My whole body hurts as soon as I wake up and start to move. It's probably best that I don't try to get up. Every piece of me feels heavy, and I can't muster the energy to move. Despite feeling like complete garbage, I'm happy because I can feel my power finally. I know my Word.

Helena couldn't believe the state she and Veaos had found Tyler in. Gabriel was fixed up shortly after Veaos moved the boulder off of him. The young boy was nearly unrecognizable when they saw him. His joints bent at odd angles, face busted open and lying in a pool of his blood. If Tyler had not been a Forchunae, he would've been dead. She understood that Gabriel would have to push the boy far past his limit, but this was excessive. Helena was a woman who believed that violence was a last resort and that fighting should be avoided if possible. She helped Veaos hoist Tyler onto his back and then headed home.

She helped Gabriel treat and bandage all of Tyler's wounds. Elle made sure all the cuts were Clean; the last thing they needed was an infection. Forchunae were made of sterner stuff, but an infection could lead to complications in the healing process. After that came setting his bones to make sure they healed correctly. Only after that did Helena join the small group gathered in one of the living rooms.

She sat down and joined Elle, Gabriel, Veaos, and CJ. Veaos was the first to begin questioning Gabriel.

"So, do you know what his ability is? I'm dying to know what we're working with."

"Truthfully, I don't know what his Word is, and there are too many possibilities. And let me correct you on something; he manifested two abilities. The boy is powerful already, so I will need all of you to help him."

"I'll obviously be taking over his combat training," Veaos said.

"I will shore up his education and correct any misinformation he may have been taught," Elle replied.

"I would like to be in charge of helping him explore his Word and all the abilities that may come with it," Helena said.

"That's all well and good, but what do you want me to teach him; how to be the most suave man this side of the Arano River?" CJ joked.

"Close, but not quite. You will teach him the skills needed to survive. Whatever he chooses to do, I want him to have the ability to achieve it." Gabriel said.

I slept the rest of the day away, waking only when Marissa entered my room.

"Eat this and get ready. Don't keep the others waiting".

She left me a tray of food consisting of some berries, toast, and a bowl of porridge. I tore into my breakfast like a wolf into a rabbit. I was still hungry, but I realized I needed to get ready. I tentatively placed a foot down on the floor to test it, and my leg felt fine. Bandages still covered my body, and I had to undo them to take a shower.

I took a look at myself in the shower and couldn't find a single bruise or scar from my fight with Gabriel. Even if I had never figured out my Word, the physical changes to my body would be enough to make me a danger. Now that I know my Word, I can understand why Gabriel had to make me manifest and control it. I still don't know what I want to do with my life yet, but I'm sure it will come to me eventually.

Shaking my future thoughts away, I dried off and got dressed. I wore a similar outfit as yesterday but with shorts instead of pants. I have no idea what's in store for me, but I'll tackle it head-on. I went down to the foyer where Veaos and Helena were waiting. Veaos was dressed in his furs and armor and holding his great ax. Helena was wearing some kind of flowing gown I didn't recognize the style of.

"BOY! TODAY I SHALL MAKE YOU A -"

"Quiet Veaos. Tyler, today we will begin your lessons. Veaos will be your combat instructor, and I will be helping you master your Word. Elle and CJ will also teach you, but you will be working with me right now."

"You'll be with us every other day and then with CJ and Elle on the rest of your days," Veaos said.

"Umm, forgive me, but isn't Gabriel the one who'll be training me?" I asked.

"No need to apologize, sweetheart. Truth is Gabriel is an extremely busy man and sometimes can be gone for weeks, even months at a time". Helena answered.

Equal parts disappointment and relief. He was growing on me and helped me discover my Word, regardless of method. That doesn't matter because people are willing to help me. I smiled and told them that I was eager to begin.

Helena brought me over to the courtyard connected to the left-wing of the castle. She brought out two chairs for us to sit on. There is a slight chill in the air, and I can’t stop fiddling with my hands due to excitement. My Word is inside me, itching to be used, and I want to explore it.

"What do you know about Forchunae?" Helena asked.

"Forchunae are humans who have awakened their Word. We are faster, stronger, more durable, and heal faster. Your Word manifests based on your understanding and can do unbelievable things. I think that's about all I know."

"Correct, but there's a lot that you're missing. Like classifications, permanent effects of Words, overlap between similar abilities, and more. Today I just want to teach you classifications and overlap," Helena said.

"Okay, where do we start?" I asked.

"Classifications are based on an individual's destructive possibility and their ability to change the world at large. There are six ranks, and there is a huge gap between them. Starting from the bottom, it goes Scion, Ascendant, Transcendent, Emissary, Archon, and Magnufinae", Helena said.

"Magnufinae? What's that?" I asked.

"It's from the same ancient language that gave us the word Forchunae. It's a myth more than anything else, and it translates to 'Magnificent One.' There are no confirmed cases of any, as far as I know. But don't go putting the carriage before the horse. Before continuing, I'll need to know your Word."

I could feel my power thrumming inside me with pride as I finally told someone else my Word.

"It's Warp," I said with a smile.

"Warp? That's certainly powerful, hun. What does it mean to you?" She asked.

We sat quietly as I thought about what it meant to me. The obvious definition is to bend or twist due to heat. But from there, I think about how sometimes I'd hear of something moving so fast it seemed to warp to another location. As a child, I always thought that meant it was like an instant kind of teleport, which is probably why my power manifested as two abilities. I told Helena what I had come up with.

"Good answers; now we will go over what happens when two abilities clash that are similar or contrary. For instance, say your word was Sleep, and you could make anybody fall unconscious by looking at them. You'd be nearly unbeatable. Now you attempt to fight a Forchunae who is a higher rank than you, or maybe the same rank but slightly stronger. Their word is Burn, and you face off against each other. What happens when you activate your ability?" Helena said.

"The other guy would fall asleep?" I answered.

"Whenever you are targeted by a Forchunae technique that isn't a physical ability or a conjured attack, an instant battle of will occurs. Whichever one of you has a stronger connection to their Word wins. It's easier to show you an example. Try to move me from where I am."

After seeing how fast I healed, I didn't feel bad about trying to teleport her. I can't really control how far I move something yet, and I think I just got lucky with the boulder. I focused on my power and felt the rush from using it. I looked at Helena and stretched my arm out towards her. Without blood covering my eye and pain-free, I was able to see my power start to work. The temperature rose slightly in the area around us as I tried to picture her appearing a couple of feet back. I kept that image in my head and pushed until I felt my power activate. I was going to celebrate when I felt something that was nearly indescribable. My Word felt the way broken glass sounds. It wasn't painful, but the technique failing was uncomfortable. No matter what I tried to do, she wouldn't budge. I tried for thirty minutes before I was out of energy. I felt exhausted, and a headache was forming.

"I can't do it. And I don't think I have another attempt left in me." I said while panting.

"Yes, because I understand my Word better, I am more in sync than you are. That's to be expected, you just learned what your Word was, and I've had forty years of experience. Now to be clear, this doesn't mean I'm stronger than you. In fact, my Word isn't suited for fighting, and I am a pacifist, but I was still able to resist your technique. I hope this served as an example that you shouldn't ever underestimate others. Since you've exhausted your reserves, we'll be ending early today. Go meet up with Veaos. If you go through that door on your right, it'll Connect you to where he is." She pointed to one corner of the courtyard with a wooden door attached.

I opened it to find a clearing with Veaos in the middle of it practicing his swings. I closed the door behind me and saw that I was now on the other side of the castle. Helena's Word is so freaking cool. I sat down on the dirt to rest and observe Veaos. I hadn't seen him train since that night at the lake, and it was still just as mesmerizing. I didn't approach him or speak until I felt that I could use my Word again. I don't know how to explain it, but it felt like it needed to recharge after using it so much. I'll have to ask Helena about it the next time I have a lesson with her.

"You're here, good. I hope you're ready for pain because that's what you're in for. Right now, you're weak and defenseless. I will change that. Note that I said I will change that, not that I aim to. Gabriel put me in charge of your combat and self-defense training, and I intend to mold you into a tough fucking bastard," Veaos said.

I gulped back the saliva that had formed. I was nervous about this. The last thing I wanted was a repeat of what happened with Gabriel. I ignored my nerves and tried to sound tough.

"I'm ready, sir."

"First, let me set out four rules. One, you give me your all no matter what every single day. Two, you can't quit, so either back out now, or you're in it for the long haul. Three, you do not question me or my methods. If I tell you to jump into a freezing lake, you fucking jump. Four, only use your Word if I tell you. Every fight will be without powers unless I say otherwise. We will begin if you agree to follow those rules." Veaos said.

Standing before him, I'm reminded of his sheer physicality of him. Every inch of him is muscle, and he must be two feet taller than me. Without his usual smile, he's scary. Before I answer him, I think of how I've just followed other people's examples my entire life. I go with the flow, never doing anything for myself. You're taught not to rock the boat in the Empire and never question authority. When I walked through that doorway, I said I'd be leaving the old me behind. I want to be free to make my own decisions.

"I agree," I said.

A grin split Veaos' face as he roared. "GOOD ANSWER! Our bodies can heal from fatigue or minor injuries in hours. A broken bone is healed overnight. Tyler, I promise you that this won't be fun, but I'll break you down and build you into a respectable fighter".

"What's first?" I asked.

"Push-ups. You're going to do push-ups until I say stop." Veaos said.

The Strakken Empire does a physical fitness test for its students every year. I know how to do a push-up, but the most I've ever done was ten. I laid down flat on the ground and began doing them. Every child is taught proper form; legs straight and bent elbows. With my recent changes, I quickly breeze past my previous record of ten, followed by twenty, thirty, forty, and finally fifty. As I approach sixty, I begin to slow down. I start taking longer to push myself back up. My arms feel heavy, and I'm sweating profusely. I crane my neck to look at Veaos, and his expression hasn't changed. He just looks at me expectantly.

"Uhhh, sir, I'm tired. Can we take a break?" I asked.

"What did I say about quitting? And are you already questioning me? If you can still speak, you aren't giving it your all. Keep going and speed it up. We have a lot to do today." Veaos responded.

I kept going until I had long lost count. At some point, I got a second wind and got back up to my original speed and form. Eventually, I just couldn't continue, and when my chest hit the ground, it stayed there. My body was yelling at me, and my arms felt like jelly. I lay there in the dirt, trying to catch my breath before Veaos poured a bucket of ice-cold water on me. I didn't have the energy to yell out, and it honestly felt nice against my sore body.

"Get up," Veaos commanded.

I didn't even register that he was speaking to me. I was so tired. Note to self; he doesn't like that because the next thing he did was yank me to my feet. I can barely stand, and I'm wobbling in place.

"Now you and I are going for a run," he said.

All I could do was nod before starting a light jog around the training field. To my surprise, he was next to me. I thought I'd only be able to do maybe one lap around the area, but somehow I had more energy than I thought. In happy my arms get to rest; however, if this is anything like the push-ups, we'll be going until I drop. I wanted to ask him some questions but thought better of it and jogged in silence. Running like this is relaxing. I can turn my brain off and just focus on my current task. After fifteen laps like this, he told me I had to match his speed. He gradually sped up until we were full-on sprinting. This isn’t calming or relaxing anymore, and it’s just painful. Lap after lap, I chased after him as my lungs threatened to give up.

He didn't encourage me. He didn't even look back. I blocked out everything except the sight of his back. When I finally stumbled, I felt relieved even as I fell and scraped up my arms and legs. At least we weren't running anymore. Once again, he dumped another bucket of water on me and told me it was time for crunches. My arms and legs felt lead. It didn't deter Veaos in the slightest. He stood next to me and watched me like a hawk.

"You might be wondering why I didn't join you for push-ups or crunches. The axe forms you’ve seen me practice so more for my core and arms than any amount of regular exercise could ever do. I told you I'd be in charge of your combat and self-defense training, and we can't even begin that until you're in shape. As you are right now, you wouldn't last a second. I will permanently harm you if I hit you. Do you think that 'fight' you had with Gabriel was bad? That's nothing. He wasn't even trying, and I'm stronger than he is. A Forchunae's body is multiplicative, not additive. If you were fast before you awakened, you'd be faster than other Forchunae. You were weak and soft before you awakened; I plan to grind that out of you. Only once your body is in an acceptable state will we begin the actual training. Now keep going until you can't." Veaos said.

I kept going until every part of me screamed, and I was sorry I'd even agreed to the training. It was time for dinner by the time we walked; well, he walked, I hobbled slowly. I didn't have the energy to even look at anyone at dinner. I kept shoveling food into my mouth until I thought I would burst. Veaos told me that I needed to eat a lot to keep up with the training. After dinner, I went straight to bed. I was too tired to do anything else.