"Can't seem to
work on those landings, eh?" Yamato's amused voice said.
"Shut up," the
woman's cross voice said and there was the sound of loud smack and Yamato's
yelp of pain. Davis saw both of them standing nearby, beaming at him (though
Yamato had a slightly red hand shaped mark on his cheek).
"You did it!" the
woman said proudly. "I see you have much courage and friendship within you now.
Come with me." She turned around, along with Yamato, and walked briskly toward
the lake. Davis quickly gathered his possessions and followed them. They soon
came to a large mound and the woman clapped twice. It convulsed, and then
opened into a doorway. Yamato and the woman stepped inside, Davis hurriedly
following them. It was a dark passage, with several torches on the walls. After
some time, they reached a courtyard. A group of students were sparring
underneath the starry sky. They all stopped and bowed to the woman as she
approached.
"Carry on," she said and they did. The small group came to
another building and went inside.
"Sora!" a voice
called out. A tall man with messy brown hair and kind brown eyes ran up to
them. He was wearing a simple green tunic and cloak. A pair of round goggles
was on his head.
"Where were you?"
he said a bit sharply. "I thought that you and Yamato were going on a short
scouting mission."
"We were," Sora
said. "But I found a new student."
She gently clapped
Davis on the shoulder. The man looked Davis over with searching eyes. But then
his face broke into a smile.
"Hello," he said,
offering a hand. "My name is Taichi."
"Nice to meet
you," Davis said, shaking the hand. He was mostly in awe of the goggles.
"Another goggle
head like you, Tai," Yamato grinned. Taichi just groaned and threw a
half-hearted punch, which Yamato ducked.
"The first thing
to do is to get you properly outfitted," Sora said, looking at Davis.
"Yes, sir-ma'am-
whatever," Davis said.
"Just call her
sensei," Yamato whispered to him.
"Oh, yes, sensei,"
Davis said. Sora just smiled at him, and beckoned to follow her. He followed
her through a number of passages as she instructed him. "You will be taught
hand-to-hand fighting, archery, fencing, meditation, scouting, military
tactics, weaponry, chivalry, philosophy, academics, and magic."
"Magic?" Davis
said.
"Yes."
"But I thought
only mages could use magic."
"True, but the
magic taught here can be used by anyone, mostly battle and healing magic."
"Oh."
"You will be
trained for several years, depending on how fast you learn. As you learn, you
will be upgraded into different levels. Finally after your training is
finished, you will have a year to do a special mission to prove that you are
capable of being a warrior."
"What kind of
mission?"
"That will be
revealed to you later."
They soon reached
a door, on which Sora knocked.
