The next morning, Pyra was shaken awake from dreams of fire. But this time, she wasn't hurting others. She was floating, surrounded by swirling flames, a tyrant of sparks and heat. As she slowly cracked her eyes open, she saw the outline of Fiora's face, her hair perfect. As Pyra looked at her, she thought, I wonder if Fiora sleeps sitting up because she doesn't even have a tiny hair out of place.
"Come on, we need to get ready for training," Fiora said.
"What time is it?" Pyra muttered.
"3:30 in the morning," Fiora replied.
"What!" Pyra exclaimed. "Why are you waking me up this early?!"
"This is when we train," Fiora said with a shrug. "So get used to it. What time do you usually wake up?"
"Usually 6:50."
"Seriously? How long have you been waking up this early?" Pyra asked, still groggy.
"As long as I can remember. It doesn't seem like an unusual time to wake up to me, but I have lived in a cave my whole life," Fiora explained.
"OK… well, I guess I'm going to have to get used to it," Pyra replied, managing a slight smile.
Fiora grinned. "My favorite thing about training is that we get to wear these awesome outfits that I designed, I might add." She laid out a black outfit with a belt that held knives, two guns, five darts, and other strange objects that Pyra guessed were very dangerous. There were also boots at the foot of the bed.
Pyra got dressed, and Faron smiled. "You look amazing." She pulled out a compact mirror, pressed a button, and it grew to the size of a full-length mirror propped against Fiora's bed.
Pyra looked at herself in the mirror. For the first time, she looked cool. The outfit was snug but very comfortable. Fiora handed her a rubber band, and she pulled her hair into a high ponytail.
"You look fierce," Fiora remarked.
Next to Faron, Capas wagged his tail and said, "You look as though you could conquer the world."
Pyra smiled and replied, "Let's start with training first, then we can think about conquering the world."
"Anyway, we should probably take you outside. I'm sure Alex will want to train with you soon, and you should probably not be late. Alex has a… short tolerance for tardiness," Fiora warned.
Pyra could easily imagine Alexander getting mad over being two minutes late. She put the strange devices that were given to her on her belt after Faron showed her each and every one. Pyra's favorite device caused a shroud of mist in thousands of colors, which exploded, setting the whole area on fire once fully enclosed around the target. She was told to never use it unless there was an extreme emergency. Part of Pyra hoped she would get a chance to use it someday, while another part of her hoped she would never have to.
As soon as she finished learning what each of them did and how to use them, she put them all in her belt, and the three of them walked out.
Suddenly, Pyra realized, "Where is Zafir?"
"They like to wake up even earlier than us to train with Alex in the early morning," Fiora explained.
"I don't see why everyone likes him so much," Pyra said, annoyed.
"He's not that bad," Faron said, trying to defend him. "He just doesn't really like new people."
"I feel like it's a little bit more than that," Pyra muttered.
"Anyway," Fiora drawled, "I think it's time that we head to training." As they walked through the tunnel, Pyra glanced down the hall at the mysterious door at the opposite end from the exit. She wondered what secrets it could be hiding.
"Also!" Fiora said suddenly. "I forgot to mention yesterday, we're not allowed to go into that room," she pointed at the door down the hall. "General Nightshade is super strict about that rule. A couple of years ago, Evander got bored and took a peek in there. He only saw a glimpse of it, but he said it was a huge room with a chair in the center and a ring of chairs around it. General Nightshade caught him, and he got detention for the whole year after that."
Fiora rolled her eyes. "A little overdramatic if you ask me, but it's the rule."
I'll figure it out someday, Pyra thought, even if that day isn't today. The three of them walked through the large main center, and Pyra could swear she saw a figure peering through the largest hanging treehouse where General Nightshade lived. Then the figure slowly disappeared back into the shadows, away from the window view.
They reached the rock wall, where Pyra knew the secret entrance to the hidden valley was. On any other ordinary day, she would've easily assumed it was just an ordinary rock wall. Fiora placed her hands in two different spots on the wall and pressed down slightly. A door slid back into the wall.
It was still dark outside; the only light was the moon and a few torches placed on the ground on tiny pedestals. Peering through the darkness, Pyra saw about five sets of people, each fighting one another or practicing with dummies. There were pedestals filled with swords, bows and arrows, daggers, guns, axes, and an array of other weapons. In one area, there was a small arena filled with sand. Then she noticed Alexander and Zafir fighting off to the side. Alexander had a rapier, while Zafir was holding two daggers. They had three more daggers attached to their belt.
"Who do you think will win?" Pyra asked.
"Definitely Zafir," Faron replied.
"How do you know? I hate to admit it, but Alexander seemed pretty good yesterday."
"He's good, but definitely not as good as Zafir. Zafir is a blade," Faron explained.
"A what?" Pyra said in confusion.
"It means they're born with the ability to be the best sword master ever."
"That's… a terrible name."
"It makes perfect sense," Faron argued.
"It's still a terrible name," Pyra retorted.
"She's right," Fiora piped in.
"Whatever," Faron smiled. "That's what it's called."
As their conversation ended, Alexander slashed his blade through the air, drawing a thin line of blood on Zafir's forehead. It looked like Alexander was going to win, to Pyra's disappointment.
"Isn't it against the rules to hurt each other?" Pyra asked, wincing.
Fiora shrugged. "It happens. They usually deserve it."
Are they serious? Pyra thought. She glanced at Faron, who added, "General Nightshade believes getting hurt is part of training. If we're not good enough, we pay the price."
"Do you know how to fight?" Pyra asked.
"Not really. I focus on tech, and Fiora handles the tactics," Faron replied.
Pyra tried to imagine Fiora planning war operations. She squinted, trying to picture it, but couldn't imagine the girl who loved fashion and sparkles plotting missions that could put lives at risk.
"We all learn the basics, though," Fiora reassured. "We at least need to know how to defend ourselves. I'm quite good with guns and bows."
"Yeah, you should see her at archery practice," Faron smiled.
Pyra's respect for Faron and Fiora grew with each passing minute. As they talked, Alexander was getting closer to defeating Zafir. Right when he had them cornered, Zafir slashed their daggers downward, quickly gaining the upper hand.
Pyra raised her eyebrows in excitement. Zafir made a quick slash, and Alexander jumped back. He swung his rapier, trying to regain control, but Zafir was too fast. They knocked his rapier out of his hand and slashed their knives over and over until Alexander was pinned against a practice dummy. Zafir threw their knives.
Pyra gasped, expecting the knives to pierce Alexander's skin and bracing herself to see blood pour on the ground. She looked away just before impact. A few moments later, Pyra hesitantly opened her eyes to see a knife on each side of Alexander's suit, just a quarter of an inch from piercing skin. Zafir grabbed two more knives from their belt and held one to Alexander's throat.
The three of them were just close enough to hear Zafir say, in a soft, scratchy voice, "Yield?"
Alexander slowly tilted his head in a nod, his way of yielding. He gulped, and a small trickle of blood slid down his throat, staining his skin. Zafir put the two knives back in their belt in a quick motion, then grabbed the two other daggers from the dummy's arms.
I've got to remember not to get on Zafir's bad side, Pyra thought, amazed.