Everyone Forgets the Beginning (BattleR Saga Story 1)
Seventh Chant

The Test Subject

After I left Chronostary City I headedsouth, to the mountains.

According to notes left by the late General Yakufe, the ADAM test is dividedinto 8 parts called “the Trials”.

First trial named “Inner voice”require candidate to replace ones inborn element. By feeling nature and listeninginto the 4 main elements one is able to communicate with ‘inner voice’, voiceof ones basic power, one's basic element, therefore the first ever used.

Usually first usage of the elementhappens in two years after being born so no one is able to remember what theelement was. Sometimes it’s the same through whole generations. But it’s not arule.

My parents died before I went toAcademy and learned to control elements properly, but as long as I remember Icould always use 3 elements.

Water, Lightning and Air. It must be one of them.

When I’ve walked a few miles I stoppedto meditate. I was far enough from the village not to be influenced by elementscontrolled there all the time. I sat on the small hilltop in the forest nearthe pond.

Breath in. Breath out. Constantlythinking about my basic element I heard whistling. It grew stronger and louderas I continued meditation. I heard nothing more than this whistling noise.

Then as I was covered by darknessinside my thoughts I heard a voice, female voice. It was a whisper so Icouldn’t hear it due to constant whistling. What an annoying sound. But on theother hand very calm and peaceful.

The whistling volume decreased and thewhispering stopped. With closed eyes I couldn’t tell how much time passed.

'Findme… Find me…' I heard the woman’s voice again 'Akh Dhamm… Find me… You know me… I was withyou whole your life… Find me…'

Suddenly warm and soft wind dabbed myface and sweet chrysanthemum smell woke me up from deep meditation.

I opened my eyes, whistling stoppedand the female voice said last words:

'Feelmy soul and replace me on the heights…'

I knew where I had to go, deep intothe mountains. Luckily it’s summer so it should be warm and nice up there, butstill chilly and windy.

I grabbed my bag and jumped on tall birch below which I meditated. Jump by jumpI reached the top of the tree and looked around. Hundreds of miles in bushydark forest distended between me and the rocky hills I must go to.

I took an apple out of my bag and ateit in a flash. It was midday when I started meditation but the moon was veryhigh when I was awaken. I decided to go to sleep and move out at dawn.

Night was very calm, no wind, noclouds, clear black sky with millions of stars and crescent moon.

I put down the fire after I ate somequail drumsticks and fell asleep.

I woke up right before the sunrise. Itwas chilly and the dew covered everything around me including my cape which wascovering the bag.

I flicked the dew of the cape, put iton and headed south.

‘It’s a long way before me’ was what Ithought of before I saw small gray object fly in my direction from the village.It was a pigeon, used by Yakufe family to send information safely and at longdistances.

A pigeon with Yakufe crest symbol onthe back and small piece of paper pinned down to its leg landed on my shoulder.

But he flew back immediately when Iunhooked the note.

I unrolled and read it:

“To Akh Dhamm. Important notificationfrom The Council and Yakufe family. Megmi Yakufe, daughter of late GeneralYakufe, let his spirit rest in peace and guide us through difficulties, leftthe Great City of Chronostary and is now following after you. You are forbiddenfrom contacting her unless she confronts you first. Do not let her die norkill. She’s not part of the ADAM test and is forbidden from taking part in it.Be well and keep your mind unclouded.”

Blasted woman, what have she thought?Doing such stupid thing right after losing her father.

I heard some noise on the north, shemust’ve been tracking me all night.

I snapped fingers and inflamedcampfire I had put down earlier. I looked at the message last time and threw itinto the fire.

“Do not let her die nor kill.” I saidsilently and gritted the campfire with earth.

I thought ‘It will be very troublesomeyear…’ and rushed south as rising sun warmed skin on my face.

Meg was tired and hungry when shortlyafter dawn she found dying down campfire left by Dhamm.

“Damn it, I need to rest for a bit orI won’t be able to catch up to him anytime soon” she sat on the wooden pale andtook bottle of water out of her bag, a lot smaller in comparison with the Akh’sone.

After a short nap, around the noon,Meg gathered her things and followed Akh’s trace she picked up couple of meterssouth.

At the end of the day she found herselfnice cave near the river. She fell asleep very fast, unused to daylong travels.

(end of part 1)

part 2:

After 3 weeks of traveling, days andnights, tired physically and mentally, Meg found a small wooden cottage. Shethought it’s weird such fine house is standing still so far away from anycivilization.

She knocked on the door few times butno one answered.

She decided to knock last time whenthe doors opened before her on their own. She went inside.

Beside one person bed next to thewindow and small wooden table on the center, the cottage was totally emptied.

Meg sat on the bed. It was stiff anduncomfortable. How could anyone sleep on it?

The door shut the same way theyopened. On their own. Meg left her bag on the table and opened the window. Thenshe noticed small piece of paper sticking out of the window corner. She pickedit up and opened. There were only 7 lines crossed in 2 groups, one made of 5lines, other of 2.

“Seven?” Meg sat on the bed again andput out the candle from lying on the ground bag. “What can it mean? First five,then two…”

‘Wait’

She stopped for a second and looked atthe bag. It wasn’t her, this one was bigger and heavier.

“Se-seven days?! He spent here sevendays? And I thought I’m starting to finally catch up on him.”

She emptied Akh’s bag and threweverything on the bed. There were some clothes, kitchen gear and some bird meatleftovers.

“Where did he go then? And how longago?” she put everything back into the bag and left it on the floor where shefound it.

She grabbed her bag and left thecottage in search of Akh’s trace. She found one, quite fresh footprint leftsouth-east the cottage, in straight way to the mountain top. She ran in thatdirection without second thoughts.

“Great, I didn’t lost her”

I jumped from one top of the tree toanother just to keep my eyes on Meg. She’s following me for almost a month now,we’re getting closer to the mountains and it will get nasty up there.

I looked behind me. Blinded by noonsun I could barely see where the sky starts and mountains ends.

I looked down, Meg ran with all herstrength, but were losing her breath quickly.

Without proper training in the academyit’s nearly impossible to keep my pace, so I had to even stop for a week.

Fortunately I think I can fulfillfirst Trial’s condition now. And I have to do it before Meg reach the mountain.

I started jumping south-west, to getas far from Meg as possible. She could replace my trace back in two days top ifonly I left her the track to follow.

In minutes I reached themountain, tall as if there were gates to heaven on the top. I started climbing.

When I stayed in the cottage for aweek to let Meg catch up on me, I meditated long days and nights. As Meg wasgetting closer, I could hear the female voice clearer and louder. And on thelast night before Meg found my hideout I heard the woman saying this:

“I know you. You should know me, butyou rejected me from your memory. I helped you countless times without a word.Now it’s time for you to help me reach you. You will replace me and the answeryou’re looking for on top of the highest mountain before you. Go, my boy, go upand play with me. ”

It started getting dark before I evenclimbed one third of the mountain. It must’ve been at least 1500 miles high.

When moon passed the mountains andshowed up on the west again I decided to make short break. I had to replenishenergy and hydrate myself to keep up climbing for next twenty hours.

Before I noticed I fell asleep. I wokeup long after dawn, sun was high enough to make mountains a decent shadow. Idrank some water and restarted climbing. When I passed half way to the top Ilooked down to where Meg should be. I saw small smoke below the neighbormountain and smiled.

‘She is doing just fine. Good. I canfocus on the training now’

I climbed constantly for the rest ofthe afternoon and half of the night. I felt like I was getting closer to thestars. Same stars I used to visit before and after Academy. Same stars thatwere being destroyed by Callyps’ army while I could do nothing to blow thewhistle on it.

When moon set down and sky started toenlighten I finally reached the top of the mountains. There was something Iwasn’t expecting. Two columns of giant statues representing Yakufe’spredecessors. Each and every one of them was able to fully understand andcontrol at least 5 elements. At the end there was empty platform with General’sname on it.

When I came closer to it stonesstarted to gather on it, forming something resembling a person. When I touchedthe stones wind had blown from below the platform and threw stones high up inthe sky. The stones were whirling in the sky for couple of seconds when finallyformed male figure. Huge stone statue of General Gamidio Yakufe fell down likea feather and landed safely on the platform.

“Welcome, Akh Dhamm” I heard woman’svoice again, but not from inside of my head, this time from behind me.

I turned around and saw a femalefigure made of whirling on the wind leafs and twigs. I never saw such beautifulthing in my entire life. Not on my home planet, not on any other, not here onTherra either. The woman reached out to me one hand and showed big squarebehind her with other.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Of course I know, you’ve beenintroducing yourself past month” I answered while making small steps towardher.

“Do you fear me?”

“No, I don’t. There’s no need to fearmy own power.”

“Are you ready to pass first part ofThe Trials?” I reached my hand to her and grabbed her hand made of swirlingwind.

“I am.”

“Then sit on the middle of the SacredSquare and tell my real name”

“REAL name?”

“Yes” she let my hand go and movedback as I sat inside small circle on the center of market size square. “Thename of first chant you have created. Now close your eyes, feel my breeze andtell my name.”

I closed my eyes. Breath in. Breathout. I noticed I did that slow breathing every time I used any element evenbefore I entered Academy.

Breath in. Warm morning mountain windtickled my face. Breath out. It felt like some cold steam left my body andsoul. Breath in. The female voice have spoken the last time ‘My name…’

While opening my eyes with full breath Isaid: