Here I am, standing in front of Chief Raeis Fawra, the Bloodfrost Imperator himself. Antarc, Charlie, Alexandria, and Sevilla watch from the side as I wield my halberd in a defensive position, in preparation for whatever he may throw. Sevilla pats my back, before quickly returning to spectating.

  “Good luck, Zadahn.”

  I let out an exhale, temporarily soothed by the motherly love.

  The Chief is seemingly unbothered,

  as he cracks his knuckles, and stretches his arms above his head.

  “Stay above the surface, Home-lander.”

  He circles around me for minutes like a wolf chasing down a sheep, as he throws feints with unmatched speed, keeping me on my toes as I remain on the defense.

  “Do not lose track of offense in the pursuit of retreat.”

  He stomps the metal floor, flinching me.

  He could likely end my life on a whim— or at least that’s what I keep in mind as I channel Thundercall to my hands, forming three orbs of thunder that rest above my head in a triangular shape.

  “Fleeting Sparks.”

  I utter, outstretching my hand, zipping my orbs through the air towards the head of Raeis.

  Waiting until the timing is perfect, he effortlessly swipes his spear sideways, deflecting the orbs into the floor, before twirling his spear with the grace of a dancer.

  “You’re doing great, Zadahn!”

  Charlie yells.

  “Three more minutes. You must advance.”

  I need to keep him at range.

  I blink, as Raeis blitzes to my feet with velocity, and I feel his right-hand make direct contact with my cheekbone, as he quickly retrieves his arm. Feeling a concussion forming in my head, my eyes begin to blur as I slowly retrieve my senses. What? Raeis is now at my feet, crouched in a sweeping kick.

  If I want to avoid this, I can’t pull my punches. I can’t risk collapse, but I'm not fast enough. I channel the song, diverting every ounce of focus into avoiding his sweep.

  “LIGHTNING CLOAK.”

  I scream, as I leap above Raeis’s sweep into the air, holding my halberd in an overhead position, the essence of Thundercall coursing through every nerve in my body, as well as my weapon. I feel like an isolated jackal fending off a mighty lion, keeping on my toes avoiding being ripped from consciousness from one good strike.

  I bring the halberd down with everything I have — and crash into nothing but the floor, as Raeis casually steps an inch to the left.

  I’m quick to recover though, dashing backwards in a blitz of lightning as I prepare to cast another mantra.

  He stands still for a moment, as I wipe blood from my cheek. Where did this blood come from? He positions his fists into the signature style of his people— the Way of Navae. A fist style evolved through generations of tribal warfare, its techniques themselves engraved in tradition and honor. He holds his arms upright towards his head, preparing to burst towards me.

  I clutch the idol-pendant of my necklace.

  I suppose this is my consequence for letting Orbona get kidnapped. I’ve been long due for a proper beating. At some point though, you build a resilience to the blunt-trauma, and instead focus on the warmth of the blood as it coats your skin. I’m content with this— Divine punishment.

  “One more minute, Zadahn Vali. Stand strong. Endure.”

  I narrowly side-step his lunge, as I rotate my hips countering with a teep-kick to his back, pushing him forward.

  “Nice, Zadahn! Control the pace!”

  Antarc says, fully immersed in my match.

  I regain my footing, and dash backwards. He stands still momentarily, grunting angrily, turning around to face me.

  “Persevere, Zadahn. Show me how you conquer adversity.”

  He leaps in my direction, pulling his right leg up to his forehead in the arch of a stomp, as I quickly form a javelin of lightning in my offhand, throwing it in a counterattack.

  “GRAND JAVELIN!”

  The pole of electricity flies through the air at hypersonic speeds, only to ricochet off of his leg like a weak bullet.

  He soars above me in the air, unfazed by my Mantra, preparing to unleash a crushing mass of a kick upon my body.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Demonstrate your desire to venture to Celtor!”

  The Chief screams, soaring above me in the sky, as I wait for the perfect window to avoid what looks to be certain-death, like a bird of prey.

  Is he trying to kill me? Just as his leg is about to obliterate my cranium, I carefully slide forward in a dash of calculated thunder. I’m knocked off my feet from the shockwave regardless, as the ship itself shudders, and my face makes contact with the floor— despite not even being directly hit by his attack.

  “Thirty more seconds, Zadahn Vali. Fall twice more, and you will feed on air for the rest of the day. Carve forth.”

  I wipe the blood from my nose, as I regain my footing, my lightning cloak reaching its end, as is my stamina.

  “You’re almost there, Zadahn!”

  Alexandria yells in encouragement, but before I can measure my options, we are face to face. The Chief throws a brutal kick directly at my inner thigh, crippling me as I collapse once more to the floor, screaming in pain. My thigh feels like salt over an open wound, as I muster all the strength and lightning left in my body to return to my feet, and inch backwards slowly. I have one final option. I toss my wooden weapon to the floor.

  “STAND, ZADAHN. YOU HAVE ONE OPPORTUNITY.”

  Even as he prepares to push me to my utter limit, it is still blatantly evident that he isn’t exerting himself in the slightest. I’ll prove to him that I'm worth more effort. With the last ounces of ether left in my body, I extend my arms outwards, concentrating surges of thunder directly into my fists, as my demeanor changes. Raeis’s stoic facade is cracked, as I release the backpedal, as we advance toward each other, slowly increasing our speed. A smirk makes its way across Raeis’s gaunt face, as he stops abruptly an inch before we clash.

  He sticks his left foot out, dashing to the left, as I helplessly flail onto the ground. I pound my balled-fist into the steel floor as hard as I can, my insecurity of my weakness showing evidently, as anger and adrenaline courses through my veins with nothing to unleash it upon.

  I avoid looking at my guildmates, as the shame of weakness, and the reality of starvation kick in. How am I supposed to feed Charlie now?

  I can’t seem to stop failing.

  “You’ve passed, Zadahn Vali.”

  He chuckles.

  “What?”

  I’m filled with a mixture of confusion and ecstasy as those words greet my ears like a siren’s whistle.

  “You passed the moment you decided to advance forward. You will eat.”

  Though I'm still slightly confused by this, I nod happily, taking my victory without hesitation as I undo my vest and place it into the bag, then limp back to my position in the line

  “Thank you for the lesson, Chief.”

  I contemplate further, eventually putting pieces together. I understand his methodology. I pushed forward— I advanced. Above all odds, against a seemingly impossible foe, I stood, and pushed forward. Amongst all my recent failures, I feel a tinge of hope within myself. I can redeem these wrongs. That shows fortitude in and of itself— despite how worn my body feels right now. I could almost ragdoll.

  Advance.

  My guildmates rush to me with smiles on their faces, as Charlie rubs the blood off my cheek.

  “Reminds you of sparring with Instructor Jericho, huh?”

  I laugh at Charlie’s comparison.

  “Don’t know how that worked, but I’m happy you’re eating.”

  Alexandria says with a smirk, as

  Antarc chuckles to himself.

  “I appreciate your support. Invicta Navae!”

  I whisper under my breath, Charlie and Antarc laugh, and Alexandria and Sevilla roll their eyes.

  “Attention.”

  The five of us immediately scramble back into position, and I notice the angst of my guildmates as they wonder which of them is up next. I wonder who is next on the list of being Raeis’s training dummy. I calmly inhale and exhale, knowing my training is done for the day. Maybe I’ll stick around to watch Antarc get—

  “That is all for today. Zadahn will receive the harshest of lessons, as he is the one most passionate about the prospect of Celtor. I brought vests for the rest of you to keep you on your feet. I’m sure this delights the majority of you, but do not let my actions deceive you.”

  I nod my head in approval, as he takes a quick beat.

  “Each day will increase in difficulty, though some trials may be easier for some of you and some harder for others based on innate skill. I’m pleased with the results of most of you.”

  The physical pain, coupled with being singled out into a humiliation ritual, while biting my tongue as he further humiliates Charlie— is quite an amalgamation of feelings.

  Despite it all though, I did learn something valuable here. Raeis’s strength as a mentor is evident. I advanced against unconquerable odds— under his tutelage.

  “Thank you, Chief.”

  I say, stoically.

  “Thank you for the lesson, Chief.”

  Antarc says in a calm tone as he takes off his training-vest, carelessly throwing it in the bag on the floor. Alexandria follows up, as she carefully folds her vest and kneels to place it into the bag.

  “Looking forward to tomorrow, sir.”

  Sevilla suddenly speaks up.

  “Chief Raeis Fawra, upon dismissal, may I be permitted into the kitchen of this vessel? I’d like to learn some traditional Navaen recipes. I barely had an opportunity to see, nor sample any at the festi-“

  “Yes, you may, Sevilla.”

  The Chief says, yawning as he scratches the stubble on his chin.

  Charlie walks up to me, his vest already in the bag long beforehand.

  “We’ve gone weeks without food during Aratel deployments, Zadahn. I’ll be fine-“

  “That’s not something we can afford to suffer through right now. You need energy for tomorrow, or you’ll fall even further behind Charlie.”

  He stands silently, processing my words, the flame of hope in his eyes visibly extinguished.

  All of a sudden, one of Raeis’s elites shouts from the top of the stairs as he walks down with a party of four veteran Nomads behind him.

  “A scout has reported unnerving news. We request your presence in the war-room as soon as possible.”

  Raeis shifts his demeanor from mentor to BloodFrost Imperator on a moment's notice, sending shivers down my spine.

  “Understood.”

  Noticing the Chief’s brief distraction, I pull Charlie closer to me by his shoulder, grabbing his head with both hands as I hold his forehead to mine.

  “I’ll find a way.”

  I notice something in his eyes. A brief glimmer—a faint spark ignites.

  I immediately move back to position as Raeis turns his attention back towards us.

  “I will be moving between ships to check on my men. My top priority is field-preparations for our arrival six days from now. One final thing, though. If, by any chance, any of you descend into foolishness and misplaced morality and feed Charlie, a five minute sparring session awaits you— your stakes being tonight’s dinner coupled with tomorrow's breakfast. You are dismissed.”

  These stakes are cruel, although they don’t faze me. I’d much rather suffer through a week of these hellish drills without an ounce of food or liquid than allow Charlie to starve tonight because he couldn’t pick up a boulder.

  Despite my utmost respect for the Chief, and his methods of training— I can’t agree with this. I’ll take whatever punishment he sees fit. Another five in the ring won’t kill me. It’ll take at least six.