Dragon Born: Book I of the Tendaaren Chronicles
Chapter 4: Training

“Strength doesn’t come from overcoming what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn’t”-- Rikki Rogers

A wave of cold liquid inundated Alyenna’s sleeping figure. She shot out of bed with a gasp and sputtered as the water clogged her nose and mouth. She glared at the perpetrators of the disruption. She was having quite a pleasant dream for once too.

Meanwhile, Aagvardak surreptitiously hid the bucket behind his back with a mischievous smile and an almost invisible wiggle.

“What the heck was that for?” Alyenna exclaimed as she blew water from her face, and shook her head like a sopping dog. She was with frigid arms wound tightly around her shivering body.

“Time to start your training.” Baellnar spoke with a beguiling and broad grin, “and you know ’cause it was fun.”

“What training?” Her eyes were wide with suspicion.

“Oh come on pookey you can’t possibly believe that we would let you sleep all day? Especially when you have the living embodiment of evil out there with a target on your back.” Baellnar’s voice was blandly grave, but his eyes held a small twinkle of glee.

Alyenna could not help but giggle at the two of them. “No,” She paused for effect, and smiled broadly back at them, “that would be downright ridiculous!”

She pulled the sheets away from her goosebumped legs and stretched out lethargically. She was oblivious to the cold water’s effect on her appearance. Especially in consideration of the peach nightgown that she had lazily dressed in the night prior. Under the water’s influence, it had become nearly translucent and hugged tightly to her athletic figure.

The two men stood frozen in place. Baellnar’s ordinarily alabaster skin was an unflattering shade of chartreuse. As soon as he was able to gather his thoughts he spun away deliberately fascinating himself with his quiver. Aagi on the other hand just stared enraptured.

Their reactions meant something entirely different to Alyenna. Paul had frequently told her of her less than flattering appearance. The words typically included things like ‘plain at best’ or ‘she fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.’ Neither led Aly to believe the most flattering things about herself. She fought back an ashamed blush and turned away from them grabbing the sheets instinctively and hugged them around her body. ” I am sorry my appearance offends you.” She struggled to maintain the strength that the words required, but the melancholy never failed to seep through. Even here in a magical land far from him, she had always been perceived as a ‘freak.’

“No-no not at all!” The two men said in unison. Baellnar smiled nervously. Aagi, on the other hand, had no sense of proprietary decency, gave her an appreciative smack on the butt. “yup! Looks great ’n feels even betteh!” He winked at her theatrically. The gesture reminded her of some old Ace Ventura movies from, the days before Paul. She should have been offended, but she wasn’t.

Aly wandered over to the familiar ornate bureau and flung open its doors. She expected to see what she had seen last night; which had been an assortment of clothing. Today it was with something entirely different. It was not a closet; it was a doorway. Alyenna gazed in awe at the room before her. Automatically she felt her legs moving forward. The floor was a complex tessellation of dragons each with a glowing jeweled eye. The tiles were the source of light for the entire room. What it illuminated made her squeal with glee.

She stepped forward allured by the welcoming and floral smell of the bath filled to the brim with scented bubbles. The mirrors in the room had a light layer of steam, alluding to the heavenly temperature of the water. She pealed across the bathroom floor discarding her clothes as quickly as possible and plunged into the bath.

She was oblivious to the concept that she never closed the door. She was so immersed in her gentle luxury that she did not see Baellnar quietly closing the door nor Aagi’s fiery beard as it got caught in the crack of the bureau as it sealed.

When she finished her bath, she changed into dark brown linen pants and a tan linen shirt wanting to avoid the mistake she made earlier with lighter colors. She tied her hair light brown hair back into a tight ponytail but let two strands lose in the front to frame her face. Satisfied with the image she saw in the ornate dragon-guarded mirror she headed for the door.

She opened it to reveal the two miscreants sitting on her bed and laughing congenially with each other. When she came out, Aagi stood up snickered as Baellnar elegantly directed her towards the hallway. She did catch the fact that his alabaster skin had a slight shade of pink to it that was not there before.

Baellnar still blushing told her to follow him. She did her best, but she had to run to keep up with his ridiculously long and graceful legs. He must be over six feet tall, and she was of a much more average and unremarkable height. She had to strain to gain the extra distance that he conquered so easily. He smiled at her as she tried her best to keep up then slowed down to keep pace with her.

“you’ll want to save that energy, Aly.” He spoke softly. The soft silk of his voice sent shivers up her spine. Luckily the logical side of her brain silenced the feeling and objected to being directed all over the place with so little explanation.

“Why?” She paused and stood her ground. It did not matter how comfortable she felt around him. She had been down this road before, friendly people were dangerous.

Without stopping he explained. “You will meet with three people every day. We need to teach you how to fight, create, and to conform to our world. You will have a short reprieve in the middle of each day. It would be advisable to use this time to either further your studies on or to explore within the safe confines of the fortress.” He took a deep breath his eyes commanding her attention.

The intensity of his expression matched hers. “This world is not safe, especially not for you, and you need to be prepared for everything.”

His expression softened, and a gentle sigh shifted his body. “I may not always be around to protect you.” Then without warning, Baellnar tossed her a bow-staff, “Let us begin.” She caught the staff on instinct alone. She never actually saw it coming. She then she looked at another elf who was holding a staff identical to hers. He seemed to be watching them, and the hair on Alyenna’s neck stood on end feeling the intensity of his stare.

Baellnar grunted at her. When she looked back, she realized he had removed his shirt. She understood why the intensity of the sun in this area would be oppressive. She chuckled to herself with a sense of confidence, well to those who were bothered by the heat.

She allowed herself a brief second to take in what was happening. She was about to fight a shirtless elf. This whole scene seemed like something out of a novel, how could this possibly be real? She barred her teeth refusing to allow her eyes any more time to wander. She couldn’t let him get the best of her. She let her guard down once, and she would not make that mistake again. She already understood that even simple mistakes could mean life or death, in this world. She glared at Baellnar. Aly could not permit herself to make that kind of mistake, even in training.

She took a robust front stance and spun the bow in her hands and struck forward. She felt powerful; a feeling she had long forgotten, even with this simple wooden pole clutched in her hands. “Anytime you are ready, you albino beanstalk.”

Without any warning, the other elf lunged at her. She had taken her attention away from Baellnar. She stupidly assumed that when had begun casually working through katas, he would not be involved in the sparring match. Aly, ruled by only instinct, blocked the attack. In a span of a breath, she danced to her right and swung at his knees.

“Good.” her opponent smiled, “again.”

Then the Baellnar launched himself at her once more. She sidestepped and parried, and hedodged her attack. Adrenaline fueld her and bolstered hervconfidence.

That was until he gave her a sly smile, and then spun his bow in such a flurry of graceful mesmerizing and intimidating movements. Within a breath, the bow was spinning so fast that she no longer could see the weapon. It had disappeared into the echoes of its own existence. “Never underestimate your opponent.” There was a bland finality to his words.

She charged him. Striking so as to engage him, but she was unable to even approach the forcefield of spinning wood. She tripped on her approach and crashed backward.

Determined to not so easily be made a fool of some of her old training fired up in her mind. He approached her and as she did she kicked out aiming for his knees in an attempt to swipe his feet out from under him. He effortlessly jumped over her foot landed several feet away in a back stance. She jumped up in an attempt to collect herself and mimicked his stance.

He taunted her. His mockery sent vengeful fire through her muscles. She twitched in preparation for her strike until a familiar slipped into her thoughts. Never underestimate your opponent.

Her eyes scanned him looking for a weakness. Her long forgotten martial art training reawakened in her mind. Her eyes examining the strength of his stance, his firm muscular legs sculpted from years of battle training. His bare chest thin but muscles carved out his entire torso. is that an 8 pack? His angular face stern with brilliant emerald eyes. His molasses colored hair tied tight in a leather strap. Suddenly she realized her observations had backfired. She had gotten distracted and in that distraction.

She felt a crack of pain on her shoulder, she groaned and spun to face the other opponent. It was a deadly looking Baellnar. His sapphire eyes seemed to glow. Wind spun around him and he held the staff in such a casual manner that it belied his obvious skill.

The intimidation tactic focused, and within the span of an eye’s breath, he was back to normal. “Never focus on just one opponent. This is our world now Aly. Anyone can be your enemy.” He stepped back and helped her up.

She got up and dusted herself off.

“What is your name?” She inquired of her original opponent.

“Jacrele Aru Maelre,” he said shortly. Not a friendly elf by any means and he had more of the aloof air she was expecting from the race.

“Jax is not much of a talker Aly, and when you’re training neither should you be,” Baellnar widened his stance and gripped the staff.

She looked up with determination and positioned herself in a way that allowed her to observe both men.

“Again” Baellnar demanded.

She deepened her stance. Held her bow-staff at the ready and waited. Her opponents began to move around her one charged and then the other. These odds were not fair but she had to learn fast. As they moved together she began a collection of bruises; but, she refused to bow out. She had to learn. She would get stronger.

The three fought for what felt like hours, Alyenna was drenched in sweat. Her neatly done ponytail had become a halo of fine brownish gold strands. The weapons clashed against each other for hours. The rhythm of the weapons only punctuated by Baellnar’s voice. “Again!”

“Alyenna that’s enough for today.” The elf smiled as he saw her knees shaking weakly from the strain of the stances and constantly having to pick her up from the ground, a seemingly favorite place for her. Expressing her glee at the chance to rest she plopped down on the ground and then fell backward lying in the dirt groaning as if she were dying.

“Drama queen,” Baellnar said with a gentle humor.

“Butthead!” Shouted Alyenna.

“Nobody likes you.” He said derisively but still smiled.

“Be that as it may at least--” Too tired to come up with anything decent she fell backward and instead focused on the delightful feel of the cool grass on her back.

Baellnar laughed, then shifted positions so he was standing above her head, his body silhouetted against the sun.

“Mmm, Hi!” Alyenna said surprised and confused.

“Mmm, Hi.” Responded Baellnar mimicked. “Do you plan on getting up anytime soon?”

“Not really.” She closed her eyes pointedly ignoring him. With that, she glibly handed him the bow and trotted off. Baellnar sighed and affectionately rolled his eyes. Aly do you know where you’re going.

“Away from you.” She said brightly.

“well as this is your break time ill suggest going that way through the garden it’s quite pretty, and if you go far enough you’ll come across a lake. Someone will come and get you for when it’s time for you to have your lesson with Agi.”

“Very well then,”