| abstract
| - Luña was brought in front of a school just days after she was born. No one knew where she came from nor what place she was born. The school where she was found was an all boys martial arts school, which was solely focused on weapon training. Because Luña was a girl, the teachers took her to the village at the end of the road. The school lied on top of a mountain facing one side to the ocean which reached as far as the eye could see. Luña would sneak into the school at noon to watch the sunset from the highest laying cottage, that was owned by the schools grand master. As Luña sat on the roof she often tried to think about her parents and their story. She always used to dive into her fantasy in thinking about it. One day they where artists, the other day warriors and another day they where politicians. Luña knew nothing about them, and she desperately wanted to know things about it. One day when Luña was 11 years of age, she climbed onto the roof of the cottage and was startled by a figure. It was the Grand master himself, who was waiting for her. He introduced himself as , ‘Jahui Minochi’. He told Luña that he knew about her daily routine off watching the sunset. But waited long enough for her to reach a certain age. Luña was shocked by the reaction, as she was sure she was never seen or followed when coming to the roof. As the Grand Master explained how he found out, Luña became curious about the teaching the grand master had gotten and could give. She was quick to ask, if he could train her in the same way as he did the students. The young boys who trained here, where trained in various forms of armed and unarmed combat. And where know as the best of the planet. The Grand Master declined quickly, as the school was for boys only. He had never even seen a girl here who wasn’t old and grey or the mother of one of his students. He had taken a vow to his old master, that he would follow the rules of this school and never to break them while teaching his students. As Luña was disappointed by the masters decline, she was quickly to leave that day. She walked all night and her foster mother became worried about her when she didn’t came home before lights out. As Luña was wondering the forest surrounding the village, her foster mother called upon the masters of the school to go and look for her. Luña however got into troubles before the masters began their search. Luña had fallen into a crack that was in the mountainside of the schools location. Luña was hurt and bleeding when she suddenly slipped and started to fall further in the crack, only within a few seconds she stopped moving. The Grand Master held her with one hand as he held himself up on a rope leading out the crack. He calmed Luña down by saying comforting words to her, as he moved up to the top of the crack. Finally reaching the top after some minutes of climbing and squeezing. As they both sat at the top of the crack, Luña looked into his eyes and looked at a pain in it. The Grand Master just stared at her as he knew her as somebody else. In fact the Grand master was reminded of his own daughter who died after a war between his school and the one of his enemy. He looked at her, and suddenly he formed a small smile on his face. He grabbed her hand as he told her that he would train her in the secret arts. To train her in the ways of assassination and to let her become the first girl to have studied the ways of this school. There would only be one think she had to do, she had to disappear, to vanish and be trained in secret. As Luña was thinking this over, the two heard people closing in the distance. Just before they came into view, Luña ran and hid. She had accepted her new life, a life of secrecy, training and living alone. To be trained as one of the school but also not as one of the school. To be there, but not been seen, to train but not be heard, to learn and improve without giving her presence away. As Luña training started she quickly became accustomed in training at night. She trained when the rest was asleep, and when there was a low chance of being caught. She started her training with basic unarmed training, using various techniques and movements to learn to defend herself when needed. She was learning the techniques on the roof of the Grand Master, as he followed her movements closely. She was one of his students, and one who excelled rather quickly in all means of combat. The Grand Master was surprised when he suddenly looked at Luña, and saw her holding one of his weapons. Luña had taken it because she thought she could use it in her training, but the Grand Master didn’t want her to train it just yet. The Grand Master told Luña of a tournament, held every 15 years between all the schools of the planet. She had reached the age to compete in it, and he wanted to enter her. The tournament was a secret to the rest of the school, and was only known by the other Grand Masters throughout the planet. All the Grand Masters would choose one student to represent their school and fight in an ultimate battle. Eight schools would enter one student, let them fight all at once and the winner would be the last one standing. As Jahui wasn’t confident in his other students, and certain that Luña would stand her ground against the rival school. He asked her to represent the school. Luña was honored by her master, and accepted the invite. She asked to get a couple of days alone to prepare for the fight, which she got. Jahui gave her directions to a little hut deep in the forest, where he used to train and prepare himself. He also gave her an outfit, which she should wear at the tournament. It would cover her body, and would only allow others to see her eyes. The bright icy blue eyes, would be like marbles to the black outfit. On the way to the forest, Luña was dressed in normal clothes. She was walking amongst others for the first time since her training started, and was quickly seen as a stranger. A young boy approximately 16 years of age, the same age as Luña, approached her. He introduced himself as ‘Hui Miecho’, the son of one of the teachers of the school. He asked where she was going, and Luña told him she was going to the forest. As Hui looked shocked at her, he explained about the dangers that where in the woods. How a woman shouldn’t go in there alone and should never go there in the first place. Luña However only smiled to him, as she asked him to accompany he r then. Hui accepted, and the two went into the forest together. As the two came to the small hut in the forest, they entered it and where greeted by a large arsenal of strange weapons and armors. The hut had many banners and old signs hanging from the walls and the ceiling. And the two just stood there taking it all in. In the centre of the hut, was a small circular bed with the schools logo on it. And that was all there was. Hui quickly became offensive to Luña, as he started to demand to know why she would come here. This was property of his school, in which women weren’t allowed. Before he could asked further, Luña had moved in on him. She had disarmed him from his katana, and had him in an arm-lock. Before she could continue her move, someone moved in, quickly grabbing her and pushing her out the hut. Before she knew what happened, Hui was unconscious on the floor and her master was facing her. He gave her a rant about how she should stay a secret and especially to people bound to the school. Luña was disappointed in herself, and she told her master it wouldn’t happen again. As nightfall came, Luña hid in the forest so that her master could take care of Hui. The next day, Luña and Jahui made their way to the tournament. It took place in a large cave located in the biggest mountain of the planet. When they arrived, Luña in her fighting attire and her master in his ceremonial clothing, they quickly noticed they where the last to arrive. In the centre of the cave where eight circles, containing the eight crests of each school. Just behind every crest where one master and one student all in different clothing and colors. At the precise opposing side of their own crest, where the master and student of their rival school. The school that was in war with them, and the war had begun over 300 years ago. The agitated tension was felt throughout the cave and the people in it. As the tournament was about to start, many of the masters where preparing their students. The only two who weren’t doing so, where the two rivaling schools. They where only staring at each other and both the students were taking in the opponents size and build. When the battle begun, it was quickly obvious that there would only remain two people. Luña and the one of the rival school, where far superior to the others, and most were out of combat within ten minutes. As the two remained, they circled each other and were only taunting. Finally Luña took the initiative and started the second round. In the fierce battle that followed, both fighters took a beating, but the opponent of Luña became fatigued after twenty minutes. Luña took advantage of this and mounted an attack, with a quick combination of a jump, a double punch and a backside round kick, her opponent was knocked to the ground. This made Luña the victor of the tournament, and she bowed in respect to the others. Her opponent however wasn’t pleased and charged at her from the side. With a swift motion, Luña’s master threw her a short katana, and Luña de-sheeted it slicing through her opponent in one quick slash. The opponent fell to the ground, screaming from the pain caused by Luña. After this disgraceful action, the opponent and his master where sent away before the final ritual ceremony took place. Here Luña was given a special twin blade forged from a metal only found here in the cave. Luña respectfully took them and bowed to all the masters present, one by one. When they left the cave, Jahui praised her ability and told her she was ready to start her second part of her training. Luña was ready to start her next training, this time it was with weapons and there uses. She was confident that she could do it, and live up to the reputation of the school and it’s Grand Master. Luña’s master started her training with the basics, movements and strikes that where generally known throughout the entire galaxy. In her early years of training she had watched others train these techniques, but because she never held the weapons in her hand it was something beyond comparison. Luña started her training with an Katana, a Staff and a Knife. These where the three most used weapons of her school and the most basic. Luña was quick to get used to using the katana, but she had difficulty in using the knife and staff. Usually in training with her master, she forgot to use the distance of the weapon and opponent to her advantage, and was countered to the point of death. Her master noticed this as well and he couldn’t reach Luña with his words. Her master needed to reach her, and he had just the idea for it. Unknown to Luña, he asked Hui, the boy who she had meet before. He was the top student of the school, and was specialized in armed combat. He was asked by the Grand Master to show up on night, in full battle gear to challenge Luña. That night, Luña stood on the roof of the school in her training gear. Although her face was covered with a mask, she was easily recognizable as a woman. Her hair was flowing in the wind, and her body was only covered with the a top and skirt. Hui was shocked when she turned around to face him, he never would have thought that there were any women trained in the martial arts. And certainly not at this school, He looked in disbelief to the grand master whom just gave him a nod in return. As stumbled as he was, he did however honor his master by tacking the offense. In the midst of the battle, Luña flowed more and more in the battle. She watched her opponent, and how he fought, how he used his weapon and his body. The swiftness of the battle, on the small roof took its toll on Luña, with on swift strike her mask was sliced off and she stood their momentarily in shock. Hui, was also in shock, the woman he had opposing him was the same he had met before. On the way to the forest, he had talked to her and even took a liking in her. Now he was fighting her and he couldn’t continue. Luña however could, with a quick move, she was upon Hui. She was there with her blade at his throat, facing him eye to eye inches from each other. The Grand Master halted the fight, and waved Hui to him. As they both stood there talking to each other, Luña was focused on Hui. He had touched her, in a way no one ever had and it intrigued her. She wanted to see him more often, too keep him from revealing her was just a part of that feeling. She felt more, more then only the feeling of being revealed to the school as something bad. As the weeks passed, Luña was getting more and more skilled with her weapons. Her fighting improved and her skills grew higher. She adapted her weapons to follow herself, creating her own touch on the styles she was taught. She used her weapons slightly different then her master and it fitted her. She was one with her weapons and they where one with her. The moment came to learn to use other weapons, weapons of secrecy and of injury. The small weapons who were used to throw, stab and poison others. Throwing discs, small darts and cords where the next weapon skills Luña was going to learn, and she was ready for it. She was ready to learn the finesse of small weapons in opposite of the large ones she had previously studied. Because of this skill wasn’t the specialty of her master, she had to learn it from another one. But Jahui didn’t want for another to find out about her. Because of this, he started Luña’s training in a different order. He taught her to be like the shadows, to find and hide without being seen. She needed to be like the mist, which covered all while it still gave a certain vision. Luña was however, quicker in adapting this then her master thought. As he started to teach her this, she showed the skill so fast that Jahui didn’t knew what was happening. He had never seen a skill taught this fast and became suspicious. One night he decided to follow Luña after her training, he was more skilled then all people in the school and that was his advantage. Luña went into the forest, and made her way to the small hut she was directed to earlier by her master. Here she met up with Hui, the boy which helped her in her training and whom kept her secret. As the two sat there In the hut, the grand master knew directly what was going on and walked in. Both Luña and Hui were startled and both jumped up from the floor. As they watched and listened to the grand master, they were forbidden to this ever again. As several months went by, Luña learned how to become a shadow and how she could be somewhere without being seen. In her training she was often hiding inside the classroom of one of the other master, while she was learning their arts. When reaching a certain amount of knowledge and skill, the grand master thought it was time to put her skill into practice. She was given an assignment to assassinate a bandit, who had been killing people around the village and others in the surrounding mountains. He had found out that the bandit was living at a small camp near the outskirts of the village just inside the woods. As Luña prepared for the assignment, she was given several weapons owned by the grand master. They all had the schools symbol on it and where only to be used by the most skilled warriors of the school. In honor of this suggestion, Luña gave her master a peck on the forehead, and told him that he was like a father to her. That she would do whatever it took to defend him and his school, to honor it in the ways he had taught her. Luña went to the supposed location of the camp, and found it abandoned. But as she walked amongst the remains of the camp, she found some clues to where they were heading. The bandit and his crew where heading to a village down the mountain to perform a raid on it, and Luña was going to stop them. As she reached the village, she noticed the bandit was already there and his crew where demolishing all they could. As some of the crew where surrounding the bandit, Luña was thinking of the best way of assassinate him. Within moments, Luña thought up the best idea and took action upon it. In the cover of the night she went from rooftop to rooftop, coming closer to the group with every move. As she came up close to the group she noticed a small symbol on the sleeves of one of the crew. They were of the rival school, that was at war with the school where Luña was learning. And as she thought about it, she quickly knew what was happening. This all was just a diversion to mount an attack on the school and the village while most noticeable warriors where helping out the surrounding villages. As Luña became enraged with the thought, she quickly turned though to action. Grabbing a choke robe, she moved down and wrapped it around the neck of one of the bandits crew. Lifting him up from the ground, she choked him to death and dropped him back to the ground, landing next to him in battle stance. The crew and bandit all turned to see what they heard and where surprised to see one of their own laying dead on the ground. With a quick throw, Luña had dealt with three other opponents. The sticks with poison tips where embedded into them and it would only take a few minutes before the effects would start. As two other opponents charged at Luña, she quickly dealt with them by using her katana. Standing still as they both fell down, Luña’s gaze was focused on the bandits. Suddenly it rang in her mind of who he was, he was the one she had beaten in the tournament only a year ago. As he didn’t seem to notice this, Luña was eager to explain it to him. The man’s eyes widened almost as far as they could, before he attacked her in a rage like state. As Luña defended the incoming strikes she was already thinking ahead. Planning the battle, as she would do often, to anticipate her opponents movement. As the battle was raging on, Luña finally looked at the opening she was looking for. As she moved in, she blocked her opponent with the katana. She then made a inward twirl coming so close that their bodies touched. Luña grabbed her small knife, and yanked it in his side. As her opponent reacted to the pain, Luña followed up her move and took a swing with her katana. As her opponent was attacked multiple times after her initial move, he fell to the ground. Luña knew this battle was over, as she moved away in to the darkness and she rushed back to her home. As Luña walked up to the village it was on fire, there where people running everywhere and bodies lied all over the place. And as strange as it was, Luña felt enraged by the massacre. As she moved swiftly through the village, she came up to the schools wall. Just in front of the school against the closed door was an armored body. Luña quickly recognized it, and ran up to him. Removing his helmet she looked upon Hui, badly hurt and dying he told her to move. To get revenge as there were still opponents around. His final words to Luña where; ‘I have loved you from the first moment I looked upon you, save our master, I beg you my love.’ In pain and enraged, Luña ran up to the courtyard of the school. I the midst where only two people. Fully in battle armor, both where fighting for all that they had. The moment Luña came up close, she knew she was too late. The larger man, strikes down with his blade, embedding it into the man Luña knew as her master. As the man looked up, he noticed Luña, and tried to pull out his blade. Luña’s master had other plans, he grabbed hold of the blade with both hands and told Luña to strike his opponent down. To take the strike now when the opening was there. Luña took no time to decide, she knew this was the only way, and she charged the man. Her katana struck the man at his chest, slicing through the armor like it wasn’t there. It came out at the back, still clean by the speed with which it went through. As Luña held up her master, he told her to run. To find a new goal in life, and to become the new carrier of the schools emblem. To teach others in the arts of the school, and to one day become a grand master herself. He also told Luña to take whatever things she needed from the school and to one day be brave enough to come back and honor the place she had lived her whole live. His last words, inspired Luña so much that she waited until her master dyed in her arms. As she watched the sun come up from above the mountain, she vowed to one day come back here to honor this school and it’s master.
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