The fight began with Liora launching herself at Aidan. Her punches and kicks were swift and precise. Aidan barely reacted in time, blocking and deflecting her blur of strikes with every ounce of strength he had. She was fast, certainly more than Aidan had expected.

Aidan felt his muscles straining under the effort as each of Liora’s strikes came more aggressively than the last. The weight of every lesson, every bruise and blister he had from Eryndor, came to bear in this moment. He could feel Eryndor’s eyes on him, watching as he focused solely on his opponent.

He managed to block a high kick aimed at his head. The feeling of success was short-lived as a sudden sweep knocked his legs out from under him. Aidan hit the ground hard, gasping for breath. “Stay focused,” he reminded himself as he struggled to clear his head. “Remember Eryndor’s training.”

Liora pounced, aiming to pin him down. Aidan rolled to the side just in time, narrowly avoiding her grasp. He could hear the thud as his knee slammed into the ground where he had been just a second ago.

Pushing himself to his feet, Aidan squared off against Liora again. The rough training ground felt unforgiving beneath his feet. She was quicker and more agile, her feline grace giving her an edge, each movement a blur of speed. Aidan knew he had the strength he needed to win this. He remembered Eryndor’s harsh training sessions and the gruelling hours spent perfecting his technique.

“Don’t think, act. You have had this drummed into you each day by Eryndor’s training.” Thought Aidan. “Just relax and let instinct take over.”

Liora came at him again, her eyes blazing with determination. Aidan met her head-on, their movements a chaotic dance of offence and defence. He blocked a series of rapid punches, countering with a powerful right hook that grazed her cheek. She hissed in frustration, her tail lashing behind her as she redoubled her efforts.

Aidan could feel himself tiring, his muscles burning with exertion despite his constant daily training. Liora’s relentless assault was taking its toll, and he knew he had to end this soon. He looked for an opening, a momentary lapse in her defence that he could exploit.

Liora lunged at him, aiming for a knockout blow. Aidan sidestepped, using her momentum against her to throw her off balance. She stumbled, and Aidan seized the opportunity, delivering a swift kick to her midsection. Liora gasped, doubling over in pain.

With a fierce growl, she lashed out, her claws raking across Aidan’s arm. He hissed in pain, but he didn’t back down. He could see the flicker of doubt in her eyes, the realization of what she had done of the fact that she might not win this fight.

Summoning a last burst of strength, Aidan launched himself at her, their bodies colliding in a flurry of limbs.

For a moment, it seemed like Liora would overpower him. Her claws dug into his shoulders, and Aidan cut short a scream as the pain almost overloaded his brain. Aidan could feel his strength waning.

“Come on. Push dammit. One last push.” Shouted Aidan internally to himself. With a final burst of energy, he managed to twist free, sweeping her legs out from under her and pinning her to the ground.

His victory was short-lived. Liora lifted her hips, twisting around. Aidan felt himself slip and dislodge. Their position reversed as she locked her legs around his chest, pushing her weight down.

Aidan’s chest heaved with each breath, sweat running down his face. Liora glared down at him, her pride wounded from his momentary advantage. Despite her glare, there was a hint of reluctant respect in her eyes.

Aidan struggled to dislodge her. Twisting and turning. Each effort only succeeded in wearing him out faster. After what seemed like forever, Liora smiled, flashing her teeth as he finally stopped fighting.

“Fine. You win.” Grumbled Aidan. “ But don’t think this changes anything,” his voice laced with defiance.

Aidan pushed off her as he stood up. He extended a hand to help her up. But Liora smacked it away. Aidan sighed as he pressed his hand to his shoulder where her claws had dug in. “I’m not asking for your friendship, Liora. Just your cooperation. As the Elder said, we must be ready for whatever comes next.”

She hesitated, opening and closing her mouth wordlessly as she seemed to think about what to say for a second before nodding to herself. “You’ve got a lot to prove, Aidan. Don’t make me regret this.”

The Elder stepped forward, her expression a mix of relief and something else. “Good. Now that this is settled, let’s focus on what truly matters—preparing for the fight ahead. Liora and Aidan, you both have much to learn from each other. Let’s ensure we’re ready for whatever the goddess sends our way.”

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Aidan nodded and bowed as Eryndor had taught him to do after a duel. Liora shook her head slightly before turning and walking away; Aidan stopped himself from calling out. Liora didn’t seem to want to talk or discuss the fight.

“Best go get that patched up.” Said Eryndor as he walked over to Aidan, looking his battered body up and down. “You did well for someone with only a short amount of training. It was a near thing. She has more training than you do. Don’t worry; I’ll have you beating her in no time. You’ll see.”

Aidan nodded to Eryndor, turned and left the training ground. Walking through the empty streets as he made his way to the healing room in one of the buildings. As he entered the room, he noticed Kaelira looking over a broken leg. Aidan watched as she pulled the leg, trying to straighten the break before a green, blue glow wrapped around the leg.

It always fascinated Aidan, watching magic heal what would have taken weeks and even countless surgeries to fix back on Earth. Magic seemed to make everything easier in some random way.

“I need to learn healing magic.” Thought Aidan as he approached Kaelira. He watched as she turned to wash her hands after healing the leg. He stared at her back before clearing his throat to get her attention.

“Oh. Why hello.” Smiled Kaelira as she looked over her shoulder at Aidan. “I wasn’t expecting you now. We have training later today… What happened?”

Aidan grimaced as he saw her eyes focus on his bleeding shoulder. Her happy demeanour vanished. “Who did this.” She asked as she struggled to control herself.

It always shocked Aidan now to see how much she cared about him. He had noticed that she seemed to treat him better than others. Aidan wasn’t sure why. He had theories but was not game to ask her outright.

“It was nothing.” Replied Aidan quickly as he watched her eyes sharpen at his comment. “Just a training match that got a little more heated than normal. Nothing to worry about.”

Kaelira let out a low growl as she examined Aidan’s shoulder. “Who did this? These are claw marks.”

“It was a new trainee.” Said Aidan with a grimace as Kaelira pressed on the wound. “The Elder brought her to the training grounds. We disagreed and ended up in a duel.”

“Some duel. Normally, we wouldn’t injure each other in a training match.” Muttered Kaelira as she worked. “I will be speaking to Eryndor and the Elder about this. No one damages mine.”

Aidan coughed as he tried to process Kaelira’s words. “Yours?”

“Hush now. Let me work.” Chuckled Kaelira.

Aidan replayed the conversation in his head. She had called him hers. He was sure of it. He was surprised it didn’t bother him as much as he thought. He hadn’t had any genuine relationships back on Earth. A few girlfriends, but they never lasted long. She smiled as he thought of Kaelira putting her claim on him. Would it be so bad?

The next day, as the morning sun cast long shadows over the training ground, Liora joined Aidan’s session. Despite her hostility towards him, Aidan found himself inexplicably drawn to her as much as she pushed his buttons and constantly glared at him. He still found her intriguing.

She was quick-witted and skilled, her movements fluid and precise. He often found himself trying to copy her, pushing his limits to match what she seemed to do with ease. Some of his efforts bordered on reckless, earning him stern reprimands from Eryndor and bored looks from Liora.

Aidan knew he could see her struggling to hold back her laughter each time he did something she found funny. Though he knew she would flat-out deny it if he pushed her about it. But it made every effort he put forward worth so much more.

He wasn’t sure what had happened with her village, but he sensed it was a painful memory. She never spoke of it. He had tried to ask her once, curious about the sorrow in her eyes.

She had launched a bolt of lightning at his head, her eyes filled with a pain he didn’t understand. He would never forget the smell of burnt hair or the look of anguish on her face. After that, Aidan decided not to ask again, sensing that her past held wounds that were still too raw.

Her presence brought a new energy to the training grounds. Liora challenged Aidan in ways he hadn’t anticipated. She matched his skill and speed, which spurred them to improve as he slowly caught up.

However, much to Aidan’s horror, one day. Eryndor decided that he was now ready for even harder training. The workouts went from pushing him to flat-out military drills. Aidan groaned internally, Not stupid enough to groan in front of Eryndor. The last time he had, Eryndor had made him run through the forest training track at night.

He still had a nightmare about it now and then. It was not something Aidan would ever forget. He was still sure something had been trying to eat him throughout the entire time Eryndor had pushed him. The old elf had been right beside him. Not even slightly winded as Aidan gasped for air in the early morning hours.

The days passed as they settled into a rhythm, a blend of gruelling training each morning and magical practice in the afternoon. One afternoon, after a particularly intense sparring session, Liora and Aidan sat on the ground, panting as Aidan grinned at Liora.

“You know,” Liora said, flicking her tail playfully, “you don’t have to show off all the time.”

Aidan’s cheeks flushed, and he laughed awkwardly. “I guess I just wanted you to notice. I wanted to improve our interactions somehow.”

She smiled, though it didn’t meet her eyes. “I’ve been noticing you since our first dual. And every moment after, even when you tried to summon a fireball and nearly set your pants on fire.”

Aidan chuckled nervously as Liora laughed, the day’s tension melting away. Aidan knew that they had some kind of uneasy truce.

The last of the villages had all but left, leaving only the soldiers preparing for the worst. A few strange occurrences began to punctuate their otherwise peaceful existence.

It started with small things – a sense of being watched, shadows moving at the edge of his vision, whispers on the wind that seemed to call his name. Aidan tried to ignore them, focusing on his training, but the sense of impending danger only grew stronger.