Chapter 8: Training with Astras

The month following the tournament had been… well, not what I expected. School life in the Brahmastra Society was as I thought boring and frustrating, often leaning more toward the latter. After the excitement of martial combat and watching some of my friends awaken their Astras, I thought life would pick up. 

But no. It turns out that after you've awakened (or in my case, not awakened) your Astra, you still have to sit through endless classes on math, science, social studies, and other subjects I could barely care about.

I groaned to myself as I sat in yet another lecture. "Why are we doing this again?" I whispered to Indra. "Aren't we supposed to be warriors? What does this have to do with fighting?"

Indra rolled his eyes dramatically, leaning over to me with a whisper. "Maybe they're trying to teach us how to math our enemies to death. If I calculate enough angles, I might just dodge a punch!"

I snorted, holding back laughter. Typical Indra. He had been restless since day one of school, much like me. Neither of us could stand sitting in these classrooms when there were bigger things to worry about—like actually connecting with our Astras.

"Seriously though," I mumbled, glancing at the blackboard where the teacher droned on about fractions, "I don't see how this is helping us get any closer to mastering our Astras."

Indra gave me a sideways grin. "Maybe they're testing our patience. I feel like I'm about to awaken the power to nap in class at this rate."

I shook my head, my thoughts drifting. School was boring, sure, but the real challenge began when the academic classes ended and our Astra training began in the afternoons. That's when Guru Vishran and Guru Suryakant really pushed us to our limits. 

I still remember the day when my astra guru Vishnu has suggested me to raise a baby eagle from the moment it hatches. According to him only then will I understand the freedom and vision of Garudastra.

That instruction caught me by surprise. A baby eagle? I'd never raised anything in my life—other than a few lazy plants that didn't survive for long.

But yeah I really can't forget that morning where each of the Guru's have given us advices.

Flashback few days after innaurgment----

Guru Vishran called us all together at the training grounds. And he begun by introducing us to other Guru's and then he started main topic.

"To connect with your Astras, you must understand their nature," he began. "You are not simply wielding a weapon—you are becoming part of something ancient and powerful. Each Astra has its own essence, its own spirit, and to awaken it fully, you must bond with it."

Then he motioned other gurus to advice us Guru Bheesm loked at each of us, pausing on Dev and those other who awakened Fire astra. "Dev and all of you, you all carry Agniastra, the fire. Fire is both creation and destruction. From now on, you are to keep fire near you at all times. Observe it, feel its warmth, and understand its hunger."

One of the other Guru Bheesm then turned to Water astras holders," you all wield Varunastra, the power of water. Water flows, it adapts, but it can also overwhelm. You must understand the dual nature of water—its calmness and its fury."

Amrita sighed dramatically, throwing her hands up. "Great, so I'm supposed to hang out near water and talk to it now? Can't I just drink it and call it a day?"

I stifled a laugh. Classic Amrita, always the joker. But I could see she was feeling just as lost as the rest of us. How do you 'connect' with water?

Finally, our astra guru Guru Krishna eyes landed on us. I tensed up, hoping he had something easy in mind. "You all" he began, his voice as firm as ever, "you are to raise a eagle from its birth"

I blinked. "A… a baby eagle?" I stammered. I wasn't sure what I expected, but caring for an actual bird hadn't crossed my mind.

Guru Krishna nodded, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "Yes. From the egg to adulthood. In raising the eagle, you will learn the patience and care necessary to unlock Garudastra's full potential."

And the series go on with the various Guru's giving various advices to awaken or control their astra. The most ridiculous was one of the Earth Astra Guru as he said to roll over the mud whenever you have chance as being close to earth will help them. Haha... I can't wait to see them in that condition.

A few days later, I found myself sitting with my friends, staring at an egg in a nest. It hadn't hatched yet, but it was supposed to soon. I didn't know what to think. Would this really help me connect with my Astra?

"This is ridiculous," Indra grumbled, leaning over to inspect the egg. "How is an baby eagle supposed to help you fly? I'm starting to think these Gurus are just messing with us."

I shrugged, feeling just as confused. "I guess it's about learning patience? I don't know. What about you? How's your sword training going?"

Indra groaned, dramatically rubbing his forehead. "Don't even get me started. Guru Suryakant keeps telling me I have to 'understand what the sword means to me.' What does that even mean? I get it—sword cuts stuff. It's sharp. End of story."

Amrita chuckled. "You should ask the sword how it feels about being your Astra. Maybe it's not that into you."

Indra rolled his eyes. "I don't think that's how it works, Amrita. But seriously, I've been practicing with this thing every day, and I still feel like it's just a glorified hunk of Wood."

Suddenly all our banter stopped as I watched the egg cracked open that day. It was small at first—just a tiny beak poking through. I felt a bit of anxiety, watching this fragile creature. It reminded me of my own struggle with Garudastra. 

Meanwhile, Dev and Amrita were having their own struggles with their Astras.

Dev, ever the focused one, had started carrying a small flame with him everywhere—whether it was a torch in the training grounds or a candle at his desk during study hours. He stared at it constantly, as if the answer to his problems was hidden in the flicker of fire.

"It's not easy," he admitted one evening. "Fire is dangerous. If you lose control, it consumes everything around it. Sometimes I wonder if I'm supposed to control it… or if it's supposed to control me."

Amrita, of course, had a different approach to her training. She spent time by the lake as close to water as instructed, but her attitude was far from peaceful. "I'm supposed to understand water," she told me one afternoon, her arms crossed in frustration. "But how am I supposed to understand something from here?"

"You could try meditating?" I suggested.

She laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah, no. I tried that. Nearly fell asleep. Besides, I don't think I need to meditate to figure out that water gets stuff wet."

Despite her humor, I could tell she was feeling the pressure. She had been one of the first students to awaken her Astra, but connecting with it on a deeper level was proving to be harder than she expected. Amrita always acts like she's fine, I thought. But I can tell this is frustrating for her too.

Weeks passed, and while Dev and Amrita continued to work on controlling their elements, Indra and I were still struggling with the basics. 

"It's frustrating," Indra said one day as we walked to the training grounds. "Everyone's making progress with their Astras, and I'm just… stuck. This sword is supposed to be awesome, but all I do is swing it around like an idiot."

I nodded, understanding exactly how he felt. "Yeah. Garudastra hasn't even shown any signs of responding to me. It's like it's just waiting for something, but I don't know what."

"I guess we're both in Astra limbo," Indra said with a sigh.

Meanwhile, Dev was quietly improving. He could now summon small bursts of fire, though they flickered and died out quickly. 

Amrita, too, was making progress—she could control small streams of water now, shaping them with her hands.

One afternoon, Amrita stood by the lake, concentrating hard. She managed to create a small ball, but as soon as she let go, the water fell back to lake.

"That's progress," I said, trying to encourage her.

She waved me off, her usual humor returning. "Yeah, but if I'm ever in a fight, I doubt my enemies will be impressed by a puddle."

As the months wore on, frustration began to set in for all of us. Sure, we were training, learning to connect with our Astras, but none of us felt like we were getting anywhere fast. 

Dev remained calm, as always, though I could see the tension building in him. Amrita was still joking her way through the process, but there were moments when she seemed distant, lost in thought. 

Indra was growing more restless with each passing day. His patience, already thin, seemed to be wearing away entirely.

"This whole 'understanding the sword' thing is ridiculous," Indra muttered one afternoon as we sat under a tree, waiting for our next training session. He swung his sword lazily through the air, clearly frustrated. "I mean, how am I supposed to connect with a hunk of wood? It's not like it talks to me or anything. It's just… there."

I couldn't help but feel the same frustration. The eagle I was raising had grown a little, but it still hadn't unlocked anything within me. Was I supposed to feel something magical when I fed it? The process of caring for the bird was more exhausting than enlightening. 

I spent sleepless nights feeding and watching over it, wondering if any of it would help me understand Garudastra.

"I thought I'd be flying by now," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. "Instead, I'm raising a bird and struggling to figure out what that has to do with anything."

Amrita, overhearing our complaints, strolled over from her spot by the lake, where she'd been halfheartedly practicing her water control. She sat down next to us, her usual smile missing.

 "Look, we're all struggling, alright? I've spent weeks trying to understand water, and the only thing I've figured out is that it's wet. Meditation just makes me want to sleep, and the more I think about water's 'duality,' the less sense it makes."

"Welcome to the club," Indra said, waving his sword again for emphasis. "None of us know what the heck we're doing. Meanwhile, Dev over there is getting all cozy with his fire."

Dev was a few feet away, staring intently at a small flame he had conjured. The flame flickered in his palm, and while it looked controlled, I could see the tension in his face. It wasn't coming easily to him either.

"You guys think I've got it figured out?" Dev said without looking up. His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. "Fire isn't like water or a sword. It's unpredictable. One mistake, and it burns everything around it. Controlling this… it's a lot more dangerous than you think."

Amrita snorted, "Yeah, but at least you can control fire. All I can do is make little ripples. I'm not exactly threatening anyone with a puddle."

We all laughed at that, even Dev, though the tension still lingered. The truth was, none of us had really connected with our Astras the way we'd hoped. Sure, Dev could summon fire, and Amrita could create water, but it wasn't enough. None of us felt like we were in control.

Day after day, we continued with the same routine. Mornings were spent in boring academic classes—math, science, social studies, English, Hindi. The monotony of school felt endless.

 Indra, ever the restless one, couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes before he started making sarcastic comments about how geometry was supposed to help him fight better.

"Seriously," he whispered to me during one particularly dull lecture, "when are we going to calculate the angle of a sword swing? Why am I learning this?"

"Maybe they're saving that for advanced classes," I joked, though I agreed with him. School was starting to feel like a waste of time.

Afternoons were reserved for training—martial arts, weapon practice, and of course, Astra training. But despite all our efforts, none of us seemed to be making the progress we wanted.

Guru Vishran and all other Gurus remained patient with us.

"Patience," Guru Vishran would remind me as I struggled to connect with Garudastra. "The bond with your Astra is not something that happens overnight. You must nurture it, just as you are nurturing the eagle."

The eagle had grown a little more since I first started taking care of it. It was stronger now, more active, and I had to admit, I was growing attached to the bird. But still, there was no magical connection, no sudden realization. 

Just me, feeding and watching over a bird that had no idea it was supposed to help me unlock a power.

"Patience is all well and good," I muttered one night as I fed the eagle under the dim light of a lantern, "but I'd really like to start flying sooner rather than later."

As the weeks dragged on, there were small victories, but they were few and far between. Dev had learned to control his flames a little better, though he still struggled with maintaining them for long periods.

 Amrita could now control small streams of water with more consistency, but as she put it, "I'm not exactly flooding anyone's house."

Indra, despite all his complaints, had gotten better at handling his sword. His strikes were faster, more precise, but he still hadn't connected with Vajraastra the way the Gurus had hoped.

 "I'm getting better at swinging it," he'd say with a shrug, "but I still don't get what they mean by 'understanding' the sword. It's a sword. It cuts. End of story."

I was stuck somewhere in the middle. Garudastra remained as elusive as ever. I cared for the eagle, trained my body and mind, but the Astra refused to respond. Sometimes, late at night, I wondered if it ever would.

One afternoon, while sitting by the lake, Amrita managed to create a small whirlpool with a flick of her wrist.

 It wasn't much, but it was the first time any of us had seen her control water with such ease. She grinned, clearly pleased with herself.

"Finally!" she said, laughing. "Maybe I won't be stuck with puddles forever."

Indra, watching from nearby, smirked. "Good job. Now you just need to figure out how to drown an opponent in a lake."

Amrita rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you're the first one I test it on."

We all laughed, but underneath the humor, there was a sense of hope. 

Dev, sitting beside a small campfire, watched the flames dance. "It's getting easier," 

That night, as I watched the eagle stretch its wings, I realized something. I wasn't just raising this bird to fly—it was teaching me how to grow, too. And I am growing, I can feel it that the Garuda astra is starting to respond to me not yet Awakened but soon I think it will.