The Magi

Elijah woke up to a loud banging at his door. He staggered to the door, hitting his knee against the foot of the bed. Grimacing and limping as he walked, he opened the door, fighting to open his eyelids higher than the squint he was making. Mr. Button stood behind it dressed in a brown cloak with a patch on the left side with a big “S” stitched on. He held a torch in one hand and a ring of keys in the other.

“Let’s go, Elijah. Wash up and pull out your training gear!” he barked. “Meet me downstairs by the fire in twenty minutes.”

Elijah wasted no time. He hurled himself over the bed, opened his wooden chest, and grabbed the pile of clothes. He ran down the hall, his adrenaline flowing heavily, which woke him up—much more than he had been just a few seconds ago. Elijah took a quick look around the hall and didn’t see anyone else up and about. “Maybe I’m late,” he thought to himself. That would be just a perfect way to start training. Late on the first day. He picked up his pace.

Compared to the boys’ bathrooms he remembered at the schools back home, the washroom looked like a palace. Even the bathrooms at Saint Phillip’s Academy, which Elijah made sure were clean, weren’t as nice as this. Everything he needed seemed to be provided. There were towels, washcloths, even soaps and shampoos, lined up neatly on the counters, waiting to be used.

After he washed up and dried off, Elijah picked up the clothes he was to wear for training. His uniform came in two pieces and also had a belt and boots. His brown top was thick—almost like an overcoat, with long sleeves and a mock turtleneck. Instead of a zipper running down the middle, it had metallic buttons stitched diagonally from his right shoulder across his chest, ending close to his left hip. The top looked heavier than it felt. It was very comfortable, even though it was a tad big. His pants were just as comfortable, snugly fit around his waist, but when he walked he could barely feel them. Not feeling his pants was quite disconcerting. He had to look down every once in a while to make sure they were still there. Though the gear was light, it was warm. He felt like he could walk out in the cold Canadian outdoors and still be comfortable. The brown belt was much darker than his shirt and pants. He had to put it on similar to a cummerbund.

As soon as he put on his boots, Elijah walked over to a mirror and looked at himself. He still hated the way he looked, and his gear only accentuated his skinny frame. The top was so big he had to wrap his belt around extremely tight to keep it from getting in the way of his arms when he walked. He flew down the stairs, almost tripping over himself, and saw Mr. Button and Samuel waiting for him next to the oval fire.

“Come along!” ordered Mr. Button. They walked down the stairs into an enormous oval arena—almost twice as big as the room above it. Elijah had to squint to see the other side. Around the arena, he eyed lots of large contraptions and machines and obstacle courses scattered everywhere. Along the perimeter of the arena were many classrooms, one of which Mr. Button led Elijah and Samuel inside.

“Have a seat, gentlemen,” Mr. Button instructed. Elijah and Samuel each found a desk. “Since you are far behind your fellow students in their preliminary year, you’re going to need to catch up. It’s very common for some students to fall behind the farther along they get, especially when they start to learn about element control, but the preliminaries are vital to your future progress.”

“What are preliminaries?” asked Elijah.

“We call all the exercises you learn the first year of training your preliminaries. The first half of the year we focus only on preliminary exercises. That’s where we teach students how to build their minds and bodies. The second half of the year, we throw in the elemental preliminaries. This is where students are taught the basics of controlling the elements.” At hearing this comment, Samuel shifted excitedly in his seat. “Haven’t met a student yet who could do much of anything with the elements their first year. We’ve had a few who could make slight changes and do small things, but nothing worth noting. That’s what the rest of the time here is for. Once the preliminary year is done, the rest of the time is spent mastering the exercises and elemental control.”

“So we have to wait until next year to do the element stuff?” asked Samuel, sounding disappointed.

“No,” Mr. Button said casually. “We’re going to accelerate you two. That’s why we’re here so early today. During this time, a couple hours before anyone else is up, you’re going to be taught the basic exercises everyone else learned last term. That way you should be caught up by the end of the year. You will still work with a mentor on elemental preliminaries.”

“A mentor?” asked Samuel.

“Someone to guide you one-on-one through the elemental process.”

“So, are we going to learn about the element control today?” asked Samuel. Mr. Button chuckled. It was clear Samuel was eager to learn to use the elements.

“In time, my friend,” Mr. Button answered. “We usually take a few days to go over the basic structure of our training process. I’m going to try and give you a crash course in one morning, so sit tight and try to take in what I’m about to tell you, eh?”

Mr. Button walked over to the chalkboard, his bald head reflecting the light of the torches on the walls, and wrote three words: Physical. Mental. Elemental.

“Our training program is divided into three parts,” Mr. Button began. “The first part is physical. You will learn to use your bodies as a weapon when necessary. You will learn to keep from being seen. You will learn to do things that seem unimaginable at first. Since you are behind physically, our first objective will be to catch you up.”

Elijah was ecstatic! It made sense now why his uncle Stan was so big and muscular. Maybe he could eventually become just as thick.

“The second part,” Mr. Button continued, “is mental. This is by far the most important of the three. You will develop and strengthen your mind. Your mind controls your emotions, it controls your body, and it will control the elements when you are ready. Your mental training, just like your physical training, will be ongoing. You will learn to control your emotions, control your focus, and think clearly in every situation.

“The last exercise you will learn here will be elemental control. This will be just a byproduct of the first two. The more you advance in your physical and mental training, the easier it will be for you to advance in your elemental training. As I mentioned before, you both have been assigned a mentor, so they will be responsible for that portion of our training program.”

“So you don’t work with us?” Elijah asked.

“I’m the supervisor here at the training grounds,” answered Mr. Button. “I have no part in your training other than orientation, gathering information on your progress, and making sure you are cared for.” Mr. Button walked back to write on the chalkboard again. “Another part of your training will be your weekly studies. Remember, we are still a school, and we believe in your academic education as well. Two days a week will be spent discussing essential subjects.” Mr. Button began writing the subjects on the board as he talked. “You will study classic literature, philosophy, geometry, history, and so on. Each year will be different. You will spend time studying how these subjects relate to you and how they relate to good and evil.”

Elijah felt very overwhelmed with everything he had to remember, and he glanced at Samuel to see if he looked just as lost. Mr. Button must have noticed because he smiled and walked closer to the two boys.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “Remember, we usually spend a lot longer going over all of this. Just take it one step at a time. This morning, you will work on strength training. While you are training, I will spend the day making a schedule for you both. I’ll write it out and give it to you by the end of the day. Sound good?”

“Thanks,” Elijah said.

“Before I forget, you need to find time to eat during the day. Our dining area is on the other side of the arena and through the double doors.” Mr. Button pointed down to the other end of the arena, and Elijah could just barely see a set of doors.

“You boys sit here while I go see if your trainer is ready for you. Good luck gentlemen.” Mr. Button walked out the door and both Elijah and Samuel turned to look at each other. They sat in silence, having no idea what they were in for. Mr. Button returned and motioned to the boys to follow.

The name of their trainer was Mr. Zempke. He was a tall man, most likely in his mid to late fifties, with very broad shoulders. He had thick, brown hair that was starting to gray, especially on the sides. His mouth was wide and he had a big forehead even more accentuated with his widow’s peak.

Zempke started Elijah and Samuel on some simple stretches and gradually moved them into performing more complicated and demanding exercises. He talked in very short, simple commands, making it difficult for Elijah and Samuel to figure out what he wanted them to do. The boys were told to do the exercises as slow as they possibly could.

“Up. Down. Arms up. Arms down. Point your feet. Lie down. Pull on this. Sit down. Lift up. Turn clockwise. Turn counter-clockwise. Push against my hands. Pull against my hands. Crawl on your hands and feet. No knees, gentlemen! Squat down. Now walk to me. Slowly. Slower. Even slower!”

It wasn’t long before Elijah could feel tingling in his muscles. It reminded him of the feeling he would get when he would play a new sport. His muscles would awaken from not being used and suddenly, they would tingle and burn with life. The boys were not given a break until it was time for them to join the rest of the students who were starting to come down for their training. Elijah’s entire body was now pounding. Muscles he didn’t even know he had were hurting in places he didn’t know existed. And he had just started!

Mr. Zempke walked to the center of the room and clapped his hands three times. All the other students immediately fell in line and began jogging around the massive perimeter of the arena. Elijah and Samuel wasted no time joining the others. They soon fell to the back of the line, panting and gasping for air.

Zempke made a signal to start a second lap. Elijah looked at the other students to make sure they were having a rough time with the run too. To his surprise, most of them were running along swiftly. Some were even chatting with each other as they ran. Elijah could hardly breathe, let alone carry on a casual conversation. He also noticed how broad all the other boys seemed to be. They all fit into their gear nicely, while Elijah was swimming in his.

When the second lap was finished, Zempke walked over to a huge pit in one area of the room. The pit was as big as a swimming pool, but it was hard to tell how deep it was because thousands of foam bricks were piled up to the top. It looked similar to a massive landing pit Elijah had seen in gymnasiums, but as soon as the first student jumped into this pit, Elijah knew this was not used for the same thing.

“Go…Go…Go…Go.” Zempke commanded each student one by one to jump into the pit. The students jumped in and sank almost completely to the bottom, foam bricks covering their entire body up to their neck. Some sank completely. As soon as they sank to the bottom, Elijah could see each student, as if they were quickly climbing up stairs without using their hands, slowly begin to rise out of the foam, reaching the other side of the pit just as their feet reached the surface. It was incredible to watch the agility and grace each student had. He had never seen anything like this!

Elijah studied each of their moves carefully, knowing he was next. Some students flew through the pit gracefully, as if they were performing a dance. Some struggled a bit more, needing just a little bit of help to get out. But each one made it to the top. Elijah felt sick. His body hurt. He was exhausted from the run and the two hours of training before class, but more than that, he was afraid of making a fool of himself in the pit.

Since he and Samuel were the last in line from the laps around the arena, they were the last in line to dive in. It was finally his turn. He pictured his body moving the same as everyone else’s had been. “Swing your arms,” he told himself. “Lift your legs quickly.” Elijah jumped in and immediately sank to the bottom. He moved his arms and tried to run. Nothing. He didn’t even move. The foam bricks barricaded his entire body. He stopped moving his arms and tried to climb out using the bricks like steps, but he would just sink right back to where he started. He began to panic. Everyone stared at him! Elijah continued to push himself in fits of fury, determined to at least get to the edge on the other side, whether or not he made it to the top of the foam bricks like the others. He waded slowly forward through the pile, each step pushing the foam out of the way. Slowly but surely he made his way to the edge. Samuel struggled even more than him. Elijah was sorry for Samuel, but part of him felt better knowing he wasn’t alone.

The rest of the students lined up to have another go at it. They began jumping in, whizzing past Samuel and Elijah. It looked so easy the way everyone else just glided out of there. Each foot would barely touch the foam before the other was right in front making the next step. Finally, wheezing and choking, Elijah made it to the other side and tried to pull himself out. Before he could get all the way up, a hand came down to offer him help. Gladly, Elijah grasped the helping hand as it pulled him up out of the pit.

“Thanks,” Elijah managed to blurt out. The help came from a boy with dark brown hair and brilliant blue eyes. He was broad and fit, but he was so tall, he looked a little on the lanky side. Even so, he was much more fit than either Elijah or Samuel.

“Not a problem. I’m just happy today’s not my first day again. Try closing your eyes next time.” The boy ran off to the next exercise, leaving Elijah to wonder if he would die before he got a chance to have a next time.

The rest of the day crawled slowly by. With each step, with each lift, with each pull, Elijah gritted his teeth and found whatever strength he had deep inside him for the next brutal exercise. When Zempke finally called the session over, Elijah walked straight out of the arena, up the two flights of stairs, took the right turn to the boys’ side of the hall, opened his door, and flopped down onto his bed. He didn’t even have the energy to eat. Seconds after his head hit the pillow, Elijah fell asleep, his legs hanging off the side of his bed.

Later that evening, Elijah woke up and noticed a piece of paper sitting on the desk beside his bed. His muscles pulsed painfully with every beat of his heart. He couldn’t even extend his arms fully without concentration. He actually needed to straighten each arm using the hand from the opposite arm. Elijah picked up the paper and read. It said:

Elijah,

Here is your schedule for the remainder of term:

Mondays – Strength Training: Report at 5:00 a.m.

Tuesdays and Thursdays – Academic discussion group: Report at 7:00 a.m. in Room 1

Wednesdays – Mental Training: Report at 5:00 a.m.

Fridays – Combo Physical and Mental: Report at 5:00 a.m.

Saturdays – Elemental Training: Report at 8:00 a.m.

Sundays – Free day. You may rest, visit with each other, or you may visit your family—or in your case, the Roddicks.

Get lots of rest tonight!

Mr. Button

P.S. Your required reading for this term has been placed on your wooden chest.

Elijah put the letter down, took off his boots, crawled under the covers, and went back to sleep for the rest of the night.