Fallen Gods

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  Steve wiped the sweat off his brow, grimacing at the dummy before him. He had lost count of how many he had destroyed earlier, and he was terribly exhausted from a full day of training, with the sun scorching his back. His tanned skin tone a living proof of the unrelenting weather, as well as the numerous hours in his training.

  "Attention, students!"

  Steve exhaled in relief. Finally, some rest at last.

  He and the other students walked to where the speaker was, gathering around them. The taller of the two men glared sharply at the students, once he was sure that they were all gathered before him, he cleared his throat and spoke.

  " Students, you should know very well what happens tomorrow."

  That earned some snorts, and some sighs. " Master Sordul, how are we supposed to know what happens tomorrow when you told us literally nothing about it?" One of the eleven students, a young man, spoke up.

  A flurry of agreement came in the form of mumbles and snickers across the training hall. Steve couldn't help but feel nervous. Their tutor had told them nothing about what would happen the next day, and it was a closely guarded secret since he announced something big would be happening on that day, two weeks ago.

  "True," Sordul admitted," The rest of the details I will keep a secret for now, but you shall know it will be testing you in every way I have taught you. It shall be your hardest test yet."

  "To test us for what?" A young lady, Ella, asked.

  Master Sordul had a glint in his old eyes, which he rarely did. The thin old man paused for a second, before he answered the woman's question," That is a good question. I am hoping to choose a representative to do something I never got to do. It is highly dangerous, and it would ask of a certain level of skill and intellect combined, and only the best of you can hope to succeed, and have the glory and fame that would be sure to follow."

  The students were all silent, listening to whatever their teacher had to say. The words glory and fame surely having caught their attention, Steve snorted silently. He didn't care about glory or fame, but from what Sordul had said, it sounded like something special, and kind of important.

  "This is what you have been trained for since you set foot here," Master Sordul continued," And you can say that it is...ah, a final exam to see if you are strong enough. And make no mistake, only one of you will be selected, and only one of you will be strong enough to prevail."

  Sordul's sharp eyes skimmed over every single one of their faces, but Steve could had sworn that his eyes lingered on his for a moment longer than the others'.

  " I expect only the best from you. All of you." Sordul said, letting the silence settle, before he spoke yet again," Good luck."

  With that, he turned and left, the other, younger man followed his lead, leaving the stunned eleven trainees in the training hall.

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  "Expect the best from us? What does he even mean? Not that we are slouching off each day."

  "You mean aside from you, Zack," one of the men said, earning a chuckle from the others.

  " What, me?" Zack looked surprised," Slouching off? Never. Think twice before you make accusations, kid!"

  Steve laughed along with his other roomates in the dormitory. Zack was notorious for being slouching off in training. Even so, his skills with blades were not to be estimated.