Guardians

Tested And Failed?

Beck felt the butterflies in his stomach drop dead once he heard the attendant call his number. His hands were clammy and he had to wipe them off on his pants repeatedly to keep them dry enough. He approached her reluctantly, like a man going to the gallows.

"The Grandmasters will see you now," she informed him pleasantly with a smile. He nodded and proceeded to the giant stone doors that led into the arena where they were supposed to take the tests.

He wanted to turn back and run away from here. He didn't belong here, didn't want to be here. His mom would not be disappointed at his decision. But there was something he wanted to do, a wrong he was meant to right and he could only do so by gaining admission into the Academy. He breathed out noisily through his nose and mouth and put his hand in the gap between the doors, dragging them open so he could slip inside and then closing them behind him.

The hall was quiet and somewhat dark, the only source of light being open torches arranged in a circle around a wide open space, in the middle of which he stood. Above him, segmented in pillars surrounding the open space, were the Grandmasters. They consisted of seven men and five women, all sitting stoically, faces devoid of emotion and unmoving.

"Proceed, champion," one of the women, situated in the middle, spoke. Her voice reverberated around the hall, chillingly.

He was confused. "Proceed with what?" He asked.

"The test, of course," she replied like it was obvious.

"What's the test? What should I do?" He asked.

"Anything. You could perform a spell, display whatever marvelous skills you have or even show us your physical prowess," she gave him options.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what to do. Can I fight instead?" He requested.

"Of course. Proceed," she encouraged, gesturing with her hand.

He scratched his head nervously. "Um, don't I need an opponent to fight?" He asked, sheepishly.

"An opponent?" She repeated, perplexed. She made a thoughtful sound, stroking her jaw, even though she had no beard. She was silent for some seconds.

"May I spar with him?" Another voice asked. Beck looked for the source. It was an incredibly tanned man with bulging muscles wearing a toga, who looked like he spent most of his life outdoors. He had white hair that shone like the moon and covered most of his face like a mane. He looked fierce, this look compounded by an "X" looking scar on his left cheek. His face was passive like the rest and this gave him a striking resemblance to a statue of Zeus Beck had come across before.

"I'll be his opponent," the man said more firmly.

"Thank you, Master Thane. Please proceed," the woman said. He stood up from where he sat and in the blink of an eye, he was on the ground with Beck. Now that he could see him closer, he noticed more smatterings of scars on his arm and the visible part of his chest.

" So how do we begin... " Beck was saying but before he could conclude his question, the man came at him with a punch. It narrowly missed him and whizzed past his head. He jumped away from him, his heart beating maniacally.

"No warning, huh?" He commented, watching him. The man didn't reply. He was attacked again by both fists this time, swinging one after the other for him. He dodged them successfully. He was about to retaliate when he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. When he looked down, he found his opponent's knee buried in his abdominal region. He gasped for air, clutching his stomach. His opponent raised his fist and brought it down on his back with a loud sound and he buckled and fell to his knees. A swift kick followed, sending him rolling carelessly to the edge of the circle.