At the library where Omid had worked for so long, there was a similar sand garden as what he and Sareen stood in now. Really more of a large courtyard with well manicured sand and various other features. Paradoxically, there were usually very little in the way of actual plants. And because everything else was strange here, Sareen had a few small flowering shrubs to adorn the area. The plants themselves were small things, no greater than waist height at the absolute most and bearing a pale green flesh. Small yellow flowers adorned them, so vibrant in color that they very well may have been used for dyes around here.

“A lovely little garden.” Omid said while looking around.

“This is nothing, the one that feeds all my subjects here is far more impressive.” Sareen wasn’t looking at him, but carefully looking around the courtyard with a hand to her chin. Omid was careful to follow her gaze as he did his best to figure out what she could possibly be planning.

Stepping stones amongst sand, high walls, small flowering shrubs. Never looking at the fountain though.

“I taught you a word.” Sareen said as she stood closer to Omid than he was used to, still looking out ahead at the long courtyard. “Like every other word you shall learn, you must learn to control it. This is why I start with Control. It is foundational. You will not only speak it, you will shape it. With your hands.”

She spoke the word of Control Earth once more and made a beckoning motion with the hand she had reaching out. “Such things are not entirely necessary for me, but for you? Well you are not a Zallan.”

The stepping stones followed her beckoning and moved through the sands to meet Sareen, as she continued whispering the word of Control, she made a horizontal flicking motion as the stepping stones all lined up.

She then took his hand in both of hers, poking at it until he relaxed it to his mild protest. She then poked his forehead. “A spell starts here, with a thought. Your voice is a command, and that command then flows through your body as your will makes it reality. You are commanding the elements, and you will realize they are yours to command. There could be no other reality than what orders you give. Tell them that you have Control-”

The word echoed in his head again, every time she spoke it he understood what it meant slightly more.

“-and send them away.” She flicked her finger in a dismissive fashion as one of the stepping stones slid across the sand to the other side of the courtyard, stopping just short of the wall.

Sareen smiled at Omid as she finally released his hand. “Your actions must match your will, and your will must match your actions. Now, let me see you take control.”

Omid breathed deeply before giving a long exhale, then cleared his throat for good measure. He spoke the word of Control, and felt a shiver run from his head down his spine. Like shifting his weight without moving, he flicked his wrist at one of the stones. The stone scooted away with considerably less force than what Sareen had managed, but he couldn’t help but smile as in that moment he felt a momentary connection with that stone. As though it were an extension of his arm.

“Hmmm, too dismissive.” She said with a frown. “You’re indifferently telling it to leave, and it is doing just that. You must tell it that you want it to go exactly where you want it to. And then a flick of your fingers to send it on its way.”

Omid stared at his hand, then at the rock, then back at his hand. “So...I am demoralizing it? And then sending it on its way?”

Sareen only bore a wide smile with what Omid could swear was too many teeth. He sized up another stone, thinking to himself how it would ‘have to’ do, spoke the word of Control as he thought of how exactly this stone was to follow his instructions. So exacting as to be patronizing, before he finally flicked his fingers while he made a slight sneer.

It slid away, kicking up a cloud of dust before coming to a rest halfway between Sareen’s attempt and where the two stood.

She nodded as her smile grew more reserved. “Better. But it needs to be better still.”

Omid grit his teeth as he attempted this once more. This had to work, he thought as he spoke the word of Command. It had to work and it would work, he told himself as he felt that split second pulse run down his spine. Lives depended on him, and he had no choice to succeed and not let this stop him. Which meant that he was leaving the stone with no choice but to obey, and with building anger he flicked his fingers as the stone went sliding across the courtyard to come to a rest near Sareen’s.

“Wonderful! You successfully commanded one stone!” Sareen announced with joy as Omid was unable to tell if she was mocking him or not. “As to your next lesson, let’s go with something more aggressive!”

At some point in time, this may have surprised Omid. “By that do you mean you’re going to try to kill me?”

Her smile remained as she rested a hand on her hip. “Of course not! I am training you to be my greatest asset, remember? None shall ever suspect that one such as you would have been personally trained to such power by me!”

“That is me, no one suspects anything spectacular from me.” Omid suppressed a groan.

“Exactly! Now I would say I need to teach you how to kill, but it seems you are already quite proficient in that.” Sareen said with a flourish of her hand, smile still broad.

Omid pursed his lips and nodded. “That too is correct.”

“You will need to defend yourself, and the best defense is a solid metal wall pulled from the ground! However, you humans are bad at transmutations so a wall of solid earth is the next best thing. Once again, you will use Command. You will command the earth itself to stand up and die for you! The gesture I use for such a thing is a simple stomp. Picture it as stepping on a scale, the Control you exert will be equal to the earth you are able to draw from the ground.”

Omid had some concerns as to the insight into Sareen’s mind that her outlook on magic provided he had to admit it was all quite informative. Even if he sometimes had to find his own mental connections to make, finding them quite a bit easier. Fighting for his life had been a fantastic motivator thus far, and now it was allowing him to fuel his magic.

Which was vital as Sareen’s newest test involved throwing punches at Omid just hard enough to crack through rock. She assured him that a well placed stone wall would stop her jabs, and that she would telegraph her strikes well enough for this training exercise. But she was starting to dance around him quicker now, throwing faster punches. A few hours into training and she wasn’t slowing down in the slightest.

The crack of another well blocked punch hit his ears, and despite what Sareen said he could see the cracks getting bigger with each strike now.

“Are you certain you’re still keeping your strength to something I can block?” Omid asked, keeping his eyes on her as she circled around him.

He had quickly learned that her expression didn’t change as she struck, and he had to rely on watching the rest of her movements. She feinted to the right before going for a left strike, and a last second judgment call on Omid’s part had him raise another stone wall that didn’t so much as absorb the blow as it did deflect her strike upward with no time to spare. As he had done before he dragged the same foot he used to send the wall up back towards him and it retreated into the ground, revealing a Sareen who’s smile had grown even wider.

“I am simply testing your abilities, and you are doing well!” She said as she didn’t even give a moment’s pause before attacking again.

The sands they stood on were merely a layer atop a solid stone foundation, even in this courtyard. Omid had to quickly send that foundation up into a small wall between him and Sareen’s punch that now made a hole in the stone to shower him with some debris, out of instinct he kept up the chant for Control as he sent the wall sliding to his left with a rough shoving gesture. Sareen’s arm still buried in the wall, she was dragged with it. The now unobstructed view of the Kirzallan revealed her smile had left her, in its place was...surprise?

Followed by a smile that Omid was now positive contained more sharp and pointy teeth than he had ever seen her with. She gave him a wink as she roughly pulled her arm from the stone wall and shattered it as she went.. He brought up another wall as she once again struck through this one as well, and in turn he sent the wall away from him to drag her with it. It didn’t take her as far this time as she shattered her way out of it too, but it did give him enough time to reposition onto fresh ground and put more distance between him and the Kirzallan looking ever more bloodthirsty.

There was likely an additional lesson to be found in having to do this in a bathrobe, and thus supremely underdressed to be fighting for one’s life. She was holding back, but doing so less and less every time she threw another punch and he blocked it only to drag her aside. Another chance to put more distance between him and her, and she wasn’t even using magic. Just speed and strength all her own fueled by an apparent bloodlust. Or was it just lust?

NO.

Omid shook that idea from his head with as much force as he could manage as he finally had enough space to put three stone walls between himself and Sareen, not as thick as the normal stone walls but enough for his plan.

“Impressive extrapolation but you know I’m strong enough to get through those!” Sareen cheered as her right fist put a hole through all three walls without effort.

“I know.” Omid returned to his chant as he sent all but the middle wall shifting rapidly to the side. Somewhere among the scraping and grinding of stone, there was a snapping noise. Immediately afterward in the cloud of dust and sand something crashed through all the stone and into Omid as he felt a soft hand tighten around his throat.

As the dust settled, where he expected rage and hurt he saw Sareen looking the happiest he had ever seen her with her right arm hanging limply at her side. Her hair was a mess and covering her face, the first time he had seen her in any state other than perfectly collected and well manicured, her breathing was faster than he had ever heard her manage, and he was now certain that the fingers tightening around his throat were going to be what ended him.

He stared her down still, preferring to go out this way.

She blew a strand of hair out of her face. “You know...if I wished it, you would have no chance here. Wielding earth against me would get you absolutely nowhere and these little tricks would do nothing. I wouldn't have as much as a bruise.”

“But you wished to teach, and so my tricks got your attention.” Omid strained to get the words out as her grip tightened. “And I thought you liked it when I was amusing?”

Sareen rolled her right shoulder to emphasize her dangling arm, strangely bloodless. “You thought I would find this amusing?”

“That a human would dare to do something like that and have it work? No. I did not think you would find that amusing.” He cleared his throat. “I knew you would.”

Her thumb pressed in against his jugular as her toothy grin stayed broad, her pupils narrowed in those seas of indigo, and she burst out laughing as she released Omid from her grip. “Excellently done!”

The Kirzallan held her dangling arm out as much as it would lift and in between bouts of laughter spoke another unfamiliar word of a spell as her mangled arm hidden by a now damaged elegant sleeve straightened itself out with several loud sickening cracks and pops. She shook it for good measure before resting her now mended hand on Omid’s shoulder, who was still standing frozen in place. Her grip on his shoulder was gentle as her laughter finally stopped.

“Magic is making your will into reality. Your thoughts vocalized matching your speech, reflected in actions and gestures to reinforce your power made manifest.” She locked eyes with him, unblinking. “I am of earth, and my power is great.”

She hummed a short few words overlapping as the courtyard that had been cluttered with shattered stone walls, displaced sand, and scattered stepping stones rearranged itself into pristine condition.

“I need, at most, words to affirm my thoughts. For earth is an extension of my will. Sometimes the other steps are enough of a help to be worth it. But for you? At every single step, you must affirm it.” She poked his chest as she released his shoulder and beckoned for him to follow. “You had the will and the follow through to look upon one so much greater than you and challenge them, knowing you would fail-”

Omid followed along, dusting himself off. “No, I succeeded. I knew I had no chance of killing you, and causing you any lasting harm was unlikely. But proving myself? Forcing you to take notice? Did I fail at that?”

“Not in the slightest! Imagine what some real training can teach you!” She smiled over her shoulder, sending a shiver down Omid’s spine.

“That wasn’t real training?” He asked, though the question was painfully obvious to him as soon as the words left his lips.

She only kept smiling over her shoulder, not responding before looking away and leading him through the ornate stone carved doorframe back into the palace propper. “I believe you have earned one glass figure.”