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I stood in the middle of the fourth courtyard, outnumbered and surrounded. My opponents had positioned themselves around me, making me stretch my senses as far as I could just so I could keep track of all three of them. Each of them was being cautious, trying to determine what I could do before they committed themselves to an attack. I just smiled faintly at that, holding my sword firmly and silently daring them to come at me.

My opponents were all new Val Kyr, having been recruited and brought to Val Halla within the last two months. Until now, they had mostly been training with their mentors and pillars, sometimes even sparring against experienced members of other pillars so that they could get a feel for them. But today, I had been asked to help with their training. I was here to introduce them to the atra fighting style, familiarizing them with what we were capable of and what we had to offer in battle.

I slowly swept my eyes over my students and opponents, settling on Megan, a muscular brunette who was only a hair shorter than I was. The red sash around her waist marked her as jatta, though the large axe she wielded also would have announced this. Just a month earlier, Megan had been a chubby college student, who had thick glasses, bad acne, and fit almost every stereotype of a female nerd. But now, she was growing into a capable Val Kyr warrior.

Erin was a willowy red head, with her long hair pulled back into a pony tail. Her blue sash and spear both served to identify her as notru, though she moved with such a smooth and graceful ease that it would have been easy to mistake her for kaern. Erin was from Bethany’s bloodline, and though you never would have guessed it from her bubbly and feminine personality, she was also a convert. When she’d been offered the chance to become Val Kyr, she’d jumped at the chance…not for the power, immortality, or even the chance to do something important…but for the opportunity to finally become female…which was the gender she’d always felt she should have been born as.

The last of my current opponents was Shauna, a dark skinned woman with short black hair, and like Erin, she was both notru and a convert. However, unlike Erin, she was less than thrilled about her new gender, though she was taking it one day at a time and learning to adjust. Before being converted, Shauna had been a rookie cop who’d been severely injured on the job, so she looked at becoming a woman as being the price she paid for still being alive, and for giving her the power to continue helping people.

Finally, Shauna took the lead and started the attack, trying to hit me with her spear. I immediately dodged to the side, then had to go into a swirl of motion, dodging, blocking, and avoiding their attacks. I was stretching my senses and enhanced reflexes to their limit, silently being thankful that none of them was kaern so I didn’t have to worry about one of them being able to match my reflexes.

So far, the two notru were avoiding their essence moves, so I only had to avoid their spears…not the ground itself. However, it didn’t take long before that changed and suddenly I had leap to the side to avoid the rolling ground. I did that, then lunged forward and grabbed Erin’s spear, yanking it from her hand and then using that to impale Megan in the thigh and push her away from me. I swung around and smacked Shauna on the back of her hand with the flat of my blade, forcing her to release her spear as well, though I followed that move up with a kick to her face.

“You’re fast,” Megan said, wincing from the wound in her thigh, though it would be fully healed in just a minute.

“And strong,” Shauna added with a scowl. “You hit pretty damn hard.”

“I am faster than all of you,” I agreed with a grin. “But I’m not quite as fast as a kaern…and I’m not as strong as Megan.”

Once the three of them had recovered their weapons and were ready, we began to go at it again, this time with me taking the offense from the start. None of them had ever been in a real combat situation, so that experience made a great deal of difference in our skills, which was why I was able to hold off against all three of them at once. This whole training situation was not only to teach them about what an atra could do, but also to help them learn to work together in order to defeat a stronger opponent. After all, teamwork was critical for any Val Kyr. However, I was fully aware of the fact that they weren’t the only ones benefitting from this training. I was getting more practice at fighting multiple opponents at once.

While we sparred, I noticed that we were developing a small audience. A few other Val Kyr had quietly shown up and were standing back, watching our session and apparently making a few bets. However, I remained focused and didn’t let them distract me, though Erin did…which was something I took immediate advantage of.

By the time we were finished, Megan, Erin, and Shauna all had some nice bruises and cuts for their efforts, while I’d been left with a few of my own. I still wasn’t a fan of Val Kyr motivation techniques, though I had to admit, the brutal training methods certainly made you work harder to improve. I gave my three opponents a few brief tips and suggestions for the next time they faced someone like me, then they all hurried off to the cafeteria for dinner.

I just remained where I was for a moment, wondering how I’d become the experienced veteran who thought of them as inexperienced rookies…when all three of them were older than I was. I hadn’t even been a Val Kyr for all that much longer than they had either, though admittedly, a lot had happened to me in the months since I’d been converted.

It had only been six months since the battle in Val Halla, though sometimes it seemed as though it had only been last week, yet other times, it felt as though it had been years ago. I frowned sadly as I remembered the courtyard after the battle, and the fact that daemon and daemonite bodies had been scattered everywhere. Since the haunts never collected daemon bodies in the Twilight Realm, we’d spent days cleaning them up by hand, tossing them from the walls and letting the daemon scavengers have them. And though we’d cleaned up the mess, and the physical damage to Val Halla had been quickly repaired, the emotional scars that now ran through the Val Kyr would remain for a very VERY long time to come.

That final battle had been brutal, with Fleur losing an arm, Natalie having both legs bitten off, and Lei had been so badly torn up from Estrid’s claws, that even as a jatta, they weren’t sure she’d make it. However, they had all recovered, though not everyone was as lucky. Seven Val Kyr had died in Val Halla during that incursion, with four of those deaths having occurred during the daemon’s initial surprise attack. That didn’t even take into account all the other Val Kyr who’d died in the months before then, during the numerous daemonite attacks, or the ones who’d been removed from service since.

Ailsa had been executed just one week after her crimes had been revealed, but before then, Freya had interrogated her further, learning all the details of the kaern general’s betrayal. Under the influence of her geis, Ailsa had reluctantly revealed the identities of her three accomplices, Val Kyr who’d willingly assisted her in ‘cleansing’ Val Halla of converts.

Though one of these accomplices had been killed in a recent incursion, the remaining two were currently locked up in Val Halla’s dungeon. I suspected that the only reason Freya hadn’t ordered them executed as well was because neither had murdered a Val Kyr with her own hands, though that didn’t lessen their crimes. Both women had betrayed converts within their own triads, intentionally abandoning them in combat so that they were torn apart by daemons.

Six new Val Kyr had been recruited in the six months since that battle, including my dad, which was quite a record. Normally, the Val Kyr only recruited one or two new sisters into the ranks a year, but with all the losses that had been suffered over the last year, everyone considered it urgent to build up our strength and numbers again. That very urgency was one of the reasons the new converts had received a warmer welcome than I first had.

After my sparring partners had completely departed, I turned my attention to the few members of our audience who remained. My eyes first went to Julie, who was dressed in normal street clothes, the kind that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a mall, though they would have helped earn her some appreciative attention from any guys. I grinned as I went over, then gave her a passionate kiss.

“Welcome back,” I told my girlfriend, who’d just spent the last week visiting with her family. I looked her over, looking forward to a somewhat more private and intimate reunion later tonight.

“Glad to be back,” Julie told me with a broad grin of her own. “Though I will miss having a cell phone that works…”

Then my eyes went to Dani, the lean kaern with the short brown hair who stood a short distance away. She radiated a sense of alert competence and tightly controlled danger, so that anyone who didn’t know her would probably assume that she’d been Val Kyr for decades…if not centuries…instead of only six months.

Dani, formerly known to me as Dad, was doing quite well among the Val Kyr, though it hadn’t been easy for her to adjust to her new gender. Still, she had plenty of reasons to enjoy her new life and these had all played a part in helping her accept the body that came with it. Not only was she young, healthy, enjoying the use of all four limbs again, and had a purpose in life, but she and Lindrell had also resumed their relationship…though I tried very hard to avoid learning any of the details.

Dani gave me a faint look of amusement, then asked, “How did you enjoy playing the teacher?” She gestured to where I’d been sparring a short time earlier.

“It’s different,” I responded, giving her a grin. “But not the first time. If you remember, I helped to teach you how to use a sword…”

“That you did,” she agreed with a sigh. “Of course, you know I have improved a great deal since then.”

I nodded at that, fully aware that she was now just as good with a sword as I was, and even faster. I let out a faint sigh, wishing I still had all that extra val I’d used back in that fight against Estrid, but unfortunately, unlike my natural val, that stuff hadn’t recharged once I’d used it up. Now I was back to my normal val levels, though admittedly, when I’d stepped into the scale to test myself again, each of the pillars had flickered just faintly…enough to suggest that I might have come out of the experience with just a little more val than what I’d started with…but still not quite enough to qualify for any of the pillars.

Of course, I might be able to recharge that extra val by letting a daemonite infect me again, but there was no way in Hell I would ever do that again…at least not willingly. After all, there was no guarantee that I’d be able to fight that energy off a second time and I didn’t want to risk even a small chance of becoming a daemonite.

“Let’s spar tomorrow,” I told Dani, grinning in anticipation.

I’d been practicing a little with a dual wield sword style, similar to what I’d seen Estrid use, because I thought it would be a great way to deal with either multiple opponents or the speed advantage that any kaern would have over me. Ionne had told me that dual wielding was a tactic that many atra had used in the past, which was where Estrid had picked it up. I was looking forward to trying it out against Dani, especially when I released essence from both swords at the same time.

Dani gave me a suspicious look, then said, “Your mother told me that you’ve been up to something…”

I nodded at that, still finding it odd to think of Lindrell as my mom, even after six months. Of course, thinking of Dani as my dad was even stranger, and I’d actually seen her go through her transformation. It had looked pretty uncomfortable and had made me grateful that I’d been unconscious for my own changes.

“I might have something new to show,” I responded with a grin.

Dani rolled her eyes, then looked to Julie, who was trying to hold back a laugh. “I don’t know,” she finally said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what Michelle has been up to while I was gone.”

“That reminds me,” Dani said, giving Julie a curious look. “How are your parents doing?”

“They’re doing all right,” Julie responded with a shrug, though she grinned as she added, “But Mom has been teasing my dad, saying that if he doesn’t help with the chores more, she might run off and join the Val Kyr.” I chuckled at that, mostly as I imagined Mr. Rosewald’s reactions.

This was the second time Julie had gone back home to visit everyone in the last six months, not counting the time we were all there to deal with the incursion. However, neither Dani or I had gone back at all. She was too embarrassed to let anyone there know about how she’d changed and what she’d become, so as far as anyone back home knew, David Sorensen had died heroically on the battlefield. I certainly couldn’t blame her for this since I’d done the exact same thing.

From what I’d previously heard from Julie, her parents were doing pretty well, but the town itself was not. Once the daemons were gone and people were finally able to leave, a large portion of the survivors had done just that, trying to get as far away from the scene of their living nightmare as possible.

With no daemon bodies or video evidence of what had really happened, all the outside investigators had were a lot of witnesses, all of whom were yelling about monsters. Of course, that hadn’t gone over well and the official report was that the town was the victim of a terrorist attack, which had included a suspected chemical weapon that caused massive hallucinations.

There had been a few who were willing to at least consider the truth, but all the reporters who went there and tried to report the daemon story found that their video cameras and footage kept blanking out and being deleted. It seemed that the haunts were still at work, limiting how much this incident exposed the existence of the daemons.

Julie told Dani and I the latest news about back at our old home as we walked across Val Halla, and when she was done, she asked, “So, what has everyone else been up to while I was gone?”

“Ionne has been teaching me a few new tricks,” I responded with a grin, intentionally teasing Dani with that fact since I still planned on showing them off to her tomorrow during our sparring. “I’ve been practicing with more fighting styles and tactics as part of the whole atra versatility thing.”

“And don’t forget your training team,” Dani pointed out, looking rather proud.

“Training team?” Julie asked, giving me a curious look.

“Freya is sending me out in a couple days for a training mission with a few of the new recruits,” I explained, feeling just a little self-conscious. “She put me in charge of the training triad, saying that she wanted me to give them a little practical experience in working with an atra.”

“Considering that you and she are the only atra around,” Dani pointed out, “and you already have a permanent triad, I suspect her real goal is to give you an opportunity for leadership experience.”

Julie nodded thoughtfully at that, then pointed out, “Knowing Freya, it’s probably both reasons…and something else that only she knows.”

“Probably,” I agreed. Freya usually had multiple reasons for everything she did, and they weren’t always obvious ones.

“Either way,” Dani said, giving me a thoughtful look. “I think she’s grooming you.”

I nodded uncomfortably at that, not sure what I could say since I suspected she was right. During that big confrontation with Ailsa, Freya had revealed that three of her predecessors had been atra, and suggested that an atra would probably be her successor as well…if possible. Though Freya and I hadn’t actually talked about this, I’d paid enough attention to realize that she was training me to one day be a possible successor. Of course, if that day ever did come, it would be a long time in the future.

The title of Freya was not an inherited one that was passed down through a family line, but one that would only be given to a Val Kyr who’d proven herself to be extremely capable and experienced. Even though I was the only other atra, I knew that if Freya somehow died tomorrow, I would not be her replacement. That was something I would have to spend centuries earning and proving myself worthy of, and by the time that occurred, there might very well be other atra who were even more qualified. Still, I couldn’t help but feeling honored that Ionne would even consider me worthy…or at least of one day being worthy…of such a thing.

“But what about you?” I asked Dani in order to change the subject. “I know Freya has been giving you some training assignments too.”

Dani grunted faintly at that, though I could tell she was actually pleased. Once Dani had gone through all her own initial training, Freya had tasked her to do a little teaching as well. For the last two months, Dani had spent a lot of time on Earth, in a Val Kyr training facility where she taught groups of women about modern weaponry and tactics. A lot of Dani’s experience would be useless against daemons or in the Twilight Realm where firearms and explosives didn’t work, but some of it could still be integrated with the Val Kyr fighting style, helping us all improve and become more effective.

“And I heard you talking with Mari about sniper tactics as well,” I added with a grin, remembering how much the two of them had gotten caught up in the conversation.

“She has an interesting perspective,” Dani responded with a chuckle. “Of course, she’s been doing it for a thousand years, so she has a few tricks I’d never even heard of before.”

Mari was the new kaern general, who Freya had called back from of a long sabbatical so she could take over Ailsa’s responsibilities. At first, Mari seemed to resent her sudden promotion, or at least the end of her fifteen year vacation, but to her credit, she also approved of bringing converts back into the Val Kyr and had gone out of her way to make Dani feel welcome among the kaern.

When we walked past Jass, I was still a bit startled to have Jass give a friendly wave in our direction, or at least to Dani. Strangely enough, Dani and Jass had become friends, which I never would have expected from the woman who used to constantly insult me because I was a convert. Of course, learning the truth about Estrid’s ‘betrayal’ and seeing the damage that Ailsa’s hatred had caused, had not only softened some of Jass’ views, but those of a lot of other Val Kyr as well.

Though my own relationship with Jass had definitely improved, I still wouldn’t say we were really friends, and I doubted we ever would be after our previous issues. However, there was courtesy and respect between us, and that was much better than I ever would have imagined at one point.

A short time later, the three of us ended up at the bath house, though none of us had actually said that this was where we were going. However, after sparring with those three new recruits, I’d built up a nice sweat and was looking forward to just relaxing in the hot water. I glanced over to Dani, who was very carefully acting nonchalant and pretending she didn’t notice the naked and very attractive women who were already present. However, I knew her well enough to know that she’d definitely noticed them, especially one in particular.

I just took a casual glance around the pools, curious about who was currently present. In one of the closest pools, I noticed Nicole, soaking alongside Cindy and Megan…who’d somehow beat us there. When Nicole noticed us and gave an inviting wave, I waved back but gestured to indicate that we’d already found another spot to soak.

Without a word of discussion, the three of us went straight to a pool where Lindrell and Shannon were already soaking. Dani immediately slipped into the water beside Lindrell, then they greeted each other with a passionate kiss. Julie giggled at that, grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, then we kissed each other as well before climbing in.

“Welcome back,” Shannon said to Julie who just grinned in response.

“Yes,” Lindrell added once she and Dani had finished their greeting. “Now that you have returned, we can get back to training…and your schooling.”

Julie and I both groaned at that, rolling our eyes simultaneously. Now that Julie and I had finished with our initial training, Lindrell had decided to go back into teacher mode and had begun assigning us homework…the math, history, and English kind we used to get back in school. Apparently, now that we knew enough to fight effectively, she thought we needed to work on our regular education too.

“And Michelle,” Lindrell told me, “do not think you will be allowed to skip your own work just because you will be off training with the new recruits.”

“Of course not, Mom,” I said with another roll of my eyes, intentionally calling her Mom just to test it out. I still had a hard time thinking of her as being my mom, but it was getting a little easier. She smiled in response, definitely looking pleased.

Ever since I’d learned about my relationship with Lindrell, I’d been getting to know her as more than just a teacher, trainer, and teammate, though I doubted we’d ever have any kind of traditional mother/daughter relationship. Still, we had been bonding a little, with much of it occurring in her workshop where she showed me some of the wood working skills that her father…my grandfather…had taught her a few centuries ago.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Julie abruptly told me with a broad grin. “I picked up a few more things for our costumes…”

“Costumes?” Shannon asked, giving us both curious looks.

“They’ve been going to fantasy and comic book conventions for years,” Dani explained with a faint chuckle. “And they always go in costume…”

“We’re going to a convention next month,” I explained with a grin, definitely excited about going. After all, this would be the first convention that Julie and I had gone to since becoming Val Kyr, and we were both eager to show off our new bodies…and how well our costumes would look on us. “It’s going to be a blast…”

“Why don’t you both just wear your armor?” Dani asked. “I’d think that would look impressive enough…”

“That’s just cheating,” Julie responded with a dismissive snort.

“The point is to go in costume,” I explained. “Not in something we wear all the time.”

“I see,” Lindrell commented with a faint smile. “So, what kind of costumes will you be wearing?”

“I’m going as Batgirl,” Julie exclaimed excitedly.

“Supergirl,” I added with a grin.

This was the first time I’d be able to go to a convention as a girl, and I was really looking forward to it. Well, I had done crossplay once before, but this was the first time I actually had the right body for a sexy girl costume. I was going to totally rock the spandex.

Julie and I talked about our costume plans for a few more minutes while Lindrell, Dani, and Shannon all looked vaguely amused. Once Julie and I realized that the others weren’t really that interested, we finally dropped the conversation, at least for the time being.

I smiled as I sank down into the water, all the way up to my neck, enjoying just how nice the warm water felt. It felt so good to just sit there, soaking while being surrounded by those I cared for…by my family.

When I’d first come to Val Halla, it had only been to save my life, and it hadn’t even been intentional on my part. And on that day, I’d lost nearly everything I knew and cared about. I’d lost my girlfriend, my dad, my body, and even my own identity. At the time, I hadn’t imagined that I’d ever get used to this new life.

But to my surprise, it hadn’t taken long before I learned that I’d gained far more than I’d ever lost. I’d discovered a new world, a world of nightmares and wonder, where things from myth and legend really existed. I’d found a strength, power, and confidence that I’d only imagined myself capable of in my wildest dreams. And in these things, I’d also uncovered an ancient and worthy purpose that I was honored to dedicated my life to.

Of course, being converted and coming to Val Halla had also led to my finding the mother I’d never known, the father I’d thought was lost to me forever, distant relatives I’d never known existed, and even the kinds of friends I could literally trust with my life. I now lived a live that I never would have imagined possible for me, yet one I wouldn’t surrender for anything. And though there were unbelievable dangers and fears, I would never give up my new life among the Val Kyr.

The End