The Weaponsmaster

Chapter 25

Drea was taken through the city to get to the training area after she changed back into a brand new Kaienshi uniform. All she could do was gawk and stare at everything around her. They were in a forest, but it was more industrialized with the wooded buildings dotted in a seemingly random pattern. Some looked older and some newer, but they exuded the feeling of history. Some of them stayed brown like the bark, but others were white or gray with a blue or green roof. It left Drea wondering if they’d built all this themselves. It had certainly advanced since she had been in Korena’s body.

They walked with the two girls in the front and the two guys in the back. Drea was stuck in the center by herself. She felt alone. Danny’s actions left her wondering if they were still friends, but she knew she couldn’t let it distract her from her training.  

They arrived at the training area in about ten minutes, which was an underground room the size of an Olympic swimming pool. The ceiling, walls, and floor were all gray. A stairwell led them into the darkness until someone hit a light switch on the side of the wall, igniting small, round lights at regular intervals.

“It’s nice that you’ve finally come,” said a strong female voice. She walked down from another set of stairs off to the left and stood in front of them, spewing confidence and leadership. This woman must’ve been the ruler of Koracan.

Drea noticed that her four escorts had kneeled behind her, but she didn’t feel a need to do the same. Danny and the others hadn’t told her anything about this woman, but it was obvious she was in charge. Drea stood tall as this woman walked toward her, a stern expression on her face.

“Why haven’t you kneeled?” It wasn’t an accusation, but an honest question.

“I see no reason to kneel to someone whom I have no knowledge of.” Drea straightened her back and looked the woman in the eyes.  

The woman raised an eyebrow. “You’re an interesting one. Crafty with your words.” The woman stood next to Drea to address the four others: “Why haven’t you told her about me?”

They all hesitated, so she continued, “I received a report that the Lori now have all the artifacts, but you shouldn’t have taken her here without my permission. Exactly how much of her situation have you really told her?”

The four of them looked away and hesitated again. It was clear that none of them could respond. Shena looked up to try and answer, but the woman cut her off. “I will do this myself.”

Quicker than Drea could see, the woman reached out and grabbed her face, covering it with her hand. Drea could see through the slots in her fingers for about a second before her vision changed again. It had been a while since her last vision, but the woman had caused this one. She could feel her body fall to the ground limply. It must’ve looked like she was dead. 

Drea eyes remained open this time, but she still couldn’t see out of them. She was aware of her entire body, but her other senses had been taken from her. She could only see blackness. 

Images and information began to pour into her mind incessantly, jumbling themselves together in a mush. S- stop! She yelled, but nothing happened. There was no response, and when she realized they weren’t stopping, she tried to calm down and absorb it in.

It slowed down gradually, giving Drea the chance to actually make sense of it. She saw the woman who gave her the vision and heard a voice say “Wren.” That must’ve been her name. Judging from the images, Wren became the leader of the Kaienshi many years ago when her parents passed. She was known for her immense power and leadership.

That’s when Drea saw images of Koracan. It was where they trained all the Kaienshi. She could see all the former Weaponsmasters and their training there. It seeped into her mind and burrowed into her skull. She instantly knew how they trained and what she would need to do to be even stronger than them.