[i]Previously in Broken Honor…[/i] Rysko held her hand tightly and glanced around, panicked. “A fog cloud… We need to get out of here, Arte, come on!” He dragged her forward again, running towards the shadow of the school looming through the gray. As they ran inside, lightning arced behind them and struck the door frame, barely missing them. Jain’s voice rang out through the fog as they jumped with fright. “Come on, little ones, I won’t miss a second time!” Rysko and Arte ran inside, terrified for their lives as they heard the crackling footsteps of the crazed man behind them, threatening them with his lightning arcing over their heads. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The outside world quieted as the two children fled into the narrow halls of their academy. Jain’s laughter faded behind them, and not a single soul was in sight. They tried their best to walk the halls silently, remaining in stealth. Arte pulled Rysko into an empty classroom and closed the door, backing up slightly. “We should be safe here… for now….” Rysko bent over, putting his hands on his knees, trying to calm himself down. “What is happening right now…? We were living peacefully ten minutes ago, and now, everything has fallen apart!” He was breathing rapidly, almost hyperventilating. Arte walked over to him and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Hey… It’s going to be alright. We’ll get out of here and warn the village. Have hope, Rysko.” Arte hesitatingly wrapped Rysko in a quick hug before stepping back, a reassuring smile on her face. The encouraging words and the hug were enough to make Rysko calm down and stand up, thinking rationally again. “Hold on… I know a way out of here!” He thought about their past and exploring the village as kids, and he remembered the side entrances of the academy, rarely used because of the courtyard in front of the main entrance. He took Arte’s hand again and dashed to the door, but before they could open it, it opened on its own. Rather, there was a man standing behind it who had opened it. “Hello, children. I seem to have gotten lost.” Jain stepped forward, grinning maliciously. His hands crackled with lightning as Rysko and Arte backed up against the opposite wall. Arte looked around and noticed a few katanas against the back wall, far to their right. She glanced at Rysko and pulled him along, running as fast as she possibly could. The pair picked up a katana each and faced Jain, holding them up in a defensive stance. Jain chuckled softly, still grinning. “You kids just don’t learn….” He raised a fist, crackling with lightning, and brought it crashing down, sending a lightning bolt into the floor, blasting toward the pair of students. “Let me teach you, then!” Rysko pushed Arte to the side and took the lightning bolt himself, crying out in pain as the electricity arced all over him. He dropped to one knee. Arte quickly recovered and rushed over, her hand glowing with a pure light as she used it to pull him up. “Stand, Rysko! We fight together!” Rysko nodded and grasped her arm, her healing affinity washing over him and rejuvenating him. He turned toward Jain and stepped forward, bringing his sword down in a slash, sending forth a wave of bright red flames at Jain. He dashed forward, following it while he held out his katana to his side. Jain’s eyes widened as the wave of heat flew towards him. He blasted a cone of lightning at it to deflect it,however, the lightning sailed right through the wave of flames and dissipated as it struck nothing, not even little Rysko. “What… What is this?!” Jain growled in anger and held up his hand, lightning racing up and down his arm. “Show yourself, child!” As if in response, the air next to Jain shimmered, and Rysko stepped through it, becoming visible again, seemingly stepping through an interdimensional portal. He smiled and slashed his katana at Jain’s midsection, but was blocked by Jain’s charged gauntlet. Lightning bolted along the katana into Rysko’s hands. He staggered back, crying out in unimaginable pain. Arte dashed forward and picked Rysko back up again. The pair of them took a ready stance together, back to back, facing Jain. “Oh -blam!- -blam!-, and the weaklings pair up!” Jain clenched both of his fists, lightning charging in them again. He punched forward, and two blasts of lightning shot out at the pair. Rysko turned and tackled Arte to the ground, the lightning flying over their heads with a thunder like artillery. The pair of trainees stood to their feet and rushed Jain, swinging their katanas together in a combined cross slash, standing shoulder to shoulder. Jain caught each of the blades with his metal gauntlets, and let out a low chuckle. “Impressive, children! I can see why Cmirg wants you for-” He shook his head. “Now, if I told you, that would spoil the surprise, wouldn’t it?” He laughed and threw the blades back, his gauntlets crackling with lightning. Rysko’s eyes widened as he recognized the oncoming attack, then reacted almost by instinct. He recognized this power guiding his hands - his ability was kicking in. He dropped his katana and dived forward, tackling the unprepared Jain to the ground. Arte took a moment longer, but she recovered gracefully and smacked Jain on his temple with the flat of her blade, rendering him unconscious. The pair of trainees panted heavily as all went quiet, including the duels outside, the evening sun finally setting lazily below the horizon and blanketing the village in torch-lit darkness. Rysko stood up and brushed himself off, starting for the door. Arte hesitated a moment, then called after him quietly, “Rysko! What are you doing?” He turned around with a grim look on his face, the danger of his situation finally striking him. “We need to warn the village. They obviously won’t stop until they get all the trainees… For one reason or another.” Arte stammered, then nodded, following him after the two of them fastened their new katanas to their belts, now with weapons should they need to defend themselves. [quote] Ronin looked up in the dark rain, clambering over the final ledge and standing before a razed mountaintop. The grass was blackened, the wind was sharp, and the rain pounded ever on. Jade and Mirage were soon to follow. Mirage let out a small gasp upon seeing what Ronin had dreaded seeing again: Upon the mountaintop sat abandoned ruins of a village, once grandiose and prosperous. Wooden buildings were half-destroyed, having been burned away. Skeletons of the inhabitants still peppered the roads and some of the houses, hiding away in corners and cradling smaller skeletons as if holding a child close in their final moments. None of the houses seemed to survive the flames - all of them were blackened and burned away, the wood warped from the lack of attention and being exposed to the elements. At one end of the village was a grand hall, still standing tall, but its emptiness cast a shadow on its former glory. At the other end of the village was a large field, with only a few stones and dummies being the only remnants left of the academy where trainees would spend their childhood. Ronin only glanced at the ruins of the academy, before proceeding inside the grand hall, Mirage and Jade silently following behind him… [/quote]