“Razor has betrayed us.” Faith explained, her eyes suddenly blazing with anger, “Whoever his loyalties lie with now is obviously the one who wants to start the war. You may not know this, but Icefire is known for the strength of its fighting force. If Razor was to show the enemy tribe where our camp is, that tribe would be able to ambush us at any time. This is bad, Blaze.”
“So you’ll tell Rust then?” Blaze pleaded.
“No. This is your quest, Blaze. You must be the one to expose Razor for what he is.”
Blaze hung his head in despair. “But I’ve already tried. Nobody believes me.”
“You need proof. No saloli is going to turn on their own tribemate without some decent evidence first.”
“Well, how do I do that?”
“I don’t know. You’ll have to figure that out on your own. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am tired and wish to sleep.” Faith turned and ambled off back towards the camp.
“Wait!” Blaze called after her, one final question having popped into his head, “Just how many tribes are in this forest?”
Turning around, Faith said, “Four, one facing every main direction. They are Icefire, Cyclone, Groundsky, and Darkcover.”
Chapter Seven
The next morning found Blaze and Slicer, once again, at Acorn Place. Slicer had woken his trainee extra early so that they could get all the remaining lessons in before noon, which was now only an hour away. In that time, Blaze had learned how to efficiently use his superior hearing to his advantage, how to hide his scent from anyone trying to track him, and how to scare away predators by using his tail to make himself seem larger.
“Good, very good!” Slicer encouraged him, “We’re almost done now. There’s just one thing left.”
“What’s that?” Blaze asked.
“Exactly what you tried to do the first day we trained. Leaping between trees.”
Blaze immediately felt a pit form in his stomach. He was still sore from the first time he had attempted that, and he wasn’t sure that he wanted to do it again yet. Obviously seeing this, Slicer said, “Don’t worry. You’ve become much stronger and faster since we started. Those are both crucial elements to doing this.”
“But what if I’m still not ready?” Blaze protested, “I could die!”
“You won’t die.” Slicer promised, “I’ve trained more saloli than I care to remember, and I’ve never misjudged when one is ready to do this. Now come, we need to get this done.” Blaze obediently followed his trainer to the edge of Acorn Place, and then made his way up to the top of a tree, and then to the end of the uppermost branch. “Okay, the first thing you need to know is that you never jump without judging the distance first. A simple miscalculation can send you plummeting to your death. The second thing you need to know is that you’ll usually need as much speed as you can get to clear the distance. That was your first mistake when you tried, you didn’t have nearly enough speed.”
Blaze must have looked worried, because Slicer quickly said, “Don’t worry! If there’s anything you’ve improved on since then, it’s your speed. You’re just as fast as any other saloli now. Now, after speed, what you need is strength. If you’re going to jump, you must have enough strength to propel yourself over the gap. If not, you will be sent falling to your death. Unfortunately, only you can judge how much strength you have. So tell me, do you think that you have enough strength to leap that distance?”
Blaze looked at the distance between his branch and the next one. It was only about five or six feet away, but to someone his size it might as well have been twenty.
“Is there a smaller gap I can jump first?” he asked, wishing he shared his mentor’s faith in him.
“No. This is the shortest gap in Acorn Place. This is where every trainee learns to jump. Now, do you think you can do it?”
Blaze thought for a moment before answering, “I don’t know. Do you?”
“Only you can decide that. It’s your choice, try, or don’t try. If you want, we’ll go back down and head back to camp. But no trainee is allowed to be fully accepted into Icefire without learning to do this first, so I would have to tell Rust to cancel your promotion. There is no place in Icefire for cowards.”
If there was one thing Blaze couldn’t stand, it was being called a coward. He didn’t usually care what people thought of him, but if they thought he was a coward, he wouldn’t be able to let it go until he had changed their mind. Without saying another word, Blaze backed up on the branch, and tensed his muscles. Not giving himself time to think, he suddenly dashed forward, top speed, towards the end of the branch. Reaching the end, he launched himself forward, out into the open air, just like before. Soaring high over the ground, Blaze watched as his leap carried him farther then before, way past the beginning of the limb. When he finally touched down, he was more than halfway across the branch!
“Excellent, Blaze!” Slicer shouted from the other tree, “I couldn’t have done better myself!” Taking a running start, Slicer too hurled himself across the open space, landing neatly in front of his trainee. “Now come, we will need all the time we have left to get back to camp before noon.” With that, he passed Blaze on the branch and began his descent. Following him, Blaze waited until they reached the ground to ask the question that had been nagging him, “Slicer? Why haven’t you been teaching me how to fight at all?” It was a valid question. For all the time they had been training together, Slicer had failed to teach him any new fighting skills.
“Because,” Slicer said, turning to face him, “I didn’t need to. You already had the skills you needed, all you were missing was the capability to use them to their fullest extent.”
Capability? Blaze thought, How can I have the capability without knowing how to do it?
“In other words,” Slicer continued, “you already knew everything you needed to know about fighting, you just didn’t have what it took to use it.”
“And I do know?” Blaze asked skeptically.
“Think about it. You are stronger now, and your speed has improved enormously.”
Blaze thought about it. Slicer had chased him three more times since their first day of training. Although it was too slow to see as it was happening, Blaze realized that he, indeed, had gradually become faster. The final time, his mentor had not been able to catch him once. And all that running had to have made him stronger. “That’s all I needed?” He asked.
Slicer nodded, “That’s it. Your instincts provided the rest.”
For a minute, Blaze stood and thought about this. If Slicer was telling the truth, Blaze had the potential to be as good a fighter as him, and all he had to do was do what came naturally to him.
Slicer nodded in the direction of camp, “Now come, we’re wasting time.”
<><><><><>
Back at Icefire’s camp, Blaze and Jasper stood on the far edge of the camp, on top of a stone that jutted a foot from the ground. Rust stood with them. All of Icefire was gathered in front of them. Rust stood on his back legs and raised his front paws for silence. Once everyone was quieted, he spoke.
“Today is a very special occasion! It is time for these two young trainees to be fully accepted into Icefire!” The tribe cheered. “I have chosen them for their loyalty and bravery, and have judged them ready. All that remains is for them to prove themselves by taking their first patrols. But first, is there any saloli in Icefire that opposes the decision to promote these two?” Razor stepped forward.
“I do,” he said. Several saloli gasped. This was obviously not a common occurrence during promotions.
“Then please voice your concerns to all of Icefire,” Rust said, seemingly unfazed. Razor leapt up to the rock to stand beside Rust.
“Icefire, do you agree with me that all of our trainees, not just these two, have worked hard during the time that they have been given?”
“Yes, they have!” one saloli shouted. The rest of Icefire yelled their agreement.
“Then why is it that these two are the only ones
receiving this honor? Why not the others? Surely there are trainees who have worked harder and longer than these two, and are thusly more deserving of promotion! Personally, I have no quarrels with the runt, though I still don’t like it. He has trained for many months, and there is nothing to say that he isn’t ready. No, the one I don’t think should be up here today is Blaze.” Razor paused to let his words sink in before continuing, “He joined Icefire less than a month ago. He hasn’t had enough time to be fully trained! What right does this outsider have to be given what our other trainees are denied? What does he have that they don’t? Answer me that, Rust!” With that last sentence, the black saloli turned to face his chief.
“I believe that Blaze doesn’t have anything that the other trainees don’t,” Rust said, coolly. “I only think he found it before they did. The others will get their chance when it comes.”
“And what exactly does Blaze have that my trainee, Thunder, doesn’t?” Razor demanded.
“Bravery,” Rust replied, “Enough bravery to disobey a direct order to save his chief.”
Razor’s fur bristled, “Are you calling Thunder a coward?” he demanded.
“Not at all,” said Rust, “I’m just saying that he hasn’t achieved the same level of loyalty and courage as Blaze.”
Razor’s eyes flashed with anger, “I will not have my trainee insulted like this! According to Icefire law, whenever I disagree with a trainee’s promotion, I’m allowed to call the Challenge of Determination!”
Icefire gasped again. This time even Rust looked wary, “Are you sure, Razor?” he asked, “You know the consequences if Thunder were to lose.”
“Yes, I know the consequences.” Razor answered, “But I’m also confident that Thunder will be the one to come out on top.”
Rust sighed. He obviously didn’t like this turn of events, “Very well,” he said, “I have no choice.” He turned to face Icefire again, “Razor has incited the Challenge of Determination!” he called, “May Thunder come forward!” The crowd of saloli slowly parted to make a path for the trainee. “Do you, Thunder, accept this Challenge, knowing full well what will happen should you lose?”
“I do,” Thunder answered without hesitation.
Rust turned to face Blaze, “Do you, Blaze, accept this Challenge, knowing full well what will happen should you lose?”
Blaze paused. He had no idea what this “Challenge of Determination” was, or what would happen if he lost, but it seemed he didn’t have a choice. Besides, the most they would probably do was make him train for another couple of weeks. “I do,” he said.
“It is decided then,” Rust said, turning back to face Icefire, “The Challenge will take place in one hour.” With that, he hopped down from the stone and made his way back to his tree. The crowd quickly dispersed, everyone chattering excitedly. Blaze left the stone as well and sought out Slicer, who was speaking worriedly with Faith.
“Slicer?” he asked, “What’s the Challenge of Determination?”
Slicer’s expression turned grave, “And on top of it all, he doesn’t even know what he’s gotten himself into,” he said to Faith.
A seed of fear crept into Blaze’s heart. “What do you mean? What have I gotten myself into?”
Faith spoke this time, “Blaze, for someone to incite the Challenge of Determination is for them to defy your readiness to join Icefire. No one has done it in years. That is why everyone was so shocked when Razor did it.”
“So what exactly is the Challenge of Determination?” Blaze asked.
“The Challenge is called when a trainer thinks his or her trainee is more capable of tribe life than the one being promoted,” Slicer explained, “The two trainees then do battle, and whichever one comes out on top will be allowed to take the patrol.”
Nothing he said surprised Blaze. It was just the thing he expected in the rough life of the forest. One thing still confused him, though, “But what did Rust mean when he asked us if we ‘understood the consequences should we lose?’”
Slicer shook his head in disgust, “That is the reason no trainer has incited the Challenge for so long. The price of losing is just too high to risk it.”
“But what is the price?” asked Blaze.
Slicer gave him a hard stare, which Blaze imagined could see straight through him, “The consequence of losing the Challenge of Determination is to be condemned to never be promoted to full tribe member,” he answered without a hint of humor in his voice.
Blaze gasped. This was the last thing he expected to hear. A trainee for life? “Why?” he asked.
“To take the Challenge is to tell the tribe that you think that you are better than another trainee. To lose the Challenge is to fail your trainer, and all of Icefire as well,” Faith enlightened him, “It would shame Icefire to accept anyone so disgraced into our ranks.”
“But it’s not the trainee’s fault, is it?” Blaze asked, beginning to become desperate, “I mean, it’s the trainer who calls the Challenge, not the trainee!”
“The trainee always has the option to decline the Challenge,” Slicer corrected him, “Nobody forces them to do it. If they back down before accepting it, no saloli will think any worse of them.”
“If I had known that I wouldn’t have accepted!” Blaze shouted. Why hadn’t anyone mentioned this to him before? Thunder was far bigger than him, and would probably be able to squash Blaze like a bug.
“Well, it’s too late now,” Slicer admonished, sounding just as he did on Blaze’s first day of training, “If you back out now you’ll still shame Icefire.”
Panic began to grip Blaze’s mind, “What do I do?”
“The only thing you can do is fight Thunder.” Faith answered, not a twinkle of worry in her gaze, “I wouldn’t worry about it, you’re a very gifted fighter.”
“That he is,” Slicer said proudly, “If anyone can beat that lump of brown fur, it’s Blaze.”
Despite this praise, Blaze still didn’t feel reassured, “But what if I don’t?”
“Well, you got yourself into this mess, it’s your own fault if you can’t get out of it,” Slicer chastised him. With that, Slicer turned and made his way back towards the Common Tree, where Icefire’s normal saloli slept. Not knowing what else to do, Blaze sought out Jasper. He found him near the Trainee’s Tree, gazing fondly into its branches.
“What are you doing here?” Blaze asked.
“Just saying goodbye,” Jasper responded, “This is where I’ve slept ever since I left the Nursery Branch. It’s like my home. You wouldn’t understand, probably having never slept in the same tree for a long time as an outsider.”
“R-right.” Blaze said, forcibly reminded of his old house, no Jeremy’s old house. Blaze and Jeremy Lander were now two completely different beings.
“But what about you?” Jasper asked, turning to look at his friend, “You accepted the Challenge! Why?”
“I didn’t know what it was,” Blaze said miserably, “I didn’t know what would happen if I lost. How good a fighter is Thunder?”
“He’s the best fighter of all the trainees. Or, at least he was.”
“What do you mean he was?” Blaze asked, casting a sidelong glance at the runt.
Jasper had a wicked gleam in his eye, “Well, he wasn’t trained to fight by Slicer, was he?” He asked, every word soaked in confidence.
“Yeah, trained,” Blaze responded, nervously. Trained a lot. Jasper didn’t seem to notice Blaze’s anxiousness, and turned to head back to the center of the camp, just as Rust leapt back on top of the stone.
“It is time for the Challenge of Determination to take place!” he called, “May Icefire gather around the Speaking Stone.” Once all of Icefire was assembled around the rock, Rust continued, “May Blaze and Thunder both come forward.” Blaze’s heart raced as he made his way to the front of the crowd to stand beside the Speaking Stone. Thunder did the same. “These two trainees have accepted the Challenge, both knowing what will happen should they lose. But let them know
that no matter how disgraced they become, there will always be a place for them here in Icefire.” Icefire was absolutely silent with anticipation. Most of them had not seen anything like this before. A fight between tribemates? It was unheard of! “Form a circle five feet across in every direction,” Rust instructed his tribe. The other saloli hastened to obey him. Soon there was a circle just as he had described around the Speaking Stone. Blaze and Thunder were in the center. “Blaze, Thunder, move to opposite ends of the circle,” They did. “Face each other.” They did. “There will be no underhanded moves in this fight,” Rust instructed them, “No biting ears, no eye or neck strikes. You will have a clean fight. Do you agree to these terms?”
Legends of the Saloli: Approaching Storm Page 8
