Suramya

Chapter 16- Weapons all around.

The sound of dirt crunching beneath their feet grew louder and louder as they approached the weaponry class. It was on the outskirts of the Gurukul, a small extension in the forest and the path to it was mostly rocky. The clangs of metal too, grew louder, indicating that they had almost reached there. Along with the six, there were a few more people their age— the young kids weren't allowed in weaponry— who had joined. Jig too had accompanied them.

"It's not like... deadly right?" Samukta said, secretly worried.

"Yeah, no. No one's died in a few months." Jig said nonchalantly.

Samukta stopped in his tracks.

"You mean someone's died before?!" Samukta said, horrified.

"Why? Scared?" Evara grinned at him, hopping on the path of rocks she'd chosen.

A nerve popped on his forehead. "As if."

Evara did nothing but widen her mocking grin.

"We're almost there." Said Jig, who now took the lead of the group and walked at the front.

And there it was.

There were two trees which made up a dramatic entrance. They bloomed and blended into each other, making a type of an archway overhead. The inside was basically just a part of some land in a forest, because the surroundings were all covered with greens. The trees lined up around the land, caging it in a circle. It was amazing.

Inara's breath hitched at the sight of the place. And to say this was where they taught weaponry, was even more surprising. This would be a perfect place to dance. She hadn't initially chosen weaponry but she did indeed want to know what they taught. So, she decided to attend a class and then decide for the final.

Raina looked at the racks of weapons placed on the periphery of the place. She wanted to pick every one of them up and try a few tricks. But she held herself in place.

"And here is the arsenal and the training area." Jig spread his hands, indicating to the land all around him. "You can choose any weapon you like and your teachers will be her," He spread out one of his arms, indicating towards a woman who was busy in a sword-fight with another guy. They couldn't really see her face– there was a cloth wrapped around her mouth like a mask. Her eyes were piercing, dangerous. They were loud like a siren, and the bindi on her forehead along with kajal around her eyes only added more to her intensity. She slashed the sword towards the guy, slow and careful, giving him an upper hand to practise the tricks he'd learnt. But he still somehow missed the shot. She didn't show any mercy as she saw the chance and twirled the guy's sword with her own, disarming him as the sword fell to the ground with a clang. She was wearing a normal kurti— shorter than usual and something like a dhoti beneath it. She turned to look at the lot that had just entered the arena and was standing at the entrance. Her eyes scanned each one of the new ones, and Evara resisted the urge to throw a salute at her.

"And him." Jig turned her hand to a guy who was teaching a group of youngsters how to throw a spear. He was wearing a sleeveless Kurta— also shorter than usual, and a dhoti underneath. He had his back turned to them, as he pulled back his arm, holding a spear. His muscles flexed and his body stretched, as launched the spear forward, hitting a target right at the centre.

"Woah." said Kavi, mesmerised by the scene playing in front of him.

The man turned around, looking right at Kavi. He looked dead serious for a fraction of second until he broke into a kind smile and walked towards the lot.

"They're new?" The man stood next to Jig.

"Yep." Jig said, with his lips uptight.

He smiled at the six teens standing in front of him. "I'm Jay. My sister, Janshee, and I will be your tutors."
The said sister, she turned at the sound of her name and walked towards the lot, standing on the other side of Jig. The only thing that could be seen of hers were her eyes which, quite frankly, terrified them a bit. She looked at them for a second before untying the cloth from around her face. She smiled at them, and suddenly she became a lot less scarier.