The training ground had become one of the space's more permanent fixtures over the past weeks — a flattened stretch of field near the crystal spring, worn smooth from months of sparring, and today it drew a crowd larger than any single practice session had managed before.
"Three of you," Kai announced, grinning, already settling onto a low rock with Ben beside him. "This I have to see."
Erik, Victor, and Killian stood loosely spaced across the training ground, each rolling their shoulders, testing the balance of weapons they'd chosen more out of habit than necessity given what all three of them could actually do without ever touching a blade.
"Rules?" Victor asked, glancing between the other two.
"No rules," Erik said. "First to yield, or first knocked down twice."
"Simple enough," Killian said, already settling into a stance that read less like preparation and more like patience — the particular readiness of a man who preferred to let opponents make the first mistake.
