Life in Axo Stone Village was pretty much the same every day. The days all started to feel like they were running together.
In the morning the sunlight would come through the cracks in the shed where Lanine lived with Rika. He would wake up. See that Rika was already up. She would be sitting in her corner staring at nothing. This was something she had been doing a lot lately.
Lanine said to her "You are doing that thing again."
Rika looked at him and said, "What thing?"
"You know, staring at nothing," Lanine said.
Rika just said, "Nothing is interesting."
Lanine did not understand what she meant. "Nothing is nothing," he said.
Rika just said, "Exactly. That is the point."
Lanine did not know what to say to that. So he just said nothing.
They ate their breakfast in silence. They had bread and dried meat that Goro had left for them. The food was always the same. Bread. Meat. Sometimes a piece of fruit did not glow. Lanine did not mind. It was nice to have something that was always the same. After everything that had happened, the same meant safe. Same meant normal. He needed normal.
After breakfast, Goro came to get them. He said, "We are going to the training ground. The chief wants you to watch."
So they went to the training ground. When they got there they saw a lot of kids standing in rows. Thirty-seven kids. All of them looked very serious. Their parents were standing at the edges watching. Hoping.
Elder Berin was walking around them telling them what to do. Sometimes he would hit them on the head if they did something wrong. Not hard. Just enough to get their attention.
Lanine and Rika sat down at the edge of the training ground. They liked to sit there because they could see everything but they were not in the way.
Elder Berin started talking to the kids. He said, "Cultivation is not about hitting hard or running fast. It is not about looking good for the examiners. It is about having a foundation. You need to be able to absorb energy and store it in your body. If your foundation is weak you will never get better. If your foundation cracks you will break. If it is strong you might be able to do some cool things and maybe live long enough to die more interestingly."
Some of the kids laughed. Most of them just looked confused.
Lanine closed his eyes. He tried to feel the energy that Berin was talking about. At first, he did not feel anything. Just darkness behind his eyes. Just the sound of thirty-seven kids breathing all at once.
Then he felt a little tingle. It was like electricity but it was nice. Like tiny bubbles on his skin.
Elder Berin said, "First you need to learn to feel the energy. Close your eyes. Breathe. Reach out with your mind. Try to feel it. When you feel the tingle that is the energy. Then you pull it towards you. Gently. Like drinking through a straw. Too fast and you hurt yourself. Too slow and you die of old age before you reach Level One."
Lanine felt the energy. It was really cool. All around him. Flowing through the air like an invisible river. He tried to pull it towards him. Gently. Like a straw.
It came too fast. It was like a flood. The energy rushed into him all at once. Slammed into his core. Made him feel dizzy and like he was going to explode.
Goro caught his shoulder. Said, "Easy, Lanine. You need to control the energy. Not let it control you."
Lanine opened his eyes. Breathing hard. Said, "I felt it. I really felt it."
Goro said, "Everyone feels it the first time. The trick is to control how much you take."
Lanine said, "No, I mean it came really fast. Like it wanted to come."
Lanine looked at his hands. They were glowing. It was a soft golden light that pulsed with his heartbeat.
Goro's face changed when he saw that. He looked serious. Thinking.
Rika was still sitting there trying to feel the energy. Her eyes were closed tight. Her face was all scrunched up with effort. She did not feel anything. He could tell. Her hands were just normal hands. Not glowing. Nothing.
She looked really sad. Lanine did not know what to say to her.
Goro said to her quietly, "Keep trying. It takes time for some people." But his voice was gentle. Like he did not really believe it would help.
---
The rest of the day was pretty long. The kids kept practicing. Some of them got a little glow. Most of them got nothing. One boy pulled too hard and got a nosebleed. A girl fell asleep from concentrating too much and had to be woken up.
Lanine watched them. He learned some things. How to breathe. How to reach out. How to feel the energy. But Rika sat beside him the whole time and did not feel anything.
When it was time for a break Rika went to sit by herself under a tree. Away from everyone. Lanine brought her some water. Sat down beside her.
She said, "I am broken. I do not feel anything. Those little kids are doing better than me."
Lanine said, "You are not broken. Maybe it just takes time."
She said, "Maybe I am not meant to do this."
Lanine did not know what to say. He just said, "I am not giving up on you even if you give up on yourself."
Rika looked at him. Laughed. It was not a happy laugh. It was short and bitter. But it was real. She said, "That is the stupidest thing anyone has ever said to me."
Lanine said, "I know. I am good at stupid."
She said, "Yeah. You really are."
---
That evening Goro found Lanine near the Destiny Platform. The platform was pulsing with its purple-gold light like always. Goro's face was serious.
He said, "Lanine I need to ask you something. How much energy can you take?"
Lanine said, "I do not know. I stopped trying because it felt like I was going to explode."
Goro said, "Show me. Just a little. Be gentle."
Lanine closed his eyes and reached out. He pulled the energy towards him. Gently this time. Like Berin had taught. It came really fast anyway. Not as fast as before but still fast. It flowed into his core warm and alive. This time he was able to control it a little.
Goro watched him. His eyes got wide. He said, "Your foundation is really strong. It is rare. I have only seen this one time before. A traveler came through here years ago. He let us test him. His constitution was Tier Three High Grade. He could pull energy like you."
Lanine said, "Is that good or bad?"
Goro said, "It is rare. Very rare. Tier Three High means your foundation multiplier is fifteen times. Every level you reach you will be fifteen times stronger than someone with Tier Zero. You will be able to do some cool things." He paused. Looked serious. "It also means that people will want things from you. The sect examiners will lose their minds when they see you."
Lanine said, "What about Rika? She does not feel anything."
Goro's face got dark. He said, "Some people just cannot do this. It is not fair. It is just true. I am sorry."
Lanine did not say anything. He just looked at his hands. Still glowing. Still special.
---
That night Lanine found Rika at the village edge. The same place she always went. Staring at the stars.
He sat down beside her. Did not say anything at first.
She said, "I heard about you. Goro told me. You are special. I am not."
Lanine said, "Goro did not say that. He just said I have a good foundation."
She hugged her knees tightly. "I had that fire dream again. It was different this time. It felt deeper like something was calling out to me from far away."
"Rika—"
She looked up at him. Tears were welling up in her eyes. "Maybe that is all I am. Just dreams and nothing more. What if I am not good enough Lanine? What if I am just like everyone else in a world where ordinary people do not survive?"
He sat down beside her. Close.
"I do not know," he said. "I do not have answers. I know you are not like everyone else. You killed that stitch-hound with a rock. You made it through two days in the wilderness. You are still alive. That is not ordinary."
She said, "That is luck."
He told her, "Luck is something you can use. The Chief said that. Luck is a resource. And you have a lot of it. More than anyone I have met."
Rika was quiet for a time thinking. The stars moved slowly above them.
Then she said softly, "What if my dreams mean something?"
He said, "They probably do mean something."
She asked, "What if it is something bad?"
He said, "Then we will deal with it together Rika. That is what partners do."
She leaned against his shoulder. They watched the stars together. Neither of them said anything for a long time.
---
The next morning Lanine's hands were still glowing, but not very brightly. Just a faint light under the skin. He put them in his pockets during training. Did not want anyone to see.
Some people noticed anyway. Goro saw it. Torben saw it. Even Elder Berin looked at him once raising his eyebrows but not saying anything.
Rika saw it too. She did not say anything. Just looked away.
The second day of training was harder than the first day.
The kids were getting better at using their energy. Some of them could pull a little now. Their fingers would glow for a few seconds. One girl made her whole arm glow for three whole seconds and Berin was very happy with her. He actually praised her. That rarely happened.
Lanine sat on the side hiding his hands. He felt like he was pretending to be something he was not.
Rika sat beside him hiding her hands for a different reason.
She said, "Maybe you should practice with the kids. You are good at this."
He asked, "And leave you alone?"
She said, "I will be fine."
He asked, "Is that really what you want?"
She did not answer him. Just looked at the ground.
---
On the third day, something changed suddenly.
Lanine was watching the kids practice. Letting his mind wander. Then he felt something. A sharp feeling. Urgent. Like something was telling him to pay attention. Look now.
He turned around. Saw a stranger walking into the village.
The stranger was tall and thin. His clothes were changing colors in the light. Red to orange to purple. Like they could not decide what color they wanted to be. His eyes were like ashes. Like fire that had burned out but was still warm. He walked like he knew he was very powerful. Like nothing here could hurt him.
Examiner Varn had come early. Before anyone expected him to.
---
The rest of the day the village was very busy.
Parents were getting their kids ready. Brushing their hair. Fixing their clothes. Telling them to be good. The Chief was meeting with the elders in her hall. Talking about important things. Goro and Torben were watching the village closely, as if they thought something bad might happen.
Lanine and Rika stayed in their shed watching what was happening through the cracks in the wall.
Rika said, "He came early. Four days early."
Lanine said, "Yes. Four days early."
Rika asked, "Do you think it means something is happening?"
Lanine said, "I do not know." He looked at his hands. They were glowing a little. Pulsing softly. "But I do not think it is nothing."
Outside the suns were setting. Three of them are going down together. The sky was turning purple. The stars were coming out one by one.
Somewhere far away, in the wilderness, an animal was howling loudly. Rika and Lanine could hear it.
They sat together in the shed. Listening. Waiting.
Four days until the test.
Four days until everything might change.