Furion's Trials (Book Two of the Items Trilogy)

by H. Lee Morgan, Jr

  Chapter 4

  Alex’s dreams came to an end as Gerieg’s voice brought his attention back to reality. “…like the Central Mother wishes to expedite our meeting.” His weary grey eyes fluttered for a few moments until focusing on his surroundings became clear and sharp again. The night’s campfire had all but burned to ash and the sun hadn’t risen quite yet. Kikren and Gerieg stood on the east side of the camp, peering away from the campsite. Apparently they were the only ones who remained awake for three distinctive sets of snoring continued their rhythm.

  Alex moved away from the unconscious and oblivious Shade to stand. His movement didn’t go unnoticed as Gerieg turned in his direction to nod in a morning acknowledgement. Alex returned the gesture in kind and felt his voice change to incorporate Kikren into the conversation. “Good morning gentlemen, what were you talking about?”

  Kikren inclined his head respectfully to say “The trees have worked during the night to create a straight path for us. Come see.”

  Although many people cannot see clearly at night Alex has never had their difficulty. Standing beside the manservant, he could see a wide path making a clear line as far as any could possibly see. The path was wide enough for their partners to easily run together and not worry about the path being narrow. The soil was loose and overturned to show fresh nutrients that haven’t been used. It reminded Alex of the path they took in the journey to rescue Lily, minus the swamp and endless amount of biting insects.

  Then a silent and familiar presence began stalking up behind Alex, but he already knew who it was. His voice changed again as he asked “Doesn’t this remind you of anything?”

  Shade had appeared beside his brother and was rewarded with a pat to his broad shoulder as he stopped to gaze off into the distance. He then said with caution. “Yes, it does. It reminds me of the trap we fell into last time.”

  They chucked together and felt the strained nostalgia.

  Soon after Alex rubbed out Shade’s muscles, that didn’t ache as much this morning, he stretched with Gerieg and found it pained him not. Alex’s muscles didn’t strain as much yesterday and he had a full night’s rest. Still not fully recovered yet, he managed to keep up with only minor difficulty. They then packed their gear and mounted for another day’s ride. Then they ran as they did yesterday, together and swifter than before since Shade had recovered during the night as well.

  For the next five days they traveled in this way. The physical routine and punishments continued with stories afterwards, that still failed to cause a reaction like they all had hoped. And that made Gerieg less patient with Alex and he would feel it the next night as Gerieg’s swordsmanship took his frustrations out by releasing them upon Alex’s body in a new set of multicolored welts.

  During their run on the morning of the sixth day inside Widow’s Forest they heard a frightening shriek somewhere nearby. When all of them went to investigate to see what transpired they saw an Akaror in the process of devouring a full grown wild boar. Elo had to force Shade to the ground by digging his claws into his hindquarters because he wanted to kill the Akaror before the snake could chance upon eating them.

  Camouflaged as a tree, the Akaror was a predator both Shade and Alex despised with a vengeance. It wasn’t as large as the one that tried to eat them several months ago, but their species always churned their stomachs. Elo released his hold on Shade only when he gave his word that he wouldn’t attack out of rage. Though he could have dove into his shadow to escape Elo’s hold, on some level Shade wanted his master to keep him from doing something that he would have regretted later. When Shade eventually gave his word and they walked back to the path Alex saw that Elo’s claws had actually pierced Shade’s natural armor. He remembered Shade’s claws slicing through chainmail like a sharp knife through fresh bread and didn’t think of it until then, but the Big Three are physically equipped to handle one another. It was frightening to see Shade’s defense being broken by claws that not even steel nor item have ever cut through. His wounds only broke the skin and quickly clotted so he ran hard for the rest of the day without much discomfort.

  Before Alex went to sleep on the sixth night Elo told Shade to join him for a stroll through the night. His pride was still wounded from the Akaror incident and his master’s forceful methods in halting his anger, but he got up and trotted to Elo’s side without fear or hesitation. The Beran shared a look with Gerieg before the two of them strolled into the thunderous forest of a million voices. Alex eventually fell asleep in boredom before their return because of the continuous humming of animal and Xeal voices he endured and the vivid stories that infuriated Gerieg like never before.

  A bone chilling roar erupted from nearby and Alex started into waking. It had been only a few hours after he fell asleep, but now he was instantly awake.

  Wide eyed, Alex searched in the direction of the roar. It came from Elo as he fought with something nearly as large as himself not twenty feet away from where he slept. Enormous paws swiped at his opponent and a deadly muzzle snapped at the target. His mane shook and bristled on end and the powerful muscles under dull yellow fur moved with the force to uproot mature trees. He roared again, filling the night with his primal fury and outrage.

  The attacker fought with desperation. Its coat was as black as the surrounding night and moved as best it could under such a large and powerful opponent. As Elo swiped again with a front paw it connected on the creature’s side.

  The large creature yelped in pain.

  Yelped? Not many creatures yelped nor were they near the size of a Beran lord. The dark coat, swift movements for such a huge fiend, frightened gold eyes and fighting a losing battle quickly gave him fear for it was...

  Shade!

  Elo was fighting Shade with the intent to kill.

  What is happening? Why? Why is Elo trying to kill my brother? Was this all a ploy to lure us into relaxing only to kill us? Why, they had a multitude of chances before now. Why was this happening? Shade couldn’t win a confrontation as he was and he knows that. Thousands more instant questions raced through him as Alex searched the area for Kikren, Sheer and most of all Gerieg. They weren’t anywhere in sight to stop this and Elo was going to kill Shade.

  Then the worst happened, Elo rammed his head against Shade’s side and Shade toppled and rolled along the ground, growling in pain and throwing debris in nearly every conceivable direction. Then Elo charged without pause and pounced upon Shade, obscuring Alex’s view of the attack.

  Shade was going to die. Alex knew Elo could pierce and circumvent Shade’s impenetrable fur. No one could help him survive such an opponent… except him. Alex needed save him. He needed him alive. He needed his faithful companionship. Shade needed him too.

  “SHADE!!!”

  Alex’s heart began to drum far beyond that of the natural speed of fear. He watched as Elo seemed to slow in his deadly movements. Strength surged through his every fiber and it was welcomed openly. Alex’s own tiredness and pain was nothing in the face of trying to save someone he dearly cared about. Heat poured off his body in waves and he then realized his abilities had finally been triggered when it was needed most. Knowing he now had the strength to stop this, Alex effortlessly arose to his feet.

  Forgetting caution, he leapt over the fire and sped to Elo’s position. With both of his hands, Alex firmly grabbed huge hind legs. Planting his feet solidly in the path’s soil, he wrenched his body in such a way that he jerked Elo’s powerful limbs out from under him. Alex gained a better grasp during the movements and leaned back even further, twisting his torso sharply further to the left. Gaining a tremendous amount of momentum he stepped into the move and twisted even faster. When he had almost turned completely around Elo was under his complete control. With the surging strength and instantaneous speed Alex released his grasp, launching Elo’s hulking form towards the trees behind them. As the giant’s body flew a smaller flicker jumped in his path. Suddenly Elo twisted in an impossible way and slowed midair, even before hitting th
e ground almost thirty feet away. Alex then noticed the shadowy form was Gerieg. Fearing fighting the both of them at once, Alex turned to get Shade as far away from here as possible. From the attack, he knew Shade wouldn’t be in any shape to run, Alex knew he could run for them both for a short distance.

  As he turned to where Elo pounced on Shade, he wasn’t there. The disturbed ground showed that he did land heavily because his weight had pressed the soil down and several strikes dug in the soil. He wasn’t there though.

  “Alex?” He turned to his right and not ten feet away was Shade’s head on the ground. For a moment Alex paled and feared that his sibling had been decapitated and been killed, but then he watched as the shadow beneath the head moved and the head rose from the ground. Shoulders appeared, followed by his back and soon he rose completely from the moving shadow to his full height. Shade had escaped harm through his shadow.

  Alex barked in anger and fear “Let’s get out of here before they kill us!”

  “No,” He said with a calmness that made his brother’s thoughts become stunted. Then he smiled in a disarming way. “it is all right.”

  Before Alex knew it a warm pressure grasped his elbow. Danger returned to his thoughts and he jerked his arm forward to kick at whoever stood behind him, without a second thought. With a solid connection from the kick he looked over his shoulder to see Gerieg flying away from him and clutching his abdomen. Gerieg twisted in such a way that he landed on his feet and came to a stop by Elo’s side.

  “Calm yourself, big brother.” Shade said while slowly approaching. In this state it seemed to take several seconds for him to step again. “We are in no danger.” He stated matter-of-factly like this was all staged.

  With those words, relief to hear his voice swelled into joy, but not for long. The shaking spasms began in Alex’s fingers and within five seconds his entire body began violently convulsing. This time the cost in using the heightening abilities were worse than ever.

  Suddenly Gerieg appeared between him and Shade. His blue eyes showed he was also filled with a thousand thoughts, but worry dominated them all at the moment. Though Alex’s body felt hot Gerieg touched him with warm hands. His worried tone became that of a master and not a companion. Gerieg’s words were so quick that Alex understood them with perfect clarity. “Alex, keep it together. Do not focus on stopping yourself . What you need to do is run with me. Do it, or you might possibly die this time. Your shaking has become too dangerous to continue standing here. We must move!” Gerieg impatiently grabbed a fistful of Alex’s right shoulder’s cloth, turned around and began dragging his student. The spasms and shaking was forced to do as told or be dragged.

  Fighting against the trembling urgency of his body was difficult to do, but Alex managed to force a foot forward and then another and another. Soon he was forced into running along the path while being led by Gerieg who constantly looked between him and the trail. Knowing that he needed to burn off the crash of his body, Alex’s arms began swinging in a familiar rhythm. Once the movement was properly established the spasms slowed to being manageable to control. Gerieg saw this change and gave an approving smile while releasing his grasp of Alex’s tunic.

  Then suddenly Gerieg’s run changed into something Alex has never seen before. Instead of running with both legs in quick succession, he began making powerful leaps. The movement seemed oddly natural for some reason. Every time he would need to take a step, Gerieg would plant a foot on the ground and make a forward jump with the one leg and the next leap he made was with the other. Every individual leap was a full second apart. Instead of running like a human, he was actually making short, one legged, bounds. Even Alex could see the use of running in such a way; it saved energy and stamina while also keeping one’s speed at its peak. For every five steps Gerieg took one. Why not try it?

  Wanting to distract the anger from what happened Alex tried mimicking how his master moved. He’d bring his bent knee higher than usual while the left foot had thrust him forward. When the leap reached its peak he’d bring his right leg down and the left up. Gerieg watched this change with fascination as he ran effortlessly by Alex’s side. The change in running style pleased him. Gerieg was teaching by example without even realizing what he was doing. He remained completely quiet as they raced across the land like no other creature. After a hundred or so attempts the movement became more fluid, but not anywhere near Gerieg’s level of grace.

  After what Alex assumed to be seven leagues or one-and-twenty miles of running, Gerieg caught the lad’s attention as he stated, without showing the first signs of being short on breath “Keep running while I speak to you, Alex.” his steps faltered for a moment, but after the forth bound, the rhythm returned. Gerieg saw this and began talking. “I am sorry about what happened earlier.” Alex’s anger was renewed, but his clenched jaw kept him from shouting in a rage. “I was getting desperate on trying to identify your trigger, but the stories didn’t seem to work with you. We had to use another approach to force your power to surface. I have counseled with Elo these past days as to why the stories didn’t work and he was the one who suggested that since you can do things Master Furions train years for that you do not have the same kind of trigger. There were ancient knowledge and stories my father told me about being a Furion and amongst the teachings a very rare few of our kind, who need to be shocked into revealing what their trigger is.” Gerieg then glanced at him for a moment, judging on what he needed to say next before focusing on the moonlit path again. “Earlier in the night Elo took Shade for a private conversation about you. Your partner enlightened us to several interesting facts about your personality. He told Elo that when your body is activated it was to help someone other than yourself. Your abilities awaken when someone you cherish is in danger.”

  In a tense and short voice, between each heavy breath Alex asked “Can you give examples? What are you getting at?”

  He nodded without looking over. “When you told me your story on your first harnessing your powers to kill Shade’s uncle, I should have realized this sooner. You didn’t know Lily at the time, but when she was in danger you rose to the challenge to remove her from the dangerous situation and took her place. When your uncle was executed you tried to save him. You rescued Lily from the prisons when both she and Shade were in harm’s way. And when you knew Allahandra was in imminent danger it happened yet again. You told me about other times it has overcome you and I expect they were of similar reasons.”

  “Actually” Alex spoke quickly and in earnest because those memories were flooding into his forethoughts. “in those other times no one was in imminent danger.”

  Gerieg looked at him and quickly spoke to help clarify his own confusion. “Really? Tell me what happened to cause your reaction and what you were thinking about.” And he did. Though Alex’s breath was coming steadily quicker in their run Gerieg listened intently while finally, but barely breaking a sweat. Alex explained what happened with Takka and how he learned of Lily’s execution and punched through stone. Then he spoke of Lily being raped by her master Peile. The cold look Gerieg gave said he knew of whom Alex spoke of and was a blight to his master’s eye that would be dealt with in the most gruesome ways. The only bit of information Alex kept hidden was about the feeling that came over him when he learned that King Runkamon is most likely his father.

  When he went quiet Gerieg understood that the older Furion heard the other instances. He was contemplative for a moment and then said in a lecturing tone “So your trigger isn’t a physical or mental activation, but a defensive one.” Speaking clearer he elaborated. “When you can visualize a person you care about, with perfect clarity, being in danger, your power comes to life. The words you hear nor the sights you see bring forth your abilities. It is the fear of harm for them, even if it’s imagined.” Then Gerieg turned and gave a proud and earnest smile as his blue eyes were twinkling with delight. “Alex, your trigger is protection. When you see the strong oppress the weak your strength surfaces to punish the
aggressors. Though it is a broad conclusion for me, your focus is primarily on those you have a relationship with; whether it be friendship, loyalty or even love. It is a great trigger you have.”

  “What was your trigger?” Alex asked suddenly.

  “Orphaned children from war,” He said casually and didn’t seem to mind, but Alex could see it still angered him to an extent. “I cannot stand the sight or thoughts of the military raping, pillaging and killing of non-hostile families. I’ve seen my fair share of the costs of war and parentless children break my heart.”

  After ten more minutes of silent running Alex eventually asked “Why did Master Elo attack Shade?”

  “Because Shade was the one who purposed that plan…” Gerieg watched as the lad faltered in his leaps and quickly regained his composure to catch up. In Alex’s mind there was nothing understandable. “He planned the whole thing and we were reluctant to consider it, at first. We wanted to get your opinion initially, but he was so adamant about the conclusion that he charged Elo suddenly. Elo was infuriated at being assaulted and fought back. I barely got Sheer and Kikren away before you awoke and pulled Elo away. I saw the whole thing from behind a bush and I have to say, Shade is a crafty pup.” Gerieg chuckled. “He acted frightened for your sake, but he wasn’t in any immediate danger. When Elo rammed him to the ground he sunk into his shadow. Elo quickly figured out his plan and started fighting with the dirt since he knew his back was to you and you were unable to see your partner. I was so surprised to see that Shade’s plan worked that I almost missed catching Elo from destroying a Xeal tree. The last thing he needed was to upset our hosts.”

  Knowing what he meant they both went silent. An army of angered trees sent a chill through them both. Alex was actually glad they didn’t disturb trees that are capable of fighting back.