Elric and Isla were led to the training ground. Plenty of Fae were already there training with bows and magic. Strangely, no one used swords or spears. And unlike the burly knights in Aeceria with bulging muscles, they were all slender. Though they were slender, it was apparent they possessed muscle as well. What surprised the two most was that half of them were female. Aeceria had a few female knights, but the amount of additional training they had to undergo made it near impossible for women to enter knighthood.

Another Fae approached the two handing them their weapons that had been previously apprehended. Elric quickly tied his hair into a braid not wanting it to get in the way as Isla studied her weapon, ensuring it was the same one she had left home with. Not that it mattered, really. Her bow was special in Aeceria, carved from one of the trees in the Forlorn Forest. Had her bow been replaced with any of the other Fae bows... Well, it would have been quite the same, really.

"How good are you with a bow?" Lam asked, arms crossed as he faced the girl before him.

Isla readied her bow, adjusting her stance as necessary, before letting the arrow fly. It hit its target — one of the fruits on the tree nearby.

Lam nodded his head in approval. "Very good, but your next target won't be so easy." He grabbed one of the wooden shields hanging off the side of the wall before taking flight.

Isla loudly exhaled. She had dealt with her fair share of moving targets, but never in the air. After all, in what scenario would she have to shoot something out of the sky? A bird for dinner? She didn't know how to calculate how much force to use, not to mention accounting for the wind and the moving target. As she had expected, she missed her target entirely.

"Not as skilled, are we?" He floated back down, a slight frown on his face. "Come with me." He beckoned.

Lam led Isla out of the training ground to where the forest began. Trees and bushes made the path narrow before opening just a little. Isla was about to take another step forward when Lam pulled her back. In front of them, twenty or so Fae gracefully flew around swiftly dodging each other's arrows while shooting a few of their own. Isla's jaw dropped at the amount of precision they possessed.

"What happens if they get hit?" Isla asked.

"Then they get hit." Lam shrugged.

"I-Isn't that dangerous?" Isla smiled incredulously at Lam's nonchalant explanation.

"It's nothing that can't be healed. It's just painful, that's all."

Isla thought back to how well-protected the Aecerians were when they trained. Their archers especially never aimed their arrows at each other.

Then a thought occurred to her. "I'm not going to have to do this, right?"

"Hmm, not quite this." He hummed. "Rather than dodging arrows, you'll likely be dodging wind. You may be skilled with a bow, but there is no way you would reach this level in half a moon. Besides, you can't even fly."

Isla sighed in relief. She supposed learning to dodge while aiming was a skill she could benefit from.

Elric, on the other hand, wasn't quite so lucky.

"There is no need to test your offensive skills — I imagine you're already quite adept at that," Firth began. "Instead, we will be testing your defensive skills."

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"Okay?" Elric raised an eyebrow while narrowing his eyes. He received some specialized defense training at the castle, considering he would become Gwyneth's bodyguard, yet most of his training was offense. More defensive training would come later once the time came closer to fulfill that role.

"Let's start with something easy." Firth reached for his bow slung on his back. He managed to fire three arrows in quick succession, all of which Elric narrowly dodged.

"I thought we were testing defense? This is evasion." Although evasion was sometimes the best defense, he somehow didn't think that's what the Fae meant.

"We are testing defense. Deflect them with your sword."

Elric blinked. While he had been trained a little in archery, he was never trained to defend against it. That was the vanguard's duty. Then again, what would happen if an archer targeted Gwyneth? Perhaps this training would be beneficial after all. Elric nodded his head and prepared to deflect the arrows this time.

Firth took the hint that Elric had never received this type of training before and fired the arrows slower than before. Elric's muscle memory took over as he evaded the first two arrows before remembering he was supposed to deflect them. A bit late and with clumsy movement, he managed to deflect the last arrow. Firth frowned. He had a long way to go. After all, how was he supposed to defend against magic if he couldn't deflect physical arrows?

---

"Magic, as you know, takes time and concentration to cast," Florian began. He had taken Aston to an elaborate hall within the palace. The hall was dome-shaped, the ceiling several meters high. The light of the isabells gave the room a pink hue, but from what Aston could tell, the walls were a light yellow. "If you have any hope of using your magic effectively, your concentration must remain unbroken." His voice echoed throughout the room. After all, nobody else was there. "Begin."

Aston summoned a ball of fire in his hands.

"Stop!" Florian's voice bounced from wall to wall causing Aston to wince at the echo. "Fire is strictly prohibited."

"Why?" Aston asked.

"Because it's destructive. Magic is a gift from the elemental spirits — one that should be used for creation to thrive."

"What if you get cold?"

"Fae don't get cold."

So, fire really had no place in this society. However, that made Aston wonder about something else. "Is there a specific element you feel more connected to than the others?"

"A specific element?" Florian rested his chin on his hand. "I suppose most of us would answer with air, as that is the element of our kingdom. As you may have noticed, air is the only element we can directly manipulate. Earth and water we may create, but not manipulate."

"Then how did you dodge the earthquake I created?"

"By creating one of my own." Florian shrugged. "What I mean by manipulate is that we can't manipulate the terrain. We may create platforms to our exhaustion or minor earthquakes affecting the immediate area around us, but raising or lowering terrain is strictly out of our control."

"Can I?"

"That remains to be seen. Anyway, why ask about a connection to the elements?"

Aston shifted uncomfortably. "For as long as I can remember, I've felt a connection to fire. It's the first one I go to. Do you think there's a reason for that?"

"As I said before, fire is a destructive element. One might gather that innately you seek destruction and chaos. However, like I said, many of us would claim to feel closer to air as it is our kingdom's element. It is possible that you have formed a connection with the Elemental Spirit of Fire, but that is unlikely. After all, the spirit remains dormant in Cathrul. Or at least it was." Florian folded his arms in thought. "One would have assumed you more attuned to earth considering your ancestry in Aeceria. Granted, the Elemental Spirit of Earth's whereabouts have been unknown for quite some time. Lastly, you may just like fire."

"May just like fire?"

"It's pretty."

Hadn't he just called it destructive? Aston didn't understand this guy.

"Now, begin again," Florian said sternly.

Aston focused on earth this time — an element he had never really experimented with before. A small vine wrapped around his hand.

"Very good." Florian nodded his head. "Now, focus on attaching the vine to the wall across from us." He pointed to the wall several meters away.

Aston nodded his head. He focused his attention, and suddenly a gust of wind knocked him over. "What in the Almighty-"

"Pay attention to your surroundings." Florian smirked. "Your opponent and severe weather conditions will not wait on you to cast your spell. Be vigilant, but do not let your focus waver. And do not invoke your god's name so casually.

Aston bit his tongue. He had never been the religious sort, yet this Fae who did not worship a deity was reprimanding him. He would speak however he pleased, especially if this deity had supposedly chosen him.