Will Lesson One

We went to the floor of the arena and stood, as the instructors told us to use our will on a line of rope. The rope was tied to weights that went up in a pulley to and into this long shaft of two parallel iron rail systems with bars of iron step rests on it. The two instructors who had been engaged with two students also had held the aether after their coitus and demonstrated. They would gather the aether and pull the rope with the will, lifting the weights up the system, one step, two steps, three steps and so on.

“The will is the most basic of the power. With the will you use it to control all other powers so you need to master it first. The Aether lets us see the lines of our space and manipulate it. See the rope in your head with the will and urge the aether with your ill to pull the rope.” The instructor said.

There were ropes and weights for all of us, and we tried. We stood several feet before our lines of rope and reached out with our aether for it. The boy beside me concentrated and pulled on his rope with his will. The clank, clank, clank as the weight went up this pulley system step by step. He gasped, and it let down, falling back towards the fourth step where he held it there on the bar rest.

I tried myself but was frustrated. Elena had left me in a daze, and I gathered a little of my aether. My weight barely lifted off the ground as my rope struggled against it, pulling but not giving anyway.

Jann had made it up twelve steps, and Elena had made it up eighteen, nearly half of the way to the top of the forty steps. The other results varied between two and seven. Only one other boy had failed to lift his stone beside me. The instructor looked at me with disappointment and tried to help me by giving me such patronizing garbage I had already known.

“I know how to do this. I could do it. If only that bitch Elena,” I thought.

I kept there trying my best to grasp at my slipping aether and felt it going gradually drifting away hidden once against by my lust, my teeth gritted, and I concentrated. The other students looked over and laughed.

“Not even one step?’ Jann said as he looked at me and laughed loudly. The others smirked and talked amongst themselves. Elena looked pleased with herself.

Class ended for today. They all left for the dining hall to regain energy, I thought. I stood for an hour there looking at the rope and weight which barely moved disgusted with myself.