The Lost Kor-Ban pt. 4

The Aspiring Combatant

After a short nap, Covak reached for the ancient, brass-colored tome. It was far heavier then he anticipated and he expelled a grunt when he lifted it. Covak placed it upon his lap and flipped open the leathery cover. The tome spoke in haiku's and riddles. It was extremely ambiguous and the reading frustrated Covak. ''What the hell does the ancient babble have to do with fighting,'' he shouted as he threw the book against the wall in frustration. The outer cover torn off the book in a swift crack and the book laid naked with it's pages held together by the thinnest of twine. Covak's side ached and he rested again, stubbornly refusing to read that rambling garbage. Three days of sleep comes easy when your injured and sore. The door hissed open and Keicho walked into Covak's quarters. He was disgusted to see his tome treated with such utter disrespect and he violently nudged Covak awake. Covak expressed that the book spoke in circles and rambles about ambiguous nonsense. He rose to his feet, the aching pain all but gone, and demanded that Keicho teach him about fighting. Keicho's reply was a hard strike to the chest. Covak was knocked backward with tremendous force and he crashed into the bookshelf. Keicho exited the room and stated that the next strike will be ten fold of that if he harms his tome again. The hissed shut and Covak cursed in rage.

Four days without nourishment takes a toll on one's senses. Covak's balance became questionable, his vision contrasting, and his thoughts scattered. He fell to the floor on his hands and knees cursing again for his predicament. He lifted his head and noticed the tome still sitting in the same spot it had been for the past three days. With no other options, he sat cross-legged and placed the tome on his lap. For some reason the readings made much more sense then he remembered. The riddles became clear and Covak realized that there was no other way to articulate what the book was trying to convey. He entered a trance-like state while reading, his pangs melted away as he became lost in the text. When Keicho entered the room he discovered Covak threading the last bit makeshift thread through the leather cover of the tome. He had improvised a way to sow the cover back on. Keicho smirked and stated that he didn't need to quiz Covak because he had already displayed he was ready. Covak finally acknowledged Keicho's presence and he fell on the floor with a tremendous surge of pangs. Keicho chuckled as he helped Covak limp out of his room.

Energized and refreshed from his large banquet, Covak was eager to learn what Keicho had to teach. Keicho stated that Covak had gone through the necessary restructuring and he was ready to begin training. Having been denied the necessities of living, Covak had abandoned his shallow-minded mind-set and adapted to the radically open-minded state of Teras Kasi Monk. Acknowledging the pain from his hunger and mal-nourishment, Covak was able to forget his own limitations and was independent from outside nourishment. Of course this can only be maintained for so long and his body reverted into an almost crippling state of recovery once he awoke from the trance. Having been replenished physically and crossing the required mental threshold, Covak was able to begin training.

"Fluid posture" is all that Covak heard for a seemingly eternal time span. His muscle were strong, however, he was always tense and because of that he was unable to move, react, and retaliate with his full potential. He had Covak extend his arm parallel to the ground with his wrist limp and bicep loose and hold a weight on it. His form would bear the stress of the weight rather then his muscles and because of that he would rely less on his muscles and more on his stance. It became increasingly clear after each abstract task what Covak was ultimately striving toward. The six months passed in the blink of an eye and Covak stood before his Sensei on the last day. Keicho told Covak that he was not a Teras Kasi Warrior nor should he ever aspire to become one. Covak's resolve and motivation made him completely incompatible with that of Teras Kasi practitioner. He was, however, a warrior philosopher and because of that he was ready to return to the academy. Covak thanked Keicho for all his altruistic teaching and apologized one last time for his book. Keicho smiled, patted Covak on the back and stated that his book was in better shape now then it was before.

Covak boarded the shuttle back to Coronet, and he finally realized his Sensei's last lesson. The tome was repaired by someone enlightened from it and because of such, it served it purpose and became a 'better book.' Covak grinned a wide grin and glanced toward the edge of Bela Vistal. As Keicho's humble villa faded into the distance, one last thought echoed through his head, It's funny that I'm going back to the academy but forward in my journey. Keicho is the only person who can make backtracking progressive.