have established that everyone is all in one piece, let's continue," said Syam cheerfully.

The warriors shuffled slowly back to their seats, looking disgruntled.

"Can you explain what that was about, Elder Master?" Brogan asked.

"Yes, I can, San Brogan, but maybe each of you should—"

"Gyan! Did you know you can form light shields?" interrupted Hoshi excitedly.

"What do you—" Gyan stopped midsentence. His eyes widened as he remembered. He looked at his hands.

"She's right." Aderes nodded. "You did it when the third set of ropes appeared."

Gyan turned to Syam. "That isn't common?"

Syam shook his head but remained silent.

"Your charisma!" Valora exclaimed.

Brogan slapped Gyan on the back. "Despite evidence to the contrary, I guess you're charming after all."

The warriors laughed, breaking the tension in the room.

Syam remained silent, patiently standing at the front of the room and sipping his tea.

Gyan began to think about their experience further. He turned to Jarek. "Jarek, how did you make the fire on your ropes disappear?"

Jarek shrugged.

"It seems as if the team has made some progress on our topic while I was away after all," said Syam after a short pause. "Gyan has gained a new understanding of an ability he was unaware that he had. Good. Anything else discovered?"

The warriors kept quiet as they mentally rehearsed what had just occurred.

Syam smiled. "San Jarek, please explain what your thoughts were just before the flames surrounding you went out."

"I am not sure if there is anything to tell other than I began to panic when the ropes caught fire, naturally. The more I struggled, the tighter the ropes became. I became angry and then I felt determined to break free. Didn't really think of anything beyond that other than willing the flames to disappear, so I don't exactly know how they vanished."

"His eyes were glowing seconds before the flames went out," said Gyan. "I noticed that the same thing happened to all of us while we were in the Tritum."

Syam nodded. "The halo in every warrior's eyes will glow as their light vibration intensifies. As more power is needed to enhance a warrior's ability, light will begin to project from the eyes and then from other parts of the body. The same thing occurs when a warrior produces light to form the Lumfáinne. Light emerges from the eyes and continues to build in intensity until it is emitted from every cell in the body… What else?"

"Danika used her charisma and became invisible," Hoshi said.

Danika shook her head. "I didn't."

"She teleported," Gyan said, remembering what Malik told him before class about a warrior's ability to teleport out of danger.

Syam nodded. "San Danika, please explain what went through your mind when this happened."

"It was like Jarek said; I was panicking, then as I became determined to get out of the binds, I had to force myself to stop thinking about the fire at first, then I focused on being in another part of the room."

"How does it happen? I mean, don't we have to know how to teleport to do it?" Lorcan asked.

"I think we have just returned to the same question and thus the purpose for today's lesson, San Lorcan. How much do we have to know or be informed of before we are successful in our actions?"

He smiled as he placed his teacup on the desk behind him. "Teleporting is triggered by contrast or the conflict experienced in a situation and the resulting desire it evokes. Given this, the ability to teleport doesn't appear by thinking about how to do it or memorizing steps in a process. By focusing completely on your destination and minimizing focus on where you currently are, you will be able to move. Focus on your destination is all that is required.

"The specifics of howteleporting occurs are irrelevant for you to be successful at getting where you need to be. The process happens naturally once you have learned how to direct your focus. However, it is important to remember that your focus must be less on your current position and more on your desired destination. If thoughts about your current position interfere too much with thoughts about where you want to be, you may not reach your desired destination."

"Can we teleport anytime, Elder Master?" Brogan asked.

Syam smiled. "Only if you are a star wizard, San Brogan. From what we know, this ability for a light warrior is triggered by danger. Now, think more about what you just experienced. What other details do you remember?"

"Right before the ropes appeared, there was a change in the surrounding air pressure," Gyan stated.

"Did anyone else sense this?" Syam asked.

The rest of the warriors nodded.

"Good. Your ability to detect even the slightest change in air pressure comes from sharpening your awareness through meditation and focus—a very useful skill to grant you an advantage in escaping danger."

"Elder Master," Gyan said as another thought occurred to him.

"Yes."

"Jarek extinguished the fire, using his ability to put it out, but when we were in the Tritumwe created heat. I mean…we sent out light to protect our ship, using it as a weapon."

"And you are wondering how it is possible in one instance, a warrior produced light and in another, as in Jarek's case, the light or fire was extinguished?"

Gyan nodded. "It doesn't make any sense. When I felt the light form within me on the ship, the heat intensified before we released it. Jarek seemed to do the opposite."

"The same power that has the ability to create light also has the ability to extinguish it. Although it takes more energy to absorb or extinguish light than it does to release it, either way, the light is under your control. The magnitude of the situation influences how much light energy you can manage. In this case, Jarek was able to absorb the heat because it was within his means to handle that particular amount of fire. Sometimes you will have enough power to take care of the situation on your own and at other times, the help of your team is certainly desired and welcome. When focus is unified between you, you will have even more power to manipulate light due to the amplified connection."

"I didn't consciously choose to put out the fire though. I mean, I didn't know what I was doing," said Jarek.

"Sometimes consciously searching for how to do something gets in the way of your ability to do it, San Jarek." Syam replied, reminding the warriors of Malik's previous words in their last lesson. "So, in this case, not knowing was beneficial. When we are free mentally, previously unknown ideas may present themselves.

"Know that when you live with intuition as your guide, you will know exactly what to do in a situation," Syam continued. "Sir Malik has likely already spoken of this, and I will stress it again. Thinking too much about how you are going to use your skills, what skills you need to use, and when they must be used, rather than simply focusing on the fact that you have the ability to do what needs to be done, may delay a successful outcome.

"In Jarek's case, knowing that he had the ability to use light in the presence of danger was enough basic information for him to allow his body to demonstrate this ability. Telling you to focus on your breath and connect to each other was all I needed to tell you during the attack on the Tritum for you to destroy enemy ships. You do not always have to know how you are going to use your power, only that you have it. The situation will instinctively evoke the most natural way to use your power when the time is right. As warriors, it is important that you trust this feeling."

Gyan felt a heavy burden was being lifted off him as he realized he would limit his development by trying to memorize and stress over every process they were being taught. He smiled in relief at hearing Syam's reassurance.

"Now, do you better understand my earlier point on why sometimes too much information can limit your ability?" Syam asked.

The warriors nodded, looking more relaxed than they had in weeks.

"If I had been present during your classroom adventure today, do you think that you could have replicated the skills needed if I told you exactly what you had to do to break free of the binds, San Jarek or San Danika?"

"I'm not sure," Jarek said.

Danika shrugged. "Definitely not as fast."

"Exactly!" said Syam with enthusiasm. "You each did something completely different but still experienced a successful outcome. What if I told you that you must escape danger by using a specific skill and then you found you could not perform the skill as the danger intensified? What might happen?"

"Would probably panic more—" began Aderes.

"—give up—" added Lorcan.

"—lose the fight—" said Brogan.

"—doubt yourself—" replied Gyan.

"Which then creates the most problematic interference of all!" Syam said as he jabbed a finger in the air. "If I direct your thoughts too much in telling you exactly what to do, you may fail to see alternative views. Don't you see? Even when there is lack of knowledge but belief in ability or an unknown solution, you will find that the knowledge needed to resolve a situation often arrives in a synchronized moment…as it did for you today. This absence of doubt is what will assist you in producing your desired result. Given this, one could argue that releasing the mental interference that often arises from trying to analyze or control a situation is vital to achieving your goal.

Syam's eyes twinkled. "In conclusion, by providing you with knowledge only about the foundation of your skills, and by allowing these skills to form naturally, your abilities will expand beyond those of your ancestral warriors. Knowing this, we could never adequately measure a warrior's success if we mostly focus on what has already been discovered." Syam looked pointedly at Aderes. "And this is why we only plant a seed with specifics. It is so that your ability will develop beyond even the understanding of the masters."