Tail of the Dragon

by Timothy Reihm

  Chapter 10

  ‘Hurry up Gadreel. We are going to be late,’ Ariel said as the two passed into the academy courtyard.

  For some reason, Gadreel’s limbs seemed heavier than usual. Moving was more of an effort; as was thinking. His rest had been fitful and he had struggled to leave his pallet when the light had returned this morning. He also was annoyed with Ariel. He couldn’t decide if it was the argument that they had the night before, or if it was because his friend kept rushing him.

  ‘I’m right here with you, Ariel,’ he answered tersely.

  ‘I just don’t want to start off this module by making a bad impression on Trainer Azazel.’

  ‘Why do you care? You didn’t seem impressed by some of the things he said last night,’ Gadreel reminded him.

  ‘It just makes me uncomfortable to hear an instructor talk so casually about aspects of our education as if they are pointless,’ Ariel said.

  ‘Well. Did you ever think that perhaps he might know more than you? He has been around a full millennium longer than you.’

  ‘That is true, but what kind of instructor encourages his students to break the rules?’

  ‘The truly reprehensible kind,’ a deep voice answered.

  They turned and noticed Azazel walking, a mere step behind them.

  ‘Gadreel and Ariel isn’t it?’ their new trainer said. ‘You know that it is possible that I was testing you to find out if you had the character to do what was right when the opportunity to disobey was given to you. Are you one of those students who believe that they should never be tested? Because if you are, this class is going to be a difficult one for you,’ he concluded and turned toward the classroom.

  ‘So much for not making a bad impression,’ Gadreel grumbled and followed Azazel.

  The two took a seat near the back as the other first years found chairs and settled themselves.

  Azazel stared at his students until perfect silence descended across the room. He pulled a copper bowl from a shelf and placed it on the podium. He took out a silver flask and poured a clear liquid into the bowl. Next, he pulled a small red vial from the pocket of his robe, held it over the vessel and squeezed. A thin point of light appeared and the bowl burst into a blue and orange tangle of flames.

  ‘What is that?’ the trainer asked, indicating the blaze. His eyes scanned the room and then fell on Ariel. ‘You,’ he said. ‘What is that?’

  ‘It is a fire,’ Ariel answered hesitantly.

  ‘Well of course it is a fire. Thank you for pointing out the obvious and wasting everyone’s time. Would anyone like to add something that resembles a thought?’

  ‘It is energy being released,’ offered Raphael, who looked apologetically at Ariel as he spoke.

  ‘Yes. Explain what you mean to Ariel,’ Azazel answered.

  ‘Well, you combined a flammable liquid of some sort with heat. These two things, when combined with an oxidizing agent, create a chain reaction that releases heat and light, two of the ways that energy is discharged.’

  ‘Excellent answer. That release of energy comes from the splitting of the bonds between the molecules. And by understanding how this process works, I can make some alterations.’

  Suddenly the fire blazed up into a column of heat and light that stretched up several cubits, then collapsed into a miniscule sputtering ember that glowed, barely perceptible, just millicubits above the bowl. As the students watched, the liquid in the bowl began to float out through the air and form a thin sheet on the ceiling above, which burst into a canopy of flame.

  ‘Some day you will all be able to manipulate the elements that compose the world around us just like this,’ Azazel said as the fire gathered into a small sphere and descended to rest, once more, in the copper bowl on the lectern.

  ‘Can any of you tell me how I was able to do these things?’

  ‘I did some reading on the subject last night. According to the author, we, as arella, are able to manipulate all created elements that do not exert a conscious will of their own,’ said Raphael.

  ‘Another excellent answer. But even manipulating these elements has its limitations. We cannot influence an element to act against its nature. Energy is always going to be energy. I cannot create or destroy it, but can make it change forms. I eat a piece of fruit and my body releases the energy contained in the bonds of that fruit. My body uses energy to perform tasks and stores any excess for use later. As I burn energy, I again change the form that it takes, but its nature is still energy.’

  ‘So the amount of energy in the universe never deviates, it just changes form?’ Gabriel asked.

  ‘Exactly right. But while we do have these limitations, there is a lot of flexibility in the way that we can use the elements at our disposal. Take this water for instance.’ He picked up a pitcher of water, took a drink and poured a portion into a metallic cylinder that stretched to a sharp point. He screwed on an attachment, which contained what appeared to be a gauge and a series of buttons. Next, he grabbed a thick sheet of iron from a shelf, which he draped over the edge of the podium. After checking the gauge, he pressed a button, causing a bright white beam to extend from the point of the contraption. This he pointed at the metal, and within milliseconds, one half of the cleaved metal bar rang as it struck the floor.

  ‘Did you know that water could make fire?’ Azazel asked. When he didn’t get an answer, he continued, ‘Actually, fire is a bit inaccurate. But with adequate energy we can break the bonds between the hydrogen and oxygen molecules and create sufficient heat to cut this metal. So, water can be used to create a torch or put a torch out. It can also be used as a shield.’

  Azazel crossed the room and switched on a machine, which begin to hum. He uncovered a thick slab of granite that he somehow caused to slide across the room without touching it. A thin shaft of orange light appeared and began etching a line in the rock. With a handle on the contraption he began working the beam back and forth across the stone, creating a random pattern. Suddenly, he grasped a pitcher of water and dumped it onto the floor, which began gathering together and rising into the air, where it flattened out into a saucer.

  With a slight flick of his finger, Azazel moved the disk into the path of the shaft of light. Instantly, the etching on the stone ceased and the course of the light halted in a hiss of steam from the evaporating water.

  As the liquid disappeared Azazel shut off the machine. ‘So, as you can see, water can be a useful tool; but in order to use it properly, you have to understand its nature. You must know the various rules that affect it and learn to manipulate those criterion to your advantage. That is what this class will teach you. But we are going to start much more simply. Liquids and gases are difficult to master. We are going to start with something much easier.’

  With that he grabbed a bag from the shelf and began walking up and down the aisles, placing a small silver cube on every other table.

  ‘This is aluminum, a very lightweight metal. We are going to begin our lessons practicing the easiest skill- moving objects.’

  He touched the array and some sort of chemical diagram appeared above the top of the pyramid. ‘This is the composition of this metal. If we were going to attempt to separate it or utilize its gravitational pull, we would need to understand how these bonds work, but while moving objects, we simply need to be able to hold them with our minds.’

  As he said this each cube floated up into the air and began to rotate around the room over the heads of the students. They moved in an evenly spaced circular pattern under the flat ceiling of the room. This movement began slowly, but started picking up speed, until the area spun with the ferocity of a windmill in a gale.

  ‘I’m showing off a bit,’ Azazel said and the fan slowed. As the metallic cubes touched back down on the tables, he said, ‘Please partner with one of your classmates. Your lesson begins now.’

  Gadreel and Ariel took their positions at opposite ends of the table. As instructed, they placed the piece of aluminum between them. They
both focused on the cube intently, noting the size and shape and trying to touch the surface with their minds. Although the muddled feeling in his head had dissipated, Gadreel found that it was still difficult to focus on the object. He stared, without blinking, but his mind kept wandering. Looking around the room, he was relieved that most of the others seemed to be having the same difficulty.

  He saw Helel and Gabriel sitting across from each other and noticed that the cube was creeping steadily toward Gabriel.

  ‘Nice work, Helel,’ Azazel said. ‘Now Gabriel, try to push it back.’

  After a brief moment, the little cube began moving the opposite direction.

  ‘Excellent. Looks like I have two star pupils here. Would you care to share how you did that with the rest of the class?’

  Helel and Gabriel looked at each other and with a nod, Helel answered, ‘It is quite easy. When you stop looking at the object with your eyes and begin holding it in your mind, it takes form. It feels different than it looks. You have to try to touch it, not see it. You have to own it with your mind.’

  ‘Perfect explanation, Helel.’

  Gadreel returned his attention to the metallic cube and tried to imagine it in his hands- cool, smooth, hard. He continued to stare at it, grasping for the sensation of it.

  Nothing.

  He looked up at Ariel whose face reflected his own frustration. He returned his attention and almost casually pushed at it with his mind. It trembled. He tried again, but this time kept the pressure on. The cube began to move toward Ariel.

  ‘Great job Gadreel,’ said Ariel.

  ‘You have to be focused, but not forced I think,’ Gadreel replied with a smile.

  Ariel tried to follow the instructions, but had no success.

  ‘I can’t do it,’ he muttered, frustrated.

  ‘You certainly won’t if you have that attitude,’ Azazel said from a few feet away. ‘Class, it is important that you refuse to succumb to defeatism like Ariel here. He says he can’t do it and so he won’t. That is what causes failure, a negative mindset. You have to know that you own that object, just like Helel said. Ariel, try again!’

  Gadreel could see the concentration on Ariel’s face and felt pity that he was serving as an example of failure. A sudden thought came into his mind and he reached out for the cube, but instead of pushing, this time he pulled.

  The cube edged toward him. Ariel’s face immediately reflected his obvious relief.

  ‘Gadreel. That is not going to help him learn. You moved it for him. Completely unacceptable.’

  Azazel turned to the class, ‘I forgot to tell you. When you are manipulating objects, other arella, who have developed their senses, can see your aura invade the space of the object. They know when you manipulate things. They can, in fact, see you cheat,’ he said and turned reprovingly back to Gadreel. 'Don’t attempt to cover up for your friend’s incompetence again.'

  That night Ariel lay awake for hours, trying to understand what went wrong. It hadn't been right to speak about Azazel negatively when he didn't even know him. And it was presumptuous to question a trainer who was more experienced and knowledgeable than himself. However, he couldn't help but believe that the way his teacher had responded was excessive. Was humiliation really an appropriate method of handling a first year telmid?

  His silent reverie was interrupted by Gabriel's voice speaking softly on the balcony to his left.

  ‘Helel, I agree with you that Azazel's offer is a good opportunity. I am just not sure that we are supposed to learn the things that he was talking about. I mean, if it were just a bit of extra help, why wouldn’t he teach it in class?’

  ‘You heard him. He said he had focused on a few of us that seemed to have exceptional talents. I mean, aren't you excited about some of the applications that he mentioned. Learning advanced techniques couldn’t hurt, could it?’

  ‘Shhh. You are going to disturb the others. And speaking of them, I don’t like the idea of keeping this from them. If what Azazel said is true, that training outside of class with him is perfectly normal, why would he ask us to keep it quiet?’

  ‘He probably doesn’t want to put up with all of the complaining. I mean can you imagine how Rigid Raphael would react, knowing we may score better than him on the practical?’

  ‘Knock it off Helel. Raphael is not rigid. He is just dedicated.’

  Helel continued, seemingly ignoring this last rebuke. ‘Harah probably wouldn’t mind, although I doubt he would come even if we asked him. And the twins, they are too busy kicking their little balls around to care about advanced powers. No, I think he was right to invite just a few of us.’

  ‘Well I am not sure I feel right about it,' Gabriel answered.

  Ariel certainly didn't feel right about it.