Stronghold: Legends are Made!

Chapter 5:

Training.

"Is it just me or did the place get a little...chillier?" I asked Garret as I held my hands under my armpits to keep warm. He simply shrugged and passed by me saying "Meh...seems fine to me." I decided to use my power to bring up my body temperature, which made me feel toasty warm. I then caught up with Garret and Alisa, who were whooping it up with laughter. "Aww, well don't you two make a cute couple?" I asked out loud. Alisa turned her head towards me and mumbled through her teeth, "Don't ruin this for me." She then turned her head back forward and continued to laugh with Garret. Soon, we got to the top of the mountain and I was greeted by the monks who did so the first time I came.

"Come on in to the temple. We can talk about your training then." Said Alisa as she opened the door to the temple. I stepped inside and lowered my temperature to normal as Garret held the door for Alisa. I sat down on one side of the square mat in the center of the floor. Then Garret sat down next to Alisa, and the mat revealed the Tsunami Clan's symbol of Power; A huge tidal wave large enough to level a city, drawn within a circle. "Look into the Tsunami wave to see where, in the hands of fate, the future lies." Said Alisa as she stuck her arm out towards the Symbol.

'This must be where her visions come from,' I thought and I leaned forward to see the future. I hoped it would be much more different than the future I came back from. I looked, and I saw a tombstone, engraved ln script on the front of it spelling out HERE LIES FLUTTERSHY. May your soul rest in peace, for one day, I will see you again. The tombstone was in the middle of a peaceful meadow, and the vision showed a hand placing flowers in front of the tombstone. The image then changed to me standing on a tall cliff with Twilight in human form by my side. I was wearing armor made of the toughest yet finest gold, which was somewhat covered by ceremonial robes. I held a staff in my hands, and I was staring out into the horizon. I was older, around my mid forties.

My beard was grown out into the kind you see on lumberjacks, and my physique was lithe and muscular. I was smiling, as if I had finally brought peace to this land. I leaned back, and looked up at Alisa, and she asked what I saw. I explained to her, and she said, "Well, it looks to me as if you dealt with a hard sacrifice in the near future. I'm sorry. But we must train to give you a fighting chance...to give us a fighting chance." I got up, and exclaimed, "Bring it." Alisa smirked, and gestured me to come forward. I did, and she said "Your training starts...now." And I fell through a hole in the floor.

"Wha...where the hell am I?" I asked as I looked around me. I was surrounded in darkness. I tried to get up, but something from the ground tugged at my arms, a clear sign that this was part of my training. A scenario appeared, and it showed I was chained, and about to be executed by Discord. He lifted up a sword, and said, "Any last words?" I tried to use my fire, but the chains were fireproof. So I tugged at the chains with all my might. Finally, my right arm was free, and I grabbed the chain. I looked up, and whipped the chain forward. It wrapped around the sword, and I tugged it out of his hands. I then whipped the chain around Discord and brought him forward.

"Well done, hero." said Discord as he faded away. The area around me then vanished, revealing Alisa standing in front of me. She smiled, and said in a soothing tone, "That was to test your reflexes. You came a few seconds too close with your reflexes. A few months might do you some justice. Next is your fighting skill." I got up, the thing holding me gone. The area changed, revealing ten guards surrounding me. They charged, fists held high. Before I could do anything, I was punched in the back. I ducked as another tried to uppercut me. I then punched both his knees, causing him to fold over his newly shaped legs. I then grabbed him by the head and lifted him up, throwing him into another guard. I then back-flipped over the guard behind me and grabbed his chin and forehead.

I snapped his neck so hard, the force applied to his head made his body twirl. I teleported in front of the fourth one, and said, "Surprise!" as I punched his face into his skull. Another guard charged me, but I ducked and threw him over me and off the cliff that had formed there when the fighting test began. I waited as the other five charged me, then disappeared, causing the guards to punch each other in the face. As they tried to regain their senses, I reappeared and punched them all in a row with such strength that their necks snapped with a sickening crack! The area then vanished, revealing Garret this time as he said, "Good, but not good enough. You shouldn't have to rely on your powers to win a fight. You should have the melee skills to kick ass, mate! Next, is stealth training."

The area changed into a corridor, me hidden behind a section that intersects in between the corridor. I crouched down and waited for something that'd have to be part of my test. Finally, A guy walked past me. I melted into a shadow and followed him. Finally, when he stopped, I came out of the ground and snapped his neck. The area vanished and this time they both appeared, saying in unison, "At least you don't need help with something." I then flew up, and came out of the floor I fell through at the beginning of the tests. I smirked and said, "Talk about an early test."

Alisa simply looked at me and said, "You'll need a lot of training."