White Fire Academy

[DM Private P]

Swordmaster Vaara Uuth ran her fingers through her cropped short hair as she looked at the woman incredulously, but her letter of introduction was signed and notarized by none other than the Khazark herself. "I have no idea how you earned such an honor woman," the blademaster stated, "but I am directed to teach you all that I know of proper Thayan sword art to hone you into the blade that you wish to become. Very well then. Prepare yourself for hard days ahead. I don't offer one on one tutoring typically so treat this as the honor that it is and give me nothing, but your absolute best. You will need to in order to meet my exacting demands."

The black armored woman bowed to the swordmaster and was guided to a side room to prepare for her lessons.

[DM Private P]

Swordmaster Varra Uuth began her day preparing the dueling ring as thoughts of her three best students occupied her thoughts. There was the typical one, Nolkus Nath, a spoiled young man who had an overabundance of arrogance and skill. He constantly provoked the others with his boasts of how he could trace his lineage all the way back to the Great Artificers of Imaskar. This always made Varra sigh internally because it never failed to either intimidate some or taunt the others. However, the other two top students didn't care about such ancestral pride. Perhaps that is why they were also as focused as young Nath which seemed to antagonize the prideful student to no end.

The second of the three was Nsi, the Chultan gladiator. His master paid a fortune for him to learn from the Swordmaster. While he favored a short broad bladed spear his ability in learning how to use a longsword and other weapons was impressive. He was a bit of a show off, but then perhaps that was for the best as a gladiator. If he could produce a fine enough show perhaps he could win his freedom. The thought made Varra bark a slight laugh. He was friendly enough often heard saying that there was no reason they shouldn't all learn from one another to be the absolute best they could be which would in turn mean glory for all.

The third of the three was the unknown woman. When she entered White Fire Academy with that letter from the Khazark Uuth knew this was one to watch. As the woman's name wasn't allowed to be used by order of the Khazark the Swordmaster called her Ishira. There were many rumors about her, how she was allowed enrollment, and more. Some said that she was an illegitimate daughter of the Khazark. Others said that she was favored by Omnipotence Ackravel and that she had used her feminine wiles to charm him into becoming his knight. Another laugh broke the silence surrounding Varra at that thought. The rumor that the Swordmaster gave most credence to was that this was the woman who had secured the massive reward offered by the Khazark for justice concerning her dead brother. She bore a tattoo done by Urhun Kren himself and there were more than a few students that were curious to know if it was one of the master artist's special works. Her skills with a longsword were as good as Nsi's, but not quite as refined as Nolkus's. It was evident to all that Nolkus looked upon her with scorn for he saw her as a commoner and beneath him. When they crossed blades he would always taunt her to get under her skin. Interestingly enough there seemed to be a camaraderie between her and Nsi. Perhaps they were plotting against young Nath. It wouldn't be the first time students did so to gain an advantage over the perceived top student.

Swordmaster Uuth finished preparing the dueling ring to see who would have the honor of graduating as the top student. This would be an interesting day she thought and a smile of pride that she had done a good job teaching so many flashed across her face.