Norbert looked at the camp formed around the instructor's tent. Nobody had anything that could be used as shelter or bedding. Word spread between them that this was also part of the endurance test, enduring who knows how long with no resources.
As Norbert lay down on the ground, making comfortable bedding for Obsius at least to sleep on, the inside of his backpack was wrapped up in his coat. Looking up at the stars, Norbert waited as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. He was waiting for the hunger pains to hit him; he ran around all day with no food or water for that matter.
Thinking back to the previous day with the feast, he realized that most people would have only eaten nothing for breakfast if he always stayed here. Focusing back on the stars, Norbert looked for anything familiar in the night sky. Not like he would know where to look, Norbert thought, as he never really studied the stars.
Still, it left him with some warmth to know that one of those, somewhere, was the same one that he was looking at back home. Smiling, Norbert craned, seeing what the other people were doing. Most people were already sleeping or trying to, rolling up on their old clothes or using their backpacks as a pillow.
Looking around, Norbert was surprised to see how much detail he could already see. The dark had never looked so bright in his life. Swivelling his head around, Norbert looked at the details of people sleeping, trying to pick up any words and patterns on clothes people were using as pillows and still noticing that it was dark, compared to under the sun but closer to the difference under a tree, its branches creating shade and blocking the sun compared to out directly in the sunlight on a bright summers day. The darkness was always there and still is, but no longer was it something frightening, holding its mysteries close to its chest. Now Norbert could see through it; what was once mysterious now known to him.
Smiling to himself at his progress, wondering if it was grander or less than others, Norbert looked down at his hands, seeing their normal veins. Looking again, Norbert thought back to his run and the fight with the wolves. He was trying to think of what caused it compared to the other times at the gym when he last tried it. What difference pushed him further, allowing him to go over the edge?
Standing up, Norbert picked up his bag, being careful of Obsius still resting within and walked to the outskirts of the group, not wanting to disturb anyone's sleep with the possible light show he would be creating, he hoped. As Norbert placed his backpack on the ground, a cloud of dust appeared in a wave around the bag. Sitting down next to it, Norbert looked down at his hands, trying to feel if anything was different.
Not feeling anything, Norbert closed his eyes again and looked into himself. Feeling for the feeling he felt before, trying to get it out. But no matter where Norbert looked, he did not find anything. All he found was the darkness in himself even darker. Looking for the last time, he started at his fingers and toes. Imagining following his veins, he went up his arms and legs, both only feeling vacant, until he centred around his chest.
In the centre, he felt the faintest whisp coming around there. Norbert opened his eyes, looking down, feeling the pendant he was wearing to translate there. He thought he could still use some little magic, unaware of its usefulness. Looking around, Norbert wondered if there was something that he could do to continue pushing on. Looking around on the flat plain, not wanting to get off if he ran somewhere distant, Norbert decided it was time to start testing. Taking his leather jacket and pants off, Norbert rolled his pants and sleeves up, so he could see some of his skin; on his knees, hands out in front of him, Norbert lowered his body.
Doing pushups, Norbert continued. He stared down at the ground, the dust billowing from his breath. Imaging himself looking like an angry bull snorting and ready to charge someone, Norbert continued to rise and fall. Not counting, Norbert continued to go up and down until there was no more dust billowing out of the ground. Looking down, Norbert saw the cracked, dry earth, none of the dust in the way.
As Norbert looked down, Norbert saw water dripping down now onto the dirt. Looking up in the air, still doing the pushups, Norbert looked up at the sky, still able to see the stars above, no clouds covering it. Whipping his head back down, Norbert felt the sweat fly off his hair, now a trail of droplets on the dirt before him. Realizing it was his sweat, Norbert thought of stopping and wiping his forehead. But he just wanted to endure and see the magic one more time.
Closing his eyes, Norbert felt his arms cry out, his chest heaving, his back aching, feet wanting him to stop. Norbert just thought back to the blood racing through his body. Copying the path it would take from his back and chest, down his arms to his hands and back up again.
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Norbert continued into the night, with each breath feeling more powerful than the last.
Not realizing it, some people started to watch him as Norbert went up and down. For minutes they watched, slowly losing interest one by one, sleep overtaking them. Only the few that were still talking slowly stopped, watching Norbert. As he continued going up and down, they could now see him more clearly, this purple light slowly coming out of his top.
Slowly, even those people relented to the call for slumber, leaving Norbert the only one awake, still going up and down. Not seeing anymore, he let the magic of the elixir take over his mind, pushing his body to the limit. When he opened his eyes again, he could see much more precisely. A smile escaped his lips as Norbert still went up and down.
Norbert looked at his arms, the light of his veins clear under the cover of darkness whenever he could. He could see the veins he was shown in anatomy books, the ones closest to the skin shining the brightest. As he watched his arms, being hypnotized by the lightning strikes going up his arm, Norbert also saw it coming from the other side. As Norbert continued going up the arms, it was covered by his clothes, unable to see anything under the cloth, no glow coming up.
Trying to look down his shirt Norbert saw the briefest and dimmest purple streaks coming from it, nodding his agreement of how it was activating within his body, whatever the light allowed it to do. As Norbert went up and down, now hearing the snoring from others, Norbert looked up and around. To the side, he saw sleeping people, all mostly still, some slightly rolling around. Looking at them, he felt no fatigue overcome him.
Seeing the light and remembering how much more he could push himself even before taking any elixirs, Norbert continued, his arms burning steadily with each one.
Counting in his head, he said, "Just 10 more; you can do it; it's easy. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, your half way there, we still have more left 4, 3, 2, and the last one comes on. Good job, you did it; now, can't you do another 10? You did it once. Just do it again."
And once more, with a shaky breath, Norbert lowered himself once more, as that would be easy. Throughout the night, Norbert kept on going; up and down he went.
***
As Norbert lifted one last time, his arms shaky, the purple light had slowly left over the night. Norbert landed again on the ground; the dust was gone, and his back isk was slightly damp from his workout. Norbert stared up at the sky, wondering if he could move when he next woke up. As he stared up at the sky, sleep finally entering his mind, Norbert saw a light streak past behind his head. Not caring anymore, Norbert closed his eyes, sleep finally overtaking him.
***
Norbert opened his eyes and stared out at the sky without remembering the dream. The once visible stars are gone, the sun on the horizon talking up the sky and brightening it up. Looking around, Norbert found others also starting to move around and get up.
As Norbert looked at his backpack, there standing proudly was Obsius, looking out over the group, Norbert could almost imagine it was puffing its chest out in pride. Over what could lead the bird to be so full of himself, Norbert did not know. As he slowly got to his feet, the once wet ground now dry, he took off his shirt, dusting it off from the dirt and dust that stuck to it from his sweat while he slept. Quickly putting it back on, Norbert smelled himself, confirming his concern about needing a shower.
As he returned to his leather clothes, feeling them slide onto his body, Norbert looked around, seeing what would be needed. As she looked around again, the camp surrounded by the instructor's tent, she stepped into the air.
Looking around, already in the same clothes as before, she stepped out, stretching towards the air and looking towards them
"Well, I had a wonderful sleep; I don't know about you," The instructor said in her neutral tone, giving no recognition on her face for the joke she made.
Packing her things, the instructor placed her backpack on her back again. Looking around at random, she pointed in a direction at random.
"Ready to follow me again today? Let's do a better time than yesterday."
And she shot off into the distance at a run. The rest of the group followed after her more quickly than before. Norbert, still on the outskirts, ran around the crowd, not wanting to eat more dust than needed. As he continued to sprint, Obsius stuck his head out of the backpack before going back inside. Norbert cut across to the front to run with the instructor once again.
Surprisingly, he ran with no pains in his body or aches from the night before. As they continued to run on the dusty plane, the instructor not going as fast as last time and the group sticking closer together, they made it to a cord, waiting for them to follow on. And on they went, Norbert remembering the streak in the sky that he had seen the night before.
As he continued running, thinking his thoughts in front of him were some shapes sticking out of the ground. As they came closer, he saw they were bags of some sort. Finally, the group made it there, all sitting around and waiting to see what was inside.
Looking inside the bags were some food and water. Looking around, Norbert could see people stuffing their faces with food and quenching their thirst with water. Looking around, Norbert saw the instructor waiting on the side. Placing the smaller bag of food within his own, taking Obsius out to sit on his shoulder, Norbert waited for her to say something.
"Now that all of you are ready, let's start with teaching you all something", The instructor said before throwing out a stone cube on the ground. When it hit the ground, a cloud of dust formed around it, and a figure appeared before them.