Among the Val Kyr part 15

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Lunch was a more than welcome break from a morning of long and painful training. This morning, Ionne had been too busy with her other responsibilities to train me, so I’d been sent to the jatta training hall instead. And unfortunately for me, since it was now public knowledge that Ionne was my mentor, they’d taken off the kid gloves in order to keep me from getting a swollen head, or at least I assumed that was the reason.

Ionne had told me that when sparring against jatta, the secret was to use my reflexes and the fact that I could charge my weapon with more essence than they could. However, Lei, Bethany, and several other jatta reminded me that this was easier said than done. I might have several abilities that were superior to what they possessed, but each of them was stronger and more durable than I was, and they had a LOT of experience sparring with kaern and notru. If it hadn’t been for my armor, I probably would have broken every bone in my body. As it was, I’d broken my nose, which had already healed, and I’d received a painful lesson in humility.

“You’re getting better,” Bethany told me as she came over and slapped me on the back, giving me a cheerful smile in the process. “You’re getting pretty good at dodging and finding openings…”

“But not good enough,” I responded with a sigh. “I think my bruises have bruises.”

Bethany chuckled at that. “Think of that as motivation to be better the next time.”

“Why does that sound familiar?” I muttered, shaking my head at the standard Val Kyr motivation techniques.

Bethany sat down at the table and began to eat, then a minute later, Lei joined us. The large woman set her massive hammer down beside her chair, making me wince slightly as I saw it. That hammer had been responsible for half the bruises I’d received this morning, along with the broken nose. And as good as my reflexes had become, I couldn’t dodge the explosion she caused when she smashed the hammer into the ground. Fortunately, she’d only been able to use that on me once since she couldn’t recharge her essence nearly as quickly as I could.

“I still can’t believe you actually have Freya as your mentor,” Lei said after a few minutes. “I’ve never heard of her mentoring anyone…” She glanced to Bethany for confirmation since Bethany had been with the Val Kyr for even longer.

“I was wondering about that myself,” a new voice said. I looked over at Fleur as she came over and casually took a seat at our table as well. She gave me a curious look. “I’ve heard the rumors, but I’ve never been one for those.” She gave me an expectant look.

I let out a sigh, suddenly feeling self-conscious and on the spot. I was fully aware of the fact that there was no such thing as a private conversation in the cafeteria and that any and every kaern could be listening in at the moment…just like they had been yesterday at breakfast.

“You’ve probably noticed the white sash,” I told Fleur, earning a nod in response.

“I would assume it was because you belong to no pillar,” Fleur told me, “except that Freya wears a white sash as well. I’ve always assumed the color was merely a badge of her office, signifying that she was neutral and favored no pillar over the others…”

“It means we’re atra,” I told her, feeling awkward for having to explain something like this to women who’d been Val Kyr for centuries. “That our val is spread evenly over all the pillars instead of focused mostly on one.” I gave a wry look as I added, “Ionne…Freya told me that she’d been the last one…until now.”

“I’ve heard of the atra,” Fleur admitted with a thoughtful look. “Though admittedly, I’ve never heard much of them, save that they had faded from existence.”

“That’s about what I heard,” Bethany agreed with a nod. “I’ve heard the name, but I don’t remember hearing many details, and I certainly don’t remember ever hearing that Freya was one.”

“She’s my mentor because she’s the only one who can be,” I pointed out with a sigh.

And though Freya hadn’t actually said so, she’d suggested that once I was experienced, assuming I survived long enough, I’d be the one to train any future atra…if any more ever appeared. At the rate the Val Kyr were recruiting converts, that wasn’t likely to be anytime soon.

“I wonder why it’s been so long since we’ve had an atra,” Lei mused thoughtfully.

I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything, though I was itching to answer her question. It was nice to finally be the one to know something that the experienced Val Kyr didn’t, but I didn’t dare take advantage of that to show off…at least not this time. Somehow, I didn’t think that Ionne would be very happy with me if I told everyone in Val Halla that she was a convert, especially considering the way a lot of women treated us.

Then I considered the fact that Ionne was the one who’d actually banned new converts, and just how hypocritical that order was. Though I hadn’t asked her about it, I had thought about it quite a bit over the last two days. I was pretty sure that she’d done it mostly for political reasons, to convince the Val Kyr that she was doing something about the ‘convert problem’, though I doubted that was the only reason. After all, converts were having it pretty rough at that time period…and after what had happened with Estrid, any new ones would have had it even worse. My guess was that Ionne had tried solving the problem by removing converts from the picture…at least until things cooled off.

While we ate, I explained a little bit more about what it meant to be atra, and I felt rather smug as I did so. I was definitely enjoying the opportunity to be the one in the know, even if I felt a little silly for it at the same time. After all, how could I really be an expert on the subject when I’d only learned all this myself over the last two days? Still, I knew enough to answer most of their questions.

“That does explain a few things about how you fight,” Lei commented.

“Jack of all trades,” I responded with a shrug, “master of none.”

When we finished eating, we all went our separate directions. As I was leaving the cafeteria, I found my way blocked by Jass, who was giving me a cold look. She made no threatening moves towards me, but she was definitely hostile.

“I don’t know why Freya would waste her time with someone like you,” Jass spat out.

“Then why don’t you ask her?” I responded defensively. I was more than a little tired of her attitude.

“You don’t belong here,” Jass insisted. “Sooner or later, you’re going to get good Val Kyr killed. Your kind always do.” And with that, she turned and walked away, not even bothering to look back.

“Bitch,” I muttered, knowing that she she’d hear that if she was actually paying attention.

I shook my head, then continued on my way to the library where I was supposed to meet up with Ionne. I wasn’t sure how long this session was going to last since her schedule was a little busier than Lindrell’s, but I had little doubt that whatever she had in mind, it was going to be educational.

When I arrived at the library, I found that Ionne was already there. She was in the middle of a quiet conversation with Moraigh, and though I could have easily listened in, I avoided doing that in order to be polite. As it was, what little I did hear sounded like they were speaking in some other language, so eavesdropping wouldn’t have done me much good anyway. They finished their conversation a moment later and Moraigh immediately hurried off.

“Today, we will discuss atra tactics within a triad,” Ionne stated, gesturing towards some table and chairs, making her meaning clear.

After we were both sitting down, Moraigh came over and set a large book down in front of Ionne. The librarian stared at me for a moment before saying, “It has been quite some time since our last new atra.” Her voice was quiet and even, giving no real indication as to whether she thought that was a good thing or not. She nodded faintly towards Ionne, then walked away.

“The rest of your triad will also need to be taught to work with a center,” Ionne commented as she opened the book and then began her lecture.

The current lesson was similar to what we’d done yesterday afternoon, which was a LOT less painful than the sparring, but also a bit dry and boring in a lot of places. Still, in spite of the fact that I wanted to close my eyes and take a brief nap, I forced myself to pay attention to what she was saying. I’d already gotten into the habit of doing that during Lindrell’s lectures, but that was largely because I needed to be ready for whenever Lindrell pulled one of her pop quizzes. And if I could stay focused for Lindrell, I could certainly do that for Ionne too.

We had been talking for a little more than half an hour when another Val Kyr came into the library and bowed lightly to Ionne. “Freya,” she stated grimly, “I have urgent news.” Then she paused, her eyes going to me, silently asking the question of whether or not she should continue in front of me.

Ionne’s posture and expression shifted slightly and she went from being Ionne to being Freya. “Tell me,” she ordered.

“We’ve received word from Lindrell and Constance’s triads,” the messenger responded crisply.

I froze at that, suddenly becoming much more interested in this message since it dealt with my own triad. I watched the messenger closely, noting her grim expression and growing even more worried about my friends. Julie, Lindrell, and Nicole were all off on that training mission, along with Shannon…who I wasn’t quite sure whether to count as a friend or not.

“This isn’t a minor incursion with a few lesser daemons as was originally reported,” the messenger told Freya. “It’s a moderate incursion with three confirmed daemonites. They’re requesting immediate reinforcements.” I let out a gasp at that, suddenly feeling even more worried.

“Notify the first three triads on the emergency response list,” Freya told the messenger in a calm and professional tone. “Tell them to prepare for immediate briefing and deployment.”

“As you say,” the messenger responded, giving Freya a light bow before she hurried away.

“I’m afraid our lessons have ended for the day,” my mentor told me, her posture, expression, and tone of voice all saying that she was still in Freya mode.

As Ionne…Freya turned to leave, I frantically blurted out, “Can I go…?”

Freya turned back and fixed me with her frosty blue gaze, making me gulp as I once again remembered why I’d been intimidated by her. Still, I was worried, almost desperately so, and pleaded, “It’s my triad…my friends. I want to help… Please…”

“Very well,” Freya responded after a moment, her expression softening. “You may rejoin your triad.” Then as I let out a sigh of relief, though my heart raced nervously at the same time, she continued, “Go to the armory for some weapons. You’ll need better than a dulled training sword this time.”

“Thank you,” I told her before I raced off to the armory as fast as I could.

There were no guards watching over the armory, nor would it have made much sense for there to be. Every Val Kyr already had at least one personal weapon, and there were countless other weapons scattered across Val Halla as well. No one was the least bit concerned about someone coming in and helping themselves to another weapon or two, especially when these weapons weren’t even charged with essence. Fortunately for me, I didn’t need to spend a couple weeks infusing a weapon before I could really use it.

“Let’s see,” I said, looking over the large selection and trying to decide on what I wanted.

For a moment, I mentally ran over a list of the weapons I’d practiced with against Ionne and the special manifestations that I could unleash with each. When Ionne had talked about being versatile with weapons, she’d almost made it sound like she expected me to go into a fight armed with an entire arsenal, but that was not only impractical but silly. Instead, I just wanted one weapon and settled on a broadsword, mostly because I’d had a lot more practice with the sword than with any other weapon. Except one. After I grabbed a sheath for the sword, I also grabbed a compound bow and a quiver of arrows. The draw for the bow was way too light, but I knew that was just my new strength speaking.

I went to the first courtyard, which was the largest and most open one in Val Halla. This was the main courtyard, the one that most Val Kyr crossed several times a day while moving from one building to another. It was also the place where all the Val Kyr were gathering for the mission. So far, Freya was there, as were two of her three generals and five other women, mostly ones I didn’t know. Some of the gathered Val Kyr gave me curious looks while a couple others seemed more suspicious. Neither of those reactions surprised me anymore.

While Freya briefed the three triad leaders, I stood back and quietly listened in. At the moment, I didn’t really care if eavesdropping was rude or not. I just wanted to know if my friends were all right. Besides, from the expressions of the kaern who were present, I wasn’t the only one listening in.

A few minutes later, the remaining Val Kyr arrived, including Lei. I let out a faint sigh of relief at the sight of her and her large hammer. In spite of the fact that I’d asked for this…begged for it even, I was scared of going into an area with daemons running around. It was comforting to have at least one friendly face coming along.

“Michelle,” Lei greeted me, giving me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry… We’ll make sure Lindrell and Julie get back here safely.”

I nodded at that, then realized that she wasn’t including me in the ‘we’. She thought I was staying behind while she and the others went out. “Actually,” I told her, trying to hide my nervousness, “I’m coming too.” I held up my bow.

Lei gave me a look of surprise before cautiously saying, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’re going to be allowed…”

“Freya already gave her permission,” I said, only to earn another look of surprise.

“Then I guess you’re coming,” Lei responded with a sigh, looking just a little skeptical. Unlike with some of the Val Kyr, I knew that Lei’s doubt had less to do with my being a convert and an atra than it did to my lack of experience. “Just hold back and follow our lead.”

Once Freya was finished briefing the triad leaders, she looked around the group and stated, “You are walking into a hostile incursion with few details. Two triads are already on site, so your mission is to reinforce them and deal with the incursion. If possible, capture a daemonite for questioning. However, the first priority is ending the incursion as soon as possible, before the daemons either become entrenched or spread.”

As soon as Freya was finished with her brief speech, everyone who was going on the mission turned their attention to the center of the courtyard, and to what looked like some kind of art piece. Three stone pillars rose from the ground, each being about twenty feet tall and they were placed about fifteen feet apart from each other, forming a triangle. However, in spite of first impressions, this was no mere courtyard sculpture.

These three standing stones and the space between them were the very center of Val Halla, in more ways than one. This was the anchor point where Val Halla was tied to Earth, the thing responsible for driving the mists back, stabilizing the area, and making Val Halla possible. This was also the point where travel between the realms was possible, something which the daemons instinctively understood and wanted to take advantage of, which was the entire reason they kept surrounding Val Halla.

Three Val Kyr stood guard at the anchor, a triad with one member of each pillar. They were present in case any daemons got past the wall or the wrong person tried sneaking through from the other side. However, the kaern and notru also served another purpose as well, controlling the portal and communicating with Val Kyr in the field.

“You know where we need to go?” one of the triad leaders asked the guardians.

“Yes we do,” the notru responded with a nod. Then she held up three oddly shaped stones, each about the size of a golf ball, and she handed one to each of the triad leaders. “Remember to keep your keys close.”

“You say that every time,” a notru named Katherine said with an amused look.

“And my reminders must work,” the guard responded with a smile of her own, “because you have yet to lose one.”

With that, the notru guard reached out and touched one of the pillars, which was fully charged with essence…though not her essence. All three of the pillars were charged, apparently by the goddess who created Val Halla, the anchor, and the Val Kyr themselves. The space between the pillars was just an odd blur in the air, and it responded when the notru pushed her essence into the pillar.

“I always dislike this part,” Lei commented from beside me.

One by one, the Val Kyr walked between the standing stones and into the blur…then disappeared. I’d gone through this once before, though I didn’t remember it. I’d been unconscious at the time and in the middle of transforming. I felt a mixture of curiosity and nervousness, but when it was my turn, I stepped through without hesitation.

Suddenly, the world felt like it was twisting and spinning around me, and for a moment, I felt as though I was having a seriously bad case of motion sickness. However, this only lasted for several seconds before it went away and I realized that I was standing someplace new, someplace that definitely wasn’t Val Halla.

I was standing in the middle of a street, surrounded by buildings that looked nothing like the stone walls of Val Halla. A single sweeping glance around me was enough to reveal that we were now in a small town, one that didn’t seem to have any buildings taller than three stories. We were back in the real world, a world with blue sky, a real sun, and a horizon that didn’t suddenly end with a wall of daemon filled mist. I felt a surge of excitement at that...and relief. I’d been getting a bit tired of looking up and only seeing the dim twilight that was always present in Val Halla, so it was nice to actually feel the sunlight on my skin again.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Australia,” someone answered without looking at me.

“The streets are empty,” someone else point out grimly, making me realize that she was right.

A moment later, one of the kaern exclaimed, “We’ve got a daemon coming from the south…”

Everyone snapped around, and at first, I didn’t see anything. Then I focused and could sort of feel the movement a short distance away, right before I saw the creature running out from behind a car. It was about the size of a large dog but shaped mostly like a rabbit, though one without fur or skin. The creature let out a weird hissing noise as it raced across the street, its long ears pressed backward until they almost touched its back..

Suddenly, there was the familiar sound of a gun being fired. I looked to one of the Val Kyr beside me, noticing that she was holding a large handgun, the kind that if a normal woman had fired one handed like that, the recoil would have broken her wrist. The daemon rabbit tumbled to the ground, though it took two more shots before it wasn’t moving anymore.

“A minor daemon,” Lei commented, not sounding impressed. “There are supposed to be some bigger ones around here too.”

“There’s one up ahead,” one of the kaern stated grimly. “I can feel it around the corner.”

All ten of us carefully moved in the direction that was indicated, and a minute later, I saw the daemon that she’d sensed. At first glance, it appeared to be a graceful white unicorn. However, when I focused my attention on it and the creature came into a much clearer view, I could only gasp in disgust instead. The daemon was built something like antelope or deer, and I could see that it was also somewhat gaunt and bony. It had no white fur as I first thought, just glossy pale skin, the kind that I’d seen with horror movie vampires or things that lived in deep caves. It had four red eyes, two on each side of its head, and of course, there was the long black horn that jutted out from the center of the forehead.

I’d always thought that unicorns were supposed to be beautiful, graceful, and pure, so the sight of seeing the real thing…or at least a daemon that had probably inspired the stories, was a huge disappointment. This creature was hideous and disgusting, radiating a sense of unnatural wrongness. And when I saw what it was busy eating…a human body…the body of a child…I felt even more revolted.

“I thought unicorns like children,” I gasped in horror.

“They do,” a notru named Nadia responded in a cold angry tone. “Just not in the good way.”

The unicorn daemon looked up and saw us and snarled, revealing an overly-large mouth that was full of sharp teeth. A moment later it began charging straight at us, its head down so that it could impale someone with that nasty looking horn. The Val Kyr around me were immediately in motion, with all three of the notru spreading out and sending waves of ground towards the beast. It was hit with a swelling surge of concrete and stone shards, which brought it to a stop and knocked it to the ground.

“I hate these things,” Lei exclaimed as she ran straight at the unicorn. She leapt into the air and brought her massive hammer down with all her strength, smashing it into the daemon’s head and killing the creature with a single blow. All I could do was stare in amazement, knowing full well that Lei hadn’t even used any special essence tricks, just a big hammer and a lot of strength.

“My great grandmother was killed by one of these beasts,” the Val Kyr with the gun commented as she walked up to the daemon’s body and spat on it. “It impaled her from behind while she was trying to save a little girl…”

I stared at the dead daemon, feeling a mixture of curiosity and disgust. Nadia gave me a curious look and asked, “Is this the first time you’ve seen a daemon up this close?”

“No,” I answered, scowling as I remembered the last time I’d been this close to a daemon, which had been back in school when it had torn out my guts. “I’ve been closer.” That earned me some curious looks.

“I believe this confirms what we’ve been told,” one of the triad leaders stated. “We’ll split up to search for the other triads, then meet back here in an hour.” She looked at me and added, “Michelle, you’re with my triad.” I nodded in understanding.

“And ladies,” a triad leader by the name of Danah added, her eyes sweeping over all the Val Kyr present, though she paused to give me a skeptical look. “Be careful.”

With that, we broke up into the three triads, each going in a different direction. I was relieved to find myself accompanying Lei’s triad since it meant that I was with someone I was starting to think of as a friend. Nadia was part of that triad as well, and though I didn’t really know her, at least I knew her name. The same couldn’t be said of the last member, the team leader. Still, my focus was less on the Val Kyr I was currently with and more on my own triad. After seeing that unicorn daemon, I just hoped they were all right.

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Comments

Now

I do not think this is anywhere near the point where our heroine becomes the heroine we all believe she will become. I have the feeling she makes a couple of friends here but she is smart enough to know she is not trained enough to be a true atra, but I do think because of how smart she is she helps fight off an extremely dangerous daemon through the use of her senses and archery skills. Lets see how things go.

Morpheus you are setting something up my fine meastro. I look forward to your next installment of this work or art.

SDom

Men should be Men and the rest should be as feminine as they can be

I'm guessing a combination

She'll combine what she learned from Lindrell with what she learned from Ionne. The triad she's with will have its Notru taken down, and face a big, extremely tough demon that would normally take a Notru to defeat. She'll remember its species and weak point from Lindrell's weapons, and know that when she's with a triad that's had its Notru down, it's her job to provide heavy artillery support. Arrow to the weak point, big explosion, dead daemon.

That's my guess, anyway, which is probably worth the paper it's printed on.

Morpheus, I really haver to

Morpheus, I really haver to admit that you've become the author that I most look forward to reading when I come online. It's probably lucky for me that you don't have more available to read because I'd probably not get much done if I was reading all the time.

Speaking of more hehe...

LOL oh dear, you should probably stay away from Fictionmania then. Morpheus has quite literally hundreds of stories posted there from the last decade or so. One of the most prolific and consistently excellent writers I've ever read. You may be up for a while if you dare go look at the collection over there... :-)

One of the things

I enjoy about Morpheus writing is they are not so much about the changing of gender, but rather the change of perspective when the gender change occurs. It isn't as much the sex as the foreplay.

Regarding Fictionmania, Morpheus has 284 stories there. ( I was there last night, looking for the update)

Same to me

As you said, i am always looking for Morpheus's stories.

'Freya, I have urgent news "

Doubt if I'm alone sensing Michelle's pals were in trouble. Wonder if just I thought, " Darn you Morph, cliff hanger coming f'sure" !! Actually, the majority report that I now concur with is sincere thanks for timely posts on this very engaging Saga. Great job !! jjc

johncorc1

As the first Atra in centuries I wonder

As they are known for bring of all pillars and none. Or as she joked, a jack of all trades master of none, perhaps she will be a new kind of Atra, Not burdened by past practice and convention as frankly very few even remember it.

I wonder why Freya as an Atra banned making new converts as she KNEW the only Atra came from one-fifth of converts. As an Atra did she somehow "see" the future or at least a possible future where someone like Michelle was their savior? There greatest heroine?

And Jass's reaction... will she betray Michelle? Is she or someone else a mole for the "bad guys"? Or will she eventually become Michelle's greatest ally?

IE sometimes the strongest advocate is a convert to the cause.. As in the most anti smoking and anti drug abuse are ex smokers, ex drug addicts?

And why are the demons on the rise? Centuries of complacency and no new Atra? or did that last previous Atra convert not die in the mists but has been turned against them?

If she was sent by Freya as an undercover plant AMONG THE BAD GUYS this sure is a VERY long mission.

Nice.

John in Wauwatosa

P.S. I recall other speculating Michelle's' long missing mom might haven been a Val Kyr.

If not Freya then who?

Or just a Red Herring?

John in Wauwatosa

My guess

As to why Freya banned converts is pretty much in sync with Michelles - politics. Freya needed to be seen to "do something" about the convert problem. After Estrid, she also needed to make sure that the next convert was actually worthy and could actually start the process of reforming the image of converts. I suspect that she had some of her more trusted active Val Kyr scouting for potential converts with very high standards in mind.

I was the one who guessed that Michelle's mother might be Val Kyr in a comment on an earlier chapter. My current guess is that Lindrell is Michelle's mother. Freya probably couldn't get away from her duties for 9 months to bear a kid, much less several years to settle down with Michelle's dad until he lost his leg while Michael was a toddler. Lindrell being Michelle's mother explains several things, including why she was selected to scout Julie - she had a personal interest in visiting that part of the world. My further guess is that she was sent by Freya years ago to scout for a potential convert with the stability and valor required to weather the distrust of converts and at least start to reform their image so atra could return to Val Halla. Michelle's dad didn't quite qualify, but Lindrell fell for him anyway, and only left when a daemon attack took her husband's leg. It was later passed off as a drunk driver, of course - the Val Kyr have to have some way to keep the norms from figuring out what's going on.

While everything my theory explains can be explained in other ways, and none of it is outlandish enough to call for an elaborate explanation anyway, it does explain a lot of currently loose threads in the story. But regardless, I trust Morpheus to write a great story.

A pop quiz

Hopefully she can mesh with the rest of her triad correctly. Honestly it is really her role to be the coordinator for her triad, as she understands all three pillars. Plus she has at least been briefed on working with a triad and the other triads have not trained to be with her.

This is probably not the ultimate test for her as another commentator astutely observed.

My Prediction

Enemyoffun's picture

I predict that there will be a way for Val Kyr to be turned into daemon and that she'll eventually have to kill some of her comrades. Sorta like the anime Claymore. Ok a little far fetched but I really like Claymore...this feels a bit like it lol.

Though I definitely feel she'll make some kind of impact on this fight.

Claymore's vs Yuhma

wolfjess7's picture

The demons or Yuhma in Claymore are the sorce of their power. Remember that the Claymore are half Yunhma and half human. The Val Kyr appear to be fully human that are enhanced by the magic of Val Halla and granded immortallity. So the chance for them to become demons or demoneits is remout. Just saying.

Still great story that keeps getting better and better. Oh, And I love Claymore as well.

May the peace and happiness of the Goddess keep and protect you
as always your humble outlaw
Jessie Wolf

Going to be a heck of a fight,

It is going to be interesting to see what Michelle can really do. She may have a few tricks she doesn't know about yet.

I'm thinking the reason Jass

I'm thinking the reason Jass has responded so hostilely to Michelle is because she lost someone close to her when Estrid betrayed them, or maybe she was close to Estrid when it happened that would have made it even more personal to her. The thing Michelle needs now is for someone to trust her and give her a chance and to watch out so she doesn't get killed since has very little experience.
wondering though if Freya didn't sense something about Michelle needing to be saved and recruited and that's why Lindrell was sent to pick up Julie, instead of Shannon, she needed someone that wouldn't be averse to converting someone.

I am less charitable

I think that what Jass is REALLY afraid of is not that Michelle will be too weak to be an effective Val Kyr or will betray the Val Kyr out of resentment for her lost manhood. What Jass is really afraid of is that Michelle will not fail or betray the Val Kyr - that she will prove herself a valuable asset to her triad and the order as a whole. Because then Jass might have to let go of her bigotry. Much easier to hope that somebody gets your friends killed than to accept that you might be wrong.

Val Kyr are still human, after all.

Mike's father is the key to

Ameria's picture

Mike's father is the key to that riddle.

Another message from Hissy the Snake.

Here it comes

That shoe I was waiting to drop . . . I think its falling. lol Great chapter, nice suspense, I can't wait to see where you take this.

I definitely see....

D. Eden's picture

Attitudes toward Michelle changing. She has shocked a few people between her ability to charge her weapon with essence, her ability to hit the demon and kill it with one shot, and her overall ability to stand and deliver.

Between her obvious abilities and the fact that she has proven herself to be an asset, I think that Freya will find the acceptance level for Michelle, for her mentoring of Michelle, and for the whole nearly forgotten concept of Atra definitely on the rise. Allowing Michelle to go with the others is proving to be an astute move.

Another great story and a wonderful chapter.

Dallas

D. Eden

Dum Vivimus, Vivamus