Thunder Chronicles: Path of the Light (Volume One)
Prologue - #3 Two Blades
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The medical house was located in the southern part of the estate, where it was surrounded by small pine trees. Raito and Kobo pushed open the doors of the house, made of dark pine planks, which were arranged in such a way that they created small windows covered with paper.
Entering the slightly damp hallway, Raito and Kobo took off their shoes and put them on the threshold, after which they climbed onto the wooden floor. Walking a little straight and then to the right, they found themselves in a long lighted corridor, at the very end of which, on the right side, was the open door of the room in which Ren was.
— Who did this to you? — Kobo was very surprised by Ren condition when he entered the recovery room.
Ren coughed slightly and somehow turned his head to his right, where the door was. His face was almost completely hidden behind bandages, only his eyes, mouth and black hair were visible. They put a cast on his right arm and leg, apparently the fight was really difficult for Ren.
— Was that the bald guy? — Kobo was even more surprised.
— Ugh. — Ren either grinned or cleared his throat. —That boar wasn't that much of a problem.
—It's strange to see you in this condition. — Raito said, sitting down on a stool in front of Ren's bed.
— Yes, who did you meet there? — Kobo asked, standing closer to the door.
— That bald boar escaped almost as soon as you all left the square... — Ren pronounced with a little difficulty... — another, much stronger one came there instead. The guy looks my age, maybe a couple of years older. With such dark gray hair and gray-green clothes.
— Was he from the Purge? — Kobo asked.
— Of course, they are who attacked. — There was something like 'squad three' was written on his kimono.
Kobo and Raito's faces did not change at all, although they tried to feign understanding of what was said.
— What? — Ren asked, looking at the guys' looks.
—What's 'squad three'? —Raito asked.
— Most likely it was the commander of the third Purge squad... — Ren stammered a little, trying to scratch his left ear... — it seems his name was Kogaku.
— Is he that strong, this Kogaku? — Kobo asked, standing with his arms crossed.
— As you can see. — Ren said, turning to face Kobo. — I even had to pretend to be dead by hiding the energy.
The sound of sliding doors was heard from the corridor, and after a couple of seconds they slowly closed. Muffled footsteps could be heard from the corridor, it became clear that the man who entered the medical house was heading towards Ren.
There was a light knock, after which the door, which Kobo had closed a minute earlier, opened and a girl appeared in the doorway, six-eight meters tall, no taller. She was wearing wide traditional white trousers, a neat white kimono and a blue haori with a pattern in the form of a sea wave and a blue-eyed flower. This girl's hair was blue-white, resembling the purest white from afar, and her pupils were white with black edges.
Raito and Kobo turned towards the door, a little taken aback, as the appearance of the man indicated his status and importance within the Shadow organization.
— Good afternoon, Ren. — The girl said in a light voice.
— Good afternoon, Saishi, what are you doing here?
— I came to check on you, because you were badly injured after the fight. — The girl said.
— Very unusual for you.
The girl stopped approximately between Raito and Kobo, being right in front of the door, while Kobo himself stood at the window in the corner of the room. She turned first towards Johnsen, and then looked into Raito's eyes. Both expressed some perplexity, but tried to make their faces more serious so as not to raise questions.
— Aren't you guys graduates? — The girl asked, looking at Raito at that moment.
— I am, he is not. — Answered Raito, who sat down exactly on a stool (before that he was almost lying on the headboard of the bed).
— I see, I see... — the girl said with a slight thoughtfulness... — are you hurt?
— No, the girl with emerald eyes and the blue—eyed guy fit in for us& — Kobo said confidently.
— Ha ha! — The girl laughed loudly. — Yes, Kaisa and Ludwicht are good guys.
— This Kaisa, she has a very interesting element. — Raito said.
— Yes, she is the only one who owns the emerald lightning in the whole world. — Ren said. — Perhaps she can be considered the creator of this element.
— Is it possible to create an element? — Kobo asked, leaning against the back wall, periodically pushing off with his hands from it.
— No, but some people get a chance to master the rare ones. There's no way to predict this, even you could have been born not with a stone, but with some previously nonexistent one.
— Why, Kobo couldn't. — Raito said.
— Why? — Ren asked, but quickly came to his senses. — Oh, that's right, you're Johnsen.
— Yes, yes, we all own only a stone element. — Kobo said proudly.
— Wow, so you're from the hereditary family? — The girl asked smiling. — How interesting, me too.
— Seriously? — Kobo shouted in surprise and joy. — And from which one?
— I'm from the water element clan. — Putting her hand to her chest, the girl said smiling. — Maori.
Raito raised his head to the girl, who now began to examine in more detail – the name of her family sounded loudly in his head, because it was this family that ruled in the Land of Thunder before the revolution.
— Maori? — Raito asked.
— Yeah, it's me. — The girl turned to Raito.
— Isn't it...
— What's your name? — The girl smiled.
The course of events kept Raito in suspense, and now he was in a deep misunderstanding of what was happening. He looked into the white eyes of a girl who sincerely wanted to meet the guys who had arrived at the estate.
— Hakami Raito.
The girl continued to smile, but now she didn't blink. Raito was a little scared, maybe his name didn't please her somehow or something else. From the outside, Hakami could not assess Saisha's reaction, only saw her former smile.
— It's a pleasure, Raito. — The girl said, holding out her hand and smiling. — I wonder if you're from the thunder element clan, aren't you?
— Yes, but I didn't awaken my element.
— Is that so? Why is that?
— What's the need, I'm not fighting anyone. — Raito spread his hands. — My father, grandfather and many other ancestors became warriors only because of customs and duties to the family. I didn't grow up in the circle of my clan, since my mother and I went to Windhelm.
Saishi looked at Raito with a slightly sad look, but immediately returned her smile to her face.
— And what did you do at your usual time?
— Why are you interested in this? — Raito asked.
— I wonder what kind of life the descendant of the greatest clan of the Land of Thunder led. — The girl said in a calm voice, like the calm of the sea.
— Hmm, nothing special. — Raito wondered. — I went to the academy, sold tea herbs with Kobo in the shop on the Trade Square, which we extracted in the Valley of Atonement.
— Oh, I'd rather go back to the store. — Giving in to memories, Kobo said.
— Ugh-h. — Ren cleared his throat, and everyone looked in his direction. — Unfortunately, the capital is in a terrible state.
— How bad is it? — Raito asked, slightly startled.
Saishi's face became more serious, and she directed her gaze at Ren.
— About twenty thousand people died. — Saishi said.
Everyone fell silent, and there was shock and great fright in Raito's eyes.
— How is this possible? — Kobo asked.
— The forces of Purge frighten even the armies of states. They're outnumbered, they can make a real hell out of it.
— And what should be done? — Raito was saying fearfully. — My mother is there.
The girl turned towards Raito and thoughtfully lowered her gaze to the floor. She slowly walked over to the bed and carefully sat down on it, not touching Ren's right leg.
— Unfortunately, you will not meet her for a very long time. — Saishi said softly.
With dumbfounded eyes, Raito looked at Saishi, who raised her gaze out the window, next to which Kobo continued to stand, who had adopted the general atmosphere.
— By and large, it's better for you to hide now, since you don't know any combat techniques. — Saishi said. — The Purge, like the whole Thunder, apart from the fugitives, also seeks to destroy the remnants of the Hakami clan.
— Wh-what, why is that?
— To put it simply, the light element Katari clan is taking revenge on the thunder clan Hakami for hundreds of years of hostility or, as they say, oppression. — Saishi said. — I think that the grandson of the clan head would be a very desirable prey for the emperor.
— How do you know about my family?
— I've had contact with your clan before. — The girl turned to Raito. — Anyway, that's your position right now.
Raito couldn't tell if he was scared or angry. However, there was a feeling in his legs that any unnecessary movement could lead him to fall down somewhere. His legs were shaking.
— What can I do to protect myself? — Raito asked.
Saishi feigned a thoughtful look, touching her chin with her hand.
— You could be here and then, I guarantee, they won't find you. The girl said lightly. — But, in that case, you will have to do the work for the headquarters.
— And if i choose a more difficult path?
— More difficult? — Saishi asked, turning back to Raito, leaning on her left arm.
— How can I master the element? — Raito asked more specifically.
At that moment, Ren coughed, trying to say something. Everyone looked at him again. He reached out his uninjured hand to the shelf and reached for the glass. Seeing how Ren was unsuccessfully reaching for his goal, Saishi got up and walked around the bed, passing the glass into Ren's hand.
After drinking some water, with Saishi's help, Ren was still able to start talking.
— When you decide to do something like this, you bet on everything you have right now. — Ren said, rubbing his mouth. — Especially in the current situation.
— It seems that my bet has already failed. — Raito said with a sad smile.
— Do not be afraid, you will definitely not disappear with me. — Tried to cheer up friend Kobo, who has been fluent in his element for several years, although not at a professional level. — If there's anything I can do to help.
Ren directed Raito and Kobo to a man who could teach both the mastery of the element and inner energy. This man, whose age was almost four times Ren's age, lived in the west of the Land of Fire, around the picturesque Peaks of Jinfeng, which were single mountain peaks hidden from afar by a mountain range.
In the evening, Ren was able to get up and, although supported by crutches, get to the tea house, where Raito was sitting at that moment. In Arataki's armpit were two katana swords in a white scabbard, which he took out of the manor's storeroom.
— Hey! Come here, I'm not going up to the threshold.
— Ren, why did you get up!? — Raito exclaimed. — You haven't recovered yet.
— It doesn't matter. — Ren said, leaning against the wall. — Take this before you leave.
Raito took both blades in his hands and almost dropped them in surprise.
— What kind of blades are these? — Raito asked, examining the weapon.
— This is Hakami Rain's katanas, they must be real.
— Rain? Where did you get this? — Raito was very surprised.
Ren pushed his hair back with his hand, taking a long breath, as he was tired on the way to the tea house.
— Kaisa got them a couple of years ago at the market in Swallow Bay. — Said Ren. — She likes to carry all sorts of stuff that she won't need later, so the swords have been lying with us all this time.
Raito took one of the blades out of its scabbard and was surprised at its condition. There was a very thick rust on the blade, which looked like it could be about twenty years old – so thick was the layer. The other blade was in a similar state, which greatly annoyed Raito.
— The seller said that he caught them in a net near the island of Karenaha. — Said Ren, who was standing with his head raised. — Looking at their appearance, there seem to be no questions left for him.
Raito began to examine the hilts of the blades, which were identical. They were wrapped in black silk braid, which was only white striped on top and bottom. In the middle, unlike the entire handle, the fabric did not create lozenges among themselves, but was tightly tightened. The guards on both blades were black and thick, decorated with patterns resembling seaweed.
— Saishi wanted to throw them away or convert them into other weapons several times, but Kaisa defended her position every time for some reason. It seems like they have a master now, right?
— Yes, but they need to be sharpened. Who's going to fight with a rusty weapon?
— Oh, that's not a problem. Go to Essiah's forge, I think he won't mind.
The day was coming to an end, Raito took the blades to the blacksmith, who recognized them almost immediately, since some time ago Kaisa had raised the whole organization on its ears, but never used this weapon. Essiah is a fifty–year-old master blacksmith, originally from the distant desert lands of Hatnufar, honed his skills to perfection and it is his weapon that Shadow fighters fight with, whether it be daggers, swords, cleavers or the same katanas. Essiah did not refuse Raito's help, because he had been wanting to work on such an interesting weapon for quite a long time.
The master lubricated the blade with a small layer of oil, after which he began to run a special brush over it, which gradually removed pieces of rust. The layer was quite large, so the blacksmith spent the whole night just removing it from two blades and finished it only by dawn. It didn't bother him at all, rather the opposite – the master was very interested.
Then the grinding began, which the master performed with a special granular stone, on which he held the blades at an angle of about twenty degrees.
By eight in the morning, the weapon looked just like new – it was impossible to say that it had been under water for many years.