Chapter Summary: The three noices continue their training.
Chapter Word Count: 6,140
Later that night, Yusif watched the pods as they silently opened. The novices slowly sat up, covered in a faintly glowing goo.
After they had climbed out of the pods she pointed towards the bathing room. "You'll want to wash that off before it dries," she said.
The novices silently headed to the bathing room, following her directions. She watched them, wondering. She didn't know them well enough to know if there had been any changes. While she waited, she set out a light dinner, rice and a simple broth. From her one exposure to time in the training pods she suspected they would not be able to stomach anything complex, not even the food novices were normally fed.
The novices rejoined her shortly.
"You appear to have suffered no ill effects of a day in the pods," Yusif said.
"It was a month," Mika said. "We were in there for a month."
"Yes," said Sita.
"It feels very strange," Yuki said. "I feel different on the inside but you are wearing the same clothes you had on when we went in."
"Yes," Yusif said. "That can be disconcerting. But it is something you should be able to adapt to." She gave them a few minutes to eat before continuing. "How is the training progressing?"
"We have reviewed all of the first and second forms," Sita said. "We are now starting with the third forms. Another day and we will be done and ready for the upper forms required for the trials."
"So you will be ready in time for the trials," Yusif said. "Good, good."
"The training is interesting," Mika said. "But there's nothing to entertain us when we aren't training."
"Yes," Yuki said. "In the pods it's train, eat, train, eat, sleep. With nothing else."
"Once you are into the upper forms, it will be more challenging," Yusif said. "And it is not all physical training. Your minds must also be ready for the trials."
"Can't we just skip the trials?" Yuki asked. "If we know everything why do them?"
"It is traditional," Sita said. "We've discussed this."
"The Clan must have confidence in your abilities," Yusif said. "Passing the trials will show the Clan that you are worthy of the task set before you."
"I hope they appreciate what we are going through for their approval," Mika said.
"Your effort is understood," Yusif said. "The Elders have asked this of you three."
"Do we get a vacation after the trials?" Yuki said.
"Vacation?" Yusif said, gaping at her. "You are novices. After the trials you will be priestesses. There is no time for being lazy. The future of the Clan and this land depends on your skills and training."
"It was just a thought," Yuki said. "I think we'll need a break after the trials."
"We'll get a break," Mika said. "In the infirmary."
"Infirmary?" Yuki said, her voice raising.
"In the last ten trials, even the novices who passed spent at least a month in the infirmary afterward," Sita said. "The trials are very dangerous."
"And those are the novices prepared for them the normal way," Mika said, winking at Yuki.
"But they all lived, correct?" Yuki said. "No one dies during the trials?"
"The ancient Clan records don't say what happened to those who failed the trials," Sita said. "Elder Yusif can better answer what happened in recent trials."
"No, there have been no deaths during the trials, in living memory," Yusif said. "The most common failure has been due to exhaustion. We provide the necessary training to all novices for the trials. If a novice is not ready for the trials after four years of training, they are not fit to be Clan priestesses."
"So, fail once and that's it? Back to the villages?" Yuki asked. "Why didn't I think of that? Then I can become an idol like my sister."
"Those who wish to retake the trials are allowed to do so," Yusif said. "But very few do."
"You aren't going to fail the trials," Sita said. "All three of us will pass."
"How can you be so sure?" Yuki said. "Did you have a vision?"
"Of course she did," Mika said.
"Things may change," Sita said, "but all of my visions after the trials have the three of us together. So either we all pass or we all fail. And I do not plan to fail."
"That is good to know," Yusif said, "but do not become arrogant. Even so you must still participate in them."
"But if we pass, why take them?" Yuki said.
"You can't talk your way out of the trials," Mika said. "The Elders may feel we need to prepare to take them a year early but they will still insist we take the trials."
"Yes," Yusif said. "You will take the trials as planned. And until then you shall prepare in the training pods."
"Yes, Eldest," the novices said, bowing.
"Off to bed," Yusif said. "We shall meet here again in the morning."
"Yes, Elder Yusif," they said, bowing again.
Lying in their sleeping chamber in the temple, the three novices quietly talked about the previous training session in the pods and the upcoming trials. "What did Elder Yusif mean by saying it wasn't just a physical trial?" Yuki said. "In the three years we have been novices the trainers have all said that what we need to pass is to understand and embody the ideals of the Fox God. But all they teach us are the different forms."
"You need to stop sleeping during class," Mika said. "You should know enough to be a priestess of the Fox God already. What does a priestess do?"
"Guides her village, and protects it from evil," Yuki said. "Sees to their health. Blesses babies, and the dying. Priestess things."
"Priestess things," Sita said, sighing. "The forms are just physical preparation for the role of Fox God priestess. All the other things we have been learning are the important parts. The trials will tell the elders if we are ready to be priestesses. And not just if we can defeat bandits."
"Of course," Yuki said. "But how will the trials do that?"
"The trials are hidden from me," Sita said. "I have never been able to see them."
"So you're as unknowing as we are," Mika said. "Why haven't you told us this important fact?"
"I have," Sita said. "I've been very clear to both of you of what I can and cannot see."
"Well, you need to say it more often," Yuki said. "Did we learn anything useful in the pods today?"
"The training partners expect perfect form," Sita said. "They were constantly correcting us as they reviewed our knowledge. And the forms were different, closer to the ancient forms. They did not allow us to move on to another form until we were perfect."
"So now we're better than we were before the pods?" Mika said. "Would we do better against the other novices?"
"Yes," Sita said. "The ancient versions of the forms are more efficient. They may appear the same to an untrained eye but the others would have a difficult time defending against them."
"So we approve of this?" Mika said. "Do we tell Elder Yusif?"
"No," Sita said firmly. "The ancient forms will be an advantage in the trials. An advantage we do not want to lose."
"What do you think we will learn tomorrow?" Yuki asked. "Do you think we will complete the third forms?"
"That was the stated goal," Sita said.
"Will we use the training pods until the trials?" Yuki asked. "Or only until we have finished the fourth year training?"
"There are the exhibition matches the week before the trials," Mika said. "We will want to participate in them."
"You just want to bet on the matches," Yuki said.
"We will win all of our matches," Sita said, "I am confident."
"Vision confident or you believe we will be the best to take the trials?" Mika said.
"We shall be the best," Sita said. "We are already the best of our cohort. After this training we will be the best of the fourth year novices also."
"Do they know what we are doing? Do they know about the training pods?" Yuki asked.
"It is not a secret that we are being given special training, but I do not believe the nature of the training is known," Sita said. "They will not expect to see us in the trials."
"But if we participate in the matches does that not mean we will be taking the trials?" Yuki asked.
"Advanced novices are allowed to be in the matches in their third year," Sita said.
"There is an ancient rule," Mika said. "A third year novice who remains undefeated in the matches may be selected to take the trials."
"I had not heard that," Sita said. "How did you find out about it?"
"My cousin told me about it the last time I was home. I looked it up in the library," Mika said. "It was a rule a long time ago before we came to this planet. It has been a thousand years since it last happened and a third year novice took the trials."
"This year there will be three of us," Sita said in the tone of voice Yuki and Mika knew meant they would or would die trying. "We shall earn our places in the trials."
"Then we need to sleep," Mika said.
"Finally," Yuki said. "I thought you would go on all night."
"Back so soon?" Yusif asked the masked figure and it appeared from the shadows.
"I am not far away," the figure said. "I shall remain until your novices finish the trials."
"You are watching the novices," Yusif said. "How are they progressing."
"They are exceeding my initial expectations," the masked figure said. "They are naturals and shall make your clan proud."
"Will the Serpent Clan allow them a place in the coming battles?" Yusif asked.
"They may ask for more than you are prepared to give, but I cannot speak for them," she said. "Their ruling Council is not what was predicted by the signs. It is young and may not act as an old Clan Council would."
"We cannot sit on the side while the fate of our people and adopted lands are decided by one of the Thirteen," Yusif said. "The three novices are among our best. The Fox God has told us so. And after this training none will stand in their way."
"They are still young novices," the stranger said. "Do not expect more from them than they are able to give. The training has been simple so far."
"But they will learn the correct forms for dealing with the Thirteen,? Yusif said.
"Yes," the stranger said. "They will not realize but the training plan will teach them the ancient forms from when your clan was equal to the Thirteen, before your Fox God turned it in a different direction."
"The Fox God knew what was best for us," Yusif said. "We could not have survived in that form much longer. Our families were wasting away. We are not afraid of conflict but our hearts are not what they once were. We are a peaceful clan. A healing clan. We are no longer a war clan."
"If you say so," the stranger said. "Peaceful warriors too have a place in the world."
"Will we have a place in it in the end?" Yusif said. "We will be unable to hide in the end."
"Only the stars can answer that," the stranger said. "In battle the timid die."
"Your stars are different than our Fox God, I think," Yusif said. "Our Fox God led us away from extinction in the times before. Now all signs say we must become a part of it if we want a place in the future."
"Even your novice with the visions would be reluctant to make claims about the gods," the stranger said.
"You have shown excellent progress," Ka'nsah told them at the end of their fifteenth full session, more than a year of training in pod time. "Your proficiency with the forms of your Fox God honors your clan."
"We have covered every form and mystical art known to the Clan," Sita said. "What more is there for us to learn to prepare for the trials?"
"There is yet more to learn beyond the trials," Ka'nsah said. "Interacting with the Thirteen on an equal level will require much more than has been covered."
"Do we need to prepare for the Thirteen?" Mika asked. "Now?"
"Can't we do this later?" Yuki said. "If we're ready for the trials now?"
"Now is the optimal time," Ka'nsah said. "It is not sure that the pods will continue working if shut down."
"So, stop now and maybe not get to continue, or continue and finish training," Sita said.
"Correct."
"We will need to discuss this with Elder Yusif," Sita said. "What further training are you offering?"
"Familiarity with the skills and battle training of the Thirteen," Ka'nsah said. "And knowledge of their technology. You must be familiar with their thinking to avoid miscommunication."
"Will you teach us to fly their space ships?" Yuki asked eagerly.
"That is beyond the capability of this training facility," Ka'nsah said. "Go. Return tomorrow if you find the plan acceptable."
"Yes, Master Ka'nsah," Sita said, after looking at Yuki and Mika.
Watching them climb out of the pods and head to the bathing room, Yusif continued to be amazed at the changes to the novices after more than two weeks of using the training pods. They were no longer simple novices with the light of the Fox God in their eyes. They moved with the smooth gate of highly trained athletes. There was a certain toughness to them that they had originally lacked. They no longer had the softness of most novices their age.
She pitied the other novices who faced them in the pre-trial matches.
"Come, join me in tonight's meal," she said, waving at the low table. "How was today's training?"
"We are done," Sita said. "Master Ka'nsah has taught us all we need to know of Clan forms."
"That is good," Yusif said. "The trials are in three weeks."
"Master Ka'nsah has said there is more to teach us," Sita said. "That we can learn to understand how the Thirteen think and communicate more effectively with them."
"I see," Yusif said. "Additional preparation would be interesting. It has been a long time since we have had direct contact with any of the Thirteen."
"So, you agree?" Yuki asked. "Master Ka'nsah said that the training pods may not continue to work if we wait until after the trials."
"That will be taken into consideration," Yusif said. "The Elders will need to discuss this. We will give you our answer in the morning."
"Yes, Elder Yusif," Sita said.
"Thank you, Master Yusif," Yuki and Mika said.
"Tell me what you learned in this past session," Yusif said.
"We learned how to channel our inner life force," Sita said. "And to combine it with the upper forms."
"It was like being a Jedi," Yuki said eagerly. Holding her hand above her plate, a potsticker slowly rose midway in the air.
"Or one of those anime martial artists," Mika said. "With just a little soul power you can walk on walls."
"And the forms are very adaptable to this energy," Sita said. "Though it takes much practice and energy to maintain the ability."
"Even in the training pods we were starving after an hour of that," Mika said.
"Those are ancient techniques," Yusif said. "There have been no Elders or trainers able to teach them since we came to this place. You will need to teach these techniques to us when you return from assisting the Thirteen."
"Yes, Master Yusif," Sita said, giving the others a subtle nod.
"What do you think?" Master Xio said, watching the novices go into the temple. "Should they continue? There is no guarantee that they will pass the trials. Any other possible candidates would have to prepare for the trials in the traditional fashion."
"We cannot predict the results," Yusif said. "Even novice Sita will not claim to do so. Her visions do not provide a definitive prediction."
"I suspect her visions have become more efficient, given the account of the techniques your friend has give them in the pods," Master Xio said.
"My friend?" Yusif said.
"I am well aware of the source of this," Master Xio said, waving at the chamber containing the training pods. "You did not suddenly discover how to use ancient technology. Though I am unsure of the motives of the being behind this."
"My motives are my own," a voice said from the chamber doorway. Stepping out, the masked stranger sat on the steps and waved at the ground for them to sit. "There is a need for your Clan in this upcoming conflict."
"What do we call you?" Xio said, facing Yusif's co-conspirator for the first time.
"I have many names," the masked stranger said. "Your trainees call my training avatar Ka'nsah, which is appropriate for that place. I am just a shadow in this time and place."
"Why only these three?" Xio said. "Should not the whole clan be preparing for what is coming?"
"The conflict is still several years away from this now at last estimate," the stranger said. "When the time is right, additional training and assistance will be provided to your clan and others. But there is a more immediate need for those three to prepare the way and spread the message to others."
"So, they will not face this alone?" Xio asked.
"No," the stranger said. "But I will make no promises. There is danger for all involved in this enterprise."
"What will they learn?" Xio said.
"They will learn everything we can teach them," the stranger said. "To sing. To dance. To spy and captivate. To fight. To kill."
"Our priestesses are taught that killing is the last resort of the desperate," Xio said with clear disapproval.
"To survive one must be desperate," the stranger said. "But they must be able to do what is necessary."
"Sing and dance?" Yusif said. "That is not something we have anyone to train them for."
"The training pods will provide," the stranger said. "Though that is not one of my many skills, there are others available to provide that training."
"And then what?" Xio said.
"Young Yuki wishes to be an idol," the stranger said. "No, she isn't serious. Just an element of sibling rivalry. But arrangements are in progress. Following the trials an opportunity will arise to make that wish come true."
"Why would we allow this?" Xio asked. "We are a simple, private clan."
"Because what better way for a God to gather worshippers than for the god's priestesses to be seen in this world?" the stranger said. "Than to have a stage to give her message from? Though young Sita is better suited for that role than the other two."
"I cannot see what your plans mean for the Clan," Xio said.
"A future where they will not need to hide from the Thirteen, and their sins are forgiven," the stranger said. "The price of that forgiveness is this."
"There is nothing the Thirteen need to forgive," Xio said. "We were within our rights as a clan to do what we did."
"The Galactics and Council of Clans see it differently,' the stranger said. "But that is none of my business. I am merely facilitating this small action." Standing, she appeared to disappear in front of their eyes.
Xio waited several minutes before saying anything. "I am not confident that this is wise," she said. "But, continue down this path. Whatever they learn they can teach, if nothing else. Let us just hope they do not suffer from stage fright."
"What do we tell them?" Yusif asked.
"That the Elders have approved of the additional training," Xio said. "Two more weeks. And they must sign up for the matches both singly and as a team."
"Yes, Master Xio. What of the plans by this shadow?" Yusif asked. "Do we tell the novices?"
"No. Just tell them it has been approved," Xio said.
"And the Elder Council?" Yusif said.
"That will be my task," Xio said. "It is just a formality. The other Elders are comfortable with their positions and will agree to anything that does not threaten their comfort."
"They were great in their prime," Yusif said. "They guided the Clan wisely during times of trouble
"Which was long ago," Xio said. "After the trials we may need to encourage them to retire."
"I do not envy your position," Yusif said.
"No, it will not be a comfortable task," Xio said.
"I am glad to see that you have returned," Ka'nsah said.
"We have been given fourteen additional sessions," Sita said, "to learn what you can teach us of the Thirteen."
"Excellent," Ka'nsah said. "In past sessions we focused on tasks exclusively in preparation for your trials. We shall proceed in a different manner for the remaining sessions."
"Yes, Master Ka'nsah," the novices said.
"In the mornings we shall examine and learn the martial arts of the Thirteen. In the afternoons their culture and languages. When we are done you will be able to infiltrate any of the Thirteen."
"Are there not physical differences among the Thirteen?" Mika asked. "How will that be possible?"
"Yes," Ka'nsah said. "Each of the Thirteen comes from different genetic stock. Although they originated on a single planet many millennia ago, they have diverged, in some cases drastically. We shall start with the Clans known to be present or to have been present in this sector."
"Martial arts and culture?" Sita said.
"Correct," Ka'nsah said. "We shall also begin working on other techniques for blending with a population. Some of the Clans use technology to a degree that may make you uncomfortable. That must also be dealt with."
"Let's begin." The now familiar training avatars appeared in front of them. "First we will cover the basics known to all warriors of the Thirteen."
"It feels like we are starting all over," Yuki said, that pod night after dinner. "Did we expect this?"
"It is just another art," Sita said. "The forms are different but so is the culture that created them."
"Understanding the culture brings greater understanding of the forms," Mika said.
"I understand that," Yuki said, "but how will we remember all of these different things."
"Have you noticed how things learned in the training pods are easier to remember?" Sita asked.
"Yes," Yuki said.
"It is part of the 'magic' of the pods," Sita said. "But is also why they are dangerous to use for us."
"How do you know this?" Yuki asked.
"I asked Ka'nsah why the pods were dangerous for us," Sita said. "They were developed by the Thirteen for their specific physiology. We will have reached the limit of our pod training time when this is over. More than thirty days and they will begin to damage us due to the differences between us and the Thirteen. And it will be irreversible."
"Why do we have them if they are that dangerous to us?" Yuki asked.
"Only the Ancients who stole them from the Thirteen know why they took them," Sita said. "And only the Elders know why one of the Thirteen is helping us use them now."
"One of the Thirteen is here?" Yuki said. "Helping?"
"How else?" Mika asked. "We have not had the technicians to repair or maintain the training pods since landing here. They died with our ships. And did not Elder Yusif say that the Thirteen could detect pod usage?"
"Oh," Yuki said. "Are we safe?"
"It's too late to worry about that," Sita said. "We must be prepared to protect our clan if the Thirteen come to take revenge but that may never happen. If they were going to appear they should have already."
"Do you think the Thirteen know we are here?" Mika said. "On this planet?"
"In general?" Sita said. "Very unlikely. That they haven't come after us for some ancient slight? They probably don't care or have forgotten."
"The Serpent Clan has appeared and reclaimed their lands," Yuki said.
"They were not here when we came to this place," Sita said. "But the pods just make remembering and learning easier. We still must practice these skills to retain them as useful skills."
"So, even when we finish with the pods we must continue training?" Yuki said. "I changed my mind. Let's become cooks."
"You can become a cook when we are done," Sita said. "We will always need cooks but we must survive the challenge first."
"Trials first, then whatever challenge the Elders set for us, and then you can become a cook," Mika said.
"Okay, okay," Yuki said, huffing. "At least we have a purpose. And don't have to go to cram school or university."
"If you want to go to a non-Clan school after becoming a priestess it can be done," Sita said. "But it is a lot of work to be ready. My aunt became a doctor after becoming her village's clan priestess. It took her longer to qualify for the necessary schools. But she did it."
"The Clan boys don't have that problem," Mika said. "My brothers are all going to college. They will serve the Clan in other ways."
"My brother is taking over the family farm," Sita said. "He was in the Navy for four years. He says it must be something like when the clan traveled in space, but the clan ships would have been safer because it was full of families."
"We aren't going to learn how to fly spaceships," Yuki said, "but maybe we'll still get to go on them. The Serpent Clan must have them - they go places."
"They are this sector's peacekeepers, according to Ka'nsah. They cannot do that without space travel," Mika said. "Their Ruling Council seems strange. They call them gods."
"All of the Thirteen have similar Ruling Councils," Sita said. "Ka'nsah said that they all have the same structure but the actual power can vary based on the Clan."
"Will we meet them?" Yuki asked.
"Time will tell," Sita said. "We still have a long way to go."
"Do you think anyone will notice that we are older?" Yuki asked. "Thirty days in the training pods. But for us that is more than two years. Do we look different?"
"Ka'nsah explained but I did not understand," Sita said. "We retain some things but not others."
"We don't age in the pods, because we are not of the Thirteen," said Mika. "But our bodies are affected by time in the pods. You've noticed the changes."
"Yes, but will anyone else?" Yuki said.
"I believe so," Sita said. "Have you noticed how Elder Yusif stares at us when we leave the pods? Something is different about us."
"As long as it doesn't scare away boys," Yuki said, giggling.
"Boys will be the least of our problems," Mika said. "We need people to take us seriously as priestesses."
"What will we be learning in this session?" Sita asked Ka'nsah when they returned to the pods on their twenty-fifth session.
"Something a little different. You have learned the basics of the martial systems of the Thirteen, though you are not masters of all the ways in which they fight, and have a good grounding in their cultures and what their technology is capable of."
"I still want to learn how to fly a spaceship," Yuki said.
"You've been asking for that since we started training in the pods," Mika said. "I don't think the answer will change."
"No," Ka'nsah said. "You will not be trained to pilot or navigate any of the known types of vehicles used by the Thirteen. We have two tasks left before we must finish." "What's left?" Sita asked. "We have done everything you told us we would learn."
"All of the Thirteen have armored environmental suits, for many different purposes. You shall spend the most time with members of the Serpent Clan so shall become familiar with several different kinds of suits they wear. And the different suits worn by the other Clans."
"Yes!" Yuki said excitedly.
"They aren't spaceships," Mika said.
"No, but the Serpent Clan troopers wear real armored hard suits," Yuki said. "My brother showed me the last time I went home. They look like anime characters, except real."
"I still don't understand why you became a novice," Sita said, shaking her head.
"Because you and Mika asked me to," Yuki said. "I may be fascinated by the land we live in and its culture but I am still Clan and know how important our traditions are, and how important our priestesses are."
"What is the other thing?" Mika asked.
"We have discussed with your Elders what your camouflage in the outer world will be," Ka'nsah said.
"Camouflage?" Yuki asked.
"One priestess can easily travel with her small entourage," Ka'nsah said, "going about the business of the Clan in the outside world. But the three of you together would attract too much attention in the wrong places as priestesses."
"Why are you teaching us to be stealthy?" Sita asked. "We can travel without attracting attention and won't need this camouflage."
"When on the secret business of the Clan you are correct, but you are also representatives of the Fox God. And that requires a certain amount of ceremony."
"If you say so," Sita said. "How will we do that?"
"You will become idols," Ka'nsah said. "This will provide the cover to travel internationally and to seek out others for the glory of your clan and the Fox God."
"That… makes no sense," Yuki said. "The Elders have lost their minds."
"I agree with Yuki," Mika said. "Which is unexpected." She frowned. "Idols are the last thing we should be if we want to successfully promote Clan interests and work with any of the Thirteen for whatever reasons the Elders believe we need to."
"I do not understand this camouflage," Sita said. "I do not know how we can become these idols. We are not musicians or whatever they do."
"We can learn," Yuki said. "My sister told me how they make idols. In many cases they are normal teens who go to a casting call like actors. But it's for singing, or other things. We would need a gimmick and some talent, and someone with connections but not much else."
"The talent might be an issue," Mika said. "I don't sing or dance. Do you?"
"No," Sita said. "There has been no need as priestesses."
"Your skill with the different forms give you the physical training and strength," Ka'nsah said. "You will need to learn to dance and follow directions, but we shall train you in that here, using methods from idol schools. We shall also provide you with voice lessons. An avatar of a musical trainer has been found."
"So, we get to sing and dance and be idols?" Yuki said. "My sister will be so jealous."
"Hopefully this music avatar can teach you to sing," Mika said. "Your shower singing skills have destroyed more than one pair of ear plugs."
"In the shower, no one can hear you sing," Yuki said. "It's the perfect place to let it all out."
"I think you mean 'no one can hear you scream'," Mika said.
"You shall continue to practice your forms, and the forms of the Thirteen," Ka'nsah said. "Following the practice you shall learn to use the more common environment suits. In the afternoons, you shall prepare your camouflage."
"Practice, dress-up, and singing," Yuki said. "Got it. And here we go," she added when their training avatars appeared in front of them.
"My throat hurts," Yuki said, hoarsely. "That music avatar is tough."
"It was not bad," Sita said. "I enjoyed it."
"You have an actual, trainable voice," Mika said, flopping down on top of her. "Yuki and I can make singing noises but we aren't going to become famous for our voices. If we become idols it will be because we are hiding behind you."
"Hiding and dancing," Yuki said. "We'll do the dancing and you can do the signing."
"We will all have to sing, and dance," Sita said. "We are a team."
"A tired team," Mika said. "Dancing and the forms use different muscles. Ka'nsah said the forms would help but the music avatar does not appear to know this."
"It is a challenge," Sita said, nodding. "But we have not really been challenged in months. The forms all require similar effort. They may require different movement but it is not the same as dance."
"The music avatar is preparing us for expressing emotion through sound and movement," Yuki said. "It is more of a change of purpose. The forms require tight control in a different way."
"But we are still doing the forms," Mika said. They are important."
"Yes," Yuki said. "We still must pass the trials. We won't be able to sing and dance our way through them. Though, imagine if we could." She grinned to herself.
"I did not enjoy the suit training," Mika said. "It felt very restricting. I do not know how they can fight in such armor."
"Those are not modern Serpent Clan fighting suits," Sita said. "They were Tiger Clan and Gold Clan. Their suits are defensive."
"How do you know this?" Yuki asked.
"I pay attention," Sita said. "Those were the suits depicted in the material on the Tiger Clan. We have seen Serpent Clan armor before and that was not what it looks like."
"Will we get to try out the Serpent Clan suits soon?" Yuki asked. "It was like wearing a tank."
Yusif and Master Xio watched as the novices climbed out of the training pods on their final day. They briefly glanced over before heading to the bathing room.
"There is something different about them," Master Xio said.
"They've been learning in the training pods for a month," Yusif said.
"That is not very long," Xio said.
"But each day here was a month in the pod," Yusif reminded her. "They are different."
"Hopefully not too different," Xio said. "They still need to relate to the others. We wanted trained priestesses, not warriors."
"They are not warriors," Yusif said. "While it is possible to use training pods to create warriors, that is not what was done here."
"Master Xio. Elder Yusif," the three novices addressed their Elders as they joined them back in the training chamber.
"You are done," Xio said. "Do you believe you are ready for the trials?"
"Yes," all three said.
"Good," Xio said. "You may go back to your rooms. The pre-trial matches begin in two days. I would recommend you spend the time contemplating what you've learned. Please join Elder Yusif in the morning for assessment."
"Yes," Yusif said. "Go to dinner and rest. We shall meet in the morning after breakfast."
"Thank you," they said, bowing and then leaving.
"You will test them tomorrow," Xio said. "We need to know that they are ready for the trials."
"Yes, Master Xio," Yusif said, before leaving herself.
Xio stood in the chamber silently contemplating the training pods. She didn't envy their experience. A month in the temple training pods had taken them through years of training. They would be different, and others would notice. She hoped the sacrifice was worth it. Not just for the Clan but the future.
"It will work out," the stranger said, appearing next to her. "The training pods have been used for a long time for purposes such as this."
"We are not of the Thirteen," Xio said, glancing at her. "This will change them in unexpected ways."
"Would you like to know a secret?" the stranger said.
"I will not like it, will I," Xio said, hearing something in her voice. "Tell me this secret."
"The Fox Clan is not of the Thirteen, that is true," the stranger said. "But they come from the same stock, the same galactic origin, though the Thirteen have changed themselves in ways that would horrify your God."
"Cousins?"
"Of a sort," the stranger said. "It is a closely guarded secret among the Clans that there were splinter groups who did not abandon the truly old ways when the Thirteen first set out."
"What does that mean for this clan?" Xio asked.
"Nothing. Everything," the stranger said. "Forgiveness may never come from the Clans but they may never seek it. Only time will tell."