The two monks stood there in that rippling autumn field, facing each other as though linked together by a chain and stretching it to tautness.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUDRDrLboY
“You understand not what you say, Eihm. Ohm loves you, sincerely. He has done for you with as much gentleness and kindness as he could; he did what had to be done. The others don’t agree with what I propose, but I can make sure that the love he showed you in those dark hours does not go to waste, despite the pain and destruction you have brought upon the monastery. ‘As one moves through the world, so the world will be moved,’ so teaches Ahmood. We may move together without all of this dreadful pain you impose upon yourself, and the world will thank you for your consideration. Take my hand,” Corna offered his right hand, etched in yellowish runes, “and no chain other than our internal bonds will hold sway over you, not ever. Your bond with me as teacher. Your bond with the stricken monastery as it’s child, brother, and soon-to-be Guardian.”
“My bond with Master Ohm?” Eihm whispered, eyes downcast.
“He thinks of you as his son; you know that. Your bond will be more wonderful than ever as you grow into a man.”
Eihm looked into Corna’s eyes with fierceness – his earnest youth peering deep into The Cliff’s yellow-tinted irises.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT93iMUJzJ
Without looking away, Eihm reached with his right hand into the bedraggled robe around his waist, withdrew a small, smooth stone, and hurled it with force at Corna’s face. A blur of motion, and the stone shattered into pieces. Corna the Teacher frowned sternly, with no apparent effect or change in his stance.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2xLWhlyAM
Suddenly, Eihm could not control himself any longer. His veins ran hot, and the meditative energy he had been building, that he thought had been chaotic and unattached, surged within him as his body contracted into a fighting stance. The runes on his right arm glowed blood-red, and the shards of the stone reformed in his hand. Corna could see, in the intense stare-down that the two maintained, a great welling of intense negative emotion, and a fiery glow of red behind the boy’s right eye.
“Enough!” the boy screamed, his tender voice breaking with his ardor. “I’ll show you the weight of these chains that burn my soul! Then you can talk to me about bonds!”
Corna sighed, and languidly assumed his own fighting stance, with his body square, chest broad, and his left hand poised like a snake to strike.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmv0aqt1OT
Eihm dug his feet into the earth and lunged forward to close the distance, right fist ready for a blow. Corna took a half-step forward, just enough to catch Eihm mid-stride as he came within striking distance, turned his fist aside, and sent him spinning off balance. Eihm clutched at the waist-high grass to keep his footing, and whipped his gaze towards the senior monk. The man remained infuriatingly calm. A moment later there was a loud pop, and Corna shouted in surprise. Shards of stone had exploded into his left leg, embedding themselves shallowly just under the skin. He looked at the slight red splotches in his pristine white cloak, and then back, a broad, canine-like toothy grin on his face.
“I could have sworn you were enraged, child, yet you used your power so tactfully! Impressive! Marvelous! You were right to be chosen for these runes.” The ground thumped as Corna widened his stance and heavily planted his feet, the muscles in his left arm coiling. “Now you have started a Devil’s Dance. Let’s find out what your runes are made of!”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZMUPbTAza
Out of the stringy muscle in the man’s left arm, from under the skin, suddenly a tube tore through, filled with puss-coloured yellow liquid. Like a pressurized hose it flailed in the air, and then whipped towards Eihm, striking at his legs. The young monk hopped backwards two strides with agility, maintaining his form and displaying his skill with two quick shuffles of his feet that bent around the strange attack like a floating leaf around a swung staff.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvlfRMn0oN
Corna dashed forward, on the offensive without hesitation, and as he came into melee range with Eihm he struck with his right fist from his side, a quick and powerful jab to the torso. The blow glanced off of the strained muscles on Eihm’s side, leaving the heat of a bruise. Eihm used the opportunity to counter with a similar right punch of his own, but his arm was pushed to the side from the inside by Corna’s left. The Yellow tube still writhed in the air, and swung around haphazardly for a strike to Eihm’s face. He ducked down with no space to spare, grasped Corna’s right arm that was preparing for another quick strike with his own left, and then squeezed as hard as he could. The runes on Eihm’s arm flashed green, and Corna’s injured leg buckled under him. The stone had reformed with the shards embedded in his flesh, tearing at his leg, and landing on the ground by his foot covered in blood. The yellow tube whipped around towards Eihm again, and cut a slice in his arm as the younger monk retreated with quick shuffling steps.
“A strange power you have there, young one,” Corna hissed through clenched teeth, kneeling on his injured side. “If I were to guess… it has something to do with explosions. Am I right? Yet the stone is whole…”
Eihm moved for a renewed attack to stop his enemy from figuring out his stratagem, but was stopped by the searing pain in his left arm. He looked at the wound. It was a deep and ragged cut, black at the edges as if burned and soldered closed so that it did not bleed. There was also a faint burn mark on his right arm where his punch had been blocked.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvYLR7Yt7G
“Corna the Flame... Of course.” Eihm growled. “It’s hot, but that’s no flame. It’s a part of your body…”
The Scholar Monk did not wish to allow the secret of his power to be revealed so early either. Before Eihm was prepared, combat had been renewed with increased speed. The two monks moved their bodies in a powerful, aggressive dance, displaying the technique of their shared form as they let loose fists like arrows from their waist, blocked by turning aside blows from within their enemy’s centre, and shuffled their legs through the grass with flowing movements that avoided entanglement in the long strands. Eihm had been a very promising student in the Combat Arts, and showed great skill in keeping tempo with his senior, but Corna’s body was stronger and taller and his technique more efficient in power, making his fists into projectiles propelled and tethered by prodigious muscle. The added threat of the whipping yellow cord left no windows for Eihm to counter-attack; his entire focus was on blocking fists, moving through the grass, and dodging the searing tube.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjhgtRbGx2
Soon Eihm was tiring with the exertion. He surprised his teacher by catching one of his striking fists in an open hand, which crushed a stone held within it. When Corna pulled back his fist for another blow there was the whole stone embedded in his fingers, and when his hand was at his side it shattered, pelting his hand, arm and torso with small shards. The blow was enough to stop his momentum, and Eihm retreated as far as he could before catching his breath.
“Not bad,” heaved Corna, “but you’re running out of tricks.” Drops of liquid seeped from the injury on his arm. “But I,” he raised his left hand into the air, “am only just beginning!”476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfijO01Nkfd
Corna swiped downwards through the air, sending drops of blood flying through the air. Eihm was exhausted and confused, and lifted his arm to avoid the stuff from getting in his eyes. When the liquid struck his skin it stuck, then seared and burned until the boy’s flesh smoked.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3VGKeZTx1
“I outrange you, child!” Corna gloated above Eihm’s agonized screams. The Young monk frantically tried to remove the stuff from his arm and torso, but the smoking in his flesh did not cease until the stuff burnt itself out.
From a distance, Corna the Flame placed his palms together in front of his chest and breathed deeply, still focused on his foe. Eihm, still gasping in pain, watched closely as, after a few breaths, Corna slid his right hand over his left arm and sealed the leaking injuries shut with thin wisps of smoke. The grass under him had caught alight where his blood had dripped.476Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3pZw7Tvlp
Eihm watched as the Master Monk’s body underwent subtle, disturbing changes. With growing horror, Eihm’s eyes widened and his stance relaxed. His jaw opened as if to say something, but silently the boy shook his head – and fled.
