Laen Ranks

Once he sees me, he turns around and begins walking towards the door. I follow him. Yesterday I had needed him to come to get me because I hadn't bothered to pay attention to how we got to Master Hogan's classroom, but today I make sure to pay attention and I'm pretty sure I can find my way back to the giant arch-portal whatever leading to the In-between, still, I am glad he came for two reasons: First, I still don't know how to activate the portal, and second, I don't want to have to walk through the In-between alone. That place is creepy.

"So," Drew says once we are outside the dojo, "did you exercise well today?"

I narrow my eye at him. "You knew what was going to happen."

He smiles in reply.

"Why on earth didn't you warn me? And also, that was torture, not exercise."

"There was no need to warn you. Trust me, it would have made the experience worse if you knew what would happen from the beginning."

As he talks I realize something. "Wait, so this happens to everyone?"

He nods.

"I thought it was because I am weak?"

Drew snorts. "Master Shawn says that to everyone the first time they come here. There's only one person he didn't say that to. Charles. And that guy is built like the hulk."

"Is it going to get worse?"

Drew nods. "Yup." He turns and observes me for a moment. "You don't seem very tired right now."

"Yeah. After the lesson, I circulated my Uua around my body and it made me feel better."

Drew smiles and shakes his head a little. "Only two days and you are already beginning to discover our secrets. That's the key to surviving his lessons by the way."

It takes me a moment to figure out what he means. "Circulating the Uua?"

He nods. "You just have to figure out how to circulate your Uua while at the same time doing whatever he wants you to do. That's the whole point of the exercises. The sooner you figure out how to do it, the sooner the exercises stop."

"Wait seriously? Why didn't he tell me that?"

"He would have. Eventually. Anyway, this lesson is probably your most important one."

"Why?"

"Because figuring out how to circulate your Uua while performing other actions has more effects than just preventing you from getting tired. Once you learn how to do it you'll see what I mean ."

I nod and can't help but feel a little excited. I let my imagination run wild, thinking of all the crazy stuff I might be able to do once I learn how to circulate my Uua and do other stuff simultaneously. At the moment, I can only do it when I am focused and motionless.

Soon we get to the arch we came out of once we left the In-between earlier on. I hadn't seen the way Drew operated it yesterday since I was too tired to care so I pay extra attention to it today.

Drew raises his hand and a blue noer shoots out of it, abruptly disappearing once it gets to the arch. For a moment nothing happens, then the space between the arch distorts badly, turning the world behind it into nothing more than a distorted blur. Drew then proceeds to walk through it and I follow closely behind him.

We pass quickly through the In-between and soon come out in the room behind the bookshop. Hugo is there, surprisingly, talking to a ghost-like figure made up of blue light. He glances at us briefly, before continuing to talk to it. I stare curiously at the figure and as if sensing my stare it likewise turns to study me, its face expressionless. It soon dismisses me and continues talking to Hugo.

"Who is that?" I ask Drew as we walk out of the bookshop.

"A messenger. They were probably talking about the Majin. It's a Fasuru that's been harming people in the city lately. They probably want Hugo to hunt it."

"I always thought Hugo's job was to watch over the portal. You know, like a security guard."

"It is, partially. You see, Hugo is a Waim, a Guardian. He's basically the keeper of the city. He mostly guards the portal to the In-between, but if there's a threat that the local Protectors and Wranths can't handle, it's his job to neutralize the threat while someone else temporarily watches over the portal."

"So he's powerful, huh?"

"Very."

"If there's a threat he can't handle, what will happen?"

"They'll get a Teacher, if the Teacher can't handle it, they'll get the Elders, then the Grand Elders, then finally the Masters. If it's something the Masters can't handle, then the city is screwed, unless the Eldest is around."

As Drew begins mentioning those names, I realize something. So far, I have been treating the Laen as some random organization, forgetting that an organization like this will probably have different levels of power. The Eldest and Masters are probably the Upper-echelons of the Laen, while those like me are probably next to nothing in terms of standing. Now that I realize it, however, I decided to seize the opportunity and ask Drew about it.

"What are the levels - stages - of the Laen, from the weakest to the strongest."

"Well, there are the Student, Apprentice, Pre-protector, Protector or Captain, Wranth, Guardian or Waim, Teacher, Elder, Grand Elder, Master and Finally the Eldest."

"I'm guessing I'm a Student?"

Drew nods.

"And Master Hogan and Master Shawn are Masters?"

He shakes his head. "They are not Masters, they are Teachers."

"But their title is Master isn't it?"

"Okay, I know this may be a little confusing but hear me out. The Masters are the ones you met when your fate was being decided. Master Hogan and Master Shawn are Teachers, but the thing is we address the Teachers as Masters while we call the Masters the Grand Masters. I know, it's a bit confusing and stupid but that's just how things are done."

"So let me get this straight, the Teachers are addressed as Masters while the Masters are addressed as Grand Masters."

"Yup."

"So if I say, Master Shawn, I am talking about a Teacher but if I say Grand Master Hogan then I'm talking about a Master?"

"Correct."

"Who the hell decided that that confusing piece of crap is reasonable."

"I have no idea."

"Why doesn't anyone try to change it to something more normal?"

"Look, a lot of people have tried to change it, but none have succeeded. At most, everyone will talk about it for a week before promptly forgetting about it. You have no idea how resistant to change people are. Besides, you'll get used to it. Well, see you tomorrow."

I look up sharply to see that I have reached my home. "Oh, " I say surprised, "I'm home." I give Drew a small nod. "See you tomorrow."

"Okay. Don't forget to practice controlling your Uua. You have Master Hogan tomorrow."

A picture of Master Hogan's stern face appears in my mind and I nod. I remember his warning that I wouldn't be able to progress my lessons without learning to control my Uua externally. I make up my mind to practice what Drew had told me at lunch as soon as I get to my room, and after, I do a few assignments that I had to submit tomorrow.

I walk up to the house and push open the door. It swings open under my touch and I immediately deduce that Emily is at home. I walk into the house and hear the sound of a door opening and closing, followed by footsteps. At that moment my stomach growls and I feel a pang of hunger so strong it causes me to wince. Without any hesitation, I head to the kitchen. I have to find something to satisfy my hunger now. At the moment, the thought of having to experience this hunger for a week suddenly seems unbearable.

"Ian?" I hear Emily say as she walks down the stairs.

"Yeah?" I say as I open the fridge and peruse its content. After some deliberation, I take out some bread and a jar of peanut butter. Emily walks into the kitchen just as I begin to spread the peanut butter on the bread.

She looks up from her phone. "How was your football practice?"

My mind goes blank as I try to figure out what she's saying. "Football… practice?"

"Yeah, " she says frowning a little. "Drew said he was training you so that you could try out for football later. Isn't that what you were doing?"