Call of Ring(Compleled)

17 Training Room

Blake was surprised to discover they were back in the market.

“How can I possibly be taught anything else here?” Blake wondered.

They passed the vacant booth of Shamos.

“He’ll probably be back tomorrow selling fine cuts of meat again. But by now, he is probably wasted and napping off his drunken celebration.” Blake smiled outwardly at his inner musing.

Apollos stopped abruptly in front of a booth with antique trinkets. As he looked closely at the items for sale, Blake suddenly remembered that this was the booth where he had purchased the “Ring of Cora.” But just as Blake stopped to reminisce, Apollos made eye contact with Blake shooting him a smile with a wink before moving on.

Soon they would arrive at the fritter booth, and Blake was preparing to see the now-familiar smile of Sharina. He didn’t go far enough to see her though, because Apollos turned left, ducking into an obscure empty booth. It was as if he had disappeared. Blake followed blindly. As soon as Blake entered the booth, he felt also as if he had disappeared.

Somehow the booth was an undisclosed gateway into a large open room. Apollos was already seated in an eclectic chair comfortably as if recovering from a long journey, or awaiting the arrival of a tardy guest.

“How is this possible?” Blake asked himself silently.

Apollos smiled as if he could somehow hear the silent question Blake had asked.

“Welcome!” he remarked.

“Where are we?” Blake asked still confused.

“Where we do not matter. What matters is that today we begin your training. And what matters further is that this is where we will do most of that training.”

Blake decided it wasn’t worth any further mental strain trying to understand the space they both now occupied.

“Close your eyes,” Apollos instructed.

Blake closed his eyes without asking questions, and silently waited for what might come next.

“What do you hear, what do you feel, and what do you sense?” Apollos asked.

It seemed like his voice had gotten closer, somehow amplified, or maybe the acoustics in this space were simply extraordinary, otherworldly?

“I hear your voice…” Blake replied.

“No. Listen. Other than the sound of my voice, what do you hear? …What do you feel, and what do you sense?”

Blake remained silent, hoping he could forget the deep sound of Apollos’ voice that had just filled the room. He waited longer, straining his ears to hear something. He felt the silence was now awkwardly long, but he wanted to hear, so he kept waiting, battling his impatience.

“I hear the commotion. The faint sound of people talking. A group of people, but it is many voices speaking all at once. Some closer, some in the distance. Different tones, different pitches. Some male. Some female. I hear children even further in the distance. Some are laughing, some are shouting. Maybe it’s the market I hear?”

Blake paused, wondering if Apollos’ voice would come next to fill the void. But there was only silence, so he continued to listen. He could still hear what he concluded was the sound of a busy market far off in the distance.

“I hear a familiar female voice that is now louder. It is close.”

Blake stopped speaking, straining his ears in an attempt to discern this lovely voice.

“Sadie!!” he cried out, opening his eyes!

But when he opened his eyes, the noise suddenly ceased. All of it. No more market sound, and no more beautiful Sadie. Apollos sat silently in his chair, a frown on display across his distinguished face.

“I must go see her. She has to be nearby!” Blake declared.

Blake turned to leave in the direction from which he had entered the room. But as he turned around, no exit met his eyes. There didn’t appear to be a way of leaving this room. Frantically, he began pacing the room.

“STOP!” came the command from Apollos.

Blake froze in place and slowly turned to see angry eyes that met his.

“Sadie is not here. She is not even close. It is the subconscious and its desire that is coming to the forefront of your mind as you force yourself to be quiet in your thoughts. Let her go. And do not open your eyes again, until I instruct you to do so.”

Blake felt dejected but tried not to outwardly display any emotion. In a short span of time, he had now seen two expressions from Apollos he had not seen before. A frown, and angry eyes. He was determined to pass whatever test this might be. He also never wanted to witness neither the frown nor the angry eyes again.

“What do you hear, what do you feel, and what do you sense?” Apollos asked again in a steady patient voice.

Before the words were repeated, Blake had already closed his eyes. He waited in silence, but the sounds came more quickly this time. The distant voices. The crowded market. A new voice came to the forefront.

“Is it true?” asked a voice unrecognizable to Blake.

“I’m not sure,” replied a familiar female voice. Whoever it was, she continued:

“I can confirm that I have heard rumors from multiple sources that the wild beasts from Stella Woods have been killed.”

“Is it true that this man, the foreign visitor to our Empire was the one who concocted the plan?” asked the stranger.

“His name is Blake, and yes, that is part of the rumor circulating,” replied the familiar voice.

“Sharina!” Blake exclaimed, choosing to do make his declaration silently this time.

He continued in silence listening to the conversation. He wondered whether the conversation was actually taking place and if it was happening in real-time.

Blake moved on to focus on the second question, ‘What do I feel?’ And as he did so, the voices faded. Suddenly, there was silence. The quiet afforded him the space to explore his feelings.

“I feel sadness, I miss Sadie…” he told himself silently.

“Stop it, Blake! Focus!” interrupted Apollos.

At this point, Blake was no longer curious how Apollos seemed to discern even his private thoughts. He just tried to refocus with his eyes still fastened shut.

“I feel proud and victorious. We have saved the children from the threat of the wild beasts of Stella Woods.”

Blake paused a little longer to explore his feelings.

“I feel excited to learn more about this world. I’m honored to be chosen as a student of the great Apollos…”

“Stop kissing ass!” The interruption of Apollos startled Blake so much that he accidentally opened his eyes again. Apollos was still in his chair, but this time his face bore a playful smirk.

Blake closed his eyes again, feeling less scolded, and returned to the contemplation of his feelings. But he felt nothing further. He had emptied himself of his true feelings. It was time to move on to the third question:

“What do I sense?”

Silence rang in his ears. Emptiness was the void in his emotions. Time seemed to stand still. And then it came, almost like an inaudible premonition:

“There will be many threats. Protect the ring, there is power in it. You will become great in this world and the next. But you must remain patient. You must train hard. Trust your instincts and learn to listen to your senses.”

Involuntarily, Blake opened his eyes. His eyes locked in with those of Apollos. A large grin spread across the face of his wise sage. Wisdom had been imparted by the teacher. Blake the student was born. He had now learned something useful that would help him in this new world.

Apollos rose from his chair and bowed slightly to congratulate Blake.

There is one more thing that I must say to you today before we part ways with this space.

“You must protect the ring at all costs. Even with your life. That ring holds great power, and it has been bestowed unto you for a reason,” declared Apollos, suddenly looking more stern, but without the angry eyes.

“Please tell me more about the ring of…”

“You must never say the name out loud, save for one situation,” interrupted Apollos.

“And what is that?” asked Blake trying not to sound frustrated.

“The time will come for us to discuss these things. But the time is not today,” replied Apollos in an almost condescending tone.

Apollos began walking toward a side of the room. Blake followed without invitation. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

POOF!

They were back in the vendor booth from which they had entered this space. Soon they found themselves back in the mix of a crowded market. Blake looked back at they mysterious booth, a conduit to a different world. A world of training. He shouldn’t have been surprised to discover that they were on their way back to the watering hole. A hard day’s work for Apollos. He was ready to reward himself with a drink after exerting such great effort in his tedious labor. Blake smiled as they entered the bar.