The gleam of her blade in the fading sun brought a small amount of satisfaction, along with the sharp clash of her blade connecting with another's. It was a fine blade, as well as unique, with it's faint yellow tint and jagged shape. The steel cross-guard followed suit to the blades design, and was also somewhat jagged. It possessed it's regular steel-grey coloration and was easily able to catch blades in it's dips. It's hilt was simple, possessing a simple leather grip and ending with a simple diamond shaped pommel.

          A bead of perspiration trailed down the teenager's face, and her ears rung with the sounds of clashing blades, lances, or even axes. Occasionally someone gifted with a power from an Elemental would unleash their gift, causing even more chaos.

          Despite all of the possible distractions, she kept her mind focused on her task at hand. Which was defending her fort. She'd been stationed along the front gates, which was essentially the front lines in a sense, and had had no reprieve since the battle had started. A battle cry erupted from her as she pressed forward with a spurt of strength. Using the greaves of her sword Sara propelled her opponents sword around in a circle, much like a windmill, before sending it flying from their grip.

          "Flee now and you won't sustain any injuries." Sara threatened, raising her blade in warning. All it took was one closer look at those sharp jagged edges to send her defeated opponent darting after their weapon.

          She breathed a sigh of relief and took a moment to scan around. The rest of her patrol was almost finished with the rest of the enemies, to her relief. Sara let her sword's point rest against the ground while she brushed a loose strand of her medium length brown hair behind an ear. It had escaped the high ponytail she'd originally put her hair into.

          The victorious shout from her patrol's commander filled Sara with a content happiness. The day had been won.

          A painful collision with her back rudely declared otherwise, and also sent her sprawling onto the grass. It was all she could do to not fall on her sword. "Commander, there's more of them!" Sara breathlessly called, as she attempted to quickly scramble to her feet. She wasn't fast enough and a heavy boot slamming down on her back was enough to pin her to the ground. As well as winding her once more. What's more was that they ground their heel into her back, which in turn drew a hiss of pain from her. Sara's sword was also kicked out of reach, although in her position she wouldn't easily be able to use it against her opponents anyway.

          Her warning had drawn her shield-brothers and sisters attention, and with the order from her commander they charged once more at the threat. "Get the heck off Sara!" A familiar voice shouted, and soon it's owner appeared in front of her. Penny, one of her closest friends, darted in with her elegant saber,

          Penny's fierce green eyes displayed her unbreakable resolve, framed by her flaming auburn hair and caramel skin. She wore a short-sleeved forest green shirt, under a stiff blue tinted leather tunic, along with ripped blue jeans and a pair of black boots. On her left arm she sported a blue-tinted leather greave, and on the other was one of Penny's signature items. It was an iron greave, with a large crescent shaped sheet of iron emerging from both sides. Effectively forming a sort of shield, or something that she could effectively use as one anyhow.

          To Sara's relief the pressure on her back lightened, and with that she was back into her feet. A bit more dirty, but overall fine. Penny had retrieved her weapon, and extended it out to her, hilt first. "Thanks." Sara quickly said, taking it and turning to face the enemy once more.

          Even with Penny's help Sara didn't make much progress against them. Her whole patrol was buckling under the number of enemies. It wasn't long before they had all been defeated, and their fort taken.

"Alright, Time! Red team is victorious, Blue team that's another loss to your tally." Jackson called, ending their feud. Jackson was the two teams trainer per say, and was in charge of the teenagers training.

Sara and Penny were apprentices in what was known as the Elite Legends League. Or the ELL Academy/Organization. In all simplicity, it was a school for those who dreamed of one day riding into battle to defend/protect against evils. And yes, most of the students considered the name to be kinda stupid.

For the Blue Team however, that dream seemed to be completely out of reach. Their head commander and lead tactician had seemingly tried everything, but they just couldn't seem to beat the other teams. With a sigh Sara trudged off the practice field, Penny by her side. "Jared always overlooks counterattacks." Sara huffed in annoyance.

Despite being his friend, Penny couldn't help but agree. Jared's plan had been to station a group inside their fort out of sight, and have two lookout at high vantage points in the fort. Once the alarm was sounded, they'd rush out. A smaller group would be stationed more outfield, to make it seem like they were meant to defend the outside fort. It was simple. So as ordered Sara had rushed out to meet the Red Team's opposing forces, and used the advantage of surprise to it's fullest. However there was no backup planned if there was to be backup for their opponents. Which ultimately cost them the whole match. "Hey Sara!" A distinctively male voice called, breaking through Sara's brooding.

Her clear lake-blue eyes rose to meet Lloyd. He was somewhat scruffy, appearance wise, but overall an optimistic teen. He also happened to be the leader of the Blue Team. No one else really wanted to be the 'captain' of the team that hadn't added a single victory to their tally since it's creation. So he'd stepped up to bat. "Lloyd, why arn't you talking to Mr. Jackson?" Sara inquired once he neared.

          Lloyd possessed a set of long, scruffy, and dirty brown locks. Which were complimented nicely by his stony grey-blue eyes. Fashion wise he wasn't really getting anywhere, but he pulled of a survivalist look nicely enough. "Just follow me, we need you for something." He simply urged, before glancing over at Penny with an encouraging smile. "Hey Penny, you did excellent out in the field today. With just a bit more work you could probably be trusted with a small patrol soon." Lloyd informed her.

          "For real?!" Penny squealed excitedly, her green eyes shimmering with excitement. "Finialy I'll be able to show Mallory who's boss!" She cheered, before taking into account where she was. "Ummmm-sorry?" Penny then proceeded to questioningly apologize, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. Much professionalism, much wow.

He simply chuckled at Penny's little outburst, and gestured once more for Sara to follow. "See ya back at the barracks Penny." Sara said, before doing as her superior asked of her. "So why am I needed exactly?" She inquired, looking up slightly at Lloyd. He was taller than her after all.

Being ever fond of his secrets, Lloyd simply shook his head with a teasing smile dancing on his lips. "You'll know shortly." Was all he said, which drew a huff of annoyance from her. She did comply however, and didn't pester him with anymore questions.

          The young soon to be knight sighed and let her gaze wander across the practice field. Her eyes rested upon the Red teams fort, and a sense of disappointment settled in the pit of her stomach. Sara was known to be an optimistic person, well most of the time, but being beaten time and time again took it's toll on her 'team spirit'. If things didn't change, she doubted her feeling of resigned disappointment would go away any time soon. "Hey, pay attention to where your walking woman, or your going to run into a wall." Lloyd chided, while also breaking her out of her brooding thoughts. Sara fixed the blond boy with a glare.

          In short, no more words were needed. Once Lloyd's back was faced towards her, Sara let her gaze soften once more. It was rather fun to scare her friends on occasion. She followed her leader back into their fort, and through many hallways. The observant girl attempted to commit to memory the path they were taking, but it was a hopeless endeavor. They simply took to many turns this way and that.

          They did finally arrived at Lloyd's destination however, which was a secluded and most likely secret room located deep within the practice fort. Sara wouldn't be surprised at this point if they were near the cellar. Lloyd opened the wooden door that stood before them without hesitation, and led the way into the room. A small round wooden table sat in the middle of the stone room, surrounded by padded wooden stools. At least comfort had been somewhat of a priority, right? "Thanks for not making me wait long kids." Jackson hummed, and succeeded in drawing their attention to him.

Lloyd rolled his eyes, "We're not exactly kids Captain." He stated, taking a seat. Thankfully he didn't copy Jackson, who was leaning back on his stool with his boots resting on the wooden table. For a moment Sara was unsure of what to do, after all she had't really been informed about what this was about. Eventually she just respectfully dipped her head to Jackson, and took a seat.

With an amused huff Jackson took his feet of the table, and instead rested his elbows on it. "Well you two aren't adults yet, so I'll call ya kids all I want. Anyhow let's keep this short, I know you kids have other things you want to do with your free time than sit in a gloomy old room. So I'm sure Lloyd told you why your here, right Sara?" He inquired, turning his gaze to her.

She shook her head, "No, he's been as tight-lipped as usual." Sara answered. She silently hopped that she wouldn't be kept in the dark much longer. Lloyd raised his hands in defense, with a playful smile on his features.

"I should have known. Well Lloyd? Want to do the honors?" Jackson prompted.

          Sara chewed on her lip anxiously. All of this talk and beating around the bush was making her wonder if she had done something wrong. Lloyd caught her gaze and held it, and a few more agonizing seconds passed. She could clearly hear her heart attempting to bust out of her chest, and was seconds from demanding answers, when Lloyd spoke. "You're being promoted to a Tactician." He revealed.

          A Tactician, she thought with awe. She was being promoted to the role that decided the outcome of a battle. That held the lives of their comrades in their hands.

          Surprisingly she didn't feel overwhelmed or uncertain, and she accepted it in stride. A wide grin spread across her features, and her blue eyes shimmered, "I don't know what to say." Sara managed at last.

          Jackson chuckled at her near speechlessness. "Just say yes." He advised with a knowing look.

          "Alright then. Yes, I accept the position, Captain." Sara said with confidence.

          It was then that Sara noticed something. There was something different about Lloyd's smile. It seemed more...genuine now, and lifted her spirits. All this time he had been encouraging everyone after each loss, and attempting to keep positive.

          Hope radiated from Lloyd's smile, and Sara swore that she would give him a reason to keep it that way.

"Welcome on board Sara."