《Sengoku Visions II》Chapter 14 - A Promise
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I threw myself into the physical training, pushing myself every day, almost to my limits and relishing the aches and pains it brought.
My sword work improved, but I was constantly annoyed at myself; my speed, my coordination, let alone my lack of brute strength put me at a real disadvantage. What made it worse is that I knew Lord Yukimura was simply playing with me. I would never have the strength of a well-trained male.
On more than one occasion I found my one great weakness was my temper; no matter how I tried to stay calm and focused it would often get the better of me.
I started to put more effort into my quiet times on the castle walls, refining my self-discipline.
My skills overlapped to my riding, it was the best I had ever felt on a horse, and the bond grew deeper between me and Jin (the first time I had ever named a horse here), in my time with him I could be mindful in a present moment. It was a tonic for my soul.
In the evenings I would choose to eat alone, pouring over maps and scrolls, trying to decipher the puzzle. I learnt a lot about Kai – but any clue to the parchment continued to elude me. One day melted into another as spring moved into summer. Shinshoni and I would sometimes watch the sun go down from the verandah outside my door, we would talk about silly things of no importance, and once or twice my old friend, my resident cat would come by. I don't think he felt comfortable around the way I was and wouldn't stay for long.
It was early one warm afternoon as I was tacking up Jin, Lord Shingen appeared behind me out of nowhere. I hadn't seen him at all since that night in his chambers. He looked serious, so I ducked out of the stall to his side.
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"I would speak with you Lady Tamara, we will ride together to the training grounds." He didn't look at me, just stared ahead into my horse's stall.
I hadn't even noticed his horse was being readied; Jin and I were so in our own little world. Shingen had already turned back towards the courtyard to wait for his horse before I could reply, so I retrieved Jin and went to meet him, wondering if I had done something wrong again, this was a confusing reality sometimes.
We mounted and rode from the courtyard at canter in silence, but just as we cleared the gates he slowed and signaled for me to do the same. I had no intention of starting a conversation, so I just stared at Jin's ears as Lord Shingen moved in close next to me. I couldn't read his mood at all.
"Lord Yukimura is impressed with your dedication." He started.
I offered nothing.
"Although it seems you have more of a temper than we ..."
"Would expect from a woman." I cut him off.
Lord Shingen let my rudeness go without comment.
"Lord Yukimura simply plays with me, it must feel like a waste of his time, sparring with a butterfly." I spat the words out with venom.
He reined to a halt, but I kept walking on. Again, he let my disrespectful attitude go and rejoined me in a few jog steps. We turned into the training grounds and rode up the short rise. I remembered the two of us standing here before, it seemed forever ago – and that Tamara was gone.
As I kept my focus on the groups below, he leant in closer to speak; I could see preparations were becoming more intense, the men being put under more pressure. I watched with dead eyes a small group tent pegging and targeting using the lance below me.
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"The long spear did give us a useful advantage." He said.
"How many men, good men, brave men, met their deaths because of me." Lord Kenshin's words came from my mouth.
There was silence beside me.
"Their blood is on my hands." A damned tear tried to escape, but I gritted my teeth and swallowed it all back down.
Back into the quiet.
"Lady Tamara, I am concerned for you."
The statement caught me off guard, but another voice found my mouth.
"Let me go with you into battle."
Lord Shingen sat up sharply away from me; obviously he wasn't expecting this from me at all.
"No." He finally said in a flat tone.
"Why? And don't you dare say it's because I'm a woman."
"You forget your place Lady Tamara." Shingen growled, a warning in his voice.
"And what exactly IS my place Lord Takeda Shingen?"
He stared ahead whilst his horse shifted under him from his mood.
"I am Takeda, yes?"
"Yes Lady Tamara, you will always be part of the Takeda family"
"Then let me die/fight for my family."
I hastily overlapped the words but he caught my verbal slip and looked at me with pain in his eyes.
"No." He said again, "You are not well."
"And if I prove I am worthy?" I turned to him and saw he was not as angry as he sounded, more bemused.
"I will give you a fair trial with the long spear"
I thought I saw a hint of that look from the last night in his chambers, it was uncomfortable, but I sat firm in the saddle next to him.
"We will speak again." And with that he spun his horse and left.
I knew he had backed me into a corner; I hadn't picked up the lance again.
I wasn't sure I could, all those ghosts.
Now I would be forced to, to prove my worth. Damn the man was perceptive.
Looking back, I know it should have been obvious to myself I was on the verge of some sort of breakdown. But then, wrapped in it – it was more like something I didn't know how to stop.
I had twisted my mind and heart into such numbness I didn't have a clue how close I was to capsizing.
The events of a few days time changed everything.
Just one day.
Just one dreadful day and my world began to fall apart, taking me with it.
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The Devil and the Huntsman
A MEDIEVAL DARK FANTASY SERIES A great darkness is in the earth and supernatural forces are gathering around to take action and take over the world. The people believe that God has abandoned them and the earth is separated from the heavens. The people of the earth search for a mighty warrior to rule over them. They search for someone to swear that they will rule the world and bring the darkness out of the earth. The creatures of the night plague the lands and desire to take rule of the people. One man who takes the mantle to rule the world is none other than Julius of Romania. A man who sought nothing more than ambition and power to defeat his enemies and save his family. He makes a deal with the Demon Wolf and becomes victorious over many obstacles, battles, and onslaughts. One year passes by and his daughter, Lagertha of Stockholm, drinks the blood of the wolf and becomes the queen of the wolves. Her one and only purpose in life is to honor her people by killing her father and ridding him from the madness that overtook him. Many other people come who are linked together by fate and destiny. They are all cursed with all sorts of powers and tragic pasts. They all swore to live by the sword and die by the sword for the sake of saving their people and driving the forces of darkness away from the world. They would all make many hard choices and many sacrifices along the way. On this journey, they will come face to face against a man whose ambition clouded his soul and made him desire to rule the world and bring a new age to the land. They are called the three hunters: Delphine of Moria, the Cursed Knight; Ragnar of Midland, the Ranger; and Iris of Kattegat, the Huntress. They are all bound by the blood of the wolf, and they were all found by the magic of the Wolf Queen. Together, they will do what is necessary to fight back against the demons and end the tyrannical reign of Mephiles, the Demon Wolf. The Devil and the Huntsman is a new medieval dark fantasy series.
8 196To Face the Day [Semi Hard Sci-Fi Space Opera]
A small human tramp freighter runs afoul of a privateer in the distant frontier. With their ship disabled, and no help on the way, its crew make a desperate plan, the consequences of which will reverberate throughout the entire Orion Arm. Semi-Hard Science Fiction story featuring humans, aliens, and Newtonian space battles. [Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]
8 219The Ties That Bind
Suddenly awakened In the hot sticky wastes of the Arizona desert walks a being born of impossiblity given form. Beyond explanation or reason, A grandeoise being of primordial and everlasting existance, the vessel of the original state of balance that serparated into Light and Darkness. meet Tikan. A fun loving and sarcastic creature of unimaginable origin, trying to find two halves of themself that are hidden in everything. it's like finding a godly needle in an infantismal haystack. But there's a universal countdown. And lingering in the backround the fabric of reality is begining to fade at the hands of a self proclaimed "Neo Godhead", and the creeping hands of the end poison the air. all things seem to be leading to a peak, and all that ever was in this world is soon to rend itself apart. Something is coming. And the one and only person that can fix a collapse bigger than the beginning itself, can't even seem to decide what they want for breakfast off a fileberto's menu. "Here I stand,that which bound and existed.the background of the way before All, and Nothing.im am that which traverses things unexplained before words were born" These are the Ties That Bind.
8 188Midnight Prince
The youngest turtle goes wondering on his own at night in the sewers. What happens when he's kidnapped by the foot clan? Who is this Shredder guy that promises him power and..... Love?? What will his family think when they find him working for Shredder? Read and find out!![{FINISHED}]
8 176Elemental Sword
The Heavenly Continent is home to only two clans: The Berseker Clan and the Magician Clan. These two clans are are constantly at war, breaking apart the terrain and ruining the lives of commoners. Then, an ominous event occurs. The greatest talents of both Clans elope, and they have a child, the first with parents from two clans. Attempting to protect their child, the couple performs a Forbidden Technique, sealing the child within an energy cocoon and slowing the child's aging process by tenfold for one hundred years. These two talents also exchange their lives to transfer their innate talents to this one child. They leave one wish behind: for this child to unite the bersekers and magicians into one clan.One hundred years later, the energy surrounding the cocoon weakens and eventually fades, releasing this ten-year old child into the feuding world of berserkers and magicians.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hey guys~ This is my first time writing a book ever! If possible, please leave some feedback and constructive criticism. I would love to hear your opinions! Thanks for reading!I will probably add chapters a once a week.
8 103Letting go...
insight on the things left unseen.
8 109