The training grounds were a lot bigger than I expected. I had never been to the training grounds before since I never had a reason to. I mainly focused on music since it was one of the few things I was actually good at, but now, here I am. Chiaki was waiting for me near one of the practice dummies. As I was walking towards him, I felt nervous. I only really had skill in music, and never much else. What else could I possibly be good at?
"You sure took your sweet time getting here, Amaterasu," said Chiaki after he finally noticed me.
He grabs a short sword and hands it to me. I take the short sword and look at it. This is the first time I'm wielding an actual weapon.
Chiaki stepped behind me and said, "We'll first test out your physical skills for swordsmanship. I want you to try and cut this dummy in half."
I look at the sword and the straw dummy held together by rope. How was I supposed to cut that thing in half? Regardless, I had to try. I take a deep breath and slash at the dummy and I do absolutely nothing to it. Chiaki examines the dummy before looking back at me.
"Hm, this was to be expected. Strange. You had good form but I guess your actual strength is lacking." He said as he examined the dummy some more, trying to see if anything was done before shaking his head. "Oh well. Let's run some other tests."
Next I was tested in spell casting. He taught me how to do basic spells but I struggled to cast them quickly, and when I finally did, the spell was extremely small and basically did nothing to the dummy. Next was a resilience test. Chiaki created low ranking creations to attack me. I withstood a good amount of the attacks before falling down. At least I think I did, but Chiaki tells me my resilience is pretty average. It's better than having little to no resilience.
As more tests were completed, Chiaki seemed a bit frustrated, but not at me. He sat down before speaking. "This is so strange. I learned how to sense the potential in someone while working with the High Priestess, and you have lots of potential. The problem is, I can't figure out what you have potential in." He sighs and gets back up, before signaling for me to follow him. "We still have one more test we can do. Follow me."
I quickly followed him and soon arrived at some kind of obstacle course, making me ask, "Wait, what kind of test is this?"
"This is an agility test," he responds. "This course will test your agility. As you go through the course, there are traps you'll have to avoid and you may have to run on walls. Start now. Time is of the essence."
I didn't ask any more questions and stood in front of the beginning of the course. I took a deep breath before beginning to run through the course. It was simple at first, I jumped from one wooden peg to another, then made a long jump across a big gap. Chiaki watched with a close eye, determined to figure out if this is where my potential lied. Soon I encountered my first trap, but it was a simple pitfall I was able to jump over easily. There were a couple pitfalls in a row, at times I needed to jump using my hands to ensure I wouldn't fall.
After making it about half way through the course, I hit a tripwire trap that swung a wooden log at me, forcing me to jump over the log and then using my hands to push myself forward and past the log, landing on my feet but stumbling forward a bit. I felt like I was actually doing good, I felt accomplished. I knew during school I showed promise in agility, but I didn't think I showed this much promise. The traps got more difficult to deal with as I got deeper into the course, but I eventually finished it, but I was exhausted. Chiaki walked over to me and handed me some water, which I gladly accepted and drank.
"Well, I think we found where most of your potential lies. We'll focus on training your agility and acrobatics for these next few days so you can at least survive the selection." Chiaki smiled and patted my back.
Hearing that I had potential in something other than music, it made me smile. I knew I had promise in agility, but I didn't know I had lots of potential in it. Maybe people won't fully compare me to my sister anymore. But on second thought… I would rather not have the attention focused on me. Sadly, I don't have much control over that anymore being the new official High Priestess candidate. All I can do now is train as hard as I can. 3 days of training. I hope I am ready for this.
The next day of training was rough. Chiaki was strict. Any kind of mistake I made during an exercise, he would point it out then make me restart the entire exercise. Usually it would take me four or more tries to do an exercise correctly. Even if I did it correctly, Chiaki made me redo the exercise again until I completed it correctly three times in a row. While that was rough, I knew it needed to be like this. The fate of the tribe depended on me now. I couldn't be complaining. When I did get breaks, it was mainly questions for Chiaki on how the selection works.
I learned this about the selection from Chiaki. Getting the obvious out of the way, the selection process takes one candidate from all six tribes in the Roku Tribe Union. When the selection begins, there are 3 phases every day. The training phase, the social phase, and the free reign phase. During the training, candidates can either train by themselves or with other candidates to hone their combat abilities. They may also train in whatever they wish to train in.
During the social phase, candidates are encouraged to talk and get to know each other. No matter who becomes the High Priestess, they will work together so a positive relationship with all candidates is needed. However, if candidates wish to train during this phase, they are allowed to.
The free reign phase allows for candidates to do whatever they wish within the rules of the selection such as training, socializing, sleeping, or eating.
As the selection progresses, usually 2 weeks into the selection, candidates will eventually be allowed to challenge each other in duels to gain legitimacy for the High Priestess position. The more legitimacy a candidate has, the higher chance they have in becoming High Priestess. You can also gain legitimacy by completing various missions that are assigned to you. However, legitimacy doesn't guarantee that you will become High Priestess. Your relationship with your fellow candidates or subordinates may also play a huge role in the decision.
It was a lot to take in, but I couldn't focus on that right now. I still had two more days of training and I need to take advantage of every second.
The second day of training was extremely similar to the first. Lots of acrobatic and agility exercises. The only thing different was now I was training with a short sword, learning how to effectively use my agility to attack and defend. It was exhausting but I eventually got the basics down.
When the second day of training ended, and I was walking home, I was suddenly swarmed by people and completely bombarded with questions.
"Amaterasu! Do you think you'll have a chance to become High Priestess?" One person yelled out.
"How do you expect to stand out like your sister did?" Another person yelled out to me.
"Will three days of training really be enough to compete with the other candidates?" One person yelled from behind.
I felt overwhelmed as I tried to respond to everyone. "Well um, I-" The words wouldn't leave my lips. I couldn't answer any of them. I didn't know the answer to their question. As I feel like I'm about to be swallowed by everyone, Chiaki steps between me and the crowd of people.
"Give her some space! She has no time to answer such ridiculous questions!" Chiaki's voice boomed out, instantly making everyone shut up and back off.
I felt a wave of relief wash over me after finally getting some space. I still don't like the attention and I don't think I ever will.
"Thank you, daimyo…" I said after sighing out of relief.
Chikai pats my shoulder before responding. "Don't mention it, kid. You have other things to focus on. Go get some rest now."
"Yeah, I will." I make my way back to the living quarters prepared for me personally.
The moment I make it back, I collapse on the bed and shove my face into the pillow. The bed is comfortable so I am able to let my worries wash away. I didn't really get much time to think about today. I'll be training early in the morning and then leave for the Shrine of the Gods for the selection. I don't know if I'm ready for this, Tsukuyomi. I don't want to let you down, but I'm not skilled like you are. I hope the gods and spirits watch over us so you can wake up, and I can at the very least, survive.
The final training session was just reviewing everything I had learned, and gaining muscle memory for certain situations. By the time afternoon came, the training stopped and I was preparing to leave. And to my surprise, my parents had shown up as well to say their goodbyes.
Running up and hugging me tight, my mom says, "My dear Amaterasu! Please be safe on the journey and be strong! I know you're probably worried about your sister. We all are, but I know if she was awake, she'd be excited for you and cheer you on."
My dad places a hand on my shoulder, smiling, "You'll do great. I'm sure you'll make plenty of new friends too. No need to worry. Once the selection is over, your mother and I will be waiting back at home, along with your sister."
Their words made me tear up. They were just as worried about Tsukuyomi as I was, if not more so. They were hiding their pain so well, it was hard to tell if they were even sad at all. They are being strong for me before I leave.
I hugged my mom and dad tight, trying to not cry as I spoke, "Thank you. I promise I won't let you down. I'll return stronger so I don't need anyone to protect me anymore!"
My mom and dad look at each other and laugh, both of them looking at me in the eyes.
Mom responds, "Oh sweetie, you can already do that. All your hard work shows it."
Dad follows, "Your mom is right. You've already become stronger and you will continue to. Don't believe anyone that says otherwise."
My lip quivers, I am on the verge of tears but I still speak. "Y-Yeah! I will!"
I hugged them for what felt like hours. I didn't want to let go, but before I knew it, I was about to leave the tribe, standing near the Eclipse Tribe flag. Ready for the High Priestess selection.