The Storm Apprentice

Chapter 9

As she passed beneath the archway, Narira caught her breath. The cavern was a massive, arching space. The soaring ceiling far above her was adorned with spikes of rock that pierced downward like a jagged field of teeth. The ground was polished and smooth, but not so much that it was set apart from the rest of the cavern, instead seeming to blend into the walls with rounded corners. In the center, the cavern floor had been removed and replaced with a square of soft soil, presumably where the competitions would take place.

The walls had been honeycombed with cutouts, and many already contained eager spectators. A few passages had been cut from the rock, presumably to allow people an easy passage to the viewing areas, but Narira saw that many people were climbing up the walls, jumping from cutout to cutout.

"This place is amazing!" she said, turning to Jay with shining eyes.

"Yeah," he agreed distractedly. He was breathing quickly, his hands fidgeting with the leather grip on his Starrynt.

"Nervous?" she asked conversationally.

"A little," he admitted. "I've done this before, but it still makes me nervous. And this is my first time doing Obstacle Course."

"What exactly is that?"

"They set out some wood posts and such, and I have to go through them as fast as possible. They also give points for style."

"Of course they do," Narira said, smiling. "In my dueling assessment -- though I'm honestly not sure whether I passed, now that I think about it -- you don't just get points for beating your opposition. You have to show them precision, speed, and good reactions."

"That's what it's like here, as well," Jay told her. Some of his anxiety seemed to have lessened, although he was still fiddling with his Starrynt. "You go with Ceylis to find a place to sit. I'm going over to where contestants meet." He pointed to a sea of white and blond heads, spotted with red or occasional brown. There were about twenty people there in all, most under the age of 16. Unlike their audience, the competing apprentices weren't chatting with one another. They were either moving through basic forms or whispering with a close group, clearly trying to prepare at the last minute.

"Good luck!" Narira called after Jay as he jogged over to the group of contestants. Then she turned to Ceylis. "Where are we sitting?"

He shrugged. "You're the newcomer. You decide."

"Where can we see what's going on best?"

"Probably near the top."

"Then let's sit near the top."

As Ceylis turned and started toward the passage up, Narira interrupted him again. "And Ceylis?"

"What?" he said impatiently.

"Can we climb up?"

He stared at her for a moment. Then he grinned. "Absolutely. Just remember to carry your momentum as much as possible. It only gets harder if you stop." With a running start, he took a leap up at the first cutout, landing on the railing. Without pausing, he shot upward and grabbed the lip of the next one up, pulling straight up and landing in a crouch, ready to spring again. Instead of going higher, however, he looked back toward Narira. "Are you coming?" he teased her before continuing up the wall.

Narira charged at the wall, flushing herself with energy. It approached quickly, and she shoved herself upward, rocketing off the ground and missing the first level of viewing areas entirely. With a shriek, she slammed into the wall and began sliding downward. She landed maladroitly, then stood quickly and, face burning, hurried toward the passages.

"Hey!" a voice yelled behind her. Narira turned her head, looking over her shoulder, to see a young girl staring at her. She was rather pale, with wispy white hair that outlined a thin face. Her eyes stood apart from the rest of her, a rich, multi-layered brown tinged with a very faint green. "Everyone messes up the first time they try that," she told Narira earnestly. "So the only way you'll embarrass yourself is by giving up. Come on, I'll show you how it's done."

Narira felt a slight surprise at hearing such a tiny child say this, but she agreed and followed the girl back into the main cavern. "What's your name?" she inquired as she lead her away from the wall.

"I'm Q," the girl said. "And you?"

"Narira," she introduced herself. "Um - is it Q like the letter?"

"Yes."

Q stopped in front of her. "Stop here and turn around," she commanded. Narira did as she was told, feeling a little uncomfortable being ordered by such a young child.

"Now when you go again, " she instructed calmly, "first feel for your power. You went too high last time, so this time aim lower... but don't just aim your jump lower. Try to use less power. Use the momentum from running for most of your jump."

"So aim the same but use less magic?"

"Mostly. The most important thing is to practice, though. That's the only way you'll really get a feel for your magical capabilities."

"Alright," Narira said determinedly. "Lets go." She ran at the wall again, but this time she let her momentum do a lot of the work, only jumping with a little energy. She flew up just below the first seating spot and scrambled for the ledge with her hands, her ribs aching from being slammed into stone twice.

As she hauled herself up, she heard Q say, "Its okay. Just come down and try again."

"My trainer is waiting for me," Narira said anxiously, walking back to Q.

"Then do it right and get up to him," Q told her flatly.

Narira readied herself to try again. "So now I just need to aim between the places I hit," she told herself.

"Wrong!" Q's acclamation surprised her. "You were almost perfect on the last one. You want to land on the edge, not in the middle of the viewing place."

"Right," Narira agreed. "And I need to carry my momentum up. My trainer told me that."

"Go for it," Q encouraged her.

Narira smiled, then sprinted at the wall again. Keep balanced, she reminded herself as she ran. Now jump, and use momentum... not too low! She flung herself upward again, soaring through the still, underground air. I've got it! she thought excitedly as she fell toward the ledge. Her feet collided with the smooth stone and she felt a rush of pride. Keep going! She leapt up and back, then felt her excitement freeze like a brick in her stomach as she flew too far away from the wall. She crashed to the ground, barely managing to land in a roll, then stood quickly.

A figure appeared over the edge of the highest cutout and peered down at her, then jumped out and caught the ledge. It proceeded down the wall, dropping from cutout to cutout. When the figure landed, Narira saw Ceylis. He walked toward her and she blushed ashamedly, brushing herself off.

"I couldn't quite figure it out," she muttered.

"Never expected you to," Ceylis responded with a grin. "But I must say, the fact that you hit the right spot on your third try is impressive. It took me eight tries to get within five feet of that first cutout!"

She grinned. "Well, I had help from someone," she admitted, turning to gesture at Q. She froze. The little girl was nowhere in sight. "She must have run off somewhere. But she was really nice!"

Ceylis shrugged. "I think you'll find that electrovites are a little different than most people. We have our own way of doing things, and almost our own society."

"I like it," Narira told him.

"Of course you do. Now, I know practice is good and all, but the tournament is about to start, so I suggest we take the stairs."