Chapter 23 - Lizbeth

Season's come and goes, and training is ever more brutal with the tournament coming up, but as they say, those who work hard get to play hard. Group dates have been a regular thing for all of us. Well, Rowan, I, Gronaan, Sheila, Aven, and Lyka that is. The season changes and no one quite understands or knows when the tournament will happen, so we just keep pushing ourselves more and more. I can keep up with my mom now, and I can make quick work of my uncle when I'm allowed to fight like I want to. Though he has me beat in raw strength still. I am catching up to him. Oh, we of the Tournament of Times, will be fighting in front of an audience the entire time. We haven't found out who yet. But I do think today is the day because everyone got a letter this morning saying to be in the advance training hall at midday.

Snows 44

The cool winter air drifts through the windows, sending a chill down my spine as I finish putting on the magical garbs I received from advance training. With thought and effort, I have them take the form of a long winter coat and black trousers. The hood takes the shape of a fur-lined cap with small hoods that extend down the sides to cover my ears. These are amazing, even the cloak feels as if it were made of the soft brown leathers and fur that lines its chest and neck. The only thing they don't replace it, and I am ashamed to say it is a guilty pleasure of mine now, shoes. I pad over to the small closet in my room and pull out a pair of well-worn red leather boots. These boots were one of the first things I bought making it into the advanced classes and shopping with Rowan. They buckle tightly down to my ankles and calves giving me a snug grip on the ground with each step.

I could feel the tensions mounting in the tower's air around me, and I haven't even left the room. "What is going on out there, it was just a simple letter," I say to myself checking myself over one final time in my mirror. I have changed a lot since arriving here, my muscles have become even more tone, and powerful, it shows in and around my eyes a bit more than they used to. My hair is longer the messy tosses of pitch-black hair hang out from under the cap in loose loops almost down to my shoulders. The dimples in my cheeks have become a bit more pronounced even when I am not smiling, I think I have lost a good bit of weight. But that doesn't bother me any.

I push the door to my room open and feel Artemis hop up and onto my shoulder, the hare has become a centric weight while I am moving around, most of the time if I am not paying mind to him, I don't feel him there at all. Stepping into the hall I am glad I picked this outfit; a frigid breeze roils throughout the building, and it has been like this since Snows began.

The snow has left a healthy blanket of water on an ever-flat surface outside, and now and again I swear you can see your breath walking around inside. A warmth presses against my arm, and without looking, I say to the warmth, "Rowan you are so lucky you don't have to feel the cold want to trade bound for a day?" A chuckle comes from my partner's throat and more warmth like that of a summer's day rushes through my body.

I look over to them and they are wearing the garb as originally intended, combat leathers that compress and shift away any features of the wearers, well all but their face. Rowan was wearing their hood back, their hair pulled back into a small nub at the back of their head. The gorgeous silver and red flaked eyes show through the normal shades of black and red. "Someone is a bit cheery this morning," I say to them your eyes are showing through a little more than usual," I say leaning down and planting a small kiss on their cheek. Rowan's face bursts into a volley of reds and maybe even a bit of purple from their blush. Rowan is so cute when they blush, "Come on or we are going to be late."

Rowan's voice comes from beside me as I turn and take my first step down the hall, "Well, if I have to fight you today, I won't hold back not in the least bit." A laugh bubbles out my lips and I pull myself closer to Rowan's side, their warmth rushing through me like a spring sun, and reply, "I won't make it easy for you that's for sure."

The walk down the hall quickly became cramped as the next group of advanced classes gather in the halls to head for their training, and the forty of us remained in the group of my chosen. The crowds move around with each other with efficiency not seen in most cramped spaces, the simple robes we once wore fills more of the passageway though and it seems as though we are all headed to the same place today.

Before entering the training hall, each of us that decided on a different form for our changing robes shifts them to the formal combat dress like rowan and pulls our hoods over our faces concealing everything except our eyes from one another. With the small gestures, and the shifting of our emotions the air between us and the advanced classes' new group grows to an almost tangible point.

As we approach enemas the training hall of the council building, the doors shift open letting a warmth flood the halls, the room is adorned with pedestals of flame. And colors of each of the elements over each window. Crimson for fire, deep royal blue for water, the sky blue of air, and viridian green for the earth. a flag across the instructor's backs spread from one corner of the room to the next. The room seems a little bigger than normal too. It must be my imagination. Rowan breaks off from my side and I look for their stride, I find it taking a position in front of the red curtains along with one set of eyes that could only be Lyka's.

I look around and find more groups of people forming around each individual color, the new class gathering in the middle of the room though slightly sorted by the element, and the robes of the graduates set firm lines in the room, separation of the elements is always something a bit terrifying. I move over to a pair of light grey and green flaked eyes in the crowd of earth, Sheila's when she is on guard, "they didn't have the advance class graduates before us here when we first showed up or for any of our training, I wonder what's going on." Sheila's voice replies in hush tones and quick jerks of her chin, "They are here to watch from what I gathered as we were walking down the halls."

"Is it finally that time," I ask under my breath to my friend. A quick nod and a solid glance toward me confirm my fears and I steel myself for what is about to come.

A voice fills the air, coming from all directions and no directions at once, "Greetings our graduates, and our newcomers," they really love that trick. The instructor of air calling out to everyone steps forward from the flag of Valorous. I take note of the flag I have never seen one this large up close, the colors of the elements each adorn a quarter of the flag, cutting from the corners to a shield in the middle, and subtle outlines and shadows fill the deep grey shield, forms of each beast of the elements face the center of the shield where a simple circle in the middle lets the colors of the elements behind show through the middle equally.

"Today is a day of learning and of endings, for some of you the journey we have been able to teach here along the way will end today, and you will continue your journeys elsewhere. Today marks the Tournament of Times." The words linger through the air sending the hairs on the back of my neck to standing. "Today students you will watch as the class before you, fight tooth and nail at progressing onto the next stages of the tournament. There are simple rules for the day, you will be fighting in pairs, and each team must consist of one advanced combative graduate and one non-combative specialty."

I look over to the flag of water and find Aven towering over everyone else, his eyes shifting from the earth back to fire, this will be a hard decision for him. I hear Artemis making chuffing sounds in my ear, I guess he is ready no matter what. The voice continues, "Now, once you have decided your teams place the names into this box on a sheet of paper that you will be provided once you approach. This is how we will draw names for the fights that will be fought today. Good luck to all of you, and may the elements guide you."

With the voice's final words, a stone box burst forth from the ground, and the chaos of blurring movement around me caused me to take a few steps forward toward Aven's group. To my surprise, Aven had begun making a beeline towards Earth and not fire with Lyka. The giant's arms found my shoulders and his voice followed swiftly behind them, "Liz you were my first real partner we started this together when earth and water were grouped, let's take this tournament together." I took note of confidence I hadn't heard from him before when he was talking about combat at least, and it filled my chest with the same. Since graduating from the advanced classes I had been working to catch Aven up with me so this only made sense.

A line quickly formed from the box, as pairings made their way slowly to the selections. I saw Gronaan's bound, a super cute flying squirrel, hovering over his head, and Rowan's weasel resting atop their shoulder a few groups ahead, those two are a terrifying team, Aven and I have practiced against them a couple of times while waiting for the tournament. These fights are not going to be easy in the least bit.

The line dissipated more quickly than I had anticipated, and I found myself standing along the edges of the room, thinking about ways we could fight some of the scarier teams. Looking around at the other teams, and even Aven, as we waited in complete silence other than the mumblings of the advance class standing around the entranceway. My mother's voice filled the room with a thundercrack that set everyone on edge' she may not be bound to air, but her presence alone is more than enough to put even the other instructors on edge around her, "The first match will be as follows." She lifted her hand above the box and smashes it into the stone as if it were made of sand, Tagini's fur erupting with deep grayish green lines of power as it stood next to her.

Her hand leaves the box with two pieces of paper, and unfolding the she announces, "Titan's Crash, and Venro Obslick," Venro and Titan are both powerhouses, that met and became best of friends in classes, to everyone's surprise, Venro was placed into the scouting course though he could have just as easily been put into the combative course based on raw strength alone. "They will be fighting, Fallen Royal, and Sky Dwarf." The room erupted into screams of excitement as the two groups approached the center of the room, and with the two teams' bow, fell silent enough to hear a needle hit the floor from across the room. "Good luck you two."