Before the group realized it, a week had gone by since their teacher returned. The new training that they had begun with their teacher, Shambala, was not as easy as they had thought it would be. The whole field they practiced on for that day was filled with grunts, sighs, and grappling as they produced pure, intense energy. The teacher had a habit of changing the training ground on some days to avoid letting them get used to fighting on only one terrain. They trained in the fields, the forests, the mountains and valleys around them, and even some parts of the village. He was determined that every warrior under his charge would be one worthy of the battle field. Every one of them.As a matter of fact, on the day they had started training, which was the very next day after Shambala’s return, he had called Grover, Vladimir, and Krystal and told them that their own training was going to be separate from the others and very different from what they were previously used to.He said that the
At the close of training that day, it was obvious that there were separate classes of students for Shambala to train. A few people had bonded with their artifacts, beginning to work on understanding the powers they possessed, while those who had already bonded with their artifacts had unlocked greater percentages of their powers. For Krystal, he had unlocked more abilities from his artifact, which were the powerful shadow abilities. He may have been at odds with his father, but he was definitely grateful for this artifact. It had looked very basic and unglamorous, but now that he had tasted what he could do, he marveled that his dad was willing to give it to him.Through consistent practice and inner-conscious meditation with his aura, he had learned to manifest his artifact’s powers in various ways. He had learned that he could create shadow clones of himself and others while giving each of those clones the ability to wield the power of artifacts he could conjure. He remembered when
Vladimir thought about Grover how he had practically become a bard by virtue of his artifact’s ability. He could sense people, sense their emotions, and even have access to their thoughts. The episode in the forest had been a little more than creepy because he had suddenly felt so vulnerable before Grover.He did not know how powerful Grover’s gift was until the day he awoke early by accident. Usually he made sure to get sufficient sleep by going to bed the same as the others and waking up with them since Shambala’s return. The teacher was back so his assistants could rest. Or so he thought.With time, he realized that he did not know when he last saw Grover sleep. He tried to ask Krystal, but he had not seen him sleep either. Usually Krystal was one of the last to sleep and one of the first ones up, but he could not recall when last he had gone to bed after Grover. and first thing in the morning, he discovered him not in his bed or anywhere in his room.That day before dawn, Vladimir
“Hut! Ha! Hiya!” Grunts of struggle could be heard emanating from the field. Vladimir had been paired with Grover, and both were giving the best they had to give. Krystal was fighting with Shambala, while other members of the guild were similarly paired. It was past the third hour of the afternoon, and they had been fighting since the first hour of noon. Shambala had returned to the guild a little over three months ago, and the entire guild was at peak performance! Grover had watched the others continually improve since the day he challenged them that, to get to their level of power manifestation, they had to fight and probably get beaten by Shambala. They had not taken the challenge literally, but apparently, after they had put their fear aside, some of them had taken his counsel to heart and begun to put in the necessary work to see the results that they were seeing as well. Blake, Jeremiah, and Bindi had become confident in themselves as their powers grew, while Justin and Riley
On this particular morning, as Grover awoke earlier than the others to move to the courtyard as usual to begin his meditation and levitating exercises, he heard a sound while he was in the passage.It was the sound of soft shuffling, which he ordinarily wouldn’t have heard before he started using his powers in their current capacity. And he stopped, waiting for whatever was making that noise to reveal itself, somehow aware that he would know who it was. And as softly as could be done, he heard Shambala’s door open. And the teacher stepped out as though he had summoned Grover. “Good morning, Sensie," he said cheerfully but also softly so as not to wake the others up.“Good morning, lad.” He said it with a glimmer in his eyes, showing that he was teasing.This was the first time they were meeting at a time that was private enough for them to have their discussion and for Shambala to answer the questions that Grover carried in his heart.They walked to the courtyard as though they had pl
Grover sat on his seat, considering the tension that had began growing at the table. The table comprised of various kinds of individuals: those who were impatient, and wanted to retire for the night, those who were worried about the welfare of the teacher, those who were afraid that he was going to disappear for another week before returning and those who were just happy that it was evening and there was no training at the moment. The noise continue to build up and if he did not know that there was no alcohol in the gathering he would have said that was the cause.After a while, Grover looked straight at the door, and as soon as he did, Shambala came in just as he had the day they had met to discuss his unexplained absence for a week. As his piercing eyes looked at them, they noted that the expression on his face was grave. They looked up, wondering what it was that caused his delay and if it had anything to do with his countenance. He did not move, but stood by the door just watching
The apprehension in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. The strongest man was someone no one could defeat, and bringing such a being back to life was a wonder in itself. A dark wonder. But they were more curious about what the organization wanted to use such a warrior to do. Shambala continued talking and explained to them that the strongest man who had unlocked the full strength of his artifact would be able to unlock the full strength of any other artifact easily. All Grover could think about was how people would sit and think up this height of evil in the first place.Apparently, what the leadership of the organization was planning to do was use Hercules to unlock the full strength of an artifact and then control him afterwards. This was to help them throw the world in chaos enough to destroy it as they somehow accessed materials that made them believe there was another world just right after this one.All of them sat there, looking on with incredulity as Shambala
While Shambala spoke, Krystal thought of the library they had been to in the little Koi village. and the vast knowledge in it. and all the things in between, which they probably did not know. Knowledge was so vast and unlimited, because what one knew was only an indication of how much more he did not know. ‘Oh dear’, he thought. ‘I am beginning to speak like a bard’.As he thought about these things, though, he was reminded of one of the things that he wanted to ask Shambala about. He had wanted to ask for the longest time but had not gotten the opportunity before, and even right now it does not feel like a very good time, but he realized he needed to know because it may be a factor affecting the current situation.‘I don’t just want it to be like, I’m the one who always asks him questions. I just really need to know...’, he thought. Krystal was not surprised that Shambala noticed that he had a question to ask.He was surprised, however, that Shambala called him out to ask this ques