“You were able to complete the trials by being able recognize and obey the voice of the Commander.  The Commander Words can empower and protect you. The holy armor that I am wearing is a spiritual manifestation of the Commander’s Words. You will now be granted with your own holy armor.”

At that point Isaac placed his hand on my shoulder. A peculiar energy emanated from his hand. It was warm and powerful and it compelled me to fall to my knees. A slender, ornate suit of armor took shape around my body. The armor included a katana that was sheathed at my left hip. The armor radiated its own energy signature that was very intense. Isaac said,

“Your holy armor is dynamic; it will adjust itself to complement your combat style. This also applies to the weapon that accompanies your armor. Your armor will increase your effectiveness in combat and has the ability to absorb the energy that you channel. It also contains dormant power that can be unlocked by holy seals. These seals are usually recovered from enemy strongholds within the 2nd realm. As far as anyone knows, there are 66 seals that you can possibly recover. Now that you have obtained your armor we can proceed with the next stage of your development, field training…”

Isaac led me to a sub realm that was lush, green, and beautiful. We arrived at a large foreboding castle. I entered the castle to begin the trials. I was approached by a figure that was cloaked in white apparel and appeared as if  he was shrouded in light. The figure entered into an offensive stance; I immediately entered into my defensive stance. We engaged each other in combat.

My initial encounter with the ‘figure of light’ was a bit of a stalemate. I would be able to fend off his attacks without an issue. Conversely he would be able to fend off my attacks, when I toggled through my offensive stances. At one point during our encounter, the figure of light began to attack with greater intensity and his attacks were fueled with the element of fire. These attacks caught me off guard.  I got hit with multiple strikes and fell to the ground, reeling from the onslaught. I then heard a voice within my spirit,

“I have taught you how to fight, apply your heart unto wisdom.”

I recovered from the attacks and switched my combat stance to my water style. I was able to evade the figure of light’s fire strikes, and began to counter attack. I began to pick up momentum, and was soon able to overcome the figure of light. As the encounter ended, the figure of light vanished.

I advanced into the castle and entered a grand hall. The ground began to violently erupt and fracture. A massive figure rose from the ground. A thick aura that resembled smoke surrounded the ‘giant figure’. When I was enveloped in the aura, the giant figure seemed more frightening then he already was. I was literally paralyzed with fear; the giant figure grabbed me and threw me across the room with intense force. I then heard a voice within my spirit,

“I am your strength, who is there to be afraid of?”

At that point I rose with renewed confidence. My visioned sharpened, and I noticed what seemed to be an exploit in the giant figure’s armor, near the chest area. After evading one of his attacks, I began attack the giant figure’s weak point. After a few focused attacks, I was able to overcome the giant figure. As the encounter ended, the giant figure vanished.

I continued to advance into the castle, and entered the throne room. A figure in black apparel, shrouded in darkness emerged from a silhouette on the floor. The ‘dark figure’s’ eyes were piercing and appeared full of malice. As he gazed upon me, I began to recall many painful memories. I was enraged by the dark figure’s manipulation of my emotions. I began attacking him fiercely. As I continued to strike with rage and intensity, my attacks started to lose their potency. It seemed as if the energy that I was losing was being absorbed by the dark figure, and he was becoming empowered by it. His counter attacks knocked me to the floor. Once again I heard a voice within my spirit,

“Love your enemies, do good unto those that mistreat you.”

As I recovered I began to calm down, and I was determined not to let anger dictate my actions. I toggled through my defensive stances, evading every attack from the dark figure. As I continued to evade his attacks, they started to lose their power. After a few counter attacks, I was able to overcome the figure of darkness.  After the encounter the dark figure vanished. Afterward, Isaac appeared before the throne and said,

“Well done my friend, you have completed the trials!”

There are innate spiritual elements that are present within the 2nd and 3rd spiritual realms. These elements can be channeled into skills, abilities, and spells that can be used in spiritual combat. Spiritual elements can also be fused together. When someone channels a particular element frequently, they develop and affinity with that element. When someone develops and affinity with an element, techniques that they use in conjunction with that element become more effective.

Holy: Holy is the energy source that is derived The Commander’s power and is only present within the 3rd spirit realm. All other spiritual elements are fused with Holy energy within the 3rd spirit realm.

Water: The element of water is effective when using restorative techniques. Skilled channelers can manipulate the temperature of water and cause water to freeze.

Fire: The element of fire is effective when using offensive techniques. Skilled channelers can often cause additional damage over time with fire techniques.

Wind: The element of wind is effective when using supportive techniques. Skilled channelers can form lightning from wind techniques.

Earth: The element of Earth refers to the force that is able to manipulate the properties of spiritual realms. The element of earth is effective for defensive techniques. Skilled channelers are able to immobilize opponents with Earth techniques.

Light: The holy element is effective for offensive techniques. Skilled channelers can bypass enemy defenses using the element of light.

Darkness: The element of darkness is can only be used within the 2rd spirit realm. Skilled channelers can temporarily disable the vision of their opponents using the element of darkness.

You can download a text based RPG that I coded in C++ here.

Below, you can play a flash game I created, loosely based from one of my generals:

There are 3 realms of the spirit world.  The 3 realms are fundamentally different, however have the ability to overlap one another. A connection can be made between realms through a portal known as a rift.  When a rift is established, it creates a sub realm that links the affected realms together.

1st Spirit Realm:

The 1st realm of the spirit is the physical realm. This is the realm that is perceived with our senses, and is where everyone resides by default. When a rift occurs between the 2nd or 3rd realm with the first realm, supernatural effects can occur in the physical world.  Both the 2nd and 3rd realms indirectly influence the 1st realm.

2nd Spirit Realm:

The 2nd Spirit realm transcends physical matter. Those within the 2nd realm have abilities that bypass the physical limitations of the 1st realm.

3rd Spirit Realm:

The 3rd realm of the spirit is governed by the Spirit of the Commander.  Those within the 3rd realm are able to channel the powers of The Commander.

When training with Isaac I learned about the 3 realms and how to navigate through them. The longer I was exposed to the 2nd and 3rd realms, the keener my spiritual vision became, and the more comfortable I became with operating as a spiritual entity. Prior to teaching me any combat techniques, Isaac began teaching me how to recognize and be lead by the Commander’s Spirit. He advised this was the foundation of combat in the 3rd realm, as the Commander’s Spirit governs all there.

Now you would think this would be easy, but it took me weeks of meditation before I was familiar enough with the Commander’s Spirit to recognize His operations. Once I was able to do this, I had to learn to to be lead by His Spirit. Again, this was not an easy task, as I was so accustomed to doing my own thing. Eventually I was able to let go; it felt as if my spirit was floating in a vast sea, moving wherever the current took me. Once I surrendered myself to the Commander’s leading, He showed me that He provided a great amount of freedom within His realm.

At this point, Isaac perceived I was ready to learn spiritual combat. Isaac taught me how to focus and channel energy, and the basics of unarmed combat. I immediately began to grasp the initial forms of spiritual combat. In particular, I excelled in unarmed combat. As I learned to channel each spiritual element, I began to formulate my own style of unarmed combat that was inspired by each element. For example, as a flame is intense and destructive by nature, my unarmed fire style is very offensive and unrelenting.

The longer I was in the presence of the Spirit of the Commander, the more I got to know Him. I began to take on His characteristics. I began to feel what He felt, know what He knew.  As I meditated on His Words, my spirit matured and grew stronger. The longer I stayed within 3rd realm, the more it enveloped my presence in the 1st realm. Eventually the 3rd realm began to enter the realm of time and lead my life in the 1st realm.

Being in the presence of the Commander was my training. He taught me spiritual combat through Isaac. I trained in the ways of the spirit frequently and fervently, determined to never be as helpless as I was the first time I encountered a rift…

I had lived within the 1st spiritual realm my entire life until I was a young adult. Up to this point, I knew of the Commander but never actually got to know Him. One day a friend of mine was jumped by 3 attackers. He was hurt really badly and all I could think about was revenge. Some of my friends got together to plot against the attackers, and I was going to be in on it.

Moments before we going to take off, I started to question our reasoning, but was still gonna go through with it. Afterward, I saw a strange glowing portal that for some reason my friends couldn’t see. Curious, I motioned towards the portal and suddenly felt as if I was extracted from my body uncontrollably, and was traveling at high speeds through what appeared to be some sort of gateway. When I stopped I emerged in a place that seemed vaguely familiar. It seemed that every object I could see had somewhat of a glowing translucent property. I couldn’t tell for sure however, as my vision became blurred and everything seemed much brighter. Then I noticed 2 figures that were shrouded in black, One of them said:

“Looks like hes aware now.” The other one replied:
“Hehe, now this will be even more enjoyable.”

At that point one of them rushed at me and began striking me with punches. I found it strange at the time, that I didn’t feel physical pain when struck, however I did feel a sense of being drained as I was struck. The first couple of blows caught me by surprise, but after the initial shock, I started to defend myself. I was shocked at my ability to dodge and block his attacks; it appeared that my reflexes were not based on my physical ability. My movements seemed very fluid, as if guided by my thoughts alone. After resisting a few of his attacks, I intuitively counterattacked. When I attacked, an energy force appeared to have followed my strike, and my assailant was knocked back about 10 feet. At that point, I was having a hard time rationalizing all that was happening. Where was I, and who were these attackers? Why are they attacking me, and why can’t I feel pain? I came to the conclusion that this must have been a dream. The figure that had not attacked me then said:

“No more games, we cannot afford to fail…finish him.” the other figure replied:
“Right.”

Both figures then unsheathed scythe-like weapons they had been carrying. Both of them begin attacking me simultaneously. Their attacks were fervent, and I was unable to avoid them. Each attack seemed to drain me of my energy, and I started to become fatigued, which I thought was an odd feeling to have in a dream. When I reached the point of nearly loosing my subconsciousness, if there is a such a thing, one of them appeared to have cast a magic spell, or at least my perception of what a magic spell would be. What appeared to be another portal was a result of this spell. This portal was much different then the first one I entered; this portal appeared to have a strange aura of malice about it. They began to drag me over to the portal, and one of them grabbed my head and was pushing it towards the portal. Instinctively, I resisted, as I saw what appeared to be tortured souls on the other end of the portal. At that time another figure shrouded in royal purple, struck my assailants with multiple swings of his sword. This figure attacked with dizzying speed, and quickly rendered both of my assailants helpless. As they fell to the ground one, one of them screeched:

“He has made his decision and his soul is ours…you have no right to be here!” The purple figure replied:
“The Master has plans for this one, and has decided to spare him.”

Afterwards the purple figure hit both of my assailants with a single slash, that was strengthened by a powerful energy source that was brilliant and radiant. The two assailants then vanished, in what appeared to be pillars of smoke. The purple figure then spoke to me:

“The Master has decided to spare you, choose your next decision wisely, lest you perish in eternal damnation…”

At that point he vanished, in stream of light, and all of the sudden I was back with my friends, who were ready to execute our plan. I was even more confused. How could that of been a dream, when I wasn’t sleeping? It appeared that no time had transpired since I had traveled through the portal. After that experience I felt this couldn’t have been a coincidence…I could not go through with this. I let my friends know that I wasn’t going.

Unfortunately, my friends were all killed that night, as they didn’t expect that our enemies would be armed with guns. This tragic event changed my life, I no longer took life for granted. I also knew that there was bigger world out there, and I needed to find out exactly what had occurred when I entered the portal that night.