Lunch was delicious. I went out to the yard to play with the animals. While Valeria and Grandma were talking about something that would happen tomorrow, I walked to the henhouse looking for a little friend I've known for as long as I can remember. When I opened the door the chicks poured out and scurried between my legs. I looked up into the nests until I finally saw the grey-furred cat lying down. I reached my hand slowly toward him and he very slowly opened his eyes. I slid my hand under his chin and scratched him gently; he purred. Cheerful, I said, "Mino, come on—don't be lazy, get out of there!" He sat up, licked one paw and wiped his face with it, then jumped out of the coop.
I followed him to the trough where the sheep drink. When he'd finished hydrating, he stared at me for a moment and then looked at a pile of feathers on the ground. I immediately understood what he wanted, so with a gentle movement of my fingers I generated a small current of air that lifted the feathers. The cat tried to catch them while I kept the little air current moving with both arms.
My grandmother and my sister arrived without saying anything while I played with the cat. Both sighed and went to return all the chicks to the pen. When Mino had managed to catch all the feathers, I smiled and stroked him. I turned my head and saw Valeria already dressed in her purple, kimono-style shirt with kimono trousers and the wide belt wrapped around her waist. Seeing my grandmother wearing her Greek-style tunic, I knew we were about to begin training. I immediately bowed to both of them and ran into the house to put on the same kind of shirt as my sister, the trousers, slip-on Chinese-style shoes, and fasten my belt. Once we were ready, we set off across the field and arrived at a small waterfall. We sat cross-legged, feet resting on our thighs, hands open and palms up on our knees, closed our eyes, and began to meditate.
Alicia (Grandmother), eyes closed: "Remember, girls—keep positive emotions while you release your Fiu outward. Imagine a ball. Don't force it or get frustrated. Keep negative energy out of this."
Valeria, smiling with her eyes closed: "Shall we see who can hold out the longest?"
Alexa, smiling: "Yes—this time I'm sure I'll win!"
Alicia, smiling: "Alright, as long as you don't let the competition turn into frustration."
We stayed silent, concentrating on the orb. At first it was easy. The thing is, the more Fiu you have, the harder it becomes to maintain a steady outward flow: if too much leaks out, the size will be much larger and it requires more concentration. After the first hour I only felt a drop of sweat slide down my nose; my muscles seemed to burn even though the sensation of Fiu was cold and gentle. I slowly felt exhausted, so I opened my eyes and ended the meditation, noticing that a sphere the size of a tire was disappearing in front of me. I was impressed with my own accomplishment, but even more surprised when I saw that Grandma was holding a sphere the size of a car and only had a few drops of sweat on her brow. Looking up, I noticed an enormous orb—about the length of a ship—hovering in the sky. Valeria didn't even have a drop of sweat; she seemed in complete control. A few minutes later they both let their orbs dissipate and opened their eyes.
Valeria and I stood up and walked to the waterfall to drink, but I didn't realize that my teacher had remained looking at the orb in the sky with a frown.
Alexa, drinking water: "Hey Val—why is Grandma wearing the Barrier of Skill's tunic?"
Valeria, looking at Alicia and smiling gently: "I think she doesn't like the tunic of the Barrier of Experience."
Alexa, smiling: "I don't get that. Aren't all the Barriers incredible?"
Alicia, looking at what's left of the sphere: "Not all of them, dear."
Valeria, serious: "Grandma, you don't have to—"
Alicia, serious: "Of course I must say it! Dear Alex—me and the Barrier of Skill are angels, but the Barrier of Power is a demon. Don't get near him for anything in your life."
Alexa, intimidated: "Why do you say that, Grandma?"
Alicia, angry: "Because he's guilty of—!"
My sister instantly grabbed Grandma by the shoulder, and the two exchanged furious looks, though my grandmother finally sighed and said, "Forget it, dear. Well, it's time to practice some combat, especially since tomorrow is your big day, Valeria. You must be ready for the tournament." I looked at them surprised. My sister smiled and said, "Tomorrow I'll compete against other students for my promotion to Master rank, and only the top ten get the title." I became very excited; I was certain no one could match her at anything. I ran and hugged her—fully convinced she would be among the best and earn the title—while my grandmother walked to a tree and took a sheathed sword from behind it. My joy exploded; I knew she would give it to me since both she and my sister already had theirs.
I lifted the scimitar and stood for a moment admiring the blade. Valeria whistled, looking a bit annoyed with me, so I immediately advanced my right leg slightly and extended my left to the side, lowered my right hand with the weapon to my waist with the point upward, and placed my left hand behind the unsharpened part. Seeing that we were both ready, I ran at her and launched a slow cut toward her stomach. I quickly took the weapon with both hands and, with a quick hip twist, tried to land a cut on her forehead. My opponent did not fall for my feint; she blocked instantly, swept her leg and I fell backwards onto the ground. With a jump I was up again and tried an attack at her feet; she jumped and I used the opportunity to spin once to gain momentum and delivered a side kick. Valeria grabbed my ankle and gently tossed me into the river. I hurried my movements to hook the sword into the ground and avoid falling into the water. Recovered, I ran at her, leaped to prepare a powerful overhead attack, and once again she blocked me. She slid her right foot forward, placed her free hand on my abdomen, and slammed me gracefully to the ground. She stepped on the side of my sword, leaving her blade near my nose, and asked, "Do you yield?"
Alexa, resigned: "Yes."
At that moment a powerful shock occurred. A great pressure seized the place. I glanced to one side and saw my grandmother smiling at Valeria's reflections. My sister kept her foot down and, without releasing force, halted my grandmother's counterattack. Without wasting time, the two pointed with their right hands to form wind spheres; when these collided they sent the three of us flying—Valeria and me in one direction and my grandmother in the other. I had never been so high or jumped so far; my nerves rose quickly, but my sister put her hand on my back to steady me. When we returned to the ground, I stowed my weapon and climbed above the small waterfall, hiding behind a tree so I could watch the fight closely and in detail, but at a safe distance.
Valeria and Alicia exchanged a smile and ran toward each other. Their blades struck, creating small sparks. Both kept up constant, powerful attacks combined with great flexibility and grace. Each impact shook the area like an earthquake. I was awestruck; their skill was magnificent. My sister lunged with a stab to the abdomen that her rival deftly deflected with the side of her sword. My sister took advantage of the momentum of that block to leap and spin, attempting a long cut to my grandmother's brow—but she blocked instinctively. Valeria smiled and kicked her in the abdomen with the tip of her foot; after separating, she created a wind saw. I worried because at that distance it seemed impossible to dodge, but Alicia smiled confidently and cut through the technique in a single blade motion. Both leapt and began to trade blows in midair; huge waves of force lifted rocks and branches from the ground.
The exchange seemed to produce no decisive result, so they separated and fired balls of wind that caused small explosions. After Valeria landed she began to spin her arms and hips, creating the mouth of a hurricane. I clung to the tree in fear at such a display of power. She channeled all that force into a metallic-colored thread and launched it at my grandmother. Alicia dodged, but another serpent of air hurtled toward her. Her rival leapt, spinning and sending a wind saw toward my sister. Valeria created one too, causing the two techniques to clash. She pointed her index finger upward; Grandma and I followed her gaze. My eyes widened. A gigantic gray dragon's head appeared, its immense force uprooting several trees. My grandmother raised her sword above her head and struck one of the dragon's teeth; the blade was filled with that wind and guided in graceful movements toward the ground, leaving a deep spiral mark in the soil.
Valeria, sheathing her sword and bowing: "Good fight, Grandma."
Alicia, smiling: "An impressive technique, my dear. You master the creation of collateral techniques fantastically."
Valeria, smiling: "I have a great teacher."
They walked toward me. Valeria reached out her hand and helped me up onto her shoulders while Grandma said, "Alright, let's return; we'll sleep early so we're ready for the tournament…"
—End of FLASHBACK—
A strange thump came from behind the students. They turned and saw their teacher had Nya tied and hanging upside down from a branch. The warrior was very focused on the height at which he would leave the girl—this worried Emily, who asked, "What are you going to do, Master?" Jayden kept working and, with a sidelong glance, said, "I'll estimate how hard she has to be hit so she forgets you and how she arrived here." Everyone's eyes opened—not in surprise but because he would technically know how hard to strike for someone to lose memory. Francesca stood up and walked to her master. "Please, Master—surely you know a way to erase her memories without hurting her." The adult snorted unconcernedly, letting the rope slip so the girl began to fall. She was quickly caught by the blonde, but during the fall something dropped to the ground and was noticed by the adult. He picked it up, unlocked his phone, frowned, took the rope again, and said, "Alright, I'll find another solution now. Go back to the others."
Tyron, turning to Alexa: "Well… will you continue the story?"
Emily, nodding: "Yes! It's beautiful. Also, you still haven't told us why you hate your sister—you've only told us she used to be good."
Francesca, sitting: "Okay, you can continue."
Alexa: "Well, the next day…"
—FLASHBACK: the day before Alicia's death—
After breakfast, my grandmother and sister went to change. I ran to my room to put on my training clothes, grabbed my sword, and ran to the yard where Grandma was already wearing her two-piece Japanese-style tunic with a purple coat decorated with white triangles. She held a necklace with twelve large green stones marked with black arrows; the necklace also had small blue spheres. I smiled and touched one of the green stones. We both waited near the door for Valeria. When she finally emerged, putting a gray phone—decorated with a blue spiral in the center and golden circles at the edges—into her pocket, she said, "Sorry! Kira called because she was so excited about the competition." All three of us wore the necklace with one of the green stones. Suddenly an emerald energy enveloped us and we were transported to a platform of white tiles—a place surrounded by Greek marble columns. Many people were around us. Grandma stored the necklace as we made our way down a long polished rock corridor, accompanied by thousands of Masters and their Students. We reached a kind of plaza where I sat on a bench and watched enormous trees with pink leaves. I noticed a small wooden cart and tugged on Grandma's sleeve. She walked over and handed a golden metallic card to the vendor. He returned several reddish metallic tokens. The man then scooped two balls of ice cream into cones. I love that treat, especially here because it's made with a little bit of ice-element Fiu so it doesn't melt. I enjoyed licking the strawberry scoops.
Then I noticed a burly man with a gray beard and fully gray hair slicked back, two pistols at his sides, wearing a burgundy Chinese tunic with gray trim. He greeted my grandmother with a raised hand. Beside him stood a short blonde girl with a pompadour who carried two small machine-gun-like weapons and wore a karategi the same color as the adult's tunic. They began to speak. I looked to the railing in front of me and noticed a beautiful, lush forest below.
Alicia, smiling: "Alright, Alex—Grandma and Valeria are going to register. Wait here."
I nodded and enjoyed my ice cream while the plaza slowly emptied. After about ten minutes I saw, on the other side where people had gone, a man dressed like my grandmother but in orange. He was middle-aged, with very untidy black hair and some gray, and two tufts at the sides of his head. The sight made me curious. Then I heard footsteps: a boy with curly blond hair, pale skin, and sky-blue eyes wearing a golden karategi with green stripes and a katana at his side appeared. With him was a light-brown-haired girl with a short helmet-style cut, tanned skin, and brown eyes; she wore a Greek-style blue tunic and carried a spear on her back. The girl ran and said, "Because of you, Dwayne, we'll be late—because you wanted to buy those four jewels for your master!" He just smiled as they walked past me. By accident, the girl's spear's blunt end knocked my ice cream out of my hand. I held back tears at losing my favorite flavor. The boy stopped, looked at me with concern, and ran to the cart. He handed a golden card and bought two ice creams. He ran back despite the vendor shouting about the change, and he said, "Keep it as a tip!"
Dwayne, smiling and crouching: "Here—you're forgiven. Tell your friend it wasn't intentional."
Alexa: "Thanks! But why two?"
Dwayne, handing me the other cone: "One is to make up for the mistake, and the other is because you're so good and didn't get angry or cry."
He gave it to me even though I refused. His smile was sincere and warm and his eyes shone in a way I had rarely seen. They continued on their way and stopped in front of the man in orange; the girl said, "Grandmaster Michael—our masters are waiting at the Keilen restaurant to give you an early Father's Day gift." The adult frowned and replied, "What are you doing here? You were supposed to register." The blond smiled: "Master, calm down—Maestra Agatha and I have been here since six in the morning." The girl hit him on the back of the neck: "Yes, we registered, but if we don't arrive in time for the naming ceremony we won't be allowed to participate!" The adult produced a necklace identical to my grandmother's, sending a gust of air as he headed toward a platform behind the plaza. The two teenagers followed. I only heard the boy say, "You'll see—my father will love these four gems."