John was led to someone who took his measurements. They would make his armor fit without the slightest flaw. The elves had been able to do it without any measurement taking. John thought wistfully about those days on the Swift Retribution, and especially the day when Karamen had presented him with his armor. That had been such a happy day. He was then taken to the weapon smith who measured him again, and made John look through his designs of glaives. He customized a laser pistol, adding a fine adjustment knob for the pulse duration.

John then got some meat from the mess hall and went back to his room to feed Sher Khan. The little tiger was very unhappy at being kept in a cage for such a long stretch. As soon as he let Sher Khan out, he scampered across the room sniffing at everything like a dog. John had never had a pet cat before and didn’t know if this was normal. After feeding Sher Khan he whistled for the tiger to follow and went back to the lounge where Sor Al, Relar and Sariel were still sitting.

“Jehun,” Relar laughed when he saw the obedient tiger cub trailing John, “is this Sher Khan?”

“How do you know his name?” John asked incredulously. Did Relar have a super power like telepathy?

“We watched the game show, remember?” Relar and Sariel went to play with Sher Khan. The tiger didn’t mind their company and allowed himself to be coddled.

“He’s so cute,” Sariel chuckled. “Look, he’s imitating whatever you do, Relar.” Relar was busy waving his hands around before Sher Khan’s face. Sher Khan was waving his paws around as well.

Meanwhile, John joined Sor Al at the table.

“Relar said you could destroy stars,” he said to her. He wanted to find out what happened to her. It had been gnawing on his mind a lot since he’d first heard it.

“I suppose it’s no secret now that I’ve lost my power,” Sor Al sighed. “Relar questioned me about it as soon as he reached Adan.”

“What happened?” John noticed that she kept tapping her fingertips on the table in rhythm, as though trying to distance herself away from the memory by concentrating on something else.

Sor Al began her story. “Just before we met you, we encountered a demon prince and his army in the aether. I battled against the demon prince for many days. I was stronger than he was, but I couldn’t risk our battle harming the ship. We were locked in a stalemate, until the demon finally released some berserk power and got the better of me. I had no choice but to fight with all I had, ignoring the ship’s safety. The demon was on the losing side once more, but he directed a beam of destructive energy at the ship and threatened to destroy it. I had no choice but to bargain with it.” Sor Al sighed, “In exchange for half my power he let us go.”

“Demons can absorb people’s power?” John asked flabbergasted. That was such an overpowered ability. With it, the demons could destroy everything in the galaxy. What if he could learn it as well? He was not a power hungry mad man but it was better to have more skills in ones arsenal.

“They can absorb power to an extent. This demon prince stayed true to his word and let us go after he’d finished his meal, but he didn’t order his minions to back off. We barely escaped with our lives. And then we met you while finishing the ship’s repairs in orbit of your planet.”

“Can you get your power back?”

“It will regenerate and I should be back to my old self in a thousand years or so.”

“A thousand years?” That seemed like an eternity to John. Elves had a different sense of time than humans. Perhaps it was nothing much to her. He wondered if he’d ever become immortal. Did he even want to be immortal? Lots of people said immortality was a curse. All John wanted to do at this moment was to go back home. He’d show his sister he couldn’t be messed with anymore. Would they acknowledge him if he came to them in his new body? Would they think he was some random crazy person? These were thoughts for another time. He had to find Earth first.

“What is the name of this demon prince?”

“Bazzrog. Why? Do you plan to fight him? You’d be nothing more than cannon fodder in a battle against his forces.”

“I may not be a match for him now, but some day...” Determination filled John with such emotion that it could be seen on his face. Sor Al smiled at him.

“Yes, some day. Now, tell us what happened in the second trial tower.”

“It was horrible,” John went on to narrate the events he’d experienced in the trials.

“Didn’t I tell you not to experiment on yourself,” Sor Al said, anger making her cheeks red. “You were in a safe place then, within the illusion, but what if it had been real?”

“I know when to stop,” said John. “I can feel when something is going to turn out badly.”

“Perhaps he has that special ability,” said Relar, who was listening to the conversation while he played with Sher Khan.

“It is still not worth risking one’s life. Jehun, you were lucky. You profited heavily this time. Show me the weaves you learned.”

Everyone looked intently as John weaved the elements. Even Sher Khan sat looking at him in silence. John demonstrated each weave for her in turn. By the time he was done he had only a minuscule amount left in his aura reserves.

“Very interesting indeed. I can see the difference between your self created weaves and the Bright Ones’ weaves. You’re not too far behind them. I do not think I can teach you anything new.”

“I am sure there are lots of things I haven’t learned,” John said quickly. He didn’t want Sor Al to leave him as well.

“I can teach you other things, but not weaving. The only things you have left to do are to practice, and to increase your aura reserves and energy diffusion rate.”

“I can’t destroy stars.”

“Why would you want to? Human magic is different from elven weaving. Elves concentrate on the finer aspects of the weave, the complexities within, smoothness, and other such things. We do not have the large aura reserves of human immortals to play with the weaves as we wish. You, Jehun, are human. Just like those immortals, one day you will gain tremendous amounts of energy. Your way of weaving will completely change. Raw power will make even the simplest weaves very powerful. The elven way has given you a firm foundation but from here your path diverges from the one I took.”

John decided to change the subject. “Why does the Empress want me to be her champion? What’s so special about me?” This question had been nagging him for some time.

“Your fame makes you stand out. You underestimate how much people have come to adore you after the Game, both humans and elves. The Empress probably wants a grand spectacle to celebrate her power. She has just captured Aroth. If she were to win the competition in the Arena with you as her champion, her prestige among the people would increase exponentially. She has to move quickly. Her situation on the throne is precarious. Her nobles plot behind her back but are too afraid of the common people to do anything openly.”

“The common people like her?” Big Crow had said he was arrested on charges of sedition against the Empress. She couldn’t have been that well liked.

“They worship her...literally. They call her the Goddess of Oor. She has treated them well during her reign, at the expense of the nobles. Her court is a place filled with poison and deceit. I cannot understand what plans she has for you there. You are still a child, and the only thing you can do is fight. You are not loyal to her. With training you could stand out. You are quite bright, if a bit careless and thoughtless at times. Perhaps she seeks to groom you for something.” Sor Al stayed silent for a while, her fingers tapping on the table. “Be wary of her plots.”

“I will be careful,” John nodded. “I don’t trust her at all. Her war is the reason we’re in this mess, the reason Karamen and Tiluniel died. I feared that even you were...Why does she want you to be her ambassador so badly?”

“A display of power. She is the first person to force me into such a position. It is a good thing for us. I can help you out. Relar and Sariel don’t mind staying on Tanis. It may not be a paradise like Kumra, but it is pleasant enough if one can get used to the lights.” She looked intently at John for a moment and sighed, “forget about taking revenge for Karamen and Tiluniel. They were soldiers and ready to give their lives in battle. You cannot go against her, not yet. Acquiesce to all her requests for now. If she asks you to make any oaths then do so. All you’ll suffer from breaking an oath is a loss of reputation.” The morally upright Sor Al was talking about breaking oaths? The situation was dire indeed.

After chatting about pleasant nothings for a while he went back to his room. Sher Khan followed obediently and slept on the bed, next to his master.