A Life Beyond by Mark Church (ebook reader web TXT) 📕

out your back properly this time please' his trainer said as he remembered what happened the last time he was involved which was seemingly still on his mind,

'Yes yes...If I stretch it any more I will probably pull something!!' he replied back slightly angrily 'Look Brewster….I'm in the best shape I have ever been in ok!!, all this exercising is pointless, I mean just look around you, I'm not really facing that much stiff competition this Tri Year am I?' he laughed as he dug his pole into the ground and surveyed the rest of the competition who looked like they had never actually competed before.

On one side there was this huge man who looked like he might pose a threat, until he picked up his weapon of choice and as he swung it around to get used to it when he accidentally let go of it and it shot across the Arena and slammed into the wall, embedded so far in that they were having trouble pulling it back out, causing the man to turn away and pretend it wasn't him, Tahmidius laughed as he saw another couple of competitors struggling to stand up with their armour on and crashing into each other causing Tahmidius to burst out laughing,

'See what I mean, It's painful to watch' and with that he flicked his pole out of the ground with the outside of his foot and began spinning it around his head like an accomplished warrior, as his pole swooshed through the air it drew gasps from the stands, followed by thunderous applause and cheering as he connected with the practice dummy that his trainer had brought out onto the Arena floor, he knew he was being watched so decided to put on a bit of a show for them before he really got into his practice,

'Just watch this!!' Tahmidius said to himself smugly as he began his normal show off routine which involved him leaping and rolling around his training area,

'WOW!!..' shouted Tobias as he was hunched over the rail in front of him trying to get a better look at his hero 'he's amazing..I want to be just like him one day' he said as he whipped his hands through the air as if he was in training just like his hero was doing when he swung his arm too far and whacked Daniel on the side of the head,

'OWWWW….' he shouted 'that blooming hurt!!, stop with the arm waving it's really putting me off!!' Daniel rubbed the part of his face that he had just been hit on 'That's going to leave a mark now...be more careful or else I'm going!!'

'S..sorry Daniel' Tobias said 'I'm just too excited now, I mean look...he's amazing!!' as he pointed over to Tahmidius, who was lapping up the adulation from the crowds above, still spinning and jumping around as if possessed by spirits,

'It looks like he's been stung by a Bee to me!!' laughed Daniel as he watched Tahmidius in action,

'What's a ‘Bee’ then?' asked Tobias as he stopped flinging his arms round,

'Big teeth. Big claws...huge wings' Daniel replied keeping as straight a face as he could,

'Oh sounds positively awful' Tobias replied, with the image of something that didn't even resemble a bee in any way stuck in his head, 'do you get many other odd creatures where you are from then Daniel?' he asked hesitantly as it seemed every creature where Daniel said he was from sounded like it could eat you in one go,

'Oh yes we have loads of them, I sometimes wonder how I stayed alive for so long in such a dangerous place!!' he sniggered to himself as he knew this could run and run for a long time.

'Well I'd love to learn more about these fearful creatures one day, but not yet as I'm watching him in action' Tobias said as he turned away from Daniel and concentrated on watching Tahmidius who was still twisting and flicking his way around the Arena floor, the chants from the stands filled the air, most of them for Tahmidius, as the competitors who had stopped to watch him in action had seemingly got bored and started to carry out their own warm up routines while trying to block out the overwhelming chants for their hero, who was now in the final throes of his routine, Tahmidius leapt up high in the air followed by a few spins then slammed his stick down onto the floor below. As the dust settled on the floor around him a few huge letters could be made out, Tahmidius had managed to scrape the word ‘THANK YOU’ into the floor, he stood up straight and threw his arms out to the side as the ripples of applause cascaded down towards him like before, he took a bow and smiled until he caught a glimpse of the King looking largely unimpressed with his complete show of arrogance and threw him a look that Tahmidius knew had got him into trouble,

'What is that boy doing now??' questioned the King as he stood up to get a better view, 'I give him a talk that is supposed to give him the kick up the backside he needs and he goes and shows off like that!!', Joda had stepped forward looking rather embarrassed now as his son had seemingly cast doubt over his ability to do well in this year's competition,

'I'm so sorry sire, shall I go and have a word with him?, he may well listen to me, I cannot believe he's showing off again!!' Joda said as he tried to look away from his sons antics muttering 'that boy will be the death of me!!...not impressed Kirk!!!, so not impressed',

'No don't do that Joda...he needs bringing down a peg or two…' a wry smile crept across the Kings face as he stood up from his seat and inhaled deeply, his chest rising and falling with every breath then in one swift movement he flicked his right arm out and as if sliding it sideways he made the ground beneath the competitors shake and rumble, followed by a wall of dust some thirty feet high shoot its way from the centre of the Arena all the way along to where Tahmidius was standing, still taking in the adulation of the crowd, or so he thought, but they were shouting at him to turn round and see what they were seeing. The wall blew ever closer until at the last minute he spun round and was faced with this huge dust cloud which brushed away what he had written on the floor and threw him across the Arena with such force.

'OOOF' Tahmidius winced and moaned as he had landed upside down in a huge pile of straw and hay that was sat around the edges of the Arena 'what just happened??' he said as he slowly clambered off the rather padded landing area, he stood up as straight as he could causing his back to click then noticed a lot of people were laughing at him and the mess he was in,

'TAHMIDIUS….' came a booming voice from in the distance,

'Father, is that you???' he answered back with a slightly scared tone in his voice,

'MUCH WORSE THAN THAT…' the voice once again echoed around the Arena causing total silence to descend, 'I warned you about your attitude and behaviour...and you have totally forgotten every single word I said, so for that I am penalising you...a thousand points are being taken away from your final score at the end of the week for this complete lack of respect' Tahmidius now knew it was the King talking to him and didn't know what to do,

'B...but Sire, I...I didn't mean to…' he replied with his head slightly bowed,

'Are you questioning my decision here?' the King angrily replied to him as he stepped forwards to place his hands on the rail at the front of the stand, more for support than anything else,

'S..Sorry sire, I just think maybe that's a bit harsh…' came the quivering answer back in the King's direction,

'Ok...TWO thousand points!!!, answer me back anymore and it will be a record points deduction...and I assure you that following that amount of points deducted you will not fulfil your dream!!' the Kings steely eyes went straight through Tahmidius like an arrow, he opened his mouth as if to speak again,

'Something to say??....' the King said as he placed his hand up to his ear and cupped it, Tahmidius just huffed and dropped his shoulders before walking off looking very dejected following his latest tongue lashing from the King,

'That boy infuriates me so much!!' said the King as he turned to see his son standing there beside him, he placed his hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed it,

'Who are you talking about father?, It seems there's a lot of commotion coming from the stands, what's happened?' Lord Casborn said as he scoured the stands, as if looking for something,

'The son of Joda...I mean he IS an excellent candidate for ‘The Circle’

but his arrogance is holding his progression back, he needs to be totally focussed on the task ahead, I am hard on him as he's in the top one percent of Vaymians who I feel are ready to make the step up' the King said with an air of doubt surrounding his every word. As Lord Casborn watched Tahmidius very carefully while he had actually started his training properly he could see what the King was talking about with regards to his skill,

'He is good, father...I mean I've never seen or felt that much confidence in one individual before, even his father doesn't possess that much skill, and Joda is the finest soldier in ‘The Circle’, his magic usage is excellent also' Lord Casborn said as he watched Tahmidius expertly conjure up a levitation spell that lifted his equipment up above his head and move it across towards the Arena wall,

'As I said he's infuriatingly good but he just needs to rein it in a little otherwise he will blow his big chance, I'm expecting him to sail through this Tri-Year' huffed the King 'but it remains to be seen whether he can overcome the points deduction I gave him',

'Do you believe you were wrong to do that father?' asked Lord Casborn 'or do you believe that by doing that will give him the extra focus he needs to come out on top and show you he deserves to be in ‘The Circle’, I believe this can only help him' he smiled as he gently patted the King on the shoulder 'but for now I must find Garin, he's keeping an eye on the children don't forget, I need to find out how they are getting on' and with that he placed his thumb and two fingers onto his head as if communicating telepathically, he then breathed out as he could feel the presence of Garin somewhere close by,

'Garin…' he said as he searched the stands for him,

'Sir?' came the reply

'Ahhhh excellent...you are here then, how are the children?' Lord Casborn replied.

Over the far side of the Arena just at the top of the stand where Daniel and Tobias were sat, Garin was standing up against the wooden pillar, his hood lifted up over his face so he couldn't be recognised by anyone,

'From what I can gather they are all in good spirits, no issues so far and it seems as if they are enjoying this experience, especially Lillie' Garin replied as he too had his thumb and two fingers against the side of his head,

'Shall we meet in the King's Chamber for a detailed update?' replied Lord Casborn to him 'I want to know how the children are coping with all this, I shall see you very soon ok?',

'Yes sir...I shall be leaving very shortly, I just need to visit the other boy before I come….there's an odd feeling surrounding him, I just need to check it out then I shall be