The trials (2)

"Stupid lavel, did you think you'd get past me?" A golden scaled vasil scorned at a group of tiny lavels that was hurdled in a corner, shivering from the fright of the vasil that stood before them. Unlike other vasils, this one was much taller and had an air of nobility about him. The frightened lavels could only cower and huddle together.

A mean-looking vasil with broad shoulders and arms that looked like they could rip any one of those young lavels walked in dragging another lavel. He bowed before the first vasil and triumphantly presented the little lavel he was carrying.

The taller vasil, Keita, eyed the newcomer with a look of indignation.

"So this is the one that got past you?" The scold wiped away any signs of mirth in the shorter vasil. The shorter vasil, who was the guard in charge of ensuring the lavel young ones had been delivered safely. He had messed up, and because of that, he allowed the kids to escape.

Had not this senior guard appeared, he would have suffered punishment, but luckily, the senior guard on duty, a powerful fighter, had intervened and managed to hurdle all the kids back, all he had to do was catch this rascal, the instigator. Indeed he did have a reason for shame.

What he didn't know was that at that point he hadn't messed up. No one knew how the cage had opened, except for that little lavel. He had instigated it, and not by any ordinary means either. His need had been so deep that he had met the conditions to support an inner power, but in doing so, he had attracted unwanted attention.

For a while now, Dane had been looking for a suitable opponent for his newly found gang. The surest way to breed necessity, which in turn leads to intense and rapid development, something he sorely wanted on this planet, there had to be adversity. And what better way to bring about adversity than the good old fight of good versus evil works every time. He had the good, time to cultivate the bad.

Of all breakthroughs he had seen so far, this one was the one that reminded him of his own the most. He found it interesting that that same disgusting culture that had led him to his need so many millennia ago was still prevalent even in a new world. If slavery, prostitution and other vices, alongside heroism, bravery and morality had crossed over even insentient beasts that did not need to wear clothes, then there nothing new in the cosmos.

Well, new inventions, new forms of warfare, can't all be a blanket statement after all. However, following the evolutionary tree, especially for naturally occurring worlds, Dane would take millennia to even get the species to explore their planet, much less want to leave the planets to join the galaxy.

Dane wasn't having any of that. He needed to build up his power as soon as possible, he might waste a few centuries, but cutting the time from millennia to centuries was already good enough.

When he was born, he had been given up to be raised by an impoverished household that only took him in for the support the factions gave out. They weren't all that powerful, and they weren't decent either. The factions knew of their behavior but they allowed them to continue since that was the point anyway, to allow their young ones to face adversity.

Most of those that set up households were would-be faction members that had failed to awaken an ability. They couldn't be considered faction members, and they had to live by the scraps of those that had risen. Needless to say, they despised and needed the faction, and causing pain to the young ones was one of their ways they showed their displeasure.

It could be said that they were doing their work, and by keeping the next generation in extremely challenging situations led to breakthroughs and awakening, kind of like what he was doing with Bamboo and the rest, but it was difficult for Dane to forgive and forget the wrongs he experienced as a child, in his most tender moments. Yet this was what was happening here as well.

Of course, when being released in one such world, even his identity had been sealed off as a measure of protection, after all, enemy factions would target the younger talented generation essentially destroying the faction at its roots. However, some bit of suffering hurt nobody, and as long as they didn't provoke irreparable damage, they were free to do with the new 'arrivals' as they called them.

It could be said that factions actively kept tabs on all their members, even those that failed to awaken, as they still had the bloodlines and heritage, hence, chances of them siring offspring with talent and chances of awakening a bloodline were quite high. Any household that had one such appear in their generation would be highly honored and gain recognition, hence they also trained their own.

Dane had been captured by some hoodlums the moment he set foot on that world, and as a child of a powerful faction, he had true value. His identity might have been sealed, but he had the aura and air of wealth, and in the Universe, only those powerful enough to keep wealth deserved to have it. It was not a big leap to conclude he had value.

The hoodlums that had kidnapped him had only one goal in mind, to deliver him to the hands of a decrepit old man who liked to 'play' with children, and as long as an arrival was not powerful enough, they were subject to all manner of atrocities.

Dane still remembered the old man pulling out his robes and approaching him. He had a consoling tone, almost as though he was benevolent, not the monster that stood in front of him. At first, all Dane felt was helpless. He knew he was all that yet all he could do was suffer this shame. NO! He wouldn't.

Deciding to fight with all he had, he did just that. A nine-year-old boy with no power except that which is contained in his mortal body versus an old man who seemed to be in his 60s, but Dane guessed he had seen a few centuries, the fight was laughable. Dane deciding not to suffer such shame, he gave his all towards escaping, and again, he did just that.

One moment, a hand was about to lay on him, and the next, he was in a pitch-black space where he couldn't move an inch, or wiggle his toe. Not for the first time that day, he found himself scared. As he mused over that memory, Dane couldn't help but smile at how little he knew then. It had taken him almost half a day to discover that this was his own doing and to find a way to come back.

On coming back, the man was cursing his bad fortune at having not had his money's worth, yet he wouldn't dare touch the boy. Not that the boy was strong, but he was now an Ascended, one who had to awaken an ability. Such was someone to be held in esteem, and the sleazy bastard knew where his line was crossed.

Though many mocked that his power had been born out of a need to run away, it was a rarely seen before accomplishment to break through on the first day of arriving on a training world, and much less on the very first case of true need. But, given his immense talent that rose him to the ranks as a potential protector and a potential chancellor, it was to be expected that he was amazing, yet they had yet to see the true awe of the man.

The reason why Dane was busy musing was that all this while, a tinge of jealousy came to him on watching Bamboo breakthrough. If ever there was a way to break through, acknowledged in the entire Universe, this was it.

Bamboo's fight with his doppelganger had been vicious, but with tact and smarts, he had won. The move he used, feigning weakness, faking an opening to land on the mane, that was common, and his opponent had easily fallen for it. Seeing this, Bamboo had thought he had won, only to be attacked by 2 more doppelgangers.

His fight had taken a transformation after taking down the third team of 4 doppelgangers. He was at his limit. He couldn't take it anymore. He was weak, perched and battered. His stamina was at an all-time low, as he had never had to battle continuously for so long. His strikes had lost power, and more and more attacks were breaking through his already porous defense.

As Dane watched him, he saw plenty wrong with his moves. Luckily, all these were instinctual and weren't completely wrong, with the right guidance, Bamboo could easily grow to become quite a force to reckon with. For now, his attacks were slow, weak and tired. This was the whole reason for a trial.

Power, true power, don't just come easily, even though one had that power innately. They still had to work for it, and earn it. Usually, individuals didn't see the need for this as it required a lot of hard work, commitment, and application of oneself, and without proper motivation, there was no progress.

True, some pursued power for power's sake, but even these had a reason to be powerful. Either to protect themselves or those close to him or to achieve some hidden agenda, which was mostly political. At some point, the grown and pursuit of power can become addictive especially after seeing the effects, but at the start, there was always a reason.

As Bamboo battled, another battle was taking place in his mind. A voice, loud and serene, was busy convincing him to let go. Why continue to struggle, why endure all this pain. Bamboo didn't have someone he truly loved and would miss if he died, yes, he had some affection towards Maple, but that was barely enough to serve as a need.

As for his family, he was just part of a collective, another cog in the family, no more significant than the rest. Was it all to save himself, and if yes, to what end? It was always a humbling moment when one realized just how mediocre his life was, and for a time, he stopped defending, just letting the blows continue.

The overly confident Dane had gotten slightly exasperated. How could this lavel that he had such high hopes just crumble, but given the battle wasn't truly over, he decided to watch on.

Images flashed in Bamboo's mind. He remembered the many times that he had faced humiliation in the hands of his elder cousin, even in the full view of his parents, who did nothing at all. All lavels were supposed to be strong, and sheltering them was equivalent to crippling them, so all his parents could do was watch.

It seemed like he had been waiting his whole life for something to happen. He hardly did the bare minimum, and if there was someone else to take on a task, he'd let them go for it. Even in the case of the vasil he'd captured, his only thought had been to play it safe.

Yet the one time he decided to get off the path of safety, for what remains to be unclear reasons, he had met a monstrosity and was now trapped in a death match against himself, more than one himself. Perhaps safety was the best course of action, but now that was no longer available for him.

He remembered the dragon's words, get out if you can. Yes, he could! Not for some loved one or other person, or some mission in life, no, he would get through this because he must! This was not his end! Channeling everything within him in one single combined strike, the overpowered strike left a burn mark.

Before Bamboo could understand what was happening, his hands were arching with electricity, or as he understood it, lightening arcs could be seen all over his body. What he hadn't even realized was that at that time, his eyes were glowing white and he was levitating.

The doppelgangers dissipated, and the last thing he saw as his vision blackened, was a great dragon flying towards him.