Part 2

Taran followed Javen and the others who had joined the Academy down into the valley. The path was steep and winded back and forth across the face of the mountain. Javen kept everyone away from Taran until he got settled in. Taran went into the room that Javen showed him and then closed the door.

The room was small, but suitable. There was a bed by a window opposite the door. On the bed was some type of uniform that all the other students had been wearing. A few shelves lined the walls and were covered with small books about a variety of natural subjects such as earth, water, and air. Taran went over, tossed the uniform off of the bed and sprawled himself on top of it. It had been a long day and it was nearly dark now.

When Taran was about to doze off, someone knocked on the door. He opened it and saw one of the students. "Master Javen would requests your presence at the lecture," he said. "And, you need to be wearing your uniform."

Taran nodded and then shut the door. He changed into the uniform and then headed out. The garments were almost the same as Kyrin was wearing. His shirt was longer and had sleeves. He also had a belt that went around the bottom of his shirt, which was hanging down. Even though it was in the mountains and at night, Taran was a little warm and ripped the sleeves off his shirt revealing his muscled arms. Content with his appearance, he headed outside. Taran now got his first good look at the Academy. It was like a giant garden filled with small ponds. An occasional building was scattered hear and there but they blended into the surroundings quite effectively.

Following the winding path, Taran soon came to the middle of the Academy where there was a huge bonfire. Surrounding it were several layers of large stone steps that faced the fire and formed a crescent. Covering the outside of the steps were huge trees and vines that emerged from a lake. All of the students sat on the steps and master Javen was floating above the fire.

Taran quickly and silently sat on one of the lower steps and listened in wonder to what Javen was saying. "All forms of magic, are based on the three elements, air, earth, and water. And branching from each of these are the elements of fire, ice, wind, and so on. Each of you have your strengths and weaknesses in either of these areas, but are not confined to only one. Not until you master all three elements will you ever reach your full potential..."

Javen went on for a long while. The sky grew dark, the stars came appeared, and soon, the fire eventually went out and it was time for the students to return to their rooms. As every one was slowly filing out of the small stadium, transfixed by the teacher's captivating lesson, Javen signaled Taran and another student to stay behind.

The other student was a male, tall with brown hair that was kept up by a black band. His shirt was split down the middle and open revealing his masculine body. His white shirt was also complemented by black symbols just below his left shoulder. He also had two black bands that went across his chest and over his shoulders to hold a long blade. The two students approached Javen, without any idea about what he was going to say.

"Taran, Xolis." he said as he addressed his students. "I know for a fact that one of you is my most promising and most powerful students. I do not know which one though, that is why I am addressing both of you. Whichever of you becomes the most powerful, will one day become the ruler of the Ta'Kor. I am going to warn you now, that because you have such power, your lives from this day forth will become increasingly more difficult."

Taran and Xolis looked at each other, both with pride and confusion. They turned back to Javen for some answers. "You shall be tempted to turn to evil ways, which was what happened to the Ta'Kor at the end. If you ever do this, the teachings of the Ta'Kor will once more be lost. I don't mean this to make you fearful and I certainly don't want to create any competition between you. So, go now, and return to your rooms. I have said too much already."

Taran and Xolis bowed to Javen and then headed off in different directions to their rooms. Taran came to his, undressed, and then climbed in bed. The hour was late and he soon fell asleep.

"Wake up." cried a voice.

"Who said that?" asked Taran.

"It doesn't matter who, just do it. Wake up."

Taran opened his eyes and heard a commotion. He put his uniform on and headed outside. He didn't know why, but for some reason he was compelled to climb up a tree. He did, and then waited. Some of other the students approached his room. They knocked on the door and then barged in. Most of the students ran off down the path but two of them stayed.

"He's definitely the one," said one of the students.

"I can't believe it," said the other, who Taran recognized as Kyrin. "I trusted him. I liked him. Why'd he kill them? Why'd he kill my father?"

"I don't know, but he's gonna pay. He killed Javen and Xolis, surely he's got some higher motive than we can see now. Come on, we better start looking for him." The two ran off towards where the others had headed.

Taran slid down the tree. He didn't know what was going on, but he had to get out of here. He ran up the mountainside, hiding behind every tree so that he would not be found. He soon came to the cave where Kyrin had led him to the Academy. This appeared to be the only way out of the valley. He grabbed a torch and then went in.

Taran ran down tunnel after tunnel. Without a map he was sure to get lost in this cave. He began to try to remember where Kyrin had taken him. His memory just wouldn't allow it. Soon he came to a dead end, he was lost. As he turned around, a giant spider came to approach the tunnel he was in.

"What the heck is that!?" Taran asked himself. The giant spider came closer and closer and then lifted one arm to strike. Acting quickly, Taran waved the torch in front of the spider hoping to scare it off. The spider thrust its leg at Taran who jumped back. He chanted a few words and then the torch's flame magically grew. He again raised the torch and then hurled it at the spider. The spider was engulfed in flames and screamed as it became no more.

After wiping his forehead Taran saw another spider come around the corner. He ran towards it but the ground crumbled beneath his feet and he fell into a raging, underground river. Taran tried to stay above the surface but the current pulled him under and he soon lost his breath. All he could see was water, and that soon faded to nothing.

"Wake up." cried a voice.

"Who are you!?" demanded Taran.

"That doesn't matter. Let's just say I'm looking out for you."

Taran woke up inside a small cabin there was a fire in the fireplace and there was a woman sitting in a chair near the bed that Taran was in. The woman was thin but tall. Her hair was short and fell back in all directions. She was wearing a large laboratory coat with the Syth emblem on the back. Under the coat she was wearing a small, blue shirt and a black pair of shorts. She had many technical looking devices around her wrists, in her coat pockets, and all over the floor of the cabin. "Glad you're awake." she said.

Taran got up and out his legs on the floor he rested his head on his hands as they slid threw his hair. Looking up, he asked her, "How did I get here?"

"I found you laying by the altar." she responded.

"What altar?"

"Don't tell me you got there without knowing it. Oh well, I'll show you. By the way, my name's Lua, what's yours."

"Taran." he said.

"OK, come on now, I'll show you where I found you and then maybe you can tell me where you're from." Lua headed out of the cabin and Taran followed. The moment he stepped out the door he nearly fell back because of the strong winds. He quickly regained his balance and adjusted to the oppressing force. Lua had apparently been used to it for quite some time because she was already a good distance away. Taran quickly caught up with her because he didn't want to get lost.

As they walked, Lua told Taran what seemed to be her life story. "... and after graduating from the science school of Burma, I enlisted in the Syth's research program. I soon was promoted time and again until I almost got to the top. One day, one of my researches came upon some ancient scroll talking about this monument or altar up here in the mountains. Of course, I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. So I packed my bags and headed up here. That was about six months ago. I haven't found anything remarkable yet. I'm still trying to translate the writing on the altar. As soon as I do, I'm sure to discover something remarkable and then I can return to Syth and report my findings."

Taran didn't have any thing to say so he just kept walking. "We're coming up to the dangerous part now. Stay low and be careful. And take this sword, I found it in the altar? Keep it safe though, it's an important artifact."

"What's so dangerous?"

"You'll see..."

As they continued up the mountain, a small lightning bolt flew down right in front of Taran. "I told you to be careful." Lua said. They kept going but Taran was more careful this time. He saw a lightning bolt fly down towards him but his reflexes were quick enough to block it with the sword. Normally, any lightning bolt, even of this low power, would shatter an old rusted sword like this. However, when the bolt struck, the sword seemed to absorb it and it looked even more powerful than before.

"I told you to be careful with that." Lua scolded.

"Sorry." Taran responded. As they came closer to the altar the bolts seemed more frequent, but Taran and Lua had gotten better at avoiding them. When they got close enough, Taran seemed to be able to make it out. There was a circle of stone that appeared similar to the rim of a fountain. Inside, there was a contained whirlwind that reached up to the sky. It was shooting out lightning bolts that also flew up. In the center of the circle was a statue of some kind of entity. It didn't look like a monster, more like a divine king or a god. When they reached the altar he could see that there was some kind of writing on the stone but he couldn't make it out.

They went up to examine the altar when they heard a screeching sound. Out of nowhere a giant bird dove at them. They both jumped on the ground before it could reach them. "What the heck was that!?" Taran shouted. He had to shout because the bird was flapping its wings creating a stronger wind and a whole lot of ruckus.

"I don't know." Lua responded, shouting to be heard. "It usually doesn't show up this soon. As soon as it does though, I just leave and it doesn't bother me. Let's just get out of here and it'll..." She was cut off by a bolt that landed between them, not from the sky but shot from the bird.

"It doesn't look like it wants to leave us alone." Taran said.

"Fine, but I haven't figured out a way to hurt it."

"What do you mean?"

"Watch." As she said this she shot a bullet from her gun in the direction of the bird. It was going so fast Taran could hardly make out what happened but the bullet seemed to get electrically fried a few feet away from the bird and then just disintegrate.

"Let me try!" Taran shouted. He waited for the bird to dive again and slashed at it with his sword. When the two touched, there was a yellow light that surrounded them and both the sword and bird seemed to be regenerating. It was like they were feeding off each other's energy. Taran eventually drew back his sword and the occurrence stopped. "What do we do?" He asked.

Although he was asking Lua, he got a response from someone or something else. It told him to approach the altar. He didn't know why, but he listened. He was transfixed and slowly approached the altar. "Taran?" Lua asked curiously from her defensive position behind a rock. "Taran!?" He continued to step forward until he was right in front of the altar. A faint yellow glow surrounded him. The bird shot forth another bolt but it was just absorbed into the transparent glow.

Taran took another step and passed right through the whirlwind and in front of the statue. Lua ran to him but the whirlwind threw her back. Both she and the bird stopped as they watched him. He began to speak in unknown tongue but then translated it to English, "This altar, built at the time of the Ta'Kor, dedicated to the Kora of air, is a permanent symbol of the Ta'Kor's power. Any Ta'Kor of air who approach this altar, shall gain the power of the Triad Kora." The yellow glow flashed and for a second, it seemed like neither of them were there. Then, the faint glow died down, and Taran fell to the ground.