Legend of the clans

Chapter 5 Unexpected Push

As the heat from the sun rained down on the earth. Cody and his friends were carrying large boxes filled with rocks. Unlike other teams which could train anywhere in the cities, these four could only train up in the mountains.

"Hurry up you guys or you won't get lunch." Tesla warned them before widening the gap between himself and the others. Zack who was far behind everyone was sweating buckets. He was on all fours trying to keep up with everyone.

"Why aren't we using our attributes?" Abby asked as she tried to close the distance between her and Tesla.

"In order to increase the amount of spells we can use we must increase the amount of alchemic energy the body stores up."

Tesla responded as he crossed the finish line. The boy slowly removed the box from his back and used it as a chair to sit on. He then watched the others compete for second place.

"What about those...who can't control the amount of energy...the body absorbs or uses?" Cody asked as he stopped to take a breath.

"According to some books I've read. That could mean something in you is messing with the link between your soul and body." Tesla responded, before stretching his legs and arms a little.

"While we are on the subject; why is it that you only know a single spell plus a basic enhancement technique Cody?" Tesla asked.

Before the boy could speak he had to swallow his saliva first. "I just told you." Cody responded. "I don't have a stable control of the alchemic energy in my body."

After an hour had passed everyone had reached the finish line. Zack was in the midst of stretching when Tesla approached him privately.

"I have a question to ask you. Can you please indulge me."

"Definitely." Zack responded while trying to do a split.

"For a Mamba you are not physically strong. What's up with that?" Tesla asked after observing the group.

"When presented with a choice between power or preserving someone's life; I chose the latter." Zack responded but not going into detail. "Thanks to that I cannot get physically stronger and people especially my own clansman look down on me."

"So you are joining the knights to prove them wrong." Tesla stated after noticing how much the question bothered Zack.

"Not just that..."

"I'm doing it for someone who has supported me." Zack continued. "I want to make my elder sister proud."

Later that day, Cody slowly walked home from the intense training. "All the muscles in my body hurt like hell. If it wasn't for the knight exam, I'll be going to Mr. Mainga's place to order some chilly fries."

"Talking to yourself again." Said a person, who was standing ahead of Cody. As the boy approached him more people appeared out of nowhere. In total only six people stood in Cody's path.

"A little birdie told me that you are part of a team." The boy smiled before he got close to Cody. "That's so sweet. However..."

"As an abnormal you should wait your turn. People like us should join teams before you." A boy with grey hair and red eyes like Zack commented. Unlike Zack he was a lot more muscular, along with his hair being smooth plus his face and nose being significantly longer.

"I asked some of you to join me; you all refused. Especially you Kenya." Cody responded. "You even blasted me with water."

Immediately after Cody's response Kenya punched him in the abdomen. The Dlamini boy coughed out saliva before he wrapped his arms around his gut. "Did I give you permission to talk?" Kenya enquired. "Shut up and let me speak.

"Should we really be doing this?" A boy with glasses asked as a couple of people passed

"Are you getting cold feet Simon?" Kenya asked, as he looked back at his friends. "What you should be doing is saying how awesome I am or is that too hard for your peanut sized brain?"

Before Kenya could continue, Cody cloaked his right hand in darkness and quickly hurled a punch at Kenya's stomach. The boy then kicked Kenya on his face, causing him to fall.

Knowing Kenya, he would beat up on a traitor. Even if Simon was a pain before, I don't want him to be targeted. Cody analyzed, as he turned around to face the remaining six.

Before Cody could act, the Mamba boy ran up to him. "You will pay for touching Kenya with your filthy hands." The boy then conjured vines from his hands and quickly wrapped them around Cody. "Now you can't go anywhere."

Everytime Cody tried to escape the vines would tighten. He then decided to cover his entire body with his darkness. If I use more alchemic energy I may lose control of my attribute. Going on a defensive is a safe bet.

During all this commotion Kenya managed to stand up. He dusted himself before speaking. "Wow, you've actually improved abnormal." The boy smiled maliciously. Kenya then balled his fist preparing to punch Cody.

The water he created quickly took the shape of a bullet around his hand. With one swift motion, Kenya punched Cody in the face. To much of the dark haired boy's surprise, the attack penetrated his defenses. A tooth of his flew out of his mouth as he fell to the ground.

"That was my 'aqua sandwich'. How did you like it?" Kenya asked, as the other boys surrounded Cody. "Since you showed me that boring spell of yours, it's only fair that I bless your eyes with mine."

While all eyes were on Cody, Simon used this chance to escape unseen. He ran like a mouse in search of anyone that could help. These guys are taking it too far. I thought we were going to just scare him like we usually do.

The boys soon started to kick Cody. Each of them laughed as they caused him pain. After ten seconds Kenya ordered them to stop.

"It looks like he wants to speak."

"If you'd go so far to injure me, you must really want to be knights. What is your reason for wanting that position so bad?" Cody asked, as he struggled to even sit up. He could feel the flow of blood from his nose to his shirt.

"For the money of course. Knights are among the most paid individuals in this country. Who cares about the people's welfare?" Kenya

Explained. "As long as I get paid, all is good."

"That's true." One of the boys agreed.

"You tell him boss."

"Now tell us your reason for wanting to join the knights. I'm dieing to listen." Kenya watched Cody standing up.

Before Cody opened his mouth he looked Kenya straight in the eyes. "I want to be a knight so that I can protect people and become a magi." Everyone around Cody immediately burst into laughter upon hearing it.

"You...a magi?"

"That's a bar too far for him to reach. Even becoming a knight is a bit of a stretch." Kenya added.

"He would be lucky to be a blacksmith like William." The Mamba boy mocked him.

"I can do it..." Cody responded, as he tried to stand up. "Just watch me, because one day you'll be telling your grandchildren my story."

After Cody said those words Kenya walked up to him. The Motsa boy kicked him in the stomach causing Cody to stumble backwards. "You know what you said just now was insulting. How can an abnormal like you become a magi when I exist." Kenya stated. The rest of the boys then joined in. Each of them mocked Cody's dream as they kicked.

"If you want to protect everyone, free yourself from us." One of the boys laughed.

As the light started to fade away, the dark haired boy noticed a familiar figure approach the attackers. The sky blue hair shined brightly in the sunlight and the lavender eyes met Cody's black ones. "La.....na." Cody spoke, before blacking out.

Five minutes later, he woke up to find a pair of lavender eyes staring at him. "Wow you're still alive. You must be stronger than last time we met." She said, with a blank expression on her face. "Don't worry about your attackers little head. I reported them to Cosmo who was close by; you welcome." She said, with a slight rather awkward smile .

"Even after eleven years, you still have my back." After hearing that Lana laughed a bit before poking Cody on his forehead.

She stood up slowly and took a deep breath before she turned away from her friend. "I heard your speech earlier. You never change buddy." She said as she left. "Although what they were doing was wrong, what they said was correct. In order to protect others first you must protect yourself."

After that Lana walked away. With a simple wave she disappeared in the horizon. Cody sat there looking at the distance. The events of that day kept replaying in his head.

Yeah they are right. If I can't fend off five children. How can I protect a nation. From out of the blue, Cody's night staff appeared, however something about it had changed. The boy noticed dragon markings all over it plus it felt heavier for some reason. This caused him to remember the time he trained with his father. I have to get stronger.

Later that evening Tesla was out jogging. As he stopped to rest he detected a rise in alchemic energy output. With out wasting much time he went to investigate. To his surprise he found Cody training in the woods.

"This is not enough I have to get stronger." Cody spoke to himself. Tesla saw that Cody was expanding his night staff slowly. "Strong enough to fight five people that is." Cody reminded himself.

Tesla gently smiled while watching from the tree top. "Hmm. I might have a spell he can learn."

The next day Zack sat on a brown leather sofa in an office. He kept using his alchemy to change the channel however nothing interested him.

"I wonder why dad invited me to his office?" He questioned as the summer breeze entered the room the opened window. Thanks to this the skulls of all the people his father defeated created this eriee sound. It was at that moment when he finally figured out what was taking his father long.

"No way." The boy stated as he tried to increase the volume of the television. "Cody's uncle is the new magi!!"

"I would like to say, I look forward to the exam in the next three weeks. I can't wait to see the talent we have in this great nation of ours. To the Tsela clan I'm currently working on selecting your new clan leader with the help of a special committee I've chosen. Thank you everyone."