Chapter 13: The Unseen Shield
The first true day of training dawned bleak and cold. Kaelen led them to the same clearing where they had faced Pythios, the scorched earth a stark reminder of what was at stake. Leander felt the memory like a physical weight—the terror, the desperation, the terrifying ease with which he had touched the Corruptor's mind.
"Power," Kaelen began, his voice cutting through the morning quiet, "is not a weapon. It is a presence. A scream in the dark draws predators. A whisper reveals nothing. You will learn to whisper."
The exercises were deceptively simple. Breathing. Sitting. Focusing. But Kaelen's instructions transformed them into Herculean tasks.
"Forget the fire, the light, the strength," he commanded, pacing before them. "Feel only the current. Your power is a river. You have been drowning in its flood. Today, you build the dam. You learn to open the gate at will."
Elpis trembled, a wisp of smoke curling from her fist. "It fights me," she whispered. "It wants to burn."
"Fire consumes," Kaelen said, stopping before her. "That is its nature. Your will must become a stronger nature. Do not command it. Become the vessel that contains it. Your fear is the crack in the pot. Seal it."
He moved to Roric, whose shield flickered erratically. "You are trying to be a wall. Walls fall. Be a mirror. Let attacks slide past, their energy redirected. Your light should be a deflection, not a sacrifice."
Orion grunted, the air shimmering around his fists. "I don't understand this. My power is simple. I hit things."
"And if you hit the wrong thing?" Kaelen countered. "Your strength is in your intent. Focus it to a needle point, and you will pierce what a hammer cannot break."
Then he came to Leander.
Leander sat with his eyes screwed shut, sweat beading on his forehead. He could feel it all—the chaotic river of his power, and beneath it, the deep, dark ocean of Azhoroth's legacy. Building a mental dam felt like holding back the tide with his bare hands.
"Your mind is a fortress under siege," Kaelen's voice was low, for him alone. "And you have left the gates open. Find the keystone of your will. Lock the door."
"I'm trying," Leander gritted out.
"Try harder. Feel the foreign presence. Acknowledge it. Isolate it. Build your walls around *it*."
Leander delved inward, confronting the chilling echo. For a moment, he felt fragile control. Then frustration and fear broke his concentration. The dark ocean surged.
A wave of palpable dread erupted from him. Birds fell silent. Elpis's flame snuffed out. Roric's shield dissolved. Orion stepped back, face pale. The air grew heavy and cold, thick with a despair not their own.
Leander's eyes flew open in horror.
Kaelen was at his side instantly, his hand a vise on Leander's shoulder. His will was an immovable mountain, pressing the darkness back down with inexorable force.
"The siege has begun," Kaelen said grimly as Leander slumped forward, panting. "You see now what we face. Your inner battle will define this world. Control is not an option. It is survival."
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**Author's Note:** The first lesson ends with a devastating demonstration of the enemy within. Leander's struggle has dire consequences, making the psychological war terrifyingly real.