White Strings

Episode 8 - Basics

The sun was not up and the air was cold, but Silk sweated like she never had before. Who knew standing alone could be so tiresome, she thought, but she had to keep going. Kaon circled around her, giving her corrections and orders. Silk was adamant to prove she could do anything he said, so she did her best not to show how tired she already was.

"Want to take a rest?" Kaon asked.

"No," Silk yelped, yearning for a break.

"Very nice, because we haven't even started."

Kaon clearly enjoyed Silk's suffering, she was sure of it. She wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face, she had to get better. The training was repetitive, and Silk was reminded of Ash almost immediately. Kaon taught her the same stance Ash had taught her before, and Silk memories of that time kept haunting her for the whole training session. Was he from the temple? This temple?

Silk's muscles felt as if they were made of goo, barely holding their own weight. But Kaon didn't give her rest, he kept correcting her stance that was worsening the longer she had to stay in it. The sun had risen but Silk had not swung anything yet, and she felt her core burning from exhaustion.

"Tired?" Kaon asked as Silk couldn't take it anymore and fell to her knees.

"No," Silk could barely reply.

Kaon looked at Silk's sweaty face. Her hair was stuck to her skin, and her complexion looked even paler than before. Training was always tough, it was meant to be tough. It was meant to push the boundaries of one's physical and spiritual levels. Silk was clearly very behind, but if she would keep up with the mentality she persistently kept on her feet, she would be ahead in no time.

"Get up then," Kaon ordered.

Silk scraped herself from the ground and got back to the stance she fell from. She never expected that the first lesson would consist of just changing stances, and she didn't know it would be this tiring. But she promised to get better, so she would.

Kaon was merciless, she found, but he made sure she was alright. He got her to drink enough water, and pretended like he didn't see how exhausted she was. She lost her balance a couple of times, and he managed to catch her before she'd fall, holding her for a few moments to let her rest before he'd return her to her stance again.

"It will get easier once your body gets into shape," Kaon encouraged her once he finally called a break. "You seem to learn fast, so let's hope your body will follow suit."

"Do kids do this?" Silk asked, breathless.

"Yes, of course. That's the basic training, remember?"

Ash returned to her mind again. Did he go through this training as well? Was he an heir to a prestigious bloodline that was sent to the temple to finish trials? What bloodline was he from?

"Do people die in the missions they are sent to?" Silk asked.

"Sometimes, if they go overboard or if something goes wrong. It's quite rare though." Kaon handed Silk a water bottle and some food. "Why?"

"I think... I think I used to know someone from here, but I'm quite sure he died. I just wondered whether I could find who he was."

"The temple has a dedicated garden to those who died on duty." Kaon watched as Silk basically devoured the loaf of bread he gave her. "It has all the names and details on it. Maybe you could find him there."

"Really? Where is it?" Silk asked with her mouth full.

"I can take you there later, we have a session coming up real soon. It is the same one as yesterday, so I think we will actually do some training this time."