Thirty Days

 The first few days after I had been reborn, I was left mostly as an outcast living on the outskirts of the village in a makeshift quarantine zone. The only person who would visit me was Red Eyes, who I learned was the village leader and the eldest. As expected from a village leader, he was very kind and always tried his best to meet my needs/demands, even going as far as breaking some rules for me. He still, however, gave me the creeps due to his dragonic form, which I still haven't come to terms with having myself. Every day, he would come in and sense my energy, which was slowly growing inside of me, and based on what he was saying, I was going to be an above-average student; he also warned that the big improvements were from my body trying to catch up to my actual age, I had only be dragonic for a week but my actual body was about 9 years old give or take. Every day, he would also help me learn telepathy so I could speak fluently with my thoughts rather than their broken English he had learned. I did not understand how it all worked out, but it was very simple to pick up thanks to my “spirit energy,” which is different from normal energy. As I understood it, energy was the amount of mana I had, while my spirit energy was similar to my willpower in a measurable form. My energy could run out, while my spirit energy could break; both are very bad situations and require rest afterward, but running out of energy was deadly, while spirit energy was not. Our conversations were nice, and I could tell he was trying to build up to saying something.

It wasn't until the tenth day that Red Eyes brought a group of people with him, which was a first, and he had a very serious expression on his face.
“Good morning, young Jordan, today is the day I will tell you of your future hardships if you want to continue living among us.” Red Eyes said with a straight, serious face.

The tone was different in the room; there was a pressure that was almost weighing me down, forcing sweat to slowly drip down my head.

“Starting tomorrow, you will begin a test to prove you are worthy to become a member of our people. I have brought with me three of our best teachers: Darren, who will be teaching you the art of swordplay, Drexel, who will be teaching you the art of magic, and Felix, who will be teaching you our history and battle tactics. You will spend ten days with each of them, and you must show a basic understanding of each to advance to the second half of the challenge. I don’t want to spare myself from finding out any other way, but failure is not an option; if you fail, it will result in your demise.”

I blinked a couple of times in disbelief, trying to process what Red Eyes just said. “What do you mean by my demise? Isn't this a little soon for someone who just arrived? Shouldn't I have time to adjust to my new way of life before something so drastic? I haven't even been allowed to leave this house, yes, and now I'm being sent on a death quest?”

“Please just listen,” Red Eyes continued. “It is tradition for any outsider to be killed on the spot, but seeing that you were a child, and I was able to transform you, tells me that you are meant to be here. As ancient as the tradition is, it is still tradition, and like every other outsider to ever step foot on this island must do the same. As I have stated, these are the best teachers we have on the island, and you are in very capable hands. Your energy still rises, you already possess more than the average boy your age, and your spirit energy is as high as a fully trained warrior. I do not doubt that you will pass. I just have to warn you of what will happen if you don't.” Red Eyes finished with a slightly painful look in his eyes.

Red eyes quickly recomposed himself and nodded towards the men who would be my teachers for the next month. Darron was the first to step forward. He was dressed in all black with a red stash around his shoulder and hip that held three swords. Two smaller-looking swords at his hips, and one giant sword on his back. He stared at me with a giant grin as he began to speak. “Given we don't have much time, I am going to train you in dual-wielding and two-handed combat for a day each, then you can decide which you would rather spend the remaining eight days learning.”

“ My name is Draxel. I have heard much about you from Red Eyes here.” Even though that was not his name, Drexel had caught on that that was what I called him. Drexel was quickly met with a long stare of disapproval from Red Eyes. “I can sense your energy from over here, which is not normal for someone as young as you. I am quite intrigued to see just how much you are capable of!” He finished gleefully.

Last was Felix, who was going to teach me history and battle tactics. Although I was unsure if he was going to introduce himself, this entire time, he was held up in the corner of the room, trying to cover himself as best as he could. “FELIX,” Red Eyes screamed sternly.

“yes, of course, sir,” he said weakly. “ahem, I am the great felix, and I will be teaching you the history of our tribe, as well as the necessary battle tactics and IQ to get you through basic combat.” Felix finished. I could tell Felix was not very good with people.

“Now that you are aware of what's to come, and the people that will be helping you along the way, are you ready to embark on this ancient trial of our people to prove that you are one of us?” Red Eyes cut through the silence with an empowering voice that almost controlled me into screaming,

“Yessir,” I yelled confidently.

“Tomorrow, you will be starting your basic training with either Draxel or Felix; I want to save Draxel and your magic training for last to give your energy as much time as it needs to finally balance out. Do you wish to choose, or would you rather I pick for you?”

Thinking about my options here, if I trained under the sword first, I could use my studies as time to rest before I started my magic training. “I’d like to start with Mister Darron,” I said with firm resolve.

“Very well then, tomorrow Master Darron will wake you at dawn, eat, and sleep well, for the next thirty days will be hard on you mentally and physically.” Red Eyes once again said firmly.

I bowed down as everyone made their way out of my small shack; my hands and legs were shaking in fear. I was about to start a life-or-death test on things I was being taught basically on the fly. That night, I couldn't eat, nor could I sleep. I was stuck in my own head, and it was getting to me. Before I knew it, the sun was rising, dawn was here, and I hadn't slept an ounce. Panic set in as I heard a knock at the door. This was it… this was the beginning of the end for me.