I woke the next day at the sound of the giant bell at the top of the main hall. It was the morning call to breakfast for us, and for prayer and meditation for the sisters who had just finished the night duty.

Hiro sat up in his bed and stretched. His form was long and lean. Ribs there to count and wiry muscle lining his arms and flanks. His face was almost gaunt but had a sort of prettiness of features. “This is the first day I woke up and didn’t feel surprised to not be in the halls of Ruszhyian” He said as he stood and grabbed a pair gray light pants from the dressed and slid them on.

I thought of the name of our old master, and remembered it’s touch. For a moment I repressed a shiver. “How did it feel?” I asked. As I scoped my pants from the floor.

“Like I could breathe again for the first time since…” He tried to find a word but decided not to follow it too hard. “You know.”

“Yeah, I get it.” I responded and slipped on a top that folded over itself and tied at the bottom. “Come on, let’s get to breakfast. I wouldn’t want to miss out on food because Cheryl saw us missing and ate it all.”

Hiro laughed as he put on his shirt and we both headed out into the hall. The windows above us let glorious sunlight pour in as we walked down the hall past the guards who eyed us warily.

At first I was annoyed by their looks but I took a moment to realize they had plenty of reason to be wary of us. We were an unknown in their eyes and we could just as easily be tools of The Masters as much as refugees from them.

I had to be honest with myself and admit that after having been captive of the ageless ones I had first hand knowledge of how deep their plans could run. Realizing the guards fears were based on a harsh reality.

We entered the dining hall . After loading up plates with various cheeses and meats with breads and pastries we found a table where our friend Cheryl was sitting having taken her own plate moments before we arrived..She was a tall skinny red haired girl. With a pretty face filled with freckles and a contagious smile.

“Greetings”, she said and wolfed down another fork full of food.

“And to you, where are the others?” Hiro asked.

“Vlade is doing his morning run before he eats, and Priya and Leeann are seeing what the prayers and meditations the sisters are doing involves.” She answered.

I had dug in to my morning meal properly. I wasn’t always in a state of constant hunger, but I knew I had a day of exertion ahead of me so I was loading up for it.

“What do our hosts have planned for you today?” Hiro asked

“Another medical examination, then an interview with one of the sisters about my experiences with the Masters.” She sighed. “I know they have every right to be curious, but I was hoping to not think of them for a while.”

“I understand, but let’s be honest, if our hosts view them as an enemy then they are our allies. And as such we can help them by telling them all we know.” I said then dove back in to breakfast.

“True, I just want to have a day where they’re not a topic of conversation.” She dug back into her food.

“That might be a while but I have a dream.” Hiro said, puffing himself up comically. “Us and a long beach of white sand. Hammocks and not a care in the world.”

“I have a lot of respect for that dream, I will help to make it come true.” Cheryl said with a grin. “And how about you?” She asked, looking at me.

“Hiro and I are going to spend some time with the guard captain and some of his men. Apparently they went to see how much we know about combat.” I smiled at Hiro. He grinned back.

“Oh my, are they going to get a lesson.” She said, “Did you warn them?”

“We told the sisters and the captain about our experiences. They were obviously quite curious,” I said and pushed my plate away. “After that we’re off to see the healers for another examination.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“To know the secret of being a warrior one must understand that the point is not about strength or speed. Those are merely the blade, the hand that wields it, is timing.” The voice hissed in my ear as I looked over the various lades in the masters armory. I chose one that reminded me of the sword I had trained in. I looked it over then tested it for balance.

“You know a thing or two about blades, have you studied them?” Lauvin, the weapons master of the House said as I got comfortable with its weight. He was a powerfully built squat creature with skin that looked like the armor it likely was.

“At home I studied Judo and Kendo.” I answered, looking the creature over. He nodded and seemed pleased with the answer.

“I will have to see these things, the master loves to know more about combat.” His serpent slitted eyes looked me over. “The true warrior flows in a dance of death childling.” His forked tongue tasted the air for a second.

“We flow into the place where our enemy's blade is not, and let them fall on ours as they move. I will show you these things.” His hand slid along my arm, I tried not to recoil at the warm metallic feel of his flesh.

I shuddered at the memory as I looked over the training weapons. Lauvin was past me now. I had proved to him that I knew the steps of the dance and his hot blood had painted my clothes when I arrived here.

Now there was a new teacher of warriors.Terrell, A long lean man who flowed as he walked with the grace one would expect from a dancer.His face was handsome framed by blonde hair and a wicked looking beard. I had seen his like before and knew I was looking at a true master of his skills.

Alongside of him were several of his subordinates. All of them, members of the royal guard. None of them looked like easy prey. Which pleased me.

Beside me Hiro chose a training blade, a long whip thin sword with an ornate hand guard. He struck a position with his feet and tested its feel as I chose a heavier curved blade that reminded me of the Katana’s that had fascinated me as a child and had gotten me to beg my parents for lessons.

The training weapons were made of a springy steel. The edge was blunt and coated in a padding made of blue light. Our chances of being killed with these were slim, but there was still a chance for injury.

“Are you ready?” Terrel asked from across the way.

I walked to Hiro and hugged him close. “You are my brother and I love you.” We whispered in each of our ears.

“We are ready.” I said and walked to the center of the training floor. Maelin and several sisters were sitting in a small stand watching the training that was about to begin.

Two of the guards stepped forward each carrying their own training weapon. Ine was a tall dark haired man. I could see he had an easy reach advantage on me as he pulled his longsword into the guard position.

I saluted with my blade and he replied. Hiro and his opponent did the same. “And you can begin any time you wish.” Terrel said.

Ine stepped forward with his weapon raised and tried to get me to move backward with a series of short sharp thrusts. I switched my grip a hair and side stepped his thrusts trying to move at an angle that would open his guard.

Ine was a member of the emperor's guard and to my pleasant surprise he didn’t bite on the moves I made to get him to open up to me.

I remembered the words of my judo instructor “You can never lose on defense but you will also never win.”

As he set up to try a new tack I shot forward and tried to sweep my weapon down in an arc toward his shins. He parried the motion easily but now he was back on his heels.

I shot forward, faking with my blade to make a motion toward his outer arm. He bit on the move and I move forward. My heel found his ankle. My shoulder planted itself firmly in his ribs and he went tumbling to the floor.

He rolled away from my next attack using the motion to find his feet. When he got back up he had a smile on his face. “Nicely done youngling.” I gave a nod as a salute and pressed in another attack.

The battle took up more minutes. Hiro was meanuevering his opponent much like I had. The guards responded as the professional warrior they were. I had finally broken Ine’s guard and my blade had scored a hit on his hand and disarmed him just as Terrel rang a bell.

“HOLD!!” He yelled to make sure we who were wrapped in the dark joy of battle couldn’t help but hear him.

Ine and I took two steps back each, faced and saluted with our blades.

“Well done, the both of you.” Terrel said. “I find your story of the servants of the masters much more plausible now.” Two young attendants came up and offered all of us water and a towel to wipe off the built up sweat.

I nodded to Terrel. “I know the story seems insane but.” I began.

“A group of children caught in the grip of the Masters killed several of them and a few score of their servants.” Terrel continued. “We’ve been at war with the masters for a millenia, and haven’t managed to kill one of those poisonous monsters. I think we can be forgiven for finding the story a bit hard to swallow.”

Hiro smiled at me. It’s amazing to think that what we did simply to survive was now viewed as some sort of budding mythology to the people from the Imperium. “We did what we did to survive sir.” Hiro said. “And that can make anyone think around a problem.”

“Then I would ask you to show us your ways.” Terrel said. With an amused nod to us both.