The Gathering

[Koli]

Sweet nothing.

Koli had spent countless hours practicing the way of the brotherhood. To completely fill one's mind- occupy it with everything in existence- and overload. Overloading the mind to render any form of concentration impossible remained a beginner meditation technique which brothers learned soon after they were old enough to talk. Many other adept techniques of truly altering one's consciousness and frame of mind existed, but Koli enjoyed the calm isolation of the degree of nothingness attainable through this technique.

Koli sensed somebody projecting a warm, heartfelt intention into the universe. It reflected off of Koli's own energy, refreshing him and comforting his heart. Koli's consciousness reflected the same energy back into the universe. Jalaphar, his blood brother, approached to share fellowship and knowledge.

Koli egressed from his state of isolation and turned himself to face the door of his dormitory, waiting for his brother, when suddenly a feeling of mischevity came about him. He concentrated on his surroundings and started breathing in a distinctive pattern; in for four counts, out for three, nothing for three, in for two, out for six, in for three... He felt his heartbeat slowing down to almost ten beats per minute, and his very existence seemed to fade away from his own presence.

The door opened and a tall, young athletic monk with a handsomely cut face and dark hair walked in. He had deep blue eyes and wore the white robe that the brotherhood issued as uniforms. Koli opened his eyes and watched his friend whom he had spent years training and learning with- honing their skills, studying the ways of the world, and their brotherhood's ethics together. The comorodory that they shared held a special place in Koli's heart, which only multiplied as they grew up together.

A look of confusion spread across Jalaphar's face as he looked around the room. "Koli?" he said, astonished. "Abbas Amo said he hasn't come out of his dormitory all day." Jalaphar said this as he looked directly at the spot where Koli sat.

Koli glanced down at himself and noticed that he had become invisible in his rhythmic and methodic meditation. Instantly he burst out laughing and Jalaphar jumped with a shriek as Koli's form faded into existence once more, his heart rate returning to normal.

"Wha- how- wha?" Jalaphar stammered as Koli fell down on his cot laughing.

"You should have seen the look on your face!" Koli gasped.

Jalaphar's astonished look changed to disbelief, and then he started to smile. Soon, both of the monks rolled on the cot laughing together. "You became invisible just to pull a prank on me?"

"[I/]Koli! Jalaphar![I]" A voice hissed from the hallway, and instantly Koli and Jalaphar were on their feet in front of the cot, standing at attention. That tone of voice only came where big trouble followed.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Abbas Amo, the head priest of the brotherhood heard all of the commotion and was now smartly striding into the room with his hands behind his back. His tall, plump, grandfatherly figure misguided most, for as he loved the two boys dearly, he remained firm and harsh when warranted. He stopped in front of the two young monks, and glared at them, his gaze moving from one to the other. Silence rang out through the room as the two held their breath in front of their mentor, unsure of what doom impended.

"I found out that I could become invisible, Abbas Amo, by mistake," Said Koli, unsure how to explain the odd phenomenon. "Jalaphar was so confused and I found it humorous," he hesitated. "I couldn't contain myself."

Abbas's eyes softened upon hearing Koli's young, innocent voice. Much of the world still eluded Koli; he did not yet have the scars that most monks of age sported.

"Koli," he said in a gentle voice, "your powers grow stronger by the day. You see this. You may not know the full breadth of what you are capable of, but this fact makes it even more important that you are fully in control of the aspects you are capable of manipulating-" he glanced over at Jalaphar.

"Such as discipline, and control over your emotions," Abbas Amo said in a sharper tone. "Both of you should have known better- especially you, Jalaphar. You are almost eighteen years old, both of you! You know what that means."

"We will be eligible for our combat comprehension," Jalaphar said in a somber voice.

"That is right. You will both be eligible to go on missions for the brotherhood. There is no room for undisciplined, childish shenanigans." His tone changed from scolding to teaching. "That sort of behavior will get one of you killed."

Koli peacefully sat atop the canopy in the Dheathain rainforest as he meditated. The sight of an endless carpet of treetops as far as the eye could see with the dawn sky in the background brought relief to Koli's troubled mind. After renunciation of his previous life, he had no clue what to do or where to go. He sought the most desolate, hostile lands and lived there simply to prove to himself that he could overcome hardship in the face of grave consequences. Someday he hoped to live in Fallien, and eventually walk the Tular Planes. Eventually he would find a peaceful mountaintop in the Alerarian Mountain ranges to live out the rest of his days. The world didn’t need him, so why did he need the world? He survived in every climate for extended periods of time. Nobody would miss him, so he would continue to live undetected by the world except to nature.

And then he heard it. Pain. Distress. A simple cry for help. Perhaps he heard an auditory hallucination- his mind, playing tricks on him.

But then it came again.

Koli roused himself from his meditative state and slid off the branch he rested on, swiftly snatching the canopy cantilever, and using his momentum to swing himself away from the tree. The monk grabbed a green,fibrous vine and used it to slow his descent, as he swung towards the direction of the distress. He continued for about a minute until he saw the source of the commotion. Ten humanoids occupied a small clearing where two paths crossed, one man on the ground, cuts and bruises all over his body, and nine other lizard-like men around him. He slid down the bottom of a vine and launched himself at the nearest thug, falling about fifteen feet and breaking his fall whilst still undetected.

Koli noted where each attacker stood, conjured himself a long staff, and engaged. He worked swiftly and silently, picking the assailants off one by one; they looked like some sort of draconic species, but they still had pressure points like every other humanoid. Thanks to sensitive nerves and soft spots, six of the lizard men lay unconscious and 2 had fallen into an eternal sleep in a matter of seconds. Their leader beat down hell and fury on the young man in a sort of blood lust, completely unaware of his surroundings. He sent a flurry of strikes and blows to the young man’s head in particular, and stomped down on his limbs. Koli looked at the draconic figure and studied him, looking for a weakness. His scaly skin peeled up around his neck showing open wounds.

Koli raised his staff and brought it down on the open area in his neck, knocking him to the ground. The drakari rolled over and sent a kick up towards Koli's face. Koli took a quick step to the side and grabbed the leg of the leader. He lifted his elbow and brought it down on the knee of his enemy, snapping it. The drakari screeched in pain, the scream ringing out throughout the forest. Koli lifted his foot and brought it down on the leader's head in a vertical stomp. The leader joined the unconscious.

The monk looked over at the boy, laying almost lifeless on the cold hard ground. His body was beaten, scarred, and bruised. He felt pity for the young man groaning in pain. Koli walked forward, stepping in front of the boy.