“The Aempyrean Tribe draws energy from the sun, as you just did. Beams of energetically charged solar wind particles constantly beat themselves against the Earth’s magnetic field. A few of them escape into our atmosphere. You, Hunter, can summon their energy, force it through the field, use it to increase your body mass, and become Dahjaat.”

“Son of a gun. It’s incredible. Tiyana! Check this out!” Hunter spread his arms wide and showed off his giant physique.

Tiyana’s jaw had dropped at the explosion. She had not quite picked it back up yet.

“Now for the tools of your trade.” Virgil’s voice echoed off of the many columns. Hunter still could not tell where it came from.

“First, the swords.” Virgil said.

In front of Hunter, a cloud of smoke burst from the ground. As it faded, Hunter saw two long, thin, straight, lustrous blades with simple black handles. They had small, circular cross-guards and lacked a pommel at the end of the grip. They looked much like Japanese katanas, but without the curvature. He took a few steps forward and picked them up.

“Okay, what are these things?”

“Weapons Hunter. Learn to wield them. These are made of a zirconium-iridium based alloy invented by one of the renowned metallurgists of the Aldenduenum. They were forged by the Dahjaat known once as Hephaestus.”

Hunter held the swords out reverently. He slashed the air clumsily a few times. The blades felt light, yet sturdy.

“I could get used to these. They are so light though.” Hunter said.

“Actually they are quite heavy. You have grown stronger. These blades will cut diamonds if you need them to. Their edges are made from wurtzite-crystal boron nitride.” Virgil said this as if it meant something profound, but the words meant very little to Hunter.

“Are you getting all of this, sweetheart?” He called out to Tiyana.

“No one has actually created the single-crystal form of boron nitride, but, theoretically, it is the hardest substance in existence, harder than diamonds.” Tiyana called out.

She met his gaze and shrugged her shoulders.

“Awesome.” Hunter practically whispered.

At that moment, Hunter lost touch with the adult in him. He became a kid again holding the first pocket knife that his parents allowed him to have. He gripped the blades tightly with eager curiosity.

“Can we start?” He asked softly.

Virgil’s voice answered, “Not yet.”

With another burst of smoke, Hunter saw two straps of black fabric. Small throwing knives with flowing, patterned blades appeared sheathed in the fabric. They were made from single pieces of metal and had no other material surrounding their grips.

“Damascus Steel.” Said Virgil. “I passed the secret down about seventeen hundred years ago, but, sadly, it was lost in the Dark Ages. Such a shame. Here are their partners.”

With another blast of smoke, a pair of boomerangs appeared with similar patterns. Hunter picked up the straps and flung them around his torso.

“What about those?” He asked, pointing to the boomerangs.

“Just tuck them into your robe for the time being.” Came the answer.

Hunter eyed the sharp crystal edges warily and tucked them into the waistband of the robe.

“Nice.” He said.

“Don’t forget the coup de grâce.” Said Virgil.

Another smoke cloud dissipated, leaving a patterned Bowie knife on the ground. It sat sheathed in another band of fabric.

“Tie that around your right calf.” Virgil instructed. He went on, “That, Hunter, is your weapon of last resort. Never lose sight of it, although you may not use it often.”

“Did Rohjarrat use it?” Hunter asked as he wrapped the sheath around his leg.

Virgil laughed, “We called him the King of Blades. He was a true warrior. His battles with Ghaelvord were epic. Ages ago, the Aldenduenum would pay to watch them spar. They were friends once. It was in a different time, a simpler time. In the Great War, Rohjarrat killed so many of Ghaelvord’s yzoraks that the chthonians found a way to detect the alloy in the swords and anticipate Rohjarrat’s coming. You have much to learn. Let us start with the swords. You must become familiar with this new body and the kebaac.” Virgil said.

“What are yzoraks?” Hunter asked.

“Oh.” Virgil looked at the ground, and then looked up. He looked nauseated. He had pity in his eyes, “They are abominations. Ghaelvord is what you might call a necromancer. The yzorak-al’ghul are his soldiers. They fight for him.”

Hunter nodded. He did not really understand, but he was ready to move on.

“I’m ready.” Hunter said with a sword in each hand and an eager grin on his face.

“Are you now?” Virgil chuckled as he said this. “Then attack me.”

Virgil’s command puzzled Hunter. He still had no idea where the crafty monk spoke from. He heard the words, but had trouble sensing their origin. Hunter, however, never thought to ask questions. Hunter Price always acted on impulse and never needed coaxing to spur him to action.

He flexed the large, dense muscles in his legs and sprinted in no particular direction. As he passed each column, he furtively looked around it for signs of movement and the tall, austere form of Virgil. The speed with which he could move amazed him. He crossed the distances between the pillars with powerful leaps and bounds that he never would have believed a human form was capable of, but, then, he was not quite human. Not anymore, anyways.

“You will never find me that way.” Virgil taunted.

Hunter heard the words, thought for a moment, coiled his legs, and jumped. His muscles bulged with cosmic sun-filled strength. He soared through the air and alighted atop one of the columns. From his vantage point, he surveyed the area. He saw nothing but more columns.

“Clever and quick, but not effective. You still will not find me. Hunter, use your eyes. Use all of them.” Virgil admonished.

Hunter became aware of a bulb protruding from between his eyes and just above his brow. He lifted the hilt of the sword in his right hand to his forehead and rubbed the bulb curiously with his thumb. The pressure caused it to reverberate. Hunter heard a dull bouncing thud in his head. His eyes rolled back into his skull and he saw the world differently. Through his third eye, he saw the contours and topography of every solid object around him. In an instant, his mind’s eye surveyed a three-dimensional snapshot of every square inch of every shape within the vicinity. He turned his attention to one shape in particular. It was the tall, martial shape of Virgil. It stood behind a nearby column.

“Ah ha!” Hunter muttered under his breath as he sprang into action.

Hunter leapt from column to column with the agility and fluidity of an African gazelle. He dropped abruptly in front of Virgil and pointed his sword at the monk.

“Gotcha.” Hunter said with a wide, satisfied grin.

Virgil’s eyes narrowed and he frowned.

“I told you to attack me. Now attack!” With that, Virgil swung his caduceus staff and violently knocked the sword from Hunter’s outstretched arm.

The swing left the butt end of the staff pointed at Hunter’s solar plexus. Virgil struck Hunter with it. The force of the blow lifted Hunter off of his feet and sent him careening into a nearby column. The column cracked as Hunter’s durable body bounced off of it. Hunter could not believe how much force came from such a small stick. Virgil squared off against Hunter and lifted his chin.

“Well, novitiate, will you stop wasting time and hit me?” Virgil taunted.

“Alright, you asked for it.” Hunter said as he stumbled to his feet and shook his head. “Here comes the thunder.”

Hunter felt confident. He stood head and shoulders above Virgil. He possessed the agility of a jaguar. He cocked his sword back and charged the haughty monk. He stabbed five times at Virgil with rapid thrusts. Virgil did not bother to parry the blows with his staff, but merely ducked and dodged each.

“You are holding back, Hunter. Stop. You will need every ounce of prowess in your body and your mind to strike me.” Virgil said as he bobbed and wove.

Hunter felt reluctant to truly let loose on the monk. After all, Virgil was fighting a giant, and Hunter certainly did not want to kill him with the diamond-cutting blades. Virgil again struck the sword from Hunter’s hand and knocked him back against the column with a hard blow. Searing pain exploded in Hunter’s back as he hit the column a second time. He felt the crack in the stone deepen. Hunter had lost his swords, but gained a sense of determination. This time, he held nothing back. He got up and ran at Virgil with his fists raised. Virgil dodged the first few punches, but brought up his staff to guard against another. Hunter grabbed the staff. Virgil planted a knee in Hunter’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Hunter responded with a headbutt, but Virgil sidestepped it and Hunter’s forehead slammed into a column. The force activated Hunter’s kebaac and, in an instant, Hunter knew exactly where Virgil had stepped and how to hit him. Hunter could see in his mind’s eye that Virgil had sidestepped by turning away and the staff stuck out just slightly as the monk whirled it.

Hunter kicked the lower end of the staff against the column and caused the upper part to fly backward at Virgil’s head. Virgil quickly ducked to avoid the impact, but as he did so he stopped whirling away. This moment’s hesitation gave Hunter the split second he needed to lean his torso back and sidekick the monk in his lower back. Hunter mentally prepared for the thud and the brutal contact of his heel against the monk’s body, but no contact ever came. Hunter’s leg kept flying through the air and he lost his balance. As Hunter fell, he saw the monk’s flesh fall apart. The formerly solid body evaporated into a thin mist. The mist quickly dissipated and Virgil was gone.

“Better, I suppose. Good actually, for a novitiate.” Virgil’s voice had a musing tone. “I have not trained new Dahjaat for a long time. You adapt quickly. You will need much more skill, however, to beat Ghaelvord.”

“Where are you?” Hunter shouted. “What happened?”

“Find me.” Virgil commanded.

The training went on all day. Virgil forced Hunter to find him using the kebaac. He taught Hunter to throw the boomerangs and knives using the kebaac alone to guide them. He taught Hunter to grapple. He taught Hunter the basic motions to use in wielding the swords. With Hunter’s agility and the kebaac guiding his every movement, he learned to wield his Dahjaat body like a weapon.