The voice belonged to Jodie who stood by the large oak gates decorated with scrapped bronze buttons. She rested a hand on the gate and squinted to keep out the midday sun. “The lesson starts in a few minutes, and it seems your sister isn’t the only one joining us today.”

“She isn’t?” Hector asked, stepping forward and bowing to Jodie. She did the same.

As she rose, she flashed Mirae a smile before returning her attention to Hector. “Yeah, a girl and a boy. I didn’t get their names, but the boy’s a redhead like me, so I’m definitely happy to see our numbers increase.”

“I bet you are. Now you’re less likely to stick out like a sore thumb. And I mean that literally.”

Jodie rolled her eyes and turned, walking down the grey stone tiled path, further into the dojo. Mirae and Hector followed behind, her heart racing all the while. This was it. She was doing it; she was about to begin her journey and these first few steps would—

Is that Pippa? She didn’t tell me she was gonna join. That little...

“Pippa!” Mirae yelled, racing forward to embrace her friend. “You kept this quiet, didn’t you? How come you never told me you were signing up?”

Pippa returned the hug with equal enthusiasm. “I wasn’t planning to originally, but when I told my mom and dad, both of them felt it was a good path to take. Besides, they think you are a good influence on me, so this was bound to happen.”

Mirae chuckled, releasing the hug. “Then, depending on how this goes, I’m either sorry or you’re welcome.”

As the two of them chatted, Mirae spared a moment to glance around the dojo. She had never been inside before, so this was something new. “I can’t believe they actually have wood that isn’t completely rotted,” she said, marvelling at the polished wooden surfaces.

“I mean yeah, but look at this mat, look at the size of it,” Pippa said as she gestured to the training mat that covered most of the room, leaving only a wooden border a few feet thick. “At the very least, I know where the money is going.”

“To a training mat and probably to those incense,” Mirae said, gesturing to a shrine-like structure at the end of the room. It was littered with hundreds of incense sticks, all burning faintly, filling the room with the scent of sandalwood. “It smells rather nice. I think I might ask Hector if we can get some.”

“Get some of what?” her brother said as he approached, with a soft smile. “Oh hey Pippa, I didn’t realize you’d be joining us. Mirae didn’t say anything about that.”

“Because I didn’t know.” Mirae turned, smiling at her friend. “But I’m super glad she’s here.”

Pippa chuckled, causing the freckles on her face to dance. She smiled back, brushing a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear. “I’m glad I got to surprise a few people today.”

“And I take it this is the other student joining today.” Hector turned to a boy that stood a short distance away. He was a lanky with a mop of unruly ginger hair, standing with an air of confidence.

He glanced at Mirae, giving her a sharp nod before continuing to observe the room. “I’ve never seen him before. You, Pippa?”

“No. I can’t say I’ve seen him before. Maybe he comes from the other side of the slums.”

“Maybe,” Mirae said. Her gaze lingered on the boy for a few moments before turning back to Hector. “Where did Jodie go, by the way?”

“She—”

A gong silenced Hector before he could speak and caused everyone to turn towards the sound. At the centre of the room stood a young boy holding a stick with some thick wrapping at the end of it. Next to him was a large metal disk that was vibrating as the sound petered off.

“Prepare to greet the Instructor!” the boy yelled, his face tight but filled with pride.

“You two should stand towards the back of the room. After the morning roll call, the instructor should come over to you,” Hector said before walking towards the centre of the training mat. Several other people around the room also began to filter towards the centre of the mat. Jodie was amongst them, her ginger hair a sharp contrast to everyone else aside from Hector’s own white.

“Come on, Pippa,” Mirae said, grabbing Pippa’s hand and leading her towards the back of the room. The girl stumbled forward, hurrying behind her. Mirea, glancing out of the corner of her eye, also noticed the boy moving in the same direction—he was clearly following them.

Oh, so he doesn’t know what’s going on.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

The way he was walking, she’d worried he’d trained for years, but that confident look earlier was just a front. Maybe he wanted to show off? Perhaps it made him feel less nervous. Who knows?

As Mirae approached the back of the room, her slippers screeching against the polished wood, the two large wooden doors that the boy with the stick—most likely Able—was standing by opened. And there, wearing tattered brown robes and his long grey hair tied up in a ponytail, was Instructor Kamble.

“What a most excellent day!” he yelled, causing his long grey beard to shake.

“The day belongs to the excellent!” the assembled students replied.

Instructor Kamble chuckled as he walked into the room. “I’m glad to see we have everyone in attendance today. Even the usually absent Lincoln has decided to grace us this day.”

Mirae’s eyes snapped to the boy standing in the front row next to Hector. Lincoln was wearing a new-looking white shirt and some creased black breeches. She hadn’t even noticed him when she came in.

It’s good that he’s here. Now Hector can finally stop worrying. Just because he doesn’t agree with the plan doesn’t mean he shouldn’t try.

“Alright, let’s do roll call,” instructor Kamble said. Able dropped his stick and scrambled forward, pulling out a small booklet from his pocket. He then handed the booklet to Kamble.

“Who is that?” Pippa said, shifting a little as her gaze locked onto the boy. “He seems important.”

Mirae moved closer, cupping her hand over Pippa’s ear and whispering into it.. “I think that’s Abel. My brother says he can be quite annoying.”

Pippa didn’t say anything, but the interest seemed to fade from her eyes as she continued to survey the room.

Mirae’s focus moved back to the center of the hall, to the assembled students as the instructor continued to call out names. “Caroline.”

“Here instructor.”

“Sen.”

“Here instructor.”

A while later, when all the names had been called, the instructor gave the assembled students a firm nod before handing the booklet back to who Mirae suspected was Abel. “As I’m sure you are all aware, today we have some new students. So Hector and Jodie will lead you all in morning meditation while I attend to them.”

Kamble then bowed to the class, and they did the same. Before he began making his way over to Mirae and the others, as the students following behind her brother and Jodie made their way to the other end of the room.

“You can address me as instructor, Kamble,” he said, coming to a stop in front of them. “As I am sure you are aware, it brings me great joy to see three fresh faces join my Orion Fist dojo. So go on, introduce yourselves.”

Mirae turned to Pippa and she to her. They both used various eye movements to decide who would speak first, but in the end, it was unnecessary.

“I am Henry Staticill. I’m from the Papyrus quarter.” The boy with the ginger hair said. The confidence on his face didn’t crack even as he said the name of his home.

That’s so sad. I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up there, the shame he must carry.

She hadn’t heard anything good about the Papyrus quarter—a place many in the slums would deny that they’d ever entered. All she did know was it was a place where women were commodities and men acted like dogs. Most who came from the quarter would deny it as their origin. But not this boy. Not Henry.

“Papyrus, eh,” instructor Kamble said, stroking his beard. “I’m surprised you didn’t choose to go to a dojo closer, but never mind that.” He turned to Mirae. “We may already know each other, but it is good to introduce yourself, don’t you think?”

Mirae’s back straightened as the words seemed to rush out of her mouth under the wise grey gaze of Instructor Kamble. “My name is Mirae Jacaranda. I’m from the Sirius quarter.” The instructor nodded and moved on to Pippa.

“My name is P-Pippa Strongmail,” the girl stuttered, sounding like she was about to bite her own tongue. “I am also from the Sirius quarter.”

“Good, good. Now that introductions are done, I think we should move into the other room so as not to disturb the other students.” On the other side of the hall, Mirae’s brother and all his other dojo mates sat cross-legged on the training mat, their faces calm and focused.

I can’t believe it. I’m going to be like them soon. I’m gonna grow in power and perhaps...

Images flashed before her mind: her father’s death, Hector’s tears, herself standing, unable to move, unable to help. She had been weak.

That can’t be real and I won’t let it be real.

The dreams did not control her, they did not control her future, and she would not let them.

“Alright young aspirants, come along,” instructor Kamble said as he plodded across the mat, walking to a side door on the other wall. The three of them followed him in silence, not one jostling the others.

They entered a much smaller room, one that looked to have not been used in a while. The mat in the centre of the room was a bit more faded, and the air was a bit staler, tinged with the stink of the slums—like dry bread with a bit of unseen mold.

A chalkboard hung at the front of the room, and beneath it was a large pillow. Towards the back of the room were stacks of pillows that seemed to be covered in a thin layer of dust.

“Alright aspirants, go and grab those pillows over there and put them in the centre. We’ll be going over the basics, and after that, I’ll give you the meditation technique you are to practice.” Instructor Kamble plodded over to the large pillow beneath the chalkboard, dusted it off and plopped down, releasing a plume of dust into the air. He fanned it out of the way as the three of them moved to grab the pillows at the back.

“This room could do with a bit of cleaning, don’t you think?” Pippa said in a whisper. “Compared to next door, this place is...”

“It is yours. Until you three reach the rank of your senior aspirant, it will be your room to maintain,” instructor Kamble said with a soft smile on his lips.

Are you kidding me? I came to train, not to be a housekeeper. I do that enough at home.

Mirae frowned as she moved to grab a pillow, plucking it off the pile, which unfortunately coated her hands with dust. Pippa did the same, and so did Henry. The three of them then made their way to the centre of the mat, placing the pillows down and releasing three plumes of dust. Mirae coughed away the dust before carefully sitting down.

Instructor Kamble chuckled. “I’m sure once you three give this room a good once over, the dust will no longer be a problem.”

The boy, Henry, grumbled but made no move to say anything. Mirae nodded at the instructor, throwing a glance at the window and wishing it were open.

“So, who wants to learn how to cultivate?”