3. The burning compass
1164 Words
The warning howls were still echoing across the Cult’s courtyard when Draven moved.
He wasted no time on explanations. Before Arya could even draw a breath to scream, his hand chopped down in a swift, precise strike against the side of her neck.
She went limp instantly.
He caught her fragile body before she hit the grass, hauling her over his broad shoulder. Shouting erupted behind him. Heavy armored boots clashed against the Grass as the guards swarmed the field, their torches piercing the dark.
Gripping his steel combat knife, Draven vaulted over the balcony railing. He dove straight down into the pitch-black canopy of the thick forest below,disappearing into the shadows with his target.
[The Eclipse Sect - Training Grounds]
The deep valley was dead silent.
Then, a branch snapped.
A figure blurred through the high trees, moving so fast it barely rustled the leaves. Two more followed, leaping silently across the thick branches.
Rhiannon dropped from a high pine, landing in a low crouch on the forest floor.
The moment her boots touched the moss, she rolled hard to the side.
Thwack! Thwack!
A shower of heavy steel shuriken slammed into the tree trunk exactly where she had just been standing. The metal bit deep into the bark.
"Too slow, old woman!" a cocky voice taunted from the dark canopy above.
The Eclipse Sect did not have the raw powers of werewolves. They were humans. To survive in a world of monsters, this secret clan relied on pure speed, deadly stealth, and specialized steel. Tonight was their final trial. The rules were simple: draw first blood to win. If you bleed, you are instantly disqualified.
Rhiannon pulled two kunai blades from her belt. A calm smile touched her lips despite the sweat slicking her skin.
"I wish you were as fast as you talk,
Jaren." She replied.
Hiss.
A smoke bomb exploded to her left, filling the clearing with a thick, gray cloud. Jaren lunged out of the mist, his blade aimed directly at her shoulder.
"Got you!" he shouted.
Rhiannon didn't flinch. She twisted her body, letting his metal graze past her dark ninja uniform. Using his own forward momentum against him, she swept his legs out from under him. As he tripped and fell forward, she lightly drew her blade across his forearm.
The sharp metal left a thin, blooming red line.
"One down," Rhiannon muttered, stepping back into the shadows.
"Damn it! Another lucky hit!" Jaren groaned from the dirt, clutching his bleeding arm as he bowed out of the match.
Rhiannon didn't wait. She vaulted back up into the trees. Two more ninjas closed in on her position.
"Where did she go?" one of them whispered, scanning the bushes below.
"Right behind you," Rhiannon whispered.
She dropped silently right between them. With a fluid flick of her wrists, she sent a pair of shuriken spinning through the air. The metal stars thudded into the tree trunks directly beside their heads, grazing their cheeks just enough to draw a drop of blood. It was a sharp, humiliating warning of the lethal strike she had withheld.
"Damn it, Rhiannon," the second ninja muttered, realizing the cold steel had passed inches from his throat. "You’re getting faster."
"Nope. You’re just getting lazy," she replied with a sharp smirk.
The two ninjas sighed, bowed, and stepped back into the tree line.
Now, only one remained.
Kael stepped out from the shadows of a massive tree. He was the Sect’s strongest candidate—a tall, heavy warrior. He didn’t use smoke bombs or cheap tricks. He relied on pure, overwhelming strength.
"They were easy targets," Kael said. He twirled his kunai, a confident grin spreading across his face.
"But your streak ends here. I’ve been waiting to take your title all night."
"Then stop talking and come get it," Rhiannon challenged, lowering her stance. Kael lunged first.
His blades moved like a whirlwind. Clang! Clang! The ringing sound of metal echoed through the trees as he forced Rhiannon backward. His strikes were heavy, fast, and precise.
"Is this all you’ve got?" Kael mocked.
He pressed his weight forward, locking her crossed blades against the rough trunk of a tree with crushing force. The wood groaned under the pressure.
"You’re trapped, Rhiannon. Your speed can’t save you from me."
Rhiannon didn’t panic. She stared directly into his eyes. "You think you won just because I let you get close?"
Before Kael could process the words, Rhiannon let go of her weapon hilts entirely.
Dropping her weight instantly, she slipped directly beneath his guard. She pulled a small pellet from her sleeve and crushed it right between their faces.
A small, blinding flash erupted.
"Cheap trick!" Kael shouted. He coughed, swinging his blades blindly through the smoke. Feeling his weapons hit nothing but empty air, he sneered and surged forward into the clearing. "You can’t hide from me!"
"I’m not hiding," Rhiannon’s voice came calmly from directly behind him.
Kael spun around quickly, raising his daggers to strike her down. "Got you—"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Rhiannon interrupted.
Her hands were resting casually at her sides. She lifted her right hand, holding up a small, sharp needle pin. The tip of the metal was stained with a tiny smear of fresh, bright blood.
Kael blinked, completely confused. "What? You didn’t even hit me."
"Check your neck," she said simply.
Kael’s cocky expression completely vanished. He slowly reached up. His fingers brushed against the back of his neck. When he pulled his hand away, his fingertips were painted red. She had cut him so fast, and so cleanly, that his brain hadn’t even registered the physical sting.
He stared at his bloody hand, then looked up at her, utterly defeated. The arrogance completely drained from his face, replaced by absolute respect.
"You... you’re a monster," he breathed, a genuine smile breaking through.
A loud rustle of leaves broke out all around the clearing. One by one, the rest of the Eclipse Sect ninjas emerged from the trees. They gathered in the moonlight, clapping and bowing low in total respect for her victory. Kael joined
in, shaking his head in disbelief.
But Rhiannon barely heard the applause.
As the adrenaline began to fade, a sudden, agonizing sensation flared in her side.
The old scar. The one left by the Gloom Pack shadow wolf twenty-three years ago suddenly burned like a hot coal beneath her clothes. Sweat slicked her palms. Her vision swam. It was reacting to a massive surge of magic in the distance.
She turned away from the clapping ninjas. Her gaze locked onto the distant mountain peaks.
Rhiannon tightened her fingers around the hilt of her blade. Her expression hardened into cold and unyielding. The burning pain was a compass, a brutal reminder of the night she lost everything.
"I am coming, Arya," she whispered into the dark.
But this time, it wasn’t a sob. It was a promise.
- Writer
