The Tale of Xenosa

Day 2 of Training

Xenosa's POV:

I blinked and I pinched myself. Just to make sure that I wasn't daydreaming. This was real. Bathala was here! I don't think he could see me. Could he though? I mean, this is my dream, and this was my vision. Or was it? Everything right now just felt a bit too complicated for me. It would be better if I didn't ask lots of questions as I don't think I could speak in this dream anyway. What's happening here? Why was he here? The next thing surprised me more. Bathala went to where Sitan was at. And just by the snap of his finger, the remnants of Sitan floated into oblivion, erasing him once and for all. Sitan was no longer on this Earth. Bathala continued to approach where my stoned self was at, together with the others. He patted our heads once. That was all it took for our statues to disintegrate. I don't understand. Were we dead? Did we die already? Like are we no longer a part of the living creatures of this world? I was about to approach Bathala and that's when a sudden invisible pull from behind was sucking me from that dream. I was waking up. And so I did. I woke up abruptly with sweat trickling down my forehead, which I quickly wiped out. I noticed the sun coming through the window. Huh, it was morning already. That was quick. I slept through the entire night? I mean I dreamed the entire night, weird. The two dreams seemed like they were somehow connected. I don't know how to put them together yet. I headed off to take a shower. After I finished, I brushed my teeth and changed into my training clothes. I took one last glance at the omega mark Sitan had put on me. It was beautiful. Though the meaning was awfully discriminating, I really didn't mind. Plus, it wasn't that visible with a shirt on. I then headed off to the dining hall. I immediately sat where Cresia, Justin and Jaz were at. They were shocked to see me. Cresia had a relieved look on her face. "Xen, you're here!" Jaz was the first to greet me. "We thought you were going to skip training today. We heard from Cresia that you weren't really doing well yesterday," she explained. "Yeah well, I feel a whole lot better now and I can't really afford to miss training. Now that I have a slight idea of what we're really up against, I realized that I needed all the training I could get. Plus, this would really help in keeping my mind about the whole thing and keep me busy," I answered. The three of them just nodded their heads at me. "We're glad you're doing fine Xen. We got so worried. I was going to go to your room last night after your parents had left, but I figured you needed some time alone," Lacresia said. "It's not a big deal. I kind of fell asleep after we talked last night," I replied. I looked around and saw that there were fewer people here compared to yesterday. "Uhm what's going on? Where were the herds of people here yesterday? This place seems emptier and a whole lot quieter than usual," I said. This time Justin was the one to answer, "Haven't you heard yet? The whole place kind of went on lockdown. The only ones who were able to get there were the gods and goddesses. They all left early this morning. Something about domain emergencies. Our parents aren't here anymore. I only heard of it though Rico my aid," he casually said. I only nodded my head at him. I didn't even get to say good bye, but what was I expecting though? I'm sure a lot of them here didn't even know what was going on. Speaking of personal aid, where was Emma at? I was about to call for her when she suddenly appeared in front of me with a plate in her hands. "Glad you're doing well dearest, eat up if you plan on training today," she says. "Thanks Emma, I thought you left the castle premises as well," I replied to her. "And leave you here for yourself? That simply cannot be," she sweetly said. I then smiled at her and ate my breakfast. After eating, I immediately headed out for training. I then noticed that guy again. I wasn't able to get his name. I saw he had an injury to his arm. Wait, didn't they say another demigod got injured during my fall? That was him? Was he the one who caught me? I was about to head over where he was at when I heard Dagat's voice from behind, "Ah you're here. I thought you wouldn't come in today," she says. I immediately turned around and bowed my head. We were sisters last night in that room, but out here she was my trainer, my master of some sorts. "Yeah, I figured I couldn't miss a day of training. I need to get ready," I said to her. I tried to avoid mentioning what happened last night since I don't know if they released that information yet. "Very well, shall we start?" she asked. "Yep, we really should," I wasn't really feeling training today, but I didn't have a choice. I needed to. This wasn't a case of whether I wanted to or not. This is about doing what needs to be done. "Now, since you couldn't do what I taught you yesterday, let's start off somewhere else this morning. Try to master a few of these tricks as well. By the way, the tricks I'm about to show you, are ones that not a basic water user can master right away, but these would come in handy during a fight. It will teach you to be resourceful, wary and careful of your surroundings," she explained. I nodded and proceeded to observe her. The first trick that she showed me was called 'water arms'. It's called that because, well basically, you summon water from wherever you can find it, and then allow it to coat your arms. She then showed me how I could use it in battle. I could use it both as a weapon and as a shield. It was very durable. This reminded me of the show I used to watch as a kid. One of the main characters' friends was a water bender. That character used to do stuff like this as well. The trick that she showed me was how I could manipulate the water and make it freeze. I never thought it was possible to do something like that in the heat of the sun. She says I could use it for both offense and defense too. I'd also be able to immobilize an enemy by freezing them. Handy. The next thing she showed me was probably the only thing I was familiar with, and that was controlling the water in the direction I wanted it to go. "You had probably done this already but I still want to show you what you can do once you master this one," she then motioned her arms in specific motions. Water began to circle around her feet and engulfed her. The water continued to rise until it was up to her waist. The water she was controlling had its own current going around her. It's quite the same as the water swirl I did when we fought the nymphs, but the next thing surprised me the most. The water and the moisture from the plants around her were gone. The grass had died, they were all swirled into the giant water tornado she had going on. What's amazing was that she could put it back. She could form it into weapons, like what I did with the water trident. Only hers was much more solid looking, though it wasn't ice. It was beautiful to look at. The next thing she showed me was the last trick she'd teach me. "Water is beautiful, isn't it, Xen? You can manipulate it to be whichever weapon you'd like. It can be anything, it can even heal wounds. But there's also danger to it," she then pointed at a rat, a rodent! I was shocked but then she told me this, "I'm not proud of this technique and only few water users can do this perfectly. This will only be used as a means of a last resort," She then closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She then made claw-like gestures with her hands. To my surprise, the rodents had stopped. They were shaking, she opened her eyes and I saw tints of red on them. I then looked at the rat. It had the same eyes. She then continued to make swaying gestures with her hands. The rats had copied that. No, I don't think that was the case. She was controlling them! The instant that I understood, she immediately let go of her control on them. "I know such an inhumane trick to do, that's why you can only use it as a last resort. It's sort of a secret weapon by water users that is not widely practiced," she explained. "Yeah, that's a very cruel thing to do, Lady Eas, but I understand that in time of battle there are times when we must abandon a bit of our conscience," I said. She then nodded at me, "Now Xen, I must warn you. The technique I just did if done incorrectly has the potential to harm the user. If you do it using the wrong kind of energy, you might be endangering your own life as well. It can greatly diminish your life source by sharing it with the creature you attempted to control," she started to say. I nodded my head at her, signaling for her to continue. "When you attempt to control a creature, maybe it be an animal or a rodent, you'll need to build a connection with it. Now that connection, like everything else, needs energy. As a water user, you have access to the energy that we call hydropower. The mortals, they use them in order to generate electricity. We use it to control the natural energy around us, redirecting it to the person we want to control. If you fail to use natural energy, then your body will begin to suck off energy from your life source," she continued to say. Okay, that's a bit disturbing. So I guess what she's trying to tell me is that I could die from using that technique. "I understand Lady Ease," I said to her. She then nodded at me and said, "Now begin to do the first two techniques I showed you". Upon hearing that, I immediately got up from where I sat and began to train. This was going to be one heck of a morning. And that ladies and gentleman was how I began my second day of training. After a few hours of just trying to do the water arms and the whole freezing water thing. The good news is that I'm able to do the water arms technique, I can even fight with them. The bad news is that I'm still not able to make it as durable as possible. A sword could still cut through it easily. I also tried to do the freezing water technique. I started with small amounts, like about enough that'd fill a basin. It was good I was able to freeze it, but not all the way. Just a bit at the top. I couldn't freeze it all the way, much more make a weapon out of it. I did this for about the whole morning. Yesterday's lesson was a bit harder, but this one was more taxing. Half an hour before lunch time, Dagat told me to get some rest and wait for lunch in the dining hall. I looked over the castle and realized that I really didn't want to go in just yet. So I went to the nearest tree I could find and sat down. I took deep breaths to relax. Ah, fresh air always does the trick. I was about to close my eyes when I heard a voice out of nowhere that startled me say, "What are you doing in my spot?" I got up right away and faced the owner of that voice. I was surprised at who I saw.