Pyrus

by Sean Watman

  When I had finished, Kris unpacked the food and water storage bag and placed the contents in a wooden container almost as tall as me. It looked really cool. It had a lever on the food side and when you pushed it down, a little door opened up in the middle and your food would fall down. The water side had a pull string, kind of like the ones you see on a lawn mower, and when you pulled it, a tunnel would come out and the water would flow down. You needed to place your mouth right near the end of the tube, or else the water would just flow to the ground. It required timing, and it was an amazing way to get a drink.

  When we finished unloading all the gear from the bags, Kris went outside. I thought I should follow, but he never asked me to come along, so I waited until he returned. He returned quickly, carrying two giant rocks. My first reaction was shock at how he could carry them, but then I remembered the magii chambers in his palms. He placed the rocks down right in front of the waterfall on the cave side.

  “Your first lesson,” Kris stated. “We are going to meditate on these rocks, and you are going to try to open the magii gate in your head.”

  “Shouldn't you teach me how to open the gates?” I asked.

  “You need to discover how to open them on your own. Each person's gates open differently depending on their personality.” I really hated how things in Pyrus had to be solved on your own. Couldn't there be an instruction manual that told me how to do everything?

  “How do you meditate properly?” I asked. Kris laughed, sat on his rock, crossed his legs, made his fourth fingers and thumbs on each hand make a circular shape, closed his eyes, and started to control his breathing. His breathing was very rhythmic, in through his nose, out through his mouth. I copied his stance, closing my eyes and controlling my breathing.

  I continued meditating for most of the day, maintaining a steady pace of breathing, but nothing was happening. I felt no changes at all. I tried so hard to get something to occur, but nothing did. I finally opened my eyes and looked to my right, ready to tell Kris that I couldn't do it, but he wasn't there. I turned around to see him sitting at the camp, relaxing by the fire with Aquas. I got off the rock and fell down. My legs were so stiff, but I was only sitting down for a couple of hours.

  “How did it go?” Kris asked me without even turning around.

  “Nothing,” I answered. “Not even a tingle. How come my legs are so stiff?”

  “That is what happens when you meditate for seven days,” he replied. My mind was racing—I think I almost fainted from shock.

  “How could I have been meditating for seven days? I don't feel hungry or thirsty or anything!” I finally sputtered out.

  “Whenever you meditate, you go into your own world; therefore, the time in the outside world has no meaning,” he said with a touch of sympathy in his voice.

  “Can you at least explain to me how you channel the magii?” I asked, getting back on topic. He just stared back at the fire and didn't say a word. I walked back to the campfire and sat across from him, making sure that he couldn't escape this question by being silent.

  “Picture the magii chambers throughout your body like the water holder,” he finally said. “The water being the magii, the container being the main chamber and the tube being where you want it to travel to.” His explanation made sense, so I started to get up to go back to the rock.

  “Do not even bother trying,” Aquas said with a snort. “You are too incompetent to even learn how it works, let alone channel it.”

  “Let me tell you something,” I said, walking straight toward her. She raised her head and glared at me until I was right next to her. My brown eyes faced her blue eyes, and I whispered in a quiet but serious voice, “I am fed up with you treating me like I am and idiot . I have done nothing wrong to you, and if you do not shut up, the first attack spell I learn will be used on you until I feel satisfied with how you're treated.” Her look of defiance changed to wide-eyed horror, but I just stared at her. I was amazed with myself, but also scared. Back home on Earth I could never utter a death threat to someone, let alone think of one, but here I spoke to her like it was something I had been doing all my life. This alteration scared me, but I felt it wouldn't be the only thing that would change over time.

  “It seems I misjudged you,” she softly whispered. “I guess not everyone can maintain themselves in our world.” I was stunned. There was no threat, no anger, but what she said felt like a slap in the face. I said nothing more. I resumed walking toward the rocks, and then my knees buckled and everything went black.

  I opened my eyes to find myself under my cozy fur blanket. I must have passed out, but for what reason, I didn't know. My head was lifted, and I tasted cold water flowing down my throat.

  “You overexerted yourself,” Kris explained. “Even though you went for seven days without food or water, that does not mean that your body forgot that you needed it. Remember not to meditate for too long or you will die when you return.” It's funny how death usually reminds people not to go past their limits.

  Once I had finished recovering, I went back to the rock. Kris protested greatly, saying that I was risking too much. He's probably right too, I thought. But I ignored my thoughts, sat on the rock, and struck up my meditation pose. I pictured the water container and imagined myself pulling the lever, letting water flow down through the tunnel until it reached the end. I felt strangely calm and relaxed. My muscles felt tense, but at the same time, I didn't need to flex them. When I opened my eyes, I could calculate how fast the water flowed just by looking at it, and I could measure the angle of the sun, therefore determining how much sunlight got through to the cave. I had succeeded in opening the magii gate in my mind.

  I got off the rock and raced over to Kris. I didn't even have to tell him; the look on his face told me that he knew I had done it. I glanced at Aquas, and she looked away. I then heard my stomach gurgle, so I knew I must have been mediating for a couple of hours. I ran over to the food side of the container and pushed down the lever. Rumbleberries fell onto my lap, and I quickly pulled away their skin, gorging on the food like it was my last meal.

  “Congratulations!” Kris beamed. “That is one obstacle out of the way. At least we now know that you can use magii.”

  “What're the other obstacles?” I asked, my mouth full of berries. I was eager to learn how to cast a spell.

  “Now we need to see whether or not you can learn the magic of Tidran. Then you have to master casting magic.” He continued listing the next steps, but I was too excited about passing my first obstacle to care. It was all so amazing. Suddenly my head started to hurt. It was agonizingly painful. I tried to lessen the pain, but it was searing through my skull. The pain in my arms was nowhere close to this feeling. I dropped to my knees, clutching my head and crying out to Kris for help.

  “Cut off the magii flow!” Kris roared. “Aquas help me! I need you”

  “It is his own fault that he is in this situation,” Aquas said. “I see no need to help him.” That really pissed me off more than normal. It seemed as if Kris was not up for her attitude either, because he did the one thing I thought impossible.

  “Aquas get over here now or I swear to god that things will be worse for you than they are for Jack right now!” I was dumbstruck that Kris would talk to her that way, and so was Aquas. She glared at him for a moment, bared her teeth, but then silently surrendered.

  “Jack!” Kris said, turning his attention toward me, “Picture turning off the container! You need to let the magii go or you will die! Your body cannot handle that much compressed magii.” I tried picturing things that turn off until my mind settled on me turning the water off on a faucet. The headache gradually started to subside, but right before it died, it released a final wave of pain that caused me to scream. A red haze formed around my body, but it died almost immediately. I collapsed onto the floor, still awake, but unable to move.

  “Now is our chance!” Kris yelled. He quickly chanted a healing spell, and I immediately felt better. I sat up a
nd stared at Kris.

  “What … just happened?” I asked him timidly. I had blindingly dived into matters that I didn't understand, and once again, nearly died because of it. After all of the warnings Kris had given me, I still wanted to push past my limits. What's wrong with me? I wondered. I was never like this back home. What's happening to me?

  Kris responded breathlessly, “That is the result of too much magii flowing into your chamber at once. The chamber was not big enough, so it needed someplace to go. With more magii flowing through, there was no way to go back, so the magii exited through your body by some other means. What I saw has never happened before. I completely underestimated the strength of your magii chambers!” Aquas skulked off, angry at both of us.

  Training resumed the next day, but at a much slower pace because I didn't want another accidental incident and I was scared shitless. Who wouldn't be? I definitely didn't want to think about what would've happened if Kris hadn't been there. As for the training, I learned how to channel the magii into all the chambers. We developed a three-day routine. I would learn how to channel the magii into a certain chamber one day, and then I would spend the next two days channelling into that specific chamber, increasing the size and mastering how to turn it on and off without having to meditate. It was a long and tiring process, mostly because I had no Kreysor of my own, so I had to rely on my own energy. Whenever I had free time during the two days of practicing, I would spend it running around with the animals in the forest.

  I had finished the chamber training by the sixth week, so Kris taught me my first spell as a little surprise.

  “The main thing with spell casting is that you cannot let anything distract you or else you will lose the flow of magii or sometimes have the spell backfire.” I nodded in understanding. I wasn't going to try anything risky this time; I had learned my lesson.

  “Your first spell will be a minor healing one, Fuhrhealminok. I will assist you if the compression gets too major, but otherwise, feel free to give it a try,” Kris said.

  “Kris?” I asked him, “Before I begin, I need to know, do some spells require channelling to multiple chambers?”

  “That is a very good question. “Kris said. “Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to it. I have never been taught a spell that requires multiple channelling—but you never know. I do not think I have to remind you that even if you do not cast the spell on your first try, the magii will still be consumed.” I nodded, knowing all too well the result. My dreams were haunted by my first encounter with magii compression.

  I felt the relaxation, but my muscles tightened. I no longer had to close my eyes and think about it; that's how natural it became. I continued channelling into my palms until I felt confident that I had stored enough magii into the chambers. I took a deep breath and shouted in a clear voice, “Fuhrhealminok!” The first thing I felt was the usual exhaustion of channelling, but this time there was no ache due to magii compression. The magii was exiting through my palms and was forming a white aura around my hands. I was so fascinated by it that I lost my focus and the aura disappeared. The spells aftereffects came though as I was hit with a wave of exhaustion.

  “Well done, Jack!” Kris praised. “On your first try too! It seems like you will be able to learn my tribe's spells after all.” That one sentence made up for the six weeks of struggling, and I felt truly happy to no longer be on the sidelines. We needed to leave our camp because we were almost out of berries, but for that night, we ate, drank, and celebrated.

  Chapter 9: The Test

  I awoke this morning rather early. It's been six weeks since I began my training with Kris, but it seemed like only yesterday that I came to Tereer. I've actually started to forget memories of my time on Earth. It's not that I'm not homesick, but I've been so busy and fascinated that I've never really thought about going home. I sat up and looked back on everything up until this point, and then I got up and woke Kris up. He groggily mumbled the waterfall opening phrase, which I still don't know, and I exited our cave. The water masked the entrance behind me as I left. I couldn't get back in until Kris woke up, so the only way to go was into the forest.

  I reentered the forest, following a river that joined the waterfall, then I stopped. Something felt different today than in my previous visits. I didn't realize what it was until I felt a cool breeze on my face, blowing my hair away (I really needed to do something about it). At first I thought that winter was settling in, but I don't think that this country has a winter. I mean, it has another sun instead of a moon! How could it get cold?

  Clouds obscured the sky and replaced it with lightning and rain. These are no ordinary thunderclouds, I thought. I may be new to this place, but the weather does not change in a matter of minutes, at least I don't think so. I knew I had to check out what was going on, but logic was telling me to get Kris. Unfortunately, my curiosity was overpowering my logic, so I ran to the river to get a quick drink before setting off, and I froze.

  This was the first time I had seen my reflection in a while, and I looked … different. If I walked into my home on Earth, my family would call the cops for having a stranger break in. That basically describes how I looked. My hair had grown so long that it was almost down to my shoulders. I was growing a beard, and I looked physically fit. I definitely needed to do something about my hair though. I stared at myself for a long time, contemplating the best method to cut my hair, when I heard thunder. I had been so transfixed by how much I changed that I completely forgot about why I went to the river in the first place. I quickly started drinking as much water as I could.

  I slowed my breathing into a rhythmic beat and started the channelling process. My thigh chambers were slowly filling with magii, and I was making sure that I was channelling as much as possible, because hey, it never pays to be prepared. When I felt a cramp in my thighs, I knew that I was ready to go. My magii chambers were full, so I set myself into a running stance, and since it is my first time doing an actual field test, I want to have a little fun with it.

  “Three … Two … One … Go!” I yelled, and I am off like a speeding bullet. I was always amazed at the speed Kris could run, but truth be told, I think I was going faster. Five trees are passing me a second, animals are blurs as I speed by them, probably terrifying them, but the rush is just so amazing that I had to cry out in joy. My eyes are getting watery, but I'm going too fast to just stop. I've been running for a while now, the excitement dying down a little since I'm glancing at the same surroundings no matter where I look. Even though each tree is a different shade of green, it's still all green!

  It's starting to get difficult to keep the steady pace. The nice little clearing that had few trees and a straight path is gone, and now I'm back into the major part of the forest. Trees are everywhere, so I sidestep, slide around, between, and under tree branches, still maintaining my speed. I glance up at the sky, and I notice that I'm getting closer to the thunder clouds; they're only a few kilometers away. I lost which direction I'm going and as soon as my eyes shift back:

  “Oh crap!” A tree is right in front of me. “Brace for impact!” The collision is unavoidable now. Thud!

  I've been lying here for about ten minutes. I have no clue as to how far I am until I reach the abnormality in the sky, so I think that I should keep the rest of my magii until I really need it. Unfortunately, I can't effectively cut off the flow without closing my eyes just yet, so I hope that any potential threats don't decide to attack. I think I'm getting a little paranoid about enemy encounters, but in my first week here, I was attacked twice, so I think I deserve to be.

  I finally get up, and I immediately fall back down. The strain of magii overuse is taking its toll on my body, and it feels awful! Every advantage has to have a disadvantage! My mind curses. Why can't I just get the awesome stuff with no downside? Because that's the unfortunate thing about life! I manage to get a glimpse of where I am, and it turns out that I'm right below a giant black thundercloud. I see that about halfway down the wall of b
lack clouds, puffy white ones take over and rule the other half. It looks more like two armies facing each other when you look at it a second time.

  The only cloud that seemed to compromise was a giant gray one. This cloud is bigger than the rest, and it is booming thunder, and flashes are occurring inside the cloud. I stare for a minute … or five … or maybe ten until I finally decide to move toward the grey battle cloud.

  I'm climbing a hill, but I'm so tired it feels like a mountain. It's steep enough to be one. As I climb, approaching the battle cloud, reality dawns on me: I have no weapon! Smooth move, Jack! Well, I have my fists, and I can channel my reserves to increase my strength. But my feet just stayed put, immobilized by fear. Obviously my brain isn't providing a good solution to my problem. Mental note: Ask Kris for a weapon!

  My walking resumes, now out of sheer will power. I reach the top, and I think I just nearly fainted. I am looking at a wasteland. What I was standing on was black ash that may have once been grass. All the trees that may have populated this section are practically gone; the ones left are either black or frozen. Hopefully if there were any animals here, they got out safely before Armageddon struck. That was the better word to describe it, either Armageddon or a small version of an atomic bomb without the radiation.