The three travelers sat around the evening fire. Zalan’s system was sore and throbbing mercilessly. His hands were wounded from combat or sparring. His chest still burned from the blow Nold delivered him. His legs were totally exhausted to the point he wasn’t even sure he could stand up anymore. In short, everything hurt.

Nold had built a wall of sand around them, high enough to keep in the light from the fireplace and make them much less conspicuous targets as a single light in the middle of the night. Zalan had never felt so safe sleeping outside of the walls. And they were still planning on putting someone on watch overnight as an added layer of protection. If the sand was anywhere near as durable as it was when he was trying to kick it down, it would be able to withstand many manners of monsters. Nold was indeed very powerful.

“How come you don’t want to tell us what Level you are?” Zalan asked the instructor. “I know it’s not normally rude to ask, but I guess I don’t know why it would be smart not to share.”

“The people of this realm put so much weight behind the Level that someone has, not taking into consideration how someone of a lower Level could overcome them with enough guile. There are so many more important factors than the simple numbers on the wrist. Power is what matters. Then intelligence. For instance, are you even literate, Zustand?” Nold asked.

“Zalan,” Zalan corrected yet again. “Yeah, I can read fine.”

“Hmm,” Nold grunted, clearly surprised by the information.

“If power is what matters, then surely someone’s measure of Strength and Wisdom are important?” Rep asked.

“There are many measures of power. The power a mother can hold over a child has nothing to do with her Strength or Wisdom. Instead the power is formed by the young one’s response to her compassion and discipline. That is much more powerful than the ability to throw a punch,” Nold said, sounding almost inspired.

“Then why do you spend your time training people how to punch?” Zalan asked.

“For a much greater goal,” Nold said in deference.

“Which is?”

“Power.”

Zalan felt the conversation was getting a bit circuitous and rolled his eyes.

“Have either of you given any thought to your tournament titles?” Nold asked.

“I was hoping that tradition had stopped,” Rep sighed.

“On the contrary, it is stronger than ever. Now a requirement for entry.”

“What titles? The tournament requires us to have a title? Something like ‘Instructor’ Nold?” Zalan asked.

“Before each battle, the two fighters are introduced by their titles,” Rep explained, sounding somewhat embarrassed. “Like… The Notorious Nold. Or… The Nefarious Nold. They do not need to be alliterative, but they are intended to roll off the tongue. Inspire confidence and excitement in the audience.”

“Sounds like wrestling names,” Zalan said.

“I would not recommend that you wrestle in battle. If they imbue themselves, you would be at their mercy,” Nold said.

“I meant… yeah, whatever, fine,” Zalan dropped the subject and simply nodded.

“So, do you have a title in mind? Any monsters that you have bested that would be impressive to mention?” Nold asked.

“Can I go by Dragonslayer? Or… Elemental Dragonslayer!” Zalan suggested, wanting to sound intimidating.

“Elemental Dragonslayer? When you are beneath Level 5? Everyone would consider you a liar,” Nold shook his head.

“I thought you just said Levels didn’t matter.”

“I never said that they were totally irrelevant,” Nold scoffed. “What else have you done?”

“We took on Nargs and a Razortongue nest,” Rep said.

“Those can be useful. Perhaps… Rep the Narg Bargler!” Nold offered.

“Bargler?” Rep asked, sounding unenthused.

“It is simply a flashy name, they do not all need to make sense,” Nold dismissed his criticisms.

“I definitely don’t want to be called a Narg Bargler,” Zalan said.

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“Perhaps it might help to know where you come from. If your land has a good name, we could use it. Like the Great Zako of Zambo,” Nold said.

“Zako?” Zalan asked.

“Yes, your name. Zako.”

“Zalan, not Zako,” Zalan sighed, not sure if it was worth correcting him anymore. “And I’m not from Zambo. I told you, I’m from a place called Merced.”

“Where is that? It sounds otherworldly,” Nold said.

Rep and Zalan exchanged a glance. Rep shrugged, allowing Zalan to decide whether to share the truth of his origins.

“That’s because it is,” Zalan admitted.

Nold gave him a curious look.

“Another world?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you get here?”

“I don’t really know. I might have come out of the clouds or something? First thing I remember is falling into the area outside of Oriton,” Zalan said.

“The clouds?” Nold repeated. He looked at Zalan like seeing him for the first time, offering him a respectful nod. “You are not from Aetheria, that much I am certain of.”

“You’ve heard of Aetheria?” Zalan asked.

“Certainly. Everyone has heard of Aetheria. And I know enough about it to know you do not hail from there,” Nold said. “I think it would be more farfetched to lie about being from Aetheria than telling the others you are a Dragonslayer.”

“Okay, then let’s go with Dragonslayer,” Zalan said confidently.

Nold scoffed and shook his head at the suggestion. He pursed his lips in thought.

“I will try and think of a better name for the two of you. One that holds power,” Nold said.

Suddenly, to their surprise, Nold began floating slowly upward. Rep and Zalan stared in amazement before they realized he was elevating himself by creating a mound of sand under him, raising him like an elevator to the top of the sand wall he built.

“I will take the first watch. You two rest for now and we will continue our training tomorrow. Be sure to rest, for you will not have much of it tomorrow,” Nold said.

Zalan laid back, taking a good look at the amazing array of stars above him. It was like he could see an entire galaxy. He wondered if the constellations were the same above him as they were in his own world. Peering closely, he determined that he knew absolutely nothing about his own constellations in order to compare the two skies. There were a few bright stars above him, but were any of them the North star? Where did the Big and Little Dipper begin and end? Did it matter which side of the world you were in to see the right stars? Without an answer to any of these questions, he was left clueless.

He raised his head slightly, noting with interest that Rep was slinking over to Nold’s things on the floor. Rep looked up at Nold, who was staring out into the wilderness beyond their protective walls. Rep began reaching his hand out gradually, trying to grab his sword from out of Nold’s things without Nold noticing. Zalan looked up at Nold to see if he would sense anything. Just as Rep was about to touch the hilt of his blade, a tight cocoon of sand wrapped around the weapons. Rep sighed, looking up at Nold in annoyance.

“Good try. Now go to sleep,” Nold said without looking into the shelter.

“Why do I need to sleep without my sword?” Rep asked.

“Because you still have not learned to control your Element well enough to earn your weapons back,” Nold said simply.

Rep grumbled to himself and laid down to rest. Zalan smirked in amusement, wondering how Nold was able to sense Rep going for his weapon.

Zalan continued to marvel at the stars before finally being taken over by sleep.

“I was confused at first, but grew to respect how you sleep,” Nold’s voice spooked Zalan awake.

“Wuh? Huh? What?” Zalan was pulled to his feet while bleary with sleep.

“You sleep with a frown on your face. Like you are disappointed in yourself and wish to be better. Admirable,” Nold said, patting him on the back to wake him up.

“I don’t do that on purpose,” Zalan said, confused. It was still very dark out and Zalan groggily tried to figure out why he was awoken so strangely. “Is it my turn to take watch?”

“Good guess, but no. We are under attack,” Nold said.

The walls of sand shook from something striking it from outside. It sounded big.

“I am awake,” Rep rolled up to a sitting position, his eyes squinting. “Whose turn is it to stand watch?”

The walls shook again and Rep’s sleepiness sped away from his face.

“What is happening?”

“I believe it is a Sand Shark,” Nold said.

“Can we get our swords?” Rep asked hopefully.

“And lose all the chances we have to learn?” Nold asked.

The walls began to buckle, a small hole forming closest to them. A fin poked through the walls.

“All right, at least tell me what it is. How do we fight it?” Zalan asked.

“With a good display of power,” Nold said, snapping his fingers. To Rep and Zalan’s dismay, Nold had dismantled their shelter. The thick walls of sand came crumbling down around them.

The Sand Shark flopped on the ground, a yellowish brown shark with a collection of sharp teeth and wild eyes. It looked to the three travelers and immediately buried itself into the ground and out of sight. The earth began rolling slightly as it circled them, hunting.

“Fight well!” Nold encouraged, using sand to leap away from the Sand Shark’s encirclement.

“Light some fire, I need to see,” Zalan said, already feeling his legs buckle with fatigue. He wasn’t ready for a fight this soon after so much training.

Rep opened his palm and shined enough flame to illuminate the area. The Sand Shark was making quick circles around them, closing in with every circumnavigation. Zalan threw lightning at the mound of sand under which the Sand Shark swam, but it had no effect. Rep tried his fire to similar fruitlessness. The Sand Shark continued to close in.

“We have to wait for it to come out,” Rep said nervously.

“In other words, we have to wait until it feels confident enough to attack,” Zalan said, grumpy and annoyed in his half-awake state.

The Sand Shark continued its swim, its fin sneaking out as it prepared to breach to the surface. Almost silently, it broke through the ground and sailed through the air. Before they could properly react, they realized that it was targeting Rep with a mouth wide enough to consume him whole.