Occultus Draconem

The Dragon Prince

"I can't do this!"

Blaise threw his hands up in frustration. He lay in the mud below the obstacle course, the icy rain pouring down on him. He sat up with a heavy sigh, rubbing his sore muscles. Every time he thought he was doing better, he would slip up again.

Stop being so negative. You almost made it to the top that time. You did it yesterday.

"This is ridiculous! We been at it all day, and for months before now. I don't wanna do this no more—I keep fallin'!"

"That's what the repetition is for."

Despite what Blaise thought, he had changed drastically in the months since coming to Draconia, especially in his training with the Occultus Draconem.

When he had been brought there from Cadmus, he was emaciated, starving and in pain from what he'd been through. There were some days that he couldn't even attend training sessions because he'd be in bed, writhing in pain or vomiting from how much Zane's presence affected his Human body.

But still, since then, he'd built muscle and stamina, and could, to a degree, will away both Zane's presence and the pain it brought. He just couldn't seem to master the obstacle course.

"Anyone can get lucky and do something once or twice," Kenric said, "but you have to keep doing it, until you can do it right every time."

"But it don't rain every time, man. It's like a whole 'nother course!"

Kenric opened his mouth to reply, but Theron's voice came from across the arena.

"Do ya really think Ken's lookin' to hear yer lame excuses, kid? You ain't made it up yet today, so get yer ass outta the mud and get goin'!"

Theron had been absent from training for about two months. He'd asked Kenric about it, but he wouldn't really give them any details. He was paler and a bit thinner than the last time Blaise had seen him, but Theron still carried himself well, and he still wore that cocky grin on his face.

Blaise let out an exasperated sigh and got to his feet, wiping the mud off his bare arms. Ezekiel and Phoenyx, who were waiting patiently for their own turns, watched as he tried to scale the walls again. But Blaise's boots slipped on the slick stone again, and he hit the mud, face-first.

"Why ain't ya workin' the course together?" Theron asked, and the other two just shared a confused glance. "Ain't no Draconem member ever gonna go nowhere by himself. If ya can't do it alone, let yer squad help ya. Gotta have faith in each other just as much as in yaselves. So, all of ya, get up there."

"What good would that do?" Ezekiel asked, looking at the water running down the walls. "If we can't scale the wall, what will it matter if we help each other or not? We'll all just end up in the mud together."

"Ken, whatcha been teachin' 'em all this time?" Theron asked, turning to Kenric. "Man, I ain't gonna ever get sick again, so I can be here while yer trainin'. Don't they know nothin' 'bout their powers yet?"

"They know about their powers," Kenric said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "As for their lack of teamwork, I can't spoon-feed them every little thing. I was hoping they'd figure it out on their own."

"Figure what out?" Phoenyx questioned.

"Y'all really ain't the brightest bunch, are ya? Ya can use yer powers for more than just combat, ya know?"

"Oh!" If it was even possible, Phoenyx's big blue eyes got even wider than usual. "I think I know where you're going with this!"

"I don't," Ezekiel noted, wiping rainwater off his face. They were all soaked to the bone and tired of being out in the rain.