Lapideus City

The dojo was near empty, as it should be. Today was a free day and most students were elsewhere, with family or friends, using the day to relax instead of train under the strict eye of their mistress. But while they relaxed Loreitia did not. The tall woman waited for her mother to return from shopping, going through slow exercises with an absent mind. It was a mediation for her, these exercises had become second nature to her body and allowed her mind to center or wander free as she pleased.

Presently, her mind was focused on a recent event. The strange happening at Caritus. It had to be from Caritus, Amo was too far away for such a noise to have been heard. Messengers had already been sent to the city, but they had not yet returned. Most had already gotten on with their days, the noise common gossip by now. But it lingered in her mind, like a faint buzzing.

Normally she would have forgotten it by now. It had no impact on her life, she still had a dojo to run. Yet she continue to think of it. What was it, what was it, what was it? A question she couldn't answer, but felt she needed to. Felt with near desperation. The need would have made a lesser person ache and given in, packing to go to Caritus and search for themselves.

Loreitia was no lesser person, however. She kept herself firmly anchored, controlling her body as she had for over two decades. She was the ruler of her vessel, not her feelings.

All the same, she knew as soon as a messenger returned she would be looking for the news they brought. Her breathing steady, nary a bead of sweat on her body, Loreitia flowed from one movement to the next. Her movements grew steadily faster as she fought to rid this silly want from her mind.

With the dojo empty, the mistress made full use of the floor. She spun, kicking silently at unseen enemies. Her long legs pressed a leap into the floor. As the sliding door to the dojo opened, she leveled a punch at the dummy, toppling it.

"Your hai-xao is supposed to be a slow exercise, isn't it?" Her mother asked, mildly amused. Loreitia breathed deeply and nodded, picking up the dummy. Danosia chuckled and stepped forward, plucking up a hand towel for her daughter to use. "Troubles?" She asked knowingly.

"No. Just... Tense." The younger woman answered, using the towel to wipe away the sweat she had accumulated. She pulled off her upper shirt, exposing the training top she wore underneath. It was a traditionally male top from the Hainun practice, covering the man's chest and neck, but exposing his midriff and arms. She wore it anyway because the female top covered the arms and abdomen, leaving her uncomfortably hot after a session.

Danosia tsked in disapproval, but had stopped saying anything against the top long ago. "All right, my dear. I'll let you know when dinner is ready." She murmured, leaving behind a tall glass of water.

The wind carried the scent of Lapideus Lake on its back. Gulls flew lazily overhead as they caught current after current. Every once in a while a black loon would dive head first into the sea and come up not moments later with a fish hanging from its beak. The sun shone brightly overhead, not a cloud was to be seen in the sky. A small breeze drifted through the air and every once in a while a small wave would bump lightly against the side of the small boat.

Quentin had a fishing rod and a lure cast out into the lake smooth, blue water. Today was his one day off for the week and he was spending it catching fish for his family. He hadn’t talked to them directly since he had left home ten years ago, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t help support his brothers and sisters. Every week he left a bucket of fish or small game outside of their small hovel and waited until he was sure they picked it up. Sometimes he would see his younger siblings playing out in the filth drenched street and wave but he never approached them.

Quen sat lazily in the small boat with his large, straw hat drawn over his face. He felt a slight tug on the line and quickly began to reel the fish in. It was a small fish, barely big enough to support one person, but it would do. He quickly killed the fish and set it in the bag beside him. Already he had caught four more fish, this one now being his fifth fish. Quen cast his line out once more and lay back in the boat, pulling his straw hat down once more.

Suddenly, without any warning, a huge blast sounded out across the lake. Quen, who had started to drift off, woke suddenly, flailing about as though he was being attack. The small boat tipped over and spilled the young man and the fish into the lake. Quen spluttered when his head broke the lake’s surface. The bag of fish floated next to him as well as the boat with one oar still attached. The other oar had already sunk along with his fishing pole. It wouldn’t be wise for him to dive after either item. He quickly grabbed the bag of fish before it began to sink and flipped the boat over.

He must have looked very awkward trying to get back into his boat. His clothes were completely soaked through, weighing him down quite a bit, but he somehow managed to wiggle his way out of the water. Cursing, Quen quickly checked the bag of fish to make sure all five were still there…there were only three. Quen turned to look in the direction the loud bang had come from. No smoke or anything came from the large city of Caritus, then again, he couldn’t see that much. Caritus was merely a speck on the horizon. The only reason he knew it was there was because of the maps he sometimes read.

Quen let out a heavy sigh as he picked up his one oar and began rowing to shore. It had taken him an hour to get to his location from Lapideus city with tow oars. It would take at least an extra half hour for him to get back with only one. Quen fixed the straw cap on his head and began to slow process of rowing.

It took him two hours to get back to shore. The wind was against him the whole way back, causing him to strain even harder to row the boat. He had planned on staying out on the lake at least until the winds shifted but without a pole there was no reason to. Quen pulled the small craft onto shore and tied it up along the dock. He paid the dock master for the missing oar and apologized profusely. The old man merely grunted and shooed him off.

Quen continued about his day as usual. He picked up some supplies at the market and even bought a few extra fish just in case his three would not be enough. Every once in a while he would hear people talking about the blast that had come from Caritus and that scouts had gone out to check. Quen wanted to listen and to ask about what had happened, but he had more pressing matters to attend to.

The streets of the pleasure district were crowded today. Quen kept his money and his goods close to his body just in case some street urchin tried to pick pocket him. It had happened multiple times, but he always caught the child. Quen felt sorry for the children living in the pleasant district who were forced to pick pocket. He and his siblings used to do it as well. Quen wouldn’t have been surprised if his younger brothers or sisters had tried to pick pocket him before. Quen made sure nobody was around as he dropped off the fish and the extra supplies from his shopping trip. He then knocked on the door and ran to the neighboring alley way.

He waited out there for an hour, but still no one came to claim the fish. Puzzled, Quen left the slums of the pleasure district and headed back toward the wealthier side of the city. He was growing more curious by the minute about what the bang was. He had heard that the demons had begun to invade the human side of the world. Perhaps they had attacked Caritus? ‘No,’ he thought as he neared the dojo, ‘we would have heard about that by now’.

He bowed deeply to Danosia as she exited the dojo and gave her a cheeky smile. He stepped into the dojo and made sure to remove his still wet shoes. Then again, most of his clothes were still wet. He bowed deeply to Loreitia from the entrance before stepping toward her. “Mistress, have you heard about Caritus?” he asked, hoping she knew something.

Danosia tutted at Quen's wet clothes, giving him a look that clearly said he was to change into decent wear as soon as possible. Having the young man around was like having a second son; she had looked after him since he was a boisterous young boy, begging to be a student at the dojo. "I hope fishing went well, dear." She murmured as she walked away to the main house to begin dinner.

Loreitia turned as the door opened again, this time admitting a student. He was the only one she would have expected today, namely because he all but lived with her family. The "guest" room had become his when he would stay the night.

As Quen bowed, Loreitia gave a shorter bow in return, her acceptance of his respect as a student to a teacher. "I have not, but I suspected the strange happening came from that city." The tall woman said. She appeared to be thinking as she fell silent, drinking from the glass her mother left behind.

"I heard messengers were sent to discover the truth of the occurrence. We will have more news when they return." Her sharp eyes turned to her student, looking over his wet clothes with a raised brow. "What do you know? You have been in more places than I today."

She chugged the rest of the water quickly and grabbed her over top. "Come, tell me while you get dry clothes. I will not have lake water encouraging mold on the dojo floors."

Quen nodded and looked down. He was dripping water all over the dojo's hardwood floors. He sheepishly lifted up his pant legs and removed his shoes, sticking them right outside the doorway. He then removed most of his outerwear so that he wasn't so soaking wet. Now, dressed only in his white frock and trousers, Quen headed up toward his room with Loreitia following close behind.

"I didn't see much...I was a bit...distracted when it happened," Quen said, not wanting to admit that he had been asleep. "But there was a huge blast that came from Caritus...but the weird thing was...there was no smoke, nothing." Quen entered his room and closed the door before Loreitia could come in.

"Sorry Mistress, boys only," he said with a laugh. He began to dry himself off and then changed into clean clothes. When he was finished he opened the door and stood in front of Loreitia. He leaned against the doorway and looked up at her with a puzzled look on his face. "The odd thing is...I swear that right before the blast I saw a bright light pass over me while I was...sleeping..." he shuffled his feet slightly. He didn't like his teacher knowing he had been sleeping on his day off. He knew that he was allowed to do what he wanted with his day...but it still seemed odd.

He looked at her suddenly and straightened himself. "Mistress, if you don't mind me asking...do you think this has something to do with your...ability?" he asked. He didn't like admitting that he knew her secret. They had never discussed it openly, but he had been around her for far too long to not know.