"You need to control your center of gravity better," Azaa said, and Marcus made another move. Azaa nodded and watched him perform the discussed attack combination. "Your strikes are good, but your footwork is falling behind. You can easily be disrupted and overtaken," Azaa explained and made a sudden move. Her leg pushed against his and a second later Marcus was fighting to keep his balance. He managed to stay upright, a small victory in a series of horrible defeats.

When Azaa had suggested physical activity in the morning, Marcus had something else in mind than going to the training field and improving his combat skills. And it was not only Azaa watching him. No less than six ginghi class holders stood around him, discussing and offering advice (through Azaa). While Marcus was still trying to salvage some of his pride one of them stepped up and Marcus recognized him as the man who had trained with him before, years ago. With a smile the ginghi started to make some foot movements and Marcus carefully watched him and tried to emulate him.

Azaa quickly corrected his mistakes and then everything repeated. In spite of his internal bitching, he realized that he was learning a lot.

Very much so. I wish I could stand next to you and form you into a capable combatant.

Is it so bad?

Let me say this. In my time, before anybody could hope to carry a framework they would spend at least ten years of rigorous basic training. And that was if they were extremely talented and under the guidance of equally talented teachers. Do you understand me?

So, I do not even reach the minimum level?

Correct. But the average skill level of Earth is so low that even with your basic skills you can be successful.

I'm getting chewed out by everybody, great.

You have a good head on your shoulders and the right attitude. Don't give up.

I won't.

Besides training Marcus, the ginghi were also very interested in his class. No living ginghi had ever seen a Titan before and they were eager to learn about his abilities and combat style. Some of them wanted to get hit with Impulse Hammer and laughed when they were thrown to the ground. Carapace was of even greater interest to the crowd around Marcus.

Azaa explained to him that they valued this ability highly. "It counters many types of classes and attack types," she said, and of course they wanted to test it. So Marcus stood there, while the ginghi pushed, punched and kicked him with various strengths and discussed their results. Azaa smiled and said "They are saying you might become a great warrior in time. Your class is strong." Marcus felt his face redden, which made some ginghi laugh.

"I also have a new ability, but I'm still learning it," Marcus said, and Azaa translated. The eyes of the ginghi around him grew big and everybody wanted to see an example. Marcus thought for a moment and went with a stomp, lower power of course. The shock wave surprised everybody, including Azaa, and the ginghi were excited. "Is this your full strength right now?" She asked in the name of the others.

"No," he answered, and they wanted to see more. Marcus obliged, putting as much compressed energy into an Impulse Hammer stomp as he dared without tearing his leg off. The local earthquake ripped through the ground, caused ruptures and rifts and half of the ginghi fell down while Marcus was thrown back and landed on his ass. They finished after this demonstration and Azaa led Marcus away from the discussing ginghi.

On the way home Azaa smiled from ear to ear. "Why are you smiling?" Marcus asked, but was also smiling. "They were all very impressed with you. Such power on such a low level. My man…." She said, and looked at him in a way that made him incredibly happy.

After the training they shared breakfast and Marcus did not mind eating a certain sour fruit as an extra. Azaa vanished for half an hour and returned with an arm full of books. It was time for Marcus to learn ginghi nama. The material she had gathered turned out to be for children and so he spent the rest of the morning learning like a primary school kid. He had a very strict teacher, and as expected she put him through his paces. He was not especially good with languages and she was, well Azaa.

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In spite of her fast pace, Marcus could see a well thought out structure in her method. Still, two hours of her teaching and Marcus' brain begged for mercy. But it was all worth it. Not only did he learn some simple words and got a basic understanding about the general syntax of the sentences, he also got to do his hot teacher on the table afterwards. Marcus would not have minded carrying her naked body into the bed and spending the rest of the day just whispering sweet things to her, but Azaa was more disciplined than him.

They put on clothes again (what a hassle) and left the house. Hand in hand, Azaa guided him to an area of the city he had never been to before. The houses changed and it quickly reminded him of an industrial or craftsmen district, with wider roads and tall buildings that often had sizable smokestacks. Marcus saw guards, who watched them, but nobody stopped them as Azaa led the way into a large multistory building.

Inside were many small workshops, producing various daily products from soap to boots and clothing. Marcus turned his head and tried to take it all in, while Azaa slowed her pace to give him more time. She did not say much, only when he had questions she answered him. Soon she pulled him along again and they moved towards another building. Even before they entered he saw large carts coming and going and there was no way the building was large enough to make use of all that traffic. Inside they found an industrial elevator that transported them underground.

In the next hours Marcus made some important discoveries. The city was built upon an ancient bunker system and the ginghi were using it to produce and store most of their advanced goods. Metals, glass, rubber and many things he had seen in the city were produced here. He asked how they got rid of the exhaust of all the industry and Azaa showed him a clever system of pipes and water basins.

The whole operation was far more sophisticated than Marcus had expected, "We are limited mainly by the workforce. Highly complex products are still out of our reach, even though human power generators have greatly helped our efforts," Azaa explained, and now Marcus knew what they were doing with the windmills and solar power.

Azaa showed him areas that worked on technology he did not know and she explained it was technology from other worlds. It was a limited production, but they had some minor amounts of high tech devices and machinery. Much of it was safely hidden away in this ancient bunker system. "This ruin is one of the main reasons we built our city here," Azaa said, as they passed another production room. "Even if the city would be destroyed, there is a good chance our warehouses and technology would survive," she continued and Marcus nodded. Slowly he started to understand to what extent the ginghi prepared for potential disasters.

"What if a dragon comes?" Marcus asked, and Azaa looked sad. "Then most of us will die. But it is unlikely that one will come here in the next ten to twenty thousand years. This world has been cleansed by a dragon shortly before we moved here and they generally do not return for a long time after," Azaa said, and Marcus understood what her words meant. "This world, and their people, got destroyed. And you…," he said with a thin voice, and she nodded. "And we built our home on their grave. Although, shortly after was still over a thousand years later," Azaa said and Marcus felt relieved.

They made their way back up and Marcus looked at the glowing stones that lightened the whole area. "Are you making these, too?" He asked, and pointed at the green glow stones. "There is no need for that. They are a common technology on many worlds, mother and the other Explorers always bring some back. The stones last a very long time. One day I hope we will decipher their secrets and produce them ourselves," Azaa said as they moved on.

To see how well they adapted to the situation makes me proud. But knowing how far they have fallen fills my heart with bitterness. Those stones are a product of Sorcerers, a simple thing novices were made to create to improve their skills. In time I will teach human Artificers how to make them.

Thank you for your support.

It is really nothing worth mentioning.

They left the underground production area and Marcus had not noticed how the time had moved on. The stars were already out and only a few people were still walking on the streets. Marcus and Azaa walked side by side and in time he realized they were not walking back to her home. Instead they stopped in front of another nice house and Azaa knocked. With a smile on her face Uela opened the door and welcomed them in. It was her home and it looked very different from her sister's.

It was filled with flowers, art and had overall a warm and soft feeling to it, very different to what Marcus had expected. Uela had prepared some food and they helped her to finish everything, before they sat down to share a meal.

"Father can not join us, he is off world hunting and gathering materials. I hope that he will be back tomorrow, so he can spend some time with you Marcus," Uela said and Marcus nearly dropped his spoon into his soup. Both sisters laughed and Uela moved the conversation on, "I heard you demonstrated new ability today, Marcus." He nodded, happy to talk about that instead of their father spending time with him. Time passed quickly and they said goodbye to Uela and walked back under a clear night sky.

Marcus looked at the stars and then at the beauty next to him. "Ahzela'shir'amon," he whispered, and she became bashful. Hand in Hand they moved through the night, bound together by their hearts.

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