Original X-roads-2003

    “Don’t pay any attention to him.” I continued, “He doesn’t think it can be done, but I know otherwise. All we have to do is train harder, you’ll have to learn new skills. Skills I’ll personally teach you. Practice killing each other, and I don’t mean pretend killing either, I mean real hand to hand. But we can get into that later.” I waved my hand in the air dismissing the subject I had brought up. “First things first, no time like the present and all that… Sit on the ground and cross your legs like this.” I sat down and crossed my legs.
    There was a slight rumbling sound as they followed me.
    “Now close your eyes and clear your mind of everything.” They followed my every order in a strange sort of blind faith. “Think about the room, where the walls are, the ceiling, the floor… Listen to the sounds of the room, the breathing of every soldier around you. Notice where the sounds are coming from, reach out with your mind and see them. Feel the heat from their bodies, become one with their thoughts. See and know without the use of your eyes. Concentrate on your other senses, they’re not as easily deceived as your eyes.”
    They breathed slowly in unison, their eyes closed. Their faces at peace, their energy flowing strongly. So strongly I could feel it fill the room, it’s nice too see people listen to me for a change.
    “Now create a box around you, this will be your personal space. Become familiar with yourself, where you start and end. Your front and back, sides, the length of your arms when stretched out. Commit this to memory, never forget your personal space, it could save your life. Your space is where you hold the greatest power, it is the center of your universe. The beginning and end of all things good and evil sit within this box. The potential and power you hold, your wit and skill, your senses, none of these things should ever leave this box. Feel the power you create and contain it to the confines, then double it, then triple it. Concentrate on you.”
    Heat began to fill the room.
    “Now push outward a little, feel the person next to you, in front of you, beside you. Memorize them, become familiar with their power and respect it. Weight it against you own, but do not judge it, just feel it. Stretch back, feel the people around them, then the people around them, until you feel the whole room.” I closed my eyes and began the exercise with them. “In time you will do this automatically, you wake up with it and go to sleep with it.”