Pyro of the Craven

Chapter-11: A Splendid Shinwa

A face... A face of a boy with coldly calculating brown eyes and ragged, dark hair that likely hadn't been washed in months. The eyes were penetrating, remorseless, and uncaring, in a callous face adorned with a scar on the cheek. Ramaraju Volimiri thought he was dreaming, but the face did not care. Sleep could not keep it out; it bared itself whenever it chose, dominating the forefront of Ramaraju's mind as surely as if the face was right there in front of him.

A bump in the road dispersed the image as Ramaraju was jerked awake. He sighed; it had taken so long to get to sleep. Instinctively, he attempted to roll over out of bed, but was bluntly reminded that he was, in fact sitting on the uncomfortable wooden seat of a rickety wagon rolling along a turbulent, dusty road, just like he had been for the past five days. The sun shone down boldly, but a strong breeze blew across the expansive plain, sending waves frolicking through the long grass and keeping the sun's heat at bay. He looked behind him to make sure that his luggage was still present in the back of the cart; thankfully, it was still packed in among the various trade goods. You could never be too careful on these bumpy roads.

Ramaraju looked over at the person holding the reins of the two horses pulling the cart. The person held himself regally on the little cart as if it were a royal carriage. He was none other than Zerak. Zerak was having a mission in another city. Ramaraju completed his second-grade and was having his summer break. He wanted to train with Zerak for a long time and accompanied him for the same reason.

Zerak saw him awake and, anticipating the question on Ramaraju's lips, commented, "We're almost home." After a moment, he added, "How are you?" "The face is still there. I've been trying the calming exercises you showed me, but it's still there. It won't... leave me alone." His voice wavered as he said this last part. Zerak was silent for a moment, his ears twitching as he considered. Finally, he spoke, choosing his words carefully.

"I understand you very well, and believe me, she would not want you to live a life saturated with sorrow. The only advice I can give is that you should not try to hide from the face; I suspect you would only dig yourself deeper into a hole that you will one day find impossible to emerge from. Perhaps you should learn to confront it, to meet its gaze, and maybe then it will be driven away... but realize, Ramaraju, that only you will be able to learn how to heal from what has happened. I will give you whatever help I can, though." A reassuring smile punctuated Zerak's words.

Ramaraju felt a small smile spread across his own face. The fear, sorrow and pain were still there, but somehow Zerak seemed to impart a strength to Ramaraju that lessened the intensity of the feelings.

"I think I'll go by myself from here on. Thank you for everything, Brother Zerak. I've learned a lot during this training." Zerak smiled at this, then abruptly drew the horses to a halt and turned his full attention to Ramaraju.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"One more thing, Ram. I know you've progressed so much throughout this training. You may have awakened your Odic-Force, but be very cautious about using it. Don't do anything reckless. You are the Captain of NES now. Let nothing affect your decisions. The path from here on out is very tough. Be prepared for every challenge you will be facing."

"I will do my best."

"Also, would you mind holding onto this?" Zerak said as he held out his palm with a dagger.

"What is this?"

"This is the Spineripper. It is one of the unique daggers that we Ryoshi use. The Spineripper increases your attack speed by around 20% and can easily break through the target's defenses. Also, it has some exceptional properties as well. It can enhance the damage inflicted on your opponent by up to 200%, if you are a seasoned user. I guess that's pretty much of it."