Tag Archives: Stream Quarters

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #22

The rest of the day was tough, a little tougher than Metcalf expected.  She went back to the Stream Quarters to train with her friends.  They couldn’t go back to the Training Center yet.  Midterm was still a week away.  Most of the crowd would still be there until a few days before the deadline.  It would be way too crowded.

They had to train outside for now.  It was incredibly uncomfortably cold but this was the life of a desperate student.  Besides, her body temperature would eventually rise as she worked harder.

Her friends all tried their best to teach her everything they learned that day.  Even after the sun went down and the street lights came on, they were training.  None of them wanted to let Metcalf fail the Final.  At the same time, Metcalf respected their effort.  She didn’t want to let any of them down.

The care was touching, but the cramming was incredibly intense.  They had all taken especially critical notes and were all really hard teachers to boot.  While they each had a few lessons for Metcalf, she had to endure lessons from each of them.

The lessons came so fast.  She hardly had time to remember what she was learning.  By the time they were done, Metcalf had to meditate on what she had learned.  The Final that she remembered was much more than simply knowledge based.  The students were expected to learn and use the significance behind what they learned.

Metcalf figured early that this was one way the students were expected to fail the Final.  Trailing students would have a hard time learning the basic concepts let alone knowing how to use them wisely.

Her training and meditation continued long into the night.  Before she knew it, the day had ended.  It was already hour two!  She was going to get less than a few hours of sleep tonight but that was life.  There was no way she was going to miss her early meeting with Master Fu.

—–

After the alarm and rushed preparations, Metcalf used all but the last of her energy to make it to the Palace on time.  Everything about her clothes said that she was ready to train.  Everything about her face said she was ready to sleep.

The door opened as she knocked.  It was unexpected, but she was a little too tired to be surprised.

Obviously invited in, she entered Master Fu’s apartment to see that everything had moved.  The large bookshelf, the furniture, the work spaces, everything in the large apartment was in a different place.  Strangest of all, Master Fu was nowhere to be seen.

Metcalf left the room.  She checked its place in the hallway and the room number to make sure she was in the right place.  After confirming everything, she turned to walk back into the room.

She stopped at the sight of two thick bladed swords pointed directly into her face.

Holding the swords was Master Fu with a stare and a happy grin.  “Gotcha,” she shouted as she put her dual falchion swords away.  However, her face quickly shifted to a frown as she looked at Metcalf’s exhausted eyes, “You alright?”  She motioned, inviting Metcalf into her apartment.

“I’m sorry Master Fu but,” Metcalf tried and failed to hold back a yawn as she walked in, “tired.”

“Yah,” Insula said seeming even more like a teenager especially wearing her cloth training gear, “I’d be tired too if I stayed up all night training in the cold.”  The door closed behind them as they kept walking into the apartment.

Metcalf nodded in agreement.  She was sorry about her thoughtlessness but then thought again.  How did Master Fu know?

“Cameras,” Insula said catching Metcalf’s questioning eyes, “We keep track of people of interest.”

As she was absorbed by the couch, Metcalf had a chance to look at the room again.  Only now, she saw that the Master of the Stream Quarter had planned a good prank on her.  Completely remodeling the room was a good trick to surprise her.  Then she used a stealth attack.  A plan like that would take a good deal of effort to pull off.  She did it for her to show what could be done.  “I’m sorry.  I lost track of time.”

“Don’t worry,” Insula said, “get some sleep.”

Needing no more invitation.  Metcalf sunk into the couch and went immediately to sleep.

#1 – Lost and Found #21 – Lost and Found #23

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #17

Metcalf grabbed her gear and walked for one of the training center’s exit.  There was nothing left to do there.  She only had about five thousand academy points left.  This amount placed her with the lowest ten percent of the students at the academy; the lower half of the red zone.

It was a little hard to believe.  She had gambled points at the Stream Quarter Training Center for almost a decade.  For the amount of time Metcalf has been lingering in the school.  The final will be extremely had for her to pass.

Sure, she wanted to climb the ranks before midterm.  So did everyone else.  That was the only reason the training centers were packed this time of year.

She passed a few students worriedly looking at their rank on their handhelds.  Unlike them, she knew when to let go of hope.  With the training center’s stiff competition, no one would challenge her except a student in an equal position.  With the scant few points to work with, it would be weeks before she would manage to crawl out of the red zone.  By then; midterm would have passed; she would be on the final exam list; and the training center would be empty again.

She only gambled because it was the only way she could keep enough Academy Points to stay at the school.  It was possible to get points from accomplishing tasks in a class but the classes were boring.  She would prefer not to see Naoh and Koh but if not for them, she would have been out of the school a long time ago.

Exiting the training center, she took of her helmet.  The hue on her beautifully youthful face was split down the middle; red on the right and white on the left.  She still had a slight green tint due to her not quite being of age.  That did little to mask the face of a thinking reasoning warrior.

Strangely she was not upset at her fate.  Sure, she would prefer it to be different.  Leaving a school where students enjoyed everything, free of charge, was a major inconvenience.  Then again, she no longer had to prey on lesser skilled students.

She wanted to participate in real work and use her talents for something real.  Guard duty was in no way glamorous but her actions made a real difference in people’s lives.  With any luck she could land a good placement with a nearby city.

Still with the sudden change, Metcalf felt like she should be angry at someone.  However, no one person seemed to fit the criteria to be stuck with the blame though.

Lance?  Not him.  How would he know how things would end up for her?  He actually looked sad when he saw how many points she was losing.  He had the potential to become a great Protector.  He only had to learn to project more of his skills rather than touch everything.

Herself?  No.  Lance did something that the Quarter Masters had taught against for the longest time.  There was no way to predict that it would actually work.  She simply did what all students in her position would do.  She knew continued gambling would end like this eventually.  Students that gamble eventually lose.  She lost.

Naoh? Koh?  No.  They were heartless sharks, and there was no way they would help her now, but they had nothing to do with this.  They helped her stay afloat in the school until now.  And in the end, she made the decision to challenge Lance not them.

No one was to blame.  The day started like any other and it ended like this.  Metcalf didn’t like it, at all.  However, she lost her say in the matter a few minutes ago.  Her time at school ended at this year’s Final Exam, unless she passed.

Metcalf giggled at the thought, Yeah, Good luck with that.

#1 – Lost and Found #16 – Lost and Found #18

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #14

As they walked out of the bleachers and through the training center, Metcalf couldn’t help but stare at Lance’s sword.  It was huge!  It was wide enough for her to hide behind!  And with the ease he was able to handle it; he could probably cut through a squirrel in a single swing!

She was so startled by its size she could only blurt out the obvious.  “That’s a huge sword,” she shouted, “How do you lift it!”

Immediately the student with knife and chain started giggling.  “Not now Will,” Lance’s other companion said.  Will tried to stop as best he could.  The joke escaped Metcalf.  It seemed to be an inside gag between the two of them.

Because of Lance’s armor, Metcalf couldn’t see any muscles but he looked fit enough.  His dark brown face was average at best, serious and observant.  There was no hint of strain.  Carrying the massive sword was easy for him though it could possibly be heavier than he was.

Lance was a large Crisho, almost six centimeters tall.  He dwarfed his companions easily.  At six and a half centimeters long, his sword dwarfed him.  He attracted a lot of attention by just walking with it.  Metcalf couldn’t help but think how much attention he got when he entered the training center.

He had not been here long enough to be experienced with the school.  He could possibly be experienced with combat.  There were rumors that he rescued a team of Protectors on one of their missions.  She didn’t know all of the details, but to save those trained intensely to save countries from warlords and militants took some skill.

He was obviously well practiced at manipulating motion.  How else could he lift such a large object so easily?  Metcalf was glad she didn’t challenge him to a three strike drill.  Even a simple slap with that thing would knock her out.

As he walked through the other students, he adjusted sword’s angle so that it was almost vertical.  He took care not to hit anyone accidentally.  As a result, the tip of his sword poked about a decimeter into the air becoming a beacon to anyone looking for him.  Obviously Metcalf wasn’t the only one amazed at his sword.  Conversations stopped as students turned to stare  as they walked.

“Its name is Aido, ” Lance said.  The starting conversation took Metcalf’s eyes away from his sword.  Only then did she realize that she was being spoken to.  Lance continued, “Some of my friends in Dust Wind made it for me.  They kept adding layers to it as I got stronger.”

“Isn’t it a little uncomfortable to walk around with,” Metcalf asked, “You could hurt someone with that thing.”  Metcalf had seen large weapons before but this one was extreme.  Heavy, sharp and impossible to sheath, he probably had to prepare for every doorway he walked through.

As soon as she finished talking, Will started giggling again, louder this time.  Again, it was followed with the other student saying, “Not now Will,” this time with more emphasis.

“A friend taught me a technique for moving things,” Lance said smiling, “There are a lot less people in Dust Wind too.  I’ll have to get used to crowds.”

Metcalf was having the worst luck with  targets today.  First she’s picked by a student from the top twenty percent, and now she picks a student that could possibly have crazy skills.  Thankfully, Lance was a new student and unfamiliar with the school drills.  She could pull out a surprise tactic that he would never think of and beat him that way.  Then she would be done for the day.

They reached the push drill area.  It was relatively empty but that was no surprise.  Academy points moved too fast for most students to be comfortable gambling here.  The drill guard was happy to see them.  This would be a well-used drill during the other times of the year, just not now.  With midterm coming up, he was just plain bored.

Just as Will described earlier, there was a smooth rock from the river placed perfectly in the center.  There were also two platforms on either side.  Metcalf walked to hers while Lance and his friends took the other stand.  Metcalf was ready to enter in all the information but it seemed that Lance was discussing things with his friends.

#1 – Lost and Found #13 – Lost and Found #15