Fighter, Falter

A loud burst of colour exploded into sparks, inches from Prominia’s leg.

She ignored the aching in her limbs and pushed herself off the ground, scrambling to reach a higher vantage point. Scaling the rocky incline without too much trouble, she gritted her teeth and bit back the slowly rising exhaustion.

The young navigator star focused her magic, raising an arm and pulling up a glowing, red disk just as orange arrows were sent zipping in her direction, the sharp edges glinting threateningly. She held her ground, stance firm despite the pain throughout her body, and the arrows dissipated as they hit the shield. Now weakened though, it fizzled into red particles, unable to hold its shape for more than a few moments.

Prominia watched as her mentor stalked forwards below her, his brow hardened into a focused line.

Frowning in concentration and inhaling deeply, she tried her best to calm her nerves and slow her racing mind.

Summoning her remaining strength, she envisioned her weapon in her hands, drawing energy from the five crystals surrounding her head.

The large, familiar bow appeared and she quickly began firing off spheres of pulsing red and white, drawing and releasing the magic cord that she manifested with each attack. With each one fired she felt the bow strain and her resolve weaken as she watched her opponent intently.

The older star dodged each sphere of coral light sent his way with a practised ease. In one swift motion, he drew his rapier from thin air, striking the last attack his apprentice could muster and deflecting it.

It bounced against the surface of his blade and was immediately sent hurtling back, but rather than flying towards her it was aimed at the ragged surface of the stone structure directly below her feet.

There was a split second in which she dared to hope he had simply missed.

A loud crash resounded through the vicinity as the ground crumbled beneath her with the blow and Promina fell to the ground, bow disappearing from her grasp. She rolled as she fell, lessening her impact significantly, however, she was now backed into a corner, slowly edging backwards as his footsteps drew near through the dust of the collapsed rocks.

The tip of his sword pointed down towards her, mere centimetres from her face. As her gaze travelled up the blade, her eyes met with those of her teacher, Arcturus.

His gaze softened, eyes upturned slightly in a mild smile.

‘Not bad. But you can do better.’

Prominia let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, the full weight of exhaustion finally hitting her.

Arcturus’ weapon vanished and he offered her a hand, pulling his student to her feet.

‘I do believe you beat your previous time.’

‘Thanks.’

A “well done” would be nice, but she'd take it.

Prominia eased out her shoulder, moving it in slow circular motions, as the simulated terrain disappeared, reverting back to plain panels.

‘Go and rest up. This was a fairly intense session so we'll take a break from physical exercises for now. In a week we'll try another fight session similar to this one. In the meantime, I do expect you to practise with your bow some more — it doesn't have to be target practice unless you so wish, but rather try to focus on maintaining its form for as long as possible without faltering. Remember to keep a cool head. And let me know if you want to use the simulation room or any equipment.’

She nodded. At this point she was too tired to give a proper response and wanted nothing more than to collapse onto her bed.

She was just reaching the exit when Arcturus’ voice halted her.

‘Prominia…’

She turned to face him.

‘Good use of the environment to your advantage today.’

Prominia gave a small smile. Real praise from her mentor was… limited. Such instances tended to be few and far between, but she respected his expertise and couldn't help but greatly value his approval.

‘Thank you,’ she said, before leaving the training room for the week.