The afternoon sun shone ruthlessly over the heads of the kids practising seriously with their new weapons. Sweat drizzled down their faces, yet they didn't stop.
Sundrin, like the others was also practising. The third elder had given them a rundown on how to form the arrow, and although it sounded quite simple, it was way harder.
They had to direct the energy of the inner flame into the hand they were pulling the string with. The next step was to let the energy flow out of the body.
This was done by imagining how blood flowed out of a wound, then lastly when the energy had flown out of the body they had to visualize the energy taking the shape of an arrow,
"Your will plays a significant part in this. If you have a strong will and a calm mind to use that will, then you will be able to give it any form you desire."
That's what Survath had said as he left the kids to their own devices.
Sundrin pulled the string of his bow and closed his eyes shut, letting the inner flame's energy flow in his body. He directed it towards his hand, and immediately, the flame followed his command.
As it reached near the tip of his index finger, he imagined blood flowing out of it, and sure enough, soon the flames started coming out of the tip of his index finger.
Drops of sweat started forming on his forehead as he tried to visualize the form of an arrow.
The flames started taking shape bit by bit, It was going smoothly when suddenly his head hurt and he lost his focus,
*Boom!*
The fire exploded as the flames scattered, and the wooden bow went up in flames.
Sundrin quickly threw the bow away and fell on his back, his breathing grew ragged as he was dripping sweat from head to toe,
"sh*t!"
He cursed as he gulped down a mouth full of saliva down his dry throat.
This had been his fifth try, and he was exhausted already. Each time he failed, he could feel his headache increase and energy leave his body.
His mind and body were both on the verge of collapsing, so he could only grit his teeth in frustration yet was unwilling to give up,
"You have more than enough will and energy, but your mind isn't calm."
Survath's voice came from behind him as he looked back to see his figure approaching.
He tried getting up but fell on his knees as his legs were too tired to stand up,
"Stay down."
Survath said with a commanding tone, and Sudnrin nodded while his headache continued and his breathing grew rough,
"You have been pushing yourself, and even though under normal circumstances I would praise your hard work, this time I cannot do so. Although your mind and body may seem like they are all alright, they are exhausted and need rest. Go back and get some sleep."
Survath's tone showed he wouldn't take no for an answer, so although Sundrin wanted to decline, he nodded and could only follow the command of his teacher.
Nodding in satisfaction, the third elder walked away.
Sundrin sat up straight and waited for his breathing to calm down. After a while, he got up and started walking back to the cottage.
He was too tired and would just sleep in for the day.
.
.
.
.
Sundrin's eyelids fluttered a bit as he felt the light shine on his sleeping face.
Slowly, he opened them and sat up on his bed. Rubbing the drowsiness away from his eyes, he inspected his surroundings.
All the kids were back and were now sleeping soundly. It was already late night, and the moon was hanging up in the sky.
For some time, he just sat there in a daze.
Then, suddenly he got up from his bed and walked outside, taking the wooden bow he had brought back with him in the morning.
Feeling the cool breeze against his exposed skin just after a nice nap filled his body with joy as his mind also felt refreshed.
Smiling, he started walking, as he wanted to give the flame arrow another try.
Soon, he arrived near the waterfall and got in position.
Slowly, he started to calm his breathing and closed his eyes to feel the inner flame.
Then he exhaled a mouth full of air and opened his eyes. Stretching the string back he held on to the bow tightly.
He commanded his inner flame to move, and soon, the process began.
It moved towards the tip of his finger and soon came out as fiery red flames. He visualized the image of an arrow as the flames started to move slowly and take form.
Suddenly, at the same time as before, he lost focus, and the flame burst out. Sundrin panicked as he didn't want to wake the people up from their sleep right now, or else he would be in for a thrashing.
He quickly threw the bow into the water. A muffled boom rang out as the water exploded up.
Sundrin let out a relieved sigh and fell on his back, lying down on the cool grass.
He looked up at the night sky filled with stars, Usually, he would have enjoyed this scene, but right now, he was filled with frustration over his repeated failures.
He could have accepted it if he had not the capabilities to bring out the fire, but as the third elder said, he did indeed possess the capabilities; it's just that he couldn't utilize them.
With an exhausted sigh, Sundrin stood up and started walking away.
But he had not taken more than three steps when he stopped and his eyes frowned, he turned around and looked at his surroundings,
"Was it my imagination?"
He was sure he had heard some kind of sound just now.
Closing his eyes, he tried to observe the sounds in his surroundings.
The sounds of the gentle winds and how it ruffled the grass beneath him entered his ears, the sounds of the waterfall and the flowing river was also present along with the buzzing of the bugs.
….
Finally, a low-pitched sweet melodic sound entered his ears. Sundrin's eyes jolted open,
"There!"
He said delightfully. Propelled by his curiosity, he started walking slowly and steadily towards where the sound was coming from.
He crossed the stream and then headed deeper into the forest. Large trees stood towering over him as he took one step after another.
He was still on the tutelage grounds, so he wasn't worried about some wild beasts showing up.
But still, as he walked, he heard the different howls of beasts coming from deeper in the forest, and although he wasn't scared, he wondered exactly how many types of beasts were even present near the tribe.
Shaking his head to drive away the useless thoughts, he continued forward.
The blue light of the moon shone upon the forests, illuminating the trees and the surroundings with a bluish hue.
As he got closer and closer to the origin of the sound, he could hear more of what sounded like music,
"Is that a veena?"
He wondered out loud but was unsure as he had only heard a playing veena once in his life.
But as he got closer and closer, he was more sure that it was a veena, and the one playing it was not at all a beginner.
Soon, he could see a clearing in front of him. There were no trees in the clearing, only a large boulder in the middle of it.
He could also make out the silhouette of a person sitting on the boulder.
Hastening his steps as if hypnotised by the sweet melody produced by the veena, he approached the clearing.
As soon as he entered the clearing, he was stunned by the beauty of the scene before him.
The gentle moonlight lit up the clearing, falling on top of the boulder and the person sitting upon it.
It was a beautiful old woman with white hair tied up into a bun, and although she seemed old, there were no wrinkles on her face.
As the moonlight cascaded her figure, she continued playing the veena with a soft and gentle smile on her face.
Her eyes were closed, so she didn't seem to notice Sundrin's presence, and he too was spellbound to say anything.
The moonlight glowing on her beautiful figure, the gentle smile, the melodic sound of the veena. To him, it looked like a fairy had descended from heaven.
Sundrin had never focused much on the outer appearance, he always believed what really mattered was how strong a person was from the inside.
But seeing the woman play the veena, he knew that it took many years of dedication and patience to reach this stage, thus, he couldn't help but admire her.
Too dazed, he failed to notice that the music had finally ended.
The old woman's eyes opened slowly as she turned her head and looked at Sundrin with the same gentle smile on her face.
Sundrin was stunned but couldn't muster out any words.
The gentle spring winds blew between them as the two figures stayed in their place, looking at each other.