Price of the Cloth von abgemeldet (Self-contained Short Stories) ================================================================================ Kapitel 3: Burning Ice (Camus) ------------------------------ "It's cold and dull here," Josse complained. "I want to go back home!" "Little one, you were chosen to become a formidable warrior", Aquarius Gold Saint Hyperion said. He was a stout man with short, bluey black hair and almond shaped dark brown eyes that betrayed his Inuit heritage, but still he spoke Greek like all Saints of Athena. "But I don't want to! I want to go back to my friends." Josse frowned deeply. He had been given a crash course in Greek, but he still wasn't comfortable in that language. Unfortunately he would be immediately beaten when he spoke in his French mother tongue, and so he tried hard to articulate himself in the alien language. Hyperion sighed. The little boy with the indigo blue hair looked defiantly at him. "It's an honour to be chosen," the Saint explained patiently. Only dimly he could remember the time when he had been simply snatched away from his loved ones and was thrown into this world of neverending training and fights. An honour... Well, he had been born into one of the interims when everything seemed to be quiet, none of the Gods stirring, but all signs told of the next Holy War approaching. Probably in Josse's days Athena finally would be reborn and he would truly become a fighter who battled alongside the most revered Goddess. He, Hyperion, had read the old scriptures that told of the Holy Wars, the last of them more than two hundred years ago which ended in the death of all but two of the Saints, but which still sealed the defeat of the evil God Hades. Hyperion sighed mentally. He would have loved to fight in an epic battle like this, but he hadn't been destined to. Afterwards the two remaining Saints began so rebuild the holy order by searching and training the most eligible young men. Many of the Cloths stayed vacant for a long time, but it seemed that more and more young Saints were found in the current days so that a whole new generation stood waiting for the new Holy War to come. But it wouldn't be his war anymore, Hyperion thought. He was slightly sad that all of his training was mostly in vain - only of use to teach his successor - but all of the Saints during the interim shared the same fate. "An honour! That's what the other guy said, too, when he taught me this awful Greek language," Josse spat. "But I don't see anything honourable in freezing to death here or beating up lumps of ice." "You will learn to come to terms with your destiny in due time." "But why me?" "Because within you there lies a power that separates you from the other children of your age. In fact, this power separates you from all other men and makes you a holy warrior of the Goddess Athena." "But I have been taught at home that there is only one God. I don't believe in fancy Goddesses." Hyperion sighed. Obviously it was easier to teach the young Saints-to-be languages than the proper religious background. Admittedly, it had taken quite some time until he had come to terms that there was a Greek Goddess to revere and not Anguta, but he had managed as well. He even chose a Greek name after he had won his Cloth - the name of the Titan who fathered Eos, the Goddess whose Latin name christened his most powerful attacks. "This God you were taught to believe in appeared quite some time after the reality of the Greek Gods," Hyperion began. "But why are nowadays all of the teachings about him and not about Athena and the others?" "Well..." Hyperion sighed once more. He was mainly a teacher of the art of battle and not of religion, and Josse had a keen and inquisitive mind. "Tell me why!" The boy looked challenging at the older man. "In the world where I was little, no one knew this Christian God of yours at all. The Inuit - my tribe - pray to different Gods. But even I had to acknowledge the truth of Athena, for she is the one who cares about the Earth and defends it from the evil Gods like Hades, Seth, Ares, Apophis, Keelut, Poseidon, Ahriman, Louhi, Asmodeus, Whiro, Belial, Ate, Tlacolotl, Amatsu Mikaboshi..." Hyperion listed the enemies of the battles that Athena and her Saints had fought from the dawn of time - not only against foes from the Greek pantheon, but against all forces of evil. It was written in the books at Sanctuary, and he had read them all. "Hm." Josse frowned deeply. "Why don't you just train and keep your doubts for later?" Hyperion hoped that time would eventually do away with all of the questions of the boy. "I hate this country. Only snow and ice and nothing else!" "When you have finished your training and gained your Cloth, you are free to go wherever you like," Hyperion promised. "But the lands of neverending snow are not dull if you manage to look properly." "You sure?" "Of course. Just look around!" "There's snow and ice. So what?" Hyperion laughed. "I should have expected - you came from a warm country and never had the chance to appreciate the beauty of the cold. It is a pity that I have to teach you in Greek. My native language has about thirty different words for 'snow'. I would love to make you understand the richness of this land which only very few persons can truly appreciate." He looked over the Siberian landscape. It wasn't Alaska, but still very close in appearance. "Little one, watch the play of the sun over the crystals... The ice isn't plain white to those who are able to see; it consists of myriad shades of light blue, green, grey, turquoise and even violet." Josse squinted his eyes. His Master had a point, he had to admit. The sunlight glistened from the plains as if they were made of uncountable numbers of tiny diamonds. "You have to embrace this land, the icy cold, because you will be a warrior of the ice. Currently there is only the Aquarius Saint who fights with the cold, but it might be important that there is also another Saint whose attacks are based on freezing. This is the Cygnus Bronze Saint, whose Cloth has been lying dormant in the eternal ice for millennia. Should the need arise, when the next Holy War comes up, it will be your duty to teach the future Cygnus Saint as well as your successor." Hyperion looked at the boy who stared at the snowy plains as if he dared them to challenge him. "Josse?" "Huh?" "That's Yes, Master," Hyperion reminded him. "Have you listened to what I have told you?" "Sure, Master..." Hyperion wasn't 100 percent convinced of it, but then, he had still some time to teach the boy everything - at least he hoped so. There was this old woman in Sanctuary, who was called the Pythia by some, who said she forsaw death and destruction, betrayal and pain - and that they didn't have much time to prepare for the rebirth of hope which would be destroyed in the cradle. Most people in Sanctuary thought the old Pythia was daft, of course, but maybe there was still a grain of truth in her predictions. He certainly shouldn't tarry too much with Josse's education. * * * "Aurora Thunder Attack!" Josse shouted, und his Cosmo expanded and turned into a rainbow wave of energy that crashed into a mountain of ice. When the rumbling of the ice ceased, a huge hole marred the mountain. "Wonderful, Josse," Hyperion smiled. "Now you have finally mastered this attack and can use it at will." "What's the next thing you are going to teach me?" Josse asked eagerly. Over time he had become not only very fond of his Master, but he came to like the training, too. It was exhilarating to develop powers that went so far beyond those of ordinary humans. Josse remembered when Hyperion read to him the accounts of the deeds of Athena's Saints in the former Holy Wars, and even when he was reluctant to believe them in the beginning, now he yearned to become one of them. "At your speed you will have surpassed me really soon," Hyperion laughed. But it would not be one day too late, he thought. During the last year, the news from Sanctuary had gotten increasingly disquieting. Not only it was said that Athena had been reborn, but there had been also been an attempt at her life - supposedly a successful one. But the most alarming thing was the fact that a fellow Gold Saint, Sagittarius Aiolos, was said to be the assassin. Hyperion couldn't believe that any of his colleagues could raise his hands against the Goddess, but the news had been reported by the Pope who was beyond doubt. "But Master, your powers are immeasurable!" "Not anymore, young man. I've been a Saint for more than twenty years now, and the only reason that I have kept my Cloth was that there was no imminent danger ahead. Now that the next Holy War is near, I am not strong enough to defend Athena anymore and I have to pass on my knowledge, my powers and my Cloth to a worthier man." "Hm... I don't feel so worthy yet," Josse said. Sure, he had grown in the last two years, and the rigid training gave him a well-trained and strong body, but he would never become as wise and erudite as his Master. "You will be, you will be. And now watch while I show you the secret of my most powerful attack." Hyperion raised his arms over the head, and Josse watched intently. The older man's Cosmo glowed almost like the sun, it seemed, and then the image of a young woman in Greek clothing, who carried a water pitcher in her hands, appeared behind him. "Aurora Execution!" Golden energy poured from the pitcher and past the Aquarius Saint. The blast was accompanied by waves of rainbow light that shone even more magnificent than the light curtains of the Aurora Borealis that painted the Siberian night skies with fairy-tale colours. When the attack hit Josse's training mountain, the ice crumbled to fine snow, and the boy stared at his Master in awe. "That's beautiful!" he sighed. "It's like nature herself - beautiful and deadly," Hyperion nodded. "Now it's your turn to try it, young man." "Yes, Master." Josse mimicked his Master's pose. "Like this?" "Exactly. Now you have to concentrate your Cosmo until you reach the ultimate power and you tap your seventh sense. This is the most formidable power of every Aquarius Saint throughout history, the Aurora Execution. The energy you set free is able to flatten whole mountains or to freeze an opponent into oblivion." Josse closed his stunning ultramarine blue eyes and concentrated as he was told. The power washed over him like a golden flood. "Aurora Execution!" he shouted and felt how the energies were released through his body. Finally he dared to open his eyes again. "Did it truly work, Master?" Hyperion gave him a wry grin and pointed at the large hole in the ground right in front of them in which the dark polar sea churned. "Next time you should better choose a target first." "Oops." "Furthermore it might be useful if you didn't close your eyes but look where you direct the Aurora Execution..." "Of course, Master," Josse said embarassed. More time passed, during which Josse tried to perfect his attacks. * * * "Now try it again." Hyperion demanded. "Aurora Execution!" Everything looked perfect - pose, the Cosmo, the effect; and Hyperion nodded in satisfaction. Josse was a strong as he had been in his youth, probably even stronger. He had needed far more than only a couple of attempts to master this final attack of the Aquarius Saint. "You mean I really did it?!" Josse chimed. He almost couldn't believe that he was now able to evoke the deadly rainbow light of the Aurora Execution at will. "Yes, and I'm very proud of you. Now there is only one final test left for you to prove that you are in fact my successor." "Which test?" "Your Test of Cloth. I would prefer to spare you this test, but it needs to be done. But I have confidence in you that you will succeed." "And what would happen if I failed?" "Then you would die." "But - Master!" Josse looked at him in alarm. "You mustn't fail. I don't think it is possible to find and train another Aquarius Saint in time for the next Holy War." "And what is my task in this test?" "You only need to survive." Hyperion raised his arm and Josse was bathed in golden light. The boy was too surprised to react when he was imprisoned in a Freezing Coffin. "I know your powers, and this Freezing Coffin I created around you can be shattered if you manage to surpass your current limits. Let your Cosmo burn and prove that I have chosen right." Out of his icy prison, Josse stared at Hyperion half in shock, half deeply hurt. Had his Master betrayed him in the end? No, this couldn't be... But how could he free himself from this icy sarcophagus? He couldn't move a millimetre. How was he supposed to launch his attacks when he couldn't assume the proper poses? His Master walked away, Josse noticed. Panicky, he tried to move, to somehow wriggle free of the ice, but to no avail. Think, he told himself. When physical force didn't work, he needed to concentrate his Cosmo. Slowly, but surely the cold of the surrounding ice crept into him. It was far colder than even the lowest temperature nature produced in the Siberian plains, and he knew that he had to break free soon or forever be imprisoned in this coffin, his soul evaporating while his body stayed intact, waiting to be found. With all the determination he could muster, Josse enflamed his powerful Cosmo, but the Freezing Coffin held him like a vise. More... He still needed more... He didn't want to die here and disappoint his Master, he vowed. Once more he increased the power output of his Cosmo. * * * The splinters of the Freezing Coffin crashed down, and Josse fell to his knees, panting heavily. When he raised his head, the shimmering box of the Aquarius Gold Cloth stood right in front of him. An envelope with a golden seal that bore the symbol of the zodiac sign Aquarius was attached to it. With trembling fingers, he opened the envelope and unfolded the letter it contained. "I taught you everything I could", the note read. "The Cloth is now yours, and I will retire to the icy plains as is my duty, now that I have outlived my usefulness." "Hyperion!" Josse called in horror. He left the Cloth Box behind and run over the icy plains in search of his Master. He had never felt so cold before, even in his first days in Siberia. Nowhere his Master's warm and reassuring Cosmo could be sensed. Josse's eyes streamed hot tears when it dawned to him what Hyperion had done. It was an old Inuit tradition that the old ones who weren't able to be useful to their tribe anymore would go out into the cold, lest they'd be a burden for their loved ones. "Hyperion! No! There is so much I still need to learn..." Suddenly Josse got the impression that his Master's Cosmo touched him fleetingly from the gates of beyond. "Do not worry, Josse. My time has passed. Now it is up to you to carry the burden of the Aquarius Cloth. I couldn't have chosen a better successor - you are just, patient, dutiful and understanding. Wear the Cloth with honour as I have done and I will be content when I enter the world beyond." "But Master Hyperion..." The Cosmo of his Master faded away, and Josse sank to his knees in silent mourning. "Farewell, my Master..." After a while of aimless wandering around, Josse found the Hyperion's body under a drift of freshly fallen snow. His Master's face was serene and his lips showed a smile that hinted of a death that was welcomed, not feared. But if his Master truly hadn't feared death, why was it that he, Josse felt a if he was torn apart? Hyperion was already frozen solid, and his disciple decided to bury him deep under the eternal ice of the Siberian plains. Still it was somehow unbelievable - these kind eyes that didn't shine anymore when he, Josse, had completed some difficult task, these lips that would never form words of praise anymore, these limbs, that were now still and frozen solid... It was so unfair that he had left him alone. Josse still wasn't sure which name he should choose when he formally announced the Pope that Aquarius Gold Saint Hyperion had passed on his Cloth on to him. He had wanted Hyperion's advice on this, but now it was too late. Too late... Now he could never tell Hyperion how thankful he was for all of his training, how much he had meant to him as a replacement father. The new Aquarius Saint vowed that he would never allow any student of his to become as attached to him as he had been to Hyperion. He wanted to spare them the pain when he had to cross the border to death to allow his best disciple to attain his Cloth. - The End - Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)