"GAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Melanie cried out as she slammed to the floor, her body feeling like every bone had been shattered. A healer ran over to her crippled body and began to mend her wounds, only to back away once she had recovered to then face yet another wave of beatings from a heavily dressed warrior wielding a huge axe. She'd lost track of how much time had passed since she first entered the arena.
"Pity will get ye nowhere!" the mentor shouted at her as she fell to another flurry of attacks from the warrior. "In this life as an adventurer ye need t' show yer foes ye are ready t' fight t' th' death if that's what it takes. Ye can't be lookin' at 'em hopin' they'll let ye go out o' kindness!"
"Is this level of training really necessary?" she thought to herself as she felt her life returning to her. The healer who had been reviving her after each brutal attack backed away giving space for Melanie to push herself back onto her feet. The warrior looked at the mentor who gave him a nod and he proceeded to assault Melanie another time. "Wait, AAAHHH!!!!!" Melanie fell back down to the ground defeated yet again.
"Ye are a stubborn lass" the mentor said shaking his head. "When will ye learn t' stop tryin' t' play th' pity card? Ya need t' stop bein' so passive, quit doubtin' yerself 'n find yer strength!"
Melanie raised herself back on her feet once more. The warrior made another approach and Melanie tried to use her staff to brace the impact, but it was not enough. Her staff was sent flying into the air and she was knocked back down to the ground groaning in agony. Time after time she was left bloodied and broken on the arena floor no matter how many times she tried to defend herself. She'd felt angry, frustrated, helpless, even burst into tears just wanting the torture to end, but the mentor and his apprentice were both relentless and she could feel herself breaking under the pressure.
"Yer a tough one t' crack" the mentor said looking at her pitifully as she lay broken again on the ground. "Why are ye holdin' back? Ye got less guts than a shark's belly!"
"I'm trying!" Melanie wailed as she was floored again by the warrior.
"Ye ain't tryin' hard 'nough!" the mentor bellowed back. "What is it yer not lettin' go of?"
"I'm scared of hurting others...of hurting my friends and myself" she said just as the warrior made yet another charge at her.
"Nobody wants ta get hurt, but sometimes ya gotta fight back or people will walk all over ya. Give 'em an ilm an' they'll always choose themselves o'er ev'ryone else. Is that what ya want, ta be ev'ryone else's door mat?!"
"No, that's not what I meant..." Melanie said as she tried to raise herself back on her feet again. "I'm a failure. I've always been a failure. I have nothing to live up to, nothing to make people feel proud of. I try and I fail, again and again. I always say the wrong things and make the wrong decisions. People get hurt because of me. I'm no better off dead than alive."
"Quit yer snivvelin'!" the mentor bellowed angrily and sent the warrior to knock her down again. "What part of pity will get ye nowhere did ya not understand? Ya want t' become an adventurer, do ya not? Then ya can't go around hopin' all adventures will be fun 'n games. Sometimes ya gotta make a tough decision an' sometimes th' choices ye make aint in ev'ryone's favor. But guess what? Tha's what adventurin' is about! Ya take a gamble, ya learn from ya mistakes, ya get back up on yer feet an' ya try again! Ya been doing this all day an' ya still 'aven't noticed! Tell me, Brovola, why are ya even doin' this if ya too much of a coward?"
Melanie fell to her knees coughing up blood from her stomach, he entire body aching from the barrage of assaults. "Yes, why am I doing this? I'm a coward who's scared of her own shadow and too scared to speak up for herself. I've always always backed down and allowed people to walk all over me, always too afraid to take risks in fear of getting hurt or hurting others, but...in every situation where I've been brought down to my knees I've always found a way to get back on my feet again. I've been ridiculed, taken advantage of, and I've screwed up so many times, but despite my bruises I still pushed on. I'm not defeated yet, there is still a fight left in me."
"My friends are relying on me as their only hope to save them, and despite knowing my flaws I have sworn an oath to do what I must to become their hero" Melanie said as she calmly raised herself back onto her feet. She gently dusted her robes and picked up her staff from the floor. The mentor looked in surprise as she slowly turned to face him and the warrior. There was something in the way she looked at them this time - calm and collected as if all stubborness, fear, self-doubt and frustration had been suddenly washed away.
"Then if yer want to become their hero then ya need ta show me what yer got" the mentor nodded to warrior once more who immediately began his approach towards Melanie.
This time Melanie did not hesitate. She danced away from his attacks and using the tactics she'd learned earlier hurled a number of fireballs towards him. Deflecting one of the fireballs with his axe he managed to charge forward and strike her arm with his axe causing her to flinch in pain, but instead of focussing on her injury she continued to concentrate on the battle. This minor gash was nothing compared to the pain she'd endured the past few hours. She danced out of his way keeping her eyes on him and continued to watch for his movements to spot when he was about to launch a heavy attack on her whilst unleashing a flurry of fireballs and ice bolts in his direction.
The mentor continued to watch in astonishment at the sudden change in her posture and concentration. "Well I'll be, I do believe th' stubbornness has finally been beaten out th' lass" he said to himself with a proud smile. The warrior started to look exhausted as Melanie effortlessly dodged his heavy axe swings whilst knocking him back several times with her magic. After a long and tiring battle he collasped to his knees raising an arm in the air indicating his surrender.
"Bravo lass! Bravo!" the mentor clapped his hands with a proud look on his face. "For a while ye had me thinkin' ye'd ne'er break." The mentor walked over to her with a smile and stopped suddenly with his eyes and mouth wide open as she sheathed her staff onto a hilt strapped across her back and gazed at him with an attentive look. "By th' Gods lass...th' way ye looked just now, I could've sworn ya were th' Champion of Eorzea 'erself!"
Melanie's eyes opened wide worriedly and she felt a lump in her throat. "Oh no, did I just give myself away?" she thought nervously.
The mentor shook his head and smiled a little flustered. "But I know ya can't be her. She'll be off fightin' Gods knows what out there. I remember her comin' here a few years back as a new adventurer lookin' fer advice, but if anythin' she was th' one who taught me somethin'. Her fightin' skills surpassed my own an' those of th' other mentors. She passed ev'ry test with flyin' colours 'n more, 'n just like that she was off out there makin' a proud name for 'erself." He shook his head again to clear himself from dwelling on the past and turned to Melanie again. "But 'nough reminiscing. If ye think we're done 'ere then I got news fer ya lass. This was only th' first challenge! Now, ya need ta show me how ya can handle two targets at once!"
Melanie grinned at him with her eyebrows lowered as she unsheathed the staff from her back and spoke in a confident voice, "bring it!"
