There he was, standing, scalded by the flames of ambition. Spirit and valor were bearing each one of his movements. Granted he didn't know the "f" in

fighting, but his unceasing devotion to practice and discipline made this hurdle unimportant. In this little boy's eyes becoming great at anything wasn't a

matter of how, it was a matter of when. Beginning with the lesson, the first subject we covered was avoiding (or if not possible, counteracting) the blows

of an aggressor.

"Think of me as the bully," I said, "and I'm trying to hit you. What do you do in response?" I, relatively slowly, performed the motion of a punch towards

him. With an amateurish stiffness he put his entire face behind his forearms, as he was completely clueless.

"No, son. By doing that, the only thing you're managing to do is restricting your own vision. Let me show you how it's done." I arranged his arms into the

correct position as he watched intently. "There" I said. "Try blocking my blows again." I hit him with a few extremely light punches. "See how you can stop

me even while protecting your line of sight?"

"Yes" he responded.

"I'll hit a bit harder this time. Prepare." He was trying to ready his pose, but I started before he could perfectly set it up. Because of my experience, I

was able to soften the blows that would get through his guard. I would never harm him. After about ten hits, I halted. "You need to get ready quicker" I

said. "We will try again. Prepare." This time, he was unable to black properly, because he wasn't able to bring his body into the right position while

defending. A few blows softly landed on his stomach and face. He didn't show any signs of pain. "Halt!" I said. "You need to stiffen up your guard, and

raise it quicker" I said.

"It's so hard doing both" he responded.

"Right now it is," I retorted, "but with time and dedication you will be able to do both at once."

"Okay" he said with a gleam in his eyes. "Let's try again." I was surprised by this demonstration of forbearance. Judging by his previous interactions with

me I'd assumed that he'd be unwilling to endure anything that didn't yield result immediately. This interaction proved the opposite. "Alright then," I

continued, "prepare."

He was continuing, struggling, drawing from the fire of his absolute revolution. Only a select few people I knew held the power of this attitude towards

improvement. My sister and Hearrain were among them. They didn't expect praise where there was none to give, and asked for corrections when they were

needed. Firdevie had raised the boy well. Despite this, he was still having more trouble picking up this skill than most other kids I'd practiced with.

"Halt!" I yelled. Correcting his pose again, I said "Like this. Now, prepare!"

On this attempt he was able to block most of my attacks. He was definitely getting better, though I noticed that his countenance was eerily still. His eyes

kept shining and held a still expression, but it was quite apparent that his face was obfuscating something unaddressed. We kept on training. At first, he

seemed to be improving but after a while he unsurprisingly got worse. The sweat on his forehead wasn't hard to see. Expecting him to request a break, I

kept going for a little while after that. A clear sign of anger briefly appeared on his face, but he still wasn't accepting a temporary end to what we were

doing. Like a prisoner who would refuse reprieve, he chose to undergo this exhausting trial as if trying to repent for something he did. "Stop. You can

rest" I announced. Relieved, he sat on the floor. I crouched in front of him to ask him something.

"What's on your mind?" He looked at me defiantly. "Nothing. We should keep going" he said, out of breath.

"No, there's definitely something bothering you" I responded. "It seems like you carry the burden of some previous action. I see it in your eyes." After

briefly pausing, he stared at me. I guessed that he was trying to figure out what to say. "My friend..." he managed to say. "Eirrír? What about him?" I

asked.

"It's all because of me" he lamented. "If I was stronger..." a cloak of misery shrouded his face, he looked down.

"It wasn't your fault" I told the poor boy. "You couldn't have done anything."

"I need to get stronger" he responded. "If I don't, it will be bad."

"Getting to a point where you can defend yourself and the people you love is a great goal, but you cannot go down this path out of guilt." He turned his

face towards me again, looking for someone to absolve his "sins". "You don't need to feel guilty, it wasn't your fault."

"When I went to sleep last night," he said, "I saw the burning bully. He screamed at me. He told me that I was a bad person. His skin was on fire. Then I

woke up." A noticeable, yet small amount of tears had welled up in his eyes as he said this.

"I sometimes have nightmares like that too" I responded. "That was not real, and you're not a bad person. You're trying your best, and you're trying to

get stronger so you can fight people like that. You seem more like a responsible and good person to me." Eyes filled with gratitude stared back at me

under a somber fall sun. "Do you really think so?" he asked.

"Of course," and before I could say anything else at all he hugged me with all of his might. I accepted and returned his embrace. "Thank you" he whispered

quietly. "Now, did you only want to learn from because of guilt, or do you still think it would be better to keep training?" I asked.

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"Let's keep going" said Farriz, with returned resolve in his voice. "Are we done with guarding?" he asked.

"Let's see if you've learned it well" I returned. I let go, got up off the ground and offered him my hand. Gripping it tightly, he stood up. "Prepare!" I

announced another barrage as he prepared swiftly. I threw one swing, then another slightly faster than before. Having regained all of his previous vitality

after resting, this posed only a slight challenge to him. Countering every one of my blows, upon finishing the exercise he celebrated. "I did it!"

"We're not just done yet" I retorted passively. "You cannot just defend while an assailant is trying to break you down, so we should cover how to attack

now. We'll practice countering your opponents moves more later."

"Understood."

And so, the day drifted by as our lesson carried on. Not letting his current physical weakness interrupt his zeal, the boy kept unceasingly following my

instructions. Now that his emotional tethers had been cut, he was no longer pushing himself to the breaking point. Evidently he was learning and getting

better still. The only difference between a few minutes ago and now was the resoluteness and clarity that he had added into his movements. That sense of

loathing directed towards an assigned malignant self was no longer there. His body and arms were getting tired, but the eyes now held within them a much

vivacious pulse. Small yet unwavering fists kept trying to strike me. Farriz was now much more careful when it came to what he was capable of. I didn't

witness him trying to push himself into total collapse again for the rest of our session, although there were a few times whern he tried to give himself a

break prematurely. He only got them when it was appropriate. When our alloted time had passed, the sun was moving towards this resplendent earth once more.

My student, out of breath and exhausted, raised his up from where he was sitting. "I commend your spirit" I said. "It's up to you if you want to keep

training with me. Will you be coming back tomorrow?" I asked. A single jovial yet fierce glance along with an eager "Yes!" set the routine in stone. Farriz

raised himself up from the ground and sprinted towards me, with both arms raised to the sides. He ran into me and embraced me. "Thank you so much" he said.

"I wouldn't be helping you if you didn't deserve it. Go back home now, son. You must have your own things to do." He nodded with stern approval.

"Goodbye!" he said, and ran home as fast as he could. To make sure that he'd be okay, I kept my watch on him until he disappeared behind some tents. I went

back home.

Upon entering my humble abode, I saw that one of Geylep's carvings had somehow gotten knocked down from the table. I immediately ran over and picked up

from the ground. Planning to place the masterpiece on top of the table, I made the mistake of examining it. Smooth and masterful yet out of proportion and

filled to the brim with unbridled emotion, this depiction of Lalıcsereínch Dehreth among the wolves of the Díölthú mountain was never failed to astound me.

Passing years brought with them each new and exciting means to appreciate this statue, although this property could be applied to all of Geylep's statues.

Most sculptors would opt to paint the wolves green, and place the iconic hero into indistinct armor befitting a regular knight more so than a figure of

legend. This little work of art was quite unique in that way. The wolves were draped in a mixture of white, grey and black furs. This was accurate to the

actual written words in the Tophan epics. Dehreth, with his green tunic and red baggy pants, was also dressed up with congruence to the source material in

mind. Another distinct choice was the replacement of his widely recognized halberd with a spear. This was also in accordance with the original text.

Adding to this already peculiar set of artistic decisions was this thing's particular style. Her doctrine when it came to her adaptations from texts

was always the same: The adapted artwork should capture the essence of the original, even if that means some unorthodox choices must be made. In the Tophan

epics Dehreth's journey through the underground caverns and the Díölthú mountains is a strange one, and symbolizes the overcoming of the unfamiliar. Turning

the animals and character involved into somewhat surrealist caricatures of themselves was a justifiable choice, at least in her eyes.

That was what she was about, I think. In her heart lied a drive to express and emote in ways that exceeded human limitations. Opening up new horizons of

qualia. Besides creating literal reflections of existing works, most often she would devote herself to more avant-garde pursuits. These types of things

would fulfill her desires to push the limits of our emotional capabilities. Sometimes I wonder if she ever dreamed of becoming an alien creature. While I

had gotten lost in my own thoughts, my original intent of placing the statuette on the table had escaped me. I kissed the precious remnant, and carefully

placed it where it belonged. Taking off my red band, I dutifully placed it on the table. Among the immaculate artworks, it found its place in the shrine.

Suddenly, a light border of white appeared in the periphery of my vision. Hearrain had called me. I left my house, to seek her council. A sky consumed by

orange torpor welcomed me outside. Walking among the lively children and tired adults,I made my way to where she lived.

Greeting me in front of her home, she said "Well I'd normally be annoyed at your consistent punctuality, but this matter is of utmost importance. Come

inside." While inside, her husband also greeted me. "My frend, eet soo very nays to see yuu" he said as he got up from a his cushion. Shaking my hand he

continued, "We must tolk, it is horrible" It was nice to see that he remained the must Brórur of us all throughout the years.

"So," I turned to look at our own Uche Sichüra, "what is this urgent matter that you must disclose to me?"

"The citadel can detect gleamtrees now." I stared at her, with nothing to say. I returned my solemn gaze into the ground as she continued.

"It's the new piece of tech that they've imported from Düşüal Mreadaile. It can detect unusual repellent magic."

"Them finding out about us is only a matter of time, then?" I asked.

"Exactly."

"What would they start with first?" I wondered to myself. Would they release an entire extermination plague on us? Or would they mercifully drive us out of

the entire country, so we would all die alone?

"If you're wondering," she cut through my dark thoughts, "they will not employ and spells of mass destruction. The collateral damage would be incalculable.

An entire army dedicated to genocide is much more likely to be sent our way" she said.

"H-How did you learn this information? Are you completely certain that this is the case?" I asked desperately.

"The news was all over town. Most citizens are excited for this. They call it the 'final blow'" she explained. "I know it's sudden, but our only choice is

to inform the other colonies and tell them to head for Kadonchaagon while going there ourselves." Indomitable fear had consumed our spirits.

"It's do or die."