034 – The End of Training

The days passed by and before long the sun was setting on the third day of Uriel's training.

Uriel was lying on the side of the river with one hand dipped into the flowing water as he panted out exhausted breaths.

Urlo stood behind with a contemplative look, he had to admit that the cry baby had improved by a lot over the past three days, in the end, their sparring matches would go on for a full five to ten minutes before he knocked him down.

And he had managed to take a few victories in their spars by the end the tally was 89:7, which was pretty good considering that on the first day, Uriel's only victory was a lucky one.

"You look worried," said Uriel glancing back, "Do you think that I'm going to die in there?" he asked.

Urlo found the crybaby to be oddly unafraid of death, even at that moment when he mentioned the possibility of dying he showed no fear in his face, in fact, his voice was rather light, it truly vexed the druid youth.

"Maybe you will, maybe you won't?" Urlo muttered a little absentmindedly.

Uriel sat up and wiped some sweat from his brow, "Come on what kind of an answer is that," he replied with a grin.

"You know this entire time you haven't once mentioned what I will face inside that rift," he muttered turning to the muscular druid.

Noticing the druid's silence he chuckled, "Come on you can tell me, I won't be frightened… or is it forbidden to share the knowledge with me?" he asked as he realized that it might be some custom or tradition of the druids.

"It's not forbidden," he replied shaking his head, "But… are you sure that you don't want to give it more time, if you give me… four more days I'm sure that I can get you ready," he said.

Uriel was almost certain that he could hear a plea in the voice of the druid.

"No," Uriel replied plainly and gave the druid a simple smile of gratitude, "If I pass this trial I must still spend some time learning from your mother," he explained.

"And the soldiers get further even as we speak, I must move fast or I'll probably never see my people again," he stated firmly.

Urlo looked like he wanted to argue, he had heard the same words said to him each night by the crybaby who was oddly stubborn.

'How could one be a crybaby and as stubborn as a mule at the same time?' that question threatened to drive the druid mad, 'Shouldn't a crybaby be a meek little chicken?'

"Is the trial that bad?" Uriel asked raising a brow as he mistook the changes on the druid's face for worry.

"Ay," Urlo smacked his head and sighed, "The number of trials changes depending on the person, for some people, it's only one trial for others it can be as many as 7," he answered.

"Then will I have to finish all seven trails if I want to see this tablet and gain its approval?" he asked with worry.

It seemed logical enough, and perhaps that was why only a handful of people ever reached it, he reasoned.

But Urlo shook his head "The number of trials varies for each person but even those who finish all 7 have no guarantee of seeing the tablet, Gallig Argeum my ancestor and the founder of the Argeum Order only completed 3 trials before he found the tablet," Urlo explained.

"And the number has been different for each of those who managed to find the tablet and obtain its blessing,"

"As for what each trial holds again it differs for each person, one trial could be a beast, the next an abomination, and the next a puzzle that requires solving, and the one that follows can be harder than what came before it, while the next could be easier, it really is unpredictable," he explained.

"I see," Uriel sighed as he wondered what it would be like to look at an abomination again, his first experience was scary enough, he could only take solace in the fact that this time he wouldn't be caught off guard.

As the sun started to disappear the two rinsed off their sweat in the water and made their way back to the groove where they ate a hefty meal of delicious fruit before resting up for the night.

---

"Why is it so far away?" Uriel complained as he wiped away a blob of mud from his face, not that it helped much since his clothes were already a mess.

The sun was nearing midday and they still hadn't made it to the location of the trial.

They were currently climbing up a treacherous slope in the forest where one wrong step and the mud would cave in under your feet, it was an expressway down to the foot of the slope where one would have to start all over again.

"It's not far," Urlo replied as he wiped the sweat from his brow, "The grounds are merely in a place that makes it easy for a druid to reach," he replied.

"Urgh," Uriel groaned as he looked up to see an eagle flying overhead with its large wings cutting through the air.

He could only look on in envy as he understood what Urlo was telling him, the druids could transform and fly to the location with literal ease while he was forced to walk taking the difficult route.

The only reason Urlo didn't transform and fly was because someone had to guide him.

"Once we get past this ridge it will be a simple walk to the tree of Anamos and there we will find the rift," said Urlo.

"If only it was so simple," Uriel muttered sarcastically as he started to trudge back up the slope which he had already tumbled down for the umpteenth time, each tumble took its toll on the color of his clothes.

---

An hour later Urlo pointed up ahead at what looked like a tree in the distance saying that it was their destination.

"At long last," Uriel sighed in relief though he would quickly come to regret those words because after walking for another half hour he found that the tree was still a distance away.

'Just how big is that tree?' he wondered as they continued to walk.

Uriel was staring intently at the monstrosity of a tree when he noticed the first sign of movement ahead, tearing his attention away from the tree he hastened his steps.

As they reached the druids Uriel noticed something odd, everyone kept giving him odd looks.

As he looked down to check what it was that everyone was looking at he realized that his clothes were covered in mud, the white of his tunic was dyed the color of mud and his grey pants were no different.

'Only one chance to make a first impression,' he thought with a sigh.

Urlo had warned him that there would be other members of the Order and tribe leaders of the Argeum who held similar ranks to his mother at his trial and now he was going to show up covered in mud.

First impressions were important, and he was afraid that he had mucked his up already.

As they walked through the crowd they came to a stop when they spotted Chieftess Briaga walking to them and she gave Uriel a strange look.

But Urlo quickly explained what happened, but it didn't change the disapproving look on the Chieftesses' face.

"Like a little child," Briaga muttered and opened her hand.

Much to Uriel's surprise he felt a strange sense of connection to the Chieftesses hand as a strange mist started to gather within her palm.

Then it became harder for him to tell what was happening but it looked like the mist had split into strands, Uriel looked at her hand intently when he suddenly felt something wet and powerful smash into him.

Water blasted into Uriel's unexpecting face, it came from in front, behind, and above him, smashing down on him in all directions for just a few seconds.

But by the time it finished, he was thoroughly soaked.

Uriel breathed out with a wide grin on his face as he stared at the Chieftess, it was his first time seeing Eldrin being used right before his very eyes, without the wielder trying to kill him.

"That was incredible," he muttered as he looked down to see his clothes had been completely cleaned of the mud.

"I don't suppose that you have a way to dry me off as well?" he asked with a sheepish grin hoping to see more of the mystical power in action.

"I'm afraid that I don't know such an invocation," the Chieftess replied, "Now be on your best behavior when you greet the other members of the council," she sternly stated as she led the two of them further into the shadow of the massive tree.