The next morning Hasir got up nice and early and practiced what he had learned from Quinchal for a bit before it was time for the actual
trials to begin. Hasir was in the middle of practicing the 'Stone Fist' when he saw the tsaesci coming toward the temple, thanks to
the sunlight glinting of his red and yellow armor. The sunlight hit Hasir so forcefully that it momentarily blinded him; in his
disoriented state, he did not realize that he had flung one of the smoldering rocks in Quinchal's direction. Hasir tried to stop the spell
but in his panicked state, he sent the other two rocks flying; one hit a door that stood to the right of where the clueless Argonian
was standing. He heard the burning stone make contact and the crackling sound of wood on fire. The other stone hit a vine covered
wall opposite the door and burst into flames; catching each consequent vine aflame as well.
He looked sorrowfully at the Tsaesci with his tail between his legs. Quinchal was livid, Hasir knew, but the tsaesci tried his best to
maintain a level head about all of this as he gazed from the door that was still aflame to the smoldering remains that had once been
vines denoting the temple's age.
Hasir saw Quinchal approaching him and he slumped his shoulders in defeat; he knew Quinchal was going to be punish him severely
for this transgression.
"Masster, I'm ssorry about thiss, I can repair the damagess..." Hasir said, tailing off hopelessly
Hasir was waiting for the tsaesci's hands to close around his throat. Quinchal put a much lighter hand on Hasir's shoulder than the
argonian was expecting and told him not to dwell on the past, we mustn't dwell on our mistakes; only strive harder to not have
them repeat in the future. Quinchal told Hasir to forget about it and to focus on today's training instead. The tsaesci told Hasir
to stand right where he was. The tsaesci moved over to a wooden switch to the left of where the door, now burnt to cinders, once
stood and pulled it; ten wooden training dummies sprouted from hidden trapdoors in the floor. Quinchal called over to Hasir,
"This is the trial of ardent flames, use any of those abilities to fell your 'enemies,' Okay... three... two... one... begin!"
Hasir cast his dragonknight standard spell, making sure all ten dummies were in range, stood inside it and cast his flame whip spell.
He lashed out at the dummies, catching each one on fire; one after the other, until there was nothing but burning bits of wood left.
Quinchal smiled broadly at the rate the Argonian was learning.
"Now, this trial will be a bit harder as the dummies will constantly be moving; so be on your toes at all times. Are you prepared?
three... two... one... begin!"
He eyed the contantly moving 'enemies' like a hunter examines his prey before striking. Hasir decided upon a move Quinchal hadn't
taught him but he felt he had a good grasp on it. He knew he had to move to each target in turn as standing still would prove
ineffective. He summoned dark talon-like rocks from the ground, effectively immobilizing the target as he finished it off with his
flame whip. He did this maneuver for each of the dummies. Quinchal gawked at Hasir, unbelievingly, as the Argonian had again used
a skill the tsaesci had not taught him.
"By the flames of Akatosh, that was incredible, you are a fast learner." He walked over to Hasir with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Ermmm, how did you learn that move? I didn't teach it to you." Hasir cast him a look that told Quinchal they had already had this
conversation.
Quinchal raised his hands and apologized. Hasir smirked and said it was okay. Quinchal cleared his throat and told
Hasir about his final trial.
"Hasir, your final trial, the trial of the earthen heart, will be the toughest of the three, not only will you be defeating the training
dummies from the last trial. There will be additional obstacles this time, obstacles which you will need your obsidian shield to defend
against. So you will be using your shield to defend against the additional threats as well as finishing off your 'enemies,' so this trial
essentially will have you use all of your skills you have learned thus far; every skill, mind you, except the dragonknight standard.
Ready? three... two... one begin!"
Quinchal strode back over to a switch beside the one he had pulled earlier, grabbed this lever and pulled; the dummies resumed their
dance of evasion, but the temple soon joined in; firework cannons sprouted forth from each of the pillars and the floor began to
retract; almost knocking Hasir off balance. Quinchal looked somewhat amused at Hasir's terrified expression.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, mind the lava as you avoid the fire cannons and attack the dummies on each of the ten platforms around
the room."
Scattered throughout the lava were eleven platforms the size of a septim standing between him and a fiery death; ten with the
dummies on them and the one Hasir was standing on. Hasir gulped loudly as he glanced down at the ferociously bubbling lava. He
knew the platforms were too far apart to just jump to. He thought long and hard about a way to avoid the dragon-headed cannons,
get to the dummies and kill them in one fluid motion without using his obsidian shield-if he could help it-because he always tried
to make things easier for himself instead of the latter. His eyes brightened as an idea occured to him; why not pull the dummies
toward him somehow? That way he could dispatch them easily without willfully, or in this case unwillfully, putting himself in harm's
way.
He conjured the flame whip and tried to grab the wooden dummies nearest to him; he was not sure what to expect but he had at
least hoped the fiery whip would grab hold of the dummy. It only managed to get within two feet of the dummy when it fell lamely
downward; his face began to burn with frustration. He redoubled his efforts; still the same result. Hasir took a deep breath;
knowing frustration wasn't the way to handle this. Hasir muttered a few unintelligable words and a chain with links of flame erupted
to life in his outstretched hands. He flung the chain with all his might toward the dummy and it succeeded where the flame whip had
failed; it gripped the dummy firmly by its midsection and sent it whizzing toward the platform where Hasir stood. Without a second
thought, Hasir let the chain be replaced by the flame whip and sent flaming bits of the dummy into the lava below.
Hasir did the same with the other dummies; grabbing one after the other with the chain and dispatching them with the whip. With
his task complete, the platforms begun to sink into the lava, the floor moved back into place and the firework launchers disappered
into the red stone pillars.
Hasir strode over to Quinchal with a huge grin adorning his face; he roared with laughter. Quinchal eyed him with indignation as the
Argonian slowly walked ever closer. The Argonian saluted the tsaesci as he lent against the wall next to a red stone pillar. The
tsaesci shot daggers at Hasir, who did not flinch whatsoever.
"Are you trying to show me up you fucking asshole? Two spells... that was two spells now that you cast without prior knowledge,
what? You think you''re better than me? Hmmm?" He asked as he grabbed Hasir's collar, slamming him into a wall, almost
scattering it to pieces.
Hasir grinned at him, trying hard to diffuse the tension.
"Hey relax okay? I really dunno what is wrong with me lately, take a chill pill, geez." Quinchal wouldn't buy it. He threw Hasir in the
air causing him to crumple upon contact with the temple floor.
The tsaesci told him that if he showed him up one more time he would be out of the temple before he could say 'Akavir.' Hasir
broke down and apologized, saying he would never do it again and that from here on out he would act like the golden pupil Quinchal
wanted him to be. The tsaesci walked over, helped Hasir up and told him that his apology was accepted so long as he did not welch
on what he had just promised him. Hasir nodded in acknowledgement, forcing a smile to break out on the tsaesci's serious face.
Quinchal congratulated Hasir on completion of the three trials, even though he cheated on the last one and did not use the obsidian
shield nor move toward the targets dodging the firework launchers, not to mention use yet another spell Quinchal did not teach him.
Quinchal smiled and said he merely passed the test by the skin of his teeth and despite obvious reservations he might still have
about the Argonian, who clearly had trouble with authority or rules, was glad to grant him the title of dragonknight.
Quinchal went over to a rack full of armor, took down three almost identical suits of armor laid them at the proud Argonian's feet and told
him to pick one. Hasir walked between each set of armor scrutinizing each one carefully; looking at the designs and feeling their
weight in his hands, Hasir decided to pick the heavy armor that looked like an Akaviri equivalent of Skyrim's dragonscale armor but
heavier. It had the same scaled look as the Tamrielic armor except it was painted red with orange accents instead of green with tan
accents.
The tsaesci turned his back to give the excited lizard some privacy. Hasir took off his shirt and pants. He threw them into the center
of the temple floor while he tried on the armor Quinchal had so graceously gifted his as a reminder of his new rank. His claws
feverishly undid the leather straps on the cuirass and placed it against his own scales, secured it and refastened the straps, only
fumbling a few times because of his excitement. Hasir did the same with the identical gauntlets and greaves. He did the boot last. With
him all suited up, he took the helmet and placed it gently on his head, ensuring his bony spikes did not get in the
way.
Quinchal looked at Hasir and smiled. He went over to a pair of weapon racks. "Hasir," he said after he had come back from finding
something of value in the old rubbish that littered the various weapon racks. "These are the standard armaments of the
dragonknight."
"This" he said as Hasir unsheathed the first sword "is a dragonsteel sword, it has a curved blade with a bit of dragonbone running
down one side of it. It is a very durable blade and, as an added bonus, is tipped with silver so it is the perfect weapon for hacking,
slashing and if need be, hunting all manner of the undead."
Hasir replaced in in its sheathe and hefted the next weapon the tsaesci had given him; it was a bow with fiery red squiggly lines
etched into the bow, along with the bow was an identical quiver with sixty matching arrows.
"This," Quinchal said gesturing to the bow, "is called the pheonixfire bow, a dragonknight wouldn't be caught dead without this
weapon as it is ideal for dispatching far off enemies your sword can't reach."
"Yeah, a bow that can shoot far off enemies, great," Hasir said exhasperatedly. "What's next? An axe that insults the person it
hits?"
This whole joke was lost on Quinchal,
"No, sorry, I don't have that but I can find one if you like." He said. Hasir punched him in the shoulder while roaring with laughter.
He told the tsaesci that he was joking and to loosen up.
Hasir thanked Quinchal and placed the sword, bow and quiver into his leather bag. He started to dismiss Hasir but thought better of
it and called Hasir back inside as he started to leave. Quinchal said he had one more piece of information to bestow upon the lizard.
The tsaesci asked if Hasir had heard aboout the sacred symbol known as yinyang, Hasir promptly shook his head.
Quinchal groaned, he tried his best to keep calm, like a gently flowing river,
"The Yinyang is seen as a simple of great importance to the Akaviri people."
To emphasize this point, he went to the rear of the temple and rolled up the red carpet, beneath the carpet lay a white half circle and
a black half circle with existed in perfect balance with each other.
Quinchal gestured to the symbol on the ground,
"Hasir, this is the yinyang, it is a symbol of the constant battle of light and dark we have to fight within ourselves.
He cleared his throat and explained the symbol further,
"If the person has these two forces in perfect balance," He interlaced his finger to show harmony. "then he or she will be free of
conflict and will be as happy as a bright sunny day.
His whole demeanor changed as a frown crept over his face,
"However, if the person does not have the two forces in balance, than the yin and yang will split apart, making two seperate
emotional states. It also will take the form of the person's spirit."
Hasir pondered on this for a minute, then he asked his question,
"Quinchal, what if this person, say contracted lycanthropy when the yin yang splits? Will it split into two wolves?"
Quinchal was taken aback by this question, he slowly nodded,
"Yes, it will indeed split into two wolves, one white and one black, but if the person somehow learned to control the yin and yang
halves and reform them into one then..." He tailed of. "Then the two wolves will form into one and that person's soul will be
balanced?" Hasir asked, and thus finishing the Taesci's sentence
Quinchal went over to the table he and Hasir had sat at twelve days before and pondered on this for a while,
"Both yes and no, one starts the action just as the other half finishes it, so a lycanthrope who has his black and white wolves
reformed who is overly happy is just as lost as the same wolf who is always depressed cannot survive because one needs to balance
the two emotions so one does not overpower the other; also, those two extremes I have just mentioned oftentimes fall flat on their
face, emotionally speaking, because there needs to be that other emotion to support the other; otherwise it will come crashing
down like a bunch of poorly laid bricks."
He eyed Hasir with some intensity. Hasir just stood there, mouth in the neutral position,
"Do you understand now? everyone needs both extremes to function, if not, we are doomed to remain in one state forever, He slowly
shook his head, "that is good for no one."
Hasir shook his head as though trying to rid himself of water that got stuck in he ear,
"I don't get it, mind explaining it a bit slower?"
Quinchal groaned and ran his hand down his face,
"Okay... maybe if I explain it a different way then." He wracked his brain for an analogy the Argonian would understand, "Okay what
about this one? Predators need prey to survive, it's a natural yinyang, without predator and prey fighting for food, the entire world
woulld be in turmoil. Do you understand now?" He asked, waspishly
Hasir nodded, shouldered his bag, thanked Quinchal and left the temple, making his way down the mountain. Quinchal stared after
him incredulously,
"I don't think anything can penetrate that thick skull of yours, you stupid moron."
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