Mental Chamber, Bahukatsu Dojo, Cheena *** The battle had almost ended. Dreygo noticed that their numbers were slowly dwindling. He was infuriated with the nearest country, Gattekat, which had not followed as agreed before the Southerns’ expected arrival - to contribute five hundred strong soldiers to come to their aid. Seemingly in this arena, the locals of Ingstad were left alone to be squandered upon the heathens. ‘Why? Are they not going to fight for their countrymen? Cowards!’ Dreygo forcibly cursed within himself. Instinctively, his mind drifted to his family. His wife Maria and his children. He must protect them at all costs. The only barrier needed to overcome was the opponent before him - the Commander of the Southern force. “I see cowardice in your face, maggot,” the Commander taunted. “The battle is not over yet,” he forced the statement even though he knew that it was otherwise. “Do not worry, worm. I will be quick with your death.” The heavy and large Commander swu
Mental Chamber, Bahukatsu Dojo, Mountain Sheng *** The odds were unfair. Ten against one and his family behind him. He could not escape. He should stand his ground to defend with all his wit. Nothing to defend with, only the walls of their shackle that served as a futile fence. The slightest chance of survival was beyond his comprehension. But even so, he had to try. Suddenly, he realized that everything was unreal. That he was sitting inside a room called the Mental Chamber back at the Bahukatsu Dojo. But his mind told him otherwise, or his feeling convinced him so. As if a higher power had granted him to relive the moments he most suffered, to cleanse the regrets, to cleanse his soul. ‘Could it be? Could there be a second chance to save my family?’ Dreygo thought. He spaced out momentarily. The soft sobs of his wife were muffled in his hearing. It was not real but it felt surreal. Doubts had loomed from the faintest corner of his memory but it was not important. What’s important
Mental Chamber, Bahukatsu Dojo *** Teetering, Dreygo felt immense aching on his left knee. It must have been due to the fall. He groaned and was forced to speed up his pacing toward his family. Until he succumbed to the pain and almost became numb. However, he ran as fast as he could. ‘Maria!’ His thoughts flooded with the safety of his family. “Damn you, heartless pigs!” Dreygo cursed under his breath. Finally, he reached a small clearing after the tree line. The clearing held wild yellow mountain flowers strewn loosely scattered along the grassy ground. The place was beautiful as strong sunlight shone upon it. However, it was defiled by a rueful sight. Three Southern warriors rustled to pin down the wife and his daughter. His son was gone. He had been sweating hard but this time, he felt an immense chill in his bones. His heart thumping strongly and his stomach churned with the possible gore they would inflict. He knew what would ensue, he knew the story, and he knew the endin
Bahukatsu Dojo, Mountain Sheng, Cheena *** Clap. Clap. Clap. A soft clap invaded the small mental chamber. It echoed on the walls. Dreygo stood up, wiped his tears trying to obscure from the source of the clap, and hauled himself up. He felt lighter as if he lost weight. It was Jade standing beside the large column, near the entrance door. “You passed!” Jade congratulated. “How do you know that I passed?” Dreygo asked. “If you fail, then you will probably be in a coma for a few days, or worse, you will be stripped from your insanity.” “Really? Maybe it won’t affect me because I am a demon. It only works on humans.” “I would not be sure about it. During your trance to another world, your body was continuously twitching, like you were having epilepsy. And your saliva is dripping down to your shirt. I thought you were losing the mental test.” Jade said as a long smile curved across her face. Dreygo was silent momentarily and inspected his wet shirt and confirmed that it was his s
North Degestan, Buratia. *** Private Andrei shivered faintly against the icy cold breeze that caressed his face as he stood on top of a 50 meters high guard tower. It was a full moon but its light could hardly illuminate the Buratia Central base that was blanketed with thick sheets of snow. The base was large enough that Andrei could hardly see the next tower adjacent to where he stood and the wind-carrying snow had hazed their visions. Even using his fog lamps had had little help with their visibility. “It’s shitty cold out here. I hate to be on tower duty,” he turned to his partner, Corporal Anatole, who napped on his seat with his both feet placed on a table. “As if you are not used to this cold,” Anatole responded, not opening his eyes. “I’m used to this weather but not this high. It is much colder when you are in this altitude,” Andrei complained, “There is nothing here to guard. Nobody would dare attack the largest military base of the Capital. And the attackers would not
Bahukatsu Dojo, Shang Mountain, Cheena *** “What is this place?” Dreygo marveled at the scenery. A small waterfall fell softly on a miniature lake and trees heaved the surroundings. Specks of water cooled the place and dampened the environment as the waterfall hit the surface of the lake. Mossy rocks surrounded the lake and at the center were two bamboo sticks hanging horizontally constructed that formed somewhat of a bridge that connected across the far ends of the lake. “You are going to train with the elements Dreygo.” Master Yamoto said. “You are going to master your mind, your balance, and your patience. Seems that you lack those qualities. Every great warrior must master not only fighting skills but first from within himself. Control your emotions.” “What am I going to do here, master? Meditate?” Dreygo snapped. “No. Dreygo. All of our meditation training is done in the mental chamber,” Yamoto responded. “You are going to fight the blind master on top of the hanging bamboo.”
The Waterfall, Bahukatsu Dojo, Mountain Sheng, Cheena *** The urge had overwhelmed his consciousness. ‘Not again. Not again.’ He drove to overcome the tremendous control of the urge to feed. The visitations were more frequent now. He felt immense searing strength that coursed his veins. His heart hammered hard and saliva uncontrollably spilled from his lips. His vision steered to the only person nearby, without further conscience and control. He darted to Master Chungtao at the center of the bridge, his steps finding easily the narrow bridge. He strode fast without difficulty and hesitation as if seemed to be light with his feet until he reached a meter near Master Chungtao. The Demon tried his forward hand to grab the master but it was flicked away with a swift sweep of the latter’s forearm. But Dreygo persistently came with a series of combination attacks that drove the master to recede from his position, continually sweeping all incoming attacks with his bare hands. The demon
Bahukatsu Dojo *** He hauled himself from a restful slumber. It was the first hour of sunrise and everyone was busy as always. The warriors had been disciplined to do labor not only in honing their skills but also in maintaining the Dojo’s upkeep. Dreygo and Sho had participated as well, such as hauling pails of water from the artisan wells, helping in the construction of perimeter defenses, and even plowing the fields for the new batch of crops. Two days of waiting for his next training had made him less idle for the said period. He and Sho had wonderful marvels at how the training of young ninja assassins took place inside the Dojo. They had not much time to see Elaine together with his rest as she had undertaken another training journey for herself. She was supervised by Jade and Master Yamoto as well. She did not disclose much of the objectives of her training but to her comrades, she looked like hell every time she rested in between her training. However, today marked the beg