The Vanyar Warrior's Hall.

This was the place where the elves would practice martial arts in the Vanyar Kingdom.

The wooden plaque containing the name of this place oozed off an indescribable feeling, Tristan could see that the place was surrounded by an unassuming stone fence with a similarly humble wooden gate. Even so, he strangely got the feeling that he would not be able to break the stone fence no matter what he did, let alone the gate.

It was massive when seen from outside, and even more so the moment Tristan walked past the gate. A huge, half open hall with modest and traditional-looking decorations greeted his eyes, and he could see a verdant garden on the side. The sight exuded the essence of elves that Tristan initially thought, which was adjacent to nature.

The place gave Tristan the feeling of a dojo. The glazed wooden floor, walls and roofs.

As his eyes scanned through the entire place, they stopped at one point. Tristan saw a dozen elves sitting quietly in the lotus position in one corner of the hall. They seemed to be meditating as he could see their chest rising and falling in a rhythmic manner.

All of them were wearing black-colored garb under the sashes on their shoulders.

The other side of the hall was occupied by a garden with a stone trail that stretched to its end. Various kinds of plants could be seen on it, adding a little touch of life to the overall ambience. In addition, Tristan also spotted several ponds covered with snow on the surface.

There were 4 stone statues that stood separately in the garden. Tristan could see three of them had a kind of weapon on them, while the last one had nothing on it. Moreover, he noticed that each of them was carved into a specific posture that enhanced the aura it manifested.

Serene explains that these statues were the portrayal of the four disciplines of the elven martial arts. Unarmed, bow, dual daggers, and the sword.

As they walked, Tristan noticed that some of the elves that passed by would bow to Serene, while a few others he saw wearing golden sashes would greet her by raising their palms. This spectacle reminded Tristan that the person currently accompanying him was the royal princess of this kingdom.

"This is an interesting place. Are we going to train today?"

Serene answered his question without turning back, but Tristan could clearly perceive the cold tone in her words.

"It depends whether the masters will take you in or not."

Apparently, each discipline in the elves martial arts had its own master. Normally, each elf would only have the opportunity to learn under one master. Hence, it was an extremely fortunate event if one managed to make 2 masters willing to teach them their arts.

Upon hearing that, scepticism diffused out of Tristan's entire being.

"Do we really need a master to learn the art? Don't you guys have any manuals or something? Ah! A video would be the best!"

"..."

Serene was stunned for a second. In her mind, she thought she really had to reevaluate this damned elf and change the affix she placed on him. It wasn't damned anymore, it was abhorrent. She gradually became more annoyed with each passing second together with Tristan, as if he solely existed to annoy her to death.

While suppressing the raging irritation within her, Serene completely ignored the elf's question and continued her explanation, "Each master would give a short instruction about their own discipline once a week. However, if you manage to become one of the disciples, you could receive instructions daily"

As Tristan listened to Serene's detailed introduction of the place, something caught his attention and made him turn his eyes. At the other side of the hall, exactly across from where they were, a training session was being held by an unarmed martial art master.

Tristan could see there were about three dozen elves currently sitting there, observing and learning from the master in rapt attention. The sight incited interest in him, as he began observing as well.

Then, he was surprised to see the old, weak-looking elf manage to throw another elf, who looked much younger and stronger than him, onto the ground with one hand. Heck, even the former didn't seem to be forcing himself to do it because the sequence of the action looked effortless.

The movements were quick and flowed beautifully yet fiercely just like a raging current, mesmerizing the dozens of elves and Tristan who were watching.

Soon, the sparring session continued.

More and more elves would stand and try to bring the old elf down. Alas, none of them managed to touch him, much less hit him. His agile footwork and precise action allowed him to dodge any attack his opponent threw with perfection. Without Tristan realizing, another elf would hit the ground with the master's simple move. Another was hit on the back and fell face first to the wooden floor.

It was an exciting display to look at, and Tristan was surprised to find out that he was more interested to learn than he thought he would be.

While waiting, Tristan noticed an elf with a golden sash on him approaching where they were.

"Greeting to you, Lady Serene."

Even though he was obviously a noble Yanti elf, he spoke very politely and even bowed to Serene. Then, when Tristan expected this elf to walk away after he delivered his greetings, Serene unexpectedly introduced the short-haired elf to him. Apparently, this elf named Sindur was the top disciple of the art.

Tristan noticed the way the elf looked at him was not very friendly, which should be easy to guess after a moment's thought.

"Are you here to train, my lady?" asked Sindur after retracting his hostile gaze at Tristan.

"No. I came to introduce the 'Sus Mahna' to our guest here." Serene answered while not even glancing at the said guest.

A look of realization appeared on Sindur's face as he nodded his head.

"I see.. As you can see, my lady, the master, is still quite busy. Perhaps, I could be of service. I could definitely give the guest some pointers." Sindur spoke humbly. His attitude looked like he really wanted to help, and Tristan would also think so if he didn't notice the look he threw earlier.

Alas, it seemed that Serene didn't notice his hostility towards Tristan, or chose not to.

"You are willing to do that, Sindur? That would be great!"

"Anything for you, my lady."

It appears a fight has been decided for him.

---------------

Authors Note

Thank you for purchasing the privilege chapters, the next tier will be published each day. Thank you for your patience. Much appreaciated