Element Wielder

Chapter 33

Hope everyone is having an awesome day.

Please read comment at end of the chapter.

————————-

CHAPTER 33

It was past midnight and all but a handful of soldiers slept. Falcon, with the anticipation of the forthcoming battle, couldn't get himself to do the same. So instead he sat alone by the campfire, his brain consumed with thoughts. What am I going to do when I run into Lao on the battlefield? Can I really bring myself to kill him?

"Mind if I join you?" a familiar voice asked. Falcon looked up to find the Ghost Knight staring down on him.

"Of course not."

"I saw that little display you put on earlier. Obviously your emotions continue to get the better of you," said the Ghost Knight, taking a seat on a log beside Falcon. "You were fortunate that your anger only cost you a loss on this day. Next time the price you pay could be much higher."

"I didn't lose. I decimated those two in seconds. They didn't even land a single punch."

"You let two complete strangers lure you into a fight that you didn't wish to be involved in. You allowed them to get inside your head and, like a child, you responded instinctively without thinking the situation through. At that moment, the fight was over, you had lost."

Falcon couldn't bring himself to speak.

The Ghost Knight pressed on. "Do you realize that the men you fought are in charge of commanding battalions in tomorrow's battle? What kind of morale do you think the soldiers they lead into battle will have after witnessing their commanding officers decimated by a rookie Rohad?"

"I didn't consider that."

"That is no excuse. Last time we spoke I told you to listen to your energy. Don't force it to do what you want it to do; instead force yourself to understand how you can work together as one."

The Ghost Knight's advice sounded eerily similar to the advice Albert had given him in years past. It had been so long ago, but he still remembered every single word as if he had just heard it: There is no need to always be in a rush.

"Yes, someone told me something similar a long time ago," said Falcon, embarrassed by his earlier actions.

"You should listen."

"It's much harder to do than it sounds. I try. I really do, but in the heat of the moment everything becomes a blur. It becomes hard to distinguish right from wrong."

"You see that fire?" The Ghost Knight motioned his hand toward the fading campfire. "Anger and rage are like fire: dangerous and destructive if left unchecked. This fire here is controlled by the stones set around it, essentially a barrier that it cannot escape. You must do the same for the fire inside you. Contain it and use it to your advantage."

"How?"

"When I feel like I might lose myself, I think back to my most precious memories. You could try the same. Allow your dearest memories to become your barriers."

"What kind?" asked Falcon. He couldn't help but wonder what memories the white knight before him held within.

"That's something I can't tell you. You alone hold the answer to that question. But the fact that you're a chaos wielder gives you much more anger than most people will ever possess. To combat that level of anger, you're going to need a particularly strong memory. My suggestion to you is that you rely on a memory of someone you care deeply about, someone who makes you a better person."