I can remember the first time I saw a sunset that wasn't the sun of my homeworld. I don't know if it was the newness or not but it was one of the most beautiful sights my eyes have ever seen. The sky was lit up in blue, purples and reds. It seemed as though the sky was on fire. In that moment I was glad to be alive, to witness the end of the day and the beginning of night. Yet with night comes darkness.
My father Dalt shattered the peacefulness of the scene. With a harsh voice he called out saying,"Stop dawdling Larissa. We have things to do." I glanced at the sunset one more time and then with a heavy sigh turned and followed my father. I had just turned 10 a month ago but at times I felt as if I was over a hundred years old. When a parent expects the impossible from a child it makes the child grow up fast.
I silently followed my father as we made our way into town. Though I didn't know it at the time we were in one of the cities of Kashfa. I would not meet Luke for another 8 years since we never visited the capital and stayed in the smaller cities on this trip. I often wonder if Luke new of my presence for the month I stayed there or if he truly only knew of my existence the first time I met him.
The first night we stayed in a tavern. Dad left me in the room after getting some food. He told me to stay there and he would be back late so not to wait up. I was quite bored and found myself making puppet shadows on the wall for over an hour. After that I went to bed. I don't know what time Dad came back that night. I just remember waking up to him splashing water in my face. After spluttering for a few seconds I was quick to get up and ready. I didn't feel like getting another "bath".
Dad took my out of town and to some hill about a mile away. I wasn't allowed to view the town much or its residents. Dad was walking to fast and if I didn't keep up he would turn and yell at me. This wasn't pleasant since people would stare so I only fell behind twice. I did notice that the town was set up much like Q'rin with small shops and various goods to sell. The people here though seemed to range in status from poor, semi poor, middle class, and wealthy. In Q'rin there was only poor and wealthy.
Once we reached the hill my dad took a stick and began to draw in the ground. From this he told me the story of Amber's origin and its fight with Chaos. He told me of my heritage and the blood that flowed through my veins. I learned I was practically immortal and that there were places and powers that I had never dreamed of. That time was one of the few good memories I have of my father. Like all things though it came to an abrupt end.
When the lecture was over he told me that since Amberites were stronger, faster and better than anyone else was, I needed to improve my abilities so I could be on top. I had no clue what he was talking about but listened to him anyway. He then proceeded to give me a boxing lesson. After it was over he decided to demonstrate how strong an amberite can be. He walked over to a tree and drove his fist through the trunk. What was left was a hole that went completely through the tree trunk. I stood in awe of my fathers might and it was a couple minutes before his next words registered.
Dalt calmly repeated his instructions,"Go over to the next tree and try to do what I did."
I was about to protest when his look let me know that it would be wise to keep my mouth shut and do as he bade me. I stood in front of the tree and for a second contemplated disobeying him. I looked over to what he had done to that tree and quickly changed my mind. I pulled back my arm and made a halfhearted attempt to hit the tree. A few chips of bark flew but mostly I hurt my own fist as cuts appeared and some blood flowed.
Behind me I heard my father bellow,"That was a pitiful attempt Larissa and I expect better. You will strike that tree with all your might and will continue to do so until I say stop!"
Again I considered disobeying but when I looked at my father I saw he had his sword in his hands. I felt that if I didn't obey he would soon be using that sword on me. I pulled back my arm and punched the tree with all my might. A jarring pain went up my arm but I ignored it. I continued to hit the tree through a haze of pain as blood dripped from my fist and from the tree. I lost count of how many times I hit that tree. When my father finally called halt I didn't hear him. He had to physically stop me from continuing and when he did I collapsed in a heap of exhaustion and pain.
When I woke up I was back in the tavern room and in bed. I moved my arm and felt a sharp pain. After the pain subsided I looked at my arm and saw that it was wrapped in some kind of bandage material I had never seen. It took three days before I could finally move my hand and another four before the coloring was back to normal. I was surprised it healed that fast but didn't get a chance to think about it too much. While I waited for it to heal Dad told me more about Amber and Chaos. There were moments when I thought he was sorry for what he had done but they never seemed to last.
When my hand was all better, dad took me back up to that hill. He showed me the tree and I was surprised to see that I had caused quite a bit of damage. There was a hole that went over halfway through the trunk.
Dad got a strange smile on his face as he said,"I am going to teach you to fight Larissa and you will be the best. We are going to toughen you up and this will be one way we test your strength. Everytime I come and get you I will bring you here and you will try and hit a tree. How many times it takes you to hit the tree and make a hole in it will let us know how much you have improved."
I felt sick at the thought of the pain I would have to endure to pass Dalt's little test. It wasn't until I was fifteen that I finally was able to punch through the tree trunk with one hit. I felt elation and relief at that moment until I learned that Dalt had devised newer and better ways to test my strength. I found these tests much more brutal and exasperating than any of the weapons tests I had. Those I enjoyed and though there was pain there was triumph too. With these strength tests there was only pain.