“I sure do,” Jonah said, either not noticing or not caring about the warning in Danielle’s voice. “I’m going to show this little no-name weed what it means to fight a Geller.”

Rick punched him on the arm.

“Shut up, idiot. He’s been in here fighting Gellers all week.”

Danielle gave Rick an approving smile.

“One more thing,” she said. “This scenario will be set during a monster surge.”

* * *

Danielle walked into the viewing room, striding up onto the platform in front of the viewing window, with a crystal rod in her hand. The room went quiet. No one had the courage to still be talking when Danielle started speaking.

“The Geller name is a good one to have,” Danielle said. “Each of you in this room either carries it or are the boon companions of those who do. It is a name that opens doors, garners respect. It is a name to be proud of.”

She panned her gaze over the audience: Geller trainees, their companions, and a few of the instructors who trained them. She continued her speech.

“I was just reminded, however, that pride can be a danger. We are not made great because our name is great. Our name is great because we make it so. Everyone who bears the Geller name has the responsibility to live up to it. We are born with this name but it is not a gift. It is a stewardship, not just of the name itself but to those who rely on it, who look up to it and respect it. The privilege and power that comes with our name is a covenant that we will use that power with decency and honour. To protect and provide for those who do not share our privilege. It falls to each of us to ensure that when we pass on the Geller name, it is not lesser than when we received it, but greater.”

She waved the rod in her hand at the viewing window, which blinked to life. It showed a common scene from the delta; muddy ground filled with tangled tree roots, the canopy overhead casting everything in shadow. Rick and his team trudged through the mud that sucked at their boots with every step.

“As instructors, we find some lessons take longer to sink in than others,” Danielle said. “You are all filled with the realisation of your new power. You feel strong, unbeatable, even. It can make you disrespect the forces outside of yourself as determinants of success and failure.”

She glanced back as the team struggled along the wet ground. Hidden roots and unexpected deep patches on mud made for stumbling progress. The thick foliage above them forced them to rely on a magic lamp for light. It was an expensive one that would float over them without occupying a hand, but it filled the space around them with the dancing shadows of the trees.