9 Brain Balls

Three days after Troy had completed his trials, Nazad was in his study working with a new and improved formula that might possibly provide the witchers with even more useful mutations. Troy was sleeping peacefully nearby, so that he could keep an eye on him in the event that he finally awakened.

     It was at this moment that Troy's eyes finally popped open. But those eyes weren't the eyes of a young child nor a mature adult. Those eyes were bloodshot and filled with rage.

     Troy jerked his head to the right and spotted Nazad working at his usual table. As soon as the sorcerer was in his sights, Troy bolted upright, got swiftly to his feet, and charged full speed at Nazad.

     Nazad had heard Troy getting up and had just turned around whenever he was unceremoniously knocked on his ass by the rampaging Troy boy. Finally,  understanding that his pupil for whatever reason seemed to be suffering from some unexpected side effects of the trials, he summoned a barrier around himself and used a restraining spell on the mad child, who was in the process of throwing a punch straight at his face.

     Troy's fist stopped in midair, his entire body frozen in place. His eyes still radiated an unmistakable aura of rage and menacing hatred, while his mouth formed incoherent snarls and animalistic grunts, but he was now powerless before his master's overwhelming strength.

     Before taking any other actions, Nazad stood up and took a couple of moments to examine Troy's condition. After concluding that the source of Troy's maddened state was not something he could currently deduce, he cast a calming spell on Troy and watched as his eyes slowly regained their previously healthy sheen.

     Using the control he'd previously established over Troy's body, Nazad forced him back onto the cot he had been sleeping on and made him sit. Troy took a few minutes to find the mental stability and coherence required to finally speak.

     "What...what the hell just happened? My head feels... fuzzy and my body...feels like lead."

     "You're asking me? You just flipped out and attacked me, as soon as you woke up! I'd say you're the one who has some explaining to do!"

     Troy looked at his teacher disbelievingly. "What the...how the hell should I know, if I was asleep? I didn't even know I had attacked you, until you said so!"

      "Yes, well, it would appear that the after effects of the trials have affected you in some strange way. You seemed rather mad whenever you attacked. Your eyes were bloodshot and filled with hatred and rage. With the way you were acting, someone might've thought I'd killed your mother or something. You were completely out of control."

     "Really? I mean, that just doesn't sound like me. Are you sure you're not playing some kind of trick on me?"

     "Ha, and what reason would I have to trick you? It seems that you require extra lessons. Clearly my teachings haven't sunken in, if you think so highly of yourself that you think I would waste my time trying to fool you."

      "Ah, Master! It seems that you've misunderstood! The blame, for which, can only be mine! It appears that you speak the truth. It's simply that I was still suffering from my recent episode, thus my lapse in judgment." Troy quickly slipped back into his old shameless ways.

     "Hmmm…" Nazad looked at him with a stern expression. "I suppose I can overlook the matter this time but do not test my patience, boy!"

     "Of course, Master! It was only a mistake, after all!"

     "Hmph...very well then. Let us discuss this recent trial in greater detail. I want you to tell me everything you know about what happened to you. No detail is too small. Anything you might remember can be useful. Come. Sit."

     Troy spent nearly an hour trying to answer Nazad's questions without giving away any sensitive information, concerning his new organs.

     Troy actually had a very good idea as to what his outburst was all about but he wasn't willing to divulge that information. He wanted to keep as much of his power a secret as possible.

     After successfully completing his mutation integration, he had finally stopped being pain. However, he had fallen unconscious as per the usual course of the trials. During that time, his newly formed source organs, or brain balls if one wished to be cheeky about it, had done exactly what they were designed to do.

      Without his conscious mind there to regulate them, his source organs had begun generating completely irrational emotions, which had promptly taken over his unconscious mind.

      Once he had finally awoken, he had no chance to reach his calm. He had already been consumed by his emotions and simply lashed out at the nearest outlet.

     This revelation, of course, was quite disturbing, as he had not considered this possibility beforehand. He now felt incredibly stupid for not considering the possibility that, despite his high level of control, if he wasn't awake to exert that control he would inevitably end up being controlled by those emotions instead.

     As he half listened and responded to Nazad's questions, he began trying to think of ways to solve his new problem.

     A few dozen minutes later, as his conversation with Nazad came to a close, he had yet to find a satisfactory solution. 

     Troy really had no desire to reveal any more of his secrets but he may just have to let a little bit slip and hope that he could continue to sell the "clueless" narrative. He was actually pretty confident in being able to sell that narrative but he still didn't like the idea of it. If not for the sudden appearance of such a potentially ruinous problem, he wouldn't even consider it.

     After Nazad had finished the 198 millionth reiteration of his "Treatise on the Dangers of Pompuacity," Troy felt the need to address his current predicament. 

     "Master, I've been thinking about my recent outburst and I believe that part of the problem may lie within my lack of mental fortitude. I can't be certain, of course, but I feel as though I need quite a bit of time exclusively for meditation, in order to ensure such events do not occur in the future. What do you think?"

     "Hmph, aside from the fact that, if you were thinking, then you clearly weren't paying attention to my instructions? However, considering the seriousness of this problem, I'll set that aside for now but don't think for a second that I'll forget. 

     "Now, as for this suggestion of yours, I suppose a few tests are in order, to determine exactly how severe this problem is. Come. Lie back down on the cot." Nazad instructed him.

     Troy did as instructed and Nazad made a quick gesture accompanied by a short incantation. Troy's eyes slowly closed and the slow and steady rhythms of unconscious breathing were soon visible on his face and chest.

     Nazad made a muck quicker and shorter gesture, a slap to the face, and the sleeping Troy was once again awake. Much to Nazad's displeasure, his pupil was, yet again, in a state of raving emotional lunacy. Troy was completely erratic and Nazad had to suppress and calm him, once again.

      As soon as Troy was stabilized, he asked, "Dammit! I did it again, didn't I?"

     Nazad's expression was much more serious this time and he simply nodded, in response to Troy's question.

     Troy was stumped. It was increasingly frustrating not being able to control his own emotions. As he continued to consider possible solutions and Nazad continued to pull him in and out of consciousness, he eventually landed on an idea. One that actually played into his plans to focus solely on meditation, for a short period. 

      "Alright, I really don't think these tests are getting us anywhere. As I said, I'm not certain but I really do think that a prolonged immersion into meditation will be of some help here. This clearly isn't revealing anything useful. I feel like we should at least try it."

      "As much as I hate to admit it, I believe you're correct. The tests, so far, were uninformative and some good old fashioned meditation might be just what the sorcerer ordered. Fine, I'll see to it that your training is adjusted to accommodate it. How long were you thinking?"

      "I was thinking a week should do the trick."

      "A week? Really? Can you safely hold out for that long? You'll be pushing it really close."

      "Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem. I'll need a meal of preserved foods along with plenty of water next to my meditation space, for when I eventually come out, but that should be about it."

      "Hmmm...well, if you say so." Nazad said, as he looked at Troy with concern in his eyes. "Alright, well give it a try and see what happens."

[===== One Week Later =====]

      Troy had initially thought that just the meditation itself would be of some benefit. However, he had come up with a plan that just might completely rid him of this particular problem.

     He knew that his calm was the key to his tremendous success so far and it hadn't escaped his notice how completely submissive his emotions were to his control whenever he was inside his calm.

     Outside of his calm, they were unruly, savage, and ravenous. While they also displayed these properties to a lesser degree inside of his calm, once he demanded them to submit they were like putty in his hands.

     As per usual, his calm would once again save him from this potential disaster. If he could practice both falling asleep while inside his calm and taming his unruly emotions, then perhaps they would remain docile, so long as they remained inside of his calm.

     Thus, he needed to practice forcing his emotions to submit at all times and practice entering his calm before sleeping and remaining there during his sleep. His conjecture was that, if their behavior could be altered simply by them entering his calm, then perhaps their behavior could be altered even further through reinforcement.

     It seemed a bit crazy to think that wild emotions could be tamed like wild animals but this was a matter of magic in a magical world and he knew that common sense rules wouldn't always apply. 

     Thus, knowing that inside of his calm he ruled almost absolutely over everything within and when faced with a lack of better options, he was willing to take his chances on being able to tame his emotions to a degree that they would never act out of line so long as kept them contained within his calm.

     After this entire week of constant meditation, he had only just barely achieved the beginning of this solution. Although, having accomplished that much, he now knew that it was indeed possible and he would simply need to persevere with his training.

     He had, during the course of his meditation, balanced ever so precariously on the edge of sleep and wakefulness multiple times. He trained as best he could to remain always within his calm, while drifting off to sleep. Currently, the best he could manage was to simply meditate all night within his calm instead of sleeping but the line between sleep and meditation had slowly begun to dissipate the longer he did so.

     He now only needed a bit more time to completely fuse his state of calm with his state of sleep. Once he had achieved this, the simplicity of making his emotions his bitches would be a smooth downhill stroll. This was a task he already knew would require only time and the inevitable result would be produced.

     Having confirmed all of these things and knowing that his body was in dire need of nourishment, Troy slowly pried open his crusted over eyelids and worked his tongue around in his parched mouth seeking out even the tiniest drop of moisture.

     Looking to his left, where he remembered Nazad placing his meal and water, he eagerly reached out for the jug of water there and began chugging it down as if he were thirst incarnate.

     Making sure to leave just a bit, he licked his lips and began stuffing his face with the stale bread and salted venison. After washing it all down with the last few sips of water, he immediately laid down and stretched his stiff muscles, before getting to his feet and running through a few basic exercises.

     Troy had only been at it for a little less than an hour, when Nazad arrived and began questioning him about his progress.

      After revealing just enough details to assuage Nazad's concerns, Troy managed to convince him that three days of recovery followed by one more week of meditation would definitely do the trick. 

     Troy swore up and down that he wouldn't even dream of asking for another extension afterwards. He even promised Nazad that he would set himself back a class in his witcher training, so that he could spend a few weeks focusing solely on his magical learning. 

     Nazad, after hearing Troy's promises and concessions, felt satisfied with the situation and granted him the extra week of meditation, without too much of a fuss.

[===== One Week Later =====]

     Troy's eyes snapped open as a crooked grin crept across his face. He chuckled softly to himself as he reached for the nearby water jug to quench his terrible thirst.

     After quickly devouring his first meal in a week, he once again stretched out on the floor and thought about the progress he had made. 

     'The fusion of my state of calm and my state of sleep is finally complete and the taming of my emotions is well underway. Now that I'm going back to my regular routine it'll probably be a rough first couple of weeks, until they're tamed. I'll have to spend most of my nights meditating in order to gradually increase the amount of time I can keep them subdued.

     'Even though I'm able to stay inside my calm as I sleep, which actually seems to drastically improve the quality of sleep I get, the duration that my emotions stay subdued, after falling unconscious, is still quite short.

     'I've clearly got a ways to go before I get my source organs under total control but it is, after all, just a matter of time.'

[===== One Year Later =====]

     After Troy had finished taming his emotions and gotten back into his witcher training, he was now studying and training alongside his rival buddies Jorgen and Geralt. The three of them had gotten along quite well with one another, even if it was mostly just bravado and trash talking.

     Today they were finally going to get a chance to put the training they had been going through to the test. It was the start of their practical trials and Geralt, the lucky bastard, was first in line.

     They were all currently sitting behind the barricades of a circular arena, with several covered boxes on the opposite side. The sides of the boxes were shaking violently as the creatures inside continuously assaulted their miniature prisons. Weird and creepy clicking and screeching noises could also be heard issuing forth from the boxes.

     The witchers had rounded up a bunch of monsters for the trainees to kill and they each had to kill at least one, in order to pass.

     "Hey, Geralt, shouldn't you and Jorgen be knitting sweaters or something. They must not have told you that witcher's work is a man's work. It might be a little too rough for you girls. It's okay, though. I won't make fun of you, if you run away screaming." Troy taunted them.

     "Keep talking, Troy. I'll hand this monster its ass and then hand you yours." Jorgen promptly retorted.

     Geralt chimed in directly after those words, "I don't know? You might not wanna go anywhere near his ass, after he's pissed himself at the sight of these monsters."

     Troy only smiled in response. The competitive spirit that the three had cultivated was both inspiring and infectious. He knew he was a little bit old for such petty jabs but, of course, he was the only one who knew that and who wouldn't want to just be a kid again, even if only for a little while.

     Thus, he did indulge in a few childish mores from time to time, although this clearly wasn't the correct time.

     "Alright, you lot, listen up! Today will be the first time that you all have an opportunity to defend yourself against the threat of an actual monster and the possibility of you dying is very real, if you don't take this seriously. And, it would seem, that there are already a few of you who are in the mood for jokes." Vesemir chastised them, as he glared at the three of them. 

     "Well, let me tell you right now that these monsters are not funny. They are deadly serious. They've killed their fair share of careless witchers and an even larger share of trainees. This training is meant to help you survive but the skills taught here will only be as effective as the witcher who employs them.

     "If any one of you walks into battle against any monster thinking that it's all some kind of joke, then your spirit can rest in peace, knowing that I warned you of the consequences of not taking these creatures seriously.

     "Dorden, let out the first one." Vesemir instructed.

     One of the boxes opened up and a greyish blue six legged dog sized crustacean-like insectoid with a tail walked out into the arena clearly looking for a fight with whomever had captured it.

     It was an Edrega Worker.

     "Alright, Geralt, you're up first."