I reached Ironwood Grove in a little over half an hour, and as I entered the sacred area, I was happy to see that it was empty. I bowed down, offering my thanks to the gods for protecting the sacred training ground of the Assassins.  

I entered the areas inner-most section, a ring, about 40 feet wide, with 4 trees within. It was surrounded by a beautiful river that was full of crystal clear water, fed by a waterfall, over which water plunged endlessly. I looked at the book I had got from the library. It was called the 'Aurapedia'. "Pretty fitting name if I do say so myself." I grinned as I opened it, the paper making a slight rustle as I flipped the page. The first chapter gave an in depth description of what Aura actually is. "'It is the ability to project your life force, which manifests itself on the ethereal plane, into the realm we exist in, the physical plane.'" I read the description word for word.

"Well, I don't really need to read this right now..." I said to myself, flicking through the first few pages, before stopping on a page titled 'Aura Technique - The Basics'. I started to read this page out loud. "'The first thing you need to know about your Aura is how to summon it. It's all about focus. You must clear your mind of all thoughts, and envisage your Aura taking form as energy.' Hmm... Okay then." I said, putting the book aside and standing up. "Focus... Clear my mind..." I said to myself, closing my eyes. 

I felt a strange sensation take over my body. I opened my eyes, and I was surrounded by a bright blue shroud of energy. It acted almost like a second skin, clinging to my form, ready to block an attack or deal damage should the need arise. "Sweet. I got this down. Now how to switch it off." I pondered. I picked the book up and read on. "'To dispel your Aura, simply say the word Dispel. Your Aura is linked to you and only you, It knows your body, your mind, your voice and your entire being. Saying Dispel will return the energy to your body.' Okay..." I said, putting the book down. "Dispel!" I commanded, and the energy disappeared in an instant.

"Awesome!" I grinned, picking the book up once more. "'To be able to use your Aura in combat, or any other instance where focus would be difficult/impossible, you need to use a trigger word. As with Dispel, your trigger word will work on your Aura only. Once practised, you can activate and deactivate your Aura just by thinking of the trigger word. At this point, you are ready to start learning combat and strategic techniques.'" I read out, absorbing the words into my mind. "Okay then. I guess I'll just use the word Aura as my trigger. So let's give it a shot." 

"Here goes... Aura!" I commanded. In an instant, I was surrounded by the energy once more. "Dispel!" I commanded again. It disappeared again. I repeated this process maybe fifty or sixty times, summoning and dispelling my Aura, making sure I got it every time. When I was happy I had it mastered, I decided to try just thinking the word. "Okay..." I said, before summoning my Aura and dispelling it by just thinking of the trigger words. Again, I repeated this at least sixty times to confirm it would work every time. 

"My my you certainly are dedicated young Tesla!" Came a familiar voice behind me. I turned to see Leyana hovering behind me, smiling. "Thanks Leyana! I'm just making sure I get every aspect of it right." I grinned, scratching my ear. "I was exactly the same as a learner." Leyana replied. "Keep up the good work, and call me if you need any help." She smiled, before disappearing like she did before.

After reading some more from the book, I decided to try some combat techniques. I summoned my Aura and eyed up a tree opposite me. "Here goes..." I growled, before surging towards the tree, my paws clenched into fists. As I drew level with the trunk, I swung my fist, now surrounded in energy, at the tree. As I felt it connect, I knew one of two things was going to happen. Either I was going to drive my fist straight through the trunk of the tree, or this was going to hurt like fuck. 

"Ouch..." I recoiled, as pain surged through my hand. Luckily the Aura had made my body much more resilient, so I didn't deal any lasting damage to myself. "That looked painful." I heard Kai behind me, laughing. I turned to see Kai, Emily and Serena stood watching me. "Having fun watching me suffer?" I grinned, shaking my hand. 

Emily ran over and hugged me, and I hugged her back. "I'm glad you're back to full strength Tessy..." She smiled, kissing my cheek. I grinned and nodded. "Thanks cutie." I replied. "Wanna see what I can do then?" I told the three of them, a huge smile on my face. "Go for it Tesla. But how about we make this interesting?" Kai replied, a grin on his face as well.

I tilted my head. "Interesting how?" I said, not quite sure what he meant. "How about you show us in a fight. You versus me. First to submit loses." He said, dropping the bag he was holding and moving in front of me. Emily walked over next to Serena, and held her arm. "Okay then Kai... If it's a fight you want, then lets do this!" I grinned, my Aura now surrounding me once more. 

"Go!" Kai bellowed, and I surged at him, fists clenched, ready to strike. I swung at him again and again, but somehow he managed to dodge every swipe, before knocking me to the ground with a single punch. "Jeez..." I growled, before getting back to my feet. Kai was smiling. "Stop trying to hit me and hit me Tesla!" He laughed. This was gonna be one hell of a fight!