There was a pause and then her whole body shuddered. She gave the HASEA salute. “Good afternoon sir,” she said to the empty space in front of her. “Yes, we are ready to begin. You can transfer your Farsight whenever you are ready.” She gave another salute and then turned to me.
“Close your eyes Alex.”
I did as she asked.
I heard Rachel step forward and walk around me in a wide, slow circle. “Traditional combat training for a Chosen can take several days. We are fortunate enough to have a Seelian’s unique skills to reduce it to a fraction of the time. In a moment, Sage Faru is going to loan you his Farsight ability. It will quickly condition your improved mind to sense danger better and develop instinctual reactions. In a real fight, skills like these will save your life. It’s going to be a very strange sensation to begin with, but I’m here to help you through it. Okay?”
I nodded.
It hit me. A torrent of colour rushed into my head, filling the darkness with a psychedelic rainbow of morphing shapes. My brain twitched uncomfortably as it attempted to process the swirling kaleidoscope.
“Whoa, wow, okay. I’ve got it. I uh- this is pretty intense Rachel!”
“It’s okay Alex, I’m here. Just try to relax. It will pass.”
I slowed my breathing and bit by bit the images settled. What remained was a plain of white-yellow light with a shimmering shadow person standing in the centre.
“Okay, I want you to focus on my voice. This may sound strange, but I need you to try and visualise how I sound, rather than how I look.”
Rachel continued to talk to me and I concentrated on every word. Slowly her form solidified. Vivid colours swirled in from the corners of my mind and applied themselves to her image until she became a superior representation of my Science teacher. Her hair shone like freshly spun gold. Her eyes glinted like polished emeralds. In the centre of her chest, a purple orb of light radiated waves of energy outwards to the rest of her body. I made a gasping noise.
“I–I can see your-”
“Soul, yes. Good, that means you’re getting the hang of this. I’d prefer it if you left it alone though, I’ve grown somewhat attached.”
Rachel flew back up into the air, leaving a blue shadow trail in her wake, like plane contrails. They dissolved as she settled in what seemed to be mid-air. Focusing, I made out her perch — which had become a long beam of shimmering light.
“Golems will be much harder for you to see because they have barely any life-force.”
“Isn’t that a bit of a problem?”
“No that’s what we want. You’re going to need to rely on your senses to beat them. I need to you to clear your mind and focus. Forget about fear, pain or anger. Give yourself completely to your instincts. You’ll know when you’re there.”
I knew what she meant. I’d felt the sensation when the car had hit me and when I’d been running. That switched that flicked. Like passing a barrier in my mind.
“I think I know what you mean, I’ve done it before.”
“Good. But I’m going to teach you how to do it all the time, without thought. First round is going to be basic hand to hand. Let’s get started.” She clapped her hands together.
A shuffling sound filled the arena. Then a sweeping arc of silver light flashed towards me. There was a loud thwack and a glancing pain as something solid connected with my cheek. I spiralled sideways and crashed to the floor. The metallic tang of blood filled my mouth.
“Dammit! That hurt!” I yelled, spitting onto the mat. As I stared up, a flashing image of a Golem holding a crosier appeared in my mind before dissolving. “Of course it hurts. Were you expecting love taps?” “But I wasn’t ready!” “In a real fight you don’t have time to prepare. It’s that instinctual reaction we are going to unlock.” I slapped the ground in frustration. “Fine.” I pulled myself to my feet. “Again,” she shouted.
A long trail of light sliced a path through the air. It came from above, bearing down like an executioners axe. Without thinking, I dived into a sideways roll. I heard the staff smack down onto the mat beside me. Before I could react another bar of light swung at me from the side. It connected with the back of my head. I stumbled forward and collapsed to my knees.
“ Concentrate!”
“I’m trying!”
I climbed to my feet. Come on Alex! I scolded myself.
“Again.”
This time, as a Golem swung its crosier at me, something happened. The switch flipped in my brain. Around me, everything intensified. The flashes of light became more solid, taking on the shapes of the staffs. The normally inaudible wisps of robes sliding against clay skin became wire brooms sweeping pavements. Its footsteps became booming drumbeats. Everything I needed to know exactly where it was and what it was doing.
I opened my hands, palms facing outwards and the staff connected with a loud slap. Grabbing the crosier, I allowed myself to travel backwards, absorbing the intense blow. Using the energy from the Golems heavy swing, I pivoted sharply on the spot and launched the staff with every ounce of strength I had. As I’d hoped, the Golem didn’t let go of its cherished weapon — I could tell by the weight and the cushioned whump which echoed around the room as its body hit the far wall.
My hands stung, but before I could contemplate whether or not they were bleeding, I saw a staff come at me low, in a sweeping arc. I jumped up before it could connect and stamped down hard with both feet. I landed dead on and felt it buckle under my weight. The power brought the Golem surging forwards. I waited for a split second, until I felt the timing was just right, then linked my hands behind its smooth skull and pulled, adding to the momentum. I jerked up my knee and felt its face shatter at the impact point. I let go and heard the wreck of its body crash to the floor. For a moment I stood still, listening to my own ragged breathing. The others aren’t attacking. I think…I did it.
The room was filled with a slow clap, which sounded like a cacophony of sound to my oversensitive ears. After a few seconds they readjusted so the sound was acceptable.
“Not bad Alex, not bad at all. You can open your eyes now.”
My regular vision seemed odd after the Farsight. The first thing I did was look at my hands. I noticed with surprise that not only were they not bleeding, but there was barely a mark on them. I scanned the rest of the room. A broken Golem lay at my feet. It was face down, hand still clutched around the now V shaped crosier. Fragments of its demolished face were dotted around it, reminding me of a broken china doll. A shard near my foot was marked with XI.
I noticed the other Golem. It was propped upside down against the far wall. Its neck was twisted at an unnatural angle, left cheek crushed against the floor. Both eyes were shattered and red liquid pooled out of them like a smashed egg. Its right hand twitched, still searching for the staff which lay a few feet away from its mangled body. It had been given one task and it was still trying to carry it out. Its stony hand gave a final jerk and then fell lifeless to the mat.
Strangely even though I knew they were just clay effigies created by Faru, I felt guilty. Rachel seemed to sense my unease. “Don’t worry Alexander, they have no feelings. They may have some of Faru’s life-force, but it doesn’t mean they are alive.” She slipped from the beam and floated over to the fallen Golems. Putting her fingers to the backs of their mouths, she pulled out what looked like small flat stones.
A few seconds later they dissolved into dust. Rachel moved over to one of the weapon racks and slid out a samurai sword. She tossed it through the air. Without thinking, I caught it by the hilt and let the tip rest against floor. With a click of her fingers, the other two Golems came to life.