Without sight

Jack panicked as he woke up and realized that he couldn't see. After a moment of disorientation however, he raised his hand to his face and immediately calmed down as he felt the silk blindfold covering his eyes. This will take a while to get used to, he thought as he struggled to his feet, thinking about the special training he had been assigned to the previous day. He was supposed to go through an entire week, with all the daily training and tasks, completely blind.

To become truly unbeatable, one must train under the toughest conditions, the master had instructed them the day before. You will all spend a week without one of your senses, starting out with the one you rely on the most: your sight, he had continued when he saw the confused looks of the young disciples. By the day's end they had all been given pitch black blindfolds and were ordered to tie them around their heads. Anyone caught cheating would have the privilege of food withdrawn for the rest of the week, the master had finally added.

Jack felt with his feet where his mattress ended on the floor, and struggled to stand perfectly straight in front of it without wobbling, awaiting the morning inspections by the commander. He could hear the other members of his squadron having the same problems as himself, and he heard someone trip and fall to the wooden floor with a heavy thud.

As they heard the door open, the room became completely silent, everyone trying their very best to remain still, standing as straight as possible. Jack could hear the slow steps of the commander as he passed through the room, inspecting every one of the 20 members of squadron Q, as he had done every morning for the last three years. Once he got to the end of the room, he ordered them with an unnecessarily loud voice to march out and assemble in formation at the main gates.

After stumbling for a while to make their way out of the dormitory and down the cobblestone path to the gates, the squadron then shuffled a bit; everyone trying to find their own spot in the formation. Suddenly the familiar voice of the Master sounded loudly behind them, immediately silencing them all.

"As your first exercise without your sight, you must leave the Monastery and find your way around the mountain on which we now stand. Do not return until you have made one lap around the mountain." he said calmly, as if he was explaining a simple training exercise.

Jack was unsure if he had heard the instructions correctly, but judging from the worried mumbling around him he was assured that he hadn't misheard. Finding their way all around the mountain in the harsh rocky landscape would have been a tough enough exercise even with all their senses, but without seeing where they went it would be nearly impossible. He felt a sting of nervousness as they marched out into the wilderness and heard the gates close behind them. This would certainly be far more difficult than he had imagined the previous day.