The raging wind howled over the steep mountain ridges that night, rain pouring down violently onto the stranger’s face. The narrow winding mountain path leading to the monastery had turned into a wild stream being the only way for the water to drain from the monastery grounds down to the northwestern passage. Both sides of the path were lined with vertical walls of stone, allowing no shelter or escape from the onslaught of this autumn storm. The stranger slowly plowed his way up the steep path, barely able to keep his footing. In his hand he was carrying a basket, the content of which he was desperately protecting with his cloak. A final sharp turn left revealed the huge wooden gate and palisade wall marking the entrance to the monastery grounds. Behind it the stone tower of the monastery reached almost as high as the mountain walls enclosing the alcove. “Finally, the Ten Dragons Monastery”, the stranger mumbled to himself. A lightning bolt raced through the air, briefly covering the monastery in an eerie light. The loud thunderclap that followed no more than a second later bounced back and forth between the walls of the alcove.
The Ten Dragons Monastery was nothing like the religious institutions most people know. It had nothing to do with any God or faith. It was the place where the Dragonmonks trained themselves in the art of unarmed combat, and the ways of the spirit. Religious people seek salvation through their faith in their deity. The monks of The Ten Dragons Monastery seek enlightenment by focusing the flow of their spiritual and physical powers, rising above their own earthly form, becoming an example of self-control and spiritual focus. They strive to become masters in the Way of the Manyfists, which can only be achieved by absolute control of the mind over the body, allowing the energy of their spirit to echo in their every movement.
The man opened the door to the stone shed outside the monastery. Inside a torch was lit, but immediately snuffed out by a powerful gust of wind. In the darkness the man felt his way around the shed, until he touched what felt like a table. He placed the basket he so carefully had kept dry on the table. He placed a leather scroll case next to the basket, then stepped outside the shed closing the door behind him. He looked up at the great gate. Another lightning bolt revealed ten dragonheads decorating the top of the gate. The stranger’s mind tricked him into thinking they were all staring at him, he shuddered and quickly walked back to the mountain trail he had come from. He tried to comfort himself, “it is for the better, this way we can at least go on with our lives. The monks will know what to do.” He turned the corner and disappeared into the dark stormy night.
The monks, as always, were up early. They were called Dragonmonks by the people of the Emerald Reach, though they simply called each other brother and sister. Brother Sugnar, spiritual leader of The Ten Dragons Monastery, stepped outside onto the still wet pavement, followed by several of his apprentices. Without Brother Sugnar having to ask, they started warming up for their early morning training. Brother Sugnar walked around the monastery grounds inspecting the damage from last night’s storm. He checked the palisades and gate for damage, when he suddenly became aware of a sound seldomly heard in the monastery. “The sound of a crying child, a baby”, he concluded. He opened the gate as his well-trained hearing had already pinpointed the sound’s location, the shed. He opened the door and walked over to the basket from which the sound was coming. He carefully looked inside. “By the Dragonfists what have we here”, he shouted. He looked again at the crying child, then carefully lifted the baby from the basket amazed at the child‘s yellowish skin. “How did you get here?”, he whispered to the child while gently rocking it in his arm. He hummed a monotone sound that Dragonmonks learned early on their way to enlightenment to blank their minds and fully focus on their training. The child stopped crying, much to the satisfaction of Brother Sugnar.
His eyes caught the scroll case, which he took with him back inside the monastery together with the child. The monks saw Brother Sugnar carrying a baby, but did not let that distract them, they continued their training with unwavering focus. Brother Sugnar entered the chapel and took the child to his private quarters. He asked Brother Kalerac to take over the training so he could attend to the child. He placed the child on his bed and opened the scroll case. He quickly read the parchment than put it back in the case. “So you are Maeko, that is all I need to know.” He quickly put the scroll case into one of his cabinet’s drawers, and returned to Maeko. He lifted Maeko in the air and checked if she was in any way hurt. “She can‘t be more than three months old”, he mumbled to himself. He held her against his shoulder and whispered, “Fear not little one, I will take care of you and raise you as my own.” He smiled, “and train you to be the best Dragonmonk you can become. And maybe someday even a Monk of the Manyfists.” He looked at the tiny hands and feet of little Maeko. “You are now officially the youngest sister of the Dragonmonks, Sister Maeko.”
That evening Brother Sugnar gathered all the Dragonmonks in the Hall of the Ten Dragons. Ten huge statues of the Dragonfists, as the original founders of the Ten Dragons Monastery were called, lined the round hall’s high walls. The statues supported the weight of the dome shaped roof with their shoulders, while looking down to the center of the hall. The ground was covered with granite and marble tiles forming grey and white circles. In the center an enormous mosaic depicting a red dragon following its own tail, encircling a golden triangle set in flat pieces of onyx. The corners of the triangle each held a large emerald, representing the Dragonmonks three virtues; discipline, truth and justice.Maeko was placed in the center of the triangle wrapped in pure white linen.
The Dragonmonks stood in a wide circle around her, all dressed in their formal attire. Long regal blue robes with golden hemlines, the back embroidered in color with the same image as the mosaic. The only thing distinguishable was the color of their belt indicating their advancement in The Way of the Manyfists. Brother Sugnar stepped forward, making sure not to touch or cross the red dragon mosaic. “Brothers and Sisters, tonight we welcome to our order a child, left by her parents at the doorstep of our sanctuary. This child only carried with her the name Maeko. She is blessed under the presence of the watchful eye of our ancestors.” Brother Sugnar gestured at the ten statues. “We will all raise her with discipline, so that she may one day learn truth, and through that pass judgement.” Brother Sugnar stepped back into the circle of monks. “We welcome you Sister Maeko.” The monks repeated in unison, “We welcome you Sister Maeko”, their voices resonating in the great hall.
Maeko grew up in the loving care of all her Brothers and Sisters, whom she all regarded as her parents. Even at the young age of four she already took an interest in her brothers and sisters fighting techniques. She tried to imitate them which was very funny to look at, but never met with laughter, only respect. She was fearless in her attempts to copy their every move, which didn‘t always end well. She tried to copy Sister Niru’s backflip without arms once, which worked fine hadn’t it been for Brother Kalerac who was just passing behind her carrying a bucket of practice shuriken. She kicked the bucket from his hands sending the razor sharp weapons flying off in all directions. One of the shuriken got stuck in her leg, and another in Brother Kalerac’s head. It hurt but they both had a good laugh about it afterwards. The scar on her leg would remind her of the incident for the rest of her life, as would the scar on Brother Kalerac’s head. Sister Niru decided shuriken kicking should be explored as a new fighting technique.
She had started training in the arts of unarmed combat from the age of four and learned very rapidly, conquering a special place in each of the Dragonmonks hearts. but she was most fond of brother Kalerac, who taught her how to read and write. The extensive library, in the monastery‘s basement, was the only window she had on the outside world. She spend most of her spare time there, reading about the Emerald Reach and its history. At the age of ten, there was one story in particular she adored. It was a story of a brave little girl, who was lost in the caves of the knife edge mountains. The girl’s was named Tinnely and she liked to go on long walks across the countryside. She liked the outdoors, and despite her father’s warnings strayed far from the safety of her village. One day she absent mindedly wandered too far and found herself on the eastern part of the contested areas, a place where dangerous Orcs roamed. The Orcs had spotted her and she fled into a nearby cave, hiding from the Orcs between piles of rocks. The Orcs that followed were slain by sinister looking huge cave spiders that blocked Tinnely’s way back out of the cave. She was stuck in a dead end and didn‘t dare leave her hiding place. She didn‘t despair though, instead she kept herself alive by collecting moisture dripping from the caves walls and eating moss and insects, until finally, after eight days, she was rescued by a group of adventurers her father had sent to find her.
Whenever any of the Dragonmonks explained to Maeko what discipline was, she thought of Tinnely, and what she did to survive. She learned that discipline was the first virtue of the monks and that through discipline one could find truth. At the age of ten she did not yet fully comprehend the meaning of truth. She did learn that to Brother Sugnar truth was something very important, so she took the first virtue to heart and trained her discipline to point where even some of the older monks could not match her self-control.
By the age of twelve she had already earned her fourth belt in the Way of the Manyfists, something only a handful of others had accomplished at her age. She was very proud of herself, and happy to be together with all her brothers and sisters. She wouldn’t have given her origin any thought, until that fateful day, when a merchant and his son visited the monastery.
Maeko was practicing a technique called The Dancing Fist, which originated from the monasteries founder named Kilana, one of the two female Dragonfists. She was especially keen on learning this technique because she really enjoyed the fine balance between flexibility and strength required to perform a Dancing Fist.
The merchant’s son, who was about the same age as Maeko, sat down leaning against the side wall of the monastery observing Maeko. He had noticed how all the Dragonmonks were dressed exactly the same, simple and uniform. A tight brown cloth wrapped around their torso knotted in the back of their neck, covering only their chest and shoulder blades, and long ash grey wide trousers that allowed complete freedom of movement. She paid no attention to him, trying to concentrate on the intricate movements required to prepare for the special attack. She swung her torso in circles while stepping back and forth, giving a would be opponent the false impression of her losing her balance. Then suddenly she made a step forward while her torso was bending backwards and her arms behind her, making a tension arc of her entire body. She moved her torso forwards followed by her arms and hands in a whip like motion. She exhaled shouting “Tsaaa” as her fists flashed forward in a double punch so fast, the trained eye could see the air in front of them compress. She exhaled and relaxed her muscles. While rearranging her long straight black hair that had escaped the grip of her hairband, she looked at the boy with her deep brown eyes.
The merchant’s son stood up and started clapping. “Wow, that was awesome!”, he shouted. Maeko didn’t know where to look, she wasn’t used to this kind of praise. The merchant‘s son walked towards her while holding out his hand. “I am Jarod”, he said. Maeko hesitated for a second, than remembered that shaking hands was the way for normal people to make their acquaintance. She took his hand and quite brusquely shook it. “I am Sister Maeko”, she paused for a moment, “nice to meet you.” “Likewise”, Jarod answered. “I don‘t have a sister, I have a little brother though.” Maeko looked confused. “Are you a monk too?”, she asked. Jarod laughed, “I am definitely not. I mean I have a real brother, you know, my mother and father made him, just like your parents made you.” Maeko giggled, “The monks are my brothers and sisters. I don’t have parents.” Jarod looked surprised. “Of course you do, we all have parents. You are joking right?” Maeko looked at the ground thinking about what Jarod said. “I don’t know my parents, I’m a foundling. I have been here ever since I was a baby.” Jarod looked at her with pity, “I’m sorry to hear that. Don’t you want to know who your parents are? I would want to know I think, if I was you.” Maeko considered his words carefully. She had never thought about that until now. She was about to reply when Brother Sugnar approached the two of them. He greeted Maeko with the formal greeting, making a wide circle with his hands while stepping forward, then smashing his fist in his palm and nodding briefly. Maeko did the same while Jarod observed them with open mouth.
Brother Sugnar looked at Jarod who still stood next to them flabbergasted by this strange way of greeting each other. “Are you hungry or are you imitating a cave entrance?”, Brother Sugnar asked Jarod while pointing at his own mouth. Jarod shook his head and laughed apologetically. “Just pulling your leg boy, it is your first time here right?” Jarod nodded. “Do you like what you see?”, Brother Sugnar informed. “I do sir… brother… mister….” “Sir is fine”, Brother Sugnar said. “I’m glad you do, because you will be staying here for a while. Your father does not want to risk taking you to the mountain dwarf town, so he arranged for you to stay with us until he returns. Is that ok?” Jarod looked at Maeko, who smiled at him while nodding. “Yes sir, that is fine.” “I see you have already met Maeko. That is good, I’m sure you will have fun together. You can tell Maeko about yourself and life outside the monastery, and Maeko can probably give you some lessons in discipline.” Jarod smiled at Brother Sugnar then looked at Maeko questioningly. “I will Brother Sugnar”, Maeko replied. Jarod’s father had arranged an escort by the Dragonmonks to the mountain dwarf town. A dangerous journey across the vanguard marsh and along the edges of Mount Drassa, home to giants. The real danger however, were the stealthy mountain lions, who considered travelling merchants a fine meal. The journey would take at least three days, so Jarod would be in the monastery for at least a week. Brother Sugnar would join the merchant along with three of Maeko’s brothers and sisters. They would leave at dawn, because it was already near dinner time and spending a night in the marches was nothing short of suicide. Maeko couldn’t sleep that night, her mind was contemplating Jarod’s words about her parents and she was too excited about this unexpected visitor.
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The following morning Maeko woke Jarod who was obviously not used to getting out of bed at first light. His father had just left together with his bodyguards, and Maeko was eager to show Jarod around the monastery. She impatiently sat at the kitchen waiting for Jarod to join her. Finally Jarod sat down with her. “Good morning Jarod. Did you sleep well?” Jarod yawned while stretching his arms and back, “I did.” He looked at his breakfast. A finely balanced mixture of oats, milk, raw egg white and broccoli. Maeko had already started eating, while Jarod observed her wondering how she managed to not twitch a muscle in her face with disgust. Maeko looked up at him, “Eat, you will need it”, she simply stated. Jarod didn’t want to be rude and starting spooning up the somewhat slimy mixture. He strained not to gag, and managed to empty his plate.
“What are we going to do today?”, he asked while washing down his meal with an abundance of water. Maeko thought about his question for a minute, and remembered Brother Sugnar’s request to teach Jarod about discipline. “I will show you around the monastery grounds, and we can train together”, Maeko decided. “I’d love that”, Jarod replied, “I will tell you about myself afterwards.” Sister Niru walked in and formally greeted Maeko, as was custom to any brother of sister the first time they met each day. Maeko sprung from her seat and returned the greeting. “A new friend?”, Sister Niru inquired. Maeko thought about this for a few seconds, then decided Jarod was a new friend. “Yes”, she replied, “this is Jarod. I was about to teach him our formal greeting.” Sister Niru bowed to Jarod who felt rather uneasy about this. He clumsily stood up and bowed. Sister Niru looked at Maeko, “How is your Dancing Fist going? I heard you were practicing it.” “Pretty well, though I am not satisfied yet. I still can’t get my mental energy to flow from my hands into the air.” Sister Niru put her hand on Maeko‘s shoulder. “Yes you can, you just haven’t done it yet.” Maeko smiled as Sister Niru cleaned her bowl and spoon. She knew Sister Niru was right, and felt strengthened in her own skills. Maeko and Jarod walked outside to a small patch of grass behind the monastery. “Let’s start with a little warm up before getting to the formal greeting. It is important to stretch and warm your muscles to prevent injury.” Jarod looked in awe at Maeko. “What is it? Why are you looking so funny at me?” Jarod shook his head. “You sound like a grown up. It’s weird.” Maeko shrugged, “It’s what I have learned. I can‘t help it.” Jarod smiled friendly at Maeko and followed her instructions for warming up. After just five minutes Jarod was panting heavily and sweating like an ox. Maeko was still bouncing around like a tireless young deer. “I think I am pretty warm now”, Jarod stated. Maeko did a somersault just to tease him.
Jarod turned out to be a good listener and quite flexible, but still he struggled to perform the intricate movement that formed the formal greeting. Maeko kept telling him not to give up, and that only practice makes perfect. Jarod smiled at her and her grown up talks, but persevered until finally he got it right. They practiced for a while, until Maeko was satisfied with his achievement. “Well done Jarod, now you are ready for your tour of the monastery.” Jarod stood straight up, chest forward and looked at Maeko with gratitude, he felt very proud of himself.
Maeko showed him around the monastery, and introduced him to some of her brothers and sisters. While they walked past several training areas, the obstacle course, the bathhouse and around the monastery itself Maeko explained what it means to be a Dragonmonk. She taught their motto to Jarod repeating it several times so he would learn it by heart as she had. “Through discipline you will find truth, through truth you will find justice, through justice you will find discipline, that is our road to enlightenment. That is how we become a Monk of the Manyfists.” Jarod listened carefully and took to heart every word she said, though there were several things he just didn’t understand.
The tour ended in front of the entrance to the great hall. “What’s in there”, Jarod asked. “That is the great hall, where we gather to honor the founders of The Ten Dragons Monastery, the creators of the Way of the Manyfists.” Jarod scratched his head, “Can I see” he asked, his eyes begging for a yes. Maeko’s answer was straightforward, and left no room for arguing. “You may not, only Dragonmonks may enter the great hall. It is what you would call a holy place to us. I’m sorry.” Jarod laughed, “Don’t be sorry, I understand I think.” Maeko thanked Jarod, “shall we go to the library in the basement? It’s nice and warm there with comfortable seats, you can tell me about your life. And tell me about parents again.” Jarod rubbed his belly, “An excellent idea, any chance of some lunch? All this practicing made me hungry.” They grabbed something to eat from the kitchen and walked down the winding granite staircase leading to the library.
The collection of books, scrolls and scriptures was extensive, though the library just like the rest of the monastery looked sober and simple. It was a large square room with four enormous bookcases along each of its walls. A torch burned in each corner of the room, and in its center an open fireplace with four comfortable leather armchairs. The wooden floor creaked as they walked to the fireplace and sat down. Maeko pulled her legs up and folded them under herself to get as comfortable as possible, then looked at Jarod. His lightly tanned face and green eyes gleamed in the light of the fireplace, and his tousled hair intrigued Maeko. She was genuinely curious about Jarod’s life, and more so in talking about parents.
Jarod told Maeko about his house, playing at the waterfall, his village and the city of Fer, where he had only been twice in his entire life. He told her about the emerald mines that have given this land its name, the Emerald Reach. Several stories were about him and his dad going out on trips to Arakan, a village in the woods where there were wizards and goblins. Maeko really enjoyed his tales and they even looked some things up in the books of the library. Jarod couldn‘t read, so Maeko read the stories to him. They discovered they both knew and liked the story about the little girl Tinnely and her adventure in the cave. Jarod said his father had read the story to him many times. “No one has ever read a story to me”, Maeko realized.
“Is that what fathers do, read stories to their children?” she asked. “Sometimes, but mostly my mother”, Jarod replied. Maeko thought about this for a few seconds, “What else do fathers and mothers do?” Jarod shrugged, “All sorts of stuff, make dinner, play with me, teach me things and sometimes they get mad when I misbehave.” Maeko was surprised, “Why would you misbehave?” It was something she didn’t really understand. Misbehavior was something she hadn’t learned, so to speak. Jarod chuckled, “You don’t plan to misbehave, sometimes you just do things that aren‘t allowed or are bad. And then mom or dad gets mad, and I get punished.” Maeko looked startled, “Punished, how?”, Jarod shrugged again, “You know, do the dishes, or sit in my room or mop the floor.” Maeko was totally flabbergasted, the things he named were not punishment, they were just chores that needed doing and were the responsibility of all her brothers and sisters, herself included. Maeko was wondering about her parents. Would they punish her too, and take her on trips, and read stories to her? Her mind was swirling with questions. Jarod noticed the confusion in her eyes. “Have you really never met your parents?”, he asked. “Haven’t you ever wondered where they are or why they brought you here?” Maeko felt overwhelmed by emotions. She didn’t know what to answer, and changed the subject, using her disciplinary mind to push away the questions that were forming in her head. They sat and small talked for the rest of the afternoon, but Maeko could not stop thinking about who she was and where she came from. That night she again hardly slept, not out of excitement of Jarod visiting, but because she sensed something had been missing in her life. She felt an urge inside herself that needed to be fulfilled, but couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.
The next morning Maeko woke to the sound of monks shouting, which was a first for her. She hastily put on her clothes to see what the fuss was all about. She ran down the stairs into the kitchen, and straight outside through the lounge. The shouting came from the other side of the palisades, and sounded like something serious had happened. Just as Maeko reached the great gate Brother Sugnar walked in. Maeko couldn’t believe her eyes. Brother Sugnar’s trousers were torn and red with blood, his arms and face covered in deep scratches. He caught sight of Maeko who had stopped dead in her tracks at the horrific sight, “Quickly child, get Sister Niru, we need immediate medical assistance.” Maeko didn’t hesitate and sprang into action. She ran back inside faster than she had ever ran before, shouting for Sister Niru. Niru was in the library and walked upstairs. They met at the top of the stairs. Maeko formally greeted her so fast that she almost stumbled, “Hurry, Brother Sugnar is hurt, he needs medical assistance.” Sister Niru looked startled but swiftly grabbed bandages from a cabinet in the hallway along with a box of medical supplies. They sprinted back outside, almost bumping into Brother Sugnar who had just reached the door and was leaning against the door frame. “Quickly, take him inside”, Sister Niru commanded Maeko, while supporting Brother Sugnar who almost lost his footing. “Not me, at the gate”, Brother Sugnar indicated. The two sisters raced off again towards the monastery gate. They didn’t see Brother Sugnar collapsing in the door opening losing consciousness. They ran through the gate and witnessed a horrible sight. Two of the monks that had escorted the merchant were bending down over an improvised stretcher. On it lay the torn body of the merchant, his left arm ripped off and a huge chunk of his neck missing. Maeko screamed at the sight and felt her stomach churning. Sister Niru struggled to maintain her disciplined composure, and put her hand in front of Maeko’s eyes, “Don’t look child, turn around and go back inside.” Maeko was trembling like a leaf, “Is he…” “Yes”, Niru replied, “now go back inside and tend to Brother Sugnar.”
Maeko hurried back to Brother Sugnar almost stumbling over her feet as she felt her strength draining away making room for panic. She saw Brother Sugnar’s lifeless body lying in the door opening. She stopped for two seconds, “Maeko, help him, be strong”, she told herself, “control your mind!” She kneeled beside Brother Sugnar and checked his pulse, he was alive. She felt an energy taking control over her being, something she had felt in her fists or feet before during training, but never this strong and never all over her body. The threatening panic made way for pure resolve. She lifted Brother Sugnar from the ground not thinking about his weight, but with a singular focus on getting him to his bedroom. She walked across the lounge and up to the sleeping quarters carrying her injured mentor, and placed him on his bed. She ran downstairs again to get water, bandages and cloth, when a high pitched scream from outside cut through her soul, hitting her chest like a raging bull. The scream was gushing with despair and grief. Maeko suddenly realized she hadn‘t seen Jarod anywhere. The adrenalin rushing through her veins prevented her from lingering on that thought, and she refocused on tending to Brother Sugnar.
She carefully cleaned his wounds with the cloth and water, then bandaging him with the loving care of a true daughter. Brother Sugnar briefly regained consciousness and wanted to sit up. Maeko held him back, “Lie down and let me tend to you, these wounds must be cleaned and bandaged.” Brother Sugnar accepted the fact that he was too badly injured to do anything else, and lay down willingly. “Thank you Maeko, you are doing fine. I’m proud of you.” Maeko shushed him, “Niru taught me well, now lie still and stop talking.” Brother Sugnar obeyed.
When Maeko was convinced she had done everything she could for Brother Sugnar, she reluctantly walked back outside. She walked towards the palisades to listen what was going on, when suddenly Jarod ran through the gate screaming, tears gushing from his eyes. He ran straight towards Maeko, who felt herself trembling with fear. He didn‘t make it to her, as he stumbled and fell on the grass. He cried and smashed his fists on the ground screaming for his father. Maeko had no idea what to do and felt that panic from before trying to take hold of her again. At that moment Brother Kalerac came in through the gate and hurried towards Jarod. He lifted the hysterical boy from the grass and held him in his arms. He crossed eyes with Maeko. His face was unlike anything Maeko had ever seen from him before. The sadness and helplessness in his eyes broke Maeko’s heart, who had always known Brother Kalerac as a jolly tutor with a never ending good mood. Brother Kalerac walked back to the gate with Jarod in his arms. Just before they exited the gate again, Jarod screamed, “Wait.” Brother Kalerac stopped. Jarod looked at Maeko who still stood frozen in the spot. He reached out to her while tears flowed from his red eyes, “Find your parents Maeko, find them before you lose them!” Brother Kalerac tightened his grip on the boy, then moved off.
Maeko heard Jarod’s voice echoing in every corner of her being, “Find your parents.” She hid from the horrors outside in the place where she felt most comfortable and safe, the library. Curled up in one of the armchairs she shivered and sweated as if struck by a fever. She tried to hum like Brother Sugnar did when he found her, to soothe her mind, but to no avail. “Everybody has parents”, Jarod’s voice said in her thoughts. “Don’t you wonder where they are and why they left you here?” The words imprinted into her very being. In this moment of desperate pain Maeko finally realized what the urge inside her was exactly. “I need to find the truth”, she mumbled to herself, “the truth about who I am and where I come from. The truth about my parents“. Maeko had accomplished her first step to enlightenment, and was now ready for her second. To find truth deep within yourself, and become more than just your physical body. It didn’t feel like the victorious accomplishment she had always imagined it to be.
The weeks following the horrible mountain lion attack weighed heavy on all of Maeko’s brothers and sisters. The loss of one of their own, and the horrible death of the merchant needed time to find a place in their souls. Brother Sugnar had only barely survived the ordeal. During those weeks Maeko was largely on her own, struggling with the events like all the others. Through rigorous training she managed to suppress the thoughts about her parents, though driving them off fully was no longer possible. She talked about it to Brother Kalerac, who had carried Jarod home all the way to Wheaton. It had changed his spirit forever, having lost some of its unwavering positivity. He helped Maeko to focus her thoughts about her parents into something that felt good to her, and confirmed she had fulfilled the first step of enlightenment. Despite the harsh time they did hold a little celebration eating apple pie in the library together. In the end Maeko understood that she had to temper her desire to seek her parents with her discipline. She accepted the fact that she needed time and training to fully understand the vastness of her task in achieving the second step of enlightenment. Brother Kalerac stated that accepting this as truth, was the first step of the way.