5: INTERLUDE

The morning was anything but peaceful, holding all kinds and manners of horrors, in the name of training and exercise to prepare me for the eventual and inevitable battle to come which would decide our fates. Though my parents seemed prepared, in facts, they didn't seem worried at all about what was to come, they went bout their day like every other, except there was one slight change though, the training which dad put me through and the food mother cooked. Her meals where more sumptuous and dare I say even tastier. Maybe it my dried out cells crying for food and water as the hell father put me through was just too abominable.

Before the whole training mania begun, he asked me what it was I fancied in the variety of choices and path granted by the great Rhe-at to it creations. I had been thinking bout my own path for as long as I can remember, I'm quite different from my age mates, am smarter, and there I say a little stronger too. My world view at 10 can be compared to that of a 16 year old child if not older, thus I long knew this world was not as peaceful as it looked, there was an underlying darkness to it, a skin crawling evil that threatened to devour and engulf all life, irrespective of age or gender or race. Thus I had been thinking of what path I could walk in, my own path to power.

"The Circus", that was my reply, "they are predictably unpredictable. You know what they will do and other times you don't, more importantly, you can't tell how it's done. From the ventriloquist, to the juggler, even the trapeze artist and tightrope walkers, they are so amazing". My eyes where glittering as I spoke, it seemed as though they would explode if I kept speaking.

"You missed a few tho", father stated "huh, really? Which?". A look of innocent confusion on my face. "Beast tamers, magicians, puppet masters and clowns".

I looked at him silently, the confusion on my face replaced with an expression that was borderline maniacal. I had stopped paying attention to the conversation now instead drifting through a memory from few years past, when I was six. It's what spurred me to love the circus and everything that came with it. Mother had decided a whole new event for Elen family fun night, far different from what is usually was. Year 338 of the 4th Era, 11th day of the 6th month saw us with a few hundred others watching the entertainment of a circus. Though it was mother's idea and father grumbled a whole lot bout it we still made our way there and the wonders I saw was forever engraved in my little mind.

"I haven't forgotten them, they are the problem. I love the circus because of them four, and I would love my path to be based of the circus. But I can't choose which part to follow amongst them three. The lord of beasts, or the master of the elements and objects, or perhaps he who holds the people in his palms or the sage of expression. Argh, to make such choice is killing me!!".

It really was killing me, though indeed others may have walked said paths I wanted to be different from them. Thus while the it was cruel to choose, my path was already clear to me.

I begun laughing loudly as I declared, "I will be the greatest clown known in all of Rhe-at!". Father joined me with a boisterous laugh of his own, for 5 minutes straight we kept laughing as rays of sunlight peeped shyly behind it cloudy cover.

"What's basic about a clown?", our laughing mania over, father sat me down and asked seriously. "His smile!", I declared confidently with a smile of my own.

"No kid, his balance, his physique, the whole and absolute co-ordination of his body. His flexibility and of course, his smile". Father said all in one breathe and suddenly I felt like punching him, his smile was so shitty, it made me itch to punch him so bad.

"I said his smile didn't I father?", I couldn't help asking, "yes you did", he replied in tandem and there I exploded.

"Then why did you say no? What is it that you're so proud for? Damnit! Your smile is so damn shitty!!". While yelling bout his tyranny trying to no avail to punch his smile off, damn old man just laughed harder while deflecting my world level destructive punches like they were nothing.

"What we will be training this few days will be your physique and your stamina. Oh yes, your endurance as well, you have to learn to take a beating. Of course, that doesn't mean I will turn you into a masochist though, putui! I look down on such men who have stayed from manliness, lovers of pain for the sake of pleasure. Pah, not my son, never, perhaps we should forego the endurance training infact. Putui!"

While he made plans on what to train me on, he suddenly went into a violent spitting spree, cursing masochist and everything that had to do with them. I was speechless, there was no interrupting him, experience had taught me a cruel lesson, for once in time past had I tried to get in the way of his spitting craze, to teach him about etiquette, I regretted it and even now I still do for without shame did he drench me with his never ending spittle. Oh Saints, the horror, it still leaves me shivering in fear and an absolute itch to punch the living daylight out of him.

"Alright, let's begin, don't worry too much, I will do some light exercises too to keep you company.". And with that, my days in the pits if asura begun. He was merciless, from spreading my legs apart to it's extremes and bending and twisting my bones in ways unimaginable, he swore to mold me into the perfect clown. The pain was horrifying, yet the gains just as gratifying. I felt freer than ever, though the change wasn't anything dramatic, it was there and I felt it, so I kept pushing. Then came the endurance and stamina training but the meals mother prepared, made me forget my pains.

Suffice to say, I was anything but an ordinary kid, so it was without saying that I noticed mother's food during my hellish days were pure...magic. Breakfast took away they pains and soreness from my bone and muscles getting bent and stretched in unnatural ways, lunch energized me from the gruelling runs and jumps of endurance and stamina training, and dinner made the cramps of standing still and moving in unnatural positions for balance and body co-ordination training. I took it all in stride and knew better than to ask, the outcome was pleasantly unpleasant.

In this manner, my days went by, slow and torturous with it rewards gratifying yet just not enough for what befell us on the day they arrived.