Order of the First Ember (part 2)

After they collected the sleeping furs, they placed them on a small patch of grass. They then went over to help with the fire. Once the fire had been established, Eli was instructed to collect the wooden swords from the wagon. They soon commenced going over what he had learned that morning. He was pleased with his progress as he was able to deflect more of Michah's attacks, but he still felt completely out matched. An hour had passed Michah noticed Elis attacks and reflexes had become slow and weak.

"That's enough for today" Michah said breathing steadily.

"But – we – have – only – just – started." Eli panted.

"Pushing yourself to the limit is good, this helps you grow and understand yourself, but going over your limit is dangerous and counterproductive but wanting to go on shows spirit and commitment, both will take you far."

"Yes – master. Thank - you" he replied still panting. Aamira smiled with pride but quickly turned her attention back to the fire before they noticed her.

"Aamira darling, would you be able to get the starter books from the wagon? They are under the driver's bench."

Eli placed his wooden sword in the wagon and made his way back to the fire.

"Okay, I will start teaching you how to read and write, I will be teaching you numbers as well."

"I have always wanted to learn" Eli replied enthusiastically though still regaining his composure.

"Good, now, do you know the runes, their meanings"

"I think I know what the runes mean, but I'm not entirely sure though."

"That's okay." Michah went into detail about what Eli was going to learn over the next few months and began tutoring him on how to form the runes. For the next few hours, he absorbed all he could about the runes and language. After they called it a night, Eli and Aamira went to their furs.

"I am exhausted." Eli stated as he thumped heavily on the ground.

"I have no doubt, you have been working so hard."

Eli lay down and to his delight, Aamira came to lay her head on his chest. He put his arm around her and promptly fell asleep.

Morning came and he found that his body was not as sore as he assumed it would be, he got up, picked up his wooden sword and walked over to his mentor, without warning Michah swung at Eli hard and fast. Eli stepped out of the way and bought up his guard. The instant he did another slash came at him towards his ribs, he managed to block it with a loud crack, the shock of impact ran up his arm leaving pins and needles. Michah took a step back and Eli took the chance to lunge at him and throw a collection of clumsy attacks of his own, they were parried and blocked without effort. Michah thrust at Elis chest but was quickly stopped. Not letting a moment pass, Eli countered with a back handed upward swing, which Michah foolishly blocked, as it allowed Eli to thrust his sword into Michah's chest. The force pushed the air from his lungs, and he stepped back slightly dazed, Eli showed no mercy by throwing a fast combination, none of the strikes hit. The speed at which Michah recovered went to show how experienced the old man was. Before long, he had regained his composure and launched several attacks of his own, two of which landed on Eli's left shin and right ribcage, neither of them hurt too much but he was still aware of their contact. Eli was back on the defensive. He glanced around for whatever might help him, but nothing came to mind until he felt a stick move under his boot, he felt around and then kicked it towards his mentor in an attempt to distract him, this only succeeded in throwing him off balance and he fell backward, before he hit the ground, a strong hand caught him by the front of his shirt. He opened one of his eyes and saw his mentor smiling at him with warm pride.

"Improvisation is the difference between technical competence and true mastery, there is much for you to learn, but by changing up your attacks and trying to use that stick to your advantage were brilliant moves, though you will need to work on executing such manoeuvres. But you are making astonishing progress in swordplay, I am most pleased with your progress."

A strong sense of pride and satisfaction arose in Eli hearing the praise of his new mentor. "Thank you master. Shall we continue" he asked with newfound confidence.

Michah let off a small chuckle then slashed at Eli's legs. Eli saw it coming and as he performed an artful doge, he took a thrust at Michah's head, but his blade was brushed aside and Eli lost balance as he stepped forward, Michah gracefully dodged a clumsy last-minute swing from Eli and proceeded to step beside him and wrap him across the behind. Eli yelped in pain, and hit the ground after failing to regain control of his movement.

"Must I remind you of the importance of balance, hm?"

"I think you just did." he groaned to the amusement of Aamira who was preparing the fire so they could eat breakfast in comfort.

"Aamira please, I am training my student."

"I'm sorry papa." Aamira giggled.

"Now pick yourself up, I noticed several things you did wrong. First you grew overconfident when you anticipated my attack, you had already started to counter before my blow was delivered showing me your hand and thus the advantage went back to me. Second, you left yourself wide open by allowing yourself to lose balance, in your eagerness to get another strike, you threw caution to the wind and went for an attack that was far from certain. I know how that successful blow made you feel, and it was very well struck, but tell me, how were you feeling when you performed that strike, what were you thinking?"

"I – I don't think I was. I could just sense what you were about to do, and when you did it, I knew what I had to do, I don't think I was thinking at all, my body just did what it was supposed to. Does that make sense?"

"And now you might understand, you must know your opponent in order to anticipate what he will do and thus fell your opponent."

"How can I know every single person I fight?"

"Ahh that is easy my boy, with time and experience, you will find that groups of people have similar if not the same fighting styles, depending on where they learned and by who. If you know that, you can also tell what type of person they are. If they are swinging at you aimlessly, they are poorly trained if at all. There are four basic schools of swordcraft. When you become technically competent, I will teach you the basics of each, and then we will find one that suits you. The next step is for you to gain experience and thus add your own motions and stances based on the school or schools you have chosen."

"I think I understand, but can you tell me the different schools?"

"Of course. As I said, there are four, Shinndarani, Viandarani, Devunarani, and finally Oreskinarari. I will go into what each of them mean when you progress more. But, we have wasted enough time, try to hit me again, remember, trust your senses. Follow your gut."

As he finished speaking, he lunged toward Eli who did not even flinch, Michah performed a powerful uppercut, but as fast as lightning Eli stepped to the left and with a graceful spin gaining power to hit Michah across the back, Michah was pleased with the move but was able to use the momentum from his strike to stop Eli just before making contact. Eli unphased by the block proceeded to move around and strike where ever he could, he soon became disheartened by the fact he was unable to hit him again, no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to make contact. Michah could feel a change, 'push through it boy' he thought to himself, Elis strikes were getting faster and more controlled, though still basic and easy to spot, Michah could see him getting better with each passing moment. Eli, still unable to get a hit in, he gave into his frustration and unleashed a blow that shattered both his and his masters training swords.

Still caught in his frustration he threw the hilt of his sword onto the ground and marched passed Michah.

"Fuck!" Moments later he came back. "Please forgive me master, I did not mean to react that way"

"You are going through a natural process, we all went through the same thing, however, it took me months to learn what you have as instinct. You are doing very well. But, since the wooden swords have shattered, we will need to replace them. The next one will be closer to what you want."

"Where will we get practice swords; will we make them?"

"In a sense yes, but until then, we will practice hand to hand combat as well as use our current blades, however, we will not spar with them, rather we will use them so you can get used to the way they feel, they way they react to your touch. I had hoped these sticks would have lasted longer but we can't change that now. Unlike with sword's I will teach you a form of hand-to-hand combat that is most effective. Now, this form is secret to all but a few, once mastered, very few would be able to stand against you, even if you face many opponents. The dragon monks developed this form more than eight millennia ago. Since they did not use weapons, this form uses devastatingly powerful strikes and smooth defensive movements delivered in a graceful and elegant way that saves energy. This form is vastly more difficult to master as there are a wide combination of defensive and offensive techniques. Most cultures and religions use martial skill for discipline, defence and fitness, but the monks designed this for aggression. So, I would ask you not to flaunt it or use it to show off. It is designed to kill quickly or if so desired cause unimaginable pain. I will teach you all its aspects. Use it wisely"

"Why teach me all of it? Why not leave the bad parts out?" he asked.

"It is a beautiful form to behold and must be taught in full. It is a tool to use, and I do not believe in the ridiculous ideas of keeping people in the dark. You must be given all the information and use it accordingly."

"So, by that thinking, there is no light and dark magic?"

"Ah, now that is interesting a most interesting topic for debate, to me, there is only magic, another tool to use, magic is not inherently good or bad, magic is a visible reflection of those that use it. With that said, some forms or schools of magic are more dangerous and more difficult to perform than others, necromancy for example, is an incredibly powerful school of magic but can create a physical toll on the body, a terrible rot may set in, someone could use necromancy magic one hundred different times, and not develop grave rot, but a different person may only use it once and begin to decompose. Mages, alchemists and spell weavers have tried many times to figure out why it effects some people more than others. So that is where the idea of light and dark magic comes from. It is how you perceive magic, if you see it as a tool and respect and learn all its aspects there is very little in this world you could not accomplish, however if you look at it as good and bad spells, you will be severely limited. This is what makes the few people with magic in the order weak."

"Okay, I think I understand."

With that cleared up, Michah went through some beginner movements and stances. Eli noticed that they flowed elegantly from one position to the next. Michah repeated the pattern over and over, Eli soon joined in, it was strange for him at first and he often made mistakes, but they went through each stance and movement over and over as if it were a dance, soon Eli had the movements down, it would take some time before he could remember each but it no longer felt strange for his body to move that way. They continued the routine until the last of the two hours had been spent, during that time, Aamira had packed away the sleeping furs and they were ready to go.

Once they had eaten and put the fire out, they all boarded the wagon and continued along the road heading east. Michah turned to them and said, "We will leave the valley by mid-morning tomorrow, then we will make our way west southwest sticking close to the mountain until we reach the central plains."

once a good speed had been established, Michah then proceeded to instruct Eli on the names of the stances, giving him history and scenarios, by early afternoon Michah instructed Eli to open the book and continue learning his letters, this was a nice change of pace and memorising helped him order his thoughts, Aamira was lying next to him with her leg over his, he would often catch himself staring at her beautiful figure longingly. Whenever he got stuck on a rune, he would ask Aamira and she would tell him its meaning.

That evening was spent in the same way as the morning, perfecting the base movements and stances. He found the repetition of the flowing movements sufficient to work up a sweat but was rather gentle on his still recovering muscles. He soon came to imagine how he could use certain movements. Eli was advancing quickly, Michah told him he had never trained someone so naturally suited to combat, to the exception of his granddaughter.

Chapter.

The valley started to open up. The mountains to the left started to shrink until they were no longer mountains, the land opened up and saw farms stretching to the horizon. Dirt trails crisscrossed the land, separating the farms, the fields were of different colours making them easy to identify. Eli had never seen the world so open. To him the world was always cradled by mountains. Eli got up to have a look at his new surroundings. He was in awe, he had never seen such a big sky, nor had he seen how big the world really was, he seemed so tiny in comparison.

"First time?" Aamira asked as she rolled onto her stomach.

"I can't believe it. I had no idea"

"It's a lot to take in" Michah added.

"Have you ever seen a map of the Aragess continent?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, look here" Michah pulled an old piece of wrapped parchment from a nook next to his seat and opened it up across his lap. He pointed to the to the middle north of the continent. "This is where we are, these pointed symbols signify mountain ranges. We live in a rather small little valley compared to the rest of the country."

"That's amazing. I knew there was land outside the valley, it's just strange to see it all."

"Now look here" Michah ran his finger along a bendy dotted line that spanned from the top of the landmass to the bottom, it had smaller dotted lines coming off it to reach other parts of the country. In about a week, we will join the gemstone highway. And that will take us all the way south towards my home in the city of Tetoria." He stopped his finger over a dot on the map that sat right next to an ocean.

"How far away is that?" Eli asked, "It's on the other side of the country!"

"It is almost seven hundred leagues."

Eli sat there with his mouth open, he could not imagine a number that large let alone travel that distance

"holy shit, how long will that take." Slight trepidation in his voice.

"Well, with these horses, we should be able to cover nine leagues nonstop per day, so that would take ninety days at the soonest. But if we must stop for any reason other than sleep and rest that will take longer. The weather is also a big factor." Eli crept back to Aamira who was laying on her back looking up at the sky and humming a sweet tune. She opened her eyes and smiled at him then opened her arms inviting him to lay his head upon her soft chest. He picked up his learning book then accepted her invitation and lay his head upon her, the day grew colder and soon they needed to cover themselves up with the extra furs they had packed, Eli asked if Michah needed one, but he just shrugged.

"The cold doesn't affect me much, keep them for yourselves."

As the days turned into weeks, Eli was improving with his reading of the runes, he was able to memorise each shape and recite its meaning. He would practise once they left camp until they reached a suitable campsite where they would practice the arts of the dragon monks with increasing vigour, they also found suitable branches Michah fashioned into swords. After dinner Eli and Aamira would go over to their furs and were soon locked in each other's arms.

One night, they were whispering and softly grinding against each other until they were both hot and bothered.

"Do you want to put it inside me" she whispered in Elis ear before gently biting it.

"Are you sure?" he asked panting with anticipation as a tingle ran down his spine.

"Please." she moaned before continuing.

They slid their pants off without breaking contact. Aamira slipped her shirt off exposing her beautiful round breasts. Eli then slid his hand under her waist and pulled her close, he felt his member slip between Aamira's thick thighs and press against her moist base. He shuddered as he had never felt anything like that before. With his other hand he grabbed Aamira's shapely behind. She moaned. Within moments, Eli rolled on top of her and buried his face between her large soft breasts. Aamira spread herself for Eli and softly guided him inside her, they both took deep breaths. Eli started to thrust in and out slowly as she gripped him. Every movement causing pleasure to run through their bodies, Aamira let off a gentle moan which made Eli thrust himself inside her. Soon their bodies began to writhe with pleasure. Aamira wrapped her arms around Eli pulling him close as her legs pulled him deeper inside her. Panting, they both kissed deeply exploring each other's mouths with their tongues Eli increased the speed of his thrusting causing Aamira to roll her eyes back and open her mouth moaning and panting. Eli took the opportunity to suck on her soft pink nipples. As he did, they got hard as Aamira's breathing became ragged, her legs became tighter and she started to move her waist against him bringing him close to climax, he whispered "I – I'm close, I'm - gonna come"

"Me - too" she reply, within moments she squealed slightly, her legs locking him in place and her writhing became ragged and disjointed as she gave into the waves of pleasure stemming from her base. Moments later she released her grip on him and a split second after pulling out of her he released his load; it shot out all over Aamira's stomach with a few drops reaching the bottom of her breasts. He soon took a deep breath in.

"You – that was incredible, you are amazing."

"So – are - you" she replied equally out of breath.

"Let me – find the cloth."

"I washed them – at the – river yesterday and hung them – to dry."

Eli pulled his under garments on and walked over to the wagon, he suddenly noticed how cold the air was and it made his hair stand on end. After a minute of feeling around the back of the wagon, he found the cloth, it felt cold to the touch, he thought it might still be slightly damp, but realised it was probably just the cold air, he handed the cloth to Aamira who quickly wiped herself clean, while Eli did the same with the other cloth. He quickly got back into the fur sleeping bag and Aamira snuggled up next to him pressing her bare soft form against him.

"Do, do you want to go again" he asked softly.

She gasped and nodded with an exited smile. Her exited reaction hardened him and after a few moments he slid inside her again.

The next few weeks were the same, each morning, Eli and Michah would train while Aamira packed the sleeping rolls and prepared breakfast. He would practice his reading and writing with the help of Aamira while they travelled during the day and after supper and their evening training session, he and Aamira would give themselves to each other. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not escape his vivid dreams of the burning city, the guilt and rage that burned in his stomach and the more he dreamed about it the more detailed they became, but the less he understood. Despite this, each passing day he became more confident, stronger and more fluid in all his learnings.

"The fighting style is very intuitive, I can do anything from any movement, if I want to block immediately after performing a dodge the way I land allows me to do that. And you are right, this from of fighting is meant to inflict maximum damage. If you weren't so much faster than me, I would been able to do some real damage."

"In that you are right, no one has ever advanced as quickly as you have. It fills me with pride seeing how far you have come. But you must remember, never use your skills to show off. I know this martial form is aggressive and makes you want to use it, but if you can resist that temptation, your self-discipline will grow, and with self-discipline you will find yourself calm and collected in even the most stressful of environments and situations, being calm means you will think clearly and thus secure victory. The only exception to the rule of showing off your skill is this. A situation may arise where you must show a display of strength. If you are unable to negotiate or defuse the situation, and there are no other alternatives, you must use this form to end all doubt permanently, use your martial skill to break their body, then their spirit. Once they have crumbled at your feet. Show mercy, that is much more damaging than destroying them, and also places you in a very good position as people see that you are only drawn to violence if no other option is open to you, and if you are pulled to that point, you must have no reservations to destroy someone entirely, and once you are finished there is a chance once more for peace."

"I understand master"

"Good, very good, but never forget, you don't know what other people know, so no matter how skilled you become, someone may be better. So never get overconfident and keep your head in the here and now."

"Yes master."

With that wisdom dispensed, they continued. For the first time, he asked Aamira to join in. It was the both against Michah. Immediately they worked well together, their attacks coordinated, and their individual strengths were multiplied. To Eli's surprise Michah was able to hold his own against the two of them but, they were able to land a few satisfying blows. It had been the first time since fighting the Basilisk that Eli was able to watch her fight. She was vastly better than he and she was ferocious and beautiful, her speed and strength was well beyond anything he could muster.

"Very good, I am pleased. You have advanced very quickly to the more advanced manoeuvres; you have been able to maximise its effectiveness. The more you learn and master, the more formidable you will be. Aamira dear, I fear you have become somewhat rusty, so the final half hour of Elis training, the two of you will face me in freestyle sparing"

"Yes papa."

"Yes master." They answered with obvious excitement.

They were soon coming to the end of their journey, the cold was swept away by comfortable ocean breezes, the days grew longer and more and more they saw animals coming out of their winter hiding holes to mate and find food. As they rode along, a column of mounted soldiers rode up from behind them. They slowed as they approached and ordered the wagon stopped. Michah reined in the horses and soon stopped, the soldiers rode past inspecting the contents of the cart, Eli however couldn't help but feel a growing sense of uneasiness. He grabbed the hilt of his blade and Aamira grabbed hers.

"what is it?" she asked.

"I – I don't know, somethings not right." The leader rode around to the front.

"you got ya travelling papers?" the soldier asked gruffly.

"of course." Michah said cheerfully, he rummaged around the compartment under his seat and produced the passport. The guard looked at it and then the passengers.

"you travelled from the Sitlaan mountains in winter?"

"it was an impulse decision." Michah replied jokingly. "but I also have my other permits." He turned around and snapped his fingers and pointed at his sword. Eli pushed it closer to him and readied himself for a fight.

"I'm afraid we have credible information you are transporting a fugitive." Eli's heart sank as he recognised the voice. He peaked over the top of the side and confirmed it. It was the leader of the slavers that captured him. anger welled up inside him and he jumped up, the slaver statled back shocked but sneered as he smiled. "there he is." Without warning, Eli drew his dagger and threw it into the slavers head, the others shouted and fumbled for their weapons. Eli drew the long sword and brought it down on one of the slavers horses killing it, it fell and trapped the slaver. He then jumped and tackeled another to the ground, he struck the slaver with the crossguard which went through his eye, he screamed and Eli drew the blade across his throat, the blade sinking to the spine. He then stood slashed at another horse, it reared throwing the rider off and bolted, the slaver landed on his back winded and his blade was knocked out of his hand, Eli smiled sadisticly as he thrust the blade into the slavers mouth and through the back. He quickly withdrew the blade and looked up, he saw Aamira engage one of the mounted riders, he took the fallen slavers sword and threw it at the one Aamira was fighting, it struck him hilt first, but that was enough to distract him, a split second later, Aamira decapitated the slaver, blood rushed from his neck spraying everything. Michah dispatched the last of them, he then looked to Eli.

"were those the ones who took you captive?" he nodded shyly. He then scanned the dead bodies and laughed to himself.

"whats so funny."

"if I didn't burn three of them alive, I could have easily killed them all." He continued to chuckles as he went to the leader, he pulled the dagger from his face and searched him but found nothing.

"bring them over to the side of the road, we will burn them." Michah said coldly. Eli looked around for any witnesses before he, Aamira and Michah dragged them into a pile. Eli doused them with alcohol and then dropped a match on them. The flame roared brightly and he watched as the bodies melted and blistered with a satisfied smiled. Michah then found a stick and attached a note to it. 'heretics will burn.'

"what's that for."

"it will make it look like it was the Order." Eli then wiped his blade, but then looked at the pile of burning bodies.

"hm." Without finishing he threw the blade onto the pile of burning bodies. Aamira rushed to him.

"are you alright." He smiled softly and kissed her forehead.

"I am, I just no longer wish to wield a slavers blade." He unbuckled the sword belt and thew it into the fire, dagger and all. He spat into the flames and turned, grabbing Aamira's waist and leading her to the wagon. Once they were in the wagon, Eli breathed deeply and smiled contentedly.

Chapter.

On the final day of their journey, their trip was interrupted by a thunderous ear shattering roar. Kara'ni and Kardak reared in the breaching and bolted, throwing the Aamira and Eli further into the wagon. After what felt like an eternity the concussive roar subsided and they were able to collect their wits. Michah managed to rain the frightened horses to a stop. Aamira and Eli struggled to clamber to get out of the awkward position they were thrown into.

"What in the fuck was that!" cried Eli with terror making his voice tremble. There was no reply, he was still trying to get a hold of his senses, and Michah was trying to calm Kardakk and Kara'ni. Not a minute passed before there was a deep thwomp and then again, the more it happened the more the air seemed to change, it moved strangely like when they ascent or decent the mountain too fast. Eli was still trembling violently when he was to think, Aamira hugged him tightly hushing him, both she and Michah remained perfectly calm, after several minutes, Michah earged the horses on as if nothing were amiss. Eli was quickly calmed and asked if they should stop and hide.

"Ahh that flying lizard isn't going to bother us, it's probably looking for a suitable place to feed."

"How do you know?" asked Eli with concern still painting his voice.

"Because during spring, the dragons feast because summer is mating season."

"oh" Eli blushed but he did not know why. Slightly comforted by Michah's calm demeanour he sat back with Aamira.

Eli threw a cheeky air kiss to Aamira trying to hid the fact he was still trembling, she smiled and returned to her sewing. Eli was unable to turn his attention to the book he was reading. Throughout winter he had learned what each rune meant and was able to read whole books himself, when he got a word wrong or struggled Aamira would help him, during the trip, Eli finished many books about military history, battle tactics as well as herbology, geography as well as fictions and memoirs from great leaders and kings. Michah was also pleased with his progress as this would allow him to lend Eli instructive texts, stories, and histories. His mind kept racing, he had just seen a dragon, and both Michah and Aamira are continuing like nothing happened, though his excitement was level with his fear, he didn't ask any questions.

Evening came and they saw the dragon again. This time it was much lower, and Eli was astounded by the sheer size of it. It must have had a wingspan of twenty meters at least. It had a thick and muscular body with a broad triangle shaped head.

Michah was aware of his astonishment and told him.

"That is a young drake, he is about two maybe three months old."

"How do you know so much about dragons?"

"I learned it all from my master while I was in the order"

Eli had guessed that his master was once a member of the order, but it was as if a huge wight of uncertainty was lifted from him.

"Ah-ha I knew it!" Eli said much louder than he had meant to.

"Well, I mean, it wasn't a secret, you had never asked."

Feeling slightly sheepish realising he would have had his answers far sooner were he to just ask "It just seemed somewhat personal."

"Well, it is, but I have taken you as my apprentice, thus, whatever I know, I will pass to you, as I have to my daughter, my granddaughter and a select few of others before them. The only exception to this is secrets of a personal nature or that are not mine to share."

"Can you use magic?" Eli asked. Michah stopped the cart abruptly.

"There are only a handful of beings capable of casting spells, most of which are elves and of these few, I would say about thirty are able to cast more than the simplest of spells, however there are many forms of magic that are lost entirely. Magic is not something that is taught anymore, magic can corrupt and thus was used for personal ends, which isn't a bad thing, but when you kill thousands and scorch an entire countryside or forest because you can, that forms a huge rift between those who can cast magic and those who can't. People began to fear its power and thus its use has been prohibited in most areas of the continent. Across the sirens straight, I imagine there may be many more, but because we live on a relatively small continent, and we no longer test children to see if they possess any inherent magical ability, we just cannot be sure. There are probably thousands of people who can use magic, but without instruction they live in ignorance of their gift."

"You didn't answer my question." Eli said softly

"Yes. I can use magic." He said with a chuckle.

"That's amazing, can you show me something?"

"Did you not hear me tell you it is use is banned?" Michah snapped

"I'm sorry, I just got a little carried away."

Adopting a gentler tone "Not to worry, magic is a rare and wonderous thing to behold."

"Do you think we will arrive today? I could really use a hot bath. And a soft bed" he tuned and winked at Aamira as he said it.

"Yes, we will arrive tonight, there is no point in stopping so close. The moon should be low, but I think we will pick up the pace to get there earlier."

Michah lifted the reins and dropped them, and the two beautiful horses went from a gentle walk to a quick trot, the sudden change in speed made Eli fall back into the wagon to the amusement of Aamira and Michah. The sun had just dipped over the flat horizon when they arrived at the gates of the ocean side city, Eli had been exited to see the water but to his disappointment the walls were dozens of meters high and to either side of the city was a large mountain range blocking the ocean from view.

"don't worry son, you will see the ocean tomorrow, we need to go to the seaside market."

"I look forward to it" he said excitedly.

Four guards clad in simple leather armour armed with pikes stood on either side of the great gate. On top of the wall, guards would continue their rounds keeping an eye out for any dangers that may present themselves. As they approached one of the guards stepped forth and with a gravelly voice shouted.

"Halt! What's ya business 'ere?"

"I am returning home after a long time away." Stated Michah.

One of the guards on the other side of the gate stepped forward "Bloody hell, s'that you Michah, I ain't seen you in years"

"Ahh young Claud, you grew up some while I was absent eh."

"That, sir, tends to happen as time goes on." he joked

"Indeed, it does" Michah laughed in return.

"Let em' through" the young guard instructed, and the gate opened up with a loud creek and the old guard grumbled and went back to his spot.

"It's good to see you again sir."

"You too young man."

They made their way through the massive wooden door. Which groaned when it began to shut, Eli was surprised at the culture shock, there were many stores and houses right next to each other, there was a tavern on every street and people were still conducting business even at this late hour, there was a collection of laugher from the taverns and general chatter around, the streets were clean and made of smooth stones, as they went over creases Eli couldn't even feel any bump in the wagon, he looked around in amazement, the buildings were made of white stone, hundreds of coloured linins were hanging from balconies, the streets were lit by large lanterns, many people were dressed in clean fine clothes and were draped in gold, silver and jewels. Eli felt very out of place, though the quality of the coat he was wearing was good, it was an item of use and not show, and even it had become soiled from travel. 'I must wash and find some more nice clothes if I am to fit in here.' He thought, he shared his concern with Aamira who thought for a few moments and then replied.

"I will have your clothes washed and hung by a fire to dry, tomorrow morning, after your training, we will go to the market and we can buy you some nice linins and silks and I can have some clothes made for you, how does that sound?"

"That sounds great, but I don't want you to do all that work."

"Me? I'm not doing the work, I said I would have it done, I'm going to tell the servants to do it, the only thing I'm doing is going shopping in the morning with a handsome young man and buying fabric for clothes. That sounds like a nice girly day out to me." she giggled.

"Wait, you have servants?"

"Of course. He would never tell you but papa is unbelievably wealthy. This is where I live, I only came to see him when we saw dragons a few months back"

"You travelled all that way by yourself?" he asked astonished.

"Yeah, but it didn't take as long as it did come back, it only took me about a month, besides I stayed in the taverns and inns on the way."

"Maybe you can show me around when we have time." Eli said looking around

"I would love that, but, just so you know, not everyone in the city likes elves living in the city let alone the finest part. Most people are lovely and couldn't care less, but some of the younger men can be cruel."

Suddenly somewhat disappointed that some people in this grand would still hold such prejudices. "Well, I don't care about them, all I know is that you are mine, anyone who looks at you the wrong way will have me to deal with. I will not stand for it." Aamira looked up at him suddenly quiet and blushing. "What?"

"I'm yours?" she asked quietly with a tear forming in her big beautiful blue eyes.

"Yes, and I will not let anything happen to you while I am here, I promise." he looked at her with the sudden urge to hold her in his arms and protect her. He held her smooth face gently and wiped away a tear that was starting to run.

"No one has ever claimed me like that, let alone promise to look after me"

Eli's heart sank, seeing the girl who had shown herself to be confident, proud, and strong in tears. His stomach dropped and he took her in his arms and held her tightly, trying to convey what he couldn't in words, trying to tell her that she was the most important thing to him, wanting to tell her that he would lay his life down for her, he would raze cities, burn armies, rip the heavens themselves from the skies for her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. After letting go, he took her face in his hands once more and kissed her passionately, pouring out all their emotions. Once they released, they both felt better. Both of them also felt closer and safer in each other's company. Soon they made their way from tall, cramped building towering over the streets, to a more open area of the city, the building still tall and made of stone, but they started to have green gardens, the opening up seemed to clear the air. They could now see the far wall that separated the city from the sea.

"That's where we are headed. My home lay along the far wall."

It took them about thirty minutes to reach the gate of Michah's home. It was a tall wide building set against the wall, it was surrounded by a beautifully manicured lawn with shaped hedges, and spectacular flowers that Eli had never seen before as well as large willow, cherry, apple and pear trees, the paths were clean and lined with torches. A tall portly man dressed in fine black clothing ran from the front door along the path to the gate. In his hands a large ring with keys jingled as he ran. Within moments, he reached the gate and unlocked it. He opened the tall wide gate and stepped out and to the left.

Bowing to Michah he spoke "Master, welcome home, it has been too long since you graced us with your presence."

He turned to Aamira "Mistress, it is a pleasure to see you return, I trust your trip was calm and fruitful"

"Thank you, Earl, it was." Nodding her head to return his greeting.

Earl then turned to Eli. "Earl, this is my young apprentice, Eli. He is to be given all comforts and privileges fitting one of my apprentices, is that clear."

"It would be my pleasure, master" he replied nodding in understanding

He then looked back at Eli "Welcome young master Eli, please consider myself and the entire staff of Lockford manor at your disposal" Eli smiled softly as it reminded him of the way people spoke to him at home. he nodded his head and thanked him. Seemingly satisfied he turned back to Michah. I will have the wagon bought around the side, the horses will be watered and washed. I will have your room made and a fire lit, I would like to set young master Eli up in the usual quarters if that is agreeable."

"Making up a separate room won't be necessary; he and Aamira will be sharing her room."

Obviously delighted "Very good." looking at her with a broad smile. "I will have a meal bought to the study if you desire to a bite to eat after your long journey, I will also have water boiled you're your baths and have fresh clothes laid for you. As for young master Eli, I shall provide a robe while his clothes are being cleaned and dried, just until I find him some suitable clothes"

Aamira spoke "he will accompany me, and we shall choose some quality fabric tomorrow, I would like you to make some nice town clothes for him with whatever we choose."

"By the time I'm done, he will be the finest dressed young man on the continent. I will also fashion some training attire?"

"Very good, now if you don't mind, I should like to eat, bath and rest. It was a long hard journey on my old bones." Said Michah.

"Of course, master." The three of them walked through the gate followed by earl. Who closed and locked the gate behind him.

"I am so excited for a bed." Eli admitted, the fatigue of the journey slowly creeping up on him.

"This will be the best night sleep you have ever had."

Eli saw through the windows a buzz of activity; he saw several people run along the side to get the horses and wagon.

Eli took a moment to look at the grand manor, it was huge, bigger than even Gunmar's, it was six stories tall with balconies and large windows. He walked through the large front door and was greeted with an elegant greeting room; he had never seen anything like it. Along the walls were beautiful vases and artworks, several different sets of polished plate armour of unknown origin, ornate weapons hung along the walls behind great shields with the same ornate decorations, marble floors and pillars, elegant marble stairs with carved handrails, each support a precise work of art. The whole room was lit by a magnificent chandelier.

There was so much wealth, and this was just the greeting room.

"It's a lot to take in, I know." Aamira whispered as she grabbed his arm, let me show you to our room. Eli nodded still awestruck, he couldn't believe that the old farmer who lived at the end of the valley owned this place.

"Is your mother and father here?" Eli asked still looking around

Sadness swept across her face. "No, they, died a few years ago."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, let's go, I want to show you our room."

She took him by the hand and led him to a small dark room. She then used the lever on the wall, then began to rise, the sudden movement took Eli by surprise.

"What the hell?"

"Well, I'm not going to walk up six stories, are you"

"Good point - wait, are we at the top"

She looked at him and nodded playfully

"Mm-hm"

Within a few seconds they had reached the top floor, it was completely open except for the left-hand wall. There were large windows to the right that overlooked the entire city, the wall opposite the lift had a large ornate bed, covered with richly coloured silks and soft wolf skins, wool blankets and thick pillows were at the head, the canopy was covered with embroidered Saturn curtains that could drop down and stop any light from getting in, along the left wall was a large fireplace filled with the same fire rocks Eli saw in Gunmar's house. It was covered with an ornate steel gate, In front of the fire was a large polished wooden tub. Against the wall next to the large lift was a large open wooden cupboard that contained a multitude of fine dresses and clothes in every colour imaginable. They were made from silks, linin, wool, cotton and other fabric he could not identify. In the left-hand corner, there was a door, with a small room behind it, Eli was told that was the toilet. In front of the windows was a beautiful table with a chair on each end, a bowl of fruit and berries were in the centre of the table. Along the walls were bright sconces that lit the room in a soft warm light. The high ceiling and marble floors made the room feel huge and luxurious. The bed looked fit for royalty.

"This – this is magnificent" he stepped off the lift and held his hand out slightly as if to push away an illusion. It took him a few minutes to explore the room, all the while Aamira was watching him smiling. The quiet was broken by a small soft bell ringing.

"What's that?" Eli asked.

"That's just a small bell that lets us know someone needs to use the lift. Now come over here she took him over to a rope hanging near the bed. If you need something at any time, just pull the rope" she said to him with a smile. "It can be a bit much, but you get used to it"

"What else in in this house?" Eli asked as he resumed his inspection of the room

"Well, we have two basement levels, the bottom most level is storage and drinks cellar, then above that, we have our production room, this room contains a forge, grinding wheel and armourers table with supplies, large sewing room with supplies. And the armoury and vault. The ground floor contains the kitchen, main dining room, library and papa's study. The second floor contains the servants sleeping and living quarters, third floor is guest sleeping quarters and bathroom. The fourth floor is for training, there are targets for archery, soft matts for martial training and sparing, there are also weights and exercise equipment to strengthen your body. The fifth floor is papa's personal quarters, that is where my mum and dad slept, but it was papas first. And the sixth is where we stay."

"This house has everything."

"Yep, and we have a full staff, the guys in the armoury and sewing room are the absolute best at what they do, they take their goods to the market and sell them, over the past few years Lockford goods have become quite desirable. Earl, the chief of staff is an incredible seamster and made most of my dresses and clothes, which is why I want him to make your clothes as well because on the rare occasion he makes clothes to sell, they go for a small fortune, he is a tailoring genius."

"Well, I look forward to it" he laughed.

Moments later, a member of staff walked in, the young man about Eli's age bowed "I have come to collect your travel clothes to wash and bring master Eli a fresh robe to wear in the meantime."

"Thank you," said Eli.

The young servant placed the robes on a small table. "I shall return soon to collect your clothes." he bowed again and then turned back to the lift and made his way down.

They both got undressed, instead of putting their fresh clothes on they got in the large tub, the water was hot and smelled of lavender and sandalwood cleaning salts. The tub was big enough for both to wash in comfort, but they chose to wash each other, there was a small table next to the tub it had several glass vials full of washing products, there were fresh towels neatly folded underneath as well, Aamira leaned back and ran her hair through the water. She then fully submerged her head holding her nose, then moments later came back above the water. She asked Eli to get one of the vials and after two attempts he got the right one. Inside was a thick, slippery, sweet-smelling liquid, she asked if he would wash her hair and he eagerly agreed. She turned around and pushed herself against Eli which made him hard, she giggled and pressed herself against him teasingly.

"You keep that up and I'll be inside you in no time."

She smirked and lifted herself onto him. Eli felt himself slip inside her, Eli let off an involuntary moan, now that they were finally alone, he allowed himself to be louder than he had been on their travels. The lift soon remerged with the young servant. Luckily, they had their backs turned to the lift against a high edge, he let off a short polite cough.

"The clothes are just on the floor there." Aamira said trying to contain her moans.

"Yes ma'am." He quickly went and picked up the clothes from the floor and began walking out. Just as he reached the lift, he half turned his head toward them "My apologies."

"he's very professional, I like him" Eli said laughing. Aamira turned to face him, she did so while he was inside her causing him to gasp and thrust.

"let's be quick, I do actually want to wash my hair" she said playfully. And with that, they spent the next few minutes grinding and thrusting until they climaxed. "Now, time to wash my hair, for real this time" she giggled, turning back around, she dunked her head to resoak her hair. Eli then generously applied the washing oil and rubbed it in giving Aamira a head massage at the same time. After a few minutes, Aamira went to the other side of the tub and flicked her hair outside the tub so the washing oils wouldn't wash out.

Looking slightly confused, Eli asked "Why not wash it out?"

"I like to let it sit on my hair for a while, it makes it soft and shiny" Eli looked at the bottle he just used

"Go on." Aamira said, her eyes closed and her head against the top of the tub.

"Hmm alright" Eli then put his head underwater and rubbed the oil in the same way he did to Aamira. He then realised that he needed a haircut, his hair was going to his shoulders.

He told Aamira and she replied without lifting her head from the rim of the tub "perhaps a little, but you look great with long hair, earl can style it for you."

"Hmm I might as well." They spent another half hour washing the filth off their bodies. Once they were done, they washed the oils out of their hair. Eli got out of the bath, grabbed a large towel, and held it up for Aamira

"A soft towel for the princess." he joked

She giggled "Thank you, my gallant knight."

He then collected a towel for himself, he wrapped it around his waist and walked to the windows, he noticed a door and then asked if they have a balcony. Aamira nodded and together they made their way outside. There was a fair breeze being up so high and the cold ocean air had a sharpness to it, but it had a fresh smell that was revitalising. Soon the chilly air became too much, and they made their way back inside.

"I spend the warm evenings looking out over the city, just watching people, watching the candles light up the windows."

"I would like to see that" he smiled.

"I think I need something to eat, do you want to come to the kitchen with me?"

"Oh, I could wouldn't say no to a fresh loaf or something."

Once they had dried themselves, they got dressed, Aamira in a lace nightie, and Eli in the thick wool and silk robe which the servant had bought. It was soft and sleeveless; it ran down past his shins. It was very airy which was strange, but Eli found it quite pleasing, he looked over at Aamira in her racy nightie.

She saw his worry and comforted him "don't worry, my body is yours to enjoy, I just wanted to put this on, so I wasn't naked under my robe"

Grateful for her words, he then walked over to the lift. He pulled the lever and the lift started to rise. Soon the lift arrived, and they made their way to the ground level. There were several servants walking about getting things ready for the evening. As they made their way to the kitchen, the servants would stop to bow and curtsy when they walked past. Eli smiled softly as he enjoyed the respect, it made him feel more at home in the foreign city. Soon the smells of the kitchen greeted them, the smell of fresh bread, fried garlic and herbs, the trenchant smell of aged cheeses, The smell of spiced rum and cooking beer. The cacophony of smells made Elis mouth water. The room was made with dark stone, lit dimly by a flame in a stone cooking oven. An old woman was kneading dough for a sourdough loaf, the bitter smell of the loaf that was just made was tantalising. He asked Aamira if they could have it. The old woman then turned around, "Oh goodness, mistress, I did not hear you come in, is there something I can do for you, would you like me to fix you a bite?"

"Well, my friend here is ravenous, and your famous sourdough is looking good, would you be able to slice up a handful of the salami just there, and what cheeses do we have open?"

"Well, we have a beautiful smoked gouda, that would pair perfectly with the salami and sourdough."

"We will just eat in the dining room."

"I will have it made up immediately"

"No need, just a few candles so we can see. Thank you."

"I should also like a large flagon of spiced mead, you know the one I like, and two tankards please"

"of course, mistress"

The old woman shouted down a small corridor and two servants came running out, they stopped and bowed, Eli noticed that it was the same young man that took his clothes away to be washed. As they walked past, Eli stopped him by gently placing his hand on servant's chest, the young man stopped and stepped back looking slightly worried.

"What is your name?"

"Philip, sir."

"I would like you to accompany Aamira and I tomorrow, we will need a hand carrying the goods from the market."

Visibly relieved he bowed his head "Anything you need sir."

"Good, we will be leaving after my morning training session."

"Very good sir, I will make sure everything is ready"

"Good man, on your way." Eli dismissed the young servant with a tap on the shoulder.

"Oh, I like take charge Eli." Aamira said flirtatiously.

"that's just regular Eli." He smiled. "I used to run my village you know." He joked and she placed her arm in his, they went to the dining room and sat at the end of the table, Aamira told him to sit at the head while she sat to his right, Eli wasn't sure why, but it felt wrong for him to sit there, so instead he sat on the left, across from Aamira. She didn't argue the point. They soon enjoyed the bread, cured meat, and smoked cheese washed down with spiced mead. Once they had finished the loaf of sourdough, salami, and most of the mead it was late. Philip was waiting by the door should one of them need something. By the time they had finished the mead they were quite drunk.

Philip went to them and said. "Please allow me to escort you to your quarters." With Aamira in Elis arms, they walked with the young servant to the lift, Eli was caught by the young man twice before reaching the lift. He then walked them to their bed. He stood at the end while Eli did his best to tuck in the giggling young woman who was playfully making it difficult. Eli tripped over himself as he made his way over to his side of the bed, he was caught by the dutiful young man and with Eli leaning on him, he took him over the bed and laid him down.

"You are a good man Philip, a good man. Have someone wake me up just before dawn please."

"Very good sir. Thank you."

Philip then departed to the lift and headed back down the large building, a sense of pride swelling within him. Eli and Aamira were softly talking as they fell into a deep sleep, sinking into the soft bed and smooth cool sheets. That night his dreams changed. He found himself at the edge of a cliff facing the setting sun, and floating before him was a silhouette of golden light, Eli could feel its eclipsing power, but he could tell that it was but a fraction of the strength the entity possessed. From behind it came large silver wings like a bat. It spoke to him in a language he could not understand, the voice seemed female but was so powerful and alien he could not tell for sure, the sound of the words rushed through him as if they held the power to shift mountains, the power to calm the harshest of seas, disperse the most violent of storms, Eli felt as if the words had the power to unmake the very fabric of the world. "S'eena ka'harrah Elo'kk struv'ahh bakshin estr'ah nii'lock vinn'taad."

As soon as the powerful voice stopped his mind went black. For what seemed an eternity there was nothing before him. Before he could understand his surroundings, another vision was bought forth. He saw a warrior his face was hidden behind a black mist, and he was locked in battle, he was garbed with a heavy white and gold robe, Eli noticed the martial skill that the warrior was employing was familiar, he fought gracefully and with great force, his strikes were performed with cold precision. The way he fought was burned into Eli's mind, the movements and manoeuvres it were as if Eli and the robed fighter were connected, as if their bodies were one in the same. He was alone against a host of foot soldiers. They were armed with mail that was covered in different crests and sigils, none of which he could identify, one by one the robed warrior felled his foes, the more he killed the more ground he took, a loud war horn was blown, the deep, thunderous rolling sound rippled over his mind, again the horn sounded. The few remaining soldiers lifted their shields and stepped aside to let through a large striking figure, covered head to toe with thick plate armour and upon his great helmet was a large crown. Set on his belt was a thick blade, the hilt and cross-guard were thick and covered in runes and patterns. He Slowly approached the robed fighter, heavy steps struck the hard dirt causing the crust to break under his weight, though the armour looked heavy the great warrior moved with ease. The robed fighter stepped back with fear but then steeled his resolve, straightening his body and standing his ground. The new figure was vastly larger than the robed fighter, the closer he got the bigger the difference between them seemed. The armoured figure stopped ten paces in front of the robed warrior. A strange sense of familiarity came to the scene. But before he could understand he woke up in a cold sweat as the young servant Philip walked across the room. Philip stopped and looked at Eli as he sat up in the bed, Eli was breathing hard trying to come to terms with what he had dreamed, or, was it a vision. Philip looked at him with a concerned quizzical look, he nodded then made his way to the fireplace, whispered a few words and the air grew pleasantly warm. Eli stretched his tensed body, he looked over at the beautiful girl sleeping next to him, he smiled to himself. Philip made his way to the lift. He looked back at Eli, glanced over at the table by the windows, gesturing with a slight movement of his head, once Eli looked over to the table and saw his freshly washed and folded clothes, looked back at Philip, who then bowed and took his leave. Once Philip was gone, Eli walked over to the table and picked up his clothes and took them over to the fireplace and placed them on a stool. He enjoyed the warmth on his bare skin before covering himself with the fresh smelling clothes and under garments. He then walked out to the balcony, the city was dark, the only light was the dim light of the soon to rise sun, the air was heavy and fresh. There were already people walking to work, sailors were also coming in from ships that had docked during the night.

Eli held his arms behind his back, closed his eyes and took a deep breath through the nose, he held it for a moment and released it. He then embraced the approaching calm and clarity, he began to pray, once more he was thankful for the direction his life was going, he was thankful for his training and the speed of his improvement, and most of all, he was thankful to have Aamira, this had become habit over the last few months, but the warmer air was far more refreshing.

With the calm came with the strange sense of awareness. He tried to focus on it to better understand it, but as soon as his mind shifted it vanished like trying to catch smoke, he spent some minutes thinking about his dream, the light with wings, and the words it spoke. He opened his eyes, turned around and saw his Aamira sleeping peacefully, he was pleased to see her so happy and contented. He then went to the lift and summoned it with the lever, with Aamira still asleep, he made his way to the fourth floor, he had not spoken to Michah about that day's training, but it seemed the logical place to start. He stepped off the lift to the large open room, in front of him, he saw Michah looking out the window in a similar fashion as he was in earlier. He was pleased to see that Michah was holding two wooden swords. He approached as quietly as he could trying not to disturb the silence.

"These sticks are made from aged oak; they should not break under the pressure we will put them under."

"Yes master."

He threw the makeshift sword to Eli, who could immediately tell it was better suited than the last one, the cross guard was longer and thicker, the handle was longer with larger space for his off hand to adjust freely, and his dominant hand felt snug. The handle was also slightly thicker. The blade also had a more pleasing shape and length. Unlike the last one which had a constant angle ending at a point that ran the full length of the blade, this one had perfectly parallel edges that drew to a point at the tip. He swung it a few times, he was pleased with the improvement, though it was still not perfect. Once he got used to the weight and the balance, he charged with sudden ferocity, striking as hard as he could, he did not expect the strike to make contact, he just wanted to make sure the wooden sword wouldn't break. The swords landed with a loud crack, taking no time his mentor struck back with a lightning fast combination that Eli was able to block, Eli then thought he could incorporate some of the dragon monk fighting style and transform it to be used with a weapon, he took two steps back, and instead of leaning into the stance Michah showed him his first lesson, he set himself up better for attack, the stance was clearly derived from dragon monk fighting style, Michah knew what he was thinking and smiled. 'Good, good, he is improving, using all his resources.' As he watched Eli settle into his new stance, Michah did the same, he set himself up to defend against and counter Elis next attacks. Eli took a breath, tensed his muscles, and lunged, he threw two slashes that were designed to fail, the then pressed his weapon too Michah's, manoeuvring himself with the movements of the monks, he caught Michah behind the knees with his foot, at the same time he pushed Michah hard in the chest pushing him to the ground, Michah let loose a desperate strike to Elis knee which was blocked with speed that shocked Michah. With that Eli stood aside and offered his hand to the old man. Pleased he took it and allowed Eli to pull him too his feet, with unspoken consent, they continued, Eli trying different movements and strategies, he was learning quicky and used the dragon monk form with great efficiency. After another fifteen minutes of loud cracking of wood on wood, Michah dropped the wooden sword and settled into his fighting position, Eli was tempted to attack with his weapon but soon he followed suit. They charged at each other the atmosphere became tense, Eli took the initiative performing strikes to the body and legs, he was able to land two blows before being stopped by Michah when he pushed him back with the sole of his foot, Eli quickly shook it off and regained his composure. Fired up by the ferocity of his fight, a vicious grin appeared on his face as he charged, Michah stood straight and held his hand out. "Stop!" Eli then stopped in his tracks and stood straight but still ready for an attack.

"You must calm yourself… Breath." Eli struggled but released the tension in his body and relaxed, this was difficult as he had adrenaline running through him urging him to continue fighting. "Very good. Very good indeed. You must temper you aggression with clarity and focus, do not let the excitement take control. Clarity and focus are what distinguishes a great warrior to a monster. It is very tempting to fall into the ecstasy of fighting, but if you temper your skill and focus your aggression, you will be in control and not accidently kill someone."

Still breathing hard and struggling to contain his excitement, he replied, "Yes – master, I'm trying"

"Think of Aamira" Michah replied simply. The moment her name filled his ears, his body went quiet, his breathing calmed, and he was able to get control of his emotions, he stood up straight and took a deep breath.

"Master, may I open a window, the fresh air clears my head"

"You may."

Eli went to the window and opened it. "When we spar unarmed, I would like you to try and remain focused and in control, don't be disheartened if you cannot do this immediately, it took me months to gain control. I am going to push you to the edge, and I would like you to try and contain your emotions. I noticed something else, you fused the monks fighting style to use with a blade, you did this very skill fully so I would like to teach you a particular blade style, instead of the basics of each. Since you have taken very well to the dragon monk style, I will teach you how to harness that and incorporate it with your blade. Once you master it, you will be very difficult to defeat, even for a master swordsman. The form I will teach Is a variation of the Oreskinari style or dragon form. The standard version is similar to what you are doing, but we will change it slightly. The Oreskinari style combined with the dragon monk form will serve you well. If you keep refining your technique and adapting, you will find it difficult to lose."

"Yes master."

"Good, lets continue."

Michah then walked over and picked up the wooden sword from the floor as Eli did the same, once they re-engaged, Michah took the opportunity to disarm Eli, but to his surprise, Eli didn't stop, he moved into a defensive stance and dodged Michah's flurry of strikes, once he was able to see an opening, he grabbed the cross guard of Michah's sword and struck just below Michah's neck with the flat of his palm, knocking the wind out of his mentor and forcing him backwards, Eli realised that his mentor was too experienced to be disarmed with a simple grab and pull, so instead he darted to the right, grabbing his masters left wrist, using the momentum he gathered from his advance, he pulled it lose from the sword straightening it and in a cruel strike pushed his hard into the back of Michah's elbow while simultaneously pulling his wrist snapping the arm cleanly at the joint. A sharp howl of pain erupted from Michah who quickly recovered, he swung the wooden sword at Eli to gain some distance then shouted "Stop!" Eli soon regained his focus and realised what he did.

"Oh shit, what did I do?" remorse quickly swelled inside him "I'm so sorry master!" Eli cried; he rushed over to help but was stopped as Michah held his arm up.

"Relax son, these things happen." With that he pulled his elbow back into place with a loud crunch that made Elis skin crawl. He placed his hand on his elbow and whispered. "Ilokk mi Nahr" a soft green glow emanated from the elbow then disappeared. Michah let go and swung and bent his arm, seeming satisfied he looked up at his awestruck apprentice. "Now you see why I need you to focus. Not everyone will be able to heal themselves like I did, remember this remorse and guilt. And focus your excitement."

Still in shock "Y – yes master, I will try"

"Are you ready to try again? I think it is time I start treating you like an opponent, this means we will both be injured by the time we are finished, but I will be able to heal us at the end."

Elis shock turned to fear as he realised that Michah was going easy on him, but moments later another thought intruded "does this mean I will be able to learn faster if we are actually fighting?"

"Not necessarily learning faster, but it will temper your knowledge and skill with experience to draw from. This time, I won't hold back, and I expect you to do the same, but always focusing, this is what we will be doing from now on. Once you step off the lift, you are training. Do you understand?"

"Yes mas-"

Michah launched at him with inhuman speed and struck him on the thigh with a hard kick. Toppling to the ground Eli howled in pain, he soon came to his senses as he noticed Michah picking up his wooden sword, Eli rolled over and stood noticing how weak his leg had become.

"This is going to fucking suck." he whispered to himself. He looked for Michah and panicked when he didn't see him, the back of his neck tickled and he ducked on instinct, he heard the wooden blade break the air above him and then he rolled forward grabbing his sword, without looking he swung the sword trying to gain momentum that would compensate for the weakness in his leg, he managed to stand and then turn around, he was relieved to see Michah on the other side of the room, he adjusted his improvised stance to accommodate for his new weakness, once he was done Michah rushed forward and delivered a crushing combination of strikes Eli was able to deflect them and launch a counter of his own, but he had briefly forgotten the weakness of his right leg and toppled to the ground before he could finish his swing, he hit the ground hard and rolled onto his back. He put his hand over his leg and pain rushed through him, he sucked his teeth and looked at Michah.

"Get up boy, grab your sword."

"Can you heal this first?" he asked.

"You will not always be in perfect condition when a fight arrives, learn to fight with an injury"

"Fuck me." he whispered to himself he got up and without warning he threw his wooden sword at his mentors turned back, with a rush of anger and stemming from his wound, he charged behind the flying sword. Michah turned and lifted his sword to deflect the oncoming blade, once he had he glanced up and saw Eli, his apprentice had gotten the drop on him, Eli darted to the left and executed three well placed strikes, he placed a punch to the back of Michah's shoulder, a strong open palmed strike to his ribs once more knocking the wind out of him and a hard kick that landed on his kidney. He stiffened in pain and then felt his legs go to jelly as Eli kicked him behind the legs, he was now at Elis mercy as his apprentice threw his arm around his neck and grabbed one side of his head preparing to break his neck. He knelt there for a moment, he was worried that Eli was caught up in excitement and would kill him in his battle rage. After a moment the grip loosened, and Eli took several steps back.

Michah stood and turned to his apprentice who had his arms in front of him looking down.

"Master, I don't think I'm ready to learn this technique. I don't have the right self-control; it makes me want to hurt and kill and I'm afraid that I won't be able to focus next time." He said with a tear forming in his eye, the old man looked at him full of sympathy for his pain.

"This is all part of the process. The fact that you were able to stop yourself shows me how much you are growing. You might not be in control all the time, but you are able to gain control when it really matters, which is a fantastic start. If you really don't want to learn I will not force you."

"I just don't want to kill you or anyone accidentally, I don't know what comes over me but in the heat of training, a sudden anger comes over me, I just want to hurt and kill anything in my way."

"This I what made the dragon monks so dangerous. They would be engulfed by the fury of battle and kill everyone in their path. It is that battle rage you must gain control of. What I am worried about, is that you are performing manoeuvres far more advanced than anything I have taught you and performing them with great skill."

Eli then told his master about the dream he had that previous night, about the figure that spoke to him. He left out the words it spoke, but Eli told his mentor that he tried some of the moves he saw the robed warrior using.

Suddenly deep in thought. "We are done for today, there is much I must read on, we will resume your training tomorrow morning, take this day for yourself as a reward of you progress," he turned to leave, stopped, and whispered "Elokk mi Nahr." a green glow emanated from Eli's injured thigh, pins and needles formed where the light was and then disappeared with the light soon after. Once more awestruck, he went to ask about the magic that healed him, but Michah had already left the room taking the stairs. He was alone in the training room, the sudden silence disturbed him, but he could not tell why, once it became too much to bare, he went over to the lift and returned to his room. Once he arrived, emotions of the training session bubbled inside him, the regret of hurting and almost killing his master, the fear of the skills he now possessed, he was even frightened at the speed in which he was learning, he was becoming frightened of what he was thankful for that very morning. He just stood looking at the floor just off the lift, Aamira who was sitting by the fire went over to him, she had sensed the pain he was holding onto and took him in her arms tightly. She led him to the floor and laid his head in her soft lap, she whispered comforting encouragement and he soon let go of the pain, he breathed deeply.

"Thank you" he whispered.

"Anything for you." she replied softly, her words a tonic to his pain. He sat up, kissed her then stood offering his hand to her which she took.

"I think its high time we go shopping. But I just remembered, I don't have any money."

"Not to worry, you are papas official apprentice, all of his household resources are at yours to use."

"I'll be honest, I don't feel overly comfortable with it, if feels pretty close to charity."

"don't be silly, if it makes you feel better, there is no amount you could spend that the estate could not make in a week."

"Huh, I suppose that does make me feel better."

With a satisfied smile, she took Eli by the arm, and they walked to the lift and made their way to the ground floor of the massive house. Standing by the door was the young servant, Philip. He bowed at them and greeted them "good morning mistress, sir. I trust you had a restful evening."

"Yes, thank you Philip. Would you be so kind as to collect a full purse from earl?" said Aamira softly.

"I took the liberty of securing funds for your day last night." He presented a full pouch of copper and silver coins. "I also acquired a small pouch of pearls. Just in case the -" after a slight pause "goods… you want, shouldn't be bought with coins."

"Hm, I am very pleased with your initiative. I think you will prove most valuable to us," said Eli.

"Thank you, sir." Philip said nodding his head in appreciation.

"The basket to carry the goods is just outside the door. So, we can leave at your pleasure."

"We will leave immediately." Eli said as he took Aamira by the arm and walked through the large front door, the gate was already open, so they made their way onto the clean stone streets.

"Uh which way?" Eli asked suddenly aware of how far away from home he was. Aamira then gently took the lead, and they headed down towards the large gate that allowed access to the seaside market and docks. She was chatting along the way telling him about who lived where, what they did. Eli couldn't help but smile, since being home, she had become so cheerful and excited. She was also wearing a beautiful green silk dress with red embroidery, yellow silk flowers were sewn into the dress, it was beautiful, and it complimented her amber hair and deep blue eyes, he also noticed for the first time that she a light freckles that spotted her face. She smiled constantly, a beautiful smile that seemed to make the world light up. Eli thought it was such a perfect day. There was almost no wind, the air was warm and dry, there was not a single cloud in the bright blue sky. As they walked, their young servant walked behind with the large basket, he too was wearing some town clothes like Eli requested with a pain sword belted to his waist, but they were not as nice as Eli's much less Aamira's.

When Eli asked Aamira why he didn't dress as nicely she responded simply "To people around here, if a servant were better dressed than their masters, that would be terribly infra dig"

"In – Infra – what?"

"It would be seen as demeaning to their employer." They walked for almost half an hour before reaching the main street that ran from the ocean wall to the eastern gate that they had entered through the night before. The streets were bustling with people walking to and from the markets. To Eli's surprise he was not assaulted by the overpowering odour of fish, the stories he had heard about the seaside cities and towns always mention the thick pungent smell of fish. But all he could smell were ground spices, tobacco and street food that was being cooked by several vendors. They took their time as they browsed through each of the vendors and market stalls. the merchants were selling all types of goods, ceramic cups, bowls, plates and cooking pots. Others were selling fresh produce like fruits and vegetables, there were merchants with barrels filled with salts, ground spiced, various types of tea and tobacco as well as pipes for smoking. There were several women wandering the docks in revealing clothing. There were armourer shops with several types of weapons and armour. Eli took a liking to one set of plate armour, the plate was thick and broadly shaped, the pauldrons were dense and heavy. Below the shoulder guards came a sleeve of plates that looked like large, pointed fish scales, the edges of every plate was black and had runes carved into them, the greaves and vambraces were solid and covered carvings. The thigh plates were the same. It was formidable. Aamira then pointed out that the master smith Cedrick made it. A dwarven blacksmith in the employ of the Longford estate.

"I would love a set like that. I also need another sword."

"I agree, but we can have something special made for you." With that thought pleasing him immensely, they continued wandering until they arrived at a merchant tailor. His large stall had beautiful tunics, dresses, trousers, and boots, he also had a large open shelf with rectangle holes to store and display the massive selection of fabrics available for purchase, and with each fabric dozens of choices for colours.

"Have a look at what you like, and we can get it." Eli had a great time feeling the fabrics, asking Aamira and Philip if they would suit him. He then saw a spectacular bright rich orange, it reminded him of a spring sunset, he took the incredibly soft and smooth fabric over to Aamira, he held it up under her neck.

"Imagine a ball gown, with royal blue embroidery and purple lace."

"We are not here to buy for me." she giggled, snatching the silk sample.

"Excuse me sir, how much of this material do you have?"

The merchant looked at the sample. "Well, you are in luck, that is a brand-new fabric, it arrived just three evenings past, I have not yet sold any, so I still have the full 50 meters. However, the silk comes from the lotus worm, which I'm sure you know is the finest and softest silk you can find. It will set you back three silver pieces per metre."

Eli walked over to Philip and whispered, "how much fabric would earl need to make a ball gown for Aamira?"

"I would say five meters, but, if you want a work of art, I would buy six and a half, sir"

He turned back, got the cloth from Aamira, and held it up one more time, she was slightly embarrassed by his staring "I would like to buy seven meters of this one please, I would also like four meters of the royal blue, dark red, black and white linins, as well as that frost white, gold, silver, red and royal blue silks." He continued naming different lengths of cotton, wool, and silk.

Shocked the merchant said, "Well, that's quite a large order, can you afford such a price?"

"Do I look like a peasant to you?"

"Well, no but -"

"Then please go and cut the fabric to size, I will be back later to collect, thank you." Eli snapped. He took Aamira's arm and left the stall. "I can't stand when people look down at me." he whispered. Together they left to the section of the market where the food was being made.

"I just realised, we did not have breakfast, are you hungry?" Aamira asked.

"I think I am, perhaps that's why I was a little harsh on the merchant." They went around looking at all the food that was being made, then something caught Eli's nose, it was rich and spicy, he had never smelled the like before. He followed his nose and saw a small ebony skinned woman stirring a big pot filled with a thick chunky soup. "Excuse me ma'am, what are you cooking?"

In a thick foreign accent, she replied "This is a curry from Bakell, my country, it is made with various spices, sauces and then I add slow cooked lamb into the mix. Would you like some, just be warned, it's quite piquant."

"Yes please."

As the short woman grabbed three large thick leaves, she added rice and then put the hot curry on top, Eli was handed three coppers by Philip discreetly. He in turn handed them to the woman, she deposited them into her apron pocket, and they took the three leaves with curry and made their way over to a quiet end of the docks, the large merchant vessels had people walking on and off carrying all manner of goods, there was also large military vessels. They were armed with large ballista, and small catapults. They watched as the soldiers marched into the city.

Eli was delighted by the food, it was hot and spicy, the lamb fell apart and seemed to melt in his mouth, the thick sauce was rich and contained fascinating flavours he had never imagined, the rice gave it a pleasant weight and texture. The three of them enjoyed the food in silence, listening to the chatter, seagulls, and the waves of the ocean. Eli then realised that he still could not see the ocean properly as it's great expanse was hidden behind the hulls of the large ships. He then asked where the best place would be to see it, Aamira then looked around. "I have a perfect idea." Once they were finished, she then led them to a medium sized ship, there was a guard in front of the gangplank leading up to the ship.

"Where'd ya think ya goin' young missy?" the burly, heavily tattooed sailor asked, his voice course and face twisted to a threatening scowl.

Calmly she replied. "My name is Aamira Longford; you will find this ship was named for me and I would like to board."

The large man looked shocked, his scowl changed to wide eyed acquiescence. Fumbling he removed his hat. "Ah, innumerable pardons ma'am. Please, watch your step as you board."

"Thank you" she replied. She stepped aside to let Eli on first, he stopped half-way up and offered his hand to Aamira, she took it and together they walked up the plank, Eli dropped onto the deck with a loud thud, he then lifted his arms and grabbed Aamira's narrow waist, he then lifted her and placed her gently in the deck, he was surprised by how strong he had become over the past few months. Philip dropped down shortly after.

"How good are you at climbing?"

Excitement filled Eli and he smiled brightly as he looked at the rigging, following it up to the top of the first mast.

"Really?" he asked excitedly, his broad grin widening.

"Go on, you will get the best view from up there."

Eli then jumped onto the railing then onto the rigging, he climbed being careful not to look at the ocean as he got higher he could see more and more blue, the rigging started to come to a point, he looked up, over his left shoulder, what he saw shocked him, it was blue, as far as the eye could see, the sheer size and flatness was astounding, he looked and he saw limitless possibilities, limitless adventures, limitless dangers. He stayed there for several minutes looking into the blue vastness. Once he had his fill, he began to descend, within the minute he was back on deck.

"It amazing, the world is – it's so big, I never dreamed it could be like this."

His joy radiated to the others, Aamira giggling and smiling "It really is something to behold, I'll take you atop the wall this evening, a sunset over the ocean is truly a sight more beautiful than anything."

Once Eli collected his thoughts, they made their way back down the gangplank. Once they stepped onto the dock, they made their way back to the merchant tailor.

"Is everything ready?" Eli asked in a calm tone.

"Yes sir, I have them just over here" he went to a small room and pulled out a large parcel, the merchant had wrapped the fabric in brown paper and tied it with twine. He began to hand it to Eli when Philip stepped in holding out his arms.

"That will be 30 silver pieces"

"You can get fucked!" Philip looked up and said sternly, "I will not have my master and mistress ripped off by the likes of you. You will get twenty and five coppers you greasy little thief."

The merchant was caught off guard and cleared his throat. "Ah yes, my mistake, twenty and five is the price." Once he handed over the coin, he placed the parcel of beautiful fabrics gently in the large basket.

"A pleasure." Philip snarled and made his way back to the store entrance. Eli placed his hand on the small of Aamira's back and gently led her out of the store.

"Thank you." Eli whispered.

"It was nothing sir, he has been here about three months, and everyone says he overcharges for his goods."

"Well, I never would have known."

"Well, I'm glad I – oh shit."