First week of training ended and the girls had Sunday free. Ingrem had them all running through a cycle of physical exercises in the morning and switched to various self-defense drills after lunch, which was provided by a catering firm.

They had been shown a set of moves that could be easily adapted for most situations. All originating from a single posture, the class was taught how to move their body in response to a threat. The moves were not final, set in stone and to be adhered to like a mantra.

As the coach explained on the afternoon of the second day.

“A mere month is too short to properly ingrain any formal martial arts in you, that would take years of constant practice, even as intense as it will be. What I will be teaching you is a foundation, something you can go through on your own and build upon. It will be the basic of basics, usable in all circumstances but not perfect for any situation.

"It will be up to you to keep up the training or drop it off. I will be giving you the foundation stone to do with as you please."

After the first five days of the class, his words rang true. The stance was a versatile one. Allowing a person to be where he needed to be at a moment's notice. Not restricting mobility in any direction, but neither was it allowing a person to be anywhere faster. A simple raising or lowering of the arms would be all that was necessary to adapt to an opponent with bare hands or with a knife.

All the moves, blocks, and attacks were built into a kata. Every foray ended with a return to the starting position, knees bent and feet planted firmly on the ground, moving but rarely changing position for long.

It would all seem to be a little strange to a boxer, not to be running circles around each other with his opponent, but that was where the magic would come in. Next week would be dedicated solely to defensive spells.

Running, jumping, and going through a set of moves again and again, day in and day out, was hard work. Even though they had a day off to recuperate, apparently rest is a crucial part of training, Ixalia and Sidy did not feel like doing anything other than sprawling all over the chairs in the common room. Groaning, grunting, and being the proverbial sorry sods was fast becoming their favorite pastime.

They got used to waking up early to prepare and Sunday was no different, even though Ixa tried to go back to it, she couldn't fall asleep. Several rolls and a stubbed toe later, she was heading to the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Circles were forming under her eyes now because even in the sweet embrace of unconsciousness she found no solace.

One nightmare or another would give her a vivid example of what was awaiting her in the future. Those where she suffered were bad, but the ones that drained her empty were ones where her family or Sid were on the receiving end, with her helplessly looking on.

Get yourself together, you aren’t going to help anyone being a dead girl walking. She contemplated getting a prescription of some kind to help her deal with it, but it always felt like admitting defeat before the fight even started.

She slapped her cheeks to bring some color to them and looked at her ears. They were getting longer and pointier, to the point where she started hiding them with her hair. A couple of bobby pins and no one was the wiser, only Sidy, but she told the other girl everything these days.

Ixa didn’t worry about it for some reason. She felt like she should, but just couldn’t make herself. Every time she tried to work up some emotion other than contentment, she was hit with a memory of the god’s love for her. The changes she was going through couldn’t be all that bad in light of that bottomless affection, right?

Getting squared away quickly, she left the room and found Sidy making tea, eyes clammy from sleep, and hair looking like a bird's nest. She didn't ask whether Ixa wanted one as well, she didn't have to, she just made it.

Taking the cup of steaming leaf juice, as they called tea jokingly, she sent a soft thanks the girl's way. A sip or two and warmth started spreading out of her stomach, slowly reaching through the rest of her weary body.

“I’m going for a run later, you joining, Sid?” The simple sentence could have carried all the whole knowledge of the universe for how its recipient almost had to be catching her eyes, so much were they popping out.

“You can’t be serious, Ixa.” Sidy said as she began pouring herself a second mug.

“We’ve already started doing it in lessons, no reason not to make it a habit outside of them.”

"A, don't say it like that, and B, we are meant to have the day off, rest and all that, not spend it torturing ourselves further.”

"I am not going to be running the whole day, just a light run around the street. Get the blood pumping, chase away sleep. A healthy dose. Come on, Sid, I know you have it in you." Ixa said as she went to rinse her cup out.

“Fine, but we go where I tell we go after that. You can have your pick of destination later. Or I’m not going,” her friend threatened.

“Ok. Don’t expect me to like it, though. You remember how last time went, right?” She knew the places the other girl would take them. Sidy wasn’t immune to the mythical pull of shopping the way she was.

Her unenthusiasm certainly wasn’t helped by the fact that fashion seemed to be allergic to her. Any dress her friend tried putting her in seemed to have a visceral reaction and basically developed a clothing’s version of a rash.

"What do you mean? Oh! Heh… hehe. No, don't worry, I've seen enough molting dead fish for a lifetime." Sid commented and burst out laughing soon after. The album they put together after that one time was enough to put to shame any dermatologist's catalog.

They left eating for after the run, which they underwent without a word. Both had things to think through and neither wanted to accidentally bite a tongue. A short shower later, Sidy was dragging Ixalia out by the arm.

“No breakfast yet, you’ll eat when we get there.”

She led them through the city unerringly, aimed like a hawk circling a hare. They passed where their lessons took place and continued down the street. One building after another was left behind them as they approached the faithful cathedral, which elicited a small squeak from Ixalia. But it also came and went.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Soon, they stood in front of a medium-sized house. It was innocuous but for a small signboard with an amphora pouring water into a pool.

“A bathhouse?” Ixa asked.

“Nope, a spa!” exclaimed Sidy. “With breakfast and lunch already paid for!” A smug expression found its way onto her face.

And rightfully so, they didn’t leave the blissfully hot mineral spring water until deep into the afternoon.

"We are wrinkly like an old man's…" began Ixa as they were exiting before Sidy clamped her mouth shut with both hands.

“A raisin, wrinkly like a raisin.” She finished for her friend, not looking at her. Her head was instead turned in the direction of two priests that were about to enter the fine establishment. They exchanged a look, smiled, and went inside.

“You can’t just go and say stuff like that in public, we aren’t home right now.” She wheeled around and scowled at the young healer.

"Like they were going to be outraged by me mentioning someone's…" Once again, hands were placed on Ixalia's moth, shutting her up.

"Don't. You. Dare." A joyful spark played in both girls' eyes. After a moment, Sid let her go, wiped her palm on her pants, and they started walking in silence. It lasted two whole minutes.

“SACK!” yelled Ixa and ran for it, her friend hot on her heels, the two laughing like maniacs. They were both winded by the time the chase ended with both claiming to be the victor.

“Your… turn…to…pick,” said the brunette between breaths.

Ixalia's destination couldn't have been more of an opposite. She chose a famous ice cream parlor on the outskirts. They spent only a short moment there since the travel time took the rest of the day. The sights they saw from a tram were beautiful at least.

***

Week two began the exact same way that the days before did. With a run and physique training.

"You had one day off, are told that you'll do magic this week and think and you suddenly don't need to run anymore?" laughed Ingrem as they huffed and puffed, strewn around the room in differing stages of the morning routine.

More misery and further strain on their bodies was apparently something the coach got off on. Even Liman seemed tired when it was time for lunch.

After the meal in a mess hall a storey below, they brought out chairs and sat in a circle.

“Now, you are all mages, but we here are not all equal. If you need help, ask, there is no shame in it. Some people are just better at magic than others and no manner of training can change that, that is the cruel fact. It can close the gap, sure, but you won’t be able to overcome the inherent bias.

"What I will be showing you soon could be considered as a general shield. Here's what we are going to start with. First start by circulating your mana throughout your channels, it does not matter where, or how long the loop is, what matters is that it is closed and that the mana is moving faster than when it moves on its own.” Ingrem started the session, hands gesturing animatedly as he explained.

“Everyone got that? Good. Now the tougher part, touch your hands together and bring the loop outside. What I mean by that, is to branch off a small part of that current and send it to one of your palms and through to the other and back into the loop.

"Once you have that, separate your hands, while still keeping the mana flowing in the secondary loop. Use the primary as a template, like a crutch, to help keep the second one stable and flowing.

"That's the goal for today," he finished with his hands stretched almost all the way in opposite directions.

Ixalia had no trouble creating the loops nor separating her hands, it was the baby version of what she was required to do with managraphy. The trouble began when she spread her palms more than forty centimeters apart. Mana wanted to disassociate once outside the body and it took a mental effort to keep it aspected and under control. The further the distance, the bigger the strain.

“Uhm, Ixa? How do I do the hand-to-hand thing?" Sidy asked softly.

Ixalia paused in her effort and turned to her friend. “You’ve got the first loop? Where is it?”

"Yep, around the chest," she answered. It appeared she wasn't the only one that had trouble with this step as at least three more heads swiveled to listen in.

“Can you make a secondary loop across a different closed channel?”

“No, it’s this branching off that’s giving me trouble.” The brown-haired girl complained. She wasn’t much into magic and her career choice reflected that. She was studying to be a teacher and didn’t come into contact with practicing spells much. And the basic ones didn’t need all that much.

"Ok, what you want to do, is to find one other loop, one connected to the first one. Once you have it, build a wave within the mana you are circling. Tell me once you have it." She waited for her friend to get it and then some more for the three others to nod as well.

“Now, shove it down one end of the secondary loop and let it run its course, don’t do with it anything, just push and watch. Don’t stop the first circulating though.” Ixa instructed and glanced at Ingrem, who was helping someone else. He met her eyes and bobbed his head in acknowledgment.

“I think I have that, what am I looking for now?” asked Sidy.

"Keep building a wave and shoving it in there. Once you have the hang of it, try to push the mana further and further until it loops all the way around. Once you do that, it's only a matter of practice to keep both loops going."

It took two hours and a lot of help from Ingrem and Ixalia for everyone to be able to loop mana through their hands. And by the end of the day, only she and Liman were capable of stretching their arms out.

“That’s enough for today, you can keep practicing at home if you feel like it. See you all tomorrow.” Their coach announced once their time ran out.

***

The rest of the week passed in a similar manner. He had them form a tube with the ‘jumping’ mana and then wanted them to make it rotate around its axis as it passed through the air. After that came a sheet which they kept stretching out.

The third week was a mix of hand-to-hand training and mage practice in between. By the end of it, he had them slowly creating a bubble of mana around themselves.

"As I said during the first session, this bubble will act as a general protection against magic. It is made of mana aspected to you and as such will try to repel any other mana. The end goal is to make it spin, then it will deflect instead of trying to stop it head-on, making it more effective. The faster the spin, the better, but there will be diminishing returns.

"It is no true protective spell but will cost you little in terms of upkeep. What this allows, is the same as everything I teach you. It gives you versatility. Once you get good enough, you can try to weave in runes to provide different effects. There is not enough time to get to that, so here are some of them for you to move up to." Their coach said as he handed out leaflets with instructions and some basic runic formations to try out at a later date.

“Now bugger off and enjoy your Sunday.” He dismissed them.

The course was all good and fun, but the next day, the girls truly enjoyed not doing anything. They played cards or read, but never once did they leave the apartment and it was the best decision they made in the last two or three months. Pure bliss, if you asked them.

Ixa did not stop her magical practice, though, it took little out of her and was invisible to Sidy, although she was sure her friend knew as she kept throwing her reproachful looks now and then. Either because of that or her cheating, it was anyone's guess, really.

The young woman didn't have the core to create a full bubble big enough to cover her whole. She was making a skinsuit instead, and trying to learn to keep it going on instinct. But both were easier said than done.

As wonderful as being together like this was for them, they were starting to miss home. Both of them were beginning to look forward to the next Sunday when they'd be done.

Ingrem was teasing the whole group with a surprise for Thursday next week, though, and knowing the man, they wouldn’t want to miss it. He might be hard on them, but he was becoming a good friend. Same with some of the others, especially the couple, who were getting a lot of advice from Ixa on the magical front.

One thing they definitely did not expect. Zev came to visit.

***

“How much longer?” asked Reymund III.

“We expect to finish preparations tomorrow, your Majesty.” Answered Perceval.

“Good, then tell the priests and mages to start the ritual two days from now.”