Rain: A Manifesto
Militant Mind
Tanya jumped up and hugged me when I entered our room a few minutes later. She had been crying. "I am so glad you are ok," she stated with a sniffle. "What the hell happened that kept you away for a whole day? I did not think you would be gone for more than a few hours on your first mission. I asked everyone where you were. No one knew. Or at least they would not tell me."
"Shhh," I said before calmly laughing and wrapping my arms around her tightly. "Tanya, you have no idea what I have been through." I told her everything about Legov, the stranded group of students and the vampire. She was left astounded by the fact that I had to go through all of that on my first two trial missions, and in a day's worth of time, no less. But that was the rigorous testing of the Military Command Kaste in the Iga-Koga Society. And it was only the beginning.
I immediately fell asleep after speaking with Tanya. I awoke to find a note from her, stating that the Grandmaster wished to speak with me in the throne room when I awoke. It was the first time I had spoken with the grandmaster since my initial arrival at the Iga-Koga fortress. We did not discuss much. He just wanted to hear my account of what happened with the vampire, and assured me that the beast would be hunted down. He was surprised that a vampire would venture this high into the mountains. He also gave me great praise for the progress that I had made over the past years that I had been with the society and commended my decision to take the tests for the Military Command Kaste. The conversation ended with a bow, and me stating my eagerness to serve closer to his side.
When I exited the Grandmaster's chambers and stepped into the hall, I noticed something. I noticed that those who I passed by in the hallway were now looking at me differently. News of my dealings with the vampire had travelled fast throughout the fortress. Many Iga-Koga men and some women would stare my way with jealousy and admiration, even some of those who outranked me. A few of the women gazed upon me with indiscrete expressions of lust. I felt it was deserved.
It was time to enter the study chamber and research Iga-Koga history and culture. I hated being stuck reading academic scrolls. I would have never said this out loud at the time, but despite the fact that I was soaring through the ranks of the Iga-Koga Society and that they had given me a pathway to practice and master my abilities, their foundations and doctrine meant nothing to me. I was motivated to climb the ranks of the Iga-Koga society to win in battles, not to preach ancient dogmas. But I knew that I had to get a grasp on a great deal of Iga-Koga history for my tests, so I had to begin memorizing the information. Luckily, one of my friends who worked in the library named Aalto was able to help me study this information. He helped me make 'cheat sheets' to aid me in memorization.
My tests would continue. I would take as many as I could whenever they were made available. The Military Command consisted of a wide variety of mission types: the history exams, assassinations, reconnaissance, one-on-one kombat, thievery and tactical strategy were some among several others. The tactical strategy tests were my strongest performances. They usually consisted of a map with little pieces on them that had to be put into the best position possible to win a hypothetical battle. Not only had the sleepless nights of studying military strategy paid off when taking these tests, but my excellent performance showed that I also had the natural ability to plan and win a battle. The thievery missions did not come all that often, and thank The Elder Gods, because I was not very good at them. I must have nearly been caught by weapon-smiths and jewelers on every other assignment. I also would typically barely pass my Iga-Koga history exams. Chameleon would get agitated with me for my mediocrity on those tests, not because he wanted me to become some Iga-Koga historian, but because he thought I would eventually slip too far and fail one of the history tests. I never did though. Not quite.
The toughest tests to stomach were still the assassination missions. It turned my stomach to knots. Every life I took felt like more weight on my shoulders. I would see their faces in my dreams, haunting and eating away at my soul. Some of them were young. Too young. What would Secayda think? She would be ashamed of me.
However, the assassinations eventually became easier. My morale compass became wider as I killed more people. I stopped questioning what their lives were like, how old they were, if they had family or if they were indecent people or not. They were targets that I had to eliminate in order to advance. It was my destiny to have an army, to conquer and to win in war. Murder is viewed as unvirtuous, but the true immorality would have been to betray my destiny and live in weakness. I would not go as far as to say I ever enjoyed any of these assassination missions. But eventually, they just became another part of the job for me, a means to an end.
While I was rigorously testing, Tanya was quickly soaring through the ranks of the Iga-Koga society. We were not able to spend as much time together as we used to. But it was worth it. I was going to gain my own army, while Tanya slowly persuading the Iga-Koga council into considering an alliance with The Edenian Resistance. She was amazing. I was so deeply in love with her, but I was too afraid to actually say the words to her, despite the fact that we had been together for nearly four years at this point.
One evening, I was sparring with Chameleon. I could keep up with my teacher when he was moving at full speed by this point. Tanya had taught me nearly everything she knew about the Zi Ran Men style, and Chameleon had taught me plenty about counter-attacking. Chameleon and I could spar for hours without either of us getting many actual hits on the other. I was beginning to feel like a real warrior. At the end of our sparring session, Chameleon put his hand on my shoulder as we walked to the exit of the eastern raining room. "Get some rest tonight," he said. "Tomorrow at mid-day, you will take your final one-on-one kombat test, but it will not be against another acolyte. It will be against a full-fledged, kombat-ready member of the Iga-Koga Society." I looked up toward Chameleon as he opened the sliding wooden door. "Your training is complete. Use everything you have learned to pass your final tests. I have nothing left I can teach you," Chameleon said softly as he stepped out of the room and paused, waiting for me follow him out.
I was in shock. I never thought I would hear Chameleon say that he had nothing left to teach me. It felt like my training would never end. Chameleon got annoyed by my lack of speech or motion. "Well, are you coming?" He asked impatiently. I shook my head and looked back toward my trainer. "No, actually I think I am going to stay here for a while." Chameleon squinted at me in a confused manner before proceeding to slide the door closed.
"Hey, Chameleon," I exclaimed before he closed the door all the way. "Thank you. Thank you for everything." Chameleon nodded once and slammed the door all the way shut. I smiled, and turned around to observe the eastern training room one last time. I wanted to take it all in. I wanted to gaze upon the four pillars and the lantern fixture and the old stone that made up the eastern training room. I had gone through so much in that room over the past four years. The ambushes, the pain, the death threats, the near-fatal wounds, the blood. It was all worth it. It was worth learning to become an evasive and defensive fighter, it was worth learning how to counterattack and be creative with elemental abilities, it was worth the occasional smile or even reluctant laugh that I could get out of Chameleon. Despite how much I suffered in that room, I would miss it. Within its confines, I transformed from a boy into a warrior.
After I finished my nostalgic moment, I rushed back to Tanya's room to tell her that my kombat training was complete, and I was taking my final one-on-one test the next day. I barged in, making Tanya jump and let out a slight gasp. "Tanya, you're not going to believe this! Chameleon graduated me from my training. I have my last one-on-one test tomorrow, and then I only have two more tests total after that! I'm going to be an Iga-Koga member!" I ran over to the bed where she was sitting and hugged her like a small boy.
Tanya was silent for a moment but then found her words. "Rain, this is amazing. We are going to be able to form an alliance with the Edenians. They will trust the Iga-Koga if there are two of us, soaring through the ranks." Tanya leapt off the bed, and pranced over to her cabinet. "We need to be prepared for your test tomorrow."
"Oh no, I'm not going to drink before an important test again. That almost killed me last time," I said in a snarky manner, assuming Tanya was digging for the Outworld Wine.
"Quite the contrary," Tanya responded as she turned toward me with one of her spell books on display in her hands. This one looked particularly menacing. It a deep maroon in color, and contained only an orange symbol on the front cover. The symbol was a circle between two upside down horns and an oddly angled quadrilateral on top.
"No, no," I franticly muttered as I stood from the bed and shook my head back and forth. "No black magic."
Tanya rolled her eyes and sighed. "Rain, I already told you there is no such thing. Have I not made you stronger? Have I not given you anything but gifts with these spells that I have cast in your favor?"
I began to walk toward her. "Yes, you have. And I am grateful. But Tanya, you have done so much else for me. Chameleon has engraved basic fighting into my brain, and I could not have asked for a better stylistic teacher than you. That is what I am truly grateful for."
I attempted to take Tanya's hands into mine, but she broke free and gazed into my eyes with a burning wrath that I had never seen from her before. "And you think you would have gotten through your trials this swiftly, or at all if I had not used magic to strengthen you? Do not tell me what you are grateful for unless you are willing to give me full credit!" She screamed as she thrust her shoulders forward and slammed her foot on the floor.
I began to slowly walk backwards with my hands in the air. I started to uneasily stutter in confusion. "Ta… Tanya. I am not letting your alchemistic work go unrecognized. I just don't like it. It makes me feel…"
Tanya interrupted by slamming the book on the floor and stomping toward me. "Do not forget your place!" She screamed even louder with her face only a few inches from mine. "If you lose this fight tomorrow, you will lose everything that you have worked for; that we have worked for! This is not a fight against some mere student. This will be a battle to the death against a full-fledged Iga-Koga Warrior. Everything, Rain! If he wins we will lose everything! I am not willing to take that risk. I will not risk you losing your standing in the Iga-Koga, our chance at an alliance with the Edenian Resistance, I…" Tanya took a deep breath in an effort to calm down and turned her head down to stare at the floor. "I will not risk losing you," she grumbled so quietly that I could barely hear her.
The anger that Tanya had just displayed toward me was incredibly intimidating. It came out of nowhere. But this was obviously very important to her. And now I realized her anger was truly out of a place of compassion for my wellbeing. After I let her calm down for several moments, I put my hand on Tanya's chin and lifted her head so I could make eye contact with her. "Well you are not going to have to take that risk, Tanya." I leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. Her eyes began to lightly tear up. "Let's do the spell."
"Really?" Tanya asked in a captivated way.
I sighed as I put my arms around her neck. "I trust you. If you feel this is necessary, then I will do what I must."
Tanya smiled and leaned forward to kiss me. "Thank you, Rain. You will not regret this."
By the Elder Gods, I hoped she was right. Tanya and I sat on the floor. She picked up the book and turned to a page somewhere in the middle. It was written in a language completely unfamiliar to me. I did not have the nerve to ask about where the script originated. Tanya placed her finger at the top of the page and began reading out loud. Of course, I could not understand a thing she was saying. She asked for my left hand, and drew a small dagger from her garments. "This will not hurt at all," she promised before giving me a shallow cut down the middle of my palm. She then moved further down the page and began reading a different passage. The lanterns in the room began to flicker. I gasped in astonishment as I turned my head toward the shifting lights. Tanya smiled and continued reading. My hand began to feel like it had a heartbeat of its own, pulsating at an unnatural rate. Then, I began to hear a faint and reverbing whisper resonate throughout the room. The lanterns were now flickering on and off rapidly. "Tanya, what is that voice?" I asked in an urgent manner.
"Do not worry, Rain," Tanya responded softly with a confident smile. "That is your new strength. Tanya began to read again and within a few moments, the cut on my hand began to glow a bright red. I yelped in bewilderment. But I felt no pain. The glow burst into a bright and explosive light, before fading along with the flickering lights and the ominous whisper. My hand was immediately healed. I began hyperventilating. Too much had happened at once. That was by far the most excessive and frenetic of Tanya's spell castings that I had been a part of.
After letting me catch my breath, Tanya looked up at me. "How do you feel?" She asked eagerly.
"I don't know," I responded. "I don't really feel anything." But just as I said that, I began to feel a rush of adrenaline carry through my veins. My mind promptly moved to a state of euphoria. My body became a vessel of energy and desire. I felt like I could do anything.
Almost instinctually, I thrust myself forward and kissed Tanya with aggression. She was at first taken aback, but then gave in and returned my sentiment. I could not control this lustful urgency. 'Was it the spell?' I thought to myself. It did not matter. I just knew that I wanted to fully embrace Tanya.
Despite my instant passion and unnaturally high energy level, I eventually found a way to sleep that night. But I had a dream unlike any I had ever had before. It did not feel like a dream, no, it felt more like my consciousness had left my body and moved someplace else. I was floating high above a tall black tower, which had four adjoining bridges connected to the bottom. Below the bridges was nothing but rushing lava and violent flame, with countless people burning in the depths, screaming in agony. The top of the tower was engraved with the same odd emblem that was on Tanya's spell book. The emblem too became engulfed in flame, and I found myself being pulled toward it. A similar voice that I had heard during the casting of Tanya spell returned. "Another at my side… the possibilities are endless," the voice crackled. I shot up from the bed as I awoke, in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. I looked to my right and Tanya was still asleep. I put my hand on her shoulder and lightly shook her. "Tanya," I said softly.
"Mmm?" She replied with a smile as she twisted her body around to face me.
"I have to get to my test," I said as I stroked her cheek.
"Ok, I will get up," she uttered with a stretch and a yawn.
I felt strange. I walked over to the mirror in Tanya's room and whipped the sweat off of my face with a towel. I was still shivering, both from the cold and because of the all too realistic and dreadful vision I had just emerged from. I had no time to dwell on it though. Today, it was do or die, quite literally. I put on my student garbs and stretched my limbs, making sure I was completely loosened up and fully flexible. Tanya combed her hair, and put on her formal yellow dress. It was quite rare for her to wear her formal attire, but it was definitely not strange to see her wearing yellow. Tanya could not bear to go a day without donning the color in some way.
When we were ready, we exited the room and began to slowly walk down the halls, holding hands. "I'm nervous," I uttered before laughing and squeezing Tanya's hand a little tighter.
"Hey," Tanya countered as she wrapped herself around my arm and smiled reassuringly. "You are going to win. I know it."
"Well, I'm glad somebody thinks so."
"I do not think so. I just told you, I know so." We came to the entrance to the courtyard. Most of the clan was gathered in attendance. It seemed that my passing of these trials had become a big story with the Iga-Koga. This was unexpected and did not help in the way of settling my nerves. The courtyard had turned into an arena for all intents and purposes. It was there that I saw the man that must be my opponent, warming up in the central square. I knew him, or at least I knew of his reputation. His name was Li-Qin, and he was one of the Iga-Koga's most blood thirsty warriors. He was built like a Shokan, only with half the arms. But he was almost as tall and just as physically built.
"They are going to have you face Li-Qin? In a trial?" Tanya rhetorically asked as she pulled me close to her in the doorway. "End this quickly, go right for the kill. He is a manipulative fighter, and fatally dangerous in close quarters."
"I will destroy him," I muttered as I kissed Tanya.
"Rain," Tanya spoke softly as her eyes got big. "I am sorry that I was so forceful last night. I did not mean to become angry with you. I feel terrible."
"Shh." I interrupted Tanya's from apology and kissed her again. "None of that matters now. We are going to accomplish everything we deserve to, and it starts with me killing that," I said as I pointed to the arena. "I will see you shortly."
I let go of Tanya and began to walk toward the central square. "Rain!" She called when I was still only a few steps away. I stopped and turned around. "I love you!" I was no longer nervous. That was all I needed to hear.
As I stepped down the stairs and into the sunlight, the crowd cheered. Some undoubtedly cheered because they liked my story; an underprivileged Edenian refuge who quickly climbed through the ranks of a violent clan and was now close to becoming one of its military strategists. Others cheered because they wanted blood. But the roar of the crowd energized me. I waved to the audience, embracing my fame as I stepped into the square. The Grandmaster himself stepped between me and Li-Qin. My opponent and I were staring each other down. From across the square, I could see rage built up in his shaking biceps and blood vessels violently bursting across his eyes. He was the personification of a guillotine.
"Trusted members of the Iga-Koga Society!" The Grandmaster projected after finally calming down the crowd. "We are gathered here today to witness something historic. For the first time in nearly a millennia, we have a student who could potentially enter the Military Command Kaste of our great society by trial. After only four years of training and testing, the enigmatic young warrior, Rain!" The Grandmaster pointed to me and I again waived to the crowd, letting off a smile. 'Was I really the first to enter the Military Command Kaste by testing in that long?' I thought to myself. 'That is unbelievable.' I began to feel a streak of arrogance. The Grandmaster then turned to my opponent. "But standing in his way, we have one of our greatest warriors. With over 2,000 kills in battle, as well as his face on Imperial wanted posters in every town in Outworld, the insidious Li-Qin!" The crowd again let out a massive roar. The Grandmaster continued to speak, but my attention turned to Li-Qin. Our eyes were locked. I began to think about how I could beat him. He was an up close fighter, so I could keep him at a distance with water. I could trick him with misdirection and strike a lightning bolt into his spine when he commits to an attack. 'He's dead.' I thought to myself confidently.
"Use of magic or elemental abilities of any kind are completely prohibited," I heard the Grandmaster emphasize. "I'm dead," I whispered cynically. Before I could even get a chance to rethink my strategy, the Grandmaster raised his arms high in the air as his voice grew louder. "This is a battle to the death! We will witness these two prodigies of different generations defend the honor of our society!" The crowd roared the loudest it had yet, and the Grandmaster walked to the side of the square. "FIGHT!" He yelled. My first taste of Mortal Kombat had begun.
Li-Qin wasted no time. He ran at me at full speed and released a jump punch aimed at my jaw. I span out of the way and turned to face him again. He came at me once more, preparing to execute the same attack. I went to spin out of the way again, but he grabbed me and placed his arms around my neck, dragging me to the ground. I was thirty seconds into this fight, and my opponent already had me in a choke-hold. I struggled, attempting to break free. But Li-Qin was extraordinarily strong. The crowd was getting louder as oxygen was being robbed from my lungs and my throat began to wheeze and suffocate. The roar of the crowd then began to get softer. All I could hear was my own heartbeat. I could not break free no matter how much I struggled. But then, I looked way up into the crowd and saw Tanya with her eyes stretched wide open and her hands over the side of her face; panic-stricken. Upon seeing this, I managed to get just a few inches of mobility for my left forearm. I knew I had to act fast. I jammed my elbow into Li-Qin with the little bit of room that I had to strike. I could not have gotten that hard of a strike, but it was hard enough to cause him loosen his choke hold to the point where I could escape. I jumped up and took several steps backward. I could again here the roar of the crowd. I coughed and took a few deep breaths, before raising my hands in the air, signaling the Iga-Koga audience to increase the volume of their collective voice. They responded, and cheered for my display of showmanship and artful escape from Li-Qin's fatal choke-hold. Li-Qin was still on the ground. "Get up, you overvalued pawn!" I barked at my opponent. He crawled his way to his feet, still clenching his ribs. "You will die," he growled at me as he raised his fists.
"Not today," I declared with a smile. I could not believe that my rather light elbow into the side of Li-Qin's ribs hurt him so badly. It was then that I had just remembered Tanya's strength spell. It worked. And it worked well. I would not even need my elemental abilities to defeat Li-Qin. He came at me with a jump kick, but Chameleon had taught me to dodge those all too well. He then moved in to attempt a combination attack, but I blocked it and twisted to the side. He tried four more different combinations, all at full strength and out of anger more than strategic placement. Every time he would attempt an attack, I would back off and keep my distance, not allowing him to get into close quarters and use his grappling skills against me. Eventually, he attempted his jump-reversal-grab in an effort to put me in a choke again, but I was completely prepared for it this time. I parried his jumping tackle, and released a quick jab while he had his guard down that popped Li-Qin in the nose. The jab ended up actually breaking his nose, as a clear cracking noise could be heard following the punch and blood began to leak between his fingers that were cuffed over his face.
My opponent's eyes peeled up at me as he set his nose back into position. He charged me once more, swinging wildly. His anger had thrown off his concentration. All I had to do was wait until he gave me the perfect opening. He did. Li-Qin eventually attempted to tackle me at knee level. Instead, I slammed the bottom of right boot into his forehead. He was dazed, likely with a concussion. He attempted to stand back up, but his legs shook and his posture stumbled. I was ready to end this fight. While my opponent was still only on one knee, I took four long steps over to him and in one motion released a long arching uppercut that hit the side of his head and sent him across the fighting square by three or four meters, leaving a small trail of blood behind him. He was motionless.
The crowd went rampant. Screaming and cheering that sounded like it could have been coming from thousands of men and women, rather than less than 500. I raised my arms in the air, smiling wide and raising my gaze to the heavens. Suddenly, the roar of the crowd began to die. My gaze instinctively jolted back to my opponent. He was still on the ground, but it was now clear that he was still breathing, albeit minimally. When the volume of the audience was low enough, The Grandmaster stood from his large throne and looked directly at me. "Finish Him!" His low and cracked voice echoed throughout the court yard.
I walked over to my opponent and grabbed him by the throat, and then positioned him on his knees. He was struggling for the small amount of consciousness that he had and seemed oblivious to what was happening around him. His eyes were so lost that I doubt he even knew that I was preparing to take his life. 'In what way could I kill him that would really impress this clan?' I wondered. Should I do it quickly, or slowly? What would show this gang of assassins and thieves that I was going to be a strong leader for them? That is when a brilliant streak of impulsiveness hit me and I acted out on a complete whim.
Rather than deliver a finishing blow to Li-Qin, I jumped into the crowd and forced an audience member out of their chair that was in the front row of the crowd and pulled it up to the fighting area. I propped Li-Qin up in it. I grabbed his canteen from his side of the square and slowly poured some water into my former adversary's mouth, making sure he would not choke.
The volume in the audience now dropped into a low murmur of gasps and judgmental whispers. "Friends of the Iga-Koga," I shouted as I turned from Li-Qin to face the shocked masses. "I have made the pledge to serve this society to the best of my abilities. I have sworn to defend the ideologies of this clan against the terror of Shao Kahn!" I began to turn every few seconds, to make sure I was acknowledging everyone in attendance. I let my eyes make contact with particular audience members for long periods at a time. My voice continued to project across the now otherwise quiet courtyard. "I have chosen the daunting trials of the Military Command Kaste to serve alongside all of you! Everyone in attendance here today, everyone in this fortress. From the lowest serf who cleans the barracks to the Grandmaster himself," I pointed to the Grandmaster as I spoke of him. "I would die for all of you, my brothers and sisters!"
Those in attendance cheered again. I allowed them to continue for a brief moment, before I signaled for them to stop. I stepped over to my opponent, who had seemingly become slightly more aware of his surroundings as his head was now tilted up. I put my hand on his shoulder. "But what I will not do is kill one of my brothers." The low gasps returned all throughout the audience. "Li-Qin has served the society for hundreds of years. He is courageous and honorable. I only wish to one day be the warrior that he is. As Iga-Koga, it is what we should all aspire to be. By the Elder Gods, I want this man serving by my side after I am ordained as a Military Commander. I demand Li-Qin to serve in my battalion." The faces in the audience were engraved in in astonishment. Some were in tears. I had the entire clan in the palm of my hands. I then stepped back to the middle of the square and turned toward the Grandmaster. "So whether I die here today for disobeying the Grandmaster himself, or live for the next 50,000 years, it will be in the name of Outworld! It will be in the name of the Iga-Koga!"
The Chanting began. But it was more than a simple roar this time. It was at first faint, but then quickly grew to a scream coming from what seemed like every being in attendance. "Rain! Rain! Rain! Rain! Rain!" I looked toward the Grandmaster with a smirk. Even though I had disregarded an order from him in front of the entire clan, he could not kill me now. I was too popular. The Grandmaster stood, and the chanting faded away. "Initiate Rain, your loyalty to this society as well as your skill in kombat is uncontestable. You are the victor of this match..." The crowd went berserk again. The Grandmaster had to scream the last part of his closing statement. "And you will be ordained into the Military Command Kaste following the passing of your final test!"
The audience rushed me. I had never received such an accelerated bunch of hugs, pats on the back and congratulatory handshakes. I was overwhelmed but I returned their sentiment, shaking hands and thanking anyone who spoke kind words. But there was only one person I wanted to see at that moment. I looked all around for that yellow dress. It was pretty hard to miss. Over the crowd, I saw Tanya standing in the distance, with a hand on her hip and a wide smile. I immediately began working my way over to her, shaking hands and thanking my admirers as I went. When I got close to Tanya, her euphoria projecting smile got even wider and her head began to shake. I then pushed my way through the mob of celebrating Iga-Koga and run over to Tanya. I picked her up, kissed her deeply and span her around several times as she adorably giggled. "I love you too!" I loudly said to ensure that she could hear me over the cheering and chanting. "I'm sorry I waited until after I almost died to respond. I said it before, but in my head."
Tanya laughed uncontrollably. "Do not fret. You were fantastic."
"I think we both need a drink," I attested as I grabbed Tanya's hands.
"Could not agree more," Tanya responded with a relived sigh. "Lead us out of here, Commander."
I smiled at the sound of that. I pushed my way through the crowd toward the exiting staircase, still being polite to my newly acquired supporters as we found our way out. As Tanya and I made our way up the stairs, she whispered to me "I told you it would work." She then held my hand, and put her head on my shoulder. I could not argue with her. It definitely did work. I might not have even lived through the fight without her spell. When we got to the top of the stairs, an all too familiar voice called from the shadows in the hallway. "Well done," it said. Chameleon was leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and body slouched over.
Tanya and I turned toward him. She seemed a little shocked by his sudden appearance. I on the other hand, was now immune to Chameleon's antics. "I'll catch up," I told Tanya as I turned to her.
"Alright," she replied. We kissed, and she smiled before walking away.
I stepped over to my teacher of the past half-decade. "Thank you, Chameleon. I could not have done it without…"
"You broke his nose with a single jab," Chameleon interrupted maliciously. "A single jab."
I swallowed and cleared my throat, attempting to think of something to say. Oh my goodness, I had to say something. "Umm, I…"
"Your jabs are like feathers," Chameleon sneered as he uncrossed his arms and stood up straight, removing himself from the wall. "How did you manage to break an elite warrior's nose with a single feather jab?"
"I learned from you," I remarked with a fake smile.
"No," Chameleon insisted as he shook his head. "No, you did not." Chameleon moved next to me and leaned within a few inches of my face. "But you learned it somehow." Chameleon walked behind me. I bit my lip and closed my eyes. He was very suspicious.
"Let me know when you are ready to take your final strategy test," Chameleon stated to my surprise, as he seemed to completely drop the subject of my suddenly increased strength. "We will need to make sure…"
"Now," I responded. "I am ready to take it now." It was not easy to catch Chameleon looking startled. But I managed to do so following that comment.
"Are you sure?" He responded slowly.
"Yes. Completely. I'm done with this repetitive testing. I'm ready for some real work."
"Very well," Chameleon replied as he nodded. "At least get some rest first. Your final strategy test will be held at sundown."
I agreed and began to walk away from him down the hall.
"Nice speech by the way," Chameleon called out to me. I stopped and turned around with my eyebrows raised. "I thought I was training a warrior, not a politician," Chameleon sneered as he turned away and vanished into the shadows as he inarticulately mumbled to himself. I continued walking and laughed quietly. How could I not laugh at Chameleon's punchlines at this point?
I got back to my and Tanya's room. She had the wine ready to go. When I told her that I decided to take my final strategy test on this same day, she was hesitant allow me to drink any. But I reassured her that the strategy tests were my strong suit, and I was going to celebrate a little bit no matter what. We just lied in bed and talked, enjoying the moment. She did not understand how I dealt with Chameleon's antics, as she was still perplexed by his sudden appearance in the hall. I told her that you get used to them when he has been ambushing you almost every day for nearly five years. We recapped the fight, and discussed our plans for strengthening the Iga-Koga for the purpose of allying ourselves with the Edenian resistance. As much as they promoted themselves with talk of 'honor' and 'authority' the Iga-Koga were small and weak. There were not enough soldiers in the Society to build an army with. But the Resistance could change that. The sun was beginning to go down. I kissed Tanya and made my way to the testing chamber.
This strategy test was the most difficult I had to navigate yet. In the given scenario, I had a squad of about 20 men. I had to either defeat or the opposing army that was made up of 1000 men or force them to retreat. Over the course of the simulation, I lost about half my pieces. But I still got the job done. I passed because I used the most basic strategy in military tactics: 'If you are a small army, make yourself seem like you are a big army.' The judges were impressed. The Grandmaster himself came to the room and shook my hand. "I had no doubt you would pass your simulation, young man," he told me reassuringly. "Come, we have a gift for you."
The Grandmaster and his guards lead me to the courtyard. Much of the clan had again assembled once again. "Your own personal ceremony," he said as he motioned down the stairs. I was in shock. After a congratulatory introduction, I was presented with my first official Iga-Koga garments. I was officially a member of the Society. My first reaction was of course to jump off the stage and hug Tanya. The chanting of my name continued. I embraced the moment. I waved and smiled. Before I knew it, a hand touched my back and a low voice called to me. "Rain," the voice seemed to echo even amidst the high volume of the cheering attendees. I turned around to see a tall man with very dark hair and brown eyes, but very pale skin. He was a very high ranking member of the Iga-Koga, for his garbs contained more gold than black. "Welcome to the Military Commands Kaste," the man said as he bowed his head. "I am Kazius, of the War Council." He began to stare at my student garbs with a high status look of disgust. When you are in more… appropriate attire, come to the council chambers and meet your new associates. They are… excited to make you acquaintance." The man tucked his robes aside and slowly walked away with his hands connected behind his back and head held high, as the crowd seemingly broke apart to create a path for him.
I snarled and looked at Tanya with ambivalence. "Who is that?" I asked loudly.
Tanya's jaw dropped. "Rain, you are joking, correct?"
"Nope," I answered with a smile.
"Rain, he is chief diplomat of the Iga-Koga. How did you pass your Iga-Koga history exams?" She shook her head at me.
"Umm, I memorized just enough to pass and forgot the rest…"
Tanya put her hands over her face. I responded by embracing her. "Rain, he is one of the four members of the Military Council, how could you…"
"Hey!" I interrupted Tanya as I kissed her on the forehead. "There are five now."
Tanya could not resist smiling and kissed me on the lips.
"Alright but, I have to go," I spoke very rapidly. "I need to look fancy for the fashion enforcer over there." I began to run off.
"Rain," Tanya called with annoyance. "You spent five years facing near death to get to where you are. Do not get your head cut off by making an asinine comment."
I just laughed and kept running. I was too ecstatic. In the first room with a mirror that I found, I went in and put on my Iga-Koga robes for the first time. I honestly did not like the way they looked. They had too much gold, which would be considered an honor to almost anyone else in the clan. But for me, it was not individualized enough. But either way, I put the garments on, and made my way to the highest floor of the fortress, a floor where I had rarely gone before. I stood outside the large black and gold doors for several moments, embracing the site. In large letters, it read "Military Command Kaste" and underneath in smaller letters "Honorary War Council." I entered the room and the stone doors grinded the floor slowly. Sitting at a round table with the Iga-Koga symbol engraved in gold at the center was Kazius furthest to the right. Next to him was a woman who appeared to be middle aged, as her face was fairly youthful from what I could tell as she was wearing a mask, but her hair was sprouting a modest amount of white and silver. To her right, there was a bearded man who appeared more casual than the other three. He was slouched over while the others sat up perfectly straight, and he kept has elbows on the table while the others either had their hands crossed on the table or on their lap. He was also the only one who was without a mask. And furthest to my left was an elderly man with steel blue eyes. He looked like he was even older than the Grandmaster. It was not cold in the room, but for some reason, I could see the steam of his breath escaping from his mask.
"Rain, it is an honor to make your acquaintance," the women spoke clearly and assertively as she stood up stiffly from her seat. "Allow me to introduce you to your new brothers and sisters in the Military Kommand Kaste."
I slowly moved closer to the table, nervous to actually be in the presence of real militant leaders. "I believe you have already met Kazius, Chief Diplomat of the Iga-Koga Society and voice of the War Council."
"Lord Kazius, a pleasure to meet you again," I mumbled as I franticly bowed. Kazius arrogantly smiled through his mask and nodded with posh.
The women continued to speak. "I am Terrin, Commodore of all sea based military operation of the society and overseer of the infantry and cavalry. I was also the only current Iga-Koga member to enter the Military Command Kaste via the trials until you achieved that honor yourself on this day." She bowed with precision and elegance. I attempted to mimic her demeanor, but I most likely looked like an imbecile. Her arm now glided to her right and pointed to the bearded man. "This is Ron, defender of the oppressed villagers of Outworld and representative of the peasantry."
Ron did not bother with fancy pleasantries. He just comfortably smiled and casually waved. "Rain, it's great to meet you. Happy to have you on the council," he said genuinely and warmly. His words and relaxed demeanor helped calm me down.
Terrin then motioned to the elderly man. "And this is Glacios, High Commander of Iga-Koga Covert Operations, assassin of fifty-nine Imperial Generals, Diplomats and Governors, captain of the Iga-Koga Cavalry and one of ten founders of the Iga-Koga Society itself." Ron's comforting affect went away as Glacios's eyes froze me into position. I could not even get myself to bow. Glacios did not move an inch. He was just locked into me with a piercing gaze as his mysteriously steamed breath clouded his wrinkled face.
"An honor," was all I could softly convey. Luckily, I was wearing a mask that went all the way up to the middle of my nose, or my new colleagues would have seen my face fully stricken in fear. "Thank you for allowing me into this… noble kaste, my lords," I abruptly said as I looked at the council members.
Ron laughed subtly and looked at me with a friendly affection once again. "Give yourself some credit, kid. You got yourself in here. Congratulations." I smiled back, and nodded to Ron in an effort to show my appreciation for his nonchalance and generosity.
Terrin stood tall and put her hands behind her back. "And we are not your lords. We are your affiliates, your compatriots. We are equals in the Military Command Kaste, regardless of age, prior experience or previous standing with the clan." Terrin removed her mask and placed it on the table. The other members then stood as well and Kazius followed Terrin's example by removing his mask. Glacios however, did not remove his facial attire. Terrin took a deep breath before softly and clearly speaking once more. "Welcome to the War Council, General Rain."