The Temple in the Sky, Fernando Herrera Jr [the rosie project .txt] 📗

and mumbled to himself: “That old-selfish-scumbag.”
“Huh?”
It took them five minutes to arrive at Harggot’s treehouse. Hargott led Apaec to his backyard where there was a region of flat grassy-ground.
“Let me tell ya bout when I was bout yrrr age. See, look at ma scars.”
He lifted his shirt exposing a severely scared abdomen.”
“Goodness, Harg, what happened to ya?”
“Why, these here are ma battle scars. You’ve heard of the revolution, have ya?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I was the Pippolas brigadier general. I led infantries into the thick of it. We had no intelligent weapons or guns. All we had was our fists, swords and courage. We lost many people. Too many people... but lord knows it was necessary. But that’s another story! Don’t ask me bout that! I was tellin you bout when I was your age. I was the reigning champion of Tunkah all throughout my youth and well into my middle age. That’s why I was scouted by Lumen himself--flesh and blood.”
“Lumen?”
“Well, sure you heard of him.”
“He was responsible for the revolution?”
“One hundred percent! He was a dog-garn national hero! A legend! That man was a true paladin. An’ he picked me out of one thousand men to lead them all. An’ now Chapwook wants me to teach ya bout the art.” He dug his hand into a leather pouch he had hanging by his belt and pulled out an earthy grainy-substance.
“What for?”
“What do ya mean, what for?! So the kids won’t make fun a’ ya! That’s what for! Now listen here, you brown boy: If you let me teach ya, if you let me learn ya everything I got, if ya learn my way, you learn the right way, and if you learn the right way--mark my word boa--(grunting the last terms with furor)--you will be invincible,” he said clinching his fist and crushing the unknown substance.
Though Harggot was a little taller and heavier than Apaec, he was still a small man, and Apaec could not fathom him as a warrior. In fact, he couldn’t see Harggot intimidating a squirrel if he tried to. Apaec figured that once he peaked manhood and filled into his mature frame, a mere push of his could knock old Harggot down to the floor. He thought Harggot might be as big as his grandmother.
“You see this I have here in my hand?” he opened his hand exposing a substance that looked like dirt.
“Yeah. That dirt?”
He laughed loudly. “Dirt, you say?! My boy, you have a lot to learn, you do! This here is nothin more than the fruit which the lord planted in the Pippolas forest with his bare hands more than fifty thousand years ago!” He tossed the substance into his mouth and swallowed it, and then proceeded to take off his shirt. You see my veins, boa? You see that? That’s my blood pumping. Now look closely.”
Apaec was surprised to find that although Harggot was a very slender man with a small frame, he also had very toned muscles. He then concentrated on the vein. Indeed, he could see blood pumping through it. Never before had he noticed that even in the sinewy men of his tribe. As he looked at it with intrigue, he noticed Harggot’s breathing becoming much heavier and the vein began to bulge. It looked like it was about to explode. Then, Harggot’s muscles seemed to billow like balloons and his skin turned golden. He couldn’t believe his eyes. “Now check ma spine!” he ordered. Apaec looked to his spine and saw that his vertebras began to protrude like knifes out of his skin. Apaec squalled. “It’s alright, boa. Only hurts a little. This here what I just ate was pure locus pulp which has been distilled to its finest elements. You see what this did to me? This is my avatar. My superhuman form. This here fruit has no effect on anyone else but us Pipps. Who knows what it’ll do da you.”
“Let’s find out!” Apaec cried.
“No, son. For all we know, it could poison ya! We will have to experiment with smaller doses. Miss Arrieta is working on a finer product. We will test it on ya later. For now, I will teach you the basics.”
“What are the basics?”
“Breathin.”
“Breathing?”
“Yep. Natural ol’ breathin!”
“Lay down on the ground, boa!” he ordered.
“What?”
“I said, lay down! Take off your shirt first!”
“Here? But it’s cold and the grass is wet.”
“Do it now! Don’t be a sissy!”
Apaec proceeded to take his shirt off and lay down on the mossy turf. He felt the cold dew on his back.
“Now, I wantcha ta close your eyes and breath calmly and slowly. Feel the cool air pass through your lungs an’ the oxygen filter to your blood an’ then flow up to your brain. Can you feel that?”
“Uh... I guess.”
“Whatcha mean, ya guess! Can ya feel it or not!? Can ya feel the oxygen flowing through your veins an’ up to the brain!?”
 “No.”
“Good boa! Course ya can’t! Don’tcha go tellin lies! But when you can feel that, then you will be ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“Indomitability.”
Apaec had no idea what Harggot was talking about. He already figured Harggot a bit out of the ordinary but he also felt much respect for the old man. He could feel that Harggot respected him too even though he was still a boy. That made Apaec very sympathetic to him. So there he lay on the wet ground waiting for further instructions. As he lay, he could see the ceiling of the forest--immense trees which let through very little sunlight. Avian creatures flew from one brach to the other and curious monkey-like creatures peeked through the apertures of the trees at them. A sense of wonder filled Apaec’s senses. This world was definitely more wild than the world he had left behind.
With eyes closed, Harggot stood about a three yards away from Apaec with his arms stretched to the sides and his head tilted backwards. “Breathe with rhythm, son. Feel the rhythm of the wind an’ let it guide yo breath... an’ when it does, discard it. Smell the different scents an’ recognize each of them an’ then discard them completely. Listen to the sounds an’ then discard them completely, too. Concentrate only on yo breathing an’ nothin more. Try this for five minutes an’ then open your eyes an’ tell me what yo felt.”
Apaec followed the orders and opened his eyes five minutes later. “I didn’t really feel anything, Harggot. I mean, I could feel the coldness of the ground and the wind and all, but nothing particularly special.”
“Very well. I want you to do this exact procedure every day for the next three months. But you mustn’t miss one day. In three months we will see if you are ready for the next stage.”
“What’s the next stage, Harggot? And how will we know if I am ready?”
“It’s body sculptin. You are a twig, Apaec. You need a’ git some muscle on that stick of yours. An’ we will know you are ready when yo feel somethin particularly special.”
Coming from Harggot, that didn’t really offend Apaec but he understood his point.

This was only the beginning of an unimaginable plot one hundred years in the brewing.

To be continued...


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Publication Date: 12-24-2009

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