Raiden had been starting every day with his bone tonic. By now, it had been reduced to a smaller portion and the body aches were no longer a side effect. But today, for the first time, he did not get one. Nice! No more gagging to start the day; that’s progress.

  Then Hehlef walked in and Raiden’s stomach growled in concern, She better not be replacing the bone elixir with something new and nasty.

  Little did he know, he was also having a troubling effect on her. She had been searching for a unique moon child, and his circumstances, attitude, and work ethic had already piqued her interest. Now, with the discovery of his amnesia, his distinctiveness became even more pronounced. It was time for her to elevate things with him.

  “Rehtu told me about your situation,” she said with apprehension.

  Raiden realized he had never thought to ask Rehtu to keep it quiet, but it probably served him best to have that passed around anyway.

  “I understand your concern,” she said gracefully. “I noticed you pushed yourself quite hard yesterday to improve your strength.” Although that was not his true motive, the excuse worked for Raiden.

  “Honestly, you are far behind any moon child we’ve had here recently, and they all faced significant challenges. So, I’m not sure what this means for you; but if you want to prepare as best as you can, it’s wise to do it properly.” With that, she pulled out a thimble-sized serving of a bright yellow liquid.

  And there it was, what he feared. With a quick bout of PTSD from the first vial of yellow liquid he drank, Raiden made a tortured face and looked at Hehlef with trepidation, “Um…what is that?”

  “That is a very small dose of stamina potion—it's not a language skills elixir, if that’s your concern. Few things are as unpleasant as the language elixir. Plus, it tastes quite pleasant for a potion, a bit sweet and tingly. This dose is small, but for you, small goes a long way. During our lessons, you can rest and recover from your physical therapy with Rehtu. At the end of our lesson, I’ll give you one of these to help you finish recovering. So, don’t overexert yourself before our lesson.

  “Afterwards, I’ve arranged for someone to help you build your stamina and strength more effectively. With this stamina potion, you’ll have a full reserve of new energy to help you accomplish more each day.” She reminded him again to not overdo it during or after PT, and with the tiny potion still in hand, she turned and left.

  A short while later, Rehtu brought him his meal and greeted him formally, “More light to you,” before adding with a giggle, “weirdling.”

  “More light to you… Master traveler,” he replied with a coy smile, causing Rehtu to giggle some more.

  Their conversation through PT was nothing so serious as yesterday, but Rehtu had really opened up to him, and that new comfort level showed up. Raiden realized how helpful her cheerful and kind behavior had been for him to adjust to this dramatically different world. He had yet to experience true homesickness and she was a large part of that by how she welcomed him to this new place.

  She reminded him of his older sister and how his sister used to tease him, but not maliciously. His sister would joke with him in a way that lifted his spirits. And he knew she was there for him. Until now he hadn’t recognized how much he had missed that, even in his previous life.

  Growing up, his sister was always there to make him laugh, and make him feel like he belonged. And then… she wasn’t; she grew up and left the house with him still there. Now he saw how that had an impact on him. And here, in an unknown new world, Rehtu had filled that void for him, and he was grateful for it. I’ll have to do something nice for Rehtu someday, he assured himself.

  After his lesson with Hehlef, and true to her word, she provided him with the promised thimble of potion and bade him drink it. “This time, I will have you take this here in case you experience any unwanted side effects, hereafter, you will take it right before you need it.”

  Raiden chugged the small dose and soon he felt energy going down his throat. Once, as a reckless youth in a truth or dare stunt with friends, he had touched an electric fence and the feeling of current was similar, and different. The fence rammed the current through him at lightning speed with a sharp jolt of pain, whereas this did not. It was odd to feel that same sense of current, but to have it move slowly down his throat without any feeling of burning.

  By the time it hit his stomach he could feel the pleasant aftertaste of honey in his mouth. Soon after he observed the energy absorbing and pushing out to the rest of his body. The process felt a lot like Popeye looked after downing some spinach: the energy from the drink literally rippled out through his body. Now he had more energy than he knew what to do with.

  He couldn’t contain his thrill of its effects, “That was…awesome! That was very…awesome! How does it work?”

  “Most describe it as you have. Essentially, this potion contains pre-digested physical energy to restore your stamina. Your body stores energy in various forms. Fat serves as a long-term energy reserve, but it takes time to break down and utilize. Your energy will deplete long before your body can tap into these fat reserves, which mainly help you survive with low energy.

  Your body also has an immediate energy cache, but this cache has limited capacity. For those with low capacity, like you, it can be quickly exhausted. The available capacity of this cache of energy is known as your Stamina. You have a maximum capacity for Stamina. When you use some of it, your remaining Stamina decreases until you allow it to recover.

  “Your body’s Stamina is essentially physical light in another form, which we call physical or body energy. Light nourishes plants, which store this energy in food, like fruit. When you eat the fruit, your body breaks it down, refills your energy cache (Stamina), and stores the rest as fat for later use.”

  Raiden recalled learning about the cycle of food and how when you breathe out you literally return the elements left over from the plant minus the light. Or something like that, so this all rang true to him.

  “This potion,” Hehlef explained, “bypasses the breakdown process by providing ready-to-use physical light energy. It immediately restores your Stamina cache, and any excess energy your body converts to fat for future use. Nothing is wasted.

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  That’s why I’m only giving you a small amount. You have limited Stamina, and a larger dose every day would quickly make you gain weight. However, the energy takes time to convert to fat, so you can still use some of it if you act quickly. Which is why I’m giving it to you right before you need it. You’ll get more use out of it, and less will be stored as fat.”

  Hehlef was turning out to be not so bad. “Thanks for doing this for me.”

  “Don’t get too excited. I estimate your year is going to be miserable enough when you learn who your instructor is. I can’t say who, and officially they haven’t been assigned yet, but they do prioritize students with potential into the better instructor classes and for as long as I’ve been here, in odd years the moon kids have all gone to the same instructor, along with the other lowest-rated students. And this is an odd year.

  “Come to think of it, moon kids always seem to be here on odd years only,” Hehlef took a moment to consider. “Regardless, I might as well try to give you a leg up now, because the rest of the year you will be at a disadvantage. Now let’s load you into a wheelchair and go meet your trainer.”

  Hehlef took Raiden outside the healing center for his first view of his new planet. It was as if the Academy was in a wooded meadow, with well-kept trees all around blocking his view from other buildings on campus, except for the top of one majestic looking roof. Raiden expected to see a dirt path or perhaps cobblestone, but instead he was surprised to see a path of finely cut stones which cleanly abutted each other to make a single smooth surface, much like floor tiling at a museum.

  As they traveled along the winding path, which led them around and behind the roof of mystery, Hehlef spoke up, “The trainer is doing this on his own time so be sure to show him your appreciation. You’ll begin training at the Body Transformation Training Grounds. Later, his training regimen will include helping him around his house. That is expected as a compensation for his time, while still giving you the exercise you need.”

  Soon, they approached a building that was shaped like a good-sized two-story warehouse. The building was made of large rectangular stone blocks, with wooden shutters covering the many windows. The center of the building had two massive wooden doors and there was a smaller door about halfway between the center and right side of the building. There was nothing ornate about the building but the craftsmanship gave it a regal look of fine quality. They were good with stone, Raiden marveled.

  To the right of the building was a beautifully landscaped garden with water features, walkways, finer trees, bushes, and flowers. In contrast, to the left of the building was a war zone. Mounds of dirt, trenches, and giant rocks were laid out to create a labyrinth of oddity. It reminded Raiden of a makeshift paintball zone. Towards the back he saw what appeared to be an obstacle course with hanging ropes, walls, and a variety of challenges to test yourself with. Given Raiden’s inability to walk to the bathroom, it was a rather ominous setting.

  Hehlef took Raiden through the smaller door. Inside was a wide, flat area that was open all the way to the roof. A good two-thirds of the floor plan was taken up by this wide open space. The entire open area was empty except for a few things set up not too far from where they stood. The ground there had a small mound and a few minor obstacles that kinda looked like playground equipment, set up next to the mound.

  On each side of the open space there was a walkway with doors to rooms along the outside of the open area. Next to where they had entered there was a small set of winding stairs that rose to the second story which had a similar layout of a walkway with a handrail on each side of the open space and providing access to more doors to rooms along the outside of the building.

  On the other side of the building towards the back, diagonally from them in the opposite corner of the building, there was an identical set of stairs leading down from that walkway. The walkway also went along the back of the building even though there were no rooms there, allowing you to cross to the other side without having to descend.

  Raiden could not see it but he imagined there was a similar walkway above him along the front of the building. What do you know, it looks a lot like a warehouse from the inside too. I better behave; who knows what can happen to a body in a place that looks like a warehouse, Raiden half-joked to himself.

  Near where they entered, the first door on the right side opened to a smaller room which turned out to be an office. Hehlef took Raiden inside, where a man jumped to his feet. He was ideal in size, not overly tall or muscular, but above average in both. Raiden thought he looked like a drill sergeant.

  “Why, hello Premier Gheebor, more light to you,” the drill sergeant said in a stern voice.

  “Mr. Maano, more light to you as well. This is Raiden, the moon child I told you about. Raiden, this is Zeparhehri Maano.”

  Does everybody around here have ‘heh’ in their name? Raiden postulated.

  “Son, you will address me as Instructor Zep. Ensure that you do so!” Zep had a strong tone in his voice. Almost as if the tone demanded obedience. Then he added with a softer, sinister voice of caution, “You’d be surprised at what can happen to a body in a building like this.”

  Zep was everything Raiden imagined a military drill instructor would be: strong but a trainer more than a gym rat, older but young enough to still roll up his sleeves. He spoke in a clear voice with confidence and authority, and he had a sneer that incited you to bow your head a bit when looking at him, like it was a staring contest and you had no chance in it. Oh, and not to forget: he had a willingness to intimidate with humorous threats, in a way to make you wonder whether they were more threat than humor.

  Raiden avoided the staring contest, looking to Hehlef, instead. “Thanks, Hehlo.” Turning back, he added, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Instructor Zep. I appreciate your time.”

  Zep raised a questioning eyebrow and stole a glance at Hehlef at the mention of Raiden’s nickname for her. She waved it off with a brief one shoulder shrug and left Raiden with a softened, “Good luck, Raiden. I’ll be back to get you when your training is over.”

  With Hehlef gone, Zep gave his newest student a good once-over. “Alright, we’ve got two weeks, and our progress depends entirely on you—and perhaps some divine intervention, radiance help us,” Zep finished with hopelessness.

  “From what I’ve heard, you can’t even make it to the toilet without collapsing and soiling yourself. Our first priority is to build up your stamina so you can move around. Then, we can get to the real work. We’ll start here at the training grounds with some drills. If you can handle that, then in a few days, we can move to my place for more intensive training.”

  Zep spoke as he wheeled Raiden to the area with the mound of dirt, "Normally, we would engage in high-intensity training to build stamina. However, given your current condition, we’ll need to start with low-intensity exercises, real low. Let’s begin with a round of walking five steps, followed by a short rest, then five squats, another short rest, and finally five lunges. We’ll repeat this for three rounds to assess your current level and determine how much I can push you."

  Raiden cautiously lifted himself out of his wheelchair, took five steps, and rested. The squats took more out of him but he was determined to make good use of the new stamina. If I just go slow enough, I can keep my balance better and get through the reps without passing out.

  After more rest, Raiden rose to do his five lunges to complete the round. The lunges were dreadful for him. They required more balance along with the lifting of his heavy body with most of the weight being on just one leg. Each step was like a lunge squat he used to do with a bar of weights on his back. Those had always burned his legs, and these did the same.

  It didn’t help that Raiden was not limber and did not have good flexibility. Each lunge was a strain. I hate these! My legs are burning, I can hardly avoid falling, and they go really slow—wait, how many am I at? Three? Four? Maybe just one more lunge. And with that Raiden did one more lunge...to the ground...where he had passed out, attempting just his third lunge.

  Looking at his new pupil face down to the ground, Zep let out, “Well…that was unsatisfactory.”