LEGEND OF THE MONK: book one

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                                                         CHAPTER 2

                                                       NIGHTMARES

The rest of the day went on almost uneventful, other than the focused life of a monk. Master Dei Son was the weapon master of the monastery. He trained all the students in there weapon forms, and when they reached his advanced class, he would allow them to choose the weapon they wished to master. Master Lie and master Poe trained the students in their unarmed combat. Each day the students went from master to master learning the secrets of the martial arts.

This was Yotto's favorite part of the day. Most days he would  totally consume himself into learning and trying to become the best fighter he could. Yotto would sit in the front roll when master Poe would be demonstrating throws or joint locks, even if he new the moves well, just to see if he could improve. Yotto couldn't count how many times he volunteered for master Dei Son beat him down in weapons class just because master Dei Son always showed the best technique. Yotto always had a discipline and drive that surpassed other monks, even at a young age, Yotto pushed himself to be better. On this day however, the blond monk's mind was a bit distant. He kept running the days events through his head, the meeting with master Poe on the ledge, the words he spoke, and the open threat from JoNeek. All of it was causing a haze to cloud his day.

The day was coming to an end when the orange sun dipped behind the western sky. Some students went to the bath house to wash off the filth of the day, while others simply dropped , exhausted from the days rigorous training. Yotto decided to wash up in his room and catch a bath the next morning. Heading to his room he caught a hateful glare from JoNeek standing around a group of his followers. Yotto still didn't understand why JoNeek and the others hated him so much. Was he really so different? What had he done that wronged them so? A million thoughts ran through his head as he made his way to his room, and none of them very relaxing.

Yotto's room was simple and plain. There was a bedroll on the floor and three shelves  on the wall holding his clothes. A small table sat in the corner and one bowl sitting atop of it. He grabbed to bowl and with a sigh, left to get some water. After he washed up he let down his braid, letting his golden hair fall around his back and shoulders. He started a series of Kata, slow calculated movements of some of the most common attacks. He, as well as the other monks, did these Kata to be more prepared for any attack an opponet may use. Yotto did these every night to develop muscle memory, so he could react defensively and offensively at the same time.

Yotto stretched out on his cozy bedroll and folded his fingers behind his head. With a deep sigh he tried to clear his mind so he could sleep, but to no prevail. He thought about his up and coming fight, that was all that was on his mind latley. He had just turned eighteen and JoNeek was three years his senior. JoNeek had defended his title for the last two years , and the last challenger was left seriously injured. Was this even a good idea? What was he trying to prove? Yotto wasn,t afraid of the fight, quite the oposent. He wanted to show JoNeek, and the others, how foolish and over confident the really were. Yotto was more worried about what was going to happen after the outcome. If JoNeek won then little would change, but if Yotto won.....

Yotto let his thoughts linger as he drifted off to sleep, wondering what the next day would hold.....

As Yotto drifted off to sleep he dreamed a dream that felt more like a memory. Although he had never had dream or seen the people before, he couldn,t deny the resemblance the shared.

Yotto stood in a room he had never seen before. The walls were stone, and worked heavily in carvings, beautiful , but nothing the monk was use to. The floor was a polished marble, deep green in color, and the large wooden door looked like it was put together with a steel frame, with a huge metal beam securing the door from the outside.

In the room stood an armored soldier with golden hair, pacing with a look of worry stamped  across his face. There was a woman there, her long flowing brown hair nearly touched the ground from her seated position. She held an infant, gently bouncing in her arms, with the same look of worry in her piercing blue eyes. Yotto tried to speak to them, but it was like he wasn't even there. The couple pad him no mind. It was like they couldn't see him even though he was no more than ten feet away. Yotto had no choice but to simply watch to see how this dream played out.

The blond soldier was speaking to the woman frantically, but Yotto couldn't hear a word. He could see tears in the young mothers eyes, and that was when a young girl, barely a woman, burst through the side door.She was frantic with fear in her eyes, pointing at the locked door. Yotto strained his ears but still heard nothing. The mother stood up, thrusting the baby into the young girls hands and pushed her to the side door. The soldier unsheathed his sword and took his place in front of the door. The girl pulled to baby close, and ran though the side door just as the locked door burst open. The soldier, the woman, even Yotto turned to meet the intruders head on.

The blond soldier was the first thing the intruders met. As the men flooded the room the blond worrier put his blade to work. His first cut was a diagonal slash that cleaved the man from collarbone to hip bone. He never slowed, reversing his cut to slice open the mid-section of the next man. The soldier stepped into his next attack, attempting to bury his sword into the third mans chest, but the third man was ready, and deflected his sword out wide. The man tried to gain an advantage by stepping to his left and bringing his axe down in a vicious chop. The blond worrier was the better fighter and anticipated the attack. As the axe made its decent, He stepped to his left and the axe wielder hit nothing but air.The soldier brought his sword down across his hands, effectively taking them off at the wrists.The soldier quickly changed directions, slashing up, he caught the man under the chin, taking his head from his shoulders. In a matter of seconds the blond worrier had sent three intruders to there graves, but the battle was far from over though and Yotto could see more intruders rushing in. Yotto couldn't move. It was like his feet were stuck to the ground. He couldn't jump, take a step, nothing. All the young monk could do is watch the horror unfold.

The blond worrier fell many more men in the next few minutes, but Yotto was forced to watch as a wicked sword drove through the soldiers spine and out his chest. The young woman let out a scream that couldn't be heard, and Yotto's heart felt for her. What the woman did next surprised even him. With tears in her eyes, she pointed a slender finger tward the door and a fire ball sprang from her hand. The ball of fire exploded on the chest of her lovers killer and the whole room was engulfed in flames.

Now Yotto could hear! He heard the roar of the fire all around him. He heard the  screams of the dying men. He could feel the heat off the fire and smell the mens burning flesh. As the heat and the  screams became unbearable, Yotto sat up from his bed. With his heart racing, his forehead soaked in sweat, and panting uncontrollably. Yotto had no idea what he just experienced, and yet he could still smell smoke and burned flesh.