He rolled over onto his stomach. His right leg throbbed, pain shooting through the muscles. It was so intense he could barely even remember the reason it pained him.
But remember he did. He had been told to kill the Great Father.
The man in black put his hands beneath him and shoved, forcing his body up, then he managed to get up on his knees. He finally managed to stand, though the motion made his right leg throb even harder.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw the Great Father still standing tall and proud. With his head held low, he started shuffling out of the hall, knowing he had somehow failed the test in spite of his intense training.
“Hold, young one,” the Great Father called out when the man in black was almost at the entrance to the hall. “You have not finished your task with us yet.”
The man in black’s whole body perked up and he turned around expectantly.
“While you may have passed the preliminary test, the hardest test is still to come.”
“But Great Father, how could I have passed the test if you still live?” the man in black inquired, thinking the Great Father must be playing a mean joke on him. “If I could not complete all of what you asked, then how could I have completed the test?”
“Do not be such a blind fool, young one!” the Great Father barked. “Did you really think everyone had to kill the Great Father to pass the test?” The man in black started to answer, but was cut off. “That part is impossible. It is only there to see if you will follow absolutely everything I say. Not even the test with the other members of the Dragon Council is enough, although it deters some. I must be assured that you will do whatever is required in the heat of battle. So you have passed that part.”
“You mean I passed?!” he said somewhat incredulously, his pain forgotten as excitement rushed to his brain. “Wow! Wait ‘til I get home and tell my friends, and my mother! She’ll be so proud! I passed!”
He started dancing around like a foolish schoolboy, though the movements looked awkward given that every step on his right foot made pain flare up. Then his eyes met the Great Father’s and there was that same icy glare from before. He immediately stopped and said, “I’m very sorry, Great Father.”
The Great Father looked down at him, letting his eyes bore through the young man’s head to make him squirm a bit. “You seem to be quite pleased with yourself for one who has only passed half the test,” the Great Father reminded him. “The hardest part is yet to come. Will you still be so confident when you know what else lies before you, I wonder?”
The young man immediately wiped the grin from his face. “Yes, of course, Great Father. How could I have been so stupid?” he said, hitting his hand on his forehead. “I am sorry for my rudeness and my outburst. Such behavior will not happen again. This I swear.”
The Great Father laughed. “Never make a promise you cannot be sure to keep, young one. This is something I have learned. And do not be sorry for the outburst, for it is fine to be joyous with an enemy’s defeat, just as long as one is ready for the next one in time. Now, do you wish to take the final portion of the test now, young one? Let me remind you if you refuse it now, you can come back once later, but if you take it now and fail, you will get no such chance.”
To the man in black, it sounded as if the Great Father was encouraging him to take it later. Which made sense. He was tired, and his right leg still throbbed. Getting some rest before continuing was a wise move. Still, with the way his mom had been this morning, he wasn’t sure he’d get another chance.
Besides, I won’t fail.
His mind made up, he finally said with complete confidence, “I am ready, Great Father. Test me now.”
“Are you absolutely sure you wish to take it now, young one? Saying yes now will deny you any second chances,” the Great Father reminded him.
He needed no reminders. They had said the same thing many times in practice. “Yes,” the man in black whispered. He cleared his throat and stood up straighter. “I mean, yes, I am sure, Great Father.”
“Very well, young one. If that is your decision, none can stop you.” The Great Father waved to one of the other Council members. “Brother Carmine,” he said, “you shall fight the lad. Determine whether or not he is ready to become a Dragon and attain full honors.”
“Yes, Father,” Brother Carmine said softly, giving off a false impression of weakness. He slowly stepped off the platform. He took off his ceremonial robe, revealing one that looked similar to the young trainee’s own robes underneath, though again only from the neck down, then walked over to the young man, fists at ready.
“Wait!” A woman’s voice cried out unexpectedly right before the fighting began. “You can’t let this test continue, you must not!”
“Who dares interrupt a meeting of the Dragon Council?” the Great Father demanded, fury in his tone. “Show yourself now if you value your life, woman!”
A frail woman, easily in her forties, walked into the main part of the hall and faced the gathered Council members and the man in black like she wasn’t afraid of anything. Immediately, she began to explain herself. “I am Lyrad’s mother, that boy standing before you in the black outfit. And I am here because of something private and of great importance that concerns him and negates this test,” she said, hands on her hips.
Lyrad hit his hand on his head again,
