“That was fun,” Hialsi said, stretching his arms upward, as he walked back into the temple. “Tiring, but fun.”
It was already getting dark outside. The moon had shown, the fireflies glowed, and the crickets chirped their familiar tune. The moonlight had shined over the city like a stage light. The magic candles in the temple ignited on their own.
They had spent the rest of the day sparring, chasing each other through the field, laughing and messing around. Mizzion was occupied with a book and his tea, so he didn’t mind at all. He wouldn’t mind either way. He wasn’t just a good teacher in the eyes of his pupils, but a good friend as well. A father figure of some sort.
“Yeah it was,” Keiralo said. “Let’s do that again!”
“Really? After what you said about courier exercises?” Asalsan said, tuning his staff.
“Well, hey, exercise is good, but it can’t always be enjoyable.”
Mizzion rolls his eyes jokingly, following them back in the temple.
Ah, yes. The temple.
Home to him and the students.
It was an ancient temple, and no one really knows how long it’s been there. Although, it’s in good shape. Not perfect, but it’s looking good for its age.
It towered over the rest of the city, sitting upon a hill, overlooking the rest of the buildings and the villages. When the sun would rise, it seemed as if the temple was a divine being of some sort.
It was red with a roof of black and gold accents. Lanterns hung from some parts of it that would light up automatically during the night. Birds would perch on the roof, or on the extended poles and beams. There were arches with symbols at the stairs leading to the main entrance.
At the back, of course, there was the normal training field, or where the pupils would come to hang out. As said before, it had quite tall, green grass, trees, and...well, other things.
The inside was cozy as well. It’s always been well-kept. It’s as if the temple keeps itself clean, really.
Symbolic paintings filled the walls of some rooms, there were sliding doors, and again, lanterns that lit themselves during the night. There were storage and equipment rooms, the student’s quarters and bedrooms, the master’s quarters, the dining area, a meditation room (which Mherla had questioned whether it was even necessary to have one), a library, bathrooms, of course, and an outdoor balcony.
Oh, right.
It was nearly supper time, and Mizzion had been preparing the student’s usual meal after training. It varied of course, and the students likes that. It was healthy, yet enjoyable. Of course it had to be enjoyable, at least to them. They had to be comfortable. They were just kids. Technically.
---
Keiralo stepped out of the bedroom, wearing his casual robes. Of course, they were red. A long, red kimono shirt, yeah. Along with these were black forearm sleeves, black casual pants, and his usual sandals. Casual and comfy. Obviously, it was better than walking around in armor all the time. Not that armor wasn’t good.
Well, everyone wore their casual robes at dinnertime. Because who eats dinner in armor?
Okay, yeah. Some people do. But these guys don't.
He walked into the dining area to see Mizzion sitting in his place, and Mherla at hers. They had to sit on the floor, here. Keiralo takes his sandals off and puts them aside, and sits down at his place.
Just then, Hialsi steps out of the kitchen, carrying trays with plates, small wooden soup bowls and a big soup bowl. Which was filled with, well, soup.
He sets down the stuff on the table, gets a ladle, and fills everyone’s bowls evenly. And, uh, he secretly puts an extra amount in his. You know, for good measure and maximum health. Mizzion had noticed, but he didn’t mind at all. He just smiled to himself.
“Where’s Asalsan?” he asked.
Just then, the mage peeks out from the doorway.
"Someone's at the door, Master," he says, pointing towards the main entrance. Another set of knocks was heard.
"The others must be here," Mizzion said, getting up. He walks past the doorway and goes over to the main gates.
He opens up the door, and he was right - there stood his three other pupils, along with another fellow teacher. Not as high in ranking as him, but a good teacher nevertheless.
"Welcome back, Callidus," he said, greeting the other teacher. "I believe you received my letter?"
"That I did," Callidus said, pulling an opened envelope out of his robe.
"How are the others?"
Before Callidus could reply, one of the students rushed forward, bumping into him. He seemed pumped up. That's because he usually was.
"That was amazing. A-mazing," he said, doing hand gestures to emphasize his point. "There was this bear, and it was asleep, then I threw a spear at it, and..."
The student kept babbling on and on about this and that.
"Kids," Callidus remarked with a smile. "I took them on a hunting lesson today."
Mizzion nods with a smile.
"Calm yourself, Sha-Mil. Supper's ready."
The student ran into the bedrooms to change, then into the dining area, where he was greeted by friends. That was Sha-Mil. He was often pumped up and full of energy. His lively, bright green eyes were often wide open, and his face often showed an enthusiastic expression. He was relatively darker skinned, and had dark blonde hair. He was skilled in spears, bo staves and javelins.
"Remind me to never jump on a bear again," one of the students behind Callidus said. He was obviously tired. "Turns out being a human anvil doesn't work too well with this kind of armor."
Mizzion chuckled a little. "Note taken, Zi. It's good you weren't hurt."
The armor-clad student, who's name was Zi, enters the temple, sighing a sigh of exhaustion. Zi, he was sarcastic and witty sometimes, but he's kind in heart. He has skill in hand-to-hand combat, and his specialty was the different suits of armor he'd wear in training.
The remaining student steps forward. "Good evening, Master," he says simply.
"Good evening to you too, Gerel," Mizzion replies, returning the kind gesture. "How was your day?"
"It went good. Except for the fact they used me as bear bait. Just because I had the shield."
"Don't worry about it," Callidus said. "That means they look up to you."
Gerel just nodded in agreement and entered the temple. Gerel was serious often, but he also liked to joke around. He was good with 'offensive defense', as he liked to call it. Or what the other students liked to call it, 'bashing your enemies repeatedly with a shield'.
Callidus and Mizzion looked at each other.
"Kids," they both remarked with a sigh, as they entered the temple, closing the gates behind them.
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