II-The Secret Valley

Uniting with Nature...

            The sun rose upon the Secret Valley. This valley had been a hideout for many people every since the Lord of Shadows took over the kingdom of Vienpax. The people of Vienpax lived in peace and harmony until he attacked them with his Grols, the hooded warriors who spread throughout the kingdom and took away their lands and possessions. Young men and women escaped into the Secret Valley and hid inside the old temple where Master Kelein tought them everything he knew about fighting techniques, hoping one day to fight off this terrible invader and save Vienpax.

 

   Lea was back home. She walked into an empty room, pushed an old door open and found her parents. All of a sudden, the windows shattered into a million pieces…a dark figure appeared through the shattered glass. With of a wave of his hand, the Lord of Shadows muttered a few words and Lea watched her parents vanish into thin air before her very eyes.
-Mum! Dad! Noooo!
She woke up, trembling, soaking wet. Her limbs were shaking violently and she cried with horror.
-Lea…
She looked up and saw Master Keilen through her tears. He had awakened to her screaming.
-Are you alright?
-I..I had a nightmare…
-The same one?
She nodded, but couldn’t speak, still shaking terribly.
-Forget this nightmare, for the time being, and get some rest.
Worried, the master left his apprentice to get back to sleep.

   On the following morning, Master Keilen took Lea hiking in the valley.
-Where exactly are we going?
-You’ll see when we get there, Lea.
She sighed, a little upset by her master’s constant coolness.

-Patience, Lea! The leaves will only fall from the tree when the time is right.

Lea rarely understood her master’s sayings. He was a sixty-year-old man, mysterious and wise. He was always calm, even in the worst situations, and that sometimes angered Lea.
-Here we are then!
Lea looked around the clearing where her master had taken her.  The trees formed a kind of wall around a circular area. In the very middle, a perfectly round-shaped rock was covered in flowers. The sun shone above it, and warm sunlight surrounded the rock. Master Keilen pointed at the rock and spoke:
-Sit over there Lea.
She obeyed instantly. After she sat there, she looked again at the trees, following their trail with her eyes. She realized at that moment she was in the middle of a huge circle.
-What should I do?
-It is time for you to unite with nature.
-…How?
-You are an element of nature Lea. Your inner strength comes only from nature; I’ve known that since the day you penetrated my temple. You must meditate now, but this time you will listen to my instructions. Are you ready?
-I’m ready…
-Very well. Close your eyes now, and take a deep breath.
Lea listened carefully to her master. She closed her eyes, breathed in, out… “Don’t think of anything now”. She tried to empty her head of all the recent events, all the memories in her thoughts… “Think only of this place. Imagine the trees, the blue sky, the rock you’re sitting on”. Lea drew the circle in her mind; she imagined the colorful flowers, covering the once neutral rock, now alive in colors. “Listen to nature calling you!” She concentrated, listening to the birds sing. She heard the blowing wind, whistling softly in her ears, she felt it barely touch her face. She could still hear the echoes of her master’s voice “Let nature come to you, let yourself go”. She gave in to this strange feeling…she let herself get swiped away by an unusual silence. A great feeling of completeness was taking over slowly. She felt like she was floating among the clouds… “Unite with nature Lea! Find your inner strength!” She was light, as light as a tree leaf hanging in the air. Suddenly, a very bright light surprised Lea…it was blinding, glistening, so strong that it filled Lea’s eyes with warmth. She was falling from the sky. She looked down on the rock as it slowly got bigger…and bigger…