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~Chapter 12~

[Blood and Tears]

That morning I woke up thinking how can i compare to her? I dressed hurriedly and ran outside to see that the sun had already come up, and Rekku was no where to be seen. where is she? I looked towards to the forest to watch a tree fall. wonder if that's her? I went back, picked up a sword and went out.
I jumped off of the cliff and unfurled my wings, pounding them hard against the warm morning air, picking up the ind and soaring off. []i hey.. maybe she will teach me something new today? I flew as fast as i could only to be buffeted by a strong downwind, crashing into the treetops owww..... "HEY!!!" I heard Rekku scream "You need to find me! Or else i wont teach you today!" []i oh joy... here we go I unsheathed my sword and held it ready. almost instantly there was a rustling in the bushes, i held myself ready, but it ended quickly. another rustling for a moment; then still. what is this? who is here? Suddenly someone lept from the bushes swinging something at me. I quickly rose my sword to block; but was too late, something else had attacked me. They struck my back, crippling me, and tripped me so i was down on the ground. they had some weapons knowledge... but i know magic! i ripped myself free from the net, and struck one of them down with my sword, i did a quick spin, and smote another with my blade. I was too late although; one had taken a dagger and stabbed my knee. I fell down and was knocked unconscious afterward.
I awoke in a forest clearing. listening dully to a tribal chant, but not paying attention, it didn't matter crap.. Rekku is going to kill me if I don't get to her I tried to move my arms, but found myself wrapped tight in ropes. I decided to wait and see if anything would happen.. and sure enough, it did! the trees began to sway and bend until they too seemed to dance with the rhythmic chanting of this tribe. they finished suddenly and came towards me. one, who appeared to be a female, started to approach me, and take off her mask. I saw then that she had green eyes, a kind face, and long dark brown hair, like the trees of the forest, she whispered to me "are you ok?" i couldn't understand at first, but she repeated for me "are you ok? My name is Nancy, and i am the matriarch of these druids." Druids! that's what they were. No wonder they bested me. "can you help me out of these ropes? I'm going to scream if i am to stay confined." she merely chuckled and let her hair fall in front of her eyes. "why don't you coax them into letting you go? you ARE a spiritblade. Master of the sword and the magic. apparently they know what i am.. lets see if i can do this.. i focused my strength into releasing the ropes, and they gradually let me free. I stood up and stretched, getting a long look at these druids.
They all looked similar to Nancy, garbed in natural colors, earthy shades and greens similar to leaves and foliage. "so.. how come i have never seen you around here before? i don't live far off." she merely sighed; amused at my apparent lack of knowledge "well, if we had wanted you to see us, we would have come to you." well.. no surprise for who won the stupidest look contest. "Ildecia, let me see your skill with that blade, i want to know what you are capable of." I grabbed my sword, unsheathed it, and held it ready, facing Nancy. She grabbed a bo staff and a blindfold, wrapped it around her eyes and yelled: "begin!" I was befuddled. "Nancy, do you plan on fighting me blind?" "Of course!" she replied "if you think you can defeat me, attack!" I followed suit, i jumped into the air and swung down pretty bland.. but ehh She rose the tip of the staff, disrupting my strike, and swung sideways tossing my sword to the left, she jabbed into my gut and sent me sprawling to the ground. "is that it? or is there more coming?" I quickly gathered myself and rushed her with my blade, i jumped into the air and brought the blade down with a flourish. she did an almost effortless evade of my attack and called for a pause "well child, you don't seem to know what you are doing when it comes to fighting. Would you like me to teach you a trick or two?" She offered it kindly, but at the same time; serious "Gladly, i have someone i would like to show a thing or two too as well." So our training began.
I got to know Nancy for not a druid, or a strikingly beautiful girl, but as a mentor and a best friend. We spent about a month or so in this forest, training slowly and evenly, much like a lazy river. She had me fight blindfolded most of the time and doing so, i came into a few new wounds. A cut leg here, a lopped off finger there. I could heal them fine, but it always stung and the blood seemed to never stop flowing... The day i most remember was the day she taught me how to see beyond true sight. "close your eyes, and breathe slowly." i did as i was commanded, and i could vaguely sense the things around me "I-i can see it.. a little, but not that well..." I was murmuring, but she heard me "you need to concentrate a little more, don't worry about hearing, worry about seeing ." So i closed my eyes once again and i tried to see without my eyes. I could make out everything almost instantly. The trees were about one hundred feet off, they were living the plants were whispering in the wind. "This is incredible Nancy! i can see it all!" suddenly i heard a staff in the air coming down at me, i acted on reflex. I ducked and rolled to the left, drawing my sword and pouncing with a quick riposte. I felt the blade hit and did a quick jumping spin, landing a strike to her shoulder, knocking her to the ground with a heavy thud. i opened my eyes suddenly to see her shoulder bleeding profusely i had severed all of her arm ligaments, and split the bone even. "Oh my God.. are you ok?" i was holding her in my arms, watching her faint and die in my arms. I ran back to the village, to be welcomed to armed men shouting at me to let her go. I set her down gently and rose my blade, ominously still dripping with blood. "If you not attack me, you wont end up like her, If you DO attack me, i will send you all to your graves." they understood with grim obedience and treated Nancy with care.
I waited for a week until seeing Nancy's face "Oh god, are you ok? I'm sorry..." my endless apologies only received a "It's fine, you did marvelous. You did almost the same thing as your sister, except she almost cut off my legs." crap... Rekku still beat me here. "Oh my god! i just remembered that i had to meet her about a month ago." She only smiled and laughed. "She sent you too us, to test you. Looks like we had more work in store for us than we bargained for." I started to break down laughing "So... and all this time... and.... oh my god..." i was hysterical. I picked up some of the sun-bleached dirt and let it sift through my fingers, smiling inwardly "you know Nancy... i should be mad at her right? but I'm glad, she taught me to be wary and you taught me to fight in the truest sense. Thank you." with that said, i jumped into the air, spread my wings wide and flew off into the morning sun