CORONATION OF THE THIRD FORCE

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The environment of the Academy is all magical. At the canteen, the dishes are served by invisible hands and we wash our hands on the air yet there are water and soap. As we leave our dorm for the classes, on approaching the lecture Hall what appears like a waterlogged terrain is dry ground, and not a few plods through it as though wet. Daily different scenarios are enacted for us to witness that impact our consciousness as to where we are. The academy those not host old and new students together; old students are sufficiently graduated and let off before new ones are admitted. This we were not told, but as I thought about the academy’s operations my system reveal to me the reason; to allow new students to explore the possibilities of magic without the assistance of the old.

One day as we in the class as we sat waiting for our lecturer, he came in our a cloud of smoke, stepped out, taught his class of mystic magic, and stepped in back, and left. Another came in rowing on a canoe with water all about his space yet we were in a dry classroom and taught us magic for the control of the forces of nature sitting on the canoe comfortably. On and on, each of the teachers enters his class based on the class he takes. The one on the magic carpet never misses to call in his carpet that transports him around the class while he teaches and the one handling the magic for appearance and disappearance teaches us while invisible until he is through and then appears to bid us goodbye. I enjoyed all this while it lasted, but my focus was on my rivals who I observed are so immersed in the classes forgetting that I watch their every move. They are a novice to magic, while I am magic myself.

Nevertheless, I dare not underestimate them since I don’t know the strength of their kingdoms and their stretch of preparation. I know the kingdom of the Sun and Fire is no place to play around with, neither can I say the kingdom of Wind and Darkness is a place to trifle with. Both kingdoms have ever since downplayed the strength of the kingdom of Water and Snow, where we call up deep snow to cover and devour our enemies and command water to suck them in.

 In the last six months, we have been taught the secret of magic and imparted with the spirit of magic, given the codes of magic systems, and initiated into the cult of magic besides the practical experiments every student was expected to undergo. I went through it all without giving away any hint that more than half of what is taught here is inside of me. But I did learn new tricks, especially, on the control of the forces of nature. This became necessary because my opponents, like myself, are from kingdoms that sit with nature and for me to counter them when deploying does weapons I must be knowledgeable enough to have my way. We are taught to control and to deploy the forces of nature, forces which I know will play a significant part in our upcoming combat challenge.

Within those months I played around the two princes, and Radia has rather taken interest in me and would call me out for a walk living Bosakia fuming. He was good in his effort to draw me out from my shell, but I know his intentions so I played along evading his most intrusive questions answering those we share an affinity in like the combat itself. One day he had asked an intriguing question as we strolled in the academy library. He said;

‘Prince Jokhara, did your kingdom deliberately promote your weakness to deceive?’ my mind skipped momentarily, what is he saying, does he read me as well? But I smiled and said,

‘Everywhere, people are free to pursue their fancies. Don’t you think, Prince Radia, your kingdom might just have done that concerning me?’

‘Not, really, my friend. For not only do my kingdom think you are a dummy, but also, my companion’s kingdom of the Wind.’

‘What a coincidence, so to speak. But it boils down to my opinion that we are all permitted to think as we wish concerning others. What if you are right about me, Prince Radia?’

‘The air about you say little of that, rather, on the contrary, you exude much confidence going forward.’

‘That is your opinion of me; another might have a different one. But in all, I am who I am, I learn from the confidences of others, from their mistakes and their corrections. You are just one of those.’ But I know he was not deceived and we left this topic for another as Bosakia found and joined us. Immediately his garrulous nature took over. He was also the jealous type, I guess,

‘My good friend has found a new good friend’, he announced sarcastically as he approached us. Radia, whose countenance one can hardly judge, answered him,

‘Does making good friends an evil, Prince Bosakia?’

‘Hardly my suggestion, Prince Radia, I thought it as my compliments, instead.’

‘Undeserving as at this moment’, Radia said.

Soon, he diverted his attention towards me;

‘New friend’ he said, ‘what gives you the confidence to change your mind?’

You can hear it in his tone that scorn, that sneering of the good for nothing prince from the Water kingdom, who all of a sudden is here preparing for the combat challenge reserved for real men. And I swore silently I will let him feel my wrath more than the nobles felt. But I hid my anger and said to him,

‘And when did the Prince of the kingdom of the Wind in charge of my decision making mind?

‘A lot is said of you’, he let it out what Radia was prudently protecting, ‘of the protective prince you are. But the change now is contrary to all the silly stories. Who is deceiving who?’

‘Prince Bosakia, it there means you have been self-deceived all along. And that is hardly my business.’

‘Never your business Prince Jokhara, but we are not deceived any more, thanks to the magic course’, he said rather wistfully.

‘How, Bosakia did you make your conclusions. Where you deceived on hearsay?’ said Radia who has been listening.

‘It circulated in my kingdom of the weak prince of the Water kingdom, and we all believed that planted falsehood.’

‘But what do you see now, friend?’ Radia pressed him.

‘I see nothing different except one playing mind games with trained combatants. That is all I see.’

‘You have seen well, work with that friend’, said Radia.

‘That settles it then, my friends. Meet you in the field of combat’ and I extended my hands for a shake and as each shook my hand they felt an overpowering heat and I turned and saw them squirming and smiled and disappeared into the dorm been my last day in the academy. I retired to my room and sat tired on the single chair provided and suddenly my grandfather appeared. He was smiling and I was elated seeing him;

‘Father, I thought you will never make it.’

‘No son, I keep my promises. I choose today as you depart for home. Your combat is at hand.’

‘You look happy, what is new, father?

‘Your performance here was splendid. You put up well with those two. Did you learn a thing?’

‘I did learn the control of the forces of nature. The rest is in me.’

‘That is about the best you have done. Now listen to this’, he said and I pointed my hand at the door and got it shut and he started to say, ‘the Princes you face in combat are versed in their use of the forces of nature. Doubtless, to say, the kingdom of Sun and fire is most dangerous. Radia is capable of emitting fervent heat against his opponents in combat. Bosakia can unleash a burst of a whirlwind that can sweep a mountain away. But I tell you, my son; you can swallow both with who you are, water and snow. You can quench the violence of fire and heat with your snow. You can sweep away fire and hold down the wind all with water. What did king Agorim say to you as you left for the magic academy?

‘He said he and his new nobles will initiate me into the kingdom’s forces of water and snow on my return.’

‘The initiation will hand you the control of those forces of nature, and all you have learned here is how to deploy them and use them to defend and attack your foes. The combat, remember, is one of life and death, remember also that pity will destroy you. To die a second death is to defeat all our labor. Go and be ruthless, pitiless, and victorious. The day you touch down on the soil of our kingdom, the combat code system will also arrive. One more secret to you before the combat starts, and that I will deliver a day to the combat. Watch your back’.

Like that he was gone and I lay back to collect my thoughts as I prepare to graduate from the magic academy with my two rivals sensing the real Jokhara that awaits them in the combat field. The next day all the students lined up in the open space meant for graduation and what a wonderful scenario as we all floated on the air, and all the lecturers and head of the Academy came in different forms of magical appearance. Some on clouds, flying carpets, walking on water, and most surreal of them all is the head Academy that breezed in riding on a white flying horse spitting fire. There he sat and addressed his graduating students. He is a man of few words, since I arrived here I have heard him speak only twice to my hearing, he may be talkative to others but to me, he is not. Here are his exact words;

‘The world is in your palms, go affect positive changes. What you do with what you take from here is all yours to decide. But put it to good use, serve the world, serve nature, and be served in return. I know some came here so that they can go and be emperors, kings, and princes, you can be anything, however, let what you do and become have justice in it. Hurray for completing your course. You shall go now’ and the moment he said those last words all of us students were transported out of the academy to the air and flying to our various destinations and only you alone can take control of your flight.

That I immediately did; bring myself down to the earth and took a different direction to my kingdom. Since we came with nothing to the academy, we left with nothing except the knowledge that has been ingrained in us, and that been enough we were floated out as birds of the air. My kingdom now is peaceful and everybody is looking forward to the combat challenge and tonight I will reunite with the king and his wife and subsequently his nobles for my initiation into the force of my kingdom, water and snow.