Prince of Salvation

 Breakfast was very quick, the air in the dining room was chockfull of excitement. Noor was very happy to see this, she had felt the same when she was with Zahra for her awakening, there was something about the childlike wonder in her students' eyes that made her feel complete. It filled the void she had in her heart. 

' I'm having a hard time choosing between the 3. Should I first venture into healing... so I can later have an offensive and supportive build? I mean master said that they all are very equal in general....hmm I can already sort of heal people and myself and shooting flames seems so much cooler.....' Azrael thought. He wasn't too keen on being a close combat fighter like Orion and Bilach were. The two were happily discussing how they'd fight right now. Luene said she was certain she wanted to be a solar mage - the air of a true noble.

"Master I'm having a hard time deciding between mage and warrior, could you tell me about them?" Azrael finally decided to be blunt.

"You know my sleeping beauty, there is a reason I haven't gone into depth about the respective classes aside from my usual forgetfulness. I did tell you we believed in destiny...I want to let you guys choose whatever feels right. You shouldn't be worried about too much, eventually it all levels out and no one class is 'stronger' than the other. In your case in actual truth, I believe you could concurrently learn both the priest and mage path, I mean it was already determined that your body knows how to activate it instinctively." Noor said.

"Anyway since you're all done, let's head outside and start."

The 4 could not contain their excitement as they rushed through the back door into the backyard. Azrael could feel his heart beating fast but he hid his anxiety. It was a trick he had learned. Noone knows what it is like to be you or who you are inside. So acting confident or playing a certain character was a great skill to get things you wanted . Azrael was really a shy and anxious person but the persona he showed to the world was one of a strong, confident and charismatic man.

Noor had the 4 sat on the grass out in the open as the morning sun shone brilliantly. All 5 enjoyed the sun, Noor mentioned how it had to do with an elemental advantage and it was exactly why she was opening up their tethers to the heavens outside - it made it easier to notice one's taqa. She placed her hands on Orion and Bilach first. 

"Okay I will inject you with a good amount of my taqa...it might feel a bit hot but don't focus on that, you should try to recall how it feels on a deeper level and if all goes well you will be able to feel your tether - it is better to visualise it as a string or whatever floats your boat."

Azrael was surprised to see how fast it took, it had only been maybe 30 minutes before Orion and Bilach (6 minutes later) felt their tether and then their taqa. Controlling it was a bit of a problem though.

Luene and Azrael were next, although both of them recognised their tether and taqa they were not well versed in controlling it. So Noor taught them how by having them breathe slowly and visualise pulling the tether that was attached to their head and contracting it. 

Azrael had always been able to muster up small flames and heal small wounds on his body but that was more of his body's doing rather than his. It was the difference between being asked to manually blink after a set amount of time and just causal blinking. Of course Noor had a reason for starting him over, in dire moments, he needed full autonomy over his body or else he could end up dead due to a reflex.

 Surprisingly, Azrael caught on quickly, it felt pretty natural to him still. 

" Damn you are fast...you're scaring me. You also have access to a lot of taqa , the Lord must be really pleased with you, you're definitely doing something right. Okay continue pulling on that tether, don't worry about losing the taqa you get. In fact try to expel it " Noor advised.

The other three , spurred on by their peer's efforts, pushed on. However, they still could not pull on their tether and properly move their taqa . Eventually, Noor stopped all of them when she noticed their fatigue, Azrael especially, looked particularly tired, he had been calling upon taqa and then just expending it by letting it flow outwards. At times his taqa had been a lot and he would lightly be lit aflame at certain places.

After lunch and a break the cohort talked about their experiences with taqa and then they were back to training. From what Azrael could tell Orion and Bilach were given a different task. Instead of pulling on the taqa and then letting it expend out their bodies like he was asked to do, they had to pull taqa into the pits of their stomach and try to keep it's expenditure outwards to a minimum. At the end of the day, Azrael had rested a couple of times to prevent burnout. The others had given it their all and had achieved some level of success, Luene for example had moments where she could pull on her tether and move her taqa and the same was for Bilach and Orion.

They were ecstatic to say the least. When the sun finally sank into the west, the gang went back into the house and took showers. Noor took it upon herself to make supper again but made it clear she would make a duty list and everyone had to comply.

Azrael was the only one in the open space silently drawing by then; Noor was cooking while the girls were doing something together. As for Orion, he had disappeared into his room to pray. In that silence, Azrael heard the door open, he recalled Zahra was joining them today after her penance. He leisurely turned his head to see what she looked like...

' Wait what...? What's wrong with me...something isn't right' Azrael thought as he examined himself. His heart was practically knocking against his chest now, he could hear his blood rush in his ears, his mouth dried and his palms turned sweaty. He thought he was feeling sick but when the lady at the door turned his way, he knew this was no illness. 

Zahra was simply beautiful. Yes Luene was pretty, yes Azrael had seen his fair share of stunning women but Zahra was beautiful. The first thing he noted was her skin, she had rich chocolate skin, in the light of the room she seemed to glow, a beautiful shade that took his breath away. He was on the darker side in terms of tone but she was slightly more so, a colour that stood out in the sun and in the night. A surreal tone that left nothing to be desired...Mahogany in the evening glow, the summer night sky on a star studded night..no blemish or scar lay on her skin, maybe they knew not to desecrate the embodiment of man's beauty . 

Her eyes were mesmerising ; he thought he was staring into the heart of winter itself, a shade of silver so cold and sharp light seemed to play in them. He became lost in a snowy wonderland. Her hair was short, shorter than his, more defined, tighter curls. Silver hair that seemed to glow in the dim room. The texture of cashmere, he could almost feel it, his fingers sliding across her hair. Her eyebrows and eyelashes exuded the same colour giving off an exquisite finish .

The contours of her face and nose sculpted by generations past, hers the culmination of their efforts. Her lips resembled the scarlet moon that hang outside, no the moon resembled her lips. Lips one wished to drown in, flesh so tender and plump, it cast men and women into hysteria. 

A white tunic that hugged her graceful figure tight, outlining the contours of her physique, you could make out her toned abdomen, her petite yet full figure drew in one's attention, her bosom full and erect, they resembled the peaks of hills and he swore he saw deer running down them. Her butt was full and firm yet even as she strutted in he saw it move like water.

Azrael almost fell to his knees and barked. The exquisite specimen of a human being noticed him, then in all her grace, her honour, her regal nature, moved towards him in a sensual, heart stopping dance. He swore he caught a scent of a pot porri of the world's finest aromatics. 

"Hello, you must be my new junior, I'm Zahra, nice to meet you" she said and flashed a pearly white smile unaware she almost sent her junior to heaven then and there. 

His mind went blank and the only thought that seemed to form....

'Damn never mind the choirmaster Orion...I swear this is what an angel sounds like'

" Azrael....Azrael. Nice to meet you" He managed to answer after a pause.