"Who is she?"

"And what is she doing here?"

"I think this is what Mikan and Kebe were going to tell us about before Master Kikutsu interrupted."

"Go on, wake her up, I dare you."

Jin felt herself being shaken none too gently, she opened her eyes and sat up to see three older, laughing girls flee the room.

Jin got up; the other girls had already rolled their mats away so that the floor was bare except for her. She found space in the large cupboard and shoved hers in as well.

Jin poked her head through the doorway, cautiously. She looked up at the way she had come down last night with Shiru but echoes of the girl's chatter could be heard coming from further down the stairs. Jin hurried after them but to her dismay, the corridor soon branched out into other tunnels, some leading up, others down, many just led sideways into the stone. She could no longer hear anyone, she was utterly lost. Despair threatened to overwhelm her when suddenly she heard a strange rumbling noise, as though the tunnel was caving in. She was almost knocked over as a boy blurred by. He was as shocked to see her as she was to see him and he almost slammed into the wall as he tried to stop.

He was short and stocky, and so dirty that when he swung his head to look at her little crumbs of stone and earth fell from his hair.

"What are you doing down here? Which family are you from? Nevermind that, come on! We're both late!"

He grabbed her hand and Jin suddenly found herself careering up the side of the wall, propelled by the stone. He dragged her round several hairpin corners and then so quickly that she didn't have the chance to be horrified drove them both into the solid rock. She could barely breathe as the earth squeezed around her until they burst out into the sunshine whereupon the boy let go of her and she fell to the ground.

"Kogu, Jin, you're late. Join us now."

Jin looked up to see Shiru sitting cross-legged on the grass, around him sat many others, children and adults, most looking up at her and the boy with either amusement or annoyance.

Jin sat down quickly and Kogu joined her. She wasn't sure whether she was doing it right, what ever it was that they were doing, they all just seemed to be sitting there with their eyes shut. Jin looked around with curiosity. Apart from the earth bending boy there were only two other children her own age, both boys and so alike that they must be brothers. Later they introduced themselves as Ichiro a light bender and his younger brother Takeo who could bend neither earth nor light.

Then there were another group who seemed to range in age from 13 to 15, the three girls who had woken her were sitting all together along with two other boys. In the final group she recognised the one called Aris, who had stolen her from the street. In the early morning sunlight he looked very much like Shiru but of course much younger, perhaps 18. Next to him sat another boy and a girl both about the same age.

At last a gong tolled, and everyone seemed to be finished. Around her, the people rose smoothly and began to move through martial drills. She followed along as best she could, feeling very lost and incompetent. One of the older girls sniggered when she fell over during one of the balances.

"Silence Pia!" Shiru snapped though it did not stop the shame that welled up inside Jin. '

After what seemed an age, they were finished and began to break away into groups according to their age. Jin remained with the three boys who looked at her with bold curiosity.

"I found her down in the stone passages." Said Kogu to the two others.

"She doesn't look like much." Admitted Ichiro who was the oldest of them by a year, "Who are you any way?"

Jin, annoyed with his pompous attitude spoke up, "I am Jin and you don't look like much either!"

"That's enough students!" Shiru's voice was calm and full of command.

The boys all inclined their heads, their hands over their fists, "yes Master Shiru." They intoned.

"This is Jin. She is a light bender and will be in your class from now on. You will be training with Master Tetsuya this morning so you had best hurry up and get to the training yard."

The boys' eyes widened when they heard what and who she was, and Jin stood a little taller. She followed them as they ran off across the garden and into a large wooden building.

Master Tetsuya was much younger than Master Shiru, though he wasn't a bender, he specialised in all forms of martial arts.

"Excellent, now there will be even pairs." Was all he said to Jin before he threw each of them a bamboo pole. They drilled moves all morning across the wooden floor. Jin was soon tired, her muscles aching. It was with relief that they were dismissed for breakfast which was a simple and rushed affair as the boy's explained they would be expected at their next lesson in a few minutes.

Ichiro pulled at Jin and she followed him through another hidden door through dim corridors until they arrived breathlessly in a room where Master Shiru was waiting for them along with (Jin supposed) the light benders from the other, older groups.

"Jin," Master Shiru inclined his head toward her, "this is Lota and Mira." He gestured toward a boy and a girl who knelt on the floor; they were around the age of 14 or 15. "And this is Aris who you have already met and Mikan who you haven't. They have almost mastered light bending. Almost." He added pointedly and looked sharply at the two men who were perhaps 17 or 18.

A candle was all that lit the room, and was placed in the centre of their circle.

Master Shiru spoke again, "Feel the light on your skin, I am not talking about heat, I am talking about the light filling every pore, pouring through every fibre of your clothes. Feel it flowing over you, covering you, each ray, and each beam is reflected from your body so that we all may see you. Realise this and you can use it to your advantage. Feel it as the light reflects away from you. Take hold of the light, ease it away from you, slip between the rays and disappear." As Master Shiru spoke he demonstrated, and around the room the students copied him. Jin had no problem with this as she had done it many times. Ichiro however, flickered once before he lost his grip on the light and returned to full visibility.

"Never mind, nephew, you will get it eventually."

The lesson went on, Jin soon realised how much there was to learn. Not only could a light bender manipulate external light sources to create illusions, she could also harness the energy of the sunlight that was within her that her body absorbed not just from the rays of the sun but also from digesting plants that relied on the sun to grow. She could manipulate this energy to increase her stamina, her endurance, her strength and her speed. She could summon this light from within to the outside just as she had seen Rima and Shiru do, creating light seemingly from her fingertips.

The lesson was finished far too quickly and she was led away to lunch which was a solemn occasion shared by the entire Clan it seemed at a long table in a great dining hall.

Kogu and Takeo had just had separate lessons but they rejoined Jin and Ichiro for the next class which was calligraphy, mathematics and history.

Jin was completely lost, shame filled her as she had to admit that she could not read nor write to the teacher named Master Fo, a middle aged woman who was not unkind and assured her that she would soon pick it up.

Jin followed the boys dejectedly from the schoolroom, but they did not mock her illiteracy. Instead they soon began to chat about what they hoped dinner would be and jovially tried to include Jin in their conversation.

Her first day had passed by in a blur and she found herself again in the room that she shared with the three older girls who were all in the class above. They made no effort to include her in their chatter though Jin did not mind; she was exhausted and ached all over. She unrolled her mat and was soon asleep.