The whole pack of us from the school found themselves, each of us in an un-remarkable uptown dojo, ripe for the taking for some vile cult or other demonic dog and pony show. It was a common occurrence, we all knew that, but it was all just so against our idea of what we should do at the time. It was past the time we were allowed to start the academy, and we all knew that we would have to start more like 4 months from now- I mean the old man would be terribly irked if we started training under his nose!
I remember hearing all this heavy talk about the upcoming old man's day out. I remember thinking, 'ah, man, why do I always have to follow the path of least resistance and start training in the old dojo before hand, if we are shoved off to some training ground where anything goes?' It was all such a predictability- no matter how uncomfortable a situation may have been for all of us, we always landed on our feet, and the old man was always there to guide us through the pitfalls, and teach us to love the technique. Eventually, no matter how much we did not want to do something, we would always love it and do it.
I remember that the old man was looking over his notes about the upcoming training camp, a month before the training camp would start. His focus was, as usual, on the potential threat of the creatures that dwelt beyond the material plane on the outskirts of town. The old man was into his notes- and he was looking at the section about how to deal with a creature of ill intent. He was always looking at it, to know what the creatures might be capable of.
"Mighty one, each of you is well versed in your own particular area of expertise." He grinned. "It would be best if you each had a copy of the notes and were ready for anything."
I felt something in my chest. I felt a glimmer of the old man's magic. I hungered for it. I could feel the thrill of this training camp. I could feel a bloodlust begin to rise in me. I already wanted to suppress this will. I wanted to open up my senses to the old man, so I could sense what he has sensed- I could feel what was coming in the air.
I wanted to be a good student, and I wanted to feel the old man's appreciation and love for each of us. I wanted to feel the old man's unique methods of learning our specific styles.
The training camp was going to be a whole event. It was going to give me a chance to finally take on the physical and spiritual aspects of my chosen way of life. I was going to finally be the best. I was going to meet heroes who would teach me the ways of a warrior. I was going to learn to harness the energy of my planet.
"You will be learning the arts of Self-Defense and technique in the terrain that you are about to set foot in." He continued with his briefing, "In the wilderness, you may find yourselves under attack by creatures beyond the comprehension of the techniques you have studied as these creatures adapt to your fighting styles, which they know all about. Each of you has a specific area of expertise you have developed through your life, and others have." He started the meeting. "I have a task to assign, if you all will agree to it. I would like you to all take a copy of these notes I am about to give to you all. Each of you is about to embark on a journey where emergencies are likely to happen. The text is going to teach you to adapt to situations that are beyond the imagination. The text is going to teach you to push the limits of your physical capabilities, which in turn will open your mind to the unknown world within yourself. This, then, will prepare your mind to fight off the evil creatures that will be after you in the upcoming training camp."
I felt the energy around me, and the old man's excitement. I felt his pride in us, and in his art. It was so exciting.