"So, you can expel fire just from your hands?" I asked, curiously as we walked across the hallway towards the courtyard where Bomani had asked us all to come after breakfast.
"Yeah, it seems so." Maya said with a shrug, finishing off the banana she was eating and I nodded at her words. It was so odd to think of expelling fire from oneself.
"Why do you think Ustaaz has called us all for special training?" I asked randomly, looking to Maya who shrugged yet again.
"Ustaaz always has something up his sleeve." She let out with a small chuckle as we neared the entrance and walked down the steps and I looked down in confusion at the different arrangement of the training grounds.
There was a large circle drawn in the ground with chalk and Ayla sat on a bench and the three boys sat on an adjacent bench. Bomani was stood in the centre of the circle as if he was waiting for our presence.
Maya and I settled ourselves down next to Ayla who gave us a small smile and then Bomani began, looking to us all.
"As you can probably tell, today's training will be slightly different. I advised, yesterday, for it to be combat training for a specific reason." He began, looking around at our faces before he walked over to the weapons shelf at the side, regarding the weapons.
"You have been assigned a combat partner by random selection who you will fight against to test your strength, agility and strategy. The weapon you choose must be on this shelf." He explained, gesturing to the shelf and I tensed at his words.
"There's no bow and arrow on that shelf." Ayla whispered to me, frowning and I held on to her hand. I looked over as the boys smiled to each other, making me roll my eyes at their competitive nature.
"But there is a condition." Bomani called out, silencing the whispers as he looked around. His gaze lasted on me for a small second.
"You will be able to use your abilities and, considering all individuals are aware of their powers now, this shall be fair." He announced and I tensed at his words.
Ayla held to my hand with a smile and Maya tapped my back in pride. I looked to both Emut and Abrax who looked to me in half surprise and half confusion before turning to Demir who kept his gaze on Bomani.
Bomani cleared his throat as he pulled a paper out of his robe.
"The opponents will be as follows..." He began and I clenched the bench, a knot of nerves building in my stomach.
"Abrax and Emut." He called out to which Emut slapped Abrax's back, making him smile.
"Maya and Demir." He listed and Maya let out a snort.
"Finally." She muttered, her challenging gaze on Demir who merely sported a ghost of a smile.
"And, lastly, Hanna and Ayla." Bomani finished the list, placing it back in his pocket and Ayla squeezed my hand yet again with a squeal.
"You're going down." She said jokingly and I nudged her with my elbow, making her laugh.
Bomani made his way over to a chair on the top of the stairs as he looked to the courtyard. He ushered Abrax and Emut forward to which they stood up with Emut whispering something to Demir.
They walked over and picked up their infamous longsword and axe, respectively before stepping into the large circle. It was silent for a moment before Bomani cleared his throat.
"Begin."
That was all he said and all hell seemingly broke loose. Emut moved towards Abrax at an astounding speed before hitting his sword against Abrax's shoulder, making me gasp. But, Abrax had seemingly foreseen that and the sword merely bounced off his body, leaving no wound in its place.
He swung his axe then with the force of a beast to which Emut put his hand on the axe handle, making it stop in its path. He pushed hard then, making Abrax push back slightly, near the edge of the circle.
"Did I mention that you lose if you step out of the circle?" Bomani called out, folding his arms as he looked on and I felt another bundle of nerves grip at my stomach.
Emut nodded at this, turning to look at Abrax, a look of determination in his golden gaze. Abrax moved forward then, his muscles rippling as he walked and he swung his axe in a fast circular motion. Emut moved forward at this, his speed allowing him to dodge past Abrax, creating deep marks in the hardened sand from his movements. He moved behind, hitting against Abrax with the hilt of his sword, causing him to jolt forward as he almost tripped. He turned fast in response, hitting against Emut's sword then, causing him to stagger back.
Abrax let out a small growl and I marveled at how different his nature seemed when he was fighting. He pushed against Emut's sword, using his weight, causing Emut to move back towards the edge of the circle.
"Yes, Abrax." Ayla whisper-cheered, her hands clenching together and I turned back to the action.
They were moving at a fast pace to the edge, with their weapons clashed against each other. It was only when they neared the end that Emut hit his sword upwards at the axe, causing Abrax to falter back slightly and Emut used this as an opportunity to take advantage. He grabbed against Abrax's torso before bending backwards, causing Abrax to fall roughly on the ground with a loud thud that echoed loud across the courtyard.
"Emut wins." Bomani announced and I sat up as I looked to see that Abrax was out of the circle.
Emut smiled before moving over and lending a hand to Abrax who took it graciously, with a smile. My mouth was probably hanging open at this point as I looked to both highly-skilled individuals. It was clear as to why Emut was the leader; he seemed to be very refined in his tactics and I knew now that he held back a lot when we trained. I also couldn't mistake Abrax's kind and gentle nature for him to be a gentle warrior. He was, indeed, a vicious fighter and I felt pity for any enemy, obstructing his path.
They moved to the side then and I turned when Maya clapped her hands together.
"Let's do this." She muttered to herself, standing up and Ayla and I cheered her on. Meanwhile, I looked to see Emut and Abrax tap Demir's back as he walked over to the weapons shelf.
I saw Maya say something there, but Demir only rolled his eyes and I could imagine the vulgarity of her insults, despite not hearing them. Maya grabbed her daggers and Demir picked up his glaive. They walked over to the circle, standing on opposite sides and I watched on in silence.
"Begin." Bomani instructed again and Maya let out a small grunt as she moved gracefully, leaping into the air as she neared and I looked on in awe.
Demir merely placed his glaive above him, which Maya kicked against before jumping back down and flinging a dagger towards him.
He flicked it away with his glaive as though it was paper and it landed embedded into one of the wooden support beams for the entrance.
"I expected more." Demir said boredly, staying rooted to the spot, making Maya let out a shriek before she jumped to him, a magnificent bolt of fire leaving her hand.
"Do something!" She screamed as he dodged it and he smiled at her anger, making her throw a tirade of fireballs in his direction.
"Coward!" She screamed again, her blood red hair, flopping as she moved towards him and I watched as he dodged each affliction, his smile growing.
She was within half a metre of him by then and she lashed forward with her remaining dagger which he blocked with his glaive. She continued with her attacks and shouts of insults, taking a stab at his chest, but he was noticeably faster. I watched as he blocked it effortlessly before tripping her over with his glaive. He let out a cold laugh at this.
"You want me to do something?" He asked, walking towards her lying form. He pointed his glaive at her as she sat up with a cough.
"To not be a coward?" He pressed, his eyes gleaming dangerously. His hair was blowing erratically now into his eyes as he smiled and I watched at the sand began enveloping her legs.
She let out a growl at this as it pulled her in and Demir watched, his face blank. She let out another shriek then before throwing the dagger his way, which he caught mid-air, glancing at it in disdain before chucking it out of the circle.
I watched in awe at his power; I could feel its presence sinking in to me. He crouched next to her then with a small smile as it enveloped her torso and then, suddenly, it stopped and collapsed off her body.
She let out a small gasp at this, moving to attack, but it was indeed a premeditated move by Demir who grabbed her by her arm and leg before turning his body and throwing her out of the circle. She rolled for a minute before stopping on her stomach.
"Demir wins." Bomani announced to which Maya let out a small huff as she got up. She gave a challenging glare to Demir before grabbing both daggers to which he smiled. They made their way to their respective benches and I tapped Maya's thigh as she sat down, wiping at the sand that covered her legs.
"Next time." She muttered to herself aggressively and Ayla let out a small giggle at her determination. Indeed Maya was so quick on her feet and left no moment for her attackers to think. However, Demir was a sight to behold. Being a descendant, I could see the stark difference in his power and it sent chills up my spine.
"Come on, Hanna, it's our turn." Ayla whispered and I looked to Bomani who was ushering us up.
With a shaky breath, I pushed myself up and made my way to the weapons shelf. Instinctively, I picked up the familiar doublesword and Ayla let out a sigh.
"Which one to pick?" She murmured, a thoughtful look on her face and I took the time to scan the surroundings.
Maya was watching with folded arms, seemingly still peeved from her match. On the other bench, however, Abrax was smiling in our direction yet I could tell his glance was fixated more on Ayla's form. I turned to Demir then who was seemingly awaiting the match to begin, a blank look on his face and then to Emut, who smiled at me. I could almost imagine his encouraging words and I smiled back.
"This one." I looked to Ayla who picked up the sword that was slightly curved at the end. Emut had called it a cutlass when we had learnt each sword type.
She smiled at me as she swung it jokingly and I let out a laugh before making my way into the circle. Ayla had already placed her hair into her signature pony tail and I silently regretted that I had left mine open, making me vulnerable to some attacks.
We stood waiting with bated breaths for Bomani to speak which seemed to take a century. At long last, he let out a cough to clear his throat.
"Begin." He announced and I sucked in a deep breath for hwat was to come.