She had been invited to study and become a Dai Sha by the Elders themselves, via holo-message, an honor never before heard of. She flew through the training easily; nothing was beyond her reach. The things other struggled with, she did with no effort at all; nothing forced her to use her full power or abilities. And she was among other people like her. Her fellow students were all unique, all talented with the Sha like she was. Few were close to her level of power, but all had the talent.
One of her fellows approached her as she walked towards the practice hall for her next lesson. When he was close enough, Narrasak grabbed her and pulled her to him, lowering his mouth to her neck, biting her flesh softly. Anessa allowed him his displays of affection in public. She had only recently discovered the pleasures that a man and a woman could give to one another, and she was enjoying herself. And Narrasak was a worthy partner; he was one of the strongest students in the program alongside Anessa.
“Narrasak, we will be late,” Anessa said, as she slowly disengaged herself.
“You’re right,” Narrasak said, his eyes gleaming with passion. “We will continue tonight.”
Anessa hit him in the shoulder as she passed, not bothering to respond. She could hardly wait. They reached the practice hall, and entered just a moment or two before their instructors.
After the practice, one of their Sha instructors asked her to stay behind so that he could speak with her alone.
“You are holding back,” he said once everyone had left.
“I’m not holding back, I just have no need to use everything I am capable of,” Anessa responded calmly.
“That is true, but it is not the whole truth. There is something that makes you pull back, and someday that might cost you your life,” the instructor told her. Anessa dismissed his words. What did he know? Already she could squash him like an insignificant pest. She knew that none of her instructors were truly her equals in terms of power.
Anessa woke from another dream of her past. It had been more than a century since she had last thought about the beginnings of her training to become a Dai Sha, or Narrasak. Once, she had thought that he would be her Dal A’sha, a life partner, but that dream had ended terribly. She shook her head and stood up from the bed, going to the cleaning room. She had barely had the chance to finish when she felt a familiar mind in front of her doors. She sighed and moved to clothe herself.
A few minutes later, Anessa stood across from Adrian, staring at him, still processing his words.
“You were serious?” she asked incredulously. She hadn’t really believed him when he came to her quarters and asked her to come with him so that they can spar. The two of them were the only people in the large room on his ship, obviously designed for training, with various machines and training courses lining the walls. “You captured me. Does that not tell you all you need to know?”
Adrian smiled at her, “I will not use the Sha. I want to spar with you, only using our physical abilities,” he said.
“You are a better fighter than me,” Anessa said slowly, still not understanding the point.
“I am not an idiot, Anessa, I felt your power when we fought. You weren’t fighting with your full capabilities; you were trying to capture me unharmed. We surprised you and outnumbered you, and we got lucky. I’m under no illusion that I could win a battle to the death if you had access to the Sha.”
Anessa looked at him calmly, knowing that his words were true. If she had fought with everything she had, Adrian and his people wouldn’t have left alive. But then, she had needed him alive. She couldn’t have risked harming him before she had had the chance to interrogate him, and she had underestimated him. A mistake that she will not repeat again. “Then what is the point?” she asked.
“Even without the Sha, you are stronger and faster; it is a good challenge for me. I can train fighting a stronger opponent. And you can learn more about my people’s way of fighting,” Adrian said. “Is that not the Shara Daim way? To always seek more strength, to reinforce your place at the top?”
Immediately, Anessa realized that this was a great opportunity for her to learn. “Our way is that of blood and death. To become stronger through spilling our enemies’ blood,” she said.
The two had touched upon their people’s philosophies only a bit, and Anessa had learned enough to know that the Empire’s way was far weaker. They valued the lives of lower creatures, and they even went as far as to uplift them, give them power that they did not deserve, and that made them weak as well.
“You are not worried that I will kill you?” she asked.
“You gave your word not to, but even if you did, what would it accomplish?” he asked, and then when she didn’t respond, he continued. “So, shall we?” Adrian said, and took a strange stance.
Anessa had never seen the kind of fighting style that Adrian utilized, for Shara Daim all styles relied on strength and were designed to fight non-Shara Daim opponents. Battles between Shara Daim were always decided by their talent with the Sha.
A chance to learn even a bit of Adrian’s style was a great boon which would make her stronger. Both of them wore the ‘skin-suits’ of the Empire, only they didn’t have the added over-garment that everyone Anessa had seen wore. She took a stance of her own, slightly spread feet and hands raised in front of her head.
With a last confident smile at Anessa, Adrian launched himself at her.
He was fast, but she was faster. She stepped forward, raising her right arm above her head and bringing it down in a powerful strike aimed at his shoulder. Adrian simply twisted his upper body, grabbed her arm as it was passing him, turned, and put his back at her front. She tried to grab hold of him with her other arm, to put it around his front, but before she was able, she found herself flying over his head and hitting the floor with her back, hard, her right arm still held by his. He twisted and put his knee at her elbow, somehow locking her entire body. Every time she tried to move, he would exert just a bit of force on her elbow and she was forced to stop or risk him breaking her arm. He looked at her from above for a moment or two before letting her go and stepping back.
Anessa slowly got to her feet while she kept her eyes locked on him. She had never felt more helpless in a fight. She didn’t have her Sha. She was stronger, faster, and bigger, yet she hadn’t been able to do anything to stop him as he threw her to the floor.
She charged him, lowering herself to catch him in his midriff, but he simply dropped to the floor and rolled, tripping her legs with his body. Anessa placed her hands on the floor and threw herself over her head, landing on her feet. She turned immediately, ready to defend herself, but Adrian was standing out of her range, watching her.
Anessa grinned at him smugly, and Adrian quirked an eyebrow before running straight at her. He jumped and twisted in the air, swiping his left leg at her torso. Anessa blocked and went in for a grab with her free hand. Adrian caught her hand, then placed his leg on her chest and pushed himself into a backflip, landing on his feet just as Anessa reached him again and tried to grab him. Her hands caught only air as Adrian danced away, hitting her in the side as he moved behind her. The punch barely stung her, and as she turned, he made a gesture with his hand that she didn’t recognize but whose meaning was apparent: ‘Come.’