The Olympian League: Origins: Chapter 4

The Final Lesson  is the fourth chapter of The Olympian League: Origins series. It was published on February, 24, 2012. This episode is about the origins of Flinn and how he got into The Olympian League.

Character List:
Flinn Miles

Christopher Fauns

Chapter 4
lV

The Last Lesson

Flinn Miles

My forehead was beading with sweat from the flames. For the thousandth time I cursed myself for not having immunity from fire.

We were in at the sword arena, no one was around of course. Probably due to fear and also not wanting to get caught between a battle of flames.

My opponent, was my mentor, Christopher Fauns, Son of Nyx. He, like me, could control fire. But unlike me, he controlled Black Fire, and was more destructive than normal fire.

Our swords clashed, I could the vacuum effect that came from his sword, it was unnerving. I jumped back, a head-on collision was suicide. My left hand went to my pocket, while my right hand held my sword, my fingers found the lighter that was inside it. I took it out and used to it to create a spark.

Christopher's eyes lit up in alarm as a column of flame was flew straight to him. He rolled to dodge it, he dropped his sword and his right palm covered his left, he returned fire in a mirror image of my own column of fire.

I barely managed to dodge it, I felt the strange mixture of heat and cold from the Black Fire. The distraction from the column of flame easily allowed Christopher to close the distance between him and me, his eyes stared into mine as his sword went down.

I raised my own sword to block it, ducked and rolled away to regain some distance between us. I used the lighter to create another spark, and sent another column of flame at him. He met the counter-attack with his own fire attack, surrounding his fist with black fire and punching my flames. Spliting the flames in half, leaving him unscathed.

<p style="text-align: left; ">He stared at me, his brown eyes were cold and burned with a controlled fury. His black hair as well fit with his theme of being a child of the Night. Just as I thought he would strike at me again, he laughed, a hearty laugh as if he was enjoying himself.

<p style="text-align: left; ">"Flinn! How strong you have grown over these years! I remember when you could barely hold your sword against me, now your almost matching me in terms of skill." He grinned.

<p style="text-align: left; ">"Thanks, I do my best." I boasted, despite my heavy breathing.

<p style="text-align: left; ">"If I was your father, I would be proud. As a friend, I would consider your training complete." He paused, then he said, his voice cold and that joy in his voice was gone. "But as your mentor, I still have one more lesson to teach you."

<p style="text-align: left; ">Suddenly, he released his full power as once. Shadows surrounded him, reaching out, as if wanting to embrace him. His body was enveloped by transparent black flame. His face was a emotionless mask, his eyes cold.

<p style="text-align: left; ">Just looking at him, made me freeze. My hands started trembling, my grip on my sword faltered, my left hand completely let go of the lighter. I was frozen in terror, pure, raw fear that made your body freeze. I remember the human body had a natural "flight or fight" mode, where adrealin pumped through your body making you move faster, it was not the case here.

<p style="text-align: left; ">I still have one more lesson to teach you. Those were his voice weren't they? My lesson.....not to let fear control me, to fight on, despite the challenges. That had to be it, that had to be my lesson.

<p style="text-align: left; ">My gripped tightened on my sword, I charged at him. I made the mistake of looking straight at him, the fear came back. His current appearance, his power, his eyes, they way he stood, he was like an avenging god. The look in his eyes told me that he would kill me if I came closer.

<p style="text-align: left; ">My grip faltered completely, my sword dropped to the ground. My knees buckled, I dropped to the ground, supported by my hands and knees.

<p style="text-align: left; ">"I-I give up. You win. I-I've failed your lesson." Choking sounds soon followed, the fear made tears come out, each drop falling and soaking the ground.

<p style="text-align: left; ">The power disappeared. Christopher stood over me, he dropped to one knee and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

<p style="text-align: left; ">"What do you mean? You passed with flying colours." He said.

<p style="text-align: left; ">I looked up at him. "What?"

<p style="text-align: left; ">"I did that because I wanted to see if you still remembered what fear was. You still do."

<p style="text-align: left; ">I stared at him blankly.

<p style="text-align: left; ">"In this world of ours." He said. "This world of demigods, gods and monsters. Where it's fight to survive or die. It's sometimes easy to forget what we really are, mortal...part human. Fear, happiness, sadness, anger, frustration. They are something that only humans fully understand. Fear of death, the will to stay alive, gods do not understand those feelings, because they do not have to face death neither do they need to fight to survive."

<p style="text-align: left; ">"A demigod's true power comes from both sides of our lineage." He continued. "The power of ichor of the gods as well as the humans ability to morph our feelings into weapons, into power that drives us forward." He released my shoulder from his grasp. "When everything esle fails, hold on to your mortal feelings. It will surprise you what heights you can achieve."

<p style="text-align: left; ">For a moment he just stood over me, looking down. "I have nothing esle to teach you, this is my last lesson as your mentor, Flinn."

<p style="text-align: left; ">His hand went towards his coat pocket, he pulled out a slip of paper. He let go of it and it slowly drifted and landed infront of my face. My eyes only managed to make out the first few sentences due to my Dyslexia.

<p style="text-align: left; ">Flinn Miles,

<p style="text-align: left; ">You have hereby been invited to join The Olympian League.

<p style="text-align: left; ">I looked up to see Christopher walking away, he waved at me and I faintly heard him say, "Welcome to the League, Flinn Miles."

Trivia
<p style="text-align: left; "><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(248, 233, 174); ">This chapeter/episode is the fourth chapter of the Origins series and is written by the user, Archie-Son of Poseidon.