“Ian, come out,” Drew says, stopping in front of my tent. “It’s time for the training.”

I let out a low groan. “Drew, why? Why now, when I’m tired?”

“You’re the one who wanted to train. Anyway, if you don’t get your lazy ass up in five minutes I’ll drag you out myself.”

I let out another groan and close my eyes. The urge to let myself drift into sleep is strong but…. I slowly circulate my Uua, relieving myself of the exhaustion temporarily before going out to meet Drew. Outside, not just Drew but everyone else seems to be waiting for me, making me feel a bit self-conscious as I stop in front of them.

“Before we start, we first need to know what your weaknesses are and how to improve on them. I would tell you, but I’m not really good at analyzing people and all that so… Emma will tell you.”

He then shoots a meaningful look at Emma who lets out a quiet sigh.

“Well,” she begins, “you have a lot of problems that need to be fixed. First, you don’t know much about martial arts, second, you don’t have any combat experience, and third, you have basically no combat spells. I know you might be thinking of telekinesis and the enhancement noer, but in a real fight, what you know is basically useless. There are more problems, but they are mostly minor compared to the other three.” I have nothing to say about her analysis because I know she is mostly correct. First, I just started learning martial arts a few months ago so I can’t say I know much about it. As for me having no fighting experience, that is also correct. The only real fight I’ve had is against the golems during my Apprentice exam. And as for having basically no combat spells, I can’t say she is wrong either. Compared to Keldin’s control of the elements, the way he shrugged off my binding attack, and that final attack he used, I know nothing.

“So,” Drew takes over again. “Your training schedule is basically this, we’ll spend five days learning martial arts, another five learning a few popular combat spells, and the last five or more teaching you how to use both in a real fight.”

“Isn’t that a bit rushed?” I ask.

“It is, but you can handle it. First off, two weeks is not enough to learn much so you won’t be learning much, but you can learn far faster than normal people as a Laen so you won’t learn too little. You’ll just have to push yourself really, really hard.”

And with that, we begin. Drew starts by showing me an offensive kata, before briefly explaining its use. After he slowly guides me into doing it right. He watches me execute it a few times and nods to himself. “Okay,” he says, “now repeat that a hundred times.”

I am in the middle of executing the kata again when I hear his words again My actions abruptly halt. “Wait? What?” I ask incredulously.

He shrugs. “I said you’re gonna have to push yourself really hard, didn’t I? Besides, this will make learning easier in the long run. Remember how Uua improves your mental and physical state? Well, it also improves muscle memory. Practice anything well enough times and it’ll become next to impossible to forget, as long as you make sure to practice once every few months.”

I stare at him for a few moments before reluctantly going back to practicing. I was the one who agreed to the training, I might as well see it through. Time passes by as I slowly count down the amount of time left for me to practice. In the beginning, I have to pay attention to how I’m performing the kata, but as I do it twenty, fifty times, the movements become almost instinctive, leaving my mind free to wander. Drew and the rest watch me, at first, but as time goes by they leave and begin to do training of their own: Daniel and David fight each other, Lathia practices a series of kata while Emma reads a book while creating and manipulating a series of noer floating in front of her. As for Drew, he is sitting down quietly somewhere behind me. He looks like he is sleeping, but a quick glance with second sight shows the turbid movements of Eani around him.

Sometimes not too far from sunset, I hear footsteps beside me. At this point, my body is moving on its own, while my mind is far away, wondering if someone’s fingerprints can be found on another person's fingers if they both hold hands.

“...know that you’ve done it more than a hundred times right?” Drew says.

I keep moving, not fully understanding what was said before it clicks a moment later. My movements come to a halt and I turn to look at him, a questioning look on my face. “I’m done?”

“Not completely, but you can stop practicing the kata.”

“So what's next?”

He doesn’t answer, choosing instead to begin explaining how to use the kata in a fight, the signs to look out for if you want to use it, and so on. Once he’s done he tells me to attack him. A moment later I am downed by the move I have been practicing for the last hour. He then begins to attack me, instructing me to find the right moment to use the move on him. My first try fails spectacularly.

“That was just a feint and you fell entirely for it. You need to be more discerning.”

My next few tries also end badly, but after some time, I begin to get the hang of it. Once he judges that I have learned it well enough, he shows me how to counter it. By the time it is dark, I have learned how to use and counter the move. Drew nods satisfied. “You just need to find more opportunities to practice and you’ll be good. That’s all for today, I gotta cook.”

“Again? Why you?”

“Because no one else wants to do so.”

I can’t blame them. After all, everyone likes good things. “I’m going to snooze for a bit, wake me up when you’re done.”

And with that, I lug my tired body into a tent before collapsing on the floor. I am bone tired and even circulating Uua isn’t doing anything anymore. For the first time since I started using it, I realize that circulating Uua has its limits. I have been doing it all day and now it won’t work again. Before long I am fast asleep.

I am woken up for dinner and eat briskly without fully understanding what is going on before falling asleep again. The next morning, it all repeats again. We walk for an unknown period of time before suddenly stopping, then training begins, with a new kata this time. The only difference is that he test my knowledge of the previous kata before moving on to the next one. Once again, by nightfall, I am exhausted and quickly fall asleep. I am woken briefly to eat before promptly falling asleep again.

At some point in the quiet of the night, I briefly wake up. I turn my head a bit and see them gathered around a fire talking.

“Do you think we’re pushing him too hard?” Lathia asks.

“He’s the one who agreed to this,” David says.

“He’s a Laen, he should be able to handle this,” Drew says.

Daniel laughs. “Not every Laen can handle that kind of training. Or have you forgotten Kim? Compared to that guy, Ian’s tough as hell.”

“I think Kim would have given up yesterday,” David adds.

“He’s fine,” Emma inputs suddenly, “his body’s just not used to this kind of training yet.”

I don’t hear what is said after that as I drift back into sleep.