My knuckles rapped against mouldy wood, creaking on rusty hinges, as a gust whistled through weather-born cracks. The door was barely passable under the duress of many seasons and did little more than denote out from in. I went over all the scenarios I envisioned one last time, releasing a long, drawn-out exhale to steel my nerves. My direction forward rested on what way the following conversation went, hence my jitteriness. No sound was heard within the small cottage, so I intended to knock again but paused midway. I spied the signs of a fleeting figure shuffling between splintering timber. They stopped on the other side, a single eye peering through, inspecting my figure.

“What’ya here for, boy?” a weary voice asked.

I stood straight, stating with a solemn expression, “I, Sǫlmundr Ljós Illugason, have squandered your kindness, bringing shame to your name. I plead not for mercy but deserved punishment!”

The door flew open, shrapnel buffeting my figure, and I was on the ground before I knew it, the right side of my face dipped in fire. Groggily getting back on two legs, ears ringing, an impact to the sternum expelled the air in my lungs, bringing me to my knees. Sputtering for breath, vision a blur, I heard the voice demanding more. “Stand! You are not done yet!” My arms quivered, sapped of all strength, as I struggled to lift myself off the ground; the earth felt awfully distant today. As such, my beating continued until, finally, I was granted sweet release in the way of everything going dark.

.

.

.

Consciousness gradually returned, and I pieced together the image of a widened maw brimming with deadly teeth. My stomach dropped, eyes snapping shut, as I awaited a demise… that never came. I returned my sight to the beast, noticing it had not moved from its previous position, almost like it was frozen in time. It was a mounted trophy, the head of a wolverine wolf, much to my stress or relief, not sure which. A low fire crackled nearby, illuminating my bruised self on a greying rug with white freckles. Craning my neck—just about the only part of my body that wasn’t plagued by pain—I took in the surroundings draped in a dingy veil.

The blaze did little to stave off the musty aura that seeped into every nook and cranny of this place. The walls were covered by various hunting trophies, large and small, tooth and horn, relics of a forgotten age. Their eyes flickered in the dancing light, giving me an inkling that they were still alive, souls chained to the carcasses of their mortality. A shiver ran down my spine despite my immobility, sight quickly moving away in an attempt to focus on other, less eerie thoughts, which I found harder to do as time pressed on. The room was small, not much larger than mine and other than what looked to be a sleeping mat, held nothing else. ‘And I thought my tastes were minimalistic.’

While lost in thought, my attention roamed, halting on a man seated near my feet, staring into the flames as if they had some kind of mesmerising property. I could recognise that side profile anywhere. It was of the one I viewed as my mentor and held the utmost respect for, Gammal Galti. I stirred in a bid to sit up, finding no success, denied authority over myself. Still engrossed by the sight of fire, he spoke. “Don’t struggle. You’ll only ‘urt yourself…” Silence returned to the room as I debated if it was a good idea to interrupt whatever he was doing. After a while, he turned my way, causing me to tense up when our eyes met, the pummeling I took still fresh in my mind and body. “You got greedy, boy.”

“No, I didn’t,” I replied, gulping as trainer Galti shifted slightly. There was only so much I was willing to concede to, and while my actions may have seemed reckless, I knew I could have eliminated the remaining participants if it was not for my arrogance.

“If you weren’t already banged up, I would clobber you again. What did I say were the pillars that made a true earthbender?”

It took me a moment to fish out the answer, my mind still in a muddle. “Patience, discipline, direction, in that order,” I said, scrunching my brows.

“Aye, and what discipline you showed at the seedling trials, prancing around like a horse with a twig up its bum? Dun’ take me for a fool with ya not being greedy! It’s never about if ya could, but if ya should!” he scolded.

I digested the meaning behind his words and could not agree with them. “So, you’re saying I should have shown discipline and not disrupted the trials as I did?” I argued.

He shook his head, sighing, “No, lad, you did exactly what I expected you to do. The area where you lack is not knowing when enough is enough. Ain’t I always tellin’ you to slow down, be still?”

“Be more like a rock,” I added. He never missed a chance to remind me one way or another. It was to the point where I sometimes even heard the wind whisper the phrase. “I didn’t think it would apply in this particular situation if I am being honest, trainer Galti.”

“Listen here, lad, earthbending, true earthbending is not flinging a chunk of rock with a wave of ye hand,” he motioned. “It’s about living it. The three pillars that make an earthbender aren’t just rules to follow while bending but for living. If you ever want a piece of greatness, you must learn how to live with patience, discipline and direction as the earth does.” His wisdom was water to my parched mentality, and it felt like I had been awoken from a dream.

‘Learn how to live as the earth.’ The bleakness of my current standing brought a depreciating smile to my face. “I wish I had realised it sooner.”

“It matters not. No use lamenting over past mistakes and what could have been. Trust a worn-out old man on this,” he said, returning to the staring contest he had with the fireplace.

I exhaled, staring up at the beast. “What do I do now?”

“That’s somethin’ only you can decide,” he said, warming his hands.

Sending a quick prayer for favour, I replied with an innocent tone. “Could I continue my training under you?”

He let out a raspy wheeze, saying, “And what good will that do? With my help, you may turn out a fine bender, but that’s not enough for a warrior.”

“Why not? Don’t you just need strength?”

“It’s times like these that remind me you are just a whelp, naïve to the ways of the world.” His words stung, but they were right. I was merely a child that was a little more mature than usual. “The difference between any earthbender and a warrior is is not physical ability but honour. We live by a code, a set of laws that ensure we do not stray from the right path. Without it, what sets us apart from bandits or marauders? Nothing. Nothing…” he mused, huffing at the sight of my confusion.

“Don’t tell me you thought the reason you still drew breath was owed to your blood? No. It is for no reason other than the fact you are weak and would stain their reputation if they disposed of you. You simply aren’t worth the hassle.”

I digested the harsh reality, contemplating, and finally spoke after a long silence. “If that is what it means to be a warrior, then… I do not wish to be one.”

For the first time since the start of our conversation, trainer Galti responded in a manner that wasn’t a half-hearted grunt or jaded glance. He yanked me upright, face so close I could experience his pungent breath. “Then what do ya want!” he exclaimed, spittle spraying from his mouth.

Fighting a grimace, I shouted back. “I want to be free! There’s a whole world out there, yet nobody seems to care! How can they accept living like birds in a cage?! And these warriors who we laud and worship like gods! They fight for riches, not freedom! What honour! What code! They have forgone their purpose in favour of the pleasures of life! What use are they if they cannot save us!”

I poured out my heart, seeing no reason to conceal it from trainer Galti. If he didn’t accept me as his student, then so be it. At least this way, I would go out on my own terms and not because of some bullshit about honour. Plus, I had the slightest inkling that while trainer Galti may not agree with everything, he would appreciate the honesty.

To my shock, he broke into a fit of laughter, hand over face. It was the kind that was more maniacal than humorous, the howling of a madman, my alarm quickly giving way to worry. Is he having a mental breakdown? What if he decided to kill me because of what I said? Cursing my foolishness, I did my best to move away, not getting far before he grabbed hold of me, bloodshot eyes boring into my own. “Never ‘ave more foolish words been spoken with such boldness! Tell me, Sǫlmundr, how far are you willing to go to pursue such a hopeless dream!”

Still reeling, I answered without any thought, “Whatever it takes.”

“We will see, we will see,” he muttered, returning to the flames. “Go home. I will send for you when the time is right.”

I was perplexed by this hot and cold treatment, calm one moment and not the next. “That’s it? Don’t you want to know what happened while I was in Thrudsalr?”

“Your alive ain’t ya? That’s all that matters.” Before I could get another word in, he stopped me. “Fair warnin’, get used to the pain, for it will have to become your closest companion if we are to have any chance of success.”

“W-What exactly are you planning to do to me?” I gulped.

He hummed, the corner of his mouth curling upwards. “What kind of mentor would I be if I do not match the convictions of my very own student? When we are finished, you will either be an elite among elites or in a state far worse than death.” The last part was said with particular venom, which only added to its dreadfulness, prompting me to have second thoughts about this whole thing. “But before we begin, you must swear,” he said, turning towards me again.

“Swear?” I said.

“Swear that you will see this through till the end. That if you ever abandon it in favour of a lie, the gates of Valhöll will be forever shut to you. Swear it on the Great Guardian.” His words somehow contained palpable solemnity, and I recognised that something had changed in trainer Galti, something I couldn’t put my finger on. The final decision was up to me, but it was closer to a test that sought to determine my conviction. Staring upwards past the cracked ceiling whose cobwebs glistened within and barren trees with scraggly branches poking at the clouds, I envisioned the auric radiance of the sun. I knew in the depths of my soul that this was not enough.

‘Vigrid is not enough.’

The path leading to that wheel of light started here, but this was not where it ended. It was an irrational notion without a modicum of evidence, but no matter how hard I tried, it couldn’t be shaken, festering in the recesses of my mind. My destiny was out there, in unknown lands far beyond the untouched peaks surrounding this valley.

My hand fell upon my chest as I took my first oath. “I, Sǫlmundr Ljós Illugason, hereby swear that I shall never back down in the face of insurmountable adversity or turn a blind eye to ubiquitous destiny, lest the Great Guardian swallows me whole and gnaw on my festering corpse for the rest of eternity.”

Sorry, late chapter. I got a bit lazy. The next one should arrive in a few days. This marks the end of the prologue of the new arc, so it should pick up from here. I hope.

On a side note, if you haven’t done so already mind giving me a review? Would like to know everyone’s thoughts on how the story is going so far.