Chapter 14 - Lizbeth

Rowan, Aven, and I made it through to the advanced course, also Rowan's friends Lyka and Gronaan. We had to move from the Arena and will be training in the actual Council Building, I guess it's about that time to make space in the Arena for the next group of fresh bound. We start today, I am in Advance Combative, and that is it. No more supplementary courses about supporting or scouting.

I wonder who will be teaching us, I mean once the basic courses taught us the basics, I became pretty much self-sufficient, and combat was like breathing for me. Well, here we go, Rowan and I are neighbors, and I totally haven't used earth to make a small door between the rooms from the walls. I mean if they didn't use marble on everything, I couldn't do what I cannot confirm nor deny doing what I did. Just seeing their tears from seeing me, makes me shudder to my core.

Rains 12

Looking around at the ring of the Council building its high walls and closed space, it is tight quarters and small movements that will prevail here in the arena. Looking around at everyone in the arena with me I recognize most of the faces from Earth and Water, and other than Rowan and Lyka the remaining of Fire and air are still fresh faces to me. Well, I say that, but Lyka I think his name is, he is here with us too. In a room full of dangerous people, I may have been number one of earth, and Elaxan never took me seriously and I was never able to get a match with Titan's Crash. I know those two are forces of nature like myself, Sheila isn't here I guess they have other plans for her.

A warm touch on my hand stirs me from my thoughts, Rowan's hand even warmer now than ever, I guess they are nervous. Instructors walk out in garb that is completely different from ours, it conceals any identifiable features other than body type. Two taller figures and two shorter figures, I guess the shorter figures are women, but that is just an assumption. Finding myself a little more than confused, the instructors at the arena wore robes just like we did. What is the clothing they are wearing, and what is going on with us here?

The tallest form begins to speak, his voice is a deep baritone, "Today we will begin with an example of what the advance course goes through regularly, we will call you out of the group, and you will begin to understand what it means to be in our classes." The second form picks up from where he left off, her voice eerily familiar, "Today we will determine the instructors' choices to keep you thirty fighters to advance into the placements you have received, most of the people that make it here do have what it takes, a strong bond and a stronger tie with the people around them." The third form takes over, she is the second tallest of the group of instructors, "Most days we will train at the arena, where you came from, it's only fair to most of you, but testing days we will be in this room, remember it and the blood that stains its floors respect those that came before." Then with the final form, "Strive for perfection and attempt to exceed it in all you do, and you will move on; Find yourself losing the will to move on and your journey ends. You may challenge any of us at any time, but you aren't ready for that yet."

With the completion of his sentence, I heard the sound of sarcasm that is just a bit too familiar to be a coincidence. My feet started moving in pure rage if nothing else, and I felt Rowan's hand tugging on my robes as my strides increased in rage. What would they know? Artemis slid the earth under my feet closer and parted the group of students in front of me. Maybe I did it, but it was too easy and there was no feedback sending me reeling to the ground, so I guess he knew what I wanted. The fur ball was most of the time lazy, but once it came to showing off the power of earth, he was over eager. Good. At the front of the group of students, I saw exactly what I needed to. Tagani and Targos, my mother's wild cat and the boulder of a tortoise lingered behind the group and their eyes symbols of the elemental's powers show more than enough of what I needed to see. They were excited to see me They could sense me before they were in the room, and it explains what Artemis was sensing before the instructor's entrance.

"We can challenge you at any time right," I say loud enough for the room to reverberate through and through. Tagani and Targos took a step behind their bound and the excitement turned to challenge in the two's eyes. The instructors look to each other, and a round of chuckles was more than enough to tell me they had figured something like this was bound to happen eventually. My mother, I know it was her, Tagani was hugged too close to her leg for it to be anyone else bowed at the waist, and stood pulling the mask down off her face. The entire group around me burst into giggles and mumbling as my mother, the mother beautiful woman I know, and the scariest swordsman I have ever seen in training looked up to lock eyes with me.

Her voice was cold and almost detached from the situation called out to me, "I am guessing it is me you are wanting to challenge, Lizbeth." I felt Rowan's hand lose its grip from the back of my robes. They began mumbling something behind my back about, being safe, but the rage in my gut pushed me further ahead into the center of the black stone room, its gravel floor crushed to sand under each step I take. "What do you think mom?"

Her face was alight almost giddy at the prospect of the challenge. She spoke in a hushed tone, and I know not many around the room could hear her besides the other instructors and myself, "If this is what you want, I will have to teach you your place." Good if she thinks she can beat me as easily as she used to let her try. I felt Artemis itching to move the earth at my feet and I held him back as I took up a still posture at the center of the room. I bowed at the waist and let Artemis form a sword in my hand, the gravel from the earth blazing into a grey-black scimitar. As I stood my mother stood forward and did the exact same, what can I say I learned it from her.

She moved first, her dash forward at blistering speeds, I raised my blade catching hers across my chest just before it could manage to hit. Her voice filled the air as her second move even more blinding than the first rushed to the side of my head, "I guess this is too easy for you now." My arm instinctively shot across my body catching the second swipe just inches from my ribs, I smile saying, "What's wrong mom you've gotten slower." And I make my move, using the earth I create a pillar dashing backward, it's how we are both moving as fast as we are, as my foot makes contact with the earth, after the dash back I dash forward, almost too quickly for my eyes to catch a strike from the sky above rains a blow that shatters my sword, luckily, I saw it coming and twisted myself over just barely getting my blade in the way.

Her blade faced the same fate as mine on impact, and she took several steps toward me, not dashing with the earth but individual strides, closing the gap between us a few feet, a new sword forming in her hand. I roll to my feet from the impact with the ground and taste blood filling my mouth. I stand strong and pull the sands to a blade matching hers. I raise my arm holding the scimitar out in front of me, and her blade's tip meets mine in a salute, saying "I guess I don't have to hold back against you anymore, Lizbeth." Her words make me smile. Wait she has been holding back against me? Her next move I felt more than saw, her blade pressed lines across my chest, crushing me. I call up a pillar of stone to lift her forward leg trying to throw her off balance and dash forward slashing her across her stomach. And the blade shattered against her, of course, it does she has years on me. I keep the pillar of stone pressing her foot, and she does what I least expect at the moment. She overpowers the pillar crushing it back into the earth, and her next dash brings lightning across my back, as I landed from my dash. The pain sends me stumbling forward, and I almost crash into the ground moving at breakneck speeds but putting the earth in front of me forming another sword, focusing on the make, it needs to be stronger. My free arm catches me, and I flip over it, landing on my feet ready for another flurry of blows, but she was waiting exactly where she stood where we had saluted.

I take a dash forward, the feel of the air surrounding me, and the rage building in my stomach presses me faster than I had ever moved before, and when my blade crashes across my chest expecting to contact her or her blade, but it finds nothing. The motion and weight of the blade send me spinning out of control and I land face-first on the ground. Laughter rolls across my ears from the instructors, and several of the students sending my rage from a rumble to a full-on earthquake.

My next step picked me up from the ground and a crash of light rolled across my vision. And the world spins as the pain from the blow to the back of my head sends me back to the earth. What did she hit me with? My face meets the earth and I find myself sprawled out in the sandy field, the fine blade of stone crumbling in my hands. How did she beat me? Did she huck a stone at my face, or punch me in the back of the head? My vision begins fading and I feel my limbs going limp as I hear my mother's voice say into my ear, "Well fought Liz, it was good to see you again." Then nothing.