Let the training begin

NOELLE'S POV,

I wake up the next morning early from bells ringing loudly. It takes me a moment to realize what is going on, but it is probably Gabriel getting ready for his speech. I quickly get dressed and grab a sandwich from the kitchen on my way outside.

I see everybody walk towards the little city area in the middle of the mountains. In the middle, there is a big terrace surrounded by cafes. Gabriel is ringing a big bell that is standing in the center of the terrace. The people seem uneasy and nervous, so I am guessing this doesn't happen that often. At the front, I see Faith's blond hair, so I quickly walk towards her.

''Hi,'' I say while I touch her elbow.

Faith turns around and smiles at me gently, ''Hej Noelle, good morning.''

We both look at Gabriel when he rings the bells one last time. Gabriel sees that I am there and mouths a silent hi. I can't help feeling happy that he acknowledges me. When the sun hits Gabriel's head he scrapes his throat. I can see Zeus performing some kind of spell which makes Gabriel's voice loud enough for everyone to hear, ''HELLO EVERYONE, THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. ALL OF YOU KNOW THE BELLS OF LIBERUM ONLY RING WHEN DOOM IS UPON US. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS THE CASE, A FEW DAYS AGO HADES THE KING OF THE UNDER REALM HAS RETURNED. THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT HE STILL SEEKS TO DESTROY THE WORLD AND THE PEOPLE IN IT. THE QUESTION IS WHERE AND WHEN WILL IT START. AS YOUR PROTECTOR I WILL ALWAYS DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO KEEP EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU SAFE. THIS HOWEVER IS NOT A TASK THAT I CAN MASTER WITHOUT YOUR HELP. I AM HOPING YOU WILL STAND WITH ME IN THE BATTLE FOR PEACE AND SAFETY FOR ALL PEOPLE. FOR THE COMING MONTH WE WILL OFFER COMBAT, MAGICAL, AND DRAGON TRAINING. THE TRAINING STARTS TODAY SO ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER CAN GO TO HOLLY TO GET ASSIGNED. NO ONE IS GOING TO GET FORCED TO PARTICIPATE BECAUSE THAT WOULD GO AGAINST EVERYTHING LIBERUM STANDS FOR. BUT PLEASE CONSIDER THE IMPORTANCE AND FIGHT FOR THE ONES YOU LOVE! THAT IS ALL FOR NOW. THANK YOU.''

The crowd starts to murmur but then quickly makes a big line to Holly. It seems almost everyone besides the children wants to volunteer. Gabriel walks toward me and Faith.

''Better turnout than I could ever hope for,'' he says surprised.

I feel a bit emotional when I reply, ''They can feel that you believe in them. It seems like they would do everything for you without fear playing a role. I never knew leadership like that was possible.''

Gabriel looks at me intensely, ''You surprise me every day you know that.''

I feel like I am about to blush so I am happy Faith breaks the tension, ''Uhm Noelle shouldn't you get signed up with Holly.''

I quickly look away from Gabriel, ''Yes you are right, see you guys later I suppose.''

I get in line and after a while, I am standing in front of Holly. She gives me a paper, ''So I am afraid you won't have much free time in the coming month. You will start at 9 in the morning to do combat training with Nolan. Then after lunch, you will have a private magic lesson from Zeus from 1 till 2 and then join the group magic lesson from 2 till 4. Lastly, you will have dragon training from 4 till 5.30.''

I take the paper from Holly, ''Thanks, Holly, I better get going then.''

I look at the paper and see that the combat training is given at the soccer field. I also see that the people are all divided into groups. There are a lot of different groups, so I have to remember to ask Gabriel tonight what the other groups are doing. I walk behind a group of young strong men from the Sky Realm towards the soccer field. There must be a couple of thousand people standing here. I am happily surprised that also 1 third of them are women.

Nolan looks fierce in his leather outfit and all the weapons he is carrying.

''Can I all have your attention please,'' he shouts.

Everyone becomes quiet and the first thing Nolan does is take off all his weapons, ''The best weapon you can ever have is your own body. We must learn to use that properly first before we can include weapons. Ultimate control over your body will help you master weapons with deadly precision. So, this first week we are going to learn some basics and also improve your stamina. Every morning we will first go for an hour-long run over the mountain terrain. After that, we will practice basic combat skills on each other.'' Then he runs away towards the mountains.

''WELL, WHAT ARE YOU SLOTHS WAITING FOR?'' he shouts.

I am the first to start running after him and the rest follows. I try to keep up with Nolan but already after 10 minutes, my lungs feel like they are burning from the inside. I end up somewhere in the middle after a while and the remaining time I clench my teeth, but I do not give up. By the time we are back at the soccer field, I am dripping with sweat and panting. I feel a bit relieved that most people look the same way as me though.

Nolan however looks like he hasn't been running at all. He walks to the middle and looks over the crowd, ''I need a volunteer to show everyone the moves we will be practicing.''

His eyes land at me and he points towards me, ''You there with the red hair, you can be my sparring partner of the day.''

I walk towards him and grunt, ''You there with the red hair, really?''

His eyes twinkle a bit naughty, ''Can't play favorites now, can I?'' Then he turns to the crowd, ''I will show you how to tackle somebody first. Use your body weight and then swiftly change their balance.''

He comes towards me and before I know it, he lifted me over his shoulder and onto the ground. I land on my back with a loud thud.

''Make pairs and try,'' Nolan says.

Then he asks me, ''Are you going to keep laying there or do you want to train?''

I clench my teeth and get up.

''Good now try to tackle me,'' Nolan commands. It takes me 10 tries before I get him to even lose his balance a little bit. After that, we get on to boxing which is fine when we just practice certain moves.

Nolan scrapes his throat, ''Okay, let's see what you have learned and do some sparring.''

He points at some big angel guy, ''You there you can spar with Noelle here.''

The guy laughs mockingly and says, ''Don't worry sweetie I will go easy on you.''

Nolan stands at a small distance looking at us. When he blows the whistle, the guy immediately comes running at me. I try to remember what Nolan taught me and use my speed to counter his strength. Every time he tries to strike me I quickly duck or turn away. After 10 minutes the guy is sweating and looks really annoyed. Out of anger he lowers his defense so when he comes at me again, I duck but when I get back up, I give him an uppercut under his jaw with all the power I have.

The guy seems surprised and then passes out on the floor. I hear Nolan laugh and clap, ''Hahaha well done Noelle, the best students are the ones who listen.''

He winks at me, ''Alright everyone that is all for today. I expect you here tomorrow at 9 sharp.''

He pats me on the back and says, ''Come on let's get some lunch before you have to make your brain want to die for talking with Zeus.''

I chuckle and walk with him towards the city cafes.