Hop's Training

## Introduction

Hop was extremely fortunate compared to most homeworld hoppists. His father insisted he would be baptized in a dual star collapse, a phenomenon yet to be seen in the universe. After which, a long drawn out set of training, used solely for Knights of Sop, was handed to Hop and his peers. Eventually, Hop had to handle his power in a way that would engulf his father's. With high potential and fortunate timing, Hop would become the strongest being to serve Gop and the universe for eternity.

## Quick Reference List

* Baptism in Brylli & Luxstatem collision
* Knight of Sop Training
* Power development in space
* The Endless War for The Eternal Throne's Challenge
* Long Dark Meditation

## The Potential - Hop's Baptism

Shortly after discovering their child, Sop and his wife cherished the chance to create their own family, naming Hop his junior and preparing a baptism to invoke his power. To begin, Sop would need to find a suitable star pair, unlike himself who was baptized in a dying dwarf star many orbits before. Thankfully a handful of orbits passed during the First Great Hop Expansion, meaning Sop's astrocharters discovered a suitable set of stars, a blue star (Luxstatem) coming from a gas/plasma nebula, and a larger, lone red star (Brylli).

The stars were located in one of the nearest galactic clusters to Karrots, the **Matourm Cluster**. Rimward, binary stars were common, as in this cluster, they held enough gravitational pull to keep them from escaping the cores of the galaxies within, but also stay in their own relative orbits around each other. However, the stars Luxstatem and Brylli forced to make contact by Sop himself. His strategic influence brought the stars together for the event of Hop's baptism.

After surviving the baptism, Hop burst into a powerful light, nearly blinding all nearby in space. Soppipsism followers said the light from this event caused any planets that it intercepted would be blessed to never be destroyed. Sop disregards such hyperbole, but assures the light carried more than photons in its passing.

Sop wanted to test the newly powered child, and they engaged in a sportsmanlike struggle, proving Hop could match his father's casual but immense power. Rewarding his son with a hearty dinner and a celebration (later becoming a Hoppist holiday, Grimsph-Eea). It last the microbit Hop awakes and leaves home, until his display of energy finishes. He does this to show his appreciation for his father's faith in him.

This baptism is why Hop ignites and glows with a fire-like aura around his body and eyes when ready for battle. The effect even creates a burning sound with a light wind-like noise emitting from Hop, even in space, as if it was telepathic. Research from smart beings indicates this is a natural occurrence, as Hop is channeling holy power with his will.

## Knight of Sop Training - Warrior's Discipline

At this young stage in his life, Hop had more strength than he knew, so Sop introduced him into an accelerated training program with the Knights of Sop to get a handle on his raw brute strength. Over many orbits Hop had several masters including his father. At every point, he overpowered his mentor, excluding his phenomenal father. At this length, Hop had to be trained to hold back in order to develop the technical skill of a fighter, using discipline and technique as his weapon, and not raw power. This method encouraged Hop to prevent as much physical damage to the world around him as he could.

Ultimately this training routine lead to the discovery of Hop's first unique power that separated his abilities from his father's. Hop's body has the ability to "absorb" and "store" momentum and energy. This include kinetic and metaphysical forms of energy, meaning Hop can dead-stop even the most powerful blasts without effort, as his ability has no finite limit. Total or consecutive. Hop has been seen using this power to grant him the ability to leap from the surface of a world into space, without using his own effort and entirely reduce what damage he could cause.

As he grew in size, Sop declared the strongest beings they were allied with would suit his son's training, as he excelled greatly at numerous sports and needed stronger mentors. Hop's control was in line with average soldiers, of note, in his reactions and the extent in which he responded to things. Many instances he would go full force with reckless abandon toward any obstacle or foe. The destruction to property and nature was often far in excess of what could have resolved a situation otherwise. The new mentors were of the most withheld strength and patience of any of Sop's allies, the K'Ursans. No Knight of Sop has ever been a race other than a hop, and of those hops, being a long-term Hoppist follower is mandatory. Many allies exemplify these traits and are of note as honorary Knights, with the name "Vehv" added to their title, so they were granted exclusive permission to train with and learn besides actual Knights.

Vehv "Fhrank" and Buddy (the brothers of K'Ursa) are the only Knights to be appointed this way by Sop himself. They were responsible for his manners and raising him at many instances over time. Buddy was the only being that rivaled Hop's raw strength, as even Fhrank and Sop once struggled to maintain a restless Hop, together. Hop often was seated for events such as ceremonies and speeches on K'Usra, to see the value in other beings and their lives. This was done so he could appreciate others that were not Hoppists and grow to respect them and what they did, even if he did dislike them, to never act upon his thoughts or prejudices. Unlike Sop, he was far more stubborn and harder to teach as he grew, because the world was too vast for even a constantly present group of mentors and his parents to keep up with.

The result of his failure to grow from a training session saw Hop incarcerated on K'Ursa, as he destroyed one of the space stations in orbit on the planet. He thought the consequences would not catch him, and his intent to prove his point were enough to justify the act, as it sprung from his sensitive feelings being insulted by another being. The identity of this individual was never found, and Hop did not know the stranger, but he described the being as "a hop wearing strange clothes, walking on all fours, and spoke rudely and quietly" to him. It boarded a ship, flew off toward a newly-built mobile habitat space station. As it began to land on its destination, Hop leapt into the sky, creating a gigantic crater beneath him that sunk part of the city he was on. As he flew higher, he fired a blast of energy from his face, instantly vaporizing the station that was going into orbit. The catastrophe brought all military force of the K'Ursan Federation to the area, where Buddy arrived before Hop even placed his feet on the ground and snatched him into his grasp.

Despite the struggling child's efforts, he became apathetic and began to giggle to Buddy, then frantically laugh about the outcome of his actions. Being more concerned the offending party's lesson was learned, Buddy shamefully had to discipline Hop in public before placing him in a prison. While it was not meant to keep him locked away, but to put him on display to be shunned for his crime. Buddy stood over him at all times, staring him down until Sop came to take him away and apologize on his behalf. Buddy refused his exit of the planet, and demanded he stay to undo the damage done and swear on the Treaty to never do so again. The public wanted Hop off-world as soon as possible and disagreed with him. But after a brief discussion with his father, the two mentors told the public that the child would simply grow to hate them and come back later to destroy them, and perhaps continue this behavior with others. He must be taught to do the right thing, and control his ego before his ego had control of his power instead.

While outcry ceased, Buddy and Sop oversaw that Hop physically cleaned and restored the damage to the city and surrounding area until he was allowed to go home again. In this time, he thought up an apologetic speech he wanted to share by those directly harmed by his actions. When pushed to reveal who it was that offended him in the first place, so that Hop may personally forgive him, he revealed he has not known of or seen this being before that moment. The details slipped into Hop's mind and as he tried to elaborate, many became disinterested in the identity or wording of the individual in question. He was allowed to continue his rebuilding efforts and make right by his actions.

*TBC*