A/N - I haven't got to work on Chapter 6 as of yet, I am working on some WoW Fiction about one of my characters. I may actually post it on , and if so I will notify you all so you can read that. It is however on the Thorium Brotherhood boards, so if you play WoW, you can find it under Stark ;)

Chapter 5

Morgan woke up with a start. He had been having the most vivid dream yet. He wasn't sure what it meant exactly, but it was a different sort of dream, as if something inside him was trying to help him. He had dreamt that he was training, and that he was nearing the end of it. It had taken him three years to train, in the dream, and he had slowed down his own progress to help himself learn better. What had awoken him from the dream was something he had done in it. He had combined fire and air to create a stroke of lightning, amazing the Masters. He smiled to himself as he stood up. Then it hit him. The pain in his side was gone! Hamish is an amazing healer he thought to himself. He went over to the area with the curtain, found his black robe and put it on. He then walked out of the infirmary and over to the wall that separated it from the Garden. He glanced down, and was greeted by the sight of two men sparring.

One was in a red robe, and was rushing around at high speeds while the other was in a deep brown robe. The man in brown simply stood still, almost as if he was waiting for something. Without warning the man in red zipped forward, faster then Morgan could keep track of and planted what looked to be a solid kick into the man in brown's midsection. Morgan grimaced, thinking that had to hurt. But the man in brown simply reached down and before the man in red could retract his leg, grabbed it and lifted him like a rag doll. Morgan was amazed. A hit like that should have broken something.. The man in red shouted something in that bizarre language that the Masters had used back in the chamber was seemingly ignited by fire! The man in brown growled and slammed the one in red into the ground, hard, causing a small crater to form. He let go of the red mans leg, and before he could react the man in red was back up, a storm of punches and kicks being shot towards the man in brown. The brown man couldn't avoid anything, so he simply stood there like a rock, taking the hits. He was beginning to show the effects of this however as he finally fell to one knee. Morgan thought he was going down, when the man in brown slammed his hand into the ground, causing a chunk of rock to fire up from underneath the man in red, lifting him off the ground. The man in red countered by slamming his fist into the rock, shouting another word in that strange tongue, causing the rock to explode in a fiery blast. The man in brown shielded his face and also shouted something in that strange language, causing the rocks to fire right back at the man in red. The red robed man simply shot forward, a blur of motion. Morgan was amazed at the display. He was entranced, and didn't notice that several other students were now around him. He jumped when one of them spoke to him.

"Neat fight isn't it?"

"Huh what?!" Morgan jumped and turned to find himself face to face with the girl that he had seen before, the one who had been flying. She had very blue eyes, that seemed to shimmer like stars. She also had long blond hair and a very fair complexion. He found himself staring as she eyed him.

"Ummm hello? You alright there?" She snapped her fingers at him.

Shaking himself out of the trance, Morgan smiled. "Oh yea! Sorry! They are amazing! Who are they?"

"Those would be Master Kang and Master Damon. Practicing no doubt. By the way, my name is Megan. I am an Air Disciple." She held out her hand, and Morgan took it and shook it, finding that her hand, while soft and slender, had a really firm grip. "My name is Morgan. They said I was an Elementalist." Megan's mouth dropped open. "No way! Thats not possible!" Several of the other students turned after hearing Morgan speak.

"You can't be an Elementalist!"

"Those are legendary!"

"Maybe he is, thats why he is wearing black!"

"Wow! Thats neat!"

Morgan found himself under the gaze of about ten people and began to feel really uncomfortable. "Well thats what the Masters told me I was." Megan began to push the crowd back a bit, grinning. "Give the new guy room!" The crowd dispersed, leaving just Morgan and Megan. She turned back and threw him a silly grin, then spoke again. "Yea, sorry about that. Well I gotta get to class! It was nice meeting you! See ya around." And before Morgan could speak she dashed off, down the stairs to the classrooms that Morgan knew now to be on the lower floor. Well, she is different. He turned back to watch the rest of the fight only to find that Kang and Damon were now looking up and him and grinning.

"Come on down Morgan!" Kang called. Morgan went over to one of the stairs and walked down, then ran over to meet the two Masters.

--

"You see Morgan," Damon began, "While the Order of Fire works on speed, the Order of Earth is more about strength and toughness. We aren't that fast. But we can take the hits, but most of us aren't very good at avoiding them." Grinning over at Kang, he took up a fighting stance. "Now Morgan, I want you to hit me as hard as you can." Morgan's eyes widened, and he glanced over at Kang, looking for confirmation of this. Kang simply gave Morgan and thumbs up, and stood leaning up against one of the tree's in the Garden. Morgan grimaced, and then turned and slammed his fist into Damon's midsection. Morgan was not a weak boy by any means. He had grown up on a farm, doing farm work, and so had quite a bit of strength. But when his fist met Damon's stomach, it felt like he had impacted a brick wall! He stepped back holding cradling his hand, and tears coming down his face. He had put all his strength into that punch, and it hurt to hit Damon's abdomen. Damon was grinning, and tapped his stomach. "One of the basic skills we have. Toughening the body through the power of the earth." Sitting down on the ground, Damon motioned for Morgan to join him. "You have already learned how to touch the energy of the world, now we simply must show you how to focus it. We are going to practice using the energy of the earth to toughen your body up. Slowly I must add" Morgan turned a little red, remembering yesterday's events. Kang had a huge grin plastered on his face, and waved. "I have to get going Morgan, Damon. Time for me to do some paperwork." Without another word, Kang ran off, a blur of motion. Damon shook his had. "He likes to show off." Turning back to Morgan, who was now sitting and waiting, he spoke again. "Ok, close your eyes and feel the energy around you." Morgan closed his eyes and brought the image of Cassie up in his mind. He then found that this was not working as well as he hoped. Hmm I guess I can't use this anymore... Let me think. He sat there and thought, while Damon watched. Morgan sat and thought and thought, and after a while he simply let his mind wander. I wonder what that Megan girl is up to. As soon as he brought a thought of Megan to his mind, he felt the power. He was shocked. Cassandra didn't work but Megan did. But... I love Cassie! Don't I? He went back to the task at hand. Sifting through the various energies, he finally found the one that lead to the earth. It was a very green sort of energy, he thought. He grabbed onto it, and felt it flow into him. He opened his eyes to find Damon looking at him.

"I feel it Master Damon." Damon nodded, he could see the gleam of the power in Morgan's eyes. "Good Morgan. You did find it as fast as Kang said you could."

"Well sir, it just takes concentration." Morgan jokingly said. Damon smiled. "Alright Morgan, now here is what you are going to do. I want you to concentrate on making your body as hard as stone. "

Morgan nodded, and closed his eyes again. Hard as stone, I am as hard as stone. I am stone. He began to feel heavier, and heard a gasp. He opened his eyes and saw that Damon was staring at him. He cocked an eyebrow and said "What?" Damon pointed, and said "I think you thought the wrong things Morgan." Morgan didn't quite understand that statement but looked down, to discover that his body was now solid stone. He could still move however! He stood up, slowly, and looked at himself closely. He seemed to be made of marble, with streaks of rose quartz mixed in. Well at least I am a pretty rock... He looked at Damon pleadingly. "And how on earth do I fix this?!"

"Well Morgan, you need to think that you are as HARD as rock, not that you ARE rock."

"Ahh I think I went a little off track there..." Morgan closed his eyes and concentrated again. I am not rock, I am just as hard as rock! He felt his body lightening and looked down to find his body was now simply flesh again. Morgan smiled and looked up at Damon. "Well I think I got it right this time. How do we test it?"

Damon grinned, and motioned to the large stone sitting next to him. "Punch that as hard as you can." Morgan nodded, moved over to the rock and pulled his fist back. He fired it forward, fast as he could, feeling it slam into the stone. He did not however feel the pain that should have come with such a blow. What he did see however was the rock crack and split. Damon nodded approvingly. "See how that works there Morgan?" Morgan nodded, and punched the rock again, causing more splits. He grinned stupidly and looked over at Damon. "This is neat!"

"Well Morgan, each of the Order's have their own powers, tricks, techniques. This is simply the basic one of the Earth Order. Just like speed is the basic power of the Flame Order."

"I see! What about Water, Mind, and Air?"

Grinning, Damon spoke out. "They can tell you theirs. Lets practice on releasing the power and realigning yourself." Morgan nodded, and they both sat back down. For the rest of the day, Morgan practiced letting the power go, and then getting it back. What bothered him however was that he had to keep thinking about Megan, and not Cassandra. What on earth is going on with me.

--

Stepping out of the shower and into the locker room, Morgan shook some of the water off of himself. He found that he had his own locker here, and that it was full of bathing supplies. Soap, shampoo, towels, toothpaste, all sorts of little things. The room was dead at the moment, him having gotten there as everyone else was at lunch. The practice in the Garden with Damon had gone well, and now Morgan could feel the energy without too much effort. He still had to concentrate on thoughts of Megan to attune himself however, and that was really bothering him. I love Cassie...don't I? I mean, I think I do. I am fairly certain. I really don't know.. Another part of his mind however was trying to tell him that he should focus on his training, and worry about love when he was done. I should really focus... that would be best. Cassie will find another I am sure. He nodded to himself. As anyone knows, the heart of a fifteen year old boy is not the most steadfast of things and Morgan was no different. Just like that he had decided to forget about Cassie, and concentrate on his training. He began to walk to the cafeteria, his stomach grumbling. However, in the back of his mind, he kept thinking about Megan, and her smile.

--

In the Masters Council chambers, they were holding one of their weekly meetings. The topic was allocation of various foodstuffs as well as scheduling of the new children who had been brought in.

"I think we need to start getting more hot and spicy foods!" Kang said.

Morgyain sighed. "You always think that. I think a diet with more salads would be better for the children."

"We always have this argument, and we always end up deciding that we should let the children decide." Damon said. "We should talk about something a bit more important. Like Morgan." The room went silent, and then Kang spoke. "He is good. I have never seen someone so adept."

"Who should be next in training?" asked Gregor.

"I think he should learn a bit more defense. I vote Morgyain be next up, followed by you Gregor, and then myself." Pyon said. "That way, he can get a few more defensive skills before he comes to learn anything else." The other Masters nodded.

"I agree. I spent the day teaching him how to attune himself to the flow, so you all shouldn't have too much trouble. Lets take it slow." Damon sighed, then continued. "I think we are going to end up having to train him to combine our techniques..." The other Masters stared at Damon.

"I don't think we can! We can't sense how to do those things!" Kang shouted.

"I concur! None of us can sense the other elements. Lets just take this slow, teach him slowly. We may need to change his training schedule." The other Masters nodded. "Lets discuss this at the next meeting. Now, lets go eat. I am starving." Pyon said, then stood up and left the room, the other Masters trailing after, each absorbed in their own thoughts. All of them, however, were thinking about Morgan and the challenge he would pose.

--

Morgan reached the cafeteria and found that some students were still there, as well as some other monks. He looked around and found Dulnar sitting down at one of the tables. Grinning, he walked over with a "Hey Dulnar!" Dulnar glanced up from his meal, smiled and waved. Sitting down at the table, Morgan grinned. "I learned how to harden my body!" Dulnar grinned.

"So I heard. You trained with Master Damon today right?"

"Yea! He taught me how to connect to the flow of energy. And how to harden my body." Dulnar grinned at this statement. He had heard all about it, having visited Damon earlier in the day before coming to dinner. They had discussed various different things about the travels that Dulnar had been on, as well as Morgan's home life. "I also heard Morgan that Kang broke one of your ribs yesterday."

"Yea. Don't remind me..." Morgan frowned. "That hurt!" Then, without warning Morgan felt a brush of wind on his back, frigid and cold. He jumped a bit in his chair, he couldn't help it. Dulnar laughed, and at the same time Morgan heard a soft tinkling laugh behind him. Turning in his chair he found himself looking at Megan again. Geez! She just had to do that didn't she! Grumbling slightly, she sat down next to Morgan and leaned back. "Heya Dulnar! Hiya Morgan!" She said. Grinning, she sat down her plate of food. Before either Morgan or Dulnar could say a word she began to wolf it down, in a blur of motion. Morgan just stared, then began to laugh. He couldn't help himself. She stopped eating and glared up at him.

"And what are you laughing at!?"

"You! Stuffing your face like there is no tomorrow!" Morgan grinned.

She gave a growl and prodded Morgan hard in the side. He was surprised at how strong she was. "I will have you know that I am a growing girl and spent my day in a math class! Do you have any idea how BORING that is?!" She eyed Morgan for a moment before going back to eating. Grinning, Morgan stood up and with a wave, said "I am off to get some food." Dulnar nodded and Megan grumbled something between bites. Morgan walked off and up to the counter, asking what was on the menu. The lady behind the counter handed him a piece of paper, and he was amused to find that on that paper it listed all the various foods. He ordered steak, mashed potatoes, and some roast tantoun. He was surprised to find tantoun on the menu, but once his food was given to him he rejoined the table with his friends. Megan had finished her food and was drinking some of the water that every table had in a pitcher, and Dulnar was laughing at something. "What are you laughing about Dulnar?"

"Oh Megan here was telling me about her math class today."

"You mentioned math earlier. What could you need to know beyond adding and subtracting?"

Dulnar laughed at this. "Indeed Morgan! Multiplication and Division are two things you must learn." At the mention of division Megan groaned. "Don't mention that horrid concept! I hate it!"

Dulnar let out another hearty laugh. "Thats her problem Morgan. She is a fighter not a thinker."

"Oy! I think! Just not about math!" Megan fumed. "I am good at history. At least THAT is interesting!"

"I bet I am horrid at all of it." Morgan mused. Megan giggled at that statement. "Where you from? A farm?"

"Actually yes I am." Megan stared. "Well I am from Grand Tetorn!" Grinning, she took a swig of her water. Morgan began to eat, and between mouth fulls spoke "Oh! Isn't that where the Bardic College is?"

"Yes! My parents are bards! They taught me how to sing and dance." She smiled, and Morgan was amazed at how she seemed so vibrant, so alive. She was a bundle of energy, that was for sure. So different from Cassandra. She is so shy, Megan here is so...hyper! He grinned, and laughed. "I spent my days digging holes, planting crops, etc etc I bet your really smart Megan." She blushed at this, and Morgan continued. "How old are you anyway, how long have you been here?"

"I am seventeen Morgan! I have been here two years." And then under her breath, very quietly but still loud enough for Morgan and Dulnar to hear, added "And I will be here a while more if I can't get better." Dulnar smiled and said "You are doing fine Megan. I remember when I brought you here, you were so small! And you could barely touch the flow of energy. Now look at you! Flying!" She brightened up considerably at these statements, and then began to sing. The entire cafeteria quieted down as she begun to sing. The song had no words, it was just glorious sound. Morgan and Dulnar were entranced by it, and they sat there quietly, simply listening. The song went on for a few minutes before finally Megan stopped and smiled again, her face radiant. Morgan began to clap, and the rest of the students in the cafeteria joined in. Megan stood up and with a big silly grin began to bow, shouting "Thank you Thank you! Your a great crowd I will be here all week!" before sitting back down admit a gale of laughter. Morgan smiled at Megan, and she smiled back, then got her plate and cup and stood up. "I have to get going. Time for a shower!" Morgan went red, and she giggled as she walked off. Once she had left, Dulnar turned to Morgan and grinned.

"Quite a girl huh."

Morgan was staring at her retreating form, and sighed. "Oh yes, what a girl indeed. So different from Cassie." He turned to Dulnar. "I decided though that I need to concentrate on my training."

"Thats good Morgan! At the rate your going you should be done in about two to three years."

"Why two or three?" Morgan asked, munching down a piece of steak.

Dulnar grinned. "Well you have to get through the classes as well as the training. Considering that you have to learn all five disciplines, it may take a while."

Morgan nodded. "I understand. Man this is good food!" Dulnar laughed. "We have some of the best cooks here." Morgan grinned and finished his meal, and then both Dulnar and Morgan stood and carried their dishes back to the counter, putting them in the sink. They then turned and left, Morgan waving goodbye to Dulnar and heading back to his room. That Megan! She is such a different sort of person... Reaching his room, Morgan opened, gave a cursory wave of his hand to Jeorge, who was curled up on the floor reading a book. Opening the door to his room he fell face first on the bed and closed his eyes. Today...was a rough day. He began to fall asleep, his mind filled with images, not of Cassie, but of the happy bubbly blue eyed Megan.

--

Meanwhile, while Morgan had been struggling to reach Amstra, and while he was there, the Starlight Swords had started on their little journey to the capitol. Mike of course complained almost the entire way. "Why did we not get horses?! My feet fecking hurt!"

"Oh can it Mike! We would have horses if you hadn't lost all our gold gambling!" Juniper fumed.

"Bah! It seemed like a sure thing! How did I know that the dog would get a cramp." Mike complained. Galtre grunted but said nothing. Then, he stopped moving. Instantly the other two stopped as well, and Mike drew his dagger. "What is it? Feel something?" Galtre stood stock still, and closed his eyes. He reached out to the earth, feeling it. Speak to me he asked it mentally. It told him that over the next hill waited two bandits. He opened his eyes, and looked at his companions. "Bandits over the next hill. Two of them."

Juniper nodded and jumped quickly into a tree. Climbing faster then anyone should have been able to, he looked out. His eyes adjusted and he concentrated, focusing in on the area right past the hill. Sure enough there were two bandits, one was older and had stringy gray hair, the other seemed to be missing an arm. Both were armed with pathetic and rusty weapons. Juniper let out a grunt and dropped lightly to the ground. "No threat to us." Mike nodded at the assessment. "Lets keep going then."

They continued to walk, and after about ten minutes crested the aforementioned hill. Sure enough, below them stood the two bandits, who, hearing the travelers, drew their rusty weapons. The man with gray hair spoke first. "We have been having a bad week mates, so be a good sport and had over your money. And them weapons." The man with the missing arm nodded. "Yea! Do that and we be letting ya live." At these statements Mike couldn't help it. He laughed. Galtre and Juniper shared a glance, and joined in. The two bandits were very confused by this. They were being laughed at!? That was inexcusable! Without another word the two bandits rushed up the hill. Mike stopped laughing and turned to his companions. "You know, to be fair, I got the last group in the Inn. You gents can have these two." Grinning, Juniper and Galtre drew their weapons. Galtre drew out his mace and shield, and uttered a small prayer to the Light. Juniper drew a very slender sword, and Mike stepped back to allow his two friends to have their fun. Galtre jumped up and slammed back down, his feet impacting the ground hard. The ground in front of him began to crack and rip, and a ripple shot forward, right under the feet of the oncoming man with no arm. He was instantly thrown backwards. Juniper ran forward during this time and reached the man with gray hair, who swung out his sword right at Juniper's head. Grey hairs eyes opened wide however when he realized that Juniper jumped up and was now standing on his sword tip. With barely any effort, Juniper slashed down, loping the man's hands off at the wrists. The gray haired man dropped to the ground and screamed in pain. Galtre lumbered forward, and before the man with the missing arm could get up, slammed his mace into the mans face, crushing it.

Cleaning off their weapons, they turned back to Mike and smiled. "Not really much fun, but hey, at least there are two less bandits in the world!" Galtre nodded, then lifted up the two bodies and stacked them up. He began to speak the funeral prayer of the Light over the two men. Oh Lord of the Light. Bless these men, and absolve them of sin. Let them into your palace in the afterlife. Amen. Mike and Juniper waited for Galtre to finish, and then the three of them continued walking south. Towards the capitol of Rendora, Neverguard City.

--

The next morning Morgan was awoken by the light in his room turning on. He was used to this, what bothered him however was that the light was a deep blue, like the waters of the ocean. Well I guess this means that the Water Master is going to train me today. What was his name again? He shrugged to himself and got dressed in his black robes, and walked out. He found Jeorge was on the floor still, apparently not having moved, asleep over the book. Prodding Jeorge, Morgan laughed a little. Jeorge woke up with a start, sputtering out "Who what where when huh?!" He then looked up and glared at Morgan. "And I was having such a nice dream too! I was there with this girl, and me and her were..."

"Can it! I don't need to have that image of you with a girl Jeorge."

Grinning, Jeorge picked himself up, and walked to his room. "Well today is my day off, so you have fun there Morgan."

Nodding, Morgan opened his door like he had the last two mornings. Walking up to the edge of the Garden he glanced down, and didn't see anyone. He knew that the Masters had to know where he was staying as He hadn't chose the room. Shrugging to himself, he walked to the nearest staircase and went down into the Garden, enjoying the smell of the flowers in bloom. The sun was just coming up over the mountain tops, shining down through the hole in the rock above the Garden, bathing the area with dawn light. He walked forward, enjoying the various parts of the Garden, and then he reached the center, and found a large pound surrounded by benches. Sitting on one of the benches, he wondered aloud. "I wonder where my trainer is this morning.." Then, without warning, the pond in front of him began to boil. He jumped up, and got behind the bench, and without thinking brought to mind an image of Megan, and attuned himself to the earth. Strong as rock. He felt his body hardening, and waited. From the boiling churning water came a figure, raising up on a spout of water, sitting cross legged. It was Master Morgyain. He had his eyes closed and appeared to be meditating. Morgan walked forward slightly, and Morgyain's eyes snapped open. "Hello Morgan. Good morning."

"Some entrance you made, Master Morgyain." Morgan said, smiling slightly. Morgyain cocked an eyebrow. "Indeed. Today you shall learn some of my arts. They are mostly defensive, but make no mistake, the best offense can and usually is a good defense." Jumping lightly down from the spout, Morgyain stood upon the ground and smile at Morgan. He could see the boy had instinctively grabbed onto the earth flow and had done something. "You can let go of the earth flow now Morgan." Morgan nodded and let it go, his body un-hardening. Morgan then sat back down on one of the benches and Morgyain joined him as the pond settled back down. "So Morgan, before we begin, why don't you tell me what you have learned thus far." So Morgan explained how he had learned to attune to both fire and earth, and how he had learned how to speed himself up, and to harden his body against blows. During this explanation Morgyain was silent, and when Morgan finished, he smiled. "Good good. Now you shall learn how to flow like water." Morgan nodded as Morgyain stood. "Now Morgan, as before, like you did with Damon, try to hit me." Morgan nodded, stood up and took up a fighting stance. Pulling his fist back he launched it forward. He felt it hit Morgyain, but was amazed to see Morgyain simply bend under the blow, rolling with it. In one smooth motion Morgan watched as Morgyain grabbed his arm and flipped him into the pond with minimal effort. Morgan climb back out sputtering.

"See? That is the power of water. Using an opponents own strength against them. Make no mistake though, it is not purely defensive." While Morgan began to climb out of the pond, Morgyain smiled and with a wave of his hand, caused the pond to shot Morgan up into the air, carried by a jet of water. Morgan saw the ground coming up and immediately attuned himself to the earth, and right before he hit the ground he hardened his body. The impact was loud as he slammed into the ground, denting it down. Morgyain clapped. "Excellent boy! Using your powers already!" Then, without another word, Morgyain rushed Morgan. Morgan attuned himself to fire now and leapt up into the air, faster then Morgyain could keep up. So he can do both at once. How interesting. Morgyain took a defensive stance, and watched as Morgan landed, a bit hard as he didn't seem to have full control over his speed. "What did you attack me for?!"

"This is training Morgan. This is what we do! You must learn to adapt!" With a wave of his hand, he grinned. "Now come on and see if you can actually hit me!"

--

Up above, on the landing for the second story, stood Kang and Damon. "That kid is good! Look at him use both our tricks at once!"

"I wish you wouldn't call them tricks Kang."

Grinning, Kang nudged Damon with his elbow. "Aw come on. Its all in good fun!" Damon simply grunted. Turning, Damon noticed that Dulnar had popped up and was now watching the two of them. "Is that Morgan down there?"

"Indeed Dulnar. With Master Morgyain."

Kang laughed. "I just realized how similar their names are!" Damon and Dulnar looked at Kang, then each and laughed. "You know he has a point!" The three men laughed, and then turned back to watch Morgan and Morgyain. Dulnar thought to himself as he watched Morgan is doing well, but lets see if he can hit the ultimate master of defense.

--

On the opposite landing, a group of student had gathered after one of them, on their way to the bathroom had seen the burst of water. He had run and told his roommate, who had in turn told his friend, and now around fifteen students were hanging on the ledge. Among them stood Megan and Jeorge.

"Wow! Look at that speed! Now he just needs to perfect his landings!" Jeorge said with amazement. One of the other students, a boy with bright white hair, wearing a purple robe sighed. "You people, always with the fighting. I do hope that boy knows how dangerous Morgyain is."

"You be quiet! Morgan is a nice boy!" Megan snapped. Cute too. She thought to herself. Everyone went back to watching the fight, to see how the new boy did against one of the Masters.

--

Morgan stared at Morgyain, trying to figure out how to approach this latest development. Ok, he wants to see if I can hit him. I need to figure out how to do so. I can move fast, I can toughen myself, and thats really all I have learned... Then it hit him. Grinning like a madman, he got down on all fours. Morgyain stared. He kept his posture, but had no idea what was going to come. Then, before he could react, Morgan threw himself forward full force, a blur of motion. As he came into contact with Morgyain, he felt his target bend backward, simply flowing with the strike. Morgan cursed under his breath. Well how on earth am I.. all other thoughts were pushed out of his head as he felt Morgyain's fist impact his midsection. He was throw upward, but his hardened body felt only the slightest pain at the punch. Morgyain however felt pain in his hand. That kid hardened his body... great! Concentrating before Morgan could come back down, Morgyain called to the water in the pond, causing a huge spout of water to shoot at Morgan, striking him. Morgan felt the water hit him like a hammer and even his hardened body couldn't block out the pain. Son of a.. Growling, he thought of something suddenly. Without a word, the ground around Morgyain rippled, and a huge rock shot up from underneath Morgyain. Gasping in surprise, Morgyain jumped out of the way only barely in time, the rock almost slamming into him. Smiling up at Morgan who was still being slammed around by the jet of water, he called up to him "Nice try!" Stopping the jet of water, Morgan fell like a stone down to the ground. He hit it and got back up, breathing heavily. Morgyain had not yet broke a sweat. "See how I defend against your attacks?" Morgan nodded, and stood up. Morgyain expected Morgan to give up, but was amazed to see him take a fighting stance. "Lets keep going!" Morgyain nodded, and smiled. "Alright then. Come get me Morgan!"

--

Up above, Kang, Dulnar and Damon watched in amazement. "I am surprised he has lasted this long. Morgyain is one of the stronger of us." Kang said.

"I know! This is amazing. I don't think he will win though." Dulnar said. Damon nodded his agreement. "I don't think he will win, but I do think he has some tricks to pull yet." Both Kang and Dulnar nodded, and all three went back to watching the combat.

--

"Wow! Look at that spray of water!" Megan exclaimed. "I can't believe that Morgan took a blow like that!"

"Wow! That water spout has to have a lot of force behind it!" A student in a blue robe said. "I mean, Master Morgyain hit me with one of those once and I was in the infirmary for three days with four broken ribs." The other students stared at the boy who said this. Jeorge turned back to the fight and grinned. "I think Morgan is gonna give em a run for his money!" The students continued to watch the fight, entranced.

--

Morgan began to concentrate, all the while trying to think of something to do. I got it! Grinning again, he hunkered down and felt the power of the flame in the air. Without warning the air around Morgan shimmered, then ignited. Morgyain was hardly impressed. He had seen Kang do similar so many times before. "Come now Morgan. Fire cannot defeat Water!" But before he could react, the ground below Morgan began to ripple outward, and then huge chunks of flaming rock began to emerge. Morgyain stood amazed. What on earth...? Then, without warning, the rocks shot forward at Morgyain. Effortlessly he dodged them, but in the midst of the storm of flaming stones came Morgan. Morgyain saw him coming and smiled. Time to do something interesting! Without waiting for Morgan to reach him, he suddenly disappeared in a burst of water, and appeared over top of Morgan, his feet extended downward. Morgan could only watch as Morgyain slammed into him with the force of a tidal wave, right into the small of his back. His back would have been broken had it not been for the fact that he had hardened himself. He impacted the ground with a huge noise, and several cracks formed as a small crater formed around the impact. As the rocks fell from the sky and landed around the two people, Morgyain stepped off of Morgan's body and helped him up. "And that Morgan, is why me and the others are Masters."

--

Damon and Kang stood stock still in amazement. "Did you see what he did?" Dulnar shook his head at the two Masters. They were talking little school children. "I mean seriously Damon, did you see that?!"

"I sure did Kang! It was amazing! No one has ever done something like that."

Dulnar interjected at this point. "Gentlemen, if you please, can we go? I don't think those two will be having a sparring match any more." Then glancing up and across the way, Dulnar realized that some students had been watching as well. As the three men walked away, he remarked "And I don't think we will be keeping this quiet anymore."

--

The students on the opposite side of the walkway were also all abuzz with chatter. "My god did you see that?!"

"He really is an elementalist!"

"I am amazed at what he did!"

"I know! He is so cute too!" This was said by a girl who had just recently started herself, and she found herself staring into the eyes of Megan, who had an icy smile. "That boy is mine ya hear me! I rather have taken a liking to him!" The other girl nodded, and Megan stood and patted her on the head. "Alright you all! Lets get back to class!" Shooing the students away, Megan turned to Jeorge. "You are rooming with him right?" Jeorge nodded. "Tell me what you can about him?" Jeorge smiled and walked off with Megan, telling her what he and Morgan had talked about when they were together in the dorm.

--

Morgan and Morgyain sat on the grass of the Garden, in a different area from where they had fought. Morgan rather liked the quiet and contemplative Morgyain. They sat there, Morgan practicing attuning himself to the flow of water and releasing it. He was extremely tired from the fight earlier, but was determined to do his best. Morgyain was impressed as well. This boy had fought a Master, and while he didn't do as well as anyone trained would have, did fairly well non the less. With the proper training, this boy will do well. They sat there, with Morgan practicing hard. He could feel the powers of earth, fire and water now fairly easily. He was still having issues with air, and had no idea how to work with the mind energy yet, but he was sure it would come to him. He could feel the energy to be sure, but control it, work with it? Not easily. It had taxed his endurance severely earlier with his rock flame trick. And so he continued to work, attuning and un-attuning himself to those elemental energies, under the watchful eye of Morgyain.

Finally, as the sun was setting, Morgyain called a halt. "Good job Morgan! Tomorrow you train with Master Gregor, of the Air Discipline. Hopefully he won't pull TOO many jokes on you. I believe you will doing what you did with me today."

Groaning slightly, Morgan grimaced. "Fighting Master Morgyain?"

"No no, attunement practice. Now go, off to dinner and bed." Morgan nodded, and walked off to the cafeteria. As he entered, he was greeted by a crowd of students, all who wanted to know about the fight Laughing, Morgan nodded, grabbed some food and sat down, the crowd following him. And as he ate, he began to tell them about the fight. During the retelling, Megan came over and sat across from him and winked slyly as if to say I saw it first hand me bucko. Morgan grinned at her, and continued to tell the story. After about four tellings of it, he began to feel tired, and bidding everyone goodnight, wandered off to his dorm. Waving to Jeorge, who gave him a thumbs up and said "Nice job man!" Morgan opened the door to his room and collapsed on his bed, and was asleep in minutes.