*******

After lunch Varlon accompanied Aeril to the city arena where the scheduled practice was going to be held. Upon arriving they saw Braka in the center of the arena waiting. In the seats was about a dozen people, mostly commoners who hung around the arena to see the daily fights that took place there. But near the front he noticed nicely dressed magic users. Shrugging he walked into the ring.

"Ahh Varlon good to see you here today. Today is going to be an exciting practice. Seeing how good Aeril has been at his training so far, I'm sure he'll do well at this too." Braka said proudly.

"I'm glad to be here. I'm excited to finally be able to watch the two of you practice."

"Well I'm sure it'll be quite a show, even if it is the first day of aerial combat. I'm quite confident Aeril can pick it up quickly. Are you ready?"

"I sure am!" Aeril said excitedly.

"Well I'll go take a seat then. Good luck Aeril. Score 5 for me!"

Aeril laughed. "Sure thing! So what do we do?" Braka threw him a small ring. He looked at it for a moment. On the ring was a small red gem of some kind. "What is it?"

"I decided to start simple, by using a magic item first. This is a ring of levitation. As the name implies when activated, it will make you fly. When I tell you to activate it , just touch the gem and say 'fly.' The rest is magic."

"We're gonna fly?" Aeril said with rising excitement.

"Yes, we are. It may seem more fun than training, but this training session is extremely important. As such, we will continue training until you have mastered it."

"What makes it so important?" Aeril asked curiously.

"When fighting on land you must be aware of everything infront, behind, and from either side. When you can fly you must then also be aware of what is above you, and what is below you. Not to mention that it makes you feel very dizzy. Not only that but movement different, since now you can move up or down with every step you take. Go ahead and activate the ring so you can see what I mean."

Aeril activated the ring. He was completely unprepared for the sudden falling, especially since he felt himself falling upwards. He flailed about trying to get his balance for a few minutes before finally being able stand up straight for longer than three seconds.

Braka laughed. "See what I mean? Now that you seem to have gotten used to standing try walking."

Aeril nodded his head and slowly took a step and fell flat on his face 5 feet above the ground. He tried getting back up, but fall back down almost immediately.

"Try not looking down. Look straight ahead when you walk. If you look down you tend to think your going to fall, which will make you fall."

"Ok. So as long as I don't look down I should be ok right?" Not waiting for answer he got up, making sure to look straight ahead the entire time. "Wow! It worked! So walking should be the same principle right? He said taking a few steps. "I should be able to keep walking straight ahead as long as I don't look down."

"Yes, but don't let your self get limited like that or you'll never be able to move up. Focus your mind on where you are, and where you want to go. You shouldn't have to look down to descend or look straight to continue walking straight. Try moving different directions, especially up and down."

Aeril began slowly. He slowly broke the habit of having to look down to descend, thanks to Braka's consent reminders. After a bit of practice Braka said. "Ok that's pretty good. Why don't you try running around the arena and slowly run up and then back down. Start slowly but pick up the speed after every lap."

Braka watched as he ran. He was quite impressed with the level of talent the boy showed. He was already better than most of the people he had trained. Stopping him he said. "Ok now try this. Keep doing what your doing, but this time drop down quickly and slowly climb back up.

Aeril didn't have to much of a problem with that, as was expected. Most people could easily do that, what got them was what came next. "Ok that was simple enough. Now why don't we inverse that.

Aeril nodded and began doing as instructed. Braka nodded his head. As expected his motions were awkward and he could tell the boy had to concentrate heavily to move vertically, still he seemed to be doing a bit better than most of his other students.

Braka let him go for a few more times before calling him back. "Ok that was a good warm up. You feel up to sparring a bit?"

"Sure, why not!" He said cheerfully.

"Ok then, reactivate the floating spell. It'll be wearing out soon and you don't want it leaving you when your 50 feet in the air. We'll start the match at about 30 feet up so we have plenty of maneuvering space."

Reactivating the ring Braka floated up to about 30 ft and waited for Aeril, who quickly joined him. The two stood 10 about feet apart. Raising his hand Braka said. "Lets go a bit easier on you until you can get accustomed to midair combat."

Aeril nodded his head, and Braka dropped his hand signaling the beginning of the fight. Not wasting any time he came at Aeril with a punch he would easily be able to dodge, but the being 30 feet in the air was enough of a distraction to make it a near miss. Braka pressed his advantage and followed up immediately by a few kicks.

Aeril stumbled back narrowly avoiding the kicks. He inwardly berating himself for letting himself get distracted. Seeing the boy recovered, Braka came at him with a kick and a punch.

Aeril blocked the kick and then pivoted towards the punch. He grabbed Braka's outstretched arm and tossed him down to the arena floor.

Braka smiled as he fell. He adjusted himself in midair and pushed off air sending him back towards a surprised Aeril. Braka quickly reached Aeril. Seeing the stunned look on his face, he acted quickly grabbing the boy and throwing him back to the arena.

Aeril landed 5 feet from the arena floor on his back, giving Braka the first point. He got up a bit awkwardly and let out a sigh of frustration. He should have seen been able to avoid the throw. Shaking his head to help to shake out the distractions, he noticed a somewhat overweight bald man sitting in the audience.

Suddenly he heard a voice calling him. The voice was frustrated and quite a bit angry. He heard the voice say "Stop thinking about what your doing so much. Your paying to much attention to the fact that your in the air and not enough on your opponent. You must ignore it. A true martial artist cares not for where they fight. On land, in the air, or underwater its all the same. Watch, adapt and react. Don't let yourself be controlled by your environment, use it to YOUR advantage. Watch, adapt and react! Once you can do that, there is almost nothing you can't do. Now get up and lets try it again."

Aeril shook head once more. He looked up and mentally repeated the words the imaginary voice told him. Watch, adapt and react. Shrugging his shoulders, he looked up at Braka and with a strong leap joined his teacher.

Braka was about to go down and check on him, when Aeril leaped towards him. With concern in his voice he asked. "Are you ok?"

"Ya I'm fine, just needed to get my bearings. I'm fine."

Seeing he was fine, Braka took a ready stance. Seeing Aeril take a similar stance, Braka began with an attack. He started off with a quick jab, which Aeril blocked. He pressed his attack with a kick, two more punches and a palm strike. Braka was surprised when Aeril only blocked his attacks.

Perhaps I'm going a bit to fast for him. He is still getting used to midair combat. thought Braka before starting another fray of punches and kicks at a slightly slower rate than before, once again Aeril simply blocked each attack. Braka was confused at Aeril's sudden switch in tactics. He was using a strategy typical of him when he was female. He was confused, but noticing the grin that was finding its way to Aeril's face, he decided to play it out and see what he would do.

Braka lead with a kick. Aeril blocked the kick and countered with two punches. Braka was slightly surprised but easily blocked both punches. He made a few punches of his own each blocked by Aeril.

The two continued to trade blows that were blocked or dodged by the other. Neither felt the increase in the tempo of their attacks, until Braka did something to catch Aeril by surprise. Braka suddenly dropped about a foot and a half catching Aeril by surprise and landing a punch directly to his mid section.

Aeril was knocked back a few steps. It didn't take long for him to realize that he had taken the voice's advice to literal. In trying to ignore the fact that he was in the air, he left himself open to attacks from above or below. Not only that, but he was not using every possible advantage available to him.

Somehow he knew that the voice would be upset, that he wasn't fighting at his fullest potential. He knew that he could be fighting better, and that really bothered him. He took a moment to clear his mind, and focus on the battle at hand. Repeating the familiar quote the voice told him, he stepped forward into a ready stance.

Braka looked unsure. "Are you sure you want to continue? You've already done well, there's no reason to push yourself its only the first day."

Aeril shook his head. "I can do it. I just need to get used to it. Besides you've only got three points there's still two more points to go."

Braka couldn't help but smile. He was both enthusiastic and persistent. He got into his ready stance. He was surprised when Aeril was the first to begin. He easily dodged both punches and dropped three feet under a kick. He quickly levitated up behind Aeril and striking with his open palm tiger claw.

There wasn't much time between Braka sudden drop and his tiger claw attack, but Aeril managed to avoid it. He leaned to one side and pivoted around. Braka pressed his attack, with a punch followed by a quick roundhouse. Aeril blocked the punch and dropped under the kick.

Braka seeing Aeril drop, followed him. As they descended they both traded blows. They stopped there fall two feet above the ground. Aeril jumped back away from Braka and then back up into the air.

Braka followed him back up to their original positions. Almost immediately they both descended again, punching and kicking the entire way down. Surprisingly every punch and kicked was blocked.

Aeril once again did the same thing. Braka shrugged and followed suite. Once again they began their 30 foot descent, but this time as the approached the bottom Aeril suddenly grabbed Braka's gi. Aeril pivoted in midair while still holding Braka, spinning completely around. He used the momentum of the spin to twist Braka and throw him down the remainder of the way.

Braka landed heavily on his back. But even as Aeril threw him, he accelerated his fall. In kick position Aeril landed on Braka's body and pushed off, landing safely to the side.

It was now Braka's turn to feel confused and uncertain. He got off the floor, he turned to Aeril. "That was incredible. You just tied up the score in one quick and deft move. It seems your starting to understand how to control the magic. Now the question is, do you have enough control to try to make two more points?"

Aeril smiled. "I don't know, but I sure intend to try. If nothing else I'm gonna make it as hard as possible for you to score your last two points."

Suddenly as if by some nonverbal understanding they both charged each other. After trading blow for a few minutes Aeril jumped high in the air, with Braka not far behind. They traded blows all the way up before separating.

The two began an intricate dance, leaving all the spectators amazed. Even Varlon sat with his mouth wide open in incredulity. Varlon could tell Braka was holding back, but to casual observer it think the dance a deadly one. He wasn't sure why, but it almost seemed if Aeril wasn't acting like himself. His skill in aerial combat resembled one who had been specially trained for years, not a student taking his first lesson.

He was alarmed at the rate at which he suddenly learned seemed to pick up the skill, it seemed very unnatural. He couldn't understand how he could have suddenly got so much better. Upon closer examination he realized, Aeril was using a different style of martial arts than what was taught by the ashen order. In fact he couldn't seem any commonality among the moves he was using. If he had to, he would guess that Aeril seemed to be using not one, but many different styles of martial arts only one of which was the style of the ashen order.

His thoughts were interrupted by gasp from somewhere near by. While he wasn't paying attention, both Aeril and Braka managed simultaneously hit each other. They were tied, with only one hit left to decide the winner. As they circled each other he couldn't help but wonder yet again. How could he have gotten so good in so little time. Simply put the longer he fought the better he became. He continued to watch as they fought analyzing his sons style of fighting.

To everyone's surprise Aeril suddenly jumped back away from Braka. He took a quick glance around him before suddenly charging Braka. Braka took a step to the side to avoid the charge and quickly came about with a roundhouse. But instead of continuing the charge Aeril jumped straight up.

"Blinding Falcon Kick" was the cry heard before Aeril landed a kick to Braka's mid section driving him down to ground flat on his back. The crowd quickly stood and began cheering wildly.

Hearing the loud cheering Aeril began to look around not sure exactly what just happened. He felt as if he had just woken up from a very realistic dream. But as he looked around the arena he realized it couldn't have been a dream. Had he really done all that? He turned to Braka who was walking toward him

"That was incredible! I've never seen anyone who was able to adapt so quickly before. In all my years at training not one person has ever shown the potential you show. It was simply amazing. I must speak with Puab Closk about having you take your test for the yellow sash."

"The yellow sash?! Already!?" Aeril stammered in disbelief.

"Why of course! You just defeated your trainer in a mid air training session on your first day of aerial combat training! No one has ever been able to do that before, and I highly doubt anyone will ever be able to do that again!"

"I guess, but... cuz.. I mean ... well... the whole fight felt weird."

"Why is that Aeril?" said Varlon who had just made his way to the center of the arena.

"Well I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing, it just kinda happened. I actually feel like I just had one of the dreams that still feel real after you wake up."

"What where you thinking then?" Varlon asked.

"Watch, adapt, and react."

Braka nodded his head. "A good philosophy. Where did you learn it?"

"I don't know. I just remembered it while we were fighting."

"Was it after Braka through you to the ground?"

"Ya! How did you know?"

"Because your fighting style began to change dramatically after that. You quickly became less awkward in the air and you started using techniques that I don't even recognize. Techniques not taught by the ashen order or the silent fist"

Aeril's eyes grew big. "I did? How? Are you sure?"

Varlon nodded his head. "Believe me, I'm quite sure."

"See what I mean Varlon? Aeril is extremely talented. Just listen to the crowd, they still haven't stopped cheering. As I told Aeril I'm going to talk with Puab about him starting his test right away!"

"I'll haven't seen a match that breath taking in years. Shall we celebrate Aeril? Lets go get Boomba and tell him all about on the way home."

Aeril's eyes lit up. "Sure thing! He told me to tell him the when I finally make win my first match! He gonna get so excited."

Pushing their way through the crowd eager to congratulate him, they finally made it the west gate. Aeril's smile quickly faded at the scene before him. He saw Boomba surrounded by many angry guards. He quickly ran to them to find out what was going on.

"I must take this Ogre in for questioning." said a guard that Aeril wasn't familiar with.

"Questioning for what? I already told you he's been here all day as he does every day. Both I and my men can attest to it. We shall personally vouch for him."

"That may be but we must still taking him in."

"Are you questioning the honor of my and my men?" Malin said with an edge in voice.

Varlon spoke up before either Aeril or the other guard. "Someone tell me what exactly is going on? And what is the problem regarding Boomba?"

The other guard seeing both Varlon and Braka paled for a moment. "There's been a murder sir. On the docks. A Dark Elf murdered Lyda Nasin on the docks about an hour ago. I was told to bring in all Dark Elves or other suspicious persons."

"I'm not sure if you've realized this but Boomba is an Ogre. And last I checked looked nothing like a Dark Elf." Said Braka.

"Yes I do realize that, but Dark Elves and Ogres are allies. It is possible that the Ogre is acting as a spy, or a enchanted Dark Elf."

The guard notably became angrier as those he was talking to began laughing. "You're telling me you think this Ogre is a spy!?" Malin couldn't help but continue laughing.

"The reports say he is an unusually bright Ogre and we think that it may be an enchanted Dark Elf."

"Well that's easily solved. I have to see headmaster Tolan soon, why don't we all go along. I'm sure he would cast a spell of true seeing for us." Braka said taking advantage of the situation to speak to see the older man.

"That's a great idea! That'll prove Boomba's innocent." Said an excited Aeril.

Varlon hearing the excitement in his sons voice was somewhat surprised he hadn't changed yet. He put the thought aside for the moment and agreed with others to see Tolan. It only took a few minutes to walk to the entrance of the academy of the arcane science.

They didn't have to wait long to see him, since he was expecting to talk to Braka. Braka explained the situation to him and he consented. After casting a few spells he said. "Well he is in fact an Ogre. He has a few magic spells on him, but that is to be expected from a magic user. But he is most definitely an Ogre."