The Guru
The door of Riku?s cabin flipped several times, went over Riku?s bed, and slammed into the wall, awakening the boy with a start. He bounced up, leaning on his hands, and looked to see Thane standing in his now-empty doorway. He held Soul Eater in one hand and Behemoth in the other.
Riku turned quickly towards Thane, who simply shrugged, ?My hands were full,? he said, putting up Behemoth and Soul Eater.
Riku raised an eyebrow, ?Wouldn?t it have made more sense to put Behemoth in its case??
?Yeah, I can?t quite seem to find it anywhere,? Thane replied, scratching his head and looking around as if he would find it in Riku?s room.
?It?s on your back. Where it always is,? Riku said simply.
Thane reached over his back and grabbed the scabbard, feeling around to see if Riku was right, ?Oh... well... er... bah! I don?t need to explain myself to you!?
Riku chuckled, and got out of his bed, grabbing Soul Eater from Thane and taking his own scabbard that was on the dresser. Putting the scabbard on his belt, Riku then looked up to Thane, ?So I?m training with you again then, right??
Thane shook his head, ?I wish you were. I have a lot to talk to you about. But... Jian insists that you train with someone else today; he thinks it?s crucial that you know everything before ever fighting with me again. God knows why.?
Yeah, what a mystery, Riku thought sarcastically, but wisely kept to himself, ?So where am I going today then??
Thane walked out of the room and Riku followed, then when they were both out he pointed over to the nature-oriented gate. There was a picture of a tree going down the center, it started from the bottom of the gate and went all the way to the top, and was framed by several snakes around it.
?You?ll be hangin? with the nature-freak today,? Thane said, and then he walked back to his own gate. ?Well, see ya around.?
Thane walked off, spinning Behemoth at his side as he did. Riku walked up to the giant door, and timidly, he knocked his fist on it twice.
The door opened slowly, and as it did Riku heard the most majestic sound in his life. It sounded like a flute, in a pleasant, steady sound. Accompanying the flute, Riku realized, was something that sounded like a... lute. Riku chuckled to himself at that, the flute and the lute, an odd yet fitting combination. The two instruments sounded excellent together, in perfect harmony. Unlike in Thane?s area, this place had no large corridor, and was like a giant forest.
There were trees everywhere, and Riku could hear a river not too far away in the distance. Oddly, though, the sound of the river seemed to add to the harmony of the music. Small creatures scurried around the ground, squirrels and such, and Riku could see hawks and smaller birds in the sky. The weird part was, though, that all of these animals seemed to get along perfectly, and by getting along, Riku meant that no animals were eating each other. There were snakes along the ground, but the hawks above didn?t seem to mind or care, and the snakes didn?t seem to carry about the smaller creatures walking around. All of them seemed content with each other, and all moved in accord with the majestic music.
Beautiful was the only word to describe this place, this endless forest. Riku walked deeper into it until he came to the river that he had heard earlier. The river didn?t seem to move in any direction, it went to Riku?s left, and then swayed to his right, and then to his left again, and so on. In front of the river were two figures, both sitting on the ground. One held a small guitar, a lute as Riku had predicted, in his hand. He wore a robe that went down to the ground, due to the fact that he was sitting cross-legged. The robe was green with odd patterns made of purple and sometimes orange lines on it. It was like a festival of nature?s colors. His eyes... they were like two golden orbs. Not really eyes, just... orbs. He had silver hair tied back in a ponytail. The man next to him had shaggy, blonde hair that went down over his face, mostly because he was looking down with his eyes ajar at his lute. He wore jeans that went slightly over his brown shoes and a close-fitting shirt under his light brown vest. Riku could have watched the two play their instruments forever, but he tentatively walked over to the one playing the flute, who he expected to be the nature sage, and tapped his shoulder.
Abruptly, as soon as he was tapped, the man stopped and looked up furiously, and then seemed to calm as he looked at Riku. The one with the lute kept playing for a while, and then slowly looked up when he realized that he was the only one still playing. The man had deep blue eyes, though even as he looked up, strands of his hair still partially covered his eyes.
?Dude...? the one with the lute said, ?Whatcha got against the music??
The one in the robe stood up, laughing, apparently at how his friend spoke, ?Riku, right??
Riku nodded, and the man continued, ?I am known as Vidar, the Sage of Nature. This guy here is known as Damon, Sage of the Arts.?
Damon seemed to be studying Riku, ?You guys sure this is the guy? Doesn?t seem like much? I mean... compared to the other dudes.?
Vidar looked towards Damon sternly, ?You should probably get going now.?
Damon shrugged, seeming rather out of it, and took his leave without another word, and as he walked, the lute simply vanished from his hand.
When he left, Vidar turned back to Riku, ?So... do you know why you?re here??
?Not quite, sir,? Riku replied.
?Well, jutsu and sword combat and taijutsu are all jolly good things, but having a bit of help now and then couldn?t possibly hurt. That?s why I?m here; we?re going to find out which animal you are capable of summoning and have you learn how to summon them,? Vidar explained, and then began to walk, jumping over the river and then casually walking into the forest.
Riku followed his lead, but was still talking, ?But... I thought that anyone was capable of learning summoning contracts? Don?t you just have to sign the scroll??
?And gain the summoning bosses approval. There are very few that these bosses would even consider approving to summon their species, and even fewer that, after consideration, would approve without a heck of a fight. There seem to be some requirements for certain species to accept one as their master. These remain unknown to me, however.?
?Can?t you summon all creatures, though??
Vidar seemed to wince, ?Almost all.?
Vidar led him forward until they seemed to be in the middle of the forest, only more, countless trees in every direction. They were now walking up the steps, of a giant, in terms of circumference rather than elevation, platform that had odd designs on it. There seemed to be numerous animals on them, several species and such. The platform was split down the middle, one half represented the land, showing a grassy plain with creatures that live on land on them, while the other half showed the clear, blue sky. Here, there were various birds, and a few bugs. The platform was grey, but all of these images were carved into it. At the very top, though, Riku?s eye was caught by a giant dragon, that took up more space than any of the other animals.
Vidar walked to the center of the platform, where there was a circle large enough for maybe two people to stand in it comfortably and there was an imprint of a hand in the center of it.
Vidar stood in the middle of the platform, kneeling down, ?Step down from the platform, and observe.?
Riku stepped down and then turned to watch Vidar. As he did, Vidar pushed his open palm down, thrusting it into where the hand carving was. From the distance Riku was at, he could just barely see the carving closing in so that Vidar?s hand fit perfectly into it. And everything after that was amazing.
Astral projections of the animals all rose from the platform. They were... visions of the animals. All of them slowly rose up like ghosts, and then they seemed to become livelier, more like spirits. The birds fluttered around the sky, the real sky, not the one on the platform, and creatures crawled across the land. It was like a festival of colors and life. Some creatures were orange and some purple, but all were a different, usually vibrant, save a few animals, color. All remained within the platform, though. He could hear the sounds that all of them made: a constant, steady chirping from birds, the hissing of a snake, the growling of bears and the constant roaring of a lion. The animals swirled around Vidar, and once he picked his hand up, the projections, still moving, slowly faded from sight. Just as slowly and gracefully, Vidar stood and turned towards Riku.
?Any idea what just happened?? Vidar asked.
?Something awesome,? Riku replied, still wide-eyed.
?This platform was among the few things that were left here before we came, by god knows who. Upon placing your hand in the center, you are examined. Everything about you is examined, from your outer appearance to the depths of your heart. From that, the platform, I still have yet to make a name for something as amazing as this, gauges which creatures will accept you. Maybe a bit roughly, nothing is set in stone, but as far as I?ve seen, it?s been right. Did you see the one creature that didn?t rise??
Riku shook his head; he was so entranced by the display that he wouldn?t have noticed anything as insignificant as that.
?The dragon, at the very top,? Vidar?s teeth seemed to grind, ?To this day, I still can?t come to terms with them. They are the most difficult creatures to master, but undoubtedly the most powerful. Anyway, I want you to do what I just did, put your hand in the imprint and see what happens.?
Riku ran over to the circle in the center, eager to see what animal he would have control over. And when he went to the platform, he slammed his open palm vigorously into the imprint. The carving was too big at first, and then, just like it did for Vidar, it compressed around Riku?s hand so that it seemed like he had traced his hand.
Nothing happened at first, there was a tranquil silence. Suddenly, though, the ground rumbled. No, it wasn?t the ground, it was just the platform. It was shaking and vibrating, and suddenly, it stopped. Riku looked in front of him as a red blast shot up around the outline of one of the carvings. Riku?s heart soared as he realized which one. Suddenly, as the blast receded, a giant spirit came up from the platform. Its grand wings spanned out and as it rose it shot a giant flame, and though it was a projection, it felt and seemed dreadfully realistic, and then flew through its own fire blast. The creature was a lava-red color, like it had awoken from the depths of a volcano.
The dragon soared circles around the platform, and then flew over Riku, loosing another fireball into the air.
