During dinner, unlike the other meal times, the dining hall was bustling with crowds of students. During the lunch hours, the sheds across each table would open up and the hall would look like a huge golden tent. But in the evenings, a pleasant wind would be flowing as the kitchen head would walk around lighting up each of the sconces. It was a pretty sight to see and it was the only time when all the students became free after a full day of training.
Nyla found herself on a lone long wooden table, hoping to have a quieter evening after some much busier ones. She sat down next to where a tree was branching out into the sky like an Umbrella. The spread was amazing, with all kinds of meat for palette of each culture and every meat in each variety, braised, roasted, glazed and smoked. Nyla had grabbed the smoked and spiced venison onto her plate as she walked over to that lonely table, to relish the meat in peace. Past few days, as a courtesy of Chyd, Nyla was able to meet with many other fellow Seeker and Scholar students. She would join them in their practice sessions and have satisfactory outcomes from it. Chyd was good, but his friends were better.
Nyla was stuffing herself with a turkey leg, when she saw Tara, the girl who burned up her and her room, standing in middle of the crowds awkwardly holding onto the steel plate of food. She felt a slight tinge of pity and then an immediate raise of her heartbeat in panic as she realized that she had never answered the Zalana's invite to join the team. Nyla immediately moved further towards the tree, hoping that she would go unnoticed.
But to her luck, she spotted the other girl, the one who had helped her with the healing, Zalana walked up to Tara, smiling in the overtly reassuring manner. Nyla knew if they saw her, they would approach her, so she bent her head and concentrated very much on the food in front of her.
'How is it going, Nyla?'
It was Zalana who had greeted her. Nyla pursed her lips. She looked up and forced a smile on her face. 'Just trying to eat my dinner.'
'Mind if we sit here?' Zalana asked. Nyla nodded reluctantly and Zalana sat down opposite to Nyla. Tara watched them both unsurely and slowly placed her steel tray of food onto to the table, sitting down next to Zalana. She looked up and smiled uneasily at Nyla.
'How are things going?' Zalana asked.
Nyla raised her eyebrows. 'I guess, not bad?'
Zalana nodded. 'I will tell you the real reason, we are here. We wanted to make teams. Do you maybe want to join us?'
'Us?' Nyla pointed out questioningly. 'Exactly who will be there?'
'Well, me and Tara. I assumed you understood that.' Zalana replied.
Tara pursed her lips. She also seemed like she did not like the idea.
Nyla pressed her lips together. 'And why would I want to make a team with you?'
Zalana looked at her, a bit taken aback. Tara frowned at her. 'You can reject someone politely. You don't have to be rude.'
Nyla shrugged. 'Well I have had pretty few great sessions some others and they honestly seem better.'
Zalana laughed lightly. 'They will not be better than me.' She said, her tone trying to smooth things over
'I don't doubt that.' Nyla agreed. She then turned towards Tara. 'It's you I am more worried over.'
Tara narrowed her eyes at her. 'I am doing alright.' She replied curtly.
'I have seen your combats.' Nyla said. 'You keep expecting everyone to show you some kind of mercy. And no one is going to provide you mercy here.'
'I have my own ways of handling it.' Tara replied back. 'Not everyone is born into being a fighter. Some have to fight their way through it.'
Nyla pursed her lips. 'I apologize, but then you should be looking for another team member.' She got up and picked up her plate of food, to leave. 'I have problems of my own, I am not here take up other's problems.'
There a was an awkward silence that fell on the table. Tara seemed like she wanted to say something and she opened her mouth, but then decided she to not respond.
'Then why do expect to become a Seraph?' It was Zalana who asked the question.
Nyla paused and turned towards Zalana. 'I do not quite understand your question.'
'Well, being a Seraph means that you are going to be taking up the problems of other people. And they are not even part of our world.' Zalana stated. 'Why do you want to become a Seraph?'
Nyla glared at her, stumped without words.
'Perhaps it is just the position rather than the work.' Zalana commented with a shrug.
'You do not have any right to judge me.'
'You stated it, that you have problems of your own.' Zalana said again, her tone accusatory. 'Then why are you here?'
Nyla pressed her lips together. 'I have reasons that not needed be answered to your question.' She stood up, picking up her plate. 'I do not want to join your team. Don't waste your time with me.' She took her plate and huffed off to find another lonely table.
****
When Tara had entered grounds of the main Arena for her combat lesson, she had noticed how it was filled with the piles and piles of black coals. The session was to happen with Udongs, the earth elementals. Before this combat session, Tara and her classmates from the same strata had had a quick session with one instructor, Madame Juma, where she gave a lesson on how Udongs fought.
'In essence the earth uses its strength to build and stand. If you notice how the earth elementals fight, they would have hearty steps and strong arms. You cannot break the earth and it is difficult to move them.' She had remarked.
Everyone seemed to nod agreeingly to what Madam Juma was talking. 'In fact the best way to defeat an Earth elemental is with a water elemental, but since you all are Na'ars, power is what can defeat an earth elemental. So before the session tomorrow, build up power. Work on breathing and core strength.'
The Udongs also seemed to have been prepped by some instructor. They all looked like they had been running for some time before they had entered the grounds for the session.
'The idea here is to understand the basics of attack and defense.' The instructor pointed to both the teams. 'This is not something we want you to learn about and vomit on a piece of paper. That is for the other professions and Cadins.'
Tara slightly grimaced at the unhanded comment about Cadins.
'We want this to become your instinct and your sense. It should come as natural to you as breathing. Your instinct should be to produce.'
The small hills of coal were effectively going to be the Na'ars and Udongs advantage and disadvantage equally. The ground had multiple lines drawn across it dividing it into smaller but equal fight courts. Tara was paired with a pretty Udong girl and she stood opposite to Tara.
As soon as the whistle sound, before Tara could comprehend, the Udong girl immediately started attacking, forming the coal into a big pile and throwing it towards Tara. Tara jumped out of its way narrowly dodging its heavy fall onto the gorund.
Tara knew that if left alone, her opponent would use all of the coals there to her advantage. Tara immediately lit up her hands and fired at whatever pile she could lay her hands on. She could feel the heat around her, and the pulse of the vibrating energy within the coals. She just needed to heat up the coals high enough so that it would become harder for the Udong to control it. But she was finding it harder to focus, with all the dodging and narrowly missing the multiple firing of pelts against herself.
Her chance at attacking did come eventually, when the girl firing at her lost her footing on a rogue piece of coal. Tara, instinctively blasted at the nape of the whip, heating the black uneven round dust balls and turning them into bright yellow reddish ones, causing the girl to lose her grip over it.
The energy pulsated into Tara's veins like a bullet, and suddenly she was overcome with the surge of power. Tara let out a breath, trying to calm her quickening heart. The girl opposite to her, narrowed her eyes, and immediately raised two piles of coal, almost the size of a giant boulder. She swung her hands one after the other, sending it towards Tara in a swish. Tara had been ready. She immediately send two fireballs straight at the giant mass of coal, hitting directly at the center causing it splatter around like a meteor cracking against the atmosphere.
Her momentary confusion elapsed into a smile. The surge of energy into her hands and the movement in her legs, felt…familiar. Tara glanced over to her opponent and she definitely did not look happy. Her head tilted slightly as she raised her arms ominously. The piles of coal around Tara trembled slowly as each piece of coal raised itself into the air.
The coal stood individually in the air, stuck like massive bullets, innumerous. Tara's forehead scrunched in confusion as she looked around wondering the unusual technique. Then, the Udong swiped her hands towards the center.
As the tens of pieces came flying down at Tara, she tried to fire against, but they were too many for her to handle all at once. She felt the first one, right on her forehead. It her so hard that she lost her balance and fell backwards, as the rest of them hit her at various parts of her body.
Tara curled up into the fetal position, trying to defend herself from the rain of rocks. Soon enough, it stopped. She gazed up into the open sky, her arms and legs open. If this is the rest of her year was going to be, she wouldn't know if she would be able to survive it out.
***
'That guy didn't even give you a chance, did he?' Zalana asked as examined Tara's swollen eyes surrounded by a palette of blue, black and purple. Usually, she would have gone to the healing billets, but apparently they got too used to her. Though some of the nurses were sympathetic to her.
Tara sighed as Zalana pressed the wet cloth against her eye, warm and soothing. She could already feel the pain reducing. 'The Kazes and the Neroes are much more controlled when they are on the combat field.' She winced a bit as she felt the ache from the day's combat on her arms.
Zalana nodded. 'Why did you not just simply go to one of the healing billets?'
Tara shrugged at her. 'How many times a day can I go? Plus, there are enough number of people there, it would have taken me time to come back here.'
Zalana sighed and put the washcloth down on the slab. 'Tara, I don't feel like you try hard enough.'
Tara scoffed. 'Try hard enough?'
Zalana pursed her lips. 'Sometimes it feels like, you get hit on purpose because it will help you lose the combat faster and you know leave the game faster.'
'I get knocked out.' Tara replied curtly. 'Believe me, I am trying my best to dodge these attacks. '
'Well try forgetting about dodging these attacks.' Zalana answered back. 'Why not actually focus on fighting back?'
'That's easy for a premium combat student to say.' Tara answered.
'You still don't understand the essence of it.'
'Which is?' Tara answered back angrily. 'That fire is produced from my hands?'
Zalana shrugged. 'What is confusing about that?'
Tara sighed in frustration, not knowing how to explain.
'Alright, we can do this better. In practical terms.' Zalana stated. She strode away from Tara towards the centre of the ground.
'Each element has a knack.' Zalana started. 'The element of water is always flowing but it still has some form and structure. So I can push my water to flow,' the water from the pool behind her rose high into the air and fell into the adjacent pool in a pattern as it was flowing through invisible pipes, 'but with a little bit of strength and concentration, I can mold it into any shape I want.' The water immediately stopped flowing and turned into circular blobs.
Zalana then stroke her hands in a soft circular movement, causing the water to flow back into the pool. She then stood straight and turned back at Tara. 'As my complementary element, I have some idea about what your flair is.'
Tara nodded. 'Which is?'
'Energy.'
'You have already told me this.'
'Well get into your head.'
Tara crossed her arms and waited for an answer and when nothing came she raised her hands questioningly. 'That's it?'
Zalana rolled her eyes. 'Energy requires power, Tara. Unlike my element, its inherent but hidden in your surrounding. You need to feel it.'
'Zalana,' Tara pressed her lips tightly. 'I can feel it. I am still in my beginner mode. It will take time for to catch up.'
Zalana huffed out and folded her arms, seemingly thinking. Then she clicked her tongue and spoke, 'Close your eyes.'
'Why?'
'You need a quick way to learn how to feel the energy.' Zalana replied. 'I am giving you a method.'
Tara nodded reluctantly. She closed her eyes.
'What do you feel the most?'
'Nothing.' Tara replied back.
'Concentrate.' Zalana scolded. 'What do you feel the most?'
Tara frowned, focusing on the heat around her hand. It was pulsating, the air like something was bubbling. And that was where she felt it, a soft tingling, a vibration. It was very small, but it was all around her. All of a sudden, there was an immediate drastic drop in the temperature and as she opened her eyes, she saw a wave of ice blast coming flying at her.
Her hand twisted as fire blazed out of it with a ferocity that vaporized the wave. The steam slowly descended immediately and turned back into water, disappearing into the air. But before she could respond, another wave of water came rushing at her. 'Zalana stop.'
'I am not stopping.' She heard her voice behind the wave of water that came splashing at her. Tara fired at it angrily, causing the water to vaporize.
From the corner of her eyes, she saw the next wave twisting and forming, as it crashed into the ground from her side. Her hands instincitively crossed in front of her as she felt the force of fire blast right out of her with heavy strength. The water vapourized and it was completely foggy all over the ground.
'What on earth are you trying to do Zalana?'
She immediately heard the swishing sound of something zip through the air beside her. The next moment a snowball hit her right in the face causing her to topple down on her back.
'Come on, Zalana!' Tara shouted into the near opaque mist.
'It wont be a snowball next time.' She heard Zalana's voice echo through. There was a cold dangerous threat to it.
Tara jumped up from where she was lying and immediately blasted up her hands. She heard the swishing of an icicle sound echoing and immediately fired into that direction. She heard another one come up at her from the side and she immediately pushed one of her hands towards the direction where it was coming at her.
Tara knew she would not be able to keep this up and she twisted around allowing the fire to circle her like a ring. Several icicles were rushing towards like needles trying to poke a soft ball but her ring of fire, severely increased the heat around her, causing the icicles to melt before it reached her.
The mist evaporated from her the arena as dry spell start hungering over it. Tara looked around and saw Zalana on her knees and hands, mouth open. Immediately realizing start vapourized the ring of fire around her and rushed to Zalana. 'Are you alright?' She asked anxiously.
Zalana looked up at her and smiled. 'You learned.'
Tara frowned. 'What were you exactly trying to teach me?'
'Come on, Tara.' Zalana said parched, as she twisted the water from one of the pools and drank it. She panted and sat back on her back. 'I cannot exactly teach a child how to walk, they have to learn it on their own.'
'That's your method?' Tara asked, ridiculously. 'For your information, I am wobbling at the moment.'
'Listen, survival instincts often kick in.' Zalana replied as she took another gulp from that water. 'Yours kicked in now as well right?'
Tara's eyes narrowed at Zalana. 'You could have drowned me in those waves.'
'There is not enough water and besides I am not gonna drown anybody in water.' Zalana replied. 'Least of all, you.'
Tara looked up, the words striking her. 'I don't want to attack them.'
Zalana paused. 'What do you mean?'
'I mean a boulder could hurt me, yes. And water probably can drown me, but those things take time.' Tara started explaining. She paused and then looked at her hands as she let the fire lit up.. 'But fire can destroy instantly.' She said, feeling a sense of familiar truth. 'There is no time to take back the actions you make.'
There was silence as she looked towards Zalana. Zalana was looking at her as if she was trying to figure her out. 'Let's just take a few minutes.'
It was late in the evening and most of light in the rooms had been shut down. The night sky was clear and Tara saw the arch of spirit world stretch across the horizon.
'Fire is not as bad as you think it is you know.' Zalana remarked as they let the pleasant breeze hit them.
'I don't know why I said that.' Tara answered, honestly. 'Its just, fire seems so destructive.'
Zalana shook her head. 'Every element is destructive. Its in the hands of the person who uses it the power lies.'
'The power lies for what?'
'The power to destroy and protect.' Zalana answered. 'Fire is produced by instinct therefore it seems as though it can be corrupted easily. But all elements are like that. Air is supposed to be the calm and wise of us all, but the Great Upper East is always manipulative about its workings.'
'The Great Upper East?'
'The country of Kazes.' Zalana answered. 'Your mom didn't teach you anything?'
Tara for a moment felt the momentary shock of the events that transpired before. She resigned herself back immediately and decided to change the topic. 'If fire is so instinctive, I shouldn't be thinking about producing fire?'
'The spirit of fire is by nature very intuitive. You don't see it thinking about whether it will consume the dry leaf or the dry hay first.' Zalana answered. She looked as if she wanted to ask what Tara had been thinking but decided not to prod her on the same. Tara was grateful for it all the same.
'You cannot harness it with logic or thinking. And it spreads easily, therefore we first train them with controlling their mind.' Zalana explained.
Tara tilted her head curiously. 'We?'
Zalana looked up at her and after a moment's pause, said. 'I mean, when Na'ars are trained, they first train them on breathing and controlling. Fire is instinctively produced, there is no technique to producing it. And therefore, it is very susceptible to other emotions.'
'That might be a problem.'
Zalana laughed.
Tara laughed back and then stopped in her tracks as Zalana walked on, not noticing it. After taking a few paces, she turned around, realizing her teammate was not at pace with her.
'Why are you exactly in a team with me, Zalana?' She inquired, her eyes looking at Zalana suspiciously.
'Don't you want to be in a team with me?'
'That's not what I asked.'
Zalana started laughing. 'Why does that matter?'
'I need to know.' Tara explained.
Zalana realized there was a sense of seriousness in her tone. She sighed and let out a big breathe. 'I am trying to atone for my sins.'
Tara rolled her eyes. 'Of all the things, you couldn't have said anything more dramatic and more impossible.'
'No, I mean, really.' Zalana explained. 'I used to be one of those who would go and bully others.'
Tara blinked. 'What?'
Zalana reluctantly nodded. ' I am not proud of it.'
'Wow.' Tara exclaimed. 'I would never have guessed.'
'Everyone has a past, Tara.' Zalana said. 'My parents had found out about this. They felt so much disappointment, it made me feel very ashamed about the things I did. They made talk to that kid, I was tormenting. He was actually an amazing person.'
Tara smiled softly. 'Fine, I believe you.'
Zalana smiled back. She came towards Tara and grabbed her arm, warmly. 'Come on, then, let's go get dinner.'