Training (1)

It was early morning, the sun barely peeking above the horizon, yet Elian was already up, looking out of the lone window of their room and stroking the sleeping Sakku's head. Somewhere in the earliest moments of the day, when he was just waking up, she probably sensed it, climbing atop his chest the moment he turned onto his back. She acted exactly like a cat, demanding head scratches while purring loudly, making Elian smile and feel more relaxed than his situation would suggest.

"A new life... Yet I wake up, and I am not drowning in a river, so it must be real. This means I actually told off the Princess of this world before her own people... Ugh... Lucky me, they are in a bind and can't roll out the guillotine and use my head as the new ornament on their dinner table. However, given the current state of the world, they probably wouldn't do it. Or nothing THAT dramatic..." He thought to himself, smiling.

Recalling the city and the roads they walked on, he never saw any pillory or dangling cages on the walls where criminals would be put on display. There were no places to hang or behead somebody, anything comparable to how he imagined the medieval ages. Everything was surprisingly clean, colorful, and gorgeous. It was simply... pleasant.

"Maybe I did die. The air itself is clean, and the scenery is serene and peaceful at first glance. It's either my eyes or I don't know, but everything just looks and feels much more colorful here...and if not for the fact that a brutal war is going on, I would think this is the perfect world to spend an eternity in the afterlife. I just hope that if I die, at least my corpse gets laid to rest. Not that anyone would come and visit my grave, heh..."

"Mhm... Elian?" Sakku murmured, opening her giant blue eyes, yawning, and looking at him. "Don't worry..." she whispered, surprising him and proving that her species definitely had a great affinity for noticing when someone was thinking of depressing things.

"Hm? I'm fine!" He chuckled, sitting up, making Sakku look at him before nodding, smiling happily.

"That's good!" She beamed back at him, making Elian think to himself that no wonder they didn't notice their doom approaching. She trusted him at once without questioning whether he was lying or not. Even after all that happened to them... He was certain that no human could do the same.

"You are a precious little creature, aren't you?" He chuckled, making Sakku even happier hearing the praise.

"Is it... Morning already?" A groan came from above them, and Sammy poked his head over the edge, looking down like someone who didn't have enough sleep at all.

"Soon." Elian nodded, standing up and looking at him, "You are not a morning person, eh? I can relate to that."

"Ugh... I'm not, but... I'm up! I... knew this would... happen!" He answered between multiple yawns, forcing himself out of the top bunk. "I am going to be a knight who will save people! Sleep can wait!"

"A noble goal." Said a firm and strong voice with audible satisfaction. When they turned towards it, it came from Nika, standing in their doorway, dressed in a tight-fitting, white training garment.

"Princess!" Sammy shouted, almost falling over as he hurried to salute and go onto one knee at the same time, headbutting the bedside table next to him.

"Ah..." Elian flinched, not knowing how to greet the royalty, but before making a fool out of himself, the Princess raised a hand, stopping him from doing anything.

"From now on, you call me Commander. I am going to train you to see what's what. If you prove to be inadequate, you will still go to the regular army as an officer. If you prove to be a knight material... You will be under my supervision. Got it?"

"Yes, Commander!" they answered, this time in unison, surprising Nika. She nodded, feeling that maybe they would indeed make good knights, but she would not mention this to them. Yet...

"You got half an hour. Wash up, get ready, and meet me outside! Before breakfast, we are going to have a little exercise."

Although Elian had a few questions, he also knew when it was time to remain silent and just go with the flow. After finishing their quick morning ritual, they headed to the training field, which was a spacious clay court.

"Wearing white in this environment..." He thought, watching the Princess who was already there, waiting for them, standing in the middle of the field all alone.

"Good. You are punctual, which is an important trait for anyone wanting to be more than a footsoldier." She nodded, looking at them with crossed arms before her chest. Although physically, she was shorter than Elian, he didn't feel the difference in that moment. The aura emanating from her was that of a master, telling Elian that his basic instincts warned him that she was dangerous, and it was better not to anger her. "Please, wait at the resting area," Nika added, glancing at Sakku, who was trodding next to them up until this point.

At first, she wanted to stay, but her nature won over her thoughts and made her obey the command. After nodding and leaving them there, she sat down next to the dormitories, watching them from afar, still wanting to be part of it as much as possible.

"What do you know of Aspects?" Nika asked, looking away from Sakku and watching Sammy raise his hand high.

"Everyone has them!" he shouted after receiving a confirming nod from her. "Yet most people will never trigger their appearance throughout their lives."

"Good." Nika smiled, continuing, "Summoning an Aspect is only possible when the body reaches its natural limits and it awakens our hidden potential. It is always different for everybody, even if two people have the same type of Aspects. There are many rankings, but none of them are definitive. Still..." She whispered, stopping momentarily, remembering something, "There are some Aspects which are rare and certainly powerful. More so than others... Life is unfair... always has been. Some have more potential than any others could dream of."

"Like a dragon?" Elian asked, blurting it out without thinking, making Sammy twitch while Nika slowly nodded her head.

"Yes. Or like my tiger."

"Tiger? Damn it... Should I be surprised or not?" Elian added in his head, cursing himself for speaking out without thinking once again. Especially after seeing Nika and Sammy's questioning gazes. He expected Nika would be a bunny, considering the ears... but a tiger? He didn't even entertain the possibility.

"You don't know the form of my Aspect?" she asked, not expecting any honest answers from Elian, which resulted in new and old questions popping up in her mind.

"I lived under a rock. Kinda like a hermit." He answered quickly, continuing to groan silently, pinching the ridge of his nose.

"I see... Well..." She clapped so loudly that they felt their eardrums were about to burst open. "I will push your physical strength to the limit every day from now on. The morning exercise will be between five and six, and will be a ten-kilometer run for you," she pointed at Elian before aiming her finger toward Sammy. "Five for you because your stride is shorter. Questions?"

"None!" They answered, making her smile.

"Good. We start now; if you don't finish in time, you will skip breakfast until you have completed the entire distance. Go!"

Neither of them waited, shooting out and beginning to do laps around the field. Soon enough, Elian realized that what he believed was a fine little jog when traveling with Sakku was nothing but fast walking for him. He had been running for only ten minutes, but he had already lapped Sammy multiple times, and he knew he could go even faster as he was only starting to warm up his muscles.

"Should... Should I go for it?" He asked himself, jogging, as his body already seemed to be urging him to shift into a higher gear. He was simply... too slow. "Ah... whatever! If I don't know my limits, how can I improve?"

Coming to a decision, he began increasing his pace, already running at a speed that was a full-on sprint for others. Only then did he finally notice that he was also breathing in more rapidly, but still taking measured drags, supplying his muscles with the perfectly needed amount of oxygen. And... he knew he could go faster. He could sprint... And if he did so, that would be just like a cheetah chasing its prey.

"..." Although Nika was standing in the middle of the field, watching them run with a stoic expression, she was deeply shocked. What Elian was doing was on par with her generals and top warriors, yet it should not be possible without awakening his Aspect. Or did he already have one? Is he a spy? "No... That can't be the case." She told herself, glancing at Sakku. The fluffy little ryuin sat patiently next to the field, always cheering on the two when they passed her. She can be many things, but a traitor is not one of them. "Who... Or... What did you bring back to us...?" She asked, her inner voice full of hope and excitement all of a sudden.

It was a question she couldn't ask openly... at least... not yet. But this made her even more determined to train him. On the one hand, the young boy seemed promising, completing the task within the time limit, even if, by the end, he was breathing heavily and his legs were shaking. Yet, Elian, who managed to run twenty kilometers, doubling his initial goal... was barely out of breath.