Faith moves mountains 🐱🏔️
"Damn it!"
Saphir looked up from his book and glanced in the direction of the voice. "Come on, come on, come on, pull yourself together!" His green eyes were fixed in the direction of the voice, watching the scene. Slowly, he closed the book, put it aside, and stood up. The lord went ahead, leaned against one of the trees, and watched the spectacle of the Miqo'te. He seemed to be trying to train, struggling, and he looked frustrated.
"Difficulties?"
A'vanuh looked up when he heard Saphir's voice. "Difficulties... I'm frustrated!"
Saphir crossed his arms and exhaled slowly and calmly. "What's wrong?"
A'vanuh stomped on the ground. "I want to get stronger, but I feel like nothing is happening! No matter what I try, no matter how much I train... I mean... look at me! I'm not someone who seems worthy of being anyone's opponent, am I?" He stood up and pointed to the people who were walking further in the forest on the pathway. "Look at all the adventurers, the fighters, the guards. Look at them all! How many have I seen running around there? All much bigger than me. Strong. Much bigger muscles than mine. How can I compete with that? I want to get stronger, I want to be stronger...! As strong as them! As strong as you! As big and strong as you!" A'vanuh snorted in frustration and anger, crossing his arms in annoyance and rage.
"Where does this sudden urge for change come from?"
A'vanuh shrugged. "I don't know... maybe because I... I've been thinking about it a lot lately. If only I had been stronger. Back then. If only I had done better back then, made more out of myself. Then I would never have ended up in this situation. Then you wouldn't have had to save me. Then I wouldn't have been so pathetic. The way I sat there when you reached out your hand to me. I want... I want to protect you too. I don't just want to be protected. And for that, I have to get stronger. I need to build more muscle, because obviously I can't grow any taller! But no matter how hard I train, it's no use, the others always win and I'm up against a mountain!"
Saphir remained calm, his arms still crossed, and watched A'vanuh for a while. "You have decided to follow the path of a red mage. And I think you're doing really well. You are not weak A‘vanuh. This takes also a lot of strength."
A'vanuh raised his arms and ruffled his own hair. "But that's not good enough! I want to be able to protect X'rhun too! What I am - who I am ... it's not enough."
Closing his eyes, the Elezen remained calm. He didn't change his expression. He didn't scold A'vanuh, he just stood there quietly, seemingly in thoughts. A'vanuh didn't quite understand what he meant with his words. Of course, he could ramble on now. But he knew A'vanuh better, it would take a different approach to get him to really listen to words and understand. At least in this state. Saphir finally took a few steps toward A'vanuh.
"So you want to become stronger. Good. Then I have an idea. I’ll help you."
A'vanuh looked up curiously. "Really?! Oh! I'm in, I'm absolutely in!"
He immediately stood up and ran curiously over to Saphir, his almost golden-yellow eyes sparkled with equal curiosity. "Get ready and come with me. I'll introduce you to someone." A'vanuh nodded, and as soon as Saphir turned away, presumably to make a call with his linkpearl, A'vanuh nooded enthusiasticly ready and ran after him.
They walked through the forest for a little while. Here in Gridania, it was quite pleasant to run through the woods; it wasn't as cold as in Ishgard, and A'vanuh enjoyed it. The trees rustled softly in the gentle breeze, the leaves crackled, the grass swayed gently—it all seemed so soft. Peaceful. The sun shone warmly down on them, not too hot, warming the skin and making his ears feel nice with the small soft breeze. Here and there, shadows fell dancing on the grounds from the large trees that towered high into the sky.
"Where are we going?"
Saphir pointed ahead. "We arrived."
When the two stopped in a more open space, A'vanuh spotted a white-haired Viera in front of him. "Huh?" His gaze wandered to Saphir for a moment with a questioning face, then back to the Viera. Why would they meet some Viera like him? Saphir saw out of the corner of his eye how A'vanuh was eyeing his counterpart skeptically. He smiled almost invisibly.
"Koiji. Thanks for coming."
The white-haired Viera turned and looked up at Saphir. "Hey! No problem, I'm glad to see you again, it's been a while!"
A'vanuh and Koiji's eyes met. "Hey! My name is Koiji. And you must be A'vanuh, right? Saphir has told me a lot about you." He smiled gently at him. A'vanuh nodded hesitantly. So they knew each other, that was how it was. Still, he didn't know what Saphir was trying to achieve with this. This would not bring him any success in his goal!
"H-hello. Yes, my name is A'vanuh. Pleased to meet you." Skeptical, he looked at Saphir. "What's this about?" he asked, irritated.
Saphir smiled. "You will now compete against him. Without weapons. Only your physical strength. No aids." A'vanuh looked disbelieving at Koiji, who nodded with a smile and backed away a little to get ready. The Miqo'te grabbed Saphir's cloak and pulled him down energetically.
"Are you serious?!" he hissed quietly and looked at him in disbelief.
"I'm completely serious." The lord's voice was calm and utterly convinced of what was being offered here.
"But...! But how is that supposed to help me?! Just look at him! He's hardly stronger than me, his body is even slimmer than mine! How is that supposed to help me? Didn't you listen to me earlier? If I want to get stronger, I have to compete against someone who is stronger, bigger, superior to me, I have to measure myself against them!"
The lord turned his gaze to A'vanuh. "You'll understand," he said calmly. Then he broke free from the Miqo'te's grip, moved a little to the side, sat down, crossed his legs, and rested his chin on his hand. A'vanuh looked at him and snorted. As always! The epitome of calm...! Fine! He would show him that this would get him nowhere!
A'vanuh took a few steps, warmed up, while keeping a skeptical eye on the Viera. Was Saphir trying to tease him or annoy him somehow? What was that about? Oh well, whatever! He would show him that it would be over soon. This was not an opponent he had expected. After all, he wanted to become big, broad, and strong, and for that he needed exactly such a kind of opponent to really measure his strength! Grumbling but still accepting the challenge, he assumed an attacking stance. Koiji stood calmly, keeping his eyes on A'vanuh, stepping back slightly with one foot and smiling at him. He was smiling! Was he not taking him seriously? Wow! Well, he would show him!
Saphir finally raised his hand. "Go."
Energetic and ready to end this quickly, the Miqo'te rushed at the Viera, swung his fist, but his opponent dodged him, almost as if it were nothing. "Wha...!?" A'vanuh didn't let that deter him. He continued to attack, striking from different directions, his fists flying forward. He was fast, but Koiji was faster. Again and again, he skillfully dodged him. It looked like it was easy for him, almost dancing like a snowflake in the wind! That made A'vanuh furious and angry at the same time. He took a few steps back.
"Stop it! Don't keep dodging! Are you afraid?! Are you just going to run away?!"
Koiji didn't let it bother him. But he didn't answer either. Instead, the smile disappeared and his expression became serious.
There we go! He was finally going to get started! With bared teeth, A'vanuh lunged forward again and struck. But this time, Koiji didn't dodge. He caught the blow. Their eyes met, they were close. A'vanuh growled and swung with his other hand. Koiji caught it with his other hand. Holding both fists, he pushed the Miqo'te back so that he stumbled a few steps, but caught himself. This Koiji was much thinner than A'vanuh! His build was much slimmer, not a mountain of muscle! So how could he block his punches like that? Jolted out of his thoughts, he looked up as Koiji suddenly lunged at him and attacked. He just managed to duck, looked up, turned with his leg outstretched and tried to sweep Koiji's legs out from under him, but Koiji dodged the attack almost elegantly in a step, got a hold of A'vanuh and threw him to the ground with one swing.
"Ugh!"
Saphir watched the fight calmly, his eyes taking in everything that was happening in front of him. Again and again, the Miqo'te tried to attack his opponent, striking and attacking from different directions, sometimes with his fists, legs, or feet, trying different tactics, but he couldn't manage to hit him, only almost sometimes, but still no direct hit. In contrast, he suffered repeated setbacks. Koiji made him stumble, dodged, blocked the attacks, or struck back, realizing that Koiji was not striking with full force in this sparring match. A'vanuh became increasingly frustrated until he finally cried out in anger and slammed his fist on the ground.
"This can't be! This can't be true! Am I such a weakling, can't I do anything right?! You're much slimmer than me, you're not muscular like the others, not as tall... why can't I do it?!" The frustration was all over his voice as he gritted his teeth and sat there, pulling grass out of the ground and cursing.
Koiji watched A'vanuh closely. He let him vent his frustration, letting everything that was inside him come out, because it seemed like a lot had been building up. While the Miqo'te repeatedly pounded the ground and cursed, growled, and railed, Koiji slowly walked toward him. Stopping in front of him, he crouched down and looked at him as A'vanuh raised his gaze to Koiji. He saw the tears in A'vanuh's eyes. They were not tears of sadness or fear. They were tears of anger, of despair, tears of longing to be able to do more, to be more, to become more. How well Koiji knew those tears. That expression on his face. Those emotions his counterpart was experiencing right now.
He slowly raised his hand, and in the next moment, A'Vanuh looked surprised when he felt Koiji place it on his head. It was warm and strangely comforting. Koiji slowly stroked his head, and the smile returned to his lips.
"Huh?" escaped A'vanuh's lips in quiet confusion.
"Since I no longer recognized the boundaries that had always been set for me... no longer accepted them, and no longer saw them as boundaries but as one of many hurdles on my path, one of many paths I don't have to take but can go my own way, I felt how strong I can be for the first time in my life. How strong I am. What real strength means. And how limitless that strength can become. Each of us carries a great power within us—each of us individually—and that power is to belief in ourselves."
A'vanuh's eyes widened and the Miqo'te fell completely silent.
"That is the hardest battle, A'vanuh. Not with me or anyone else who seems physically superior to you. The battle against yourself is the hardest. If you understand yourself—if you understand, sense, and feel, if you accept—you can become stronger than the one standing opposite you." Koiji looked at A'vanuh, who was staring at him with wide eyes, ears laid back, and tail lying calmly on the ground.
"I've often been in the same situation you're in now. And I still am, again and again. I understand your feelings very well." His gaze wandered away from A'vanuh for a moment, over the landscape of the forest, the lush green full of hope, the sky blue above them, radiating calm and peaceful warmth from the sun together. Then his gaze fell to the large, impressive trees. Koiji's gaze became nostalgic and also a little sad.
"One of my closest friends once said the following to me: Only the tree that has been constantly exposed to gusts of wind is strong and sturdy, because in the struggle its roots become stronger and more resilient." Koiji's gaze returned to A'Vanuh, who had followed his gaze to the trees and was now looking back at Koiji. He placed his hand back on A'vanuh's head again, ruffling his pretty purple and lilac hair.
"B-but... I've made so many mistakes, I just couldn't get close to you!"
Koiji tilted his head to one side and smiled calmly at A'vanuh. "Strong people make just as many mistakes as weak people. The difference is that strong people admit their mistakes, understand them, laugh or cry about them, and then learn from them. That's how they became strong in the first place. Everything is a process. Don't give up. Be determined as you already are, but don't be too hard on yourself. Don't think you're not strong enough. Because you are strong. Everyone is, in their own way. Our strength is individual. And when you have overcome your personal obstacle, persevering, being true to yourself, and with zeal—then you will see how strong you really are and how strong you can be. You don't need huge muscles for that. You don't need a body that towers two meters above the ground. Some people have that kind of body, others don't. But that alone does not make a strong fighter. The most important thing is: you need yourself. And your will. Because willpower can move mountains, and your belief in yourself is your greatest motivation. Then it will work all by itself, slowly and steadily."
A'vanuh sat there and just looked at Koiji speechless. He wasn't speechless because he was overwhelmed or because he didn't understand. Quite the contrary. He understood very well what Koiji had said to him. What those words meant. And what his own obstacle in all of this was right all the time by now. All this time, he had been so frustrated, determined but angry, even admittedly jealous. He had looked at others and wanted to be like everyone else, wanted to be like Saphir, who had so much strength, or all the other fighters, to have the same, to achieve the same, to go their way, because he saw how they protected others and what they achieved. Saphir, who had protected and saved him. And it was okay that he wanted to be as strong as others, that he wanted to protect those who meant something to him.
But he didn't have to do it their way. He understood now. He didn't have to become exactly like them or look exactly like them. He had to find his own way, find his own limits and overcome them, do it his own way. For himself. A'vanuh looked at the ground and thought about everything Koiji had just said to him, the meaning of all those words, what they meant to him personally, and how he would pave or interpret them for himself.
Koiji straightened up again and reached out his hand to A'vanuh to help him up. "Come on. You want to get stronger, don't you? Let's train some more. I'm sure your approach will be different now than it was before."
A'vanuh looked up at Koiji, took his hand, and blinked in amazement again. It was like back then. This scene, this moment. Just like in the past. When Saphir found and rescued him, protected him, and then reached out his hand to help him up to give him a home. It was amazing that at this moment of his own realization, this very moment from back then was happening again in the almost same way. Determined, he took the hand and let Koiji help him up. A'Vanuh dusted off his pants, then nodded resolutely to the Viera. And smiled.
"Yes!" he exclaimed with confidence.
Saphir had observed and listened to everything. He saw how A'vanuh entered the next round with renewed vigor. But it was a different kind of vigor than before. A different look in his eyes. A different kind of energy. A different feeling. A different heart.
"If there is a belief that can move mountains, it is the belief in one's own strength," Saphir said quietly.
And smiled.
