It was cold. A light fog made the visibility a bit worse, but that didn't really bother me. I felt the moist forest air flow into my lungs, over and over again, with each of my strong breaths. Nothing could have stopped us now, except perhaps the command of our guide or the strong, loud voice of the coach. The trees, which looked as if they were sleeping in the very weak moonlight, rushed past me in no time at all. Apart from our quick steps and the rustling of the grass and the fern under our feet, nothing was to be heard, only a few night birds called leisurely sadly into the darkness. I had to be very careful not to run into the heels of the man in front of me. Chauk, our group leader had assigned us fixed places so that we formed a formation. We weren't many, just six people. Strictly speaking, six young people who tried to improve their discipline on instructions. Six young people who were thrown out of bed at half past twelve and had to go out into the autumnal cold to do a practice run. We could really imagine something more beautiful. Our clothes, which consisted of a sleeveless T-shirt with a black leather vest that could be buttoned, were definitely too cold. In addition, black leather arm warmers, which were laced and covered with an adjacent half glove, also ring and little fingers. They came up to the elbow. The boys wore black trousers that had a relatively large number of wrinkles. In addition, half-boots over which leg warmers, also made of leather, were worn. The girls almost the same, only a short skirt made of the same, shiny material as the trousers, which was cut on the side. We sprinted through the forest at superhuman speed. When the forest slowly thinned and our group came to a large meadow, you could already see the castle standing on a small hill.A school that wasn't like any other school. A school where all kinds of magic were taught. The moon peeked out from behind one of the side towers. It was nothing more than a sickle. My group suddenly slowed down. Chauk raised a hand and we stop. In front of us was a wooden fence against which the coach was leaning. His name was Jerald Lee. He peeked under his hood and examined each and every one of us. His bushy black eyebrows occasionally twitched up. Not a really good sign, because most of the time when he did that, he had found something new in someone that he could be in your ears with. Coach Lee was strict and took us very hard in training. However, it was our decision whether to join the team of battle mages. We had to train very hard for the fights and injuries were also common during training. But the worst was always in the competitions. The opponents fought until one of them either gave up, the referee intervened or in some cases the opponent was even dead. The good thing was that from school, unless he is a combat mage himself, nobody wants to mess with you. Coach Lee was tall and slim, but no longer the youngest. He was now 56 years old. It was already clear that he would have to retire in the next six months. This gave our group something to think about, because then a new coach would be hired and the training methods would be different again. Some of us tried to banish these thoughts, but none of them really succeeded.
He suddenly pointed to Lorielle, who was standing diagonally behind me. She held her breath and went rigid. >> Miss, you will be running through the woods all day tomorrow. Your stamina really leaves a lot to be desired. Make an effort, understand? << he snapped at her. She swallowed and nodded hesitantly. Mr. Lee's gaze wandered to Spike, who was standing to my right.He eyed him long and critically. >> More performance in terms of speed. You're too slow. << he said roughly. Spike nodded slightly. >> I will work on myself. I'll be faster by next week, I promise. << he assured uncertainly. The coach wrinkled his nose and stepped closer to him through the formation. We stood in a triangle. Right in front was our guide Chauk, diagonally behind him Mankar, behind me and to my right Spike. Next to him stood Devon and in front of him Lorielle.
Spike held his breath, everyone really had a lot of respect for Coach Lee. Not only because his training methods took a lot of getting used to, but also because he was actually always there for us and had often supported us. >> Next week ...? << he asked in an unreadable tone. Spike nodded uncertainly. Lee's eyebrows met in the middle and he slapped his student on the back of the head. Devon immediately started laughing softly, followed by laughter from Chauk, Lorielle and Mankar. I couldn't help giggling either. >> rest! << the man ruled us. He slapped Devon on the back of the head second, then me, followed by Mankar, Lorielle, and Chauk. Abruptly our malicious laughter ceased and immediately we all stood there as if cast from lead.
>> You see? That is the reason why I shoo you out of your beds at night and let you run through the forest. You are too undisciplined. You act like toddlers and not like battle mages. << he complained in a stern, slightly fatherly tone. This comment was followed by silence. Nobody, really none of us would dare to say anything now. Because his silence didn't mean he was waiting for some obvious reaction on our part. No, he gave us time to think about his words again.
After a while the old man sighed and turned his back on us. ´ >> You can go back to the dormitory.You should be rested tomorrow. I heard the alchemy group is writing a test. Who does this concern of you? <<
>> Me <<, Mankar and I said in sync. You could tell from Lee's voice that he was grinning. >> Then I wish you a good night. Oh yes: if you come late for training tomorrow and come back with some cheap excuse, you will face severe consequences. Did you understand that? << His tone was a little harder again. >> Yes sir. << we all answered at the same time, and I noticed that some voices, including my own, sounded rather tired.
Without another word, the man ran away. When he was a bit away, Chauk stretched and yawned loudly. >> You heard it guys. Don't be late tomorrow, it will affect the whole group. << he appealed to us. Lorielle yawned and asked rather vaguely. >> I beg your pardon ...? <<
Devon stood next to her and almost shouted in her ear: >> Don't be late tomorrow, you Trantüte! << She winced and took a few steps to the side. >> Ouch, stop screaming like that, I'm not deaf ... << I was a little surprised that Lorielle reacted so calmly to it. She and Devon were like cats and dogs at times, teasing and pestering each other without measure. But her serenity was surely due to her tiredness. When Lorielle was tired, she was useless. She was a few centimeters shorter than me and had copper-colored hair that did not form too much of a contrast to her skin, it was almost chocolate brown. Her long ears particularly stood out. She belonged to the wood elves and had very good precision. >> Oh yeah? Then why do you have to ask? << teased Devon. He was a big high elf hybrid, nobody knows what was in him on his father's side. His ears were also unnaturally long, but not like Lorielle's. Three steel hoop earrings sparkled on the tip of his right ear.His hair was cut short and often tousled, especially after training when he was running so fast again. Devon's forehead was a bit high, but it didn't show because his dark brown hair was hanging in front of it.
In contrast to the others, Mankar was pale, although he still looked very tan to me. His skin was slightly olive-tinged and he had long, jet-black hair that he had braided into a braid. Many girls in my school were in love with him. His bright green eyes were very prominent and framed his pretty face. Chauk was also a pigtail wearer. But he only wore the middle of his hair long. On the sides of the head they were short and some patterns reminiscent of ritualists were cut into them. He was stockier and more muscular than the other two. He, too, was one of the most popular swarms of girls. He too was brown and not as cheesy as I was. His ears, which were very, very long, also had earrings on the tip. A piercing flashed on his right eyebrow in his face. Chauk's eyes were in stark contrast to his whole appearance, because they were of different colors. His right was ocean blue, his left almost black.
Spike was fair-skinned and had slightly elf ears. His hair was almost white and during training he was sometimes bristling with willpower, which at the latest faded when it came to endurance training. During the exercise that night, none of the group could have spoken to him without risking a fat lip. When it came to practicing at night, he was sometimes very aggressive and not very easy to speak. >> Listen to you two…. << occurred to Chauk. >> Argue when it is day again and you are rested. << Devon snorted. >> Oh, just shut up ... you have nothing to say to me ... << Devon hissed and turned to go.>> Beware of your tongue ... << he warned him with a snappy look. I was still standing where I had stood and grinned at this conversation. Devon stopped responding. When he was a few yards away, Chauk shrugged. >> Idiot ... I hope he'll get a good rubdown soon ... << he hissed softly. >> I hope so too. He deserved it. << I added with my arms crossed. Mankar laughed softly >> I didn't even know that you could be spiteful at night, Bati. << he said jokingly. I grinned and tilted my head a little. >> Well ... there you see << Compared to everyone else, I was white. My skin looked like I was dead and I had fingernails that were way too long first, so that I had to file them every day because they grew back too quickly. Second, they were damn sharp and resilient. My ears were elongated, actually there were only elves among battle mages. That was stupid, and hardly anyone knew that I was a strange mix. My father was a dark elf, my mother a night elf. I shuddered to think about how something like that could reproduce at all, because both of