Michael paused for a moment, "No, she isn't the type to show this much interest in all the new men that have been in and out of the temple. However, that should be the least of your worries now. We need to go to The Elders, we have wasted too much time."
Jayce let out a sigh of relief and followed after Michael. They walked through a long ornately decorated hallway and were now standing in front of a staircase that led down to a large set of double doors. Jayce was looking around in awe, 'Wow, this looks like a movie set. Everything is so clean. *sniff* mm and everything smells so inviting. It's like I can smell all the recent meals along with a citrus scent. I wonder where these stairs lead.' Jayce was lost in thought, Michael simply shook his head and walked towards a small statue on the right side of the staircase. "Hey, what's th-" There was a slight beeping sound and the door below opened slightly.
"Come on Jayce, let's go." Michael began walking down the stairs and Jayce hurried after him. Once they entered the doors, there was a man with all black clothes, excluding his white gloves, standing in the pathway to great them. "Welcome Sir Michael and..." The man trailed off as he looked at Jayce up and down. Jayce, who was wearing a navy track suit that looked well worn and old tennis shoes, became aware of how under dressed he seemed. "I uh-" "This is Jayce. He is a friend and is loyal to Madame Priestess, please alert Lord Valen of our presence; I know the way from here." Michael put an arm on Jayce's shoulder, directing him away from the man. Jayce began to get more and more nervous and Michael let out a sigh after they left the area immediately past the door.
"Thanks man, I'm sorry I didn't think about how to dress when I came here. I dont have many spare clothes these days anyways." Michael continued to look forward as he walked, "Don't worry about your clothes Jayce. If Lord Valen can see what I do, you won't have to worry about that anymore. Besides, that fits in perfectly down here." Jayce was confused and looked towards Michael, noticing the grin on his face. 'I have a bad feeling about this...' Once passing the foyer, there was a short hallway with another set of doors blocking their way. Jayce was unsure where Michael was taking him, but soon he could hear the *CRASH!* and *CLANK!* of metal hitting other metal. Seemingly noticing where Michael was taking him, Jayce decided to speak, "H-hey Michael, why did you say that I wouldn't have to worry about my clothes? Didn't you mention something about a Lord?"
Michael stopped just before the set of doors that had the Kalina Clan's mark carved deeply into the wood. The temperature around was cooler than where they had been previously and the clashing sounds became louder. "I said this because this is where Lord Valen likes to spend his time. This is one of our many training arenas, this is the one just happens to be on a lower level." Michael pushed on the innermost portion of the mark, which then released the locking mechanism allowing the doors to open. "Make sure and refer to him as Lord Valen until told otherwise. He will want to test you before he trusts you," the two of them walked into the room and Jayce was looking around amazed. The room wasn't particularly bright, but there was enough light to see a small boxing rink, typical gym equipment, a small corridor that houses a set of arrows and a bow at the entrance, many test dummies made out of thick tree trunks, and to the far corner of it all, was a small area marked off by tape on the floor where two men stood with their swords fiercely crashing against the other.
"He won't push you past what he feels your true limit is, but that doesn't mean it will be easy. Let us stand closer to the "sparring square," as he calls it so you can better grasp his strength." Jayce was sweating profusely due to being so nervous but did as Michael instructed. 'It's not like I've never fought before; but I mean COME ON! That guy looks so tough. Hell, they both do. My little skinny ass doesn't stand a chance.' There was a partial wall that led to a changing room; the two leaned against the wall and watched the men fighting in amazement. "This never gets old..." Michael was grinning ear to ear, while Jayce was doing his best to calm down. "Ugh. That was a cheap sho-WHOA!" The man in the red practice jersey, who was complaining about the other shirtless man's attack was caught of guard by the swift move of the other man and almost fell to the ground.
The shirtless man didn't waste anytime, with incredible speed he ducked his body slightly lower to the ground while lunging forward bringing the edge of his sword to the other mans neck. The man in the practice jersey clicked his tongue in annoyance and did his best to dodge the on coming attack, but his reflexes were too slow. The attack resulted in a thin trickle of blood flowing from a shallow cut on his neck. The man in the practice jersey pivoted to the side to avoid the shirtless man, then twisted his body bringing the sword around to try and graze the shirtless man's back. However, sensing that this was his intention, the shirtless man leapt into the air shortly after the other man pivoted, and arched his back as if attempting a backflip, to avoid his strike, then coming down and wrapping his arm around the other mans neck/shoulder area.
With the momentum, both men went crashing to the floor. The man in the practice jersey was knocked breathless and remained on the floor, staring up at his opponent in disbelief. The shirtless man jumped up to his feet once again and reached a hand out to help his opponent off the floor. As Michael and Jayce looked at the two men, they noticed the shirtless man had barely broken a sweat whereas the man with the practice jersey had blood dripping from his neck, a small wound on his inner arm, a cut on his hairline, and was covered in sweat. Once the other man was on his feet, he bowed deeply to the shirtless man. "Thank you for this training Lord Valen, it has truly been a great experience." The shirtless man, Lord Valen, nodded and chuckled slightly.
"Likewise Ravi." The man in the practice jersey stood up, smiled, put his sword to his side, and walked off towards the changing room, passing Michael and Jayce in the process. Michael stood up from his leaning position and walked over towards Lord Valen, "Lord Valen, it is an honor to be-" Lord Valen who was now crossing his arms sighed heavily. "My apologies. VALEN, it is always a pleasure to watch you sparring. This is Jayce, I think you will find him to be very useful. Are you up for another round? He is not as disciplined as Ravi, he is born within the Tradelands, but I believe he has potential." Jayce's eyes grew wide in shock, Lord Valen turned to look at Jayce and smiled slightly. Lord Valen nodded, then pointed to a shelf full of weapons near the wall.
"Choose your weapon," 'Gahh...his voice is so deep and commanding. I don't think I could tell this man no even if I wanted too.' Jayce thought to himself and made his way to the shelf, "Y-yes sir, Lord Valen Sir." On the shelf there was a crowbar, daggers, a large hammer, a small scythe, both thin and wide swords, brass-knuckles, nunchucks, a wooden baton, throwing stars, and other weapons Jayce didn't recognize. Jayce could hear Michael talking quietly to Lord Valen as he chose his weapon. "Jayce, Valen wanted to let you know he will fight barehanded if you prefer that over a weapon. He also says for you not to be so nervous; you look like a frightened kitten." Jayce rolled his eyes and smiled a bit, 'This will be fun right? It's all worth it right?...' Jayce decided against using weapons since he was more confident in his skills without one. "Step into the square," Lord Valen commanded, Jayce readily obliged.