Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 29

Luna tried to stay calm, but the buzzing under her skin was too much to bear. It wasn't until nightfall that she really began to get excited. Standing in the training room in the dark uniform, shivers of responsibility and fear shook through her, leaving her grip on her sword unsteady and unsure. The uniform, though not physically heavy, held the weight of the world between its threading.

"Today, we will move towards more complex sword techniques. I will teach you a sequence of moves, and you will repeat them. When you master them, we can move on. Understand?" Grant said as he stood at the front of the Training Room.

"First thing is learning to draw it from its sheath," Cleo continued. "Slowly. Speed will come with time and training."

Luna stood in a line with her friends, gripping her sword as Cleo droned on. As Grant demonstrated how to use the sword, Luna copied his motions. Closing her eyes, she swung the sword in front of her until it became muscle memory.

Upward block, front kick. Slice down, slash across. Eye-throat strike. Slash across, round kick. She let the motions engrain themselves into her mind, let them live within her body. Slice forward, stab. Hop back, double side kick. She practiced the sequence until sweat was running down her body in beads, and even heaving breaths couldn't bring her enough air. Eye-throat strike, slice down, slash across, spin hook kick. Three more strikes, and a butterfly kick.

She looked around the room, the others red-faced and puffing. The sword felt heavy in her hands with her muscles burning. She had over extended the ones in her legs again.

The others were starting to take a break, sitting down against the back wall and drinking cool water from paper cups. The only thing on Luna's mind was getting the motions perfect, then moving on. The faster training was over, the faster it would all end. Someone was calling her name, but she could hardly hear it. She closed her eyes, blocking out everything around her. Now it was only her, the sword, and her exhausted body.

Luna didn't know how much time had passed, how long she had stood in the center of the room on her own before Lloyd had come up behind her. She was leaning over, desperately trying to bring air into her lungs. "Luna," he put a hand on her shoulder. "Luna, you need to take a break."

She nodded, letting him lead her over to the Conference Room. They all sat down, drinking their water and trying to catch their breath. A dull throbbing pain was growing in the back of her skull, and a dizziness washed over her.

☆★☆

The lightheaded feeling Razaia had felt throughout the entire morning had only worsened, and now she was starting to sway on her feet, unable to hold herself upright. They were back in the Training Room, about to learn a few new drills.

Colin was practically holding her up while she protested, pushing away water and the suggestion to sit down. His hands were already hovering behind her before her eyes closed.

She took a deep breath as her eyes opened, Colin's face blocking out the lights from the ceiling as a wave of ice washed across her, the Shadow Realm slipping through her fingers. "You're okay," he muttered, helping her to her feet. She steadied herself against him, feeling him slip from her grasp.

As Colin stood up, a dizziness overcame him, the world blurring and seeming to shake, the feeling that he was falling through the floor drifting down to his feet. He knelt back down, setting his head on his knee. His vision darkened until all sound left his ears.

When he opened his eyes, he couldn't see. He blinked a few times, the light beneath his feet taking the form of his body. The hallway of the Shadow Realm was darker than anything he had seen before. As he stood in the hallway, he felt a tug towards the center. He could feel each door as he passed them, until he stopped at the center, stepping up to his door. He placed his hands out in front of him. He expected the door to be cool or metallic, but he couldn't feel it beneath his fingers. When he pushed on it, it opened, allowing him to step out of the Shadow Realm.

When he opened his eyes, he was lying against the cool foam floor, Razaia's hand on his face. "What the hell..." he muttered, letting her help pull him to his feet. He held a hand to his head, groaning to himself. "Ouch."

"Nice work everyone," Grant commented as he stepped back into the room. "Just a bit more time and you'll be all set for the meeting with the other factions of the DoSD in a month."

They groaned in response. "What else is there to learn?" Lloyd whined.

"For starters," he looked pointedly at him. "You need to work on your stances. And gripping your sword tightly enough to stop it from shaking. And control your breathing when striking, breath out as you execute the motion, not sporadically in between. And don't close your eyes when the sword passes in front of your face. It's bad form. Not to mention that you haven't practiced sparring one another yet."

Lloyd scoffed.

"Anyone else want a critique?" Grant looked around the room. "Just as I thought. Back to practicing," he sat back down on the floor in the front of the room, studying the group as they picked up their swords.

☆★☆

Luna hung upside down from the rafters, her knees hooked over the wood. At Harpers signal, she slid off, unfurling her wings and coming to a hover before she hit the floor. She set her feet down to the foam, her wings folding against her back before disappearing back to the nothing they had appeared from.

Harper giggled as she clapped. Luna gave a playful curtsy, walking up to stand in Harper's place. "Your turn," Luna said with a light sing-song to her tone.

Harper rolled her eyes. "Just make sure I don't fall." Harper fluttered up to the rafters, landing on top of the closest one. "Do I have to do it upside down?" She called down.

Luna laughed in response. "Only if you want to!"

"That's a definite no," Harper muttered. She stared at the floor, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before letting herself fall. She stretched out her wings, forcing the air around her to keep her suspended in the air before she could hit the floor. She opened her eyes, letting her feet touch the floor. "There, how was that?" She asked, a proud smile on her face.

Luna nodded, returning the smile. "You did it!"

"I guess so!" Harper turned to face Grant. "We've been training for almost three months now, how much longer is this going to go on for?"

He paused, stopping to think for a moment. "I think you're just about ready. After your meeting with the DoSD tomorrow, I think you'll be all set for your first mission."

Harper seemed to light up. "Our first mission?" Her tone was hopeful.

"Yes," he responded, walking towards the exit. "Alright well," Grant started to say. "That's enough for today. You've got the motions down, you can fly, and you've all seen the Shadow Realm. I have taught you what I can, and it is up to you to continue to practice."

"Get some sleep tonight," Cleo jumped in. "Tomorrow is a very big day."