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It was a little uncomfortable to stand perfectly still as a woman I’d never met before silently measured me with a tape measure, acting as though she was trying to fit me for a coffin. But in spite of how awkward the situation felt, I couldn’t help but feeling a little excited as well. After all, this was the next step in my becoming an active duty Val Kyr.

This morning had started the way things often did, with sword lessons and sparring, though after a couple hours, Lindrell had changed things up. The rest of the morning had been spent with lessons on triad combat tactics, which focused largely on what the roles of the triad members were and how they could support each other. And though this had been fascinating, it had also been a clear reminder that I didn’t fit into any of those roles, and as such, seemed to have no real place in the triad. By the time lunch came, I was feeling pretty depressed again, though everything turned around once Lindrell told me what was planned for the afternoon.

After lunch, Julie and I were sent to a section of Val Halla where neither of us had been yet. There was a large building, and at the front there was a blacksmith’s forge where a Val Kyr was taking hammer to anvil and making what was clearly intended to be a sword. The two of us stopped and watched her working the metal for several minutes before going further into the building, seeing another Val Kyr who was working a pottery wheel and one who was doing glass blowing. This entire building was reserved for artisans and craftsmen…craftswomen, containing various tools and workshops, including the one that was claimed by Lindrell for her furniture making. However, there was only one shop that we were interested in at the moment.

I instinctively flinched when Zubell, the woman with the tape measure, suddenly cupped my breasts, though she was completely professional as she did so. Still, Julie burst out laughing from where she was sitting a short distance away. I glared at her, though she responded by sticking out her tongue. Of course, Julie had already gone through this whole thing as well, right before it was my turn.

“I have everything I need for the two of you,” Zubell said, giving each of us a speculative look. “Wait right here…”

As soon as Zubell went into the next room, Julie gave me a grin and said, “This is so exciting…”

“I know what you mean,” I responded with a grin of my own.

Zubell returned a couple minutes later and set a pile of armor pieces on the floor. She separated the pile out into two smaller piles, one of them intended for Julie and one for myself. After all the training that we’d done over the last two weeks, we were finally being given our own armor. I could hardly wait to try it on.

“Since neither of you is jatta,” Zubell told us, “you won’t need the heavier armor. This should allow a good balance between protection, flexibility, and ease of movement.”

With that, Zubell began to help Julie get dressed in her new armor, demonstrating how it went together, adjusting the straps and making sure everything fit. Julie’s new armor was a mixture of leather and finely woven chain mail, and it looked pretty good on her. Once she was fully dressed, Zubell looked her over and seemed satisfied as well.

“Wear this as much as possible over the next week,” Zubell instructed Julie. “You’ll familiarize yourself with wearing armor, and as your essence infuses with it, it will adjust to your body further, becoming both stronger and more comfortable.”

“But I can infuse my essence with it right away,” Julie pointed out, just a little smugly.

“Every notru says the exact same thing,” Zubell pointed out with a scowl. “And while true, quickly infused essence will also fade quickly. Essence you allow to build slowly lasts much longer and will become more personally attuned to you.”

Julie nodded at that, having a thoughtful look on her face. As a notru, she’d been practicing on how to push her essence into other things quickly, so this was probably the first time she’d been told to hold back and go slowly.

While Zubell helped me get dressed in my armor, Julie practiced stretching and moving around in hers. “You know,” she told me with a grin. “I feel like I’m doing a Xena cosplay…”

“Just don’t expect me to be Gabrielle,” I pointed out wryly.

Julie just grinned more broadly. “Why not? You are the blonde one.”

Once my armor was on and fully adjusted, I moved around carefully, surprised at just how light it felt. Then again, I was a lot stronger than I used to be, even if I didn’t look it. I went over to the full length mirror that Zubell had on the wall and looked myself over, amazed at how dangerous I looked. With this armor on, I actually looked like a warrior woman from some video game or book…or like the Val Kyr I now was.

My armor was a little more heavy duty than Julie’s was, with some overlapping metal plates for my torso and back, though it wasn’t as sturdy as Lindrell’s armor either. All in all, it looked pretty awesome and I had no doubt that if I showed up at a fantasy convention in this gear, I’d probably get a lot of compliments.

“Bring your armor back to me if it requires repair,” Zubell told us in a professional tone. “And once you have a decade under your belt, you can talk to me about custom armor if you’re so interested.” With that, she turned her back to us and began cleaning up, making it clear that we were dismissed.

As we walked away, Julie stared down at herself and grinned, much the way she did when she was checking out a cosplay costume that she was particularly proud of. “This is awesome…”

“Definitely,” I agreed, giving her a matching grin. “The only thing we’re missing is some real weapons.”

I grinned for almost the entire walk across Val Halla, back to where we were going to meet up with Lindrell again. At the moment, I was in a very good mood since for perhaps the first time, I actually felt like I belonged…like I’d been accepted as Val Kyr. I just tried not to think of everything I’d left behind in order to earn this chance.

When Julie and I arrived at our usual training spot, I saw Lindrell and Shannon were both already there, dressed up in their armor and looking ready to go. Julie grinned at the sight of them and asked, “How do we look?”

“Like Val Kyr,” Lindrell answered with a faint smile before her expression turned grim. She gave me a look that suddenly made me worried.

“What’s wrong?” I asked suspiciously.

“Our triad has been given orders to go on a training mission,” Lindrell answered with a scowl. “We’re going out with another triad to check on a report of some minor daemons.”

“All right,” Julie exclaimed, nearly jumping with excitement. However, I hadn’t missed the fact that Lindrell didn’t clearly didn’t share her enthusiasm. She put a hand on my shoulder and said, “We’re finally going to go on a mission…”

“Michelle isn’t going,” Shannon stated, making Julie and I both freeze.

Lindrell gave me an apologetic look as she explained, “Michelle, I’ve been ordered to leave you behind…”

“What?” I asked defensively. “Why?”

Shannon looked like she was about to say something but Lindrell gave her a cold look and she shut her mouth. Then Lindrell looked back to me. “I’ve been told that you aren’t to go into the field until you’ve had further training. Unfortunately, while we’re gone, you’ll remain here in Val Halla…training.”

With those words, my good mood crashed through the floor and the confidence I’d been starting to feel over the last few days faded away. I grimaced, clenching my fists in anger and trying to fight back the tears that threatened to come. After all the hard work I’d been putting in to show that I could pull my own weight, it still wasn’t good enough. This was a firm reminder that I was a convert with no pillar…and that I’d never accepted as Val Kyr. I’d lost my body…my dad…everything I knew for nothing.

“I’m sorry,” Lindrell told me in a gentle tone, giving me an apologetic look.

Julie gave me a worried look then abruptly threw her arms around me. “Don’t worry,” she promised me quietly, “Everything will work out… I know it will. You just have to have faith.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” I spat out bitterly, making Julie wince. I bit my tongue before I could say more. I was pissed…and even jealous…but it wasn’t Julie’s fault.

“We’re leaving immediately,” Lindrell said, looking to Shannon and then Julie. Then she stared at me with worried look and something else that I couldn’t quite read. “I’ve been instructed to send you straight to the fifth courtyard as soon as possible.” She reached out and put hand on my shoulder, looking me straight in the eyes, then quietly added, “You have what it takes to be a great Val Kyr. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

I nodded at that, not trusting myself to actually say anything. I was afraid that if I did, I’d either burst out crying or start yelling, neither of which would help to get me taken seriously. As the three of them started for the door, I finally called out to Julie, “Be careful.”

“You too,” she responded, giving me a worried look.

Shannon hesitated at the door, then said, “Maybe next time, after you’ve completed your remedial training…”

Once everyone was gone, I let out a snarl and punched the wall in anger. My fist cracked the stone where it struck, but my entire hand was immediately filled with pain. I let out a yelp of pain and then grabbed my hand, though I could already feel my val going to work on it. It wouldn’t take long before any injury I’d given myself would be completely healed, as though it had never happened. If only my emotional bruises could heal as quickly as the physical ones.

“It’s not fair,” I muttered bitterly. “After all this…” I looked down at my armor, which just a short time ago had been a clear sign that I’d been accepted as a Val Kyr. Now, it almost seemed like it had been given to me as a joke.

I remained where I was four about ten minutes, long enough to cool down, at least enough so that I was no longer punching or kicking the wall. It was also enough to heal my hand, at least most of the way. My hand was still a little tender, but I knew that even that would fade quickly. That meant I’d probably meant that instead of breaking bones, I’d probably just bruised it pretty good.

Then I finally remembered that I was supposed to go straight to the fifth courtyard for my remedial training, though I certainly wasn’t in the mood for it at the moment. Then again, I was pretty pissed off so maybe being able to swing a sword at someone was just what I needed. With that in mind, I started for the courtyard, wondering who they were going to have teach me this time. With the way my luck was running, it would probably be Jass or one of the other women who hated me on general principle.

The fifth courtyard was probably the smallest courtyard in Val Halla, but it was completely walled in so it was also the most private. There were no rose bushes, ivy climbing the walls, or other plants as decorations, but when I entered the courtyard, I saw that weapons racks had recently been placed against the walls. There was also a woman present, fully armored and wearing a helmet which obscured her features. She was standing in the middle of the courtyard, obviously waiting for me.

“I am Ionne,” she stated as soon as I entered the courtyard. “Take up a weapon and attack me.”

The woman…Ionne held a spear, though it wasn’t like any spear I’d seen before, even in the weapons racks of the notru training hall. This spear had a sharp metal point, not just on one end, but on both. After looking at that spear, I was tempted to grab a spear from the rack so she wouldn’t have the advantage in reach, but I had a lot more practice with a sword than with a spear so I grabbed one of those from the weapons rack instead.

I approached Ionne cautiously, not knowing anything about her, though from the spear, I guessed she was notru. She wasn’t wearing a sash. I took a swing at her and she easily blocked my attack, then swung her spear around and in a swift move, hit my ankle and knocked my foot out from underneath me. I hit the ground hard, and before I could even get up, she lunged at me, nearly impaling me with the tip of her spear.

Though I scrambled back and out of the way, Ionne kept coming. I managed to get back to my feet but had to block her attacks as quickly as I could. Several of her strikes got through my defenses, making me thankful I was wearing armor. But at the same time, the armor was unfamiliar and was slowing me down. I might have been able to do better without it, though I wasn’t willing to find out at the moment.

“Is that all you have?” Ionne asked, sounding almost disappointed. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

I grimaced in anger, feeling sick and tired of all these Val Kyr treating me like I was crap because I’d been born a guy…or because I wasn’t as powerful. I hadn’t asked to become Val Kyr, to give up everything I used to be, but I’d tried my best to look at this as an opportunity and deal with it. But no matter how hard I tried, it never seemed to be enough.

With a grimace of determination, I charged at Ionne again, attacking her as hard as I could. She continued blocking, smacking me with the spear and then swiping at my feet. I was getting better at sensing when she was about to do that though, thanks for my practice with the kaern. I just had to pay attention, let myself sense when she was starting to make a move so I knew what she was about to pull on me. Then when the opportunity presented itself, I swung my sword at her as hard as I could, having learned from my sparring sessions that I was stronger than any of the notru or kaern I’d practiced against. However, she stopped my attack, taking a step back from the impact but not being thrown off like I’d been hoping.

Suddenly, Ionne lashed out with her spear, and as I went to block it, she lunged forward and swept my foot from underneath me, then she continued forward and slammed me to the ground. I scrambled back to my feet, only to have her to it again. This was getting more than a little frustrating.

“Why don’t you stay down?” Ionne asked. “It will be much easier on you…”

I didn’t answer Ionne, at least not with words. Instead, I renewed my attack, though she kept dodging and blocking, reacting so quickly that there was no doubt that she was kaern. Kaern were the only ones who had reflexes that sharp.

“You can’t defeat me,” Ionne stated as though this was a simple fact.

Ionne swung her spear at me, using it more as a staff at the moment. I blocked with my sword, being knocked back by the impact. She was strong, though I was used to sparring against Lindrell and she hit a lot harder.

“Lindrell has been teaching you well,” Ionne, suddenly lunging again hitting me with the spear. This time, if it hadn’t been for my armor, she would have impaled me. “But you still don’t stand a chance.”

“I don’t care,” I responded angrily, sick and tired of everyone wanting me to turn and run away. Or at least, that was what it felt like at times.

Ionne attacked again, and when I tried blocking, the sword was knocked from my hand and sent flying. She swung the spear at me, hitting me in the side, hard enough that it would have broken ribs if not for my armor, then she swept my feet out from beneath me before driving the spear tip right into my chest.

“Stay down,” Ionne commanded.

“No,” I snapped, glaring up at her.

Ionne backed away, letting me return to my feet. Then she suddenly slammed the tip of her spear straight down into the ground. An instant later, there was a flash of lightning, though where it came from I didn’t know. It struck the spear and sent a burst of sparks flying in every direction. Though Ionne didn’t seem to be affected at all, I felt a burning through my body, feeling almost as though I’d just been hit with a taser.

From what I’d been told, nearly every Val Kyr could perform some kind of trick, using some of the essence stored in their weapons to do amazing things. Lindrell cold create frost and ice from her axe, and it appeared that Ionne could turn her spear into a lightning rod. Fortunately, I also knew that this would use up the extra essence, and that for anyone but notru, they’d need to recharge their weapon before they could do use it again.

I scrambled back to my feet, feeling sore and shaken from that attack and wondering just how bad it would have been if she’d actually stuck me with the spear before doing that. I shuddered at the thought, then tried to push it aside. I started back towards my sword, though she threw her spear and it stuck into the ground, right between me and the sword.

“You don’t give up easily,” Ionne said, sounding pleased by that. “Good.” She walked over to a weapon rack and pulled out a large war hammer, one that was like an oversized sledge hammer, though not nearly as large as Lei’s. “Pick a new weapon.”

I took one more look at my lost sword, then went to the weapons rack and looked over the variety of different weapons. Since Ionne obviously intended for me to use something other than the sword, I grabbed a spear. It wasn’t a double sided spear like the one she’d been using, but I hoped the extra reach would help me beat her.

Ionne made no comment about my weapon choice and merely gestured for me to attack. I didn’t need any more invitation than that. I lunged at her, though she used the hammer to knock the spear blade aside. Her weapon was heavier and slower than mine, but she continued blocking, reacting the moment I began making my moves. Yet again, I was certain she was kaern.

Then Ionne swung the large hammer at me and I used the spear to block, though she’d hit with enough force to send me flying back onto my ass. I quickly scrambled back to my feet, a bit surprised at how strong she was. I didn’t think she was jatta, but she was hitting harder than any kaern or notru I’d sparred with.

We continued sparring with hammer and spear, with her getting past my defenses several times, giving me several hard blows that would have broken bones if it wasn’t for my armor. My armor was holding up a lot better than I would have expected, for which I was grateful. I really didn’t want to have to take it back to Zubell for repairs on the same day she’d given it to me.

“Pay attention,” Ionne ordered, holding out her hammer.

Since she’d just warned me to pay attention, I did just that, and I could feel it as she began pouring essence into the hammer. I was surprised at that since only notru could push essence into something so quickly and easily, but Ionne was kaern… Wasn’t she?

Ionne stood there for a moment, still holding her newly infused hammer, then she slammed it into the ground. There was BOOM and the ground shattered and exploded, sending a shockwave of shattered stone in my direction. Since I was paying attention, I saw the wave coming in time to leap to the side and avoid it.

I stared at Ionne…and her hammer, wondering how she’d done that. Was she kaern or notru? I’d been certain she was kaern, but she’d just pulled out essence and used it as a weapon like the notru. Then again, she hadn’t infused her essence into either the air or the ground…only into her weapon. She’d used the same kind of weapon trick that any Val Kyr could perform, though she’d charged the weapon much more quickly.

In spite of the fact that I was worried about what she was going to pull on me next, I was also excited. That trick she’d just pulled… I was sure I could do it. After all, when I’d been training with the notru, I’d been able to generate enough essence to do a few small things…maybe even enough to charge a weapon.

With that, I pushed my own essence into the spear I was holding and I felt it charge up. It was now stronger and tougher, with the tip being even sharper and more effective. However, I pushed in even more essence, all that I could spare. The whole spear was infused with essence, more than it needed to merely be a spear.

Ionne made no move to attack me while I was doing this. Instead, she stood back, watching me expectantly…waiting for me. It took me a moment to realize that she wanted me to copy her move. She wanted me to do the same thing she had.

“I can do this,” I muttered, focusing on my spear and the extra essence it contained. I wasn’t sure how to make full use out of it, but even as I thought that, the entire spear burst into flame. It didn’t burn my hands, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to risk holding it long enough to give it a chance.

Still, I didn’t want to waste this opportunity, so I charged at Ionne and tried to hit her with the spear. She leapt back so I drove the tip of my spear into the ground at her feet. Suddenly, all the flame rushed right out of the spear and onto the ground, where it continued to burn like a puddle of napalm.

“Holy shit,” I blurted out in surprise.

“An interesting manifestation of your essence,” Ionne commented, sounding amused. “Now switch weapons.”

Ionne casually tossed her hammer aside and went to the weapon rack, pulling out a broadsword. I followed her lead, dropping the spear and going to pick out an axe. Then we went at it again.

It was strange to spar with a weapon that I’d never used before, and one I wasn’t comfortable with. Ionne obviously held back because of that, but she still got past my defenses to hit me numerous times.

I didn’t have enough essence to charge my new weapon up the way I had my spear, so we sparred in a fairly normal fashion for about twenty minutes, until Ionne decided to step things up again. She charged her sword with essence and it suddenly burned with a glowing green aura, one which made me wary. Fortunately, by then, I was able to pull out enough essence again to charge up my axe. Once I did, a thin layer of frost formed over the blade, much like when Lindrell used her ability.

“Good,” Ionne said, right before she swung her sword right at my head. I brought the axe up to block, and to my surprise, she cut right through it. Her blade barely missed actually hitting me, but that was obviously due to her control rather than my defense. Since my axe was destroyed, she just casually tossed her sword to the side.

I expected Ionne to tell me to pick a new weapon, but instead, she just punched me. Her fist connected with my jaw and I was knocked back, feeling almost as though I’d been punched by Buff…before my Val Kyr augmentation. Ionne didn’t say a word and just came at me, throwing another punch.

“I don’t think so,” I said, blocking her punch, which seemed to surprise her. I just grinned, suddenly feeling a little more confident in my chances. I’d never taken a martial arts class in my life, but my dad had taught me how to fight.

Fighting Ionne unarmed was different than fighting her with a weapon. Since we were both wearing armor, our punches and kicks couldn’t actually hurt each other, with one exception. I didn’t have a helmet, so any of her punches to my face still hurt, but she was wearing a helmet so I was unable to return the favor. Still, for about five minutes, we traded punches and kicks until she suddenly swept around and kicked me in the stomach hard enough to send me flying back to where I landed on my back.

Ionne came and stood over me, but she made no move to kick me or further attack like I might have expected. Instead, she reached down, offering a hand to help me up. After hesitating for a second, I accepted it.

“You do not surrender in the face of a superior foe,” Ionne stated, sounding pleased. “You’ve shown that you can learn quickly and be flexible when the situation changes. I’m pleased to see that I won’t be wasting my time with you.”

I winced at that, then said, “I imagine you’re probably not happy having to give me remedial training.”

“Remedial training?” Ionne asked, sounding surprised. “Is that what you think this is?” Then before I could answer, she stated, “I’m not here to provide any remedial training. I’m here as your mentor.”

With that, Ionne removed her helmet and shook her long silvery white hair free. Then she stared at me with frost blue eyes that seemed to look straight through me, making me suddenly feel as though I was frozen in place. All I could do was stare back in recognition…and shock at the realization that the person I’d just spent the last couple hours sparring with was none other than Freya.