by T. C. Edge
My eyes flare, my fists tightening. The throb of blazing adrenaline in my blood sweeps away the final shreds of exhaustion. It brings an unexpected excitement, a yearning to test myself against these beasts. I look at each of the four of them, moving to separate corners of the square, muscles bulging, fire-proof masks being placed upon their heads.
As if they didn't look intimidating enough already.
The Overseer stands before us, performing his usual build up as he decides who should go first. I notice several other Titans coming out of the temple, assembling nearby to watch, rubbing their eyes at the early wake up call. Krun goes over to join them, fondly catching up with old friends. I wonder if he takes part in their training. He seems to command a certain amount of respect around here.
"Amber..."
I hear my name said, my eyes shifting back to the Overseer. He grins in his usual manner, and opens out his arms to the square, lit above by spotlights.
"Please," he continues. "Take position in the centre. Show us what you can do."
I step forward, nerves held at bay, powers harnessed. I gently beckon the fire from within, sense it coursing through me. My robes begin to shimmer and glow, turning a more vibrant red. I feel oddly confident and calm, as though my gifts have been broken in like a horse. I sit in the saddle, holding the reins. The beast beneath me doesn't lurch and buck, trying to throw me off. It waits calmly for my orders, for the gentle tap of the stirrup to get moving.
It is mine now.
I close in on the centre of the square, turning my eyes to the four Titans around me. They flex and grunt like bulls, their faces and eyes hidden behind black masks. I turn my gaze to the Overseer, ignoring the faces of the other candidates nearby. He lifts a hand, and drops it. "Begin."
I feel the ground shake as the Titans charge towards me. They come as one, closing the space quickly, their mighty legs hauling them forwards. I spin as I look at them, and make a swift decision. I can't be caught between them all. I have to move right now.
I pick on one at random and rush towards him, seemingly taking him off guard. As I go, the fire begins to flick and wrap around me, starting only as sparks but quickly weaving into flame. Necessity drives me, setting my focus, the blaze building and bringing smoke along with it, billowing as I move and spreading quickly through the square.
It seems to confuse the Titans, the gathering smoke helping to hide my step. I take the moments to avoid their blows as I reach the first one, ducking under a swinging arm as thick as my entire body. It rushes through the smog, creating a clear path of air. I duck and roll and come out the other side, giving myself previous seconds to think.
I remember Elian's training, and set a shield of heat around my body. The temperature would be too great for any normal man to get near, my skin sizzling like coals, my blood flowing like lava. I build my defence just in time, another Titan thundering towards me, heaving with another great blow. I try to move but am too late, his fist connecting. It comes hard but the connection is weak, rebuffed by my shield of heat and fire. I'm knocked back, but not far, the Titan's arm doing the same. Sparks fly, bursting off of me, the giant's black armour glowing red before fading straight to black.
The man hesitates before coming again, seeming confused by what just happened. I feel the earth shake behind me and spin. Another two Titans lumber my way, smoke swirling around them. I tighten my limbs and press out from within, raising my temperature, hardening my shield. I do so just as they charge into me like rhinos, closing the space and giving me nowhere to go.
That crack with a sound like lightning, and I go stumbling back several paces, tumbling to the floor. A moment later, the earth shatters, shaking beneath me. I look forward to see both men several dozen feet away, launched backwards by the impact and landing with heavy blows.
OK, the shield thing works, I tell myself, feeling exhilarated, leaping back to my feet. Now, what else can I do?
The bout continues, the four Titans attempting to get through my defences, working mostly as individuals and rarely as a team. I can't tell if they've been ordered to behave like that to make things easier on us, or if they're just yet to learn proper fighting strategy, but either way, it works for me.
I take the opportunity to try to test myself, raising the flame and creating more smoke, even allowing several large blows to land in order to see how my defences hold up. Each time, I rebuff them, their fire-proof suits glowing red where each connection was made.
It's hard to know how long things last in the thick of it all. It could well have been only a minute or two before I begin to feel that sense of weariness rise inside me, the flames in my blood starting to weaken and recede. I lose concentration for just a moment and a Titan makes his move, lunging at me as he senses blood like a shark, kicking out with a thick leg and sending me tumbling across the square, my shield just starting to fail.
It does enough to hold back most of the blow, but the wind bursts out of my lungs as I hit the earth, sliding close to the boundary line. I wheeze, eyes watering, and look up. Four giants come charging, working together for the first time, ready to send me flying out of the circle and to my defeat.
In that moment, I return to my instinct, shutting my eyes briefly, sharpening my focus. I steady my breathing and suck in a long pull of fresh air into my lungs. To my core, the energy gathers, the final energy I possess drawing together as one.
I open my eyes and look up. The Titans are close, charging my way, sensing their moment of triumph. I see now that they aren't working together, merely each trying to get to me first. They are in competition, each wanting to be the one to defeat a candidate for the Chosen, mark their card with something that will serve them well in the future.
I use the opportunity, moving one way with a burst of flame that helps speed my step, staying close to the boundary line. The Titan to the far right sees his chance, suddenly the closest of the lot. The others, eager to knock me from the circle, scramble quicker, trying to haul each other back. I take my opportunity, and suddenly move the other way, boosting myself forward. The Titans turn again, bunching into a group. Two hit and tumble upon one another, falling to the earth. The others maintain their step, sliding and slowing before coming at me again.
They're too slow. Within seconds, I'm rushing around them, heading back towards the centre of the square. I turn around, the beasts now behind me, the boundary just beyond. They're all near to it now, half a dozen feet away. With enough force, I might just be able to push them back to their defeat...
I let the final energy I possess erupt from inside. It pulses in great waves of fiery light, sending the men backwards. One, too upright, tumbles under the force, crashing to the floor and rolling back over the line with a great grunt of anger. Another follows right after, hands thrashing to cling to something that isn't there, huge body letting go and spinning off across the line.
The final two are smarter. They drop to the ground, flattening themselves out, reducing the surface area for my waves of energy to hit. My reserves begin to fail, my strength waning. I know I'm in dire straits now.
If I lose all energy, they'll have all the time in the world to come and batter me to death. I don't know if the Overseer is real with his threats. I don't know if these men will be allowed to crush the life out of me. Either way, I don't want to find out.
No, I need to be smart.
So I decide to play dead.
I stop, dropping to my knees, pulling the flame back once more. The waves of heat energy end abruptly, and the giants, after a few tense moments, begin to work back up to their feet. Panting heavily, eyes down, I place my hands to the floor and let them come. They foolishly work up to their full height, puffing out their chests, basking in their impending victory.
No, I think, the victory is mine.
With all the remaining energy I have, I send out one final wave. The men don't see it coming, don't have time to drop and take cover. It hits them both at the same time, sending them off their feet and
flying over the boundary line. They crash to the floor, the earth trembling, smoke dissipating, and silence falling.
Then, the sound of applause reaches my ears. I stand up weakly and look beyond the square. The gathered Titans, standing beyond the temple, clap their mighty hands together in tribute of my victory. I scan their faces and see approval. Some nod my way. Others even smile. And among them, I see Krun looking on with an unexpected expression of acceptance.
I turn, looking to the defeated Titans, who take off their masks, revealing their faces. They, too, look on at me impressed, joining in the applause. I find myself smiling and, strangely, raising a hand in thanks. Acceptance, I think. That's what this is. These men are accepting me as one of them.
"Bravo, Lady Amber," calls the Overseer, calming the applause. "A fine victory. Step out of the circle, and regain your energy. Pentecost, you are up next. Would the next four Titans step forward."
I return to Marlow's side, ignoring the continued looks of hatred on the faces of Hestia and Richter - though, to be honest, the latter is now looking a little nervous and awed too - and am fed a couple of high energy bars to regain my strength. They taste bland, but do the trick. By the time Pentecost has been flung from the circle - the poor guy didn't last long - I feel back to full strength and ready to go again.
The final three candidates take their turns. Hestia goes next, working to a strict strategy, using quick bursts of speed and pulses of heat energy to eliminate the Titans one by one. Next, Richter steps up, managing to defeat two of his foes before being thrust from the circle after an extended, but brave, bout.
Finally, it's Elian's turn. He saunters in, in full high-born mode, and allows the Titans to charge as one. He doesn't move left or right, or try to hunt each individually. He just stands there, still as a statue, cloak glowing bright red and heat shimmering all around him. As the Titans get near, I see his body explode into a figure of flame. A wild blast of energy comes with it, radiating from the centre of the square, pushing all four Titans right to its outer edge...
And out.
All four are eliminated within a moment only, gigantic men hauled away by the devastating power of Elian's blast. Then, with a casual bow, Elian steps out of the circle and back towards us. Once more, he doesn't acknowledge my presence, but the intimation is clear.
The position is mine, that swagger says.
If I want it, I'm going to have to fight harder.
39
The day continues in much the same fashion, with several more visits to different temples and accompanying squares around the northern part of the city. Each one is given towards the training of a specific type of enhanced human being, training quarters and places of worship for many of the greatest of their kind.
After visiting with the Titans, we face a very different foe as dawn finally begins to bloom. With the pale red light of the sunrise lifting over the wondrous stone buildings, we arrive at the temple of the Phasers, those gifted with the remarkable ability to move at tremendous speed. They travel with such pace as to be difficult to spot when operating at maximum speed, leaving afterimages of themselves behind as they rush through the air, bodies a blur.
Their name derives from that strange effect, and though they can't actually phase through things, as their title would suggest, they certainly appear a deadly prospect.
Once more, we face off against them in a test, each of us required, as before, to stay within the boundary of the courtyard, and beat our opponents over the line. I watch as Richter goes first this time, marvelling at the speed of the three Phasers he faces. I wonder, for a second, why there's only three, rather than four like with the Titans, but quickly realise that four might just become overwhelming in a contest like this.
They dart around, zipping across the square in tight black suits similar to the Titans. It takes a few moments for my eyes to grow even semi-accustomed to their startling movement, searching for the afterimages they leave behind, and then extrapolating ahead to where I think they'll be.
Given their speed, they attack with great power too, their velocity packing a significant punch. They may not have the brute strength, or thickly muscled robustness, of the Titans on their side, but they are blessed with durable bones and physiology that allows them to travel at high velocity without suffering ill effect.
I watch as Richter tries to fight them off, quickly building up a shield to try to combat them. For the most part, he remains oblivious to where the next attack will come from, and ends up losing his cool as a result. His attention lost, he is quickly overcome as the Phasers begin teaming up against him.
The others follow, Pentecost, unfortunately, unable to withstand the bout for much longer than he did against the Titans, and Hestia once again displaying her keen proficiency in fighting tactics. She manages to win her bout once more, boosting her own speed using her innate Fire-Blood capabilities, before Elian does the same, though with greater ease and assurance.
Finally, it's my turn, this time given the benefit of watching the others before I step up. Though my eyes have adjusted by this point to the speed of the bouts, it's a different matter stepping into the circle. In the end, however, I acclimatise quickly enough, and manage to assume control of my speed-boosting powers with short, intense bursts of fire.
I win my fight, though perhaps with less ease than the others before me, a fact that has Hestia grinning with a strange, triumphant-demented sort of expression. It's a completely different sort of contest to before, though certainly, those Phasers really do hit hard when they connect. Without the benefit of my fire-force-field, to use a phrase Jude coined, I'd be battered within moments.
The next fight brings us up against those with the powers of telekinesis, another relatively rare sect of divinity here in Olympus. It's a different challenge, and we face only a single opponent each.
Keeping their distance, the telekinetic attempts to lift and simply fling us out of the boundary with their mind. Such a thing takes great skill and focus, and usually a relatively close proximity to the subject. The closer you are to an object you wish to move with your mind, the easier it is to achieve, or so I learn.
Naturally, our own powers help to repel such attempts, creating more of a cat and mouse sort of contest. I go early, right after Pentecost, who seems to be selected first simply to get him out of the way. He will be eliminated today, and everyone knows it, though manages to at least do a little better this time. Still, it takes only a meagre effort before he's overcome, his opponent managing to lift his legs and upend him, sending him tumbling off out of the square with comical effect.
Then, it's me, and I enjoy the new challenge greatly. It's a strange sensation, feeling as if you're being prodded and lifted by an invisible force. I constantly have to rebuff each attempt, pressing back using the flame, as if I'm actually 'burning off' the unseen force that tries to grip and pull at me, lift me off into the air.
Several times it happens, but I'm always quick enough to sever the connection before I pass the boundary's edge. Only once I've learned this defensive method do I begin to go on the offensive, propelling myself forward in quick, fiery bursts, trying to pulse with my own energy and push my opponent back.
It isn't easy, seeing as he's quite capable of using his own telekinetic force to solidify his position, as if gaining significant weight, by 'holding' to the ground with his bizarre gifts. Only once I begin to wear him down, increasing the force and frequency of my attacks, do I finally overcome him.
I step out of the ring with a throbbing pulse, hugely happy with the victory. But, more than that, it was the different challenge that so excited me. To face off against these powerful, though very different, foes, and overcome them, has been incredibly rewarding.
We face others that day too, the bouts always testing us in different ways, and not always involving the use of physical force. One trial has us exhibiting our proficiency in lowering, rather than raising, our temperatures, a skill I've yet to attain or practice. I recall
what Elian told me about his father, how he managed to freeze the top water of an entire lake, as we're brought to a large, public bathing pool, and tasked with doing the same thing.
As with all the contests that day, a small crowd has formed to watch us in action, the closing of the public bath drawing a bit of an audience as they wonder just what's happening. When they realise it's part of the Trial of the Chosen, they gather in greater abundance, interest quickly spreading as the afternoon rumbles on.
It's just my luck that, with the larger crowd accumulating - this one mostly comprised of members of the Olympus public, rather than those of military rank - I perform at my worst. The pool is large, at least fifty or so feet in length, and filled with warm water suitable for bathing.
As if to pile the pressure on the rest of us, and perhaps to give the crowd what they want, the Overseer selects Elian to go first. He steps up to the water's edge, smiling charmingly to the crowd - many of whom call out his name - and places his hands just onto the top surface of the pool. A sense of awe spreads along with a referential silence as Elian's robe darkens to a deep shade of blue, his hands going a similar colour as ice begins to crackle and spread upon the surface of the water.
It's a mesmerising spectacle, and clearly takes deep focus given how much effort it seems to take. Starting slowly, and building in speed, the pool stops its shimmering and begins to harden, leaving little, solidified ripples on its surface. When Elian finally stands, he looks weary and slightly shaken, only returning to his usual self as his blood begins to thaw, and his body temperature returns to normal. Fire-Bloods, I can only assume, are far more comfortable with heat than cold. It likely takes only a certain sort to become skilled at managing their temperature effectively both ways.
Finally, Elian steps onto the ice, enjoying the applause as he walks right across the frozen pool and back again. Then, raising his arms, he invites others to do the same, calling to the public to test it out. A few becomes several dozen, and the ice still holds.
