Winds of Ackaria, Chapter 3

After a completely sleepless night which came after nearly 12 hours of doing absolutely nothing, Viridi did her hair and made sure to splash some water on her eyes to try and hide the clear tiredness of them. Her quarters had actually been nicer than she expected; a cozy bed with a deep purple bedspread and pillows soft as snow. There were no windows, so Viridi never got a chance to look outside, if there was one, which led Viridi to a question to add to her ongoing list: Where was this place exactly? Still flustered from yesterday, her worry for her parents grew more and more by the second. Of course they found out she wasn't at school yesterday, so they were probably worried sick. Cupping her face in her hands, Viridi rubbed at her eyes. This was just too strange for her to comprehend.

Exiting her quarters, Viridi realized that she had no idea what Rush meant by 'training.' Was it brutal, no holds barred sword fighting? That was what she had immediately thought of when she heard it, and she wasn't prepared for what was to come. She also realized that she had no idea where she was going, and before she could look up, she bumped into Rush.
"I was just coming to get you. Are you ready?" This took Viridi by surprise, as she had no idea what to say.
"Well, honestly, you still didn't explain everything to me. So, no, not really." Rush laughed as if she had just told a joke.
"What, you thought we were going to throw you into a fighting ring with another, more experienced warrior, give you a sword and tell you to win?"
"...Maybe."
"Trust me, Stone, the others and I will teach you everything about Ackaria."
"Maybe I don't want to learn. Maybe I want to go home." Rush paused for a bit, not responding for a moment.
"...I can't help you until your duty is done. Now come with me." The two walked down the hallway without another word. He took Viridi down the hallway and through a secure door. The metal was hot, signifying that some sort of fire was going on, making Viridi feel unsafe. Rush knocked, and the same accented voice from yesterday answered.
"Come in." Upon these words, Rush heaved open the metal door to see various metal pieces everywhere, and the man from yesterday hunched over a workbench wielding something that looked like a welder from the back. He turned around, and much to Viridi's surprise, what looked like a welder from the back was actually a bright flame coming from the man's gloved pointer finger.
"W-Wha...That's not..." Viridi stuttered, and the man chuckled heartily.
"Magic."
"Oh, okay, so first I'm told there's war and now I'm told there's magic here too. That would've been good to hear first," Viridi snapped. "You know what, this is all a dream. I'll wake up soon, don't worry," Viridi grabbed her hair and clenched it in her fists. The man smirked and flicked the fire on his finger floating through the air and singing Viridi's wrist.
"Ow, what was that for?!"
"Dreaming, hm, lass?" he winked. Viridi was losing it. She might as well go with it, these people just don't get it... "The first thing I'll teach you about is Magic. The name's Stone, pleased to meet you, Viridi." In all honesty, she would be a lot more comfortable training with Rush who she 'knew' better. As Rush turned to leave, Stone turned to Viridi and snapped his fingers. Instantly, an ember appeared on his pointer finger, just as it was before.
"Simple as that."

After about half an hour of snapping, Viridi could not make a flame, no matter what Stone told her. Maybe it was because she was a normal human? Hmm. Stone looked her in the eyes and firmly said, "Viridi. You need to actually believe. It may be hard to, but that's the only way it'll actually work." Turning away, Viridi rolled her eyes and mumbled to herself inaudibly.
"Like I'm supposed to believe that magic is real. Please."

Another half hour later, Viridi actually began to think that this was actually all real. Ackaria, magic, the barrier...maybe it was all real. Snapping again, Viridi was shocked to see the tiniest ember forming on her fingertip. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt the slightest bit. Turning, Stone was just as surprised as she was. "Very good job, Viridi! Believe me. The flame'll get bigger every time."
The door suddenly creaked, and in walked Rush, curiously glancing at Viridi.
"She's got the first ember down?" Stone nodded, and Rush did, as well. "Alright then. I'll take her off your hands now."

Taking the light sword in hand, Viridi swung it around nonchalantly. Rush rolled his eyes.
"You can't just randomly swing a sword like that. Now, try and hit me, but actually try instead of throwing it around like an amateur." Even Viridi was a bit hesitant with this, but Rush simply nodded for her to go. Raising the sword, she swung vertically, and in the split second Rush had to react, he unsheathed his own sword and parried the blow.
"I said try."
"Someone's got a big head, doesn't he?" Quickly recovering, Viridi swung again, only to be easily blocked once more.
"You're lucky, being trained by the best swordsman in Ackaria."
"Big head just got bigger." Swinging once more, Viridi was surprised when she actually hit Rush, cutting through his sleeve and leaving a good sized cut.
"Heh, that right there is nothing compared to what you'll end up getting in the fight,' Rush chuckled, not showing one sign of pain.
"Oh, well that gets me excited. Thanks."