Year 6, ALW (Two Years Prior)

"Krystal... Krystal!" The sound echoed into Krystal's ears as she slowly blinked. The vixen shook her head back and forth, clearing it of the night's dream and awakening to reality. She ignored the voice sounding in her room and sat up in her bed, shifting her legs so that they could hang over the edge and rested her elbows on her knees. Krystal continued to drown out the sound calling out her name while she meditated on the dream she had the previous night.

"Krystal! You know what today is, right?" The voice belonged to her friend Sera. The red-furred vixen ran excitedly toward Krystal and plopped down beside her on her bed. She seemed to take no insult to the fact that Krystal was completely focused on the dream she had instead of her.

"Yes, I know what today is," Krystal murmured while raising her head to glance around at her surroundings. Her room was the same as it had always been; the dark polished marble that made up the floor brought her chills to the touch. The walls surrounding her were nearly bare, leaving only cold hard stone visible except for a single opening left for a window and a wooden door across from her bed. Yet something felt strange; as if an unseen presence resided within the very stone around her.

Sera nudged her friend, prompting her to say more. "Well...?" The crimson vixen beckoned, tossed her long, flowing hair behind her.

Krystal hesitated, studying her friend up and down before giving an answer. Sera wore similar attire that she wore; a broad, metal chest plate stretched across her torso, cutting off short just above her stomach. Both vixens wore armor plated shorts, with shoulder and shin guards for additional defense. Sera's bushy red tail was banded once half-way for decoration, whereas Krystal wore two bands on hers.

"Alright," the blue-furred vixen sighed. "Today is the day that I start my training," Krystal finally replied. Her indifferent response betrayed her excitement, but she just couldn't force her lingering dream to fade from her mind.

With another nudge, Sera leaped from Krystal's bedside and turned to face her friend with an upset look on her face. "And, it's the day that I start my duties with the Royal Guard!" She boasted. Realizing Krystal's dismay, her upset look turned into a worried stare. "What's wrong, sis? Are you nervous about today? What can go wrong, it's only training with your father after all..."

"It's not the training," Krystal retorted. "I can't seem to get my dreams out of my head, that's all..." The nightmare that haunted her dreams the previous night was not the first of its kind. The blue-furred vixen had been dreaming the same dream every night for as long as she could remember. What made it worse was that the dream became more terrible and frightening with each passing night. She could hear the sounds of her friends and family suffering; dying. Her whole planet of Cerinia was in turmoil; but last night's dream included something new. All Krystal could see before she awakened were two enormous red eyes, glowing in the darkness of the void surrounding her. The cruel, malicious gaze haunted her even in the living world. She couldn't seem to be free from the evil glare that haunted her dreams.

"Oh, the nightmares," Sera whispered. "Try not to worry about them now, it's almost time for your training. That's why I woke you." The concerned look on the crimson fox's face suddenly brightened. "Let's go, sis, I want to see some of your training before I go and start mine!"

A hand reached out to Krystal from her bedside. Without hesitation she took hold and was pulled up off her bed, where she stretched her tired limbs and yawned the rest of her sleepiness away. With a swift glance around her room, Krystal located her leather sandals and strapped them to her feet. Before following Sera, who stood waiting beside the door, Krystal took a minute to observe herself in her mirror.

The large, round object hung from the wall just beside her bed, nearly standing up to the vixen's entire height. Krystal gazed into its reflection, adjusting her armor so that it was on tightly and securely. She ruffled her short, blue hair out and let it fall to her shoulders, fastening a jeweled headband twice at her hairline.

A loud sigh came from beneath the doorway, urging Krystal to hurry. "Come on, let's get going before we miss your training altogether!"

"Just a minute, Sera," Krystal called. The last glance the vixen took was at the white bands tattooed around each of her arms. The series of rectangular shapes signified Krystal's home planet, Cerinia. She bore a similar, but smaller mark on her back, just above her waistline, and a spiraled symbol on her right thigh. This special figure, completely concealed by her shorts, represented the royal bloodline of Cerinia, the blood that Krystal was born into. She was the daughter of the King and queen, making her the next rightful heir to their throne.

Shutting the door behind her, Krystal followed Sera out of her room and into the remainder of the palace which she called home. The dark purple stone and marble that lined the halls were identical to that inside Krystal's room. The pair passed from one extending corridor to the next, maneuvering throughout the great palace halls as if they knew them inside and out.

"So, sis," Sera called back to Krystal as she followed, "I don't suppose you know where your training is supposed to begin, do you?" The red vixen tried to suppress a laugh. "I was so excited about today that I forgot to even ask where your father was supposed to meet you!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Krystal rolled her eyes as her friend stopped walking and turned to face her. Sera was by far her closest and dearest friend; they had known each other and been close since their birth, which happened to occur on the same day. Krystal's father, the King, and Sera's father, the captain of the Royal Guard, were childhood friends as well. It was no surprise that their daughters were so close. Their shared day of birth was the reason that Sera often referred to Krystal as 'sis,' instead of calling her by name. They were practically like sisters.

"Father told me yesterday to meet him in the Great Hall," the blue-furred vixen smiled. She tried her best to put her nightmare from the previous night behind her, reflecting on how lucky she was to have a friend like Sera by her side. They had been on so many adventures, and seemed to always get in trouble together. Krystal laughed to herself at the thought.

Suddenly, pain began to throb in the blue vixen's head. Krystal collapsed against the stone wall of the corridor, just outside the entrance to the Great Hall where her father would be waiting for her.

"Krystal?" Sera spun around in shock, "what's wrong? Are your powers acting up again?"

Krystal's head felt like it was spinning out of control. She could not focus with the multitude of mental images flowing into her mind. She fell to her knees and willed that the voices in her head would cease. "It's the telepathy again," she muttered through gritted teeth. "The voices enter my head on their own and I can't control them yet!"

"Now I see why your father called you to begin training now," Sera sighed as she helplessly watched. "I can't begin to understand what all of that power is like."

Krystal said nothing but held her ground as she sorted through the sea of chaos inside her mind. Since she neared her sixteenth birthday, she had been experiencing fits of uncontrollable mental activity since the true awakening of her telepathic powers. Only those of the royal Cerinian bloodline were capable of inheriting this powerful trait, the ability to read minds telepathically. The issue with Krystal's coming of age was that she was still learning and unable to fully control her gift. This was the purpose of her father's training, now that she had turned sixteen years old.

Finally, the pain began to subside and the fog around Krystal's mind began to clear. She rose to her feet and shook her head back and forth to clear it. "I think I'm fine now," she told her friend. "Let's get going so I can finally learn how to control this."

Sera nodded, rounding the corner and leading the way toward the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was the center of activity within the large palace that was Krystal's home. An elegant red carpet trailed through the center of the room, leading up to the King's throne atop a large stairway. A series of blazing torches lined the upper walls, shining additional light apart from the natural light beaming in through the open windows along the back wall. Krystal noticed that her mother and father were seated on their thrones, while several Cerinian guards flanked them on each side.

Krystal's father, the King of Cerinia, wore a majestic purple robe atop his battle armor that almost completely concealed his blue fur. All that remained visible was his head, where a golden crown rested, gleaming in the morning sunlight. Sitting beside him was Krystal's mother, the queen, wearing a beautiful silk dress to match her husband's robes. Her blue figure was lightly scaled with armor plating, beaded with glimmering jewels throughout.

"Wow, I didn't know that this was such a big deal," Sera whispered as she followed Krystal across the Great Hall. "Look," she gestured with a nod of her head, "my father and the rest of the Royal Guard are here as well. Do you think they are staying to watch some of your training?"

Krystal shrugged slowly as they approached the foot of her father's throne, without giving a formal answer. She caught a glimpse of Sera waving to her father, the Captain of the guard, who gave an acknowledging nod in return. Suddenly Krystal began to feel nervous; she had trained with her father for years prior to her coming of age, but she was anxious as to what new kind of training lay ahead. Would it be challenging? Would she be able to learn all that her father had to teach her? What if she failed in front of her parents and all the Royal Guard?

"Do not fear, my daughter," the King spoke, breaking the silence. "What is about to come will help you to embrace your birthright. As a descendant of the royal Cerinian bloodline, you possess the unique gift of telepathy. I will help you to understand this power, and to learn how to control it. Your new training will cover many areas; how to focus your mind, how to read others', and the many ways to put your power to use. First, we will begin with the very basics of telepathy; you must learn how to prepare your mental state before you can even begin to access your power. Are you ready?"

Krystal was not surprised that her father read her mind, for she had inherited this trait directly from him. "Yes Father, I am ready to begin," she nodded, her worry and fears turning into anticipation and excitement for what was to come. Finally, she would begin in an ancient Cerinian tradition that passed on from generation to generation through the royal bloodline.

The king rose from his throne and proceeded down the steps toward Krystal while Sera was beckoned by her father to join him by the side of the throne. "You are familiar with ancient Cerinian history, Krystal. I have taught you everything I know. The Cerinians of old possessed much greater mental prowess than we are capable of today; but slowly, this power has faded among the royal bloodline. The Ancients could do far more than just telepathy; there were some who were rumored to have been able to manipulate objects with only their minds."

Krystal nodded as her father reached the final step and stood face to face with her. She was still rather young, only sixteen years of age, but had nearly reached the full height of the King. She held his gaze evenly, staring into his ice-blue eyes with her own. "I've felt my powers growing in recent weeks," Krystal reminded him as she had several times before. "But I can't seem to filter through the many mental images I see at a time. My head starts spinning and aches uncontrollably at times."

"This is a natural feeling," the King smiled, relaxing from his formal tone and addressing Krystal as his beloved daughter. "This kind of power is overwhelming when it first sets in. I remember it from when I was your age. Come," he beckoned as he stepped past Krystal and walked toward the center of the hall. "Before you can learn to sense the thoughts and feelings of others, you must learn to control your own."

The young vixen followed, pausing when her father turned again to face her. "What do mean by 'controlling my own?' I already know how to manage my own thoughts and feelings." She was confused; surely her training could not be as simple as this?

"That you do, Krystal, but not in the context of telepathy. Focus your mind. Clear it, empty it of all other thoughts and feelings. Concentrate only on the plane of mental space, and for now, ignore all of the physical."

Focus your mind, Krystal repeated her father's directions. Closing her eyes, she slowly let the rest of the world slip away. Let go, a voice seemed to echo in her brain. Krystal kept her eyes shut and continued to meditate. For a moment, she thought back to her nightmares, almost envisioning the red eyes from her dream reappearing before her. But she quickly forced the thought back, ignoring all her other feelings and focusing only on her instruction.

The familiar voice of Krystal's father filled her ears and almost caused her to lose her focus. "Well done. Now try to extend your mental gaze by focusing on me. When you sense my mental activity, focus on it; connect it to your own."

Out of the darkness of the mind, Krystal sensed a sudden spark. She felt her father's brainwaves and channeled all her energy to concentrate on them. "I think I'm there," she spoke in confirmation. "I see your thoughts. I can read them like I can my own." Images began flooding into the vixen's mind. Words, thoughts, feelings, all coming from the connection she had just obtained with her father.

The next step, she sensed her father speak to her telepathically, is to widen your gaze. Our thoughts are not the only ones filling this physical space. The mental world extends beyond the immediate; this room, this palace, this village, this world. It will take some time before you can cast your mind out to your environment, but for now let's extend to those nearby. Can you feel the thoughts of the guards? What about your mother, or Sera? Do you sense them?

Krystal strained to maintain her focus while widening the range of her mental capacity. At first, the many thoughts and emotions flooded her in waves. She felt as if she was starting to drown in the chaos of mental activity around her.

Sharpen your mind, Krystal, she heard her father's thoughts again among the noise. Everyone has a unique mental trace, which can be used to distinguish one's thoughts from another's. Embrace the mental voices and use your will to control them.

One by one, the young vixen linked to a specific mental signal and allocated it to a different portion of her mind. I can see, she echoed her thoughts into the mind of her father. The thoughts... they are starting to become clearer. Before, I couldn't handle this much information. But now... it's starting to become clear...

Suddenly something inside Krystal's mind seemed to snap, and all the mental images filling her mind vanished. She opened her eyes again to find herself standing before her father once more, among the others in the Great Hall. "What happened?" she asked in frustration. "Where did it all go? I was just starting to get the hang of it, and everything just vanished."

The king opened his eyes and looked into hers sympathetically. "This is only your first day of training," he reminded her. "You can only handle so much at a time before reaching your limit." Before Krystal could ask, her father continued, "Your limit will increase as you gain more experience and practice using your powers. Someday you won't even realize that it's there at all; your extrasensory perception will just be another natural part of you."

"Now," The king continued, "it is time to put your telepathic powers to the test." He nodded toward one of his guards, who presented him with a weapon. It was a staff, elegantly decorated from tip to tip along its silver frame with light, swirling patterns. The guard handed the staff to the King, who handed it to his daughter.

"One of the primary uses of telepathy is the ability to utilize it in combat," the King prompted as he drew his own staff from a black sheath on his thigh. The weapon was nearly identical to the one he had given Krystal, except that it was only half the length with a larger, pointed tip. Krystal almost leaped in shock as the smaller staff extended to twice its length with a snap.

His staff is the weapon of the Kings, Krystal reflected to herself. It wields far greater magical powers than the simple staff he gave me, she thought as she looked down at the weapon in her hands. I've trained with my father in combat before, but not using telepathy... or while he was using his staff...

Krystal's father turned again to address his guards. "Leave us, and begin with Sera's training," he ordered. "Now I wish to train with my daughter, alone."

"Yes sir," the head of the guard, Sera's father, nodded. "Come, our training will begin outside in the courtyard." One by one, the guards and Sera filed out of the Great Hall. Sera stopped to give her friend an encouraging smile, and Krystal returned it with her own.

Finally, Krystal's mother spoke up. "I shall take my leave as well," she informed her husband as she rose from her throne. Turning to address Krystal, she added, "good luck with your training, my daughter. Listen to your father and learn what he has to teach you. I'll see you later," she said with a comforting smile as she exited the Great Hall through an opening that extended from the side of the room.

Suddenly, mental images began flooding into the young blue vixen's mind. I wonder what is going on in the southern forest. The Captain told us that we would be investigating the area while the kids train today. Hopefully it's nothing to worry about...

"Krystal, your training is with me," the words of her father brought her mind back to reality. She must have been sensing the thoughts of the guards; from the sound of it, something was happening in the forest area surrounding the palace. Krystal felt anxious to go and see for herself, but her training prevented her from investigating the minds of the guards any further.

"But Father, the guards-"

"Focus your mind on me, and me alone. I want to test your skills using telepathy in combat," the King interrupted her as if to change the subject. His tone was stern and his gaze was intense. "You will need all of your mental capacity if you ever want to learn how to master telepathy in combat." Slowly, the fox began to pace, walking circles around his daughter. "Telepathy is your sixth sense; it is like another extent of your mind, another extent of your body. If you scan the mind of your enemy closely, you will be able to read and detect what moves they will make next. Channel your thoughts onto mine. You should sense every movement I am going to make, down to where I am going to place my foot next."

Krystal took hurried glances back and forth, following her father with her eyes. She drew her weapon, readying herself for his first strike. She calmed her mind, allowing everything else to fade away except for his mental trace. He's right, she remarked to herself, it's almost like I can see his future movements in my mind... where he is going to move, how he is going to position, where he is going to strike!

Within only a second, Krystal felt a rush of wind as her father lunged his staff toward her chest, giving not a single warning except for what she sensed in his mind. Retaliating, the vixen raised her staff and parried his out of the way, throwing him sideways with his intense momentum.

The king was fast, extremely agile on his larger frame. Using his speed, he turned on one foot and swung his staff sideways, aiming another attack for Krystal's head.

I can see it coming, Krystal thought as she visualized her father's thought to attack before he made the move. She ducked low to the ground as if she anticipated the attack, allowing the King's magical staff to swing above her. Alright, where is the next attack coming from? Krystal caught a glance of her opponent, attacking again from the side. Suddenly the world seemed to slow to a stop as her telepathic powers activated, revealing the King's thoughts to her.

He is going to swing again, but this time aiming along my waist. If I can repel the attack correctly, I can use this as a chance to strike back without giving him the time to react. The vixen analyzed her father's movements, planning to block the next swing with her staff and throw a kick toward his chest. The world began to turn back in motion, and the actions Krystal envisioned began to play out.

Just as she predicted, her father's staff swung for her waist. She countered by thrusting her own staff vertically into the ground and repelling the attack. Using the weapon for stability, Krystal leaped sideways and threw a kick back. She grinned, expecting her counterattack to land successfully and surprise her father, but instead she felt a hand grab her by the ankle and throw her across the hall.

What? How was he able to see my kick coming? It's as if he knew... The vixen put it all together when she landed on the hard marble floor, rolling several times before slowing to a stop. Her staff was thrown from her grasp, sending loud clanging sounds echoing through the space.

"That's exactly right," the King nodded and relaxed his fighting stance. "I have the power of telepathy also; not only can you sense my moves... but I can sense yours."

Krystal shook herself to her feet. "Well since you're going to put it that way," she murmured, "I'm going to get serious now!"

The king tensed his muscles beneath his armored plating. "When training with me, you should always be serious!" Again, without warning, he hurled himself at his daughter, preparing another lunge.

He's taking it easy on me, Krystal reflected as she darted for her staff. He's giving me time to get my weapon back. The next attack will surely come from above, she thought, judging from how her father had extended his arms above his head. Just when her staff was in reach, a foot caught her in the stomach by surprise and tossed her backward, out of reach. Before she could fall to the floor, the vixen tossed her weight backward, touching the ground with her hands and flipping herself backward to land on her feet again.

How did he catch me by surprise again? Krystal gritted her teeth and glared at her father. His movements were obvious; she didn't even attempt to rely on telepathy since she knew she was going to avoid the attack anyway. But somehow, she was wrong. Her father had changed his attack patterns mid lunge.

"The first of many lessons," the King grinned, "is this: Lies of the body, and truths of the mind."

"Lies of the body, truths of the mind?" Krystal echoed her father's words.

"Yes, my daughter. You realize where you made the mistake, right? You judged my attack based on my body, but you should have been focusing on my mind. I may be able to deceive you with my actions, but my mind can't lie to you. Within every action is a forethought. My decision to change attacks was deliberate, a conscious decision I made inside my mind. Does this make sense, Krystal?"

The vixen nodded her head in understanding. "Yes, I just don't feel like I have enough control on my powers to rely on them for everything. I can't always keep a steady grip, sometimes I might need to rely on what I can see instead of what I can feel."

The king nodded in return. "This is only your first day of training. I'm sure that in time you will progress from relying on your gift to embracing it. Once you gain full control and truly master telepathy, it will come as instinct, like second nature. Your ability to read minds will become as natural as your ability to see."

"Alright," Krystal emptied her mind again and began to focus on her foe. "I'm ready to give it another go," she offered as she tensed her muscles for another fight.

"Whenever you're ready," her father replied, waiting for her to make the first move.

Krystal took a deep breath and let it out slowly, eyeing her staff that was positioned just several feet from her. I need to get my staff back, that's the only way that I'll have a chance, she observed, noting that she was just as far from her staff as her father was. He will get there about the same time as me, possibly even before I do. I will have to manipulate the fight so that I can get my staff before getting too involved...

The blue-furred vixen sized up her opponent one last time before taking off, racing toward her grounded weapon at a full sprint.

The king immediately followed, matching his daughter's speed as they each darted toward the center of the Great Hall, fighting to reach the staff first.

Just when they were each within several feet of each other, Krystal leaped forward and kicked off the ground with both legs, aiming a punch for her father's chest. Instantly she trained her mind onto her father in an attempt to determine how he was going to react. A defensive approach? He plans on backing up so that I overshoot the distance. Exactly as I'd hoped.

The king darted backward, but instead of missing her punch, Krystal opened her palm and touched the cold marble floor, using it to roll forward. The vixen threw her leg out in front of her, slamming it downward as she completed the maneuver.

"Not so fast!" Krystal's father exclaimed as he drew his staff to parry.

Krystal's leg was blocked, but nothing stood in the way of her reclaiming her staff, which lay on the floor beside her. Achieving her main goal, she lifted her leg and rolled backward, using her hands to propel her back to an upright standing position. Before her father could get to his feet, she lunged forward and thrust her staff downward towards him.

The king rolled sideways and then swung his leg sideways attempting to knock Krystal off her feet. She read this attack telepathically, jumping over top of her father and swinging her staff down at him again as she passed overhead. The king used this opportunity to block the attack and leap to his feet.

Both foxes, father and daughter, raced toward each other. Krystal read her father's movements, matching blow for blow while throwing some of her own attacks in between. Block left, swing right, dodge, counterattack... The vixen could barely keep up with her own mind, hardly able to react to what her mind told her to do. This is intense! The vixen reflected, but I am starting to get better at this. It's working, she realized as she became more comfortable with trusting her telepathic senses to combat with her father.

Suddenly everything shut down. Krystal's sixth sense had reached its current limit of control, and she lost sight of her father's mental activity. The king stopped in his tracks, calling off his own attack just in time as he sensed it. His staff extended just beside Krystal's eyes, only inches from striking her.

"It looks like you've about had it," he smiled as he lowered his weapon. "We've had a pretty successful first day, I'd say."

Krystal sighed as she lowered her staff as well. She lowered her head and stared at the ground, upset that she still couldn't manage to keep her telepathy in control for an extended period. "I felt so comfortable with it," she said optimistically, "but just when I think I have it, everything goes dark and I lose control."

A sudden pat on the shoulder caused Krystal to look up. Her father had stretched out his arm and rested his hand on her shoulder, gazing down at her with deep love for her filling his eyes. "You are doing so well, my daughter. I can see you becoming a wonderful successor when you're older," he encouraged.

The young vixen placed her hand on her shoulder over his. "Thanks, Dad," she smiled. She almost always called him 'Father,' apart from sentimental times such as this, when she would refer to him as 'Dad' instead. "I'll try to do my best and keep practicing today, I promise I won't let you down!"

"That's the spirit," the King nodded his approval. "Our training is done for today," he concluded as he sheathed his staff, returning it to its halved length before returning it to its holster on his leg. "I believe that your friend Sera should be done with training soon, why don't you go out with her and have some fun?"

"Alright, thanks!" Krystal didn't have to be told twice to go and see Sera. She dipped her head to her father respectfully and spun around, racing for the end of the Great Hall and toward the entrance of the palace. She meant what she said about training and making her father proud; she was going to work every day with her telepathic powers to become the strongest Cerinian warrior she could possibly be!