TCO: Chapter Twenty

Malik did not return to the temple for several weeks. Syam had also disappeared on assignment, so the warriors spent more time practicing the Damsé under the supervision of Jabari.

Because of their continual training and increased time in group meditation, it wasn't long before Gyan could hear the lightest sounds from any movement outside his room and beyond the walls of the temple with only a slight shift in concentration.

He and Aderes were continually searching for ways to test improvements in the sensitivity of their sensory thresholds. In their free time, they took turns wearing blindfolds and throwing various objects past each other in an attempt to see how close the objects had to get to them before they sensed the change in surrounding air pressure. They took a break, however, after Gyan received a bruised eye from a rubber ball Aderes had sent flying his way. Gyan had happened to turn his head at the wrong moment as Jalena and Shamira walked across the temple courtyard. For several days after, Aderes teased Gyan about not being able to stay focused when Jalena was near him.

As the weeks passed the team advanced through two more Damsé partners. Gyan spent one week with Danika and soon after, found himself facing Shamira. It was the first week he mimicked someone's moves without flaw.

"Excellent, Mesengic," Shamira had whispered during the training. "You are definitely getting this."

Despite Shamira's praise, Gyan was having difficulty managing his anxiety as he faced Jalena in Jabari's class the following week, worried that Aderes might be right about his inability to concentrate when she was near him.

"You have each improved dramatically," stated Jabari. "Since both the process and mechanics of connecting with your partner's movements have become more automatized for you, today I want you to concentrate most on aligning yourself completely with your partner's energy while still remaining aware of your external movements.

"If, in the midst of battle or chaos, you can maintain sensitivity to your surroundings and retain focus on your opponent, then you will have mastered awareness of the connection between internal and external energies. As this ability improves, each of you will become so sensitive in detecting another's energy that it will appear as if your opponent's movements are slow. This delay occurs naturally because you have developed the ability to first recognize the attack energetically before seeing it physically. The advantage to this is that you will no longer have to wait for the attack to occur before knowing how to counter it."

The class bowed to their new partners and centered their focus. As they began the training, Gyan became overwhelmed with Jalena's presence and stumbled several times. He sighed in frustration.

"No matter what, Gyan," Jalena whispered, "do not look away." She pointed to her eyes.

Gyan forced himself to concentrate. He soon relaxed into the movements with Jalena, allowing her energy to fill his mind. It wasn't long before his mind became completely silent except for the sound of a heartbeat. He was aware of his body but felt separate from it at the same time.

"Can you hear me, Gyan?" a voice said from inside his mind.

"Jalena?"

She laughed quietly in response.

"Good. We are here…within the heartbeat."

"The what?" Gyan asked in confusion.

"No, Gyan," Jalena said hurriedly. "Stay here with me…Do not lose focus. I will explain later."

Gyan and Jalena kept their shared focus throughout the rest of the Damsé, but Gyan did not hear Jalena's voice in his mind for the rest of the exercise. He felt slightly disoriented as his awareness returned at the end of the exercise.

"So?" Jabari stood before the warriors, his eyebrows raised. The warriors already knew what information Jabari was looking for because he asked the same question at the end of every class.

"What did you feel?" He stared at Gyan.

"Silence, and then a…a heartbeat?" Gyan glanced at Jalena, who did not speak.

"Excellent, San Gyan. Anyone else?"

The warriors shook their heads.

"Not to worry. It will not be long before it occurs for all of you, as you continue to tune your focus." Jabari looked from Jalena to Gyan curiously. "Is this all you heard, San Gyan?"

Gyan glanced at Jalena once more. "Well…I thought I heard Master Jalena's voice inside my mind."

Jalena nodded.

"You have broken through your telepathic barrier to thought communication, San Gyan."

"Is that similar to what Elder Master Syam did on the ship during our first trip to the temple?" asked Valora. "He said we could hear each other's thoughts if in danger."

"Yes. In an emergency or when in danger, the barrier naturally lowers so warriors can communicate telepathically if they are within a reasonable distance from each other. Your skill in developing your ability to communicate in this manner outside of an emergency, however, is up to your willingness to release your thought barriers and connect with those who stand before you. This development signifies an increase in your sensitivity to the energy of others around you. It is also a mark of coming fully into your basic power as a warrior."

Jabari turned back to Gyan. "Now, your ability to connect to others will advance even further. With your concentration, it will be common for you to hear the thoughts of those nearby."

Jarek nudged Lorcan and smiled.

Catching their shared look, Jabari turned to address the entire group. "Let me leave you with this warning just in case you are getting excited about any possible use of mischief with your telepathic ability." His eyes rested on Jarek and Lorcan. "A light warrior knows when personal thoughts are being read. The mental interference is even detected by those who are not warriors if they are highly sensitive to energy. Anyone can allow a telepathic connection to take place or reject it once the interference is sensed."

Jarek and Lorcan's smiles faded.

It was at least one more week before the rest of the warriors heard the heartbeat during the Damsé. By the time each warrior had finished having every member of the opposite sex as a partner for the dance, Jabari led the warriors in the next phase, which was practicing with partners of the same sex.

The slight awkwardness of partnering with the males in their group, was short-lived as Gyan became comfortable with their energy. It wasn't long before each understood why it was so important to master the skill with different types of energy. By the time the exercise was mastered with every partner on the team, Gyan felt strongly that the Damsé and what they had learned through its practice about the power of vulnerability and the balancing of energy served as a baseline for increasing a warrior's power even more than what they currently knew.