Spirit of the Ashes: A Nyssara story

Chapter 15

Okay so this song doesn't really have anything to do with the chapter, but I couldn't stop listening to it while I was writing XD. (song start's at 0.15)

Sara's POV

I smile at her and blush. But before I can answer, a knock comes from the door. Quickly, I run over to the door and open it.

A man dressed in the black uniform looks at me. "Taer-al-Sahfer?" I nod.

"Follow me." He turns and swiftly starts down the hallway. I glance back at Nyssa one last time before following him.

He brings me to a part of the compound I had never been in before and opens the door. I survey the room, expecting to see another training room, but I am instead met with an unusual sight.

Colorful mat lay scattered around the floor, one wall is entirely covered with a trickling waterfall. Weird looking statues sit on an elevated portion of the room. A couple people sit cross-legged on the mats. I look around for the man who lead me here, but he is nowhere to be found.

Carefully, I walk into the room. Other then the waterfall, the room is completely silent. I walk over to a man who appears to be in his late 40's and tap him on the shoulder. Instead of opening his eyes like I hoped, he remains completely still; as though I never bothered him.

"Weird." I mutter to myself as I tap him again.

"He will not acknowledge you."

I look around but can't see where the voice is coming from. "W-who are you?" I take a minutes to even out my voice like Nyssa taught me, "Where are you?"

"Here." The voice seems to be coming from the statues, so I walk over. As I examine them closely, I realize their not statues at all.

Fear courses through me and I quickly back away. A man, who I had originally thought to be a statue, stands up. His skin is wrinkled and looks as though it had been drained off all color. He has a long curly beard and cold black eyes.

"Hi, I'm Sara" I smile at him, trying to remember what Nyssa had taught me about league manners. "It's nice to meet you." I incline my head slightly.

He just grunts and walks around me, occasionally prodding me with his walking stick. I try not to flinch as his stares burn into my back.

Once he come back around he grumbled something under her breath before looking at me, "I'm the Sensei, and apparently I'm going to be teaching you meditation."

"Um, okay." This must be my first lesson without Nyssa. I want to shrink away when the man gets closer to me, his breath stinks.

"Follow me." He mumbles something about Ra's and brings me to a mat in the back of the room. "Sit."

I do and he positions himself behind me. "Close your eyes." I follow his instructions. "Now take deep breaths and clear your mind of everything."

Everything? How the heck am I supposed to do that?

I take a couple deep breaths but can't seem to empty my head. He notices and narrows his eyes. "Count your breaths."

I sigh but start counting silently. After a couple minutes I lose track and start over. I can feel Sensei watching me unflinchingly.

After a while, I stop counting. Nothing comes rushing at me, instead it feels as though I'm floating. Darkness engulfs me as I try to look around. For once I don't feel scared or weak, I'm content.