The Weaponsmaster

Chapter 18

            Korena and Shawn looked at each other, wondering who would answer. Shawn decided to. “We stopped you from remembering your complete fighting skills.”

            Drea thought he’d explain, but he just kind of sat there and looked at her. Korena picked up where he left off. She could tell from their aura that they felt kind of guilty. “That boy training you thought you might be the Weaponsmaster, which is why he wanted to train you with three weapons. It’s not natural for a new student to know so much about the sword and knife without training, so he wanted to see how you knew.” She paused. “He would’ve taken you to Koracan if he found it was you. You don’t know enough to take on such a role yet, which is why we’re here.”

            Shawn spoke, a sense of strength in his voice, “We let you remember some things on the sword and knife in the hope that you’d accept our words here. That’s also why you are so good at martial arts. That was my specialty.”

Korena looked Drea straight in the eyes. “If we’d let you remember everything about those weapons you’d used, it would’ve been obvious what you are, and to quench his suspicion, we couldn’t let you remember the scythe. Fear not though, as you learn more here, you will remember your mastery of these weapons.”

            Drea wasn’t mad, in fact she was grateful they hadn’t let her move on without the proper training. It already scared her to just be a Kaienshi. “But wouldn’t I have to go to Koracan anyway?”

            “It is your choice,” said Korena. “You may remain an anonymous until you are needed as Weaponsmaster, or you may join them in Koracan. It is our job to see that you are ready to make the choice when it comes.”

            The relief Drea felt surprised her. She thought she was like a hero, but she didn’t even want to tear herself away from her average life. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Shawn with his comforting smile and kind eyes. “I was human too, you know. It’s only natural to keep hold of what we know. Change is one of our greatest challenges.”

            That’s right, thought Drea. She kept forgetting that Shawn was human like her. He understood probably more than anyone else.

            “So who was the woman I saw in my visions of you?” wondered Drea. She had been in Shawn’s body once, and fought with the girl.

            Immediately after she asked the question though, she regretted it. He looked to the sky with a type of longing. “Do not feel guilty for you curiosity. She died and I continued on. She was my girlfriend. The vision you saw was before I knew I was the Weaponsmaster. After that...”

            “What happened to her?”

            “I didn’t see her again for so many long years. I didn’t want her to get hurt because of me, so I insisted she stay on Earth. She passed away long before me due to the dimensions. That was centuries ago.”

            “Who was the man I saw in your picture Korena? And what were you doing in that vision?”

            She also looked down with a similar longing. Drea could only imagine being alive for so long without the pain of losing everyone ever leaving. “That man was my husband in Koracan. When I became Weaponsmaster, he was thrilled, but I had some doubts.” She looked up at Drea, and for the first time, looked devoid of life. “I knew it was a great honor, but they told me that I couldn’t have children with my new role. I argued with them bitterly about it to no avail. I was just too important to not fight for nine months.”