First Step

"Excited?.." Scarlet asked as we entered the training room, that slight weird feeling hit me as i passed the door way.

"Yeah!" I said filled with excitement.

"Alright.... lemme take off my armour.." She said taking off each piece of her armour and placing them on the ground. "See this is my tattoo!" She said showing me her Golden Phoenix tattoo on her Right upper arm.

"It looks so nice!" I said as it glistened in the light.

"I got the feeling one day you'll have a golden Tattoo one day." Scarlet said with a smile.

"Really?.. You think I'll be S-ranked one day?.." I asked in excitement.

"Of course or at least S-Rank equivalent." Scarlet smiled.

"So let's get some physical training started." As she stood up and began to stretch.

I felt a little embarrassed that i never really took exercise seriously and only managed to maintain my figure through diet and some bits of walking, I awkwardly copied her trying to mimic what she was doing but didn't really know what to do.

"You don't really know what you're doing right?.." Scarlet asked looking at me.

Feeling extremely embarrassed I froze not knowing what to say, I could feel the temperature of the room rise by a hundred degrees..... "....Ummm.... not really..." I embarrassingly confessed standing up straight looking to the ground.

"That's okay... that's what I'm here for!" She replied standing up and stood beside me. "Okay just copy me... we'll start with something Paul calls lunges she said placing one foot forward bending her back knee. "So it's important to keep your back straight and knees bent like the corner of a square." She said demonstrating for me.

"Like this?.." I asked copying her.

"Yes! Nice!! Ohh and make sure you don't you knees go past your ankles.

"Okay now we'll do some leg stretches" she instructed sitting down with her legs stretched reaching for her toes and pulling them back gently. "Make sure you don't bend your knees.

The years of lacking any real exercise was starting to show as even doing stretches felt a little strenuous, to the point when after a few minutes I felt my breathing getting heavier.

"Don't worry... the more you exert yourself the more your body will learn to metabolise Arcanum." Scarlet explained.

"What does that mean?" I questioned utterly confused.

"So generally creatures and people here are slightly faster rand stronger then you expect because our bodies naturally metabolise the surrounding Arcanum….from what I understand… your home plane contains Arcanum.... But it seems like you guys went a different way."

"Okay let's start with 100 push ups." Scarlet smiled.

"..... There's no way in Earth I can do 100 push ups...." I said in disbelief.

"Not with that attitude.... besides we aren't Earth." Scarlet smiled with a cheeky grin. "Right let's get started" she requested happily assuming a push up position beside me.

"Okay...." I agreed hesitantly assuming a push up position.

"We still have about two and half hours, just do as many as you can." She said looking at me with a smile and began doing her push ups at a very vigorous pace.

Starting the push ups I began to struggle at thirteen my arms and stomach burning with pain, I began to feel my body perspire around my armpits and forehead. Despite my initial doubts I somehow managed to squeeze out another twelve before collapsing trying to desperately eek out one more.

Turning around on my back slowly I laid there huffing and puffing the perspiration now feeling like a thick dense mist under my armpits.

"You take a rest while I finish mine..." Scarlet asked, somehow she began doing them even faster without showing signs of fatigue or a bead of sweat.

"..... I'm so weak....." I mumbled resting on my back, my arms aching to the point where I refused to move them.

"Don't worry... we all start somewhere...." Scarlet replied still going and without being out of breath.

"What else?.... we have left?.." I asked dredging her answer.

"Some squats and sit-ups then a few laps.... then we can begin some spell casting and weapon drills." Scarlet answered with a smile.

I rolled my head away from her disliking her answer with a sigh. If I'm already knackered from the push ups how am I meant to survive the rest....

"Okay done!! Ready for sit ups??..." Scarlet asked with a giant smile.

"How are you not tired.... and not even sweating?.." I asked.

"Ahhh you know... I'm used to it by now." She replied. "Sit ups now?..." She questioned.

"Okay....." I begrudgingly agreed getting up assuming a sit up position and Scarlet went to hold my legs down.

"How many?" I asked hoping she wouldn't say 100.

"100!" She answered with a giant smile.

"Arghh.....okay..." I agreed

"Don't worry just do as much as you can... and as long as you keep pushing yourself you'll defiantly feel and see an improvement." She said.

To my surprise I did almost fifty before my stomach felt like it was gonna cramp up. Falling back exhausted trying to catch my breath and stop myself getting a cramp. "I swear I feel like dying." I commented lying on the floor causing Scarlet to chuckle.

"Did you expect to magically be good at everything?.." Scarlet asked.

"No... but I didn't think it was this hard...." I huffed in exhaustion.

"This is only the beginning of your adventure." Scarlet chuckled. "Paul told me that you've always wanted to experience a magical adventure...." She smiled, "What was that saying Paul told me..... " she began to ponder.

"By the way.... do you think we have control of our future?..." I asked.

"Yeah of course.... everyone has control of their own destinies...." Scarlet answered lying down beside me.

"How do you know for sure?..." I asked turning to her remembering the vision what was shown to me that my future was set in stone.

"In another life.... let's just say I've done horrible things destined to walk a dark path.... until I met Paul... and he changed me..... Changed me to who I am today....." She said staring up into the ceiling as if contemplating about something.

"Is he still a good person?" I asked similarly staring into the ceiling reminiscing on out past.

"Yes he is... but he doesn't look after his own interests enough... he always put himself second.... willing to make the sacrifice or sacrifice himself..... Sometimes when I look into his eyes it feels like he's trying to redeem himself for something.... as if he's he believes he doesn't deserve good things." Scarlet added.

The mention of sacrifice shook my soul connecting what she said to the visions I experienced..... Each one of them he was no longer here.... and I blamed myself..... In that future did he sacrifice himself for me?...

"What about Ashley?....." I asked.

"Yeah all three of us share a dark history..... His being loss of family and love.... when he was younger his village was savagely raided. Women and girls taken in as slave.... and the men and boys mercilessly slaughtered. That day hiding in a barrel with his childhood friend they watched as their village was torn apart.... his mother taken away and his brother and father slaughtered like cattle. Unable to hold back his cries he gave away their hiding place... As the men approached him his childhood friend ran to buy him time to escape running in a different direction. He turned around to take one look at her before she was snatched away... instead of pleading for mercy she screamed out to him to run and live... So he ran….. but he didn't escape unscathed.... he was hit with an arrow in his arm. He ran, carried on running for days till his legs gave out on him and collapsed exhausted. He awoke on a bed with a missing arm... He was rescued by gnome inventor.... who barely brought him back from the brink of death, the arrow that struck him was no ordinary arrow.... it caused the wound to fester and decay so it had to be cut off. There is where he learnt about Artifcing." Scarlet recited the pain in her eyes more obvious than ever.

"I would have never imagined that he had such a horrible past.." I said unable to even comprehend the pain and hurt he's gone through.

"Yeah.... the metal arm he has is a constant reminder of what happened to him... he hides it well beneath his constant carefree demeanour and smile..... But in the back of his mind he can never forget even at her last moment of freedom she told him to run and live and her sacrifice for him." Scarlet mumbled her voice cracking slightly.

"So how did all of you meet?.." I asked.

"Well.... Paul and I came across each other by chance.... I heard of his accolades and challenged him to a duel, he would only agree to the duel on the basis that if he won I will follow him and change my ways.... and if I won he will forfeit his life to me. Despite my best efforts he defeated me... It was close but undoubtedly I lost. So I reluctantly joined him, to my surprise he treated me like family despite my prior eagerness to defeat him and take his life. From there on he slowly changed me to who I am today. Soon after he enrolled me into Atlantis, Paul was fascinated with Artificing he says it something that reminds him of home, so he befriended a young aspiring Ashley and then we all became family." Scarlet said still maintaining her stare into the ceiling.

"Was Paul already strong as he is now before or after he joined Atlantis?.." I asked.

"Before.... way before... he has improved himself a little while he was here but there's no way he learnt everything in Atlantis specially his Ancient Magic." Scarlet answered.

"How did he get so strong?.." I asked.

"No idea..... But individuals from your plane are extremely gifted.... and I guess he met the right teachers." She guessed.

"Enough resting shall we get the rest of the work out finished?.." She asked.

"Yeah... I think I'm quite rested now." I said getting up feeling slightly sore but no longer aching and out of breath.