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I jump into a set of burpees until the heat starts to rise within me. Sweat runs down my stout frame, dripping from my taut muscles onto the blunt spines that run along my back.
“I could watch that all day,” a female aspirant brags to the others. She can talk all she likes. There isn’t a pretty face in all the known galaxies that can divert me.
Setting off towards the ropes course, I know from repeat experience not to linger in any part of the training arena for too long. These younger Kiphians always group up during the first ascent, but I learned years ago that the only way through was on your own two feet.
As I suspected, one of my spectators breaks off to join me.
“Mr. Xanath, sir. Big fan. Hey, maybe we can hit the course together?” A young Kiphian male blocks the path to the ropes course. “I just noticed that you removed an article of clothing. Was that strategic, sir?”
I take a beat before answering him. I don’t mind dropping the odd tip now and again. I know nothing I tell him todaywill matter when we’re in the thick of things. It’s just what this course demands.
Still, he looks eager enough. “I do it to acclimate to the climate so my body can take over when my mind shuts down.”
My words slap the color from his face. “You? Shut down?”
“I’m only Kiphian,” I remind him. Brushing past, I start to wrap my hands in tape for the obstacle course. “Whatever training you think you brought with you today, Sanat will claim.”
The maneuver works well enough to stop him in his tracks and let me off to the ropes alone.
What I didn't tell him is that there’s only one thing that matters in this game. Total unadulterated focus. Anything less could get you killed.
I hop into the ropes to set my mind back into its rhythm from this morning. I see the course in my mind’s eye. With each rise of my knee to my chest, I’m one with Sanat.
I jump into a zipline down the course, steeling myself from the biting wind as I visualize the conditions ahead. Keeping my mind in this game is the only way through. The impossible twists and turns of the Tournalese flash through my mind one by one. They’re both challenging and second nature to me, like sparring with an old friend.
The other challengers are battling the elements, but as the returning champ, I know that I’m my only real competition. Sanat and I go way back, but she wouldn't mind claiming me if just to keep me from my prize.
My breath is now the only compass pointing me forward. Running up to the rock wall, I jump into the first hold and boulder up to the third and fourth with ease. My grip strength tests my core as sweat begins to form on my brow.
The course curves into a harsh underhang. Kiphian males of the Mountain Kingdom have a developed inner claw in their feet to aid in climbing. But I prefer to rely on pure grip strength. Mybulk dangles below as I maintain my composure with ease. This is what I've trained for.
Gravity tugs at my center while my knuckles grip the holds. Feeling the pull against my waist, I focus on my core muscles, breathing short and harsh breaths until I have enough strength to send my body up to the top of the overhang in one big movement.
Throwing my shoulder over the top, the sun hits my face as I look out over the whole arena. Kiphians of all shapes train in the rugged environment. The anticipation builds within me as the coming crowd fills the spectator benches.
This competition isn't just a way to pass the time. For me, it's a way of life. Being at one with nature and being pushed to the limit is where I thrive. As far as I'm concerned, there’s only one master worthy of serving – adventure itself.
Nothing will tear my sight away from this true course. Nothing and no one. As I peer out at my fellow racers, I feel the pull of the days ahead. Accepting the potential challenges of each one, my blood boils with anticipation.
The chilly air brushes past my face as I draw in a deep breath of air through my nostrils. I can feel it now.
“It’s gonna be one hell of a race,” I declare.
2
IARA
Ijust don’t sleep. I never do.
Even without a chirnoo to crow me awake in the morning, I’m up before the sun. Before the other aspirants have even stirred from their beds, I’m at the course, chalking my hands to take the rock wall.
“No sense wasting this,” I mutter under my breath – a little more bitterly than I intended.
As I stare out at the empty training arena with massive peaks looming in the distance, I think how lucky these Kiphians are to have a planet as majestic as this. Everything here is justbigger.
Humans like me hang on by the bit of our nails. Sequestered to isolated communities within the Six Kingdoms, we’re lucky to call anywhere home. For my family, I feel a certain pride to be in the first generation born on this rock. Not that it counts much in this competition.
The other aspirants, all Kiphian, of course, were prequalified on site almost a week ahead of me. As the only human to dare enter the Challenge, the League saw fit to push me through extra hurdles to ensure I’d be up to the trial.
