Chapter 3: Aco

Aco was met at the Hotel by a young woman in a white robe with a black belt around her waist. Without a word, Aco followed her guide to the place that would be her home for the next few months at the very least. After getting away from the heaviest foot traffic, The woman stepped up her pace until she was going at a fast jog. Aco stayed with her without a problem, her daily workouts had included a long run. They traveled at this pace for an hour, getting them to the eastern edge of Central Cove, near the castle. Aco could see their destination well before they arrived. It was a series of low buildings covering several city blocks, climbing the slope of the first hills outside the city. It had a low, ornately decorated stone wall surrounding it. Only the North wall had an entrance that Aco was shown.

They slowed to a walk far enough out that they had cooled down before they reached the portal. It had a man and woman in cloth armor, each holding a long battle staff at the ready as they approached. Aco wasn’t able to tell much more about them because the heavy clothing covered them completely, including their faces to protect them from the cold and damage in a fight should they be attacked.

Aco had been told to wear light robes and cloak, she had the rest of her belongings that she had been told to bring in a small haversack that rested over her left shoulder, again as she had been instructed. She was led to a side door to the largest building inside the walls and motioned to enter. The door closed behind her with a faint creaking of old wood. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the faint light put out by the oil lamps mounted on the walls. An older woman in a green single dress that form fitted her, motioned for her to approach and she was handed a set of robes to put on. They were white, made of a heavy wool and cotton mixture. The cloth weave was tight and strong so it would resist long, hard use. It had a whipcord belt of the same material with a stiff leather core to give it strength. The woman indicated to Aco that she was to be nude underneath the robe. Aco looked around then undressed. She stretched for a minute after she was nude then pulled the robe on. The woman showed her how to tie the belt then picked up a pair of sandals for Aco to wear. These had wood soles, carved in such a way to give traction on the smooth floors. The top surface was a wool and leather mix that was sewn into the wood. They had straps that went over the foot to hold them in place and a set of ties that wrapped up around the ankle for additional support. When she had them tied so they wouldn’t slip, she was pointed to a set of double doors leading deeper into the building. Up to this point, not one word had been spoken.

Aco started towards the doors, noting the woman stayed where she was. Aco felt off-center from the sandal’s weight and shape. She would need to get used to wearing them. They were also noisy, clopping like a horse hoof on stone. She would need to practice moving silently in them as well. The doors were a combined seven feet wide and ten high. They appeared to be a dark, heavy wood with iron banding on them. The handles were worn smooth with use over a long time, but they looked well cared for. She couldn’t see any hinges but decided on caution. Scuff marks on the floor indicated the doors would open towards her. She stopped at a point just far enough back that should they open abruptly, she wouldn’t be struck by them. She stopped, waited and after five seconds, the doors opened. She didn’t flinch, nor step back. She suspected all of this was a staged test of some sort. She had made careless remarks and was going to pay for them here. ‘So be it,’ she thought. Aco stepped into the next room.

This chamber was massive in scale. It seemed to cover the entire size of the building as seen from the outside. All around, the ceiling had lights that gave off a brilliant glow that stung the eyes if stared into for too long. Aco quickly realized these were wide glass-filled openings that allowed sunlight into this room. The ceiling was fifteen feet overhead in most of the chamber. A few spots went much higher though, maybe as high as thirty feet. The floor was a light-colored wood. It was made from narrow, tightly fitted boards that had been sanded smooth and polished to a reflective glow. The amount of time it must take daily to care for the floors would be hard and high. This she would come to know firsthand soon enough. All around the room were beams of wood, tools, weapons, and other devices for training in the arts of close, hand-to-hand combat. The room was over one hundred fifty feet across to accommodate all the tools and the large mats in the center of the room. Other than herself, only one other person was in the room. He was across the largest mat from the doors, kneeling, his head up, looking at her, studying her closely.

Aco knew what was expected of her. Umi had drilled her on how to approach the mat and how to display proper respect for it. She strode to the center mat across from the lone figure and stopped several feet back and bowed to the mat. Next, she lowered herself to her knees to await what was coming, though she had no clue as to what it might be. She kept her head down, but her eyes flashed back and forth, her ears listening for the slightest change. One thing that hammered at her sense was the smell of the wood and the oils used to care for it. There was another scent in the air, but she couldn’t place it. It seemed to weave its way into her mind and put her at ease, yet also a warning of danger all around her.

She didn’t move for several minutes and was surprised when the sandal-clad feet appeared in her vision. She hadn’t heard a sound of his movement, which made her heart pound with joy. She would finally learn skills that had always evaded her before. She didn’t move, but she could feel the eyes on the back of her head.

“Eyes up child,” said the man in a quiet, smooth voice that screamed of age and power. She raised her head and looked at him. His robe was a black so deep that light seemed to sink into it. His belt was black as well but had six red stripes on it. Aco knew she was facing the master of the school. Now she looked around and was surprised. Before, the room had been empty. Now, all around the center were several hundred men, women, boys, and girls. A few had brown or black robes, but most were in white like herself. Those not in the robes wore assorted clothing that suited the trade they served the school in. The one defining factor in the rest was the color of the belts they wore. The spectrum of the rainbow was spread out around her. She knew the white belts were the novices and each color was a higher rank and skilled student. As she looked at them, she wondered how they had all been able to sneak up on her like this. She tried to move but found she couldn’t. Her body refused to respond to her commands. It sank in that all the others had face masks covering their mouths and noses. ‘The incense, they drugged me,’ she thought. She willed her eyes to close, she felt them move like lead. Once she was able to block the outside, she focused on her mind, trying to find the place in her that was being slowed by the gas. She felt her toes begin to tingle, then the feeling ran up her legs. As it reached her head, she found she had control again. She reached up behind her head and found the robe did have a hood. She had noticed it when she had put it on but had not thought about it as important right then. She pulled it over her head, still moving very slowly in her view. In the hood was a face mask to cover her mouth and nose. She drew it across and secured a tie string to the other side. When her face was covered and hooded, the other half of her mind awoke at the sudden assumed danger. The Claw was in the house and Aco was sitting to the side.

She stood, looking around, and said in her cold voice, “What was the purpose of doing this to me? I should kill you where you stand for this.”

The senior instructor did not flinch or react to this threat. He merely gestured for her to move to the center of the mats. Rather than move, she removed the sandals, stood up and turned to the mat and bowed to the center, then stepped onto the firm surface. She thought she knew what was about to happen. When she reached the center, she turned back to the Master of the school.

He spoke, “You have insulted all the members of this house. For that, before you may join us, you must prove yourself able to best us as you claimed.” He turned and gestured to the lowest ranks and nodded. The first boy of ten years at the most stood and bowed to the mat, then approached her. He stopped just out of arms reach, hers, and bowed to her. She returned the bow and waited for him to move. Being that he was a novice, she decided to go easy on him. He closed and made a series of palm strikes at her chest. She blocked all of them with ease. Seeing he could not break through to her that way, he tried a leg sweep. She saw him prepare and jumped over the moving leg as he struck. Rather than using a hard counter, she moved in and put him down with a light jab to the gut and prevented him from hurting himself with a bad fall.

“You need to practice your falls and landing boy, otherwise you show much promise. Also, learn patience. If you see you can win easily, do so. If you can’t, study your foe and find the weakness you can exploit, then take them down.” They bowed to one another after she pulled him to his feet, and he returned to his spot in line. Aco and Claw both agreed, Aco should run the line. The other side of her mind faded away into the background then vanished. Aco looked at the next white in line and nodded. This time a girl of fifteen bowed and closed. She did not bother with any of the formalities beyond the basic bow. She began with a series of strikes and swept her left leg at Aco’s, seeing the right didn’t work before. This time, Aco caught the leg and swept the other leg out, dropping the girl to the mat harder than the boy. She was able to get her arms out and control the impact and rolled away back to her feet. She started to move again but stopped at a sharp command from the Master. She bowed, then glared at Aco before returning to her spot in line.

This continued until she had gone through all the white belts, then made short work of the yellow and green belts. One of the blue belts, a man in his early twenties managed to land a blow to Aco’s right shoulder. She ended that round right there by dropping him harder than she had any of the others. As she had gone up through the ranks, she had pointed out weaknesses that the student would need to work on. Most bowed politely, accepting the advice with good grace. A few, like the lucky blue robe, did not and had to be commanded back to the line. His advice was to learn to keep his guard up when he turned to the left. He was wide open to attacks from that side.

The red belts proved to be more of a challenge. They were far more advanced and skilled. She took several blows to her upper body and was now sporting a bruise on her right thigh from a kick she wasn’t fast enough to block or avoid. The first brown belt forced her to begin using her other skill sets in acrobatics. She took the first one down and prayed she hadn’t broken his neck as she landed. He slowly got to his feet and bowed to her. Not one word had been spoken to her beyond what the Master had said when she first entered. By the time she reached the last brown belt, ten of them total, she was bruised and starting to tire fast. She knew for a fact the black belts were going to royally kick her ass unless she could put them down fast and hard, hopefully without killing them. She had been doing her best to not bring excessive harm so far. She would have to cut loose now if she expected to continue running the line.

The first blackbelt was in a white robe still, so was not a full master yet, or so she assumed, and hoped. Before she could ready herself though, the Grandmaster called a halt. He pointed to a water barrel and waited. Aco did not smile, nor accept the offer. Should she do so would be a sign of weakness, and in front of the group on this day, that was the last thing she wanted to do. He nodded and called for them to continue. The first blackbelt stepped onto the mat without first bowing to it and her.

Her face hardened at the disrespect shown her in that instant, this one was going down, hard and painfully fast. She could see this man, early to mid-twenties with blond hair and an arrogant smirk needed to be taken down a few notches. She did not wait for him to attack, now they would see the Claw fight. She was in the air before he was halfway to her. Her first strike to the top of his head as she passed over him left him stunned. Then she had him on his back by the simple expedient of pulling him down backward by his head as she came down to land on her feet. She turned to face the rest of the black belts and said, “The next one to disrespect the school or me in that manner leaves in a box.” She looked over at the Grandmaster, he nodded once.

The next to approach the mat paused to give a full bow first to the mat, then a half bow to her. That was barely a show of respect. She would hurt him, not too bad she hoped, but he would be very sore for a few days. ‘No killing this one,’ she thought, ‘just a lesson in manners.’ He stepped on the mat and tried to leap at her rather than approach her on foot after seeing her make the jump she had just made. She dove and rolled under his attack, spun just as he was above her, throwing her legs up and scissoring his, spinning him out of control to slam face-first into the mat. She rolled to her feet, and he bounced back to his, looking a touch shook, but not out yet.

They circled one another then he froze for an instant, thinking he saw an opening he could exploit. He noted she was favoring her left side slightly. He had seen her take several blows to her ribs on that side, so she was trying to protect them. He stepped in with a series of rapid palm strikes and chops, attempting to break through her defenses. Aco managed to block all but one strike, the one-hit adding another bruise to her ribs on the left. She began her own series of strikes, then slipped down, driving a punch up at him, aborting as his right knee started towards her head. She rolled and caught his rising foot by the ankle in both hands, twisted, drawing him off balance. She pushed him away, being careful not to break any of his bones. She leaped up and spun a left foot kick at his head, he deflected it, only to be caught by a follow-up left fist to the head that put him down and out. Aco stepped back, bowed to her defeated foe. Two of the younger students came out and pulled him off the mat. They smiled at her, then returned to their place in the line. ‘So, some of the senior instructors are not so well-liked, I can use that to my advantage then.’

She turned back to the line, bowed, then walked to the edge of the mat and stepped off, bowed to the mat one more time, and went to the water barrel, daring anybody to say one word now. This time, the break was on her terms, not theirs. She drank enough to slake her thirst, but not too much as the water seemed to have a large quantity of wine in it. She adjusted her robe, wishing she had her dragon robes to fight in. She fixed the belt that had slipped and returned to the mat. She bowed to the Grandmaster, then onto the mat, stepping back onto the padding. When she was in the center, she turned to face the line of black belts again. This time, three bowed and stepped onto the mat. ‘Uh Oh,’ she thought. Now was the time to break protocol to save lives. “A word of warning, if three of you come at me, I will not be able to hold back my strikes and several of you will be seriously injured, quite possibly seriously, or killed.” She watched the three, but they did not back down. “So be it then, you have been advised of the danger you face.” She readied herself to do battle for real now. They split off and surrounded her as she expected they would. ‘They are idiots,’ she thought. One wall was a giant mirror, and she could see the two that had moved around behind her when they closed.

She did not wait, nor hold back. “Forgive me Judge of Souls for what may happen this day,” she whispered. They all closed to try and contain her. She leaped up and back, landing split-legged around the neck of the largest of the three. She threw her weight back, dragging him back and over with her. Her hands hit the mat, she dug her fingers into the material and pulled down hard. She tried not to kill him, but it would be a close call. She continued the pull and rollover. He now had enough momentum that he flew over her and slammed down flat on his back, not able to control the landing. He let out a loud grunt of pain from the impact and remained still. Aco continued her motion over his form, not delivering the killing blow to its final impact, her hand stopped at the point of contact on his exposed throat. She pulled back, rolling to the side to avoid the incoming kick to her head from one in the front. The third man wisely stayed back and waited for his chance. Aco didn’t give him a chance. Aco grabbed the kicker by the foot, twisted, this time dislocating the ankle, pulled hard, then sent him flying into the third attacker. The projectile was out and the man he landed on was stunned.

She stepped back and bowed once more. She was sweating and breathing hard now. She wasn’t sure she could fend off another attack like that one. She returned to the middle of the mat and bowed to the line, then faced the Grandmaster and bowed. She moved to the edge of the mat and knelt like the rest of the lower-ranked students. She didn’t see the smile that the old man had on his face.

“Students, this one is not only fast, well trained, she is also able, and shows wisdom.” He moved behind her, “She is aware that any that face her now will die should they attack her, even in practice.” He walked to the black belts that seemed angry. “Don’t allow your egos to guide you in this. She is a trained killer, I should know, I see her mother’s training in her, and I am he who trained her mother.”

Aco’s eyes flew open in surprise, but she remained still. “Stand up girl, you have earned the right to say what you did. Had you not stopped, I fear you could end up hurting one of them fatally, and that would be most,” he gave the remaining students a hard look, “annoying,” he finished. Aco rose to her feet, shaking now as the combat adrenalin rush was fading. Aco stood, wincing at some of the bruises she had sustained in the last few duels, that’s what they had been, she knew, duels. She turned to face the Grandmaster, the man that knew and had trained her mother in her battle style of combat. She looked at him now, for the first time really seeing him. He was a small man, not much larger than herself in height. He was whip-cord thin, but with muscles clearly outlined on his frame. His eyes were bright and quick, catching things that others would miss in passing. His hair was thin and grey, which at his apparent age to still have any was something. His skin while dark, was not overly wrinkled, though he did have some spotting on his hard-looking hands. His robe as noted when she entered the room was a dark black with the red striped belt of a Grandmaster of the arts of hand-to-hand combat.

Aco bowed to him, and he returned it. “How is your mother girl? I heard she had joined a traveling show with Hiru,” he asked.

Aco answered cautiously, “The last time I saw her was over two years ago master, but she was well when I departed.”

“Aco, I hear many things, including what happened to you as a child. How is it you no longer bear the scars of the acid,” he asked. Nobody in the room had moved yet, he looked around, “You are dismissed, return to your duties.” Everybody stood, bowed, and filed out of the room, leaving them alone.

Once the rest of the students and instructors had departed to return to their assigned duties, he held a hand-out to Aco to stand. “Child, it is well to see you here. There are those here that had begun to fear you would not arrive at our doors at the time of the chosen.”

“Chosen, master?” she said.

“Others call your group the New Journeyers.” He opened a cabinet and pulled out a brown robe and handed it to her. “Wear this for now. Your clothing has been sent for and will arrive by day’s end.” He smiled at her, “I would very much enjoy seeing you perform in the uniform you prefer, with the Dragon.” He saw the surprised look on her face at the mention of the Dragon. “Oh child, some of us have contacts in the upper realms. The Lady is dominant, but a lesser god does stay in touch with those of us that follow his teachings.”

Aco donned the brown robe and slipped the sandals on and followed the Master to the doors at the back of the hall, listening closely to what he had to say. “We worship the god of war. His power was greatly diminished in the purge of the mad gods. We have quietly kept the arts of the true practice of war alive in secret for many centuries.” He opened a side door in the wide hall they had been walking down.

Aco had been careful to listen, but she had been studying her surroundings as closely as she could. He had not missed this and was secretly pleased she was observant from the start. Most students tended to be lost for the first week or so after arrival. “The incense will be gone by morning. I wanted to see if you could overcome the effects of it, and you did.” He gestured for her to enter the room he had opened. It was a barracks-style room with twelve beds lining the walls. “Only one bunk is currently open, so you haven’t a choice.” He showed her how she was to set up her storage locker then started to leave her to think and plan. He paused at the door, “Aco, be on the lookout. If you see an orange-colored gem that has a light shining from within, let us know right away. They are part of the enemy, and we can weaken her with each one we capture.”

Aco froze, thinking, then she remembered, “Does handling them make you want to go and start killing everybody around you?”

The Grandmaster froze and asked, “How would you know to ask that question girl?”

Now Shegeto Aco felt real fear. The look on his face spoke of pain, suffering, and death if she didn’t answer right away. “Last season while in Tres, I received a new set of masks as part of a bequest. It included a small box with a gem of that description. As long as the box remains sealed, I can’t feel it...” Now she had a thought that frightened her even more. The Claw portion of her mind became more dangerous after she gained that little gemstone. “Master ... I don’t even know how to address you yet.”

“Call me Master Poe. Where is the gem.”

“It is in my luggage and may very well be on the way here now Master Poe” she answered.

If the box is in your bags, do not open it, bring it to me and we will have it sealed with the rest of the gathered fragments.” He looked around the room, trying to see if anybody had disobeyed him and was spying on them. When he looked back at Aco he whispered, “You are to tell no one about this. The danger you are in now exceeds any you have faced before.”

Aco was silent, thinking hard about what had happened in the last few weeks since the others had arrived. It hit her when she remembered the globe. “The danger may be greater than that even. The enemy has seen me, and the others already and maybe crafting a method to track us all.”

“How could the Blood Queen have seen you from halfway around the world Aco?” He wanted to know this secret way of communicating, but also knew it would be dangerous information to have. “Can she see you now?”

Aco smiled and winced as she felt the bruises begin to ache. “It was an artifact that was functional with the help of one of the companions that arrived recently. He seems to be able to create items of power.” Aco began stretching to work out a few kinks in her sore side and went on, “This glass ball had imprinted messages in it for each of us from our parents. Ledger figured out how to control it and found a few others still working in other locations. The Blood Queen had something like it she had constructed herself. Ledger, with the help of the sword, Bloodrend, destroyed hers before she could get more than a glimpse of us.”

“That is well then. As I pointed out, this will be your sleeping quarters. I have assigned a servant to be your guide for a few days to help you get acquainted with the school grounds and rules as they apply to all of the students.” The last he said, giving her a sideways glance. “Though in your case, it is debatable if you are a student or a teacher.” He turned as the door opened and an older woman wearing a green silk dress entered. Her hair was black as night like Aco’s, and she had features very much like hers as well, except for the pointing of the ears. Hers were more normally rounded. “I will leave you for now. Use your time wisely.” He exited the room and Aco stood waiting for whatever was to come next.

The woman looked at Aco, put her hands together, palms first then bowed slightly to Aco. “I am Breeze. I have been tasked to familiarize you with the school and temple. I will also assist you in learning your daily duties and chores.” She held out her left arm, pointing at the door, indicating that she was to go.

Aco spent the rest of the day being shown the school. Breeze told her some of the school’s histories but recommended that Aco spend some of her free time reading the old books. They had what appeared to be the real history, not the one given to the public. The evening meal was served in a cafeteria that everybody ate in. Food was not allowed in the sleeping quarters. The reason given for that was to keep any rodent infestation down. Aco understood that quite well and agreed with it.

“Miss Aco, you will be assigned some duties around the compound. Some are very menial, others not so much,” Breeze explained. She had a list of names and job assignments with her. “Part of my duty to the school is to assign weekly duties to each member.”

“Even Master Poe?” Aco asked, giving Breeze a sideways glance.

“Even Master Poe, though he has his duties that I will not think to interfere with. As for you child, I think a bit of quiet time cleaning and polishing floors would be a good start to teaching you to focus and patience.” The older woman didn’t grin, nor did she seem to be malicious in her setting Aco this chore. “This is something all new students are assigned to. Over time, just about everybody here, myself included spends a week or two working the floors and cleaning the dust from the rest.”

“Where do I go to get started then?” Aco asked.

“I will take you there now. That is not what you will be doing all day though. The morning stretch at dawn, then first meal.” Breeze pointed down a corridor that was not well lit as most of the lanterns were not lit. After that, you will report to the head of the caretakers. We are going there now so I can introduce you, though you have met him once already today.”

Breeze stopped at a sliding wood-framed paper door and tapped the frame lightly. A man’s voice called for them to enter. Breeze stepped in and the man in a black tunic and pants stood to greet her, “Ah, Breeze, what may I do for you today?” he asked in a pleasant and respectful tone. That told Aco a lot more about this woman and her status.

“I have a new victim for floor care.” She motioned for Aco to enter. Aco was a little nervous, this was one of the men she had put down fairly hard for being impolite on the mat. Master Jorson, I present Miss Aco, though I think you have met, but have not been formally introduced.” He glanced at Aco then back to Breeze, “And you suppose this one can serve as anyone else in the house?” He frowned at Breeze, “This one did not defeat the house as she was sentenced to do. She called an end before she faced the last six masters.” He looked at Aco, “You did face me, girl, therefore I do not need you in my service. Take her away from me before I punish you for this indiscretion.” Breeze motioned for Aco to follow her, but she stopped when Aco had not moved.

Aco was fuming mad now. Claw was behind her eyes, not acting but waiting. “Master? Jorson is it? Back to the training hall now and face me on the mat.”

He didn’t even look up, “I don’t fight impudent children in the honored tradition, I punish them.” He noted that Breeze had vanished. “Your caretaker has fled like the coward she is.” He stood and reached for a sword on the wall behind him. He didn’t reach it as a dagger had appeared in his sleeve, pinning his arm to the wall. He looked back to see where the dagger had come from and blanched, Master Poe was looking at him in a way that usually meant you were finished in this Hall.

“Jorson, I am most disappointed in you for this behavior. I explained quite clearly why she called a halt. She would most likely have crippled you, or even killed you by accident.” He looked at Aco and saw something behind her eyes looking back out at him and he knew what it was Jorson would face. “Claw, just hurt him, not kill him, he still has his uses.” Master Poe turned away and left the office without another word.

“Breeze, would you be so kind as to lead me back to the Training hall where I will await Jorson,” he interrupted her, “That is Master Jorson to you girl.” He stormed around them, shoving Breeze into a rack that had assorted weapons hanging on it. She grunted and pulled away, a stain of red beginning to run down her arm.